88,000 words

I'm past the 88,000 word point on my novel, which feels good; it's now officially A NOVEL. (For those who don't know, I abandoned "StrangeOffice," my previous novel, due to a general lack of enthusiasm which had seeped into the text itself, and have stayed enthusiastic with this project despite the fact that, word-wise, it's easily the longest thing I've ever written. My epic sci-fi postapocalyptic comedy 2034: Basket Full of Books, which I'm pretty sure was the previous record-holder (not counting StrangeOffice), was a comparatively brief 20,000 words.

Still, StrangeOffice was a very important steppingstone to the novel--it helped me see I needed to hone my descriptive skills, and think a little more carefully about structure.
I'm not revealing the title to the new work yet. No, not out of any superstition; I'm forcing myself to be as tight-lipped as possible about it so I will be driven to finish it.

This is a somewhat new tactic for me, particularly since my plays would receive public readings very early on in the process. I'd have to tell the actors what it was about to get them interested in performing at the readings. It feels weird to be so secretive about my work; invariably, when I get into a conversation and mention the novel, I immediately jump to the Miles Davis play or the movie I adapted into a stage play (or Bacon-Weaving).

How about you, readers? More or less secretive about your creative works? Does it change project by project, or do you have a general rule?

Side note: I think I'm going to give in and officially make this blog a writing blog, so if you have any questions about writing--playwriting or otherwise, send 'em in!