3/19: Morning and weekend is off to a good start. Got my 1000! Also got wind of two anthology submission calls I just might answer.
March Challenge - Write Every Day!
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Started in on another scene. It's the first one in a while that I've felt really good about as-is, though it still needs some work. It's more like touching up the paint and laying the carpet than installing electric or hanging sheetrock though. I might have to figure out a way to get one of the characters in it some more page time; it might help me bulk up my word count.
Keithy, they say thinking is one of the hardest things there is to do, which is why so few people actually do it... have fun choosing one!
Thereeness, oh dear! That's awful. I'm glad you figured out what was causing the problem, sad that it's your new bed because if you can't have a comfy bed, what can you have? Feel better! The words will be waiting when you can tackle them again.
Layla, woohoo! Massive forward momentum there. I hope your Monday was awesome, and this new contract thingy unstressful.
Niknic, you say 1,537 like it's a minor achievement. That's a LOT of words!
Peartree, 'tis the season. It can pass any time now, for real, cuz being sick sucks. Good for you for getting words of any amount churned out though. It takes a lot of discipline to fight through the urge to pillow.
April, the last draft of my MS came in a little over 66k, spread over 55 scenes. I'm shooting for somewhere between 80 and 90k, which leaves me about 20,000 words short of the Genre Standard. Laughably some of what I've been cutting between versions is description - I'm really trying to dial into the sweet spot there because there's a weird line between too much (evidently nobody but me wants to read three pages of details about acanthus leaf carvings on the molding...) and not enough (one of my CPs dinged my draft for using 'Queen Anne' and 'Cape Cod' to describe houses... because, silly me, I thought that might save the reader from the aforementioned three pages of details...) The narrative right now is super tight, so there's probably space for another subplot... buuuuut first I need to address the fact that I still have a bunch of scenes that are under 1000 words in length. I know there's no solid guideline for how long an individual scene should be but there's absolutely places I need to bulk up. Good for you for getting that itch to finish something! That's been the major driving force behind this, because it's been an unfinished mess for ages and I want to get it off the table permanently so I can work on something new again. I hope your coffee shop plan is successful!
Taylor, nice job! 1000 words a day is an admirable habit to be in. As is pursuing those anthology submissions. I saw one the other day and am on the fence about giving it a go since I always see them really late and there's now less than two weeks before it closes.
Keithy, they say thinking is one of the hardest things there is to do, which is why so few people actually do it... have fun choosing one!
Thereeness, oh dear! That's awful. I'm glad you figured out what was causing the problem, sad that it's your new bed because if you can't have a comfy bed, what can you have? Feel better! The words will be waiting when you can tackle them again.
Layla, woohoo! Massive forward momentum there. I hope your Monday was awesome, and this new contract thingy unstressful.
Niknic, you say 1,537 like it's a minor achievement. That's a LOT of words!
Peartree, 'tis the season. It can pass any time now, for real, cuz being sick sucks. Good for you for getting words of any amount churned out though. It takes a lot of discipline to fight through the urge to pillow.
April, the last draft of my MS came in a little over 66k, spread over 55 scenes. I'm shooting for somewhere between 80 and 90k, which leaves me about 20,000 words short of the Genre Standard. Laughably some of what I've been cutting between versions is description - I'm really trying to dial into the sweet spot there because there's a weird line between too much (evidently nobody but me wants to read three pages of details about acanthus leaf carvings on the molding...) and not enough (one of my CPs dinged my draft for using 'Queen Anne' and 'Cape Cod' to describe houses... because, silly me, I thought that might save the reader from the aforementioned three pages of details...) The narrative right now is super tight, so there's probably space for another subplot... buuuuut first I need to address the fact that I still have a bunch of scenes that are under 1000 words in length. I know there's no solid guideline for how long an individual scene should be but there's absolutely places I need to bulk up. Good for you for getting that itch to finish something! That's been the major driving force behind this, because it's been an unfinished mess for ages and I want to get it off the table permanently so I can work on something new again. I hope your coffee shop plan is successful!
