I have been working on my book. Wrote two pages last night while Elise was watching The Count of Monte Cristo.
Now that the birthdays, weddings and other events have passed--now that Disney has so graciously (actually it was a nightmare) given Elise her old job back, I should be writing full-time once again.
The state of my book is that it's around 160 pages and will most likely not go above 250. On a full-fledged writing day I get over a thousand words into the computer, or around 4 pages. There are 49,000 words between what I have now and the Things You Can't Give Up e-book. Almost all of them were written while Elise was at work in Connecticut. It was the time I had designated to the book and it was a schedule that worked quite well. Only, Elise was only working 2-3 days a week up there and now she will most likely be working 4-5.
25 work days from today, the book will be 260 pages and over my projected page count. In other words, the first draft will be finished. At four work days a week, the first draft is finished in six weeks--by mid december. But these are the holidays and I wouldn't be surprised if they put E on overtime. And with her painting now on her days off, I'll have even more time. As well as time for Ribcage.
That is the state of my book. That is to say--it is completely on track.
Mostly, these past few weeks I've been thinking about the directions the book will go. In everything I write, I spend far more time in planning, brainstorming than actual writing. This is how I work. I map it all out, obsessively--but I don't write any notes on paper. This way the book or story or whatever is concise but still spontaneous.
I've been thinking long and hard about adding more of a fiction element to this book. I've already done it in the book, actually--but I'm thinking of expanding upon it. What I'm thinking of, it's not uncommon among memoirs or anything... but it may be the best way to release the helpful information that refuses to fit into the story.
For now, for today, I am writing this week's Ribcage story and it will most likely be called Bubble Belly Goes Off the Wall.
My father sold close to 10,000 copies of his last book in eight minutes on QVC the other day. They're lining up more appearances. For that book and the new. No matter marketing or store shelf placement or wherever the Food Network is, this guarantees an outlet for the books and that a third will come down the pipe. My guess is that I'll be picking up work with my father no sooner than I finish my own book. He's already working on new recipes.
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