Progress and motivation

DeePower · Feb 20, 2006

Diana's post - under another 1st person POV - about starting to write her novel (you go girl) inspired me to post here.

I'm just starting to write a novel as well and need motivation to keep on track. I spend way too much time on another of the AW boards (I bet you can guess which one, Diana). If no one has objections I'd like to post here in this thread my progress -- or lack thereof.

If anyone want to join me in posting their progress that would be terrific.

I've got the outline (plot) done, character backgrounds, and research. There isn't a lot of research but the science is critical. My main character is a female as well. My goal for this week is 5000 words.

For those of you who don't know me, I have written, with a co-author, three nonfiction books published by commercial publishers and a novel.

Dee

Pencilone · Feb 20, 2006

Good idea, Dee!

I also waste way too much time on Internet.
I'll post my progress here, too. I plan to write at least a scene per day.
Best,
Pencilone

PenDragon · Feb 20, 2006

DeePower said:
If anyone want to join me in posting their progress that would be terrific.

Good idea Dee.

I'm (mostly) unpublished and working on a Sword & Sorcery novella. Decided a novella would be good practice before wading into a 100,000 word novel. An unpublished 14,000 word short story is my previous longest piece.

I aim for 500 words a day but usually manage 1,000. That was working well for me, but I got sick a few weeks ago and that killed my word count. I started the novella around Jan 5th and have 27,019 words of the rough draft down. Just two scenes left on my plot plan.

Lee

Watermonkey · Feb 20, 2006

This may help me to stay on track and manage my time better.

I'll try too. I am unpublished but when I completley finish the current project plan to submit it. Right now I'm writing my second YA fantasy novel. The first one took me close to a year to finish at 120,000 words. It didn't turn out so well but I've learned alot from the experience of it. I'm working on the first draft now and aiming at about a 60-80k word count and am just at 10,000. I'm aiming to do around 5,000 a week as well, if not more.

Josie · Feb 20, 2006

Hi Dee and all:

I'm a new member, long time lurker. Working on another book which I've just started.

I'm a pantser at the beginning of novels, but after about 10 to 50 pages I need more info on my characters.

I'd love to join you and say that the goal of 5,000 words per week is excellent. Maybe I'll even excel that!!!! Wowee.

I'm not published in novels yet...but have been published in small stuff, short stories and anthologies.

Cheers, Josie

DeePower · Feb 20, 2006

This is great, let's go.

I actually started today. Got my keyboard humming.

Dee

KatyaFleur · Feb 20, 2006

Delurking...

This thread is such a good idea, I'm coming out of lurk mode to participate!

I'm "recovering" from my former life as a lawyer and am doing some freelance writing to cover my bills...which doesn't always leave much time to work on my novel. Maybe if I have to post about my progress (or lack of), it'll inspire me to dig a little deeper.

Katya, happy to be here

Jeneral · Feb 20, 2006

KatyaFleur said:
I'm "recovering" from my former life as a lawyer and am doing some freelance writing to cover my bills...

Hi Katya... I'm a recovering legal secretary! Together, we can be a recovering law firm!

Welcome, this is a fun place.

writermom · Feb 20, 2006

There is a thread under Humor Writing that is a progress report...

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24823

You might want to check it out and leave your progress report every Monday.

triceretops · Feb 20, 2006

Yes, Dee, come also to the Humor Writing forum and join our Progress Report. It's wonderful to see that you're serious, and by gawd, we all need to buckle down and spend less time at the train wreck sites.

I'm currently finishing my third novel in a year. It's an urban fantasy and it sits at 92,330. I started it two months ago. My agent has subbed my SF book, Planet Janitor to Del Rey, Berkely, Bantam Dell, and Golden Gryphon for full reads. Queries are still out at Spectra, Tor, and Night Shade.

You go girl!

Tri

underthecity · Feb 21, 2006

After three regional history books, I've written a children's book. I've rewritten and revised it about a hundred times and it is currently "resting," and I haven't looked at it since last Wednesday. Meanwhile, a member here is beta reading it, and I am reading Orson Scott Card's Characters and Viewpoint. When I finish reading it, my book will get revised yet again since I'm learning a lot from it.

This gets brought up a lot, but I recommend Self Editing for Fiction Writers to anyone who has not yet read it. It's a huge, huge help.

allen

PenDragon · Feb 21, 2006

underthecity said:
I am reading Orson Scott Card's Characters and Viewpoint. When I finish reading it, my book will get revised yet again since I'm learning a lot from it.

This gets brought up a lot, but I recommend Self Editing for Fiction Writers to anyone who has not yet read it. It's a huge, huge help.

allen

Hi Allen, Characters and Viewpoint was the first 'On Writing Book' I read, I found it very useful, coincidentally I'm now reading Self Editing for Fiction Writers it's brill, very practical. I'd recomend "How to Write a Damn Good Novel" by James N Frey. Another really good book full of "Ahh, I see" moments (well for me at least).

Well done on getting your first drat(s) done on the children's book.

PastMidnight · Feb 21, 2006

I can't set daily or weekly word/page goals for myself. My goal is to just do something related to my WIP at least once a day. Some days I'm able to sit down and do a lot of writing, other days I'm editing, working on characters, outlining, reading a research book, taking notes, going to the library. If it's a day where I have to be out and about all day, I carry my digital recorder and record ideas for characters and scenes. Maybe once the kids are in school, I can set word/page goals, as I'll have consistant chunks of time that I can devote to writing. For now this works for me!

PastMidnight · Feb 21, 2006

underthecity said:
I am reading Orson Scott Card's Characters and Viewpoint. When I finish reading it, my book will get revised yet again since I'm learning a lot from it.

