This blog post is going to be extremely boring unless you’re a) a writer, b) want to be a writer, or c) my editor making sure I’m not going to miss my deadline. Erm.

I’m currently writing my fourth novel. It’s due at Easter. in June 2012 (thank you to my editor for extending my deadline). Everything was going swimmingly until several bad things happened (my grandfather passed away, I ended a tempestuous relationship, I got addicted to getting into trouble) and I took six weeks off work to bum about, eat cheese strings, and watch Mad Men on loop. I think this is a valid reason for forgetting to write.

But it’s a new year and I’ve decided to keep a record of my writing progress. I used to do it at the top of my manuscript when I wrote novels in Word, but since swapping to Scrivener I haven’t bothered. Which is clearly a mistake. Additionally, being transparent and therefore also accountable will possibly shame me into writing more.

Anyway, look away now if numbers bore you (they do me). Or keep reading if you want to see how many words I have written this year (note, these are manuscript-only words and do not include columns or articles which I also write).

Additional: I need to average 1000 words a day, or 7000 5000 words a week to hit my deadline on time. Wish me luck.

BOOK FOUR (still untitled. I need to sort this out – in my head it’s called Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark St, but I don’t think this is snappy enough I now have a title, but I’m not going to share it until after I’ve submitted my MS to my editor. Sorry.

2012 manuscript word count total: 26,512.
(please note, this word count is not for my full MS, which is actually higher as I started writing it last year. This is purely the number of MS words written in 2012)

Week 1 total: 4905 [+ 964 for The Kernel]

  • Monday, 2 January: 2092.
  • Tuesday, 3 January: 1023.
  • Wednesday, 4 January: 1790.
  • Thursday, 5 January: 0
  • Friday, 6 January: 0 [I won a game of Scrabble though!]
  • Saturday, 7 January: 0 [editing]
  • Sunday, 8 January: 0

Week 2 total: 4514

  • Monday, 9 January: 0 [researching]
  • Tuesday, 10 January: 0 [meetings]
  • Wednesday, 11 January: 2523 [and I made a presentation which I had to give the next day. Productive]
  • Thursday, 12 January: [meetings / actual pounding-London-streets research]
  • Friday, 13 January: 59. Not in the mood.
  • Saturday, 14 January: 1932
  • Sunday, 15 January: 0

Week 3 total: 4805 [+ 750 for New Media Age]

  • Monday, 16 January: 0 [editing & plotting]
  • Tuesday, 17 January: 1666
  • Wednesday, 18 January: 0.
  • Thursday, 19 January: 3139
  • Friday, 20 January: 0
  • Saturday, 21 January: 0
  • Sunday, 22 January: 0 [I had the very best of intentions for the weekend but my plans were thwarted.]

Week 4 total: 6754

  • Monday, 23 January: 1583 [and loads of research into the history of India's railways. Really.]
  • Tuesday, 24 January: 2946
  • Wednesday, 25 January: 1137
  • Thursday, 26 January: 0
  • Friday, 27 January: 0
  • Saturday, 28 January: 1088
  • Sunday, 29 January: 0

I’ve stopped consulting and have taken on a full time job … bring on the six-day week, working in the evenings, and constantly apologising to friends for not being able to see them as much as I’d like to.

Week 5 total: 0. I took the week off to settle into my new job. I think this is reasonable.

Week 6 total: 1027

  • I’m not proud of myself for the appalling lack of words this week. However there are mitigating circumstances: I left my laptop in the office every evening as my work computer hadn’t yet been set up, and I got a migraine at the weekend from rush-rush-rushing around London. I’ve learnt my lesson, trust me.

Week 7 total: 4507

  • I wanted to write 10,000 words this week, and I would have managed it if I’d not been lead astray on Friday night. I aimed to be tucked up in bed by 11pm; I got home at 11am the following day. This is not conducive to writing a novel. With you as my witness I will endeavor to be stronger.

Wondering what I’m doing when I’m not writing? Follow me on Twitter to find out.