December Challenge - Write Every Day

Well done guys, and Katie, I hope you feel better soon!

I just finished Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. What an amazing book!

Day 14 - 66 words (gahhh)

Day 15 - not sure. It was longhand, maybe 100-200. I'll know once I make time to type stuff up.

So I had the whole day free, it's nearly 6:00 PM, and I have gotten everything else around my house done *except* writing. Ugh. Going to make myself at least write a sentence now, but I have to start dinner in about an hour and a half. Hope I have a better update tomorrow.

I'm completely stuck at the moment!

63 is a respectable # Sage
Nice work AJ (I'm an abrevioator…)
DL - congrats of the 400! (I got 50 the first time I took it. I was like - Ok, I have to actually pay attention & do the excercises…)
OH - & Magnus popped in like the 1st week or so to say he had lots of holiday stuff to do -
Not bad for a saturday's work at all, reeness
Raindrop - I love that book.
ptero - you're winning! (vs the blank page - 66 words is victory!)
O hai DL - eh - sometimes you just gotta do the other stuff first…
& Nice work, Sage
AArrffhhhh!!! Keithy - no way! (I hate being stuck) -- keep swimming! keep swimming!!!

Day 16 - 11 handwritten lines! Started part 2 of the online training,
& took care of some items on the responsibility/self-care list

3/3

Good to see everyone

Today:

856 words written.
500 words edited.

One 260 word story today.

Raindrop: Did you feel disappointed that it was over? Sometimes when I finish reading a really good book, I feel lost.

Pteronfan: Some work is better than none. Keep it up.

Sage: Wow! You're really making awesome progress all around.

Keithy: Hope you work past it and get unstuck soon. I sure understand that feeling. Good luck!

Lalya: 3/3 again. Woot! (Thanks for the update re: Magnus too.)

Magnus: If you pop in, have a nice holiday!!

DanielSTJ and ajaye: Nice work! Keep on tapping those keys!

Okay, so I managed 450 words somehow, even with all that procrastination. However, I am *so* close to finishing, had I not of procrastinated, I would have made a huge dent in it. Now it's the week before Christmas and we all know how holidays suck up your time...

D.L. Shepherd said:

Raindrop: Did you feel disappointed that it was over? Sometimes when I finish reading a really good book, I feel lost.

Click to expand...

I often do, but not this time. And now I'm trying to think of why. Hmm. I took a gazillion of notes, which tends to help with the "oh no, it's over" feeling -- but usually not enough to supress it.

Bits under spoiler because, well, spoilers:

Ha! Philip K. Dick has a fabulous understanding of human psyche (I wish I was half as good!), but I didn't feel as invested in the characters as in some other novels. I had feelings for them. I grew stronger along with Tagomi, feared for Juliana, was astonished when Childan finally grew a pair, etc. The characters' arcs were great, especially as they had a common theme -- basically, grow a backbone and make a decision. I was intrigued by them and wanted to know how they would evolve, but at no point did I feel that I'd be really upset if one of them died. It was like the characters were held at arm-length, in a way -- and it worked.

Possibly because of the multiple levels in the book. There's a book inside the book, and towards the end, Juliana hints that the "meta-book" is the true story: the Nazis and the Japanese didn't win the war. Basically reminding the reader that she's just a character in a book; that her world is fake, and that she's fully aware of it. This is a really intriguing aspect of this novel. Absolutely loved it.

I think I don't feel lost because although the human aspect of it was top-notch, the book was more about the concept (not the war, actually; I think it was more about willpower, leaving your decisions to chance, or how the same information/oracle could be interpreted in many different ways -- different readings of the world; possibly another reader would come with a wildly different interpretation) than about the characters.

Gah! Sorry, I'm rambling. I loved loved loved this novel.

Day 16 - Gave myself the day off.
Day 17 - 1,354 words. One less scene to write before the end of the year. Of course I have 15 more to write and 14 days left so I'm probably going to have to double up one day in there somewhere, but hey. If I hadn't given myself the day off yesterday it would have been 1:1 .... oh well.

Keep at it, guys! The holidays do suck for writing for a lot of us because of the whale-sized distractions, but don't lose hope or focus. January'll be here before we know it.

I love the encouragement and support in this thread. You guys are awesome.

OK, not quite stuck now, but it's coming in fragments.

thereeness - That's excellent progress. Keep it up!
D.L. - Almost finished with draft one! Fantastic! I hope you can chip away at it and finish ASAP.
ajaye - The holidays are a rough time to find moments to yourself sometimes. Hope you can get some more words down this week!
Sage - Good luck with the countdown!
Layla - Congrats on your words!That's a battle you won, even if it seems small.
Esmae - I hope you had some time to think of your story and get some new ideas mulled over for it. Keep it going!
Keithy - Hopefully your stuck issues will work themselves out soon.
Raindrop - Hopefully you could pull some cool things out of the novel.
Daniel - excellent work!!
Ptero - A few words are better than no words!

