School ended last week and so I’m back to writing every day. The first two days weren’t very good. I’m still having trouble with this new novel; it doesn’t seem to flow as easily as my others did. When I’m not writing, I don’t seem to think about it much.

Anyway, I think I’ve decided on a pattern that will help me continue to write daily. One day I spit out what I need to get out: describe a specific event, introduce a new character, etc. This can be done as well or as poorly as necessary just to keep the story moving. So far, my first day on a new scene has been miserable. I get out what I need, but the writing is clunky, the characters are flat, and I feel like a total failure. But then I find myself re-thinking the scene. Ah… I could have done this better, oh, this character should wait and appear after this… and so on. The next day is clean up day. I improve the scene and feel good about it: a scene well-written in two days. Then I’m back to a garbage day. Today is a garbage day for me. Knowing that really takes the pressure off. I’ll get out what needs to happen and then I can focus on improvement.