DecNoWriMo 2017 - Dark of December

Saoirse · Dec 7, 2017

Yay one thing done.

[x] Edit secret project
[ ] Add words to Covenant
[ ] Add words to When She Sleeps
[ ] Survive Christmas

Tamlyn · Dec 8, 2017

It's always a little odd going from the business of this forum in November to the relatively dead December (and other months).

I had a couple of days where I did some words on the NaNo novel at work during my breaks, but I've had to definitely put it aside. Breaks are now being used for transcribing. As much as I want to finish it, I just don't have the time at the moment. I'd write during the car trip when it's my sister's turn to drive... except, even if my battery could handle that (it couldn't), I get carsick if reading or whatever >> Maybe I'll take some travel sick tablets and try anyway

Packing is at the OH GOD panic state. Doesn't help that I'm unwell again

Going to try and do those stories tomorrow as breaks from the physical stuff. Otherwise I did read a book! Pocket Apocalypse, book 4 in Seanan McGuire's Incryptid series. Fun series, and I've got the next one. I need to read more to finish my library books before I leave the state though

1. Read four books. 1/4
2. Submit two stories.
3. Transcribe all the things.
4. Move.
5. Bonus?

mrsmig · Dec 9, 2017

Oof, Tamlyn - hang in there. Moving while sick is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

I made a bit of progress this first week of December - the best part is that the virtual book tour for FISKUR is over and so is the daily round of retweeting and reposting the stuff I wrote for that day's stop on the tour. I'm grateful to be published but I wish I didn't feel so hitched to the publicity wagon. It makes me irritable, and it's time I'd rather spend actually writing. I only got about 1k words done this week, and I'm already resenting having to write that holiday blog for my publisher.*

I did get a good long walk in this week, and did pretty well on my exercise goals - only missed one day because I was out of the house most of the day doing errands. Down two pounds, due to the extra activity and being extra-careful not to overeat; I'm hoping to keep that up. Made some graphics but one of them is butt-ugly and I may not use it after all. The house is decorated and I am very close to finishing my Christmas shopping. I wrote our yearly holiday letter and have the cards for them to go into and holiday stamps to go on them, but I have to actually sit down and write and address the cards yet. I started reading a big fat Christmas mystery anthology but am not making a lot of progress on it.

[ ] 1. Reach 20k words on Book 5 - currently at 8,504
[ ] 2. Read five books - 0 of 5
[ ] 3. Go for two nature walks - 1 of 2
[x] 4. Finish final week of promo for Book 2's virtual book tour
[ ] 5. Create 10 graphics for Book 3's January pre-release push - 3 of 10
[x] 6. Decorate the house for the holidays
[ ] 7. Finish Christmas shopping/shipping
[ ] 8. Write/mail Christmas cards
[x] 9. Write a holiday blog for my publisher
[ ] 10. Exercise (any kind) 30 minutes each day - 6 days of 31
[ ] 11. Lose five pounds before the end of the month - 2 of 5
[ ] 12. Start work on Sekrit Solstice story

*Update - went ahead and wrote the blog. Inspiration hit and I ran with it.

Jaymz Connelly · Dec 9, 2017

Way to go at knocking one thing off your list, Saoirse.

Tamlyn, :Hug2:

packing to move is never fun, and having to do it while unwell makes it about ten times worse. I'm getting Discount Armaggedon for Christmas... looking forward to reading it because the little I read about the series sounds like it's right up my alley.

MrsMig - you're totally killing it! You've had a very productive week!

Because my brain obviously thinks I don’t have enough to do, I’ve added a goal. *g* I've had a sort of light week. Went for a drive (getting a driving license again after 27 years of not driving *G*), finished off my baking and delivered cookie trays to friends, got some edits done on my story, and made good progress on catching up on prompts for the Countdown to 2018. Progress on the blanket is slow, but at least it's going forward. I can only work on it early in the morning... unless the air-con is on. The pavlova attempt happens on the 22nd (early enough that I can go get one from the store if mine is a bust).

[ ] finish beta read
[ ] finish edits on long-ass story (longest story I've written in years) (only 3 chapters left to go!)
[ ] make a pavlova for the very first time
[ ] finish crocheted blanket for #1 son (progress is definitely on track with this)
[ ] 30 minutes of walking/activity every day (see below)
[ ] participate in countdown to 2018 Flash Fiction Challenge (8 of 31) - hoping to get the final outstanding story done today... just in time for the next prompt. (yes! I did get caught up today!)

