I have a little passion project. It’s called Project Bird. I’ve introduced it on social media so it’s not a secret but I don’t think I’ve really spoken about it on the blog.
I got super excited back in Spring when the story first came to me and I sat down to do excessive plotting. I loved it. I was super motivated. And I started writing in the summer but only got about 5 000 words in. It felt a bit slow. Despite my plot and plan I was still feeling my way around the world.
But yesterday something clicked. I got about 1660 words written and I finally got into the story! I’d reached the catalyst and my characters started speaking to me. I finally got into the story.
Which makes me think my first two chapters are slow and it’s going to take about 8k words for the reader to get into the book, which is not ideal at all. I want them hooked on the first page!
I’m not too worried though. Rewriting the first few chapters of a manuscript several times is part of the process.
But it made me think. How long does it take to get into a flow of writing a new manuscript? Despite my passion, love and motivation for the story, it takes time to get into the writing process. And I’ve discovered that it takes almost 10 000 words to get into the right headspace to write. Those first few thousand, the first half of Act 1, it’s like trudging through water.
I’m trying to figure out if I felt this way with Visions or Ravens or Project Codex. Visions of Ravens was too long ago for me to remember. Project Codex came with the insane motivation that NaNoWriMo provides. I don’t really have an answer.
But it doesn’t actually seem so strange that it would take 10 000 word to get into it. I’m still finding my voice for this book. Still exploring the world and getting two know my characters (I have two POVs).
Now I’ve passed the 10k mark and feel like I can keep writing in a steady rhythm. I’ll no doubt stumble across lows in the process and there will be parts of the book that I’ll need to force myself through, but I’m exciting for the upcoming few weeks of just drafting to my heart’s content.
Have thoughts about starting a draft on a new project? I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments or on my socials.