Chapter two is edited and I finally felt confident enough to go back and re-write the prologue, which desperately needed the do-over. The prologue word count was 497 (new words), so that's almost exactly my goal number. Moving on to chapter three and hopefully will pick up WIP #2 for some more words as well. It's getting a bit too cold to be without gloves on the train now, and that's rough for my writing. Plus we were out of town all weekend and I didn't get any writing done. Not much longer in December, plus the holidays are right around the corner. (Happy Hanukkah to anyone celebrating now!)

Daniel - you work hard!
AJ - nice work
DL - congrats on the 450 - you'll be done soon. I'll virtually get you some virtual bubble gum
Yeah, Raindrop - I can't say enough about that mind-blowing book
Esmae - I'm looking forward to the day that I can take a day off an then write 1000+ the next. Congrats on those words!
Keithy - I feel you on those fragments - but at least it's coming!
Oh wow - Katy - the train is that cold? But you're still writing & editing - congrats!


Day 17: I wrote(!) 4 handwritten lines. Did the errands, chores what have you. I'm feeling good that I'm managing to still keep a place for writing, with everything that must get done these days. Finished video 1 of group 2, and started video 2 (arrays!).
3/3 - I'm tired - will be bed time soon...

Raindrop...Wow, that novel *does* sound intriguing. It's not something I would normally pick up, but your notes make it sound like something I should!

Esmae...Nice that you were able to take a day off, but then jump right back in again the next day. I feel I'm going to have to double or triple up this week as well. We'll get there though, right?

Keithy...A bunch of fragments eventually lead up to something when put together. Good luck!

heykatydid...Sounds like you are moving along nicely, despite all the challenges and distractions. Sorry you won't be able to work on the train much. That's a bit of a bummer.

Layla...Very cool. Glad to see you are still keeping up all that juggling!

Sage...Wow! Just wow. Keep it up!

I managed another 450 words yesterday. Almost crossed 50K. Getting there, but time is running out!

Day 15 - 285

Day 16 - 214

Day 17 - 534

Making progress on that troublesome scene. After that, it'll mostly be typing up longhand stuff from the notebook.

Wrote, between yesterday and today, 1700 words for a paper.

Whoo. I'll write more tonight, but that's a good start.

Yesterday one 142 word story for the challenge and 54 words for the next one. Still trying to catch up.

Quick check in - wrote an extra 1000 words yesterday after I got home from work! Hoping those will help with today, where I likely won't write anything as it's the last day of classes before winter break and our grades are due. Keep it up, all!!

Pterofan- Good job on this difficult scene!
Daniel- Ah yes, that's a nice number
Ajaye- Good on you with trying to catch up with the countdown. I'm quite happy staying at the back!
Katy- Good luck with the grades!

As for me, I've booked my flights for my next trip to France. YAY! I'm definitely not cut out to be a travel agent. I hate booking flights.

I thought I wouldn't write anything today, but waddyaknow? 466 words for my next countdown story, but I'm only halfway through this one. "Flash" for me is around 800 words, apparently.

Nice work, Sage
DL - congrats on the 450 words - I hope you get to the 50K soon!
Way to keep at it, Ptero
Likewise, Daniel
Wow - a 142 word story, AJ. That's concision & congrats on the total for the day
Katy, congrats on the 1000 words!
Hey Raindrop - congrats on your 466

Day 18: 12 handwritten lines; I'm upping my 'better income' requirements: the javascript training + at least one other item (I got in 3 other small ones); & one responsibilities/self-care item (today's wasn't so hard)

3/3

Day 18 - 500 words, most of one scene.

AJ, this really is a great thread. Good people. Lots of encouragement. Good numbers. 142+54 may not seem like a lot of words, but they do add up!
Keithy, being stuck like that is the worst. At least some of it's coming. I imagine it being like a plugged up pipe. For a while you only get a little bit of water and some muck, and then you get a whole bunch of muck all at once, and then you get back to pure water... hopefully it passes soon.
Heykaty, awesome numbers as always! Congrats with being done with classes for now.
Layla, you're making all kinds of progress. I remain in absolute awe of people who write by hand.
Sage, bringing in the numbers as always. AND finding the time to read!
D.L., tick tock! I'm trying to look at the stack of cards with scenes I still have to write as opportunities, not tickets to insanity. I thought I only needed 12? Turns out it was actually 16... I really need to get in and finish today's scene before calling it a night.
Ptero, you also draft longhand? Yikes! Hurray for the progress though!
Daniel, that's a great start! We'll totally let you count your paper-writing.
Raindrop, France! Sounds amazing. And good on you for keeping up (more or less) with the flash fiction.

It's all downhill now, guys. The month - and the year - are aaaaalmost over.

Pterofan, ajaye, and Raindrop...You are all making progress! Keep it up.

heykatydid...Nice writing session! Woot!!

DanielSTJ...You too! Awesome.

Layla...Keep it up. I hope this training helps you land the perfect job for the new year!

Esmae...You can do it! Yes, it's 16 scenes, but I bet as you get closer to the end, they come pouring out.

I wrote less than 500 words, but I made my 50K mark, so there's that. Getting so close. So very close.