Taylor, nice job! 1000 words a day is an admirable habit to be in. As is pursuing those anthology submissions. I saw one the other day and am on the fence about giving it a go since I always see them really late and there's now less than two weeks before it closes.
Taylor, awesome job hitting that 1000 today.
I also broke 1000 (1,053 to be exact) today. No better feeling than when the scene your writing just naturally flows out.
I also broke 1000 (1,053 to be exact) today. No better feeling than when the scene your writing just naturally flows out.
I'm back home as of last night. This past weekend and today have been awful for me. Homework has become overwhelming, my laptop's keyboard stopped working in the middle of writing my paper, and I've been handed three more rejections in the past 48 hours. Currently, I'm just trying to grit my teeth and pull through this week it as best as I can. I managed to sit down and do 500 words today at the very least, but I've got a test tonight in a class I absolutely hate. I hope you guys are faring better than me. Honestly, all I want to do is tap the reset button at the moment.
OK, I have six ideas under serious consideration, three front runners and three others. I've been elaborating some of them - asking questions, finding answers (for some of them)
My wife says I should not write anything until we are back from our visit to London. She's right.
Special mentions for:
Niknic - wow!! that's beyond amazing!
DanMorrison - Well done to you, that is a serious total.
Xenylic - I hope tomorrow is better.
Everyone else (you know what's coming):
Keep on swimming!
My wife says I should not write anything until we are back from our visit to London. She's right.
Special mentions for:
Niknic - wow!! that's beyond amazing!
DanMorrison - Well done to you, that is a serious total.
Xenylic - I hope tomorrow is better.
Everyone else (you know what's coming):
Keep on swimming!
I'm on quick check-in with special mention mode today to
April - normally my process (when I get past stuck) is to write by pencil, then review it, consider which things need trimming, which beefing up, I get that in my mind and then I start writing a new version on to the computer, taking care with the language.
With this story, I've meandered a lot and hopped off some roads that I couldn't see clearly - in particular the road relating to my main character - I can get the neice, the loyal retainer, the amoral guy & the heir - but I've come at my MC from three different roads, so to speak and now I have to figure out the order of these excursions… I've actually only done one page so far. Just. Way. Too. Busy
(OH - I use loose 8.5x11 unlined sheets and a mechanical pencil. Every time I write 5 pages, I staple them together. I'm at ~20-25 with this wip.)
Day 19 - I'm so glad I managed a 1/2 page today - did it on my lunch break. I got up, rode ~1 hour to get to the job (got a better route home that's ~40 minutes - that hour included stopping & asking for directions & going way out of my way). I learned that the person I'm working for is on a deadline and is willing to pay overtime so I'M TAKING THAT!! I worked 9 hours today. I'll probably be getting up at 5:30 to get there at 8:00, and I'll work till 7:00 - I'll do this for two weeks. OVERTIME!! FTW! I wrote a housemate letter, spoke to my current housemate about schedules and got milk at the bodega so I could make myself a nice hot chocolate (self-care!) I'm tapped out. 2/3 (no self-training/marketing etc items today...)
ETA: wuuwii - I figured out my 3/3
- started drafting a letter to ask a person in my desired career for an informational interview
April - normally my process (when I get past stuck) is to write by pencil, then review it, consider which things need trimming, which beefing up, I get that in my mind and then I start writing a new version on to the computer, taking care with the language.
With this story, I've meandered a lot and hopped off some roads that I couldn't see clearly - in particular the road relating to my main character - I can get the neice, the loyal retainer, the amoral guy & the heir - but I've come at my MC from three different roads, so to speak and now I have to figure out the order of these excursions… I've actually only done one page so far. Just. Way. Too. Busy
(OH - I use loose 8.5x11 unlined sheets and a mechanical pencil. Every time I write 5 pages, I staple them together. I'm at ~20-25 with this wip.)
