A Cauldron of Cats - Day 4

Another good day for words added.

Six sessions for a total of 3,600 words. Not bad. I really got into a rhythm there for a couple of sessions. In fact, here’s the breakdown of my 45 minutes cycles starting around 9 AM: 600, 600, 500, 700, 700, 500.

So, whoa! I can write 700 words in a 45 minute sprint. Never knew I could do that.

Means I’m getting a little better and letting the creative brain (which has assimilated some of the craft lessons of the ‘learning brain’ – grammar, various techniques, story structure, characterization, etc.) take over and just write. I’ll always be learning, of course. There’s not a point in anyone’s life, really, where one can say I’ve mastered everything there is to know about this art form.

Mentioned yesterday that the consensus from professional writers is that it takes a new writer anywhere from about 500,000 to 1,000,000 words of practice before the basics of the craft become solid. Gulp! I just added up my published words and I’m at 300,000 to 400,000 words written. That’s fiction.

But I estimate I’ve written over 2 million words of sermons and bible studies, so that has to count for something!

One of the tools I use to help me keep track of my word count and stay focused is the online spreadsheet that Keystroke Medium provides its members. It’s private, so I can’t show you directly, but some google docs genius set it up to add and multiply and keep totals and a running leaderboard. It’s like magic. 

Anyway, I set my monthly goal (June was 30,000 words, July will be 60,000 words) and the spreadsheet does the rest as I add my daily numbers.

Fun competition. Out of about 10 or 12 active participants each month (blanked out their names to protect the guilty! lol), I’m sitting at #8. But watch out next month, Keystroke Mediumites! (grin)

So what’s happening in Cauldron right now? Well, the cats (I think I have 15 different felines in this story! what was I thinking? lol) have come up with an idea on how to find the secret lab where the special kitties are being held captive. 

Won’t spoil it, but it was fun writing the section on how they tried to communicate (via a game of charades!) their plan to the two humans who could help them. You see, cats speak cat and very few humans can understand them completely.

Isn’t that like real life?? I’ve had cats pretty much all my adult life and while they definitely communicate with their human companions, I’m sometimes at a loss as to what they want! In this story, Helga can pretty much understand Mister. They have a special bond.

Just like my wife and I have a special bond with our 19 year old cat, Charlie. And oh, when he wants his dinner, we can definitely understand his demanding chatter!

Today's Writing Tip...

Keep learning the craft of writing even as you practice writing every day.

Progress...

Writing: A Cauldron of Cats by Lyn Perry
* Introduction - Becoming a Full-Time Writer

* Day 1 - 2,400 words, story is at 4,200 words

* Day 2 - 3,400 words, story is at 7,600 words

* Day 3 - 3,800 words, story is at 11, 400 words

* Day 4 - 3,600 words, story is at 15,000 words

~*~

Follow along each day as I post my progress in writing A Cauldron of Cats, Book 2 in my Mister the Magical Cat Series (available for pre-order now; affiliate links used throughout). You can also "Tip a Buck & Get a Book" and I'll send you Book 1 now, Cat Potion No. 9. 

Lyndon Perry is a speculative fiction writer living in Puerto Rico. He's a former pastor and current husband, father, coffee drinker, and cat-wrangler to Charlie, a 19 year old orange and white tabby who serves as the inspiration to Mister the Magical Cat. You can find him a variety of places online. Check out his various Linktree Locations and say hello!