This is an excerpt from a work in progress- previous excerpts can be found here, here, and here. If you like what you’ve read, please share. If you have any feedback, I’d be happy to hear it!
This week I counted twenty six point three books. Six fantasy novels, four biographies, four detective novels three romance novels, two mathematics textbooks, two children’s books, one erotic fiction, one car manual, one self help book, a western and thirty percent of a German language horror novel.
Ich habe keine Angst.
I have eaten seven lasagnes and conversed with four people. The postman. Enzo. Patrick and the man who bought the one hundred and three thousand, three hundred and twenty-six word fantasy novel.
Patrick says I must try to speak to more people, but these are the only people I saw. I asked him if the amount of words I am saying is the most important, or the number of people I say them to. He told me that I should try to do more of both.
This week, I said four hundred and six words.
Next week I will say more.
I am not scared.
If the man who bought the one hundred and three thousand, three hundred and twenty-six word fantasy novel comes back, I will ask him if he enjoyed the one hundred and three thousand, three hundred and twenty-six word novel. If he did, I can suggest some similar sized books. I have a book on American presidents which is one hundred and three thousand, three hundred and thirty-four words he could enjoy if he is willing to spend an extra three seconds reading it.
I will probably avoid talking to people I have not ever spoken to. I think it would be better for me to improve the word count on conversations with people that I already know.
This week I said four hundred and six words. Three hundred and twenty-four to Patrick. Thirty-five to Enzo. Twenty-eight to the postman. And nineteen to the man who bought the one hundred and two thousand, three hundred and twenty-six word fantasy novel. Next week I will say more.
At the moment I can read faster than I can speak. Patrick says that I need to speak more, but I cannot speak with people who I do not see.
Tomorrow I will try and speak with the postman. I will ask him how many letters he posts and if he counts the addresses.
Patrick says it is good to take an interest in other people.
How do you manage to know these exact numbers? Did you count the number of words (nineteen) you said to the man who bought the one hundred and two thousand, three hundred and twenty-six word fantasy novel? And how did you know how many words were in the book in the first place? This numerical talent you seem to have is fascinating.
Isn’t writing, and posting to the internet, another form of speaking to people who you do not see?
I wish I did have that numerical talent! And the memory that the character has too. But alas it is all fictional.
I did some research before I started writing this character, and read up quite a bit about Kim Peek, the famous autistic savante who could memorise entire books and would read two different pages at a time. It’s amazing the ability to process such information in that way https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Peek
I really liked it. As I was reading it, it reminded me of a book I read in college: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The main character saw the world in a peculiar way as well. Based on your previous comments, now I know why.
It’s a good book. (with 52490 words – I had to google it, I didn’t count them). The comparison is very flattering. Thanks for your comments and I’m glad you liked it.
Words, the most recycled commodity in any language.
Reblogged this on Peter Wyn Mosey and commented:
The second most viewed post on my blog in 2019 was…..if you didn’t read it, go read it now, and the rest of the series!
Writers often seem to focus on math. I totally get your story! In fact I’ve looked several times to see what the acceptable counts are. Honestly, I haven’t been able to focus enough to finish much of anything. But I’ve told people that I’ve written a half million words in four years. (Three year totals are from WordPress statistics. The previous year was from an archive of my previous site that I deleted out of frustration.) In any case, I did use some of the words more than once. And not all of that work was stellar. Some of it was very decent, though. I consider it part of my education. I’m connecting with a professional, next month, to see how I might make a living from writing. My day job is delivery driving. It’s getting old after only five years. I’m ready to do something with a little heart, if you know what I mean.
I hope it works out for finding a way of making a living from it.
I work as a content writer and my life is governed by the word count. 4000 words by lunch then 3000 words in the afternoon.
I’d love to get paid by the quality over quantity but when you’re paid by the word…