Basically, you already completed the rough draft to your novel when you wrote those 40,000 words in 24 hours, which is rather impressive. Now, you only need to complete the revision and final edit.

To me, personally, novels and screenplays have a different kind of vibe to them than I feel when I’m writing a poem. Basically, writing’s pretty much the same, regardless of all the other stuff. But, poetry, ad copy, and legal documents are relatively short, so they can be accomplished with an all-out intense effort.

However, with novels and screenplays, you don’t really have a finish line. At least, you don’t see one until it’s actually done. So, for me, it was very important to keep a somewhat rigid schedule. I wanted to write for 4-6 hours a day. And, I started to set short-term goals. I would concentrate on completing a particular scene that I had difficulty with. Or, I would look forward to finishing a certain number of pages – 50, 75, 100. And, I had the opportunity to solve problems with a character’s dialogue – or a scene – that just didn’t seem to work. I’d look forward to completing chapters.

Sometimes, I’d set in front of that computer screen for an hour or more before I actually started to write down something that I’d actually keep. But, it’s all writing. And, it is fun.

Well, take it easy.

sincerely,
melvin