The process of writing books is a fraught and mysterious but also deeply boring and repetitive thing to talk about. This evolving record is an attempt to document my writing progress, in all of its inconsistency and flaws. Apologies if I say the same thing over and over again. I hope it can at least be encouraging to those who are also in the thick of their writing projects.

January 19, 2023

• Total Word Count: 3,959
• Words Today: 1,022

Most of this draft so far has felt like writing stage directions. It doesn't have the atmosphere or the magic that I want it to have, but I know that is just a part of the process. Today though I glimpsed a little bit of the magic it could have, though. It was probably only a few sentences, but it was there! I'm trying to remind myself that this is how all first drafts go- there are a few nuggets of gold but the rest is as dry and crumbly as coal. I'm proud of myself for making it 1k words! It did not feel effortless, but I did manage a few paragraphs of flow state. Really, that's all you need. Hoping I can keep this momentum going, however fragile it is.