A Big Milestone
Wow – I hit a significant milestone yesterday, I hit 3,000,000 words written since starting to keep track. That includes any stories only including revision or complete rewrite. Edits, plots, outlines, notes, and comments are not included.
I’m pretty impressed, though I have no idea how that compares to other novice writers. Though not serious in 2005 when first starting to write, I probably hit one million in 2015. Those first stories are pretty bad, though I did completely rewrite one last year and am considering rewriting another.
In 2015, 2 things happened. My job seriously changed, adding a long train commute, and a friend gave me a copy of The Beach House, an anthology published by Cat & Mouse Press. In the back of that book, there was a comment about it being an annual competition. So while sitting on a train for well over two hours each day, I wrote the short story: “Stacy Fischer Can Dance the Tango.” After that story was accepted and published in Beach Nights, I’ve become more serious about writing.
Looking back at the list of things written, the 2 million mark happened sometime in 2020 with the rewrite of Meant To Be. Also during that time, I started writing more novel-length works.
Covid probably helped me reach 3 million sooner than I naturally would have. And I fear retirement, will make 4 million happen even faster.
The piece that pushed me over 3 million is “There Is No Love”, one of the stories to be included in the Collection of short stories in Beach Misses (title to change very soon).
Click here to see more about the story and the collection.
If you’d like to add your opinion to the cover design and title change, there are 2 polls at the bottom of that page.