30 minutes walking/activity

Dec 4-10 (6 of 7) missed out on one day because I was wrapping up my Christmas baking instead
Dec 11 – 17
Dec 18 – 24
Dec 25 - 31

bdwilson · Dec 11, 2017

I feel like this month is flying past me already

[ ] Finish cleaning office:

[ ] File stack of papers
[ ] Find permanent places for anything I'm keeping
[ ] Give away the "give away" pile

[--] Finish edits on the E shorty story.

On the final proofread now.

[X] ~~Finish reading Do Not Say We Have Nothing for book club~~
[ ] Read All the Missing Girls for January's meeting

Constant Goals:

[49] Write 1K words a day (for 52 weeks).

arikdiver · Dec 11, 2017

Slow progress, but progress nonetheless:

[ ] Read 4 books (two challenges). - 1 down
[ ] Write two blog posts. - 1 down
[ ] Complete edit on two chapters of novel. - 1 down
[ ] Lose 2 kilos. - 1 kilo down

[ ] Get through Christmas (including everything that comes before it).

[FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Save[/FONT]

Atalanta · Dec 15, 2017

I just did my Le Guin exercise. It didn't even take half an hour. I think I could do a complete flash short every morning. For some reason I'm afraid to try. I love writing these.

I'm also making surprising progress on prep for my next novel. I jot down ideas on paper and when I go to transcribe them I'll sometimes sit for several hours and work on backstory. I'm falling in love with my characters and that can only be a good thing.

I'm not sure I'll get to editing a short story. It feels like too much of a gear shift. Or maybe I'm just intimidated because it might mean having to submit one. :scared:

Glad to see other people making progress too!

Saoirse · Dec 15, 2017

Making slow progress.

[x] Edit secret project
[x] Add words to Covenant ~625 of them so far!
[ ] Add words to When She Sleeps
[ ] Survive Christmas

mrsmig · Dec 16, 2017

The week started off pretty well, and then I lost all day yesterday because I had to run up to NYC for an audition (for me this means 4.5 hours on a bus each way for what amounts to a 10-minute audition). Tomorrow evening I have to go up again and stay overnight so I can be at another audition early Monday - which, if they like me, will mean I'll have to go back to NYC yet again on Wednesday for a callback. (And this for a job I'm 90% sure I don't want.) Sometimes showbiz sucks.

I did get my Christmas goals accomplished. Now I just need to take care of some holiday baking (cookies and bread) and plan the menu for a casual dinner with my brother's family next Thursday. Probably going to do something easy like spaghetti, although I will have to do an additional meatless sauce for my nephew's vegan fiancee. As far as the reading goes, I'm still struggling with that same damn Christmas anthology. Part of the problem is many of the stories are just not very good (there was a whole section of truly execrable Sherlock Holmes pastiche). And I've just this minute decided that life is too short: I'm giving myself a half-point for the book, calling it done and moving on to something I'll enjoy. There. Early Christmas gift to myself.

I'd hoped to do better at the daily exercise goal, but I've only met the goal 11 out of 16 days so far. My weight is also yo-yo-ing all over the place, which I could blame on stress but is mostly just overeating.

[ ] 1. Reach 20k words on Book 5 - currently at 9,068
[ ] 2. Read five books - .5 of 5
[ ] 3. Go for two nature walks - 1 of 2
[x] 4. Finish final week of promo for Book 2's virtual book tour
[ ] 5. Create 10 graphics for Book 3's January pre-release push - 4 of 10
[x] 6. Decorate the house for the holidays
[x] 7. Finish Christmas shopping/shipping
[x] 8. Write/mail Christmas cards
[x] 9. Write a holiday blog for my publisher
[ ] 10. Exercise (any kind) 30 minutes each day - 11 days of 31
[ ] 11. Lose five pounds before the end of the month - 2 of 5
[ ] 12. Start work on Sekrit Solstice story

Hope everyone else's month is going well. Looks like a lot of goals being met!

Tamlyn · Dec 16, 2017

Moving is progressing. That is probably the important thing. Still unwell, but finding the energy and doing things in bursts.

I did manage to get one story submitted. Given it was the one I didn't even need to modify the format on, let alone the story, and I still struggled to find the time, not sure how I'll go on the other one

Transcribing is happening, but needs to happen faster. I really need 48 hour days. Or longer. And maybe some days to do nothing but lie around.

Finished Chaos Choreography, book 5. Still have two library books (Ruin of Angels, Max Gladstone, which I've started, and The Brightest Fell, Seanan McGuire (different series)) but I don't think I'm going to get them read. I want to read them! I just don't have much in the way of downtime and then I am exhausted.

1. Read four books. 2/4
2. Submit two stories. 1/2
3. Transcribe all the things. Some of the things.
4. Move. This is definitely happening. I won't fail all my goals!
~~5. Bonus?~~ haha. No.

