THE BEST WRITING DAY OF MY LIFE + 10K WEEKEND✍️ | writing vlog

A writing sprint is turning into a genuine breakthrough for ShaelinWrites’ novel Saltbirds: after months of slow progress and pacing worries, the draft is now moving with “effortless” momentum, and the remaining word count is small enough that finishing the first draft by the end of April looks realistic. The turnaround is tied to two things—finding a groove on a previously difficult cult-research chapter, and restructuring Part Four so key story threads land in the right order.

The day’s work centers on a scene where the protagonist Rowan digs into a made-up cult tied to Rowan’s parents. The cult is described as a new-age, pop-psychology, meditation-style movement—insidious in its appeal—and the writing suddenly flows once the author returns to earlier material, including lecture-like transcripts and quotes that were originally challenging to invent. That “too easy” feeling becomes part of the appeal: the cult’s bizarre internal logic starts to feel like it’s writing itself, especially as the chapter leans into artifacts like physical literature and website copy. For inspiration, the author points to the unhinged vibe of Time Cube, aiming for a similar sense of escalating nonsense and unsettling specificity.

Beyond the cult scene, the author credits yesterday’s strong output—about 1,300 words in one sitting, and later a 3,000-word day—with restoring confidence and creative energy. The writing plan also shifts from a rigid month-long daily schedule to a more adaptive approach. The original March Challenge was meant to be “write every day until Part Four is finished,” but the author later questions whether daily writing should continue into the book’s final, most exciting stretch, especially when stress and emotional strain interfere.

That emotional reality complicates the productivity story. After several days of being “stressed out about something,” writing drops to a few hundred words or less, and the author chooses not to include clips showing a mental breakdown. The conflict is clear: the end of Saltbirds is described as sacred—something the author has been looking forward to for a long time—and forcing writing on days when focus is impossible risks ruining the experience. The author decides to take it one day at a time rather than treat the final chapters like a deadline.

Meanwhile, craft decisions are driving the momentum. While reviewing Part Four, the author notices pacing gaps and realizes the planned chapter order doesn’t properly develop several threads. The fix: insert an additional chapter before the previously planned next one. There’s also a timeline adjustment. Earlier books were set pre-internet, but Saltbirds is more Gen Z in tone while featuring characters Rowan (18) and Sue(s) (25). To better match cultural context—especially around Rowan’s openly non-binary and queer identity—the author considers moving flashbacks to align with when Rowan would have been in high school, roughly around 2014.

By the end of the update, the draft is at roughly 60,000 words, with about 20,000 words remaining overall and around 8K left in Part Five. With only two chapters left in Part Five and a clear ending already “outlined in the brain,” the author estimates a 12K target for Part Four and hopes the first draft lands around 80K or less, even while acknowledging the possibility of some bloat. The result is a rare mix: a fast, creative surge paired with the reminder that finishing a first draft isn’t just a schedule—it’s also a mental and emotional balancing act.