I’ve been thinking about setting up a schedule that will help me with a rewrite of my first novel and continue on the path to a second novel. One thing I don’t want to do is set a schedule that will be impossible to follow. As far as a goal of words per day I’m thinking 1000 for five days and then try for 500 on Saturday and Sunday. This may be a bit much while also trying to do a rewrite but it’s a good number to shoot for. Along with this I’m going to try to rewrite two chapters a day five days a week. This shouldn’t be hard to keep up with especially on the off-chance I’ll do away with a whole chapter. That would speed things up initially but then having to write around the cuts would probably average things out.

Before I start shooting for my words per day goal I have to flesh out my book idea a little more. The setting is done as far as the geographical location. Now I’ll move on to characters and the all-important plot. I’m having all kinds of trouble nailing down my general idea. The name for my protagonist is also a problem which always seems to be the case. In trying not to have a family member or friend find their name high jacked into my story I eliminate a ton of names. One name I like quite a bit was just taken out of circulation because my niece just married a guy with a first name that I was going to use. I might have to ignore my rule about names and use it anyway. Once these things are ironed out I’ll then tackle the dreaded daily word goal.

As far as the rewrite is concerned I think I’ll need a hatchet for the first time through. There’s so much I want to change. I’ll probably be more comfortable with it once I start. I’ve been putting the rewrite off for almost two years now. I think I’m far enough removed from the initial emotion of the story. This should make the rewrite go more smoothly than it would have a year ago.

The Thinking Man sculpture at Musée Rodin in Paris (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With all the best intentions I’m going to tackle my plot and protagonist for my new book. I’m shooting for an early September date to begin writing. Again, as all writers know, the hard part is when everyday life makes its way into writing time that is so important. Well, I’d better get off this blog and start thinking about plot, just as soon as I grab a quick snack, or nap, or maybe both. Ah . . . that everyday life stuff again.