Day 19 - I'm so glad I managed a 1/2 page today - did it on my lunch break. I got up, rode ~1 hour to get to the job (got a better route home that's ~40 minutes - that hour included stopping & asking for directions & going way out of my way). I learned that the person I'm working for is on a deadline and is willing to pay overtime so I'M TAKING THAT!! I worked 9 hours today. I'll probably be getting up at 5:30 to get there at 8:00, and I'll work till 7:00 - I'll do this for two weeks. OVERTIME!! FTW! I wrote a housemate letter, spoke to my current housemate about schedules and got milk at the bodega so I could make myself a nice hot chocolate (self-care!) I'm tapped out. 2/3 (no self-training/marketing etc items today...)
ETA: wuuwii - I figured out my 3/3
- started drafting a letter to ask a person in my desired career for an informational interview
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peartree: So sorry to hear you're sick again. That's awful. Hope you get over it soon, and way to go on still getting some words in.
april: Glad to hear that you're feeling excited about your project. I take it you outline? I wish I had this ability, but I gave up on it years ago. The plot points and characters are in my head, and I will jot down a note here or there, but anything beyond that becomes disastrous for me.
Taylor and Dan: 1K way to go
Esmae: I'm glad you're feeling better about this scene and it's going a bit easier for you. There's nothing wrong with using 'Queen Anne' or 'Cape cod' to describe a house unless there's some important detail about the house that the reader needs to know. Not all of the feedback that you get from your beta readers is usable. Beta readers are different people with different preferences and what one likes another hates. It's the comments that make you stop and say "hmm, I didn't think about that" or the ones that more than one reader points out that you really want to take a closer look at and see where changes might apply.
xenylic: Sometimes life takes precedence over writing, especially school. Give yourself a free pass to get life's little necessities out of the way. I don't know how you're managing to squeeze words in with all that going on. Unless it was for class, I had to avoid anything that might distract me until the semester was over. Don't worry over the rejection letters. Collect them like badges of honor and when you get that acceptance letter it will be that much sweeter.
keithy: That's a serious plot bunny situation you've got going there. Do you keep a journal? I sometimes jot down a line or a quick note and find inspiration in it later when I'm scanning through looking for ideas. It also helps me sometimes to focus my attention to just one or two projects. I'm not counting revision in that because revision, for me, falls in between everything else.
Layla: Thanks. It's a good count, but considering the number of days it's stretched over makes it feel smaller than it should be. You should give yourself 3/3. Self care counts, and the fact that you get in a half handwritten page with that busy schedule is amazing! Hope you find that dream job someday, and it gives you more self care and writing time.
1013 reasons to be happy despite everything that went on today. I'm pleased.
april: Glad to hear that you're feeling excited about your project. I take it you outline? I wish I had this ability, but I gave up on it years ago. The plot points and characters are in my head, and I will jot down a note here or there, but anything beyond that becomes disastrous for me.
Taylor and Dan: 1K way to go
Esmae: I'm glad you're feeling better about this scene and it's going a bit easier for you. There's nothing wrong with using 'Queen Anne' or 'Cape cod' to describe a house unless there's some important detail about the house that the reader needs to know. Not all of the feedback that you get from your beta readers is usable. Beta readers are different people with different preferences and what one likes another hates. It's the comments that make you stop and say "hmm, I didn't think about that" or the ones that more than one reader points out that you really want to take a closer look at and see where changes might apply.
xenylic: Sometimes life takes precedence over writing, especially school. Give yourself a free pass to get life's little necessities out of the way. I don't know how you're managing to squeeze words in with all that going on. Unless it was for class, I had to avoid anything that might distract me until the semester was over. Don't worry over the rejection letters. Collect them like badges of honor and when you get that acceptance letter it will be that much sweeter.
keithy: That's a serious plot bunny situation you've got going there. Do you keep a journal? I sometimes jot down a line or a quick note and find inspiration in it later when I'm scanning through looking for ideas. It also helps me sometimes to focus my attention to just one or two projects. I'm not counting revision in that because revision, for me, falls in between everything else.
Layla: Thanks. It's a good count, but considering the number of days it's stretched over makes it feel smaller than it should be. You should give yourself 3/3. Self care counts, and the fact that you get in a half handwritten page with that busy schedule is amazing! Hope you find that dream job someday, and it gives you more self care and writing time.
