181,000 words, and still a long way to go. That may not sound like much to those who have written long books, but it's humongous by my standards. I wonder how long it will be when it's done. I wonder when it will be done. I'm trying not to wonder whether it will be done.
#writing #ScienceFiction #WritingCommunity
@DavidDvorkin My God I know that feeling. Atheist Addiction topped out at 230k before I did a giant cull, and it's STILL 130k. #writingcommunity
@atheistaddiction That's quite a cull!
@DavidDvorkin I needed to streamline the argument for each chapter, and reduce some of the academic complexity. I started it during the pandemic and would go on long tangents that seemed relevant at the time, but did not support each of the individual chapter arguments.
@atheistaddiction I see. The one I'm working (and working and working) on is fiction. Much needs to be added for purposes of character relationships, character development, and plot. I probably won't be cutting much. It could end up at 250,000 words, or close, which would make it more than twice as long as the longest book I've written before this.
@DavidDvorkin Fiction is a different beast. Especially sci-fi and all the worldbuilding, fantasy and sci-fi are expected to be weighty tomes, the genre public demand door-stops. Non-fiction the key is brevity and I am terrible at that. I prefer Mastodon to Twitter primarily for the higher character limit. I had to reall teach myself to edit over the last year, and discipline myself to kill my babies.