Saoirse · Dec 16, 2017

[x] Edit secret project
[x] Add words to Covenant ~1,578 words
[ ] Add words to When She Sleeps
[ ] Survive Christmas

Jaymz Connelly · Dec 17, 2017

Way to go on making good progress, everyone!

I've been sort of busy, and not the past week. About the only thing of note that I've accomplished was that I finished the edits on my story, and caught up with the Countdown stories... and then fell behind again. *rolls eyes* I'm hoping to get caught up again later today. I just can't seem to get that 7 out of 7 days of activity. I'm working to clear my writing calendar for when I receive my sisyfus prompt to write.

Things will get a bit hectic towards the end of the week, so I'm hoping I can get a bunch of writing stuff done between now and Wednesday.

[ ] finish beta read
[x] finish edits on long-ass story (longest story I've written in years)
[ ] make a pavlova for the very first time
[x] finish crocheted blanket for #1 son
[ ] 30 minutes of walking/activity every day - ongoing
[ ] participate in countdown to 2018 Flash Fiction Challenge (15 of 31)

30 minutes walking/activity

Dec 4-10 (6 of 7)
Dec 11 – 17 (6 of 7)
Dec 18 – 24 (1 of 7)
Dec 25 - 31

Tamlyn · Dec 19, 2017

Welp. Storms last night flooded some of the house (the best parts to flood at least - toilet, bathroom, kitchen). Movers called to say their truck had broken down and they'd need to do the pickup tomorrow, which is when the carpet cleaners are coming. Rubbish pickup people still aren't here. My gran had a massive stroke and we are trying to figure out which days we can combine to get back in time for the funeral (she is holding on atm but it is very much a matter of just waiting).

Moving and life is fun.

Submitted the other story mostly without change. Figured it was better to have it in than not. Returned last two library books unread. At least the movers pushing back a day means I have more time to do some transcribing? Probably not much internetting from here on in so this is my final December update, I think. Unless something really strange happens.

I'll see everyone in January!

1. Read four books. 2/4
2. Submit two stories. 2/2
3. Transcribe all the things. Let's be optimistic and call this enough.
4. Move. This is definitely happening. Uh... I hope. Go away bad luck.
~~5. Bonus?~~ haha. No.

Maggie Maxwell · Dec 19, 2017

Might as well give a mid-month update:

[X] Beta read latest Beta Swap beta
[ ] Submit at least 1 short story a week (1/4)
[ ] Participate in the Countdown to 2018 Flash Fiction Challenge (18/31)
[ ] Plot SSSFFSS prompt
[ ] Start video game streaming channel
-----[ ] Start posting on the proper forums (Signed up, haven't posted yet)
-----[ ] Double check streaming programs and hardware
-----[ ] Play something for God's sake you've been putting this off since Sept 2016.[/QUOTE]

bdwilson · Dec 20, 2017

I started my holidays and lost track of the world. Check-in time!

[ ] Finish cleaning office:

[--] File stack of papers
[ ] Find permanent places for anything I'm keeping
[ ] Give away the "give away" pile

[X] ~~Finish edits on the E shorty story.~~
[X] ~~Finish reading Do Not Say We Have Nothing for book club~~
[ ] Read All the Missing Girls for January's meeting

Constant Goals:

[50] Write 1K words a day (for 52 weeks).

Saoirse · Dec 21, 2017

[x] Edit secret project
[x] Add words to Covenant ~2,555 words
[ ] Add words to When She Sleeps
[ ] Survive Christmas

mrsmig · Dec 23, 2017

Lost another day this week due to that NYC audition, which turns out to have been a waste of time (and money, since I had to overnight there as well as bus back and forth). I was not at all what they were looking for. That's show biz. I was especially irked because I wasn't able to read on the bus home since their overhead lights were too dim to read my first-generation Kindle, and I hadn't brought a book light with me. And I had a new book to read, too. :rant:

Spent the rest of the week on holiday prep - baked bread and cookies, had my brother's family over for dinner and did a lot of last-minute grocery shopping as a result. No progress writing. I did make several new graphics for Book 3, which puts me very close to my goal of 10. Exercised barely at all, and keep gaining back the weight I lost. Once the holidays are over I'm going to set a schedule and stick to it.

On the upside, my agent has opened negotiations with my publisher for the fourth book in my series, and I landed a week-long workshop at the Kennedy Center in April without lifting a finger.

