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Word count

I've got a deadline on Tuesday. Unlike Douglas Adams I do not love the whooshing sound they make as they fly past. My affliction, procrastination, keeps me reading exciting books on the (vaguely related) history of Spiritualism, however, well into the time when I should have had the chapter half-way (at least) written up and ready for revision.

And so I am stuck here, with about a third of it left to write out and some revision still to do on the remaining, not to mention the tying it all neatly together in the introduction, aided by nothing but strong coffee and willpower (you ask me why I have no will power in daily life? This is why. It is all spent in a couple of evenings).

Now, usually I keep track of my word count in order to prove to myself that I am making progress. It is all an illusion, of course, in that a thousand ill conceived and irrelevant words count as exactly the same amount as a thousand brilliant, witty and insightful words. But any harbour in heavy winds.

That is why it feels very frustrating when my word counts, after countless revisions and rewritings and elaborations over a long day look like this:

9364 (yesterday's final word count)
9621 (oh, yes!)
9801 (I am brilliant!)
9841 (hmm, slowing)
9889 (slowing?)
10083 (no! rocking! so much! a myriad, yeah!)
10002 (oops)
9869 (I've spent three hours! how can it be less?)
9910 (sloowly)
9988 (sloowly)
9985 (dammit.)

It started out so well.

(I needed to spread the pain a little.)

Comments

Jørgen,  30.08.10 09:18

On the bright side, I'm going to see Tosca tomorrow.

Nah, I feel your pain. May you find words and shade.
Karoline,  30.08.10 12:11

Camilla, syns du e flink i.
Tor,  01.09.10 13:09

Så er "words and shade" en referanse til noe annet enn Wheel of Time, eller har Jørgen allerede begynt å glede seg til neste bok kommer i november?
Jørgen,  01.09.10 15:05

Da blir det vel ingen av delene. Det er en referanse til WoT, men jeg har ikke begynt å glede meg til neste bok. Ikke før du oppsummerer historien så langt for meg.
Tor,  01.09.10 15:35

Jeg har tenkt litt på dette. Jeg må jo bare innrømme at jeg føler det som et visst nederlag at jeg aldri fullførte de lovte oppsummeringen. Planen min nå er imidlertid å lese og oppsummere alle bøkene før den siste kommer ut neste år. Og da er det vel kanskje på tide å begynne snart, så har jeg en måned pr bok pluss litt tid til overs.

Joa

Jørgen,  01.09.10 18:24

For meg trenger det ikke være så veldig fyldige oppsummeringer. Det holder med et raskt overblikk over karakterens mest betydningsfulle handlinger, og hendelser.
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PhD
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