How is everyone?

MerriTudor said:

Jan, you must copyright this expression immediately. A fortune may depend upon it. The t-shirt sales alone could rake in millions. And I'm glad you're making progress in your novel! I'm a fits and starts writer, too, so all you can do is make hay while the sun shines.

As for me, I now have a nearly finished prologue of more than 3000 words. Mainly because I figured I may as well unleash my inner wordiness and let the chips fall where they may. I don't feel so blocked now and am enjoying myself. If I post it in SYW, I guess I'll need to do it in halves. Like a cliffhanger.

But I've also seriously started working on another WIP set in 1899. So I'm getting a little dizzy shifting centuries.

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Yes...will get on that Wow, can't wait to see your prologue. Make sure you pop us a little note in here if you post in SYW. I read once "you can't edit a blank page" let the chips fall it's a first draft get it out, my hubby's gran always said, better out than in! I do enjoy a cliffhanger...I really liked that movie too, but I maybe that's because I find Stalone sexy. It's his voice. Like Ed Sheeran his voice is just sexy! A guy I went to highschool with looks like Alfred E Newman, I shit you not, anyways I dated his friend for awhile so we spent a tonne of time together, his voice and his intelligence were a huge turn on, even though he looked like Alfred. Strange how the oddest people can be attractive. Ok sorry I went on a bit of side bar there. And off topic.

yoghurtelf said:

I now have over 10,000 words of JUST NOTES for one of my planned NaNo novels. Now that's what I call NOT pantsing. Usually I am either a hybrid, or a total pantser, but this time I think I'm going in the opposite direction.

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You go girl! I think I'm a hybrid, I need to keep track of my people but I don't write outlines, I can't get sucked down that rabbitt hole. I already spend far too much time in research mode. For my YA Paranormal I have pages of how witches envoke and do their circle stuff and what all the candles and colors mean. I would qualify to be the high priestess in my coven. sigh...but that novel is on a rest till I get my mojo back.

Tomorrow I'm off work and I will write, I will write hard and toss all the rules....this means back story and flashbacks with endless prose coming on I see MAJOR editing in my future, that is what my crystal ball tells me...lol.

MerriTudor said:

Got that! I briefly dated a guy from the Highlands. A town on Loch Ness, if I remember correctly. He was definitely nothing to write home about looks-wise, but he was a musical genius and funny as heck. 'Course when he came out with the gorgeous accent, the man sizzled like butter in a hot frying pan! Sigh. Too bad we lived on different continents!

I wish I could convey that kind of indefinable attraction in my heroes and heroines. It's so much more powerful than just being physically stunning, and doesn't degrade with age.



THE RULES! Go, Jan, go!

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HA!!!!! Love it!!!!Where's the poop emoji when you need it!

Happy Friday Girls and Guys if there are any lurking out there I'm meeting a friend for lunch today and writing.

Hope everyone is well.

I've been writing up a storm. I find it super frustrating I have to go to work, because I just want to be home. Strike while the iron is hot.....thankful I'm off tomorrow

Marian Perera said:

I have only two more scenes to write for the manuscript in my sig. Yay. *flops exhausted*

I really wanted to finish it before the end of October. Fingers crossed.

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Wow...that's great! I have all my digits crxd for you!

yoghurtelf said:

I'm swamped with my last three (well, two after today!) assignments. Technically I have to do only one more assignment, but I have to finish a big project before I can do the assignment... At least I got my dreaded presentation over and done with today and did well with that!

Man I hate presenting! I'd much rather be at home writing up a storm like Jan. Then again, I do work full time too so I still wouldn't be at home even without the homework!

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What are you taking in school? Glad the presentation went well, I remember doing those when I was in school, always nerve racking for sure!

Marissa D said:

GO GO GO MARIAN!

I'm hoping to finish this short story by the end of the month, too. I'm fairly sure I'm on track.

Have a good writing day tomorrow, Jan!

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How many words for a short story?

Wow I got a tonne of writing in these last two days. I have decided I need a bit of an outline to keep me on track so I have my first five chapters sort of mapped out with lot's of room to change things, I need the wiggle room, instead of a one lane hwy I give myself at least 4 lanes

I think in the past I was so outside the box of my environment that it was bogging me down. I see where it makes sense to "write what you know". Since I'm not a seasoned author I have brought my story closer to home. I've left New England and planted my mc in Minnesota. I've ditched one of the minor events from football to hockey(extremely minor and makes no difference except my own knowledge and comfort zone.) and I've placed my mc working in a nursing home, however she's not a nurse but an aide. Whew.....it seems to be working and I've come up with a story I feel good about.

I'm breaking my habit of habitually editing. Now I only reread the chapter previous or the chapter I'm in. Otherwise I can get stuck editing chapter one forever.

