Malleable May - 500 words/day or editing - all genres welcome

onesecondglance · May 8, 2017

Well, I'm caught up on the lost words, and slowly adding more. Hope things are going well for everyone else.

E. Steve · May 8, 2017

lizmonster said:
And then I'll have a story to tell when people come by AW and ask "How do I get permissions to use a quote?"

I'm new to fiction writing. In the academic world, we use quotes of other scientists and just cite them. When I started a novel last year (still unfinished), I described playing my favorite CD in the car, give the name of the band, and ended with the line, "If I'd shot you when I wanted to, I'd be out of jail by now." I happen to know the artist, and told him about it the next time I saw him. He laughed and thought it was great. I never considered there might be a problem. I'll be mindful in the future. Thanks.

lizmonster · May 8, 2017

E. Steve said:
I'm new to fiction writing. In the academic world, we use quotes of other scientists and just cite them. When I started a novel last year (still unfinished), I described playing my favorite CD in the car, give the name of the band, and ended with the line, "If I'd shot you when I wanted to, I'd be out of jail by now." I happen to know the artist, and told him about it the next time I saw him. He laughed and thought it was great. I never considered there might be a problem. I'll be mindful in the future. Thanks.

Do verify with your publisher (if you publish this work), but AFAIK if your friend owns the copyright to the lyric, he can give you permission to use it (and you'd cite it in the front matter of your book). You'd want permission from him in writing. But I know music copyrights can get fragmented in different ways - song vs. performance of song, frex - and I don't know how it works with lyrics, so you'd want to verify that you're getting the rights from the proper source.

IANAL, but I believe academic papers are a whole different thing than commercial work, and I think that's part of what trips people up. I see people argue all the time (even here on AW!) that because they cited the author, or added a disclaimer saying it wasn't their work, that they're good. No, they're not - they're laying themselves open to a lawsuit. Some folks think they can skate by because they're small, or self-published, or writing in a niche, but "the little guy" gets sued out of business all the time.

muse · May 8, 2017

Well done on all the words, guys. :Clap:

I had a good weekend. Edited 5 scenes and fleshed out 3 more. I also made my very first website. :Jaw:

For a total computer dunce, I'm actually quite proud of it. It's still only a first draft so if anyone wants to have a look and give me some pointers, I'd be eternally grateful. :Hug2:

You can find it here.

Saoirse · May 8, 2017

muse - I really like it!!!

Not much here. I got another freelance job, so that's what I'll be working on this week. Maybe in between that I can nail down what I'm doing next. I still don't know.

Shara · May 9, 2017

924 words added to the horror WIP this morning.

Edits on the amateur sleuth novel finished over weekend and sent back to my editor. But these are only 'pre-edits' and I am still at the stage of thinking the MS is a steaming pile of turds, even though it's been accepted for publication, so I am expecting a lot more work to do on the edits.

Every writer I've ever known goes through stages of thinking everything they've written is rubbish, at some stage. Why do we do this to ourselves?

muse · May 9, 2017

Saoirse said:
muse - I really like it!!!

Not much here. I got another freelance job, so that's what I'll be working on this week. Maybe in between that I can nail down what I'm doing next. I still don't know.

Thanks for checking out my website, Saoirse. :Hug2:

I still have a lot of work to do to it, but it's getting there - I think.

Shara, congrats on the word count and finishing your pre-edits.

No words to report so far. Will put BIC later and get at least one scene finished.

Brechin Frost · May 9, 2017

Shara said:
Every writer I've ever known goes through stages of thinking everything they've written is rubbish, at some stage. Why do we do this to ourselves?

I think that it's a pretty natural response to the circumstances. Writing, a book especially, is a large undertaking, one which requires honesty and vulnerabilities. Anything that asks these things of a person is bound to evoke some feelings of apprehension towards the results.

