Today was not as heroic as yesterday, but well within expectations. Everything is still on schedule and my manuscript has now reached 46.000 words. This is a short novel (the goal is 60.000 words) so I can already smell the finish line, which doesn’t help with my focus.

If, however, I have two good writing days on Friday and next Tuesday (tomorrow and next Monday I have to put on my publisher’s hat), I could have this first draft finished by Tuesday evening of next week. I know I’m getting way ahead of myself, but that is basically how I live my life so… 😉

Anyway, this book is now reaching its grand finale. I just let my wife read the last finished chapter and I asked what she thought and she said, “So dramatic, lah!” (The ‘lah’ is just a Hong Kong way of emphasizing.) 😉 Then I asked, “Did you feel your heart break a little?” Normally this is not a question you would want someone to reply “Yes” to, but in this case, I was very happy that she did. (I know I’m just teasing now, and it’s going to be quite a while before this book will be ready for release.)

Meanwhile, I’ve already started thinking about my next novel (and already booked an editor for it!) As research, I’m going to watch a bunch of Charlotte Rampling movies in the coming days. Because (and I know this sounds crazy) I am slated to start writing that one next week Friday (after taking a short break after finishing Release The Stars.) To me, this isn’t so crazy because, even though some days are hard and the words don’t come, there isn’t an activity on this planet I love more than writing. I just wrote 6000 words and I still can’t get enough (hence this blog post.)

I’m not sure yet if I will keep up the blog for the writing of this next novel (currently without title but dubbed ‘The Swimming Pool novel’.) It will all depend on how much attention I need at the time (so I probably will.) 😉

Anyway, enough of this. There’s a bottle of rosé cooling in the fridge and I believe it has my name on it… 😉

It’s true, I’m an unapologetic ultra-long lunch break taker…

The paperbacks of French Kissing: Season Two finally arrived today. (They were on a slow boat to HK, I think.)

Anyway… I broke my word count record again today! I’m calling it an 8k day, but officially I wrote 7883 words, bringing my manuscript to 40.000 words. I’m super happy with this, even though I’m veering more and more off plot.

When I say ‘veer off plot’ I actually mean I’ve been inserting many more ‘naughty scenes’ than initially planned. The same thing happened when I was writing Once In A Lifetime, which was supposed to be a really intense romance with only ‘a few’ kinky scenes… I think, in the end, my two main characters spend half of the novel in bed.

But my current WIP especially was not supposed to go this way. I almost wanted it to be a ‘sweet romance’, but no… my brain apparently doesn’t play that way. Oh well, I guess it’s something I’ll have to live with. (There are harder things to live with.) 😉

(Disclaimer: I’m not sure exactly how much sense I’m making at this point. An 8k day and 2 celebratory glasses of wine will do that to you…)

So, excellent day today. Back at it tomorrow!

I found the zoom function in Excel! (Also, the longer pauses between writing sessions were needed to re-think my plot…)