My last check-in on my new book WIP (work in progress) was in early June, before time ran away from me, so I thought I’d post an update. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I’ve been slowly drafting my new project.
I had written the first 10,000 words or so by the end of June, then put it aside for the summer, at least the writing part. I bought two books to read to inform my setting and took them on vacation with me. Nothing says “beach read” like Art Deco streamliner trains, prohibition-era America, and speakeasies, right?
After vacation, at the tail end of July, I received my editorial notes for my debut novel, All We Have is Time. I made a plan to tackle my edits (which I’ll cover in a future post) and had a lovely call with my editorial team the following week. Then, I dove in. I spent eight weeks revising my debut, and sent it back for another round of feedback the first week of October.
In mid-October, I decided I wanted to put some words into my WIP, which was languishing at 9,049 words. So, I set a goal of hitting 15,000 words by the end of the week. I ended at 15,301. The next week, I challenged myself to add 5,000 words. I made a writing schedule. I went to the library for a quiet, dedicated work space. I hit 20,719 words. I kept up the routine, adding about 5,000 new words each week. Three weeks ago, I passed the 30,000 word mark on my WIP.
Now, if you’ve read my previous posts on how to plan a new project, you’ll know that this is a milestone number. It means that I am a quarter of the way through my new book. It is also my favorite milestone to hit. (Well, maybe second favorite, after “The End”). You’ve done weeks or months of preparation, you’ve struggled to get those first words on the page, to find the shape of your story and the voice of your characters. For me, 25% is when I hit my stride. The early chapters have setup where my story started and where it is going. Now, I just have to run with it. But one of my favorite things about the 25% mark is that now, I can get a pretty good idea of how long my finished manuscript will be. If you’re setting 5,000-word-a-week goals like me, you can set up a schedule and plan on when to finish, which is great for working your writing time into a busy life.
So, how do I know I’m 25% done? I used the Save the Cat beat sheet to plan my book, so I know which scene is my Catalyst—that no-going-back-now turning point moment for the main character. I drafted until I completed that chapter, then checked my word count: 29,594 words. Multiply that by my four act sections, and I can expect my first draft to come in around 118,000 words (29,594 x 4 = 118,376, but you don’t need to be that precise). This is pretty close to the estimate of 115,000 words I made after outlining, based on my number of beats and average chapter lengths.
Don’t panic if your numbers are coming up way too short or way too long. This is a first draft. You are just trying to get the story down. If you are way off from the original estimate you made when you were planning your beats, go back to your outline and look to see where the deviation happened. Maybe you put in a lot of backstory as you were discovering your characters, and it’s running long. (I have an entire prologue that may or may not stay, including that first line). Maybe you’ve skipped over setting and descriptions in favor of jumping into the action, and now you’re coming up short. Either way, don’t worry. It’s easy enough to fix in subsequent drafts once you have words on the page to work with.
So what next? Keep setting your word count goals, keep carving out drafting time, and keep writing. Check in when you hit that midpoint scene to see how your structure is holding up. Make note if its off, and keep going. Get to “The End.”
As for my WIP, I’ve paused on adding new words for now, as the 25% mark was a good stopping point as I pivot back to my debut. My second round of edits should be coming back from my team soon, so I’m taking the opportunity to re-read my manuscript after being away from it for several weeks and making my own notes for the next round of revision. But, thanks to knowing my estimated final word count on my WIP, I have a plan to get back to it, 5,000 words at a time.
P.S. I’m launching a Substack! If you enjoy these blog posts about writing and craft, subscribe to Writing & Reverie, where anyone who has ever wanted to write a book but didn’t know where to begin is welcome! Follow along step-by-step, from that first inkling of an idea to a complete first draft in one year. Created for beginner-beginners who deferred their dream, let’s make 2025 your year, together.
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