Day 8: Weekly Goal Update

I regret to say that I was not able to make my goal of 10,000 words. I came in at just over 3,800. Rather disappointing to say the least.

But, in spite of the fact that I was not able to write 10,000 words of actual story, I was able to do a lot with my character development. In my original manuscript for this story, my characters were rather two dimensional which at the time of their creation really didn't bother me. However, as I have read more books and even written about other characters, I have been able to realize just how much my characters were lacking in, well, likability.

I have discovered quite a bit about my characters actually, and these discoveries have, in turn, helped me to see the bigger picture of the story, rather than just the simple, basic storyline.

My main character, for example, has her fair share of issues. Besides being a 15 year old girl that just had to pack up and move away from the only home she has ever known, she has issues with her family relationships, something that plays a rather important role in the story I never even caught the first time around.

There are also the stories and lives of the other characters, which are equally important as they will affect my main character's relationship with them and how they work together to accomplish a common goal.

Aside from the wonderful character development that I have been able to discover this week, I was also able to learn something about myself and my life. First of all, my life is nothing like it was when I first wrote the story in 7th grade. I wasn't nearly as stressed about just plain old life as I am now. That's not to say that I didn't have problems, or things to stress about in 7th grade, but in comparison to the "real world" problems of college life and adulthood, well, they were hardly that trying.

I have also discovered the importance of de-stressing before taking on a creative task, and of eliminating distractions. When I am stressing about a problem I am facing, it hinders my creative ability so much it isn't even funny, and if I don't watch myself and the environment I put myself in before I sit down to write, I will get distracted and my muse will not come. Even how loud I listen to my music can be a distraction, to tell you the truth.

So, while I didn't meet my goal of 10,000 words, I can still count this week as productive, because I have gained something from it, even if it wasn't what I was planning or hoping for.

My goal for this week is to get the remaining 6,200 words that I need to reach that 10,000 word goal. who knows, maybe I'll be able to surpass 10,000 words.

Anyways, thank you everyone that is following and keeping up with me on this. It truly is a huge, huge, HUGE help!

Until next week!