We are under a snow advisory so the kids fall festival was cancelled for tomorrow night. But thankfully I'm off work tomorrow and won't be slogging around in it.

MerriTudor said:

Comin' down the home stretch there, Marian!



Congratulations, yoghurtelf! I'm an introvert's introvert and cringe at being in a room with more than one other person, but force me out in front of an audience and my Extroverted Alter Ego comes out dancing with a lamp shade on her head! Dunno why. Afterwards, I collapse in terrified exhaustion. Everyone compliments me, and I'm left to wonder who was that woman?!



Steady as she goes, Marissa!



You are on an almighty roll, Jan. And I think the changes you've made, incorporating your own environment, will really help propel you along and provide all the little details that go into building a believable world. Good job!

Sorry to hear about the snow advisory. Low 60s here in Maine, which is destroying my lovely month of October. I'm going down to Salem, Mass on Saturday to immerse myself in Haunted Happenings, go to the Psychic Faire, and just absorb the atmosphere of my favorite town during my favorite holiday season. We were going to stay over night, but I had a rabbit who needs meds, so will just blast down and back in one day even though I'm paranoid about driving at night up here - all those moose wandering around!

Then, I have Monday and Tuesday off (yes, I take Halloween off - I'm totally serious that this is my favorite holiday), and maybe I'll write some then. I hope. Eeesh.

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Have fun in Salem! I'm jealous! I just watched Hocus Pocus, one of my favorite seasonal movies. Hope your rabbit is ok, I love rabbits.

It's a winter wonderland here, we have an Alberta Clipper passing through heading to Minnesota, I can use that in my WIP since my story is set in Minnesota.
I'm letting the kids play hookey and I'm settling in to start writing. I'm off work for the next little while! yay me!

Ha, I'm laughing about the buns and trying medicate them....I worked pediatrics for a good 5yrs....I know all about jaws clamping down and refusing to take meds! lol. We used applesauce on the chronic ward and my years at the nursing home.

Merri-sigh.....some Halloweens it's beautiful and warm, others its raining...well....right now we have a ruined autumn. The snow was wet and heavy and the trees are bent over and some are breaking from the weight. It looks beautiful....but my poor neighbors their gorgeous gigantic liloc trees are a mess The deer won't be happy that's for sure(we have lot's of urban deer) wow Michigan...we were practically neighbors!

Marissa- Happy Birthday to your girls! How old are they? I have twin boys they turn 12 in January. At first I read your post as seventy thousand...I was scratching my head thinking wow that's one long short story, but I see it's seven thousand! That makes more sense.

I spent the day writing(it takes me forever to write, I'm anal about looking things up.) So far I AM NOT back tracking, and its working, I'm finally able to progress along and not get sucked into the never ending edit loop. I did go back today and change a mc name, so I made myself look for the name only and not read the chapters.

My boys have gone for sleep over at their grandparents house(they love going there...she spoils them ) tomorrow there is no school(pd day) hubby is going for a snow shoe and I get to spend the day writing again....I've made it past the 10,000 word mark so I'm doing a happy dance. I know its not much but for me its huge. I'm on chapter 5 and feeling like maybe I can do this. I usually get stumped and fizzle and get sick of my characters so the fact I'm still liking them is huge.

Ok sorry for rambling, I just wanted to share.

Marian Perera said:

Thanks for the good wishes, you guys. Now I only have one scene left, so I think I can beat the end-of-October deadline I gave myself.
I'm also bad about looking things up, rather than putting a blank space or brackets in the text so I can just keep writing. It's like having a hangnail or a scab. I can't not pick at it.

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I know I should make notes of what I need to look up and then just carry on. I always wonder if it really matters, but I think what if someone read it and thought "well that's wrong." I once read in a novel from one of my fave authors a sentence that said "she checked her insulin level" and it BUGGED me so bad and almost ruined the book. Diabetics don't check insulin levels they check blood sugar levels so they can administer proper insulin dose. A simple google search would have revealed this.

Marissa D said:

I've never done NANO, but I don't see why you can't get those 50k words done in whatever way you want. Go for it!

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I agree^^^

I think I've fallen into the trap of worrying about not having any backstory that my mc is kind of flat and one dimensional. So I'm adding more info for her. I've read so many books tht have tonnes of back story and it works, it lets the reader see that the mc has a past. So I'm definitely tossing that rule, and will edit and purge later if I've put in too much that the writing gets bogged down.

My son said this morning..."if it's like this I might not go trick or treating" so you know its crappy weather when a 11yr old boy doesn't want to go out. It was so slippery today, I slid twice and a woman fishtailed coming at me. So I had to cancel one of my rural clients. I hate it when its like this!