70 Days of Sweat, Day One...er, Three

Karen has invited me to join her in the 70 Days of Sweat writing challenge. It officially started a couple of days ago, but I didn't have a chance to check it out until today. The idea is to write between 60,000-100,000 words in 70 days. Actually, in 77 days--the challenge allows for 7 days off (of which I've apparently used two already!). I'm aiming for 60K. Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off and still maintain a semblance of a normal life. NaNo was great, but not a pace (or lifestyle) I could maintain for more than 30 days while still working full time. Not unless I learn how to write faster!

60K works out to about 850 words a day. Today I wrote 819, a bit short of my goal. I certainly could have plunked out another thirty, but it would have been more for the sake of posting the number here, rather than in the spirit of good writing. I've wrapped up a scene and need to do a little thinking to get myself into the next one--thinking I'm too tired to do effectively right now.

Why so tired, you ask? I only got about five hours of sleep last night, staying up to finish Kim Harrison's THE OUTLAW DEMON WAILS. I'm a big fan of hers. I think she has the best long term story arcs in the genre and this book certainly didn't disappoint. Kim posted on her blog that this book is her favorite so far, which I found interesting. I liked the book, but it wasn't my favorite. Rachel does some growing up in this one and a lot of Kim's long-time, careful planning is finally coming to light so I can see why she likes it the best. I think For a Few Demons More is my favorite. I'm a sucker for a book that can tug on my heartstrings, and FFDM did plenty of that--and not just because of the end. I think that was the book where Ivy, Rachel and Jenks finally, truly realized what they all meant to each other. After watching their relationships grow and evolve over the course of several books, that was a pretty big payoff for me.

Okay, I feel like I'm babbling. I'm going to sleep!

819 / 60000 words. 1% done!