I wrote five pages today and most of them are devoted to a minor character. Why would I do that? Two reasons. First, by writing the story of this minor character I provide an indirect look at the family atmosphere in which the protagonist was raised. This is more subtle than approaching his upbringing head-on. Second, it provides me, as a writer, the opportunity to fit a neat little short story within the narrative of the novel. Looking at this short story, I could see it being a major story line in another novel or even a novella in its own right.
It was pointed out to me today, by she who points out many things, a/k/a my wife, that I haven't mentioned yet how long I work on average to come up with my daily page quota. I usually work between four to six hours per day, so the average would be five. You might think that doesn't sound like much. But ask yourself: When was the last time you spent five hours telling a story straight out of your head, making up every word as you go along? Then ask yourself when you last spent 35 hours a week doing that. Probably, you haven't. It's not easy, but with practice it is possible, and after you get good at it, it's a lot of fun.
Day 22 of writing my new novel is done.
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