Progress with my eighth novel

I'm getting there...

I've shared on this blog and on social media how my writing mojo deserted me for several months earlier in 2020. (Read my other post on this subject here: When novelists lose their love of writing). I don't think the issue was related to the covid-19 pandemic, as my disillusionment began before lockdown happened in the UK. I suspect I'd been pushing myself hard for a while (I'm very goal-driven!) and just needed a break. I spent the time relaxing, reading and enjoying the summer, and didn't worry too much about whether my writing mojo would return.

Luckily, it has. My output isn't back to what it was before, when my average daily output was c2,200 words. Nowadays I manage between 1,200 and 1,500 before my creativity wanes, but that's OK. There's no rush. It's more important that I regain my love of writing rather than fret about how many words I write, or how long I'm taking to finish a book. I'm very close to completing my eighth novel, though! As of today's date I've written 75,659 words, and I estimate another 11,000 will see the book completed in first draft format. After that will come the lengthy (for me, anyway!) task of polishing my prose, weeding out any plot holes and getting the manuscript ready for my beta readers/editor. I'll keep you posted!

---