October Challenge - Write Every Day! (NaNoWriMo prep)

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Keithy

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Layla Nahar - My tan is mild, but the wife managed to get her legs sunburned, so I've been playing nurse for the last three days.

SciSarahTops - That's my approach - a bit every day. One day it'll be done.

As for my progress today, it was a little bit of tinkering in Chapter 14 that I'm now tempted to change back. Aside from that, today's problem is that I have two characters doing identical jobs (Guard captain) with oddly similar story arcs. How that slipped is beyond me. I have a couple of ideas to resolve the problem, but one of them involves a character of diminished stature - I don't know if I can pull that off.
 

Esmae Tyler

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Hey all. I'm so glad to see you guys are making progress. Me.... ehhhh, not so much. I haven't written anything at all over the last few days. The great sucking void of inertia is winning at the moment, keeping the page completely blank. I'm also struggling with the temptation to abandon ship on the WIP and sail on a different project. My revolving file of WIPs looks a bit like the Bermuda Triangle...

Hopefully I will kick this soon and get back on the wagon.

Better luck to you all! Write hard!
 

Layla Nahar

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dutton, LadyRed, keep at it!
Eilyfe, peartree, welcome!
Katy - welcome back :) & congrats on the 484
Disorderly - it's the only way I can get any significant amount of work done. On a good day I can *maybe* get a page out of one WIP
SciSarah - I like to think of it as 'carving out time' in your routine - even if we start off tiny, if we make a place in our routine, we make a place for it to grow IME
DL - I think 'not being hard on myself' is a good practice, a good skill to aquire
Nice work, Magnus!
Way to go Keithy!
Ah - Esmae - see my above note to DL ;) & hope you got your pen ready for when it kicks in!

Day 10: ~ 2 pages in 2 WIPs - I started the day with the expectation that I would spend this last sunny warm day in the country, and nicely wrote my 2 pages - then realized I had to *work* - I made it in time, but it took my whole day… (10-7 bleh). *maybe* I'll write tonight? (but it's 9:00 already...)
 

edutton

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Hey all. I'm so glad to see you guys are making progress. Me.... ehhhh, not so much. I haven't written anything at all over the last few days. The great sucking void of inertia is winning at the moment, keeping the page completely blank. I'm also struggling with the temptation to abandon ship on the WIP and sail on a different project. My revolving file of WIPs looks a bit like the Bermuda Triangle...

Hopefully I will kick this soon and get back on the wagon.
Hang in there!
 

peartree

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727 words on Book 3 today. Feeling pretty good about that.
 

Disorderly Order

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LadyRedRover- I would definitely count that as a good day's work
SciSarahTops- That was my goal before prepping for nano. I used to write every single day but I realized thinking about my characters and plot are important too and helps me write more!

Day 10:

Today went a little easier. I came up with more conflict and stuff the plot desperately needed. That what's nice about doing all these summaries you can catch this stuff before you're slogged down in the writing.
 

peartree

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Just wrote 1600 words since my last post. I have a feeling some of it might need to be culled upon sober reflection, but it's easier to cut down than bulk up...at least with writing.
 

LadyRedRover

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Day 10, I was able to get my full hour in but not much over that. I was able to get a lot of world-building done and I'm hoping that Day 11 will be productive considering that I'm going to have the house to myself for a bit :)
 

D.L. Shepherd

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peartree: That's pretty awesome. It sounds like no matter what, you always have something to work on and to keep you writing. And, judging by your updates, you are getting a lot of writing in. Nice!

Magnus: Yeah, I remember that you weren't feeling it last month. October sure seems to be your month though...nice work!

Keithy: Good catch on the guards. Hey, even in real life, having a similar background often leads people to having the same types of jobs.

Esmae: Sorry you're having a hard month too. Hope you get back on track soon!

Layla: Don't you just hate it when that work thing interferes with what would otherwise be an awesome writing day? Glad you still got two pages in!

edutton: Nice that you were ahead on your story prompt and got to spend some time thinking about one of your characters.

Disorderly: Glad you had an easier day! It will be great to have all those summaries to keep you going when you are slogged down and writing.

LadyRedRover: An hour of work is a nice chunk of work. Good luck today, hope having that extra time for yourself helps.

