A Spec in Time Series

Why are we so very concerned with word count? Really, it is because no one wants to read War and Peace. This isn't a rant against Tolstoy. I really liked Anna Karenina. I gave W&P a good go at it for about 10 years. I finally gave up after it had been moved to the back of the toilet tank and sat there for two years as I learned to get my business done quickly so that I wouldn't have to read too much more. All and all, I finally did get about halfway through before I had to move cross country. I left it behind (pun intended) for the next resident. To this day, I still couldn't really tell you what it's about. 

Besides if I really wanted to rail there is M. Proust the epitome of verbosity. I'm just now, brave enough to get fixin', to get ready, to maybe think about, downloading, and perhaps try, to start, reading Proust. In other words, ain't gonna' happen. 

I am verbose, I know that because I have been told that. More than once. I watch my word count for many reasons. First off it just fascinates me. That number came from my fingers controlled by my brain. How does that happen? Sometimes it goes up, sometimes down, but it is ever changing. It makes you understand that a book is really a living object. Changing every day morphing into what I type into existence. How cool is that?

In the beginning of writing anything -I don't care, it is not a real number. It reflects my notes, research, and outline. Generally, I have it turned off until I really start to roll on whatever I am doing. Sometimes I will just have it turned on as I work on a section, to have something to look at instead of red squiggly lines under my words. Thank you, MS, for your ever encouraging lines to remind me that I am incapable of spelling. 

Domes hit that point in February. I turned on that counter as notes started disappearing at a rapid rate and sections started to be filled in. It is always interesting that transition. I cut so much out, yet the count goes up. This is where that verbosity and word count must work together. Yes, there is and endgame goal. I want to be around 100k/300pg plus range. I so easily go over that. WAY over that. Why; because the whole story is huge, it is War and Peace. It can ramble on like Finnigan's Wake (This is where I admit, I love FW) with so much to unpack. That is why it is a series. That is why it takes up 6 books. 

I pare down when needs to and allow myself more details when and where I have room to. It is akin to pulling taffy. Describing some of the events that happen and some of the beings’ responsible, takes time. It takes space, and it takes words. Do I really need to know where I am in word count? No, nor does anyone. But like the end of the story, I needed to know that first so I knew my target. As in darts: as long as I hit the board, I am happy with the number. Here's to 66,703.