This gets brought up a lot, but I recommend Self Editing for Fiction Writers to anyone who has not yet read it. It's a huge, huge help.

Is there a thread somewhere about our favorite writing books? I'm jotting down these titles as people recommend them.

Brown Bear · Feb 21, 2006

Hello, I've just discovered this site and have sent out my very first query letter on my first completed novel today. I must say I like this thread as it has taken me four years to get this point. I had surgery last October and had an almost completed book (editing and all) but took me a long time to recover. I must say that the past two weeks I spent reading a good romance and then pushed myself into reading my current work-in-progress. Something about reading a good book got my writing bug jumping again.

Yes, I realized I am veering off topic, please forgive me...

Josie · Feb 21, 2006

I like this thread

All the different views of writers is so informative and interesting!!

A couple of days ago I said I'd try to write 5000 words this week. Maybe I've over promised ...but I'll leave it at that.

Today and part of yesterday I spent going over the first 10 pages of my new wip to send the first 1,000 words to a contest at a site for sub-genres of romance. I need to do things like that to give myself an immediate challenge.
I rewrote those opening pages three times, three different ideas!! Then I finally decided on one of the drafts and emailed it to the contest. I guess that isn't those 5000 words exactly, but I think I'll include it.

Now it's back to writing by the seat of my pants with new personality traits about my main characters.

Ciao for now.
Josie

Diana Hignutt · Feb 22, 2006

This is a great idea, Dee!

My excuses thus far: I'm just now completing my transition to working at home from years of spending 60 hours a week out of the house due to work. Now, except for emergencies, I only have to go into to the office on Monday and Thursday mornings and every other Saturday. Still the transition has been a time killer. My secondary excuse is that I've been researching really deeply into a major aspect of my story. I've got a few more resources to acquire and a couple of trips to locales to make, but there really is no good reason not to plunge into writing at this point. I'm hopeful forcing myself to post my progess here will embarrass me into working harder on my writing--and that would be great motivation.

DeePower · Feb 22, 2006

Half the week is gone and half the words are written

Hi Diana and everybody else.

Well a little more than half of my goal of 5000 has been written for this week.

I went back over what I'd written and took out every one of those sneaky little 'ly' words. It's amazing how many crawl in, I mean I certainly didn't put them there. Maybe I should have the adverb exterminator in to clean out the back of the hard drive.

Dee

maestrowork · Feb 22, 2006

I highly recommend everyone to visit the Weekend Progress Report in Humor.

DeePower · Feb 22, 2006

humor is a great thread

Very friendly and fun.

And I'll probably get over and post my progress overall. What I need is motivation on the novel. I know I can get published in nonfiction. I know I can get articles published. What I don't know is if I can get a novel published by a mainstream house. My first experience with fiction was with a Publisher in America that was not a postive experience.

So for me, this thread is kind of like a word watchers meeting, instead of coming in and saying how much weight I've lost, I'd like to come in and say how many words I've gained. And commiserate, and brag a little.

Dee

KatyaFleur · Feb 22, 2006

Jeneral said:
Hi Katya... I'm a recovering legal secretary! Together, we can be a recovering law firm!

LOL! Look out, John Grisham, here we come... :e2writer:

Dee: congrats on your word count! I have--er--almost 1k done. (sigh.) My sad excuse is that I got a couple of unexpected freelance assignments, so at least I'm writing something.

Katya

Josie · Feb 22, 2006

KatyaFleur said:
LOL! Look out, John Grisham, here we come...

Dee: congrats on your word count! I have--er--almost 1k done. (sigh.) My sad excuse is that I got a couple of unexpected freelance assignments, so at least I'm writing something.

Katya[/QUOTE

Hey Katya: I recognize that little person with the quill pen....yes...but I definitely have more hair.

Also am i imagining it but have all the messages recently had "ly" in them?

Hee hee

I agree at least you're writing.

Josie

DeePower · Feb 24, 2006

Word count is 5,342 I made it!

I actually sat down and wrote something every day this week for my novel. Some days more words than others but that's okay.

Next week I'm sticking with another 5000 word goal. Let's see, a novel is about 90,000 to 100,000 words, 5000 per week, that's 20 weeks. I should be finished July 14. I can do that. I am going to do that.

Dee

PenDragon · Feb 24, 2006

Good work Dee.

I've only managed 2140 words so far this week. Novella's now at 29k, nearly finished the penultimate scene, then I just have the big ending and a short wrap up. Time to start thinking about the next project.

crosseyed reader · Feb 25, 2006

I admit it. I'm jealous of Dee and Diana. Being able to stay home and write is such a treat, and I applaud your motivation and ability to have a daily word goal. You're my new heroes.

Unless I'm sick (like yesterday) I can only write on the weekends. If I'm feeling really saucy I'll write in the evening after I get home from work. But more often than not, my work chases me home. Is there a forum for that? At this rate, the second of my series will be completed in the next millenium.

Progress and motivation

DeePower

Pencilone

Muse Lover

PenDragon

Dragon with a Pen

Watermonkey

Josie

DeePower

KatyaFleur

Jeneral

Cat wrangler

writermom

In the never-ending edit cycle

triceretops

underthecity

Finestkind

PenDragon

Dragon with a Pen

PastMidnight

Oponionated

PastMidnight

Oponionated

Brown Bear

Josie

Diana Hignutt

Very Tired

DeePower

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

DeePower

KatyaFleur

Josie

DeePower

PenDragon

Dragon with a Pen

crosseyed reader