There’s a particular kind of magic that happens when you open your manuscript, glance down at that little number in the corner, and realise that you’ve written 20,000 words.
Twenty. Thousand. Words.
That’s practically a novella.
It’s more than a quarter of a novel. It’s… well, it’s a lot of sitting down and typing and grumbling and coffee-drinking and deleting and retyping and moving the cat off the keyboard and wondering if any of it makes sense. And then doing the same again the next day.
I never thought I’d get to 5,000 words, if I’m honest. That felt momentous. Like, well done me, I’ve committed to something longer than a caption on Instagram.
But now? 20,000 words is a whole mood. It’s momentum. It’s holy fuck, this is happening!
And here’s the thing; some days it’s a breeze. One glorious day, over the May Bank Holiday, I bashed out over 3,000 words in under four hours. I floated around the house afterwards like I’d just invented language.
On another day, I struggled to write 500 words and wanted to hurl my laptop into the sea.
That’s the dance of the novel, isn’t it? Some days you glide. Some days you crawl. But every single word counts. Literally.
There’s a strange satisfaction in watching that word count rise. Not because it’s polished or publishable or ready for anyone else to see (dear reader, it is not), but because it exists. There were zero words. Now there are thousands. It’s like building a house, brick by slightly wonky brick. One day, it might even have a roof.
I know I’ve still got a long way to go, around 50,000 more words, give or take. But now that I’m this far in, the finish line doesn’t seem like an abstract fantasy. It feels possible. Like something future-me might actually achieve, one coffee-fuelled writing session at a time.
Making my writing an early morning habit has been invaluable. I’ve been waking up earlier and I’ve been writing. Every day. And now here we are. *punches the air*
So allow me this moment to wallow in my word count. 20,000 strong, scrappy, slightly confused words. But mine. And growing.
And tomorrow? We ride again!
Lisa
Awesome in every way. Some days, even 100 delicious words is cause for celebration x