It’s almost a fortnight since I updated you on the progress I’m making with finishing off the writing of  my Bratislava novel, and I’m proud to say I’m still on track to have it fully written and even pretty well revised and edited in time for the ABNA contest. (Obviously, completed edited with heaps of time to spare would be better, but life just isn’t always like that).

One of my students (thanks, Val!) gave me this mug recently, courtesy of our Margaret River Chocolate Factory – in case you can’t see the graphic, it says:

I’d give up chocolate but I’m no quitter.

Absolutely true for me in the case of chocolate, although in other areas my tendency to procrastinate sometimes means I do end up quitting (or simply not finishing). But this time round my motivation to continue writing every day seems to have no limits. Originally, I set myself the goal of 1,300 words per day to finish off the end of the novel; I’ve been achieving this so easily that I’ve increased it to 1,500 words per day, so I’ll end up with some extra editing time. Many days I’ve done a little more anyway.

Interestingly,  I’ve begun to be tempted to write substantially more each day, because I’m on such a roll, but I’ve deliberately stopped myself. I found that when I did, my writing wasn’t so fresh, and it was harder to start again the next day. The idea of finishing the day’s writing while you’ve still got plenty to say is one that really works for me; I might stop mid-paragraph but leave notes of what I have in mind to write next, and that makes the next day’s beginning very easy. And when I’ve felt like I could just keep on writing, I’ve used that motivation to write other stuff I need to write (you know, like the stuff that pays the mortgage!) so it’s been pretty useful.

So far so good, I’m no quitter when it comes to finishing this novel. Stay tuned to – I’m sure – hear me tell you that I’ve finished it and am loving the editing process!