Getting The Book Done: Days 2-5 of 15

GOAL: To get my novel finished by the end of the month.

Yesterday's blog post was total procrastination! How long was that, about 3 pages? Good lord.

Book Update: I wrote at a slow pace the last few days. I think the problem is, ultimately, that I have some back story that needs completing. It limits the actions of my characters. I finished about 1600 words, and my goal was 2300, but I’m not worried about the catch up. In that I wish some of the back story was complete, I still got my character moving again. I think I’m back in gear.

Approximate Words Needed To Complete Novel: 15,000
Approximate Words I Should Be At*: 4,400
Approximate Words Completed: 2,900
*This number is always a day behind, as I report in the morning.

Finance Update: While I’ve been doing a good job paying off the debt, I haven’t been doing anything with savings. I think my instincts have been right, so far, to get rid of the monstrous interest rates first. If I had some catastrophic event, I could always put the bill back on the credit cards. However, very soon all my interest rates will be below 4%. At this point, I’m going to switch gears. My new plan: Since I get 5% APR in my HSBC account, I’ll put the money that I normally would have paid towards my debt into my HSBC account. I’m not going to do this indefinitely, however, despite the financial gurus who recommend you just pay the minimum and keep it all in savings. I’m splitting the difference—once I have $1000 more than any one debt, I’ll pay off that individual debt. That way, I’ll build in that financial security, but I’ll have the emotional satisfaction of paying off my loans, and I’ll eek ahead with the interest rates.