While I do sometimes feels that what I've written is trash, I also experience moments in which I'm elated by what I've written, moments that make me think, "oh right, I'm pretty freakin good at this." Somewhere along that spectrum sits the everyday grind of writing a book. Add enough anxiety to keep oneself grounded and enough confidence to keep one going, and the everyday grind, the hard work to see it through, and you've got a winning combo.

Shara · May 10, 2017

Managed another 620 words this morning. Trying to write through the insecurity.

Saoirse · May 10, 2017

Shara - I go through that too. All. The. Time.

Up to page 18 of 50 on the editing job.

lizmonster · May 10, 2017

WIP #1 is almost ready to go. Well, it may be completely ready to go. I have edited the first 15K as much as I can, I think (I'm just sniping single words now), and the synopsis is pretty close as well.

So the question is: do I procrastinate further by submitting the synopsis to SYW, which was quite helpful with my first chapter? Or do I bite the bullet and throw the thing to the wolves?

onesecondglance · May 10, 2017

liz - I think it depends what you're looking for. If you want feedback on whether the synopsis is readable, probably just a couple of your normal readers would suffice. If you put it in SYW you'll get a certain amount of feedback on the plot itself along with the other stuff.

I am very slowly writing a fast-paced action scene. I literally have no idea if it works or not. I still need to up my pace to get anywhere near target.

Brechin Frost · May 10, 2017

567 new words today.

Tonight, I'm hoping to achieve more.

muse · May 10, 2017

Everyone seems to be doing well with their targets.

I, alas, am not. I've been working on my website, trying to fix a couple of glitches, and haven't had a chance to get to my MS.

lizmonster · May 11, 2017

3,238 on WIP #1. Because one way or another, I still have to write the thing.

Saoirse · May 11, 2017

Nice progress, everyone!

On page 35 of 50. I should finish by Saturday at the latest.

Shara · May 12, 2017

702 words this morning, though I am still short of my weekly 3000 words goal. Must try and find time over the weekend to write.

muse · May 12, 2017

A grand total of 28 words today added. 4 scenes edited and many words deleted. At this point, I'm not sure if I'm winning or losing. :greenie

lizmonster · May 12, 2017

3,322. If I can keep up the pace (which I probably can't), I'll have a first draft in another month.

Brechin Frost · May 13, 2017

800 this morning. (There's something satisfying about writing an even number like that)

muse · May 13, 2017

lizmonster said:
3,322. If I can keep up the pace (which I probably can't), I'll have a first draft in another month.

Wow, Liz you're steaming ahead. :Clap:

Brechin Frost said:
800 this morning. (There's something satisfying about writing an even number like that)

Oooh, I do like even numbers. :greenie

.

434 words added today. I have 4 problem scenes that I need to work on over the weekend. Wish me luck.

Saoirse · May 13, 2017

:cheers all progress:

Finished the editing last night. Today I need to check a few things, but it's pretty much done.

muse · May 15, 2017

Congrats on finishing the editing, Saorise.

I worked on my 4 problem scenes all weekend. I now have them fleshed out, which is huge for me. :hooray:

(I put them off for so long that I had a mental block on them.)

Shara · May 16, 2017

729 words this morning. Progress has been slow for the last couple of weeks. But I guess every word counts.

Saoirse · May 16, 2017

Shara - Awesome. And yes, every word counts.

muse - Nice work! So glad you were able to crush that block!

I have another possible editing job.

I'd like to start writing again today if I can. I have short story due to my editor on June 1st. :hides:

Malleable May - 500 words/day or editing - all genres welcome

pretending to be awake

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

standing on head, typing one-handed...

Mi verkas

Fix it in the Rewrite

standing on head, typing one-handed...

Fix it in the Rewrite

Mi verkas

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

pretending to be awake

standing on head, typing one-handed...

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Mi verkas

Fix it in the Rewrite

standing on head, typing one-handed...

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

standing on head, typing one-handed...

Mi verkas

standing on head, typing one-handed...

Fix it in the Rewrite

Mi verkas