Day 10: I managed a little over 550 words (finally). Very forced still, but I crossed 25k in my WIP, so that made me happy.
 

peartree

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DL Sheperd - that's why I do it! Keeps my brain happier than if I tried to force a story that wasn't quite ready yet.
 

danib225

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Thanks Magnus for the tips. I'm going to commit to this October challenge. I'm hoping it will help me out of this mental block I'm having.


-Dani B
 

Magnus

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Day 11
448 words, though still not of the most inspired kind. I'll endeavour to get back to some more inspired material tomorrow. Monthly total: 4980.

DL -
Nice one, welcome back! Forced words are better than no words. You can't edit an empty page! Mine have been less than inspired the last few days, but it's still better to write.
peartree - Nice, seems you're on fire. Doesn't matter that some - or a lot - might go in a revision. If you write 1000 words and keep 100, it's still worth it, in my opinion.
danib - Welcome to the challenge, I hope it helps you write!
 

Layla Nahar

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peartree - wow, way to go!
Disorderly, Lady R, congrats on the time with your projects
DL - congrats for getting back in the saddle & getting in 550 words! - yeah, I really notice the difference between how much I can accomplish when I'm relaxed, rather than so stressed.
danib255 - welcome!
Magnus, congrats on the 488 words!

Day 11: about 2.5 pages in 3 WIPs; I responded to an email from a headhunter (I suspect it won't go far because I'm underqualified, but - I'm interested, so I'll give it a shot) wrote and sent a job letter, and found an listing for a job I'd like to apply to; did some writing for my own marketing material (included in my report for Day 11)
 

peartree

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270 words today on the book I'll call "summer read". Stress is getting to me, I"m struggling a bit.
 

heykatydid

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Disorderly Order - good luck with the expansion! That can be tricky.
LadyRedRover - best of luck to you as well, and your research at least sounds to be going well.
SciSarahTops - epiphanies are good, too, even if no word count was done that day.
peartree - That's a crazy amount of WIPS! I'd never be able to keep them straight, but it sounds like it works well for you.
Magnus - way to hit that monthly total hard and fast! Keep it up!

As for me, nothing yesterday but I did get 692 words written today, so progress is definitely being made even if it's at a snail's pace. I went back to check on some old chapters to make sure my details are correct (for less editing issues later), and found a gem of a line that I really like: "Tatsu worried that his ribs were no longer strong enough to keep his heart encaged." That's motivating! Seems strange, but finding wording of my own that I really love helps me to move forward more because I'm happy with what I'm producing, haha. Good luck to everyone today!
 

Disorderly Order

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peartree- WOW! that's an incredible word count
LadyRedRover- An hour is all I can ever get in. Congrats on the world building.
DL Shepherd- Congratulations on the word count and passing 25K!
heykatydid- I feel the same way! If I find some old writing of mine that I really like it makes me think I'm not so bad at this after all and it makes me want to write.

Day 11:

Another hour of plotting done. I have to keep reminding myself that I will be grateful I did all this work come November!
 

Keithy

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OK I was too busy to do any practical work yesterday, but I did decide to change the job of one of the Guard Captains to something else, so I searched for suitable jobs that would entail the same kind of royal intimacy and trust, and came up with "Groom of the Stool", which translates as the Imperial butt-wiper. Now this is going to be fun!

Today I've been going through the Imperial plot area in more detail, looking at the plot threads. It needs quite a rejig and two more chapters added, and I almost certainly need to add a third to illustrate a sort of friendship-cum-romance between the above character above and someone else. It's a lot of work, but I'm making progress and getting on with it.

And now I'm off to lunch :)

Special mention for Peartree - wow!
Ditto for LadyRedRover - I'd love to have the house to myself.

Keep on swimming!
 

