Wednesday, May 31, 2006

End of a Streak

Over the past 16 months, I wrote at least 400 pages of fiction every month. That streak came to an end in May, as I turned out 324 pages. I almost wrote "only 324 pages", before I realized what a ridiculous statement that would have been. I'm not foolish enough or obsessive enough to think that that's a bad month. But I'd like to do better, and I need to do better if I'm going to keep up with my deadlines. But in May there were just too many other things going on in real life that needed to be tended to, and I did a lot of plotting and research that took time but didn't produce new pages, and I've also been battling what seems to be a case of tendonitis in my right elbow. I suppose I'll just have to try a little harder in June, and in the meantime be satisfied with knowing that at least I've averaged more than 400 pages per month for the past two-and-a-half years, even if I haven't done that much each and every month.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow. Just wow.

Cap'n Bob said...

Let's not forget that you're doing quality work, too. It's an amazing feat and my kepi is off to you.

Anonymous said...

"Wow. Just wow."

Yeah, I've tried to think of something else to say, but that seems to cover it. You really need to write a book on writing, James.

Charles Gramlich said...

Averaged over 400 pages a month? If you weren't a friend I'd be cursing you right now. Well, even though you are a friend...

Buddy Gott said...

A lot of writers would be happy with 400 pages in a whole year.

It's amazing how much you write. Truly amazing.

Juri said...

Hey, it's only ten to twelve pages per day.

James Reasoner said...

Juri's right. It's a matter of persistence more than anything else. (Some might call it pure muleheaded stubbornness.) My output pales next to that of several other authors I know who have written at that pace for decades.