Done

I never thought I could write a thousand words a day and keep that regimen going for more than a week or few, but I've managed to do so with two of my novel-length manuscripts so far, and I hope to harness the power of that rhythm again in the near future. The upside: I can finish a draft in three or four months. The downside: I can really burn myself out.

Last weekend, I finished the first draft of Captain Quasar and the Confounding Space-Time Paradox (working title) at 80,000 words. I could tell I was on the home stretch when Saturday morning rolled around. By Sunday afternoon, I'd churned out the final 10,000 words and managed to wrap up the story while still leaving room for a potential sequel.

But when I was done, I was done. I needed to take a break. Pleased with what I'd accomplished but knowing there would be plenty of revision work in the near future, I gave myself the freedom to take a much-needed mini-sabbatical. I didn't write anything new all week. It's not that I thought I deserved it or anything; I just knew I needed the space and time for my writing muscles to recover.

How about you? Do you rush right into revisions or allow the manuscript to simmer a while? How do you reward yourself for completing a project? I bought a copy of John Carter on DVD and watched it a couple times. Holy cow, that thing takes me back to my younger years with Prince Valiant and Flash Gordon. Too much fun.