Magnus

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Day 12
332 words. Twelve days straight of hitting my goal, so far! It seems a perfect goal, at the moment. Not so big that I can't sit down and force it out late in the evening, but big enough that it can get the creativity rolling and have me go way past the mark on a good day. Monthly total: 5312 words.

peartree -
Hang in there! If you're getting stressed out, try to lower the bar a bit. You can always raise it again later when you're feeling more confident.
heykaty - Snail's pace will also get you there in the end, and the habit you're building will only grow stronger!
Keithy - Groom of the Stool! :ROFL:
 

peartree

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Day 12
332 words. Twelve days straight of hitting my goal, so far! It seems a perfect goal, at the moment. Not so big that I can't sit down and force it out late in the evening, but big enough that it can get the creativity rolling and have me go way past the mark on a good day. Monthly total: 5312 words.

peartree -
Hang in there! If you're getting stressed out, try to lower the bar a bit. You can always raise it again later when you're feeling more confident.
heykaty - Snail's pace will also get you there in the end, and the habit you're building will only grow stronger!
Keithy - Groom of the Stool! :ROFL:

Oh my stress isn't about writing novels...it's my personal life, which I don't want to cross over to my writing "persona". No one needs to worry about me - I'm living with family and I'm paying down my debts and there's no illness or violence in my life - but I have stuff going on that's really shitty, and it's definitely affecting my writing.

I haven't even been trying to write a lot in the past few weeks, just to keep up with my daily 100/100 goals. I've had a couple of amazing days, and plenty of ordinary ones and a few bad ones, but writing is really making me happy. I just want the stress to sod off so I can enjoy my writing and do even more.
 

Keithy

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I've been busy drawing up a plot chart, showing the chapters and what plot thread gets advanced, and also who is present in that chapter.

Also working on character motivations, wants, needs and making decisions about conflicts.

Peartree - sending a special hug for you. :Hug2:
 

D.L. Shepherd

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Hope everyone is doing well with your goals!!

For me, I got a bit of bad news both yesterday and even worse news today about one of my cats who's been sick, (liver cancer), so I'm feeling bummed, and I'm going to take a couple days to clear my head.
 

Layla Nahar

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Katy - 692 words sounds great!
Disorderly, Keithy, congrats on getting that time in
Magnus, congrats on getting those words down :)
peartree, I hear you about the stress. I have a lot of it and previously I had either been able to handle the stressful things OR do my writing. It's why I report what I've done for my job hunt along with my writing - my challenge is to do both every day
Oh DL, I'm so sorry to hear this. (((hugs))) for you and for your cat friend.


Day 12: about 1.5 pages in two WIPs; The big happiness here was that I wrote a bit in the morning, on the porch (my favorite) - then I was able to pick up & continue in the evening (when it's dark) & in my room (not the comfy chair)
109 words in a non-fiction WIP (marketing material for my job hunt)

Went to JVS (& helped my friend write his resume) Did one online app, rsvp-ed a headhunter but the job was gone by the time I reached him…
 

peartree

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Keithy - thank you!
DL Sheperd - I am so sorry. I lost my beloved kitty of 15 years two summers ago, and her brother (equally beloved) last autumn, and although most of the pain has gone I still miss them dreadfully. I send snuggles and headskritches to your sweet kitty!
Layla - I'm balancing a job hunt with being a substitute teacher to earn enough to pay down my debts. It's a good gig, but I'm very stressed about other things and I need breaks from being around people so it's a challenge for me too!

I've spent all day dealing with a personal demon, so no wordcount yet. Let's see if I can do my 100/100 before I conk out.
 

heykatydid

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Magnus - congrats! Keep on going! You're on track for an incredible month.
Layla - your writing habits sound wonderful and relaxing! I'm jealous, haha.
DL - I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved pet. Sending my best thoughts!
Peartree - I completely understand having shitty problems, and I hope you can work through them to get some good words down. Either way, sending hugs.
Keithy - Keep it up! You make really good progress through things, I like to see the updates.

Today, I realized that since my coworker gifted me a new phone (to use until we leave Japan next year), I can finally get apps from the app store again (my old iPhone 4 wouldn't update to iOS 8 and thusly I could no longer download anything). This means I was finally able to get Google Docs on my phone, and that now I can write during my train commute! At least when I'm able to sit, as it takes two hands. But this is a game-changer for both now and next month's NaNoWriMo. Partly thanks to this, and partly thanks to it being a low-class day for me, I got 1,513 words written today! I'm feeling very accomplished, things are finally moving along in the story and I feel like I'm back on more stable ground.
 
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