For any authors or aspirational authors who might be reading this: one of my favorite parts of writing the first draft of Snow Struck was my “Word Count Forest.” I picked this idea up from the author Erin A Craig, and coloring these little trees was such a fun (and motivating!) way to visualize how much of the story I’d written and how much of the adventure was still in front of me. From research and outlines to first drafts and revisions, crafting an entire novel isn’t something that happens overnight… and growing a little forest on a blank page — tree by tree and sentence by sentence — is a perfect metaphor for the entire process.
For less metaphorical forests, check out my Hikes and Bikes page!
The early days:
