Falling Behind....

I'm falling behind with my novel. It's not good. I'm supposed to finish 23,333 words by today alone, and I've only got 18,621. That's 4,712 words. I think the most I've ever done in one day was about that much, so I know it's possible. I just need to get inspired.

After a bit of soul-searching, I've realized the type of writer I am. You see, writer's don't just come in all shapes and sizes, they come in styles too, and I don't just mean genres.

1. Planners vs. Pantsers: before writing a story, you've got to have an idea, right? Well, there are two forms of preparations. The planners will usually create outlines and completely flesh out their characters before starting. They've got files and folders for everything and they're very organized. The pantsers ride by the seat of their pants. They have ideas in their heads, but those ideas won't be written out until the novel actually forms. The ideas are normally the big major scenes, pantsers haven't come up the details until they put pen to paper (or, finger to keyboard if you wish). My creative writing style is definitely a pantser method.
2. Pace Setters vs. Burst Writers: this refers to the actual writing part. The pace setters set goals every day. Their the ones going, "I'm going to write exactly 1,667 words every day, maybe extra." Again, lots of organization. The burst writers, on the other hand, will write at a daily rate of maybe 500 words. It's not a lot, but then the burst writer will become extremely inspired, scream, "Eureka!" and end up with 4,000 words within a couple of hours. I'm a burst writer.
3. Keep Going vs. Go Back: writers who keep going are those that just keep pushing forwards and don't look back until the novel is finished and they're ready to edit. Writers who go back are moving forward, but if they hit a brief writer's block, they'll just enter in a quick "enter epic fight scene here" and move on for the time being. Then, they're halfway through the next chapter and they get a quick idea. They return to where they entered the side note and fill I the blanks. Honestly, I don't think anybody is completely a keep-going writer or a go-back writer. I think everyone's a bit of both.

So yeah, that's a bit of my brain for today. Now I need to get back to work.
Hannah Renea