The First Fifty

A little less than three years ago I finally decided to begin writing my first novel. Being a fountain pen freak I decided to write it with a fountain pen. Little did I know then the sort of trouble I am facing now writing with a fountain pen. Lost in the throes of composition I did not realize I would find it tedious and time consuming to type all those pages, four hundred pages no less, which I labored over for nearly three years. Writing the novel I was feeling rather pleased with myself as the pages piled up gradually and the story achieved near epic proportions. Now I am faced with an epic problem typing all those pages into my laptop.

After vacillating for nearly two months I began the laborious task of typing the pages. I write faster than I can type so it is proving to be a cumbersome task. In the beginning I could type only one page daily and it took me an hour to type just one page. Gradually it became two pages and for a couple of weeks I could type not more than two pages a day. I realized that if I continued to type at that pace it would take me more than six months to just finish typing the entire manuscript. So last week I did some calculations and resolved to do five pages a day, come what may.

For a couple of days I could do only four pages a day. I have a full time job so I get time only in the mornings before leaving for office and in the night when I return from work. Now I am doing around six pages a day since I am trying to squeeze in some typing at work whenever I find spare time. Even at that pace it would take me two months, if I type non-stop. I am attempting to type eight pages a day. Yesterday I managed it and typed eight pages feeling mighty pleased about it. Not only that, I also crossed fifty pages of the manuscript.

There are around three hundred and fifty more pages to be typed. I want to finish typing by end of July at any cost even if it means I have to do ten pages on some days. It is a challenge I have set for myself and I am going to meet it. Another challenge that is running is that of writing two hundred and fifty posts on this blog by end of July when the blog will turn one. Writing is something I love so I don't think it is much of a challenge.