[ ] 1. Reach 20k words on Book 5 - currently at 9,068
[ ] 2. Read five books - .5 of 5
[ ] 3. Go for two nature walks - 1 of 2
[x] 4. Finish final week of promo for Book 2's virtual book tour
[ ] 5. Create 10 graphics for Book 3's January pre-release push - 9 of 10
[x] 6. Decorate the house for the holidays
[x] 7. Finish Christmas shopping/shipping
[x] 8. Write/mail Christmas cards
[x] 9. Write a holiday blog for my publisher
[ ] 10. Exercise (any kind) 30 minutes each day - 13 days of 31
[ ] 11. Lose five pounds before the end of the month - 2 of 5
[ ] 12. Start work on Sekrit Solstice story

Tamlyn, I hope things have settled down for you. Last week sounded really rough.

Jaymz Connelly · Dec 24, 2017

Between last night and today I think I've eaten way too much.

So that the NYC audition was a waste of time, mrsmig. Having the lights in the bus too dim to read just adds insult to injury!

Hope things are at least starting to look up for you, Tamlyn.

[ ] finish beta read
[x] finish edits on long-ass story (longest story I've written in years)
[x] make a pavlova for the very first time
[x] finish crocheted blanket for #1 son
[ ] 30 minutes of walking/activity every day - ongoing
[ ] participate in countdown to 2018 Flash Fiction Challenge (23 of 31)

30 minutes walking/activity

Dec 4-10 (6 of 7)
Dec 11 – 17 (6 of 7)
Dec 18 – 24 (7 of 7)
Dec 25 - 31 (0 of 7)

I'm still on track to get everything completed by the end of the month.

The pavlova, in case anyone wants to see it.

(it was a pavlova for one, since no one else in the family was interested in trying it)

Atalanta · Dec 24, 2017

Looks yummy!

I'm baking tomorrow for the first time in three years. I have to borrow a kitchen to do it, and it's a recipe I've never tried before, but I'm determined. I'm lucky I have friends who will indulge me -- and forgive me if necessary. Ha!

Jaymz Connelly · Dec 24, 2017

Good luck with your baking, Atalanta! I hope it all turns out fabulous!

Atalanta · Dec 25, 2017

Sadly, the get-together was canceled on account of snow. I'm spending the day with David Attenborough instead. lol.

mrsmig · Dec 25, 2017

Jaymz Connelly, that pavlova is a Thing of Beauty. Congratulations!

Hope everyone who celebrates is having the merriest of Christmases!

Jaymz Connelly · Dec 25, 2017

Atalanta said:
Sadly, the get-together was canceled on account of snow. I'm spending the day with David Attenborough instead. lol.

That's a bummer it was cancelled. I hope you had a great day with David.

bdwilson · Dec 25, 2017

Sorry about the waste of time with the audition, mrsmig. The book negotiations and workshop are good news, though!

Jaymz, that pavlova looks wonderful!

Aw, no baking Atalanta? I hope you had a good time anyway

Right, going to sneak in a check-in here. I actually made some progress!

[ ] Finish cleaning office:

[X] ~~File stack of papers~~
[X] ~~Find permanent places for anything I'm keeping~~
[ ] Give away the "give away" pile

[X] ~~Finish edits on the E shorty story.~~
[X] ~~Finish reading Do Not Say We Have Nothing for book club~~
[--] Read All the Missing Girls for January's meeting

Constant Goals:

[51] Write 1K words a day (for 52 weeks).

Atalanta · Dec 26, 2017

bdwilson said:
Aw, no baking Atalanta? I hope you had a good time anyway

I ended up binge-watching "The Guild" and laughing so hard I lost my voice. Seriously, it's painful. :tongue

I'd seen a few episodes before and didn't think it was all that funny, but it's one of those rare shows that gets better as it goes along. Highly recommended for anyone who plays co-op video games.

Last update for me! I did my 4th sketch just now. I might add photographs for next month's goals.

[X] 1. Finish light editing of Double Trouble - DONE!
[X] 2. Prep for Five Losers and/or Incantine - lots and lots of progress!
[X] 3. Do one exercise from Le Guin's Steering the Craft - DONE!
[X] 4. Edit one short story - DONE!
[X] 5. Draw one pencil sketch a week 4/4 - DONE!
[X] 6. Continue the job search - still unemployed, still getting rejections, still trying

I :heart:

this thread. It's so useful to have a place to track monthly goals. Good luck to everyone wrapping up their final accomplishments of 2017. Happy New Year! I'm already looking forward to the January thread.

DecNoWriMo 2017 - Dark of December

Mi verkas

fish skeleton

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Dedicated Lurker

Making magic with words

Bring me a knitting needle.

Mi verkas

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

fish skeleton

Mi verkas

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

fish skeleton

Making Einstein cry since 1994

Dedicated Lurker

Mi verkas

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Bring me a knitting needle.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Bring me a knitting needle.

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Dedicated Lurker

Bring me a knitting needle.