1013 reasons to be happy despite everything that went on today. I'm pleased.
Hello everyone! Looks like all have been really productive, either in word counts or life, this place is hopping.
I took a few days completely away from the MIP, allowing myself to roll around in the feeling of a completed draft and omgitissh!tthesh!ttiestsh!t ever to be produced by keyboard, blah blah blah.
Yesterday I caught up on the little notes I keep for each chapter (whose pov, details that need to be remembered for consistency, etc), broke out colored highlighters so I could feel like I have a plan and will be able to turn this mess into something someone might want to read.
Today I will sit with the notes I kept on general points for the whole mess, spots I want to revisit, add to, clarify, tone down, etc.
I took a few days completely away from the MIP, allowing myself to roll around in the feeling of a completed draft and omgitissh!tthesh!ttiestsh!t ever to be produced by keyboard, blah blah blah.
Yesterday I caught up on the little notes I keep for each chapter (whose pov, details that need to be remembered for consistency, etc), broke out colored highlighters so I could feel like I have a plan and will be able to turn this mess into something someone might want to read.
Today I will sit with the notes I kept on general points for the whole mess, spots I want to revisit, add to, clarify, tone down, etc.
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Taylor: A good start indeed!
Esmae: From what you’ve described, fleshing out those smaller scenes seems like a sensible idea. Hopefully that bumps everything up to where you want it to be. Saying that, a tight narrative is what we’re all aiming for, so you’re onto something good!
Dan: Oh yeah, flowing scenes are marvellous! Congrats on making the 1k club
xenylic: Why does everything always happen at once? Take good care of yourself.
Keithy: I envy your wealth of ideas! (And wives are always right.)
Layla: Thanks for sharing! I love hearing from people who write by hand. It’s so much more romantic than typing, and many things have been said about its creative benefits. Your brain definitely works in different ways when you’re on the page.
With everything you have on, you deserve multiple hot chocolates
nik: I kinda outline… I need to know where the main character is going (on the inside) and how her relationships will develop throughout. I also like to have an idea of the climax, and, writing fantasy, I need a decent picture of the world. A lot of the details and plot events happen along the way though. If I outline too much, I get bored.
Good job passing the 1k mark again!
ap123: It’s always wise to take a break after finishing something. You need time to let the dust settle. Coloured highlighters are a must for any sensible revision plan. You’ve got this
Yesterday I ended up buying Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, so I’m currently making my way through that while taking a ton of notes. I don’t want to do a massive outline before I begin, but I do need to delve deeper into my world and characters. I need to strike a balance between preparation and procrastination, so I think I’ll give myself to the end of March, and then begin drafting in April. I can’t wait to report some actual word counts!
Esmae: From what you’ve described, fleshing out those smaller scenes seems like a sensible idea. Hopefully that bumps everything up to where you want it to be. Saying that, a tight narrative is what we’re all aiming for, so you’re onto something good!
Dan: Oh yeah, flowing scenes are marvellous! Congrats on making the 1k club
xenylic: Why does everything always happen at once? Take good care of yourself.
Keithy: I envy your wealth of ideas! (And wives are always right.)
Layla: Thanks for sharing! I love hearing from people who write by hand. It’s so much more romantic than typing, and many things have been said about its creative benefits. Your brain definitely works in different ways when you’re on the page.
With everything you have on, you deserve multiple hot chocolates
nik: I kinda outline… I need to know where the main character is going (on the inside) and how her relationships will develop throughout. I also like to have an idea of the climax, and, writing fantasy, I need a decent picture of the world. A lot of the details and plot events happen along the way though. If I outline too much, I get bored.
Good job passing the 1k mark again!
ap123: It’s always wise to take a break after finishing something. You need time to let the dust settle. Coloured highlighters are a must for any sensible revision plan. You’ve got this
Yesterday I ended up buying Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, so I’m currently making my way through that while taking a ton of notes. I don’t want to do a massive outline before I begin, but I do need to delve deeper into my world and characters. I need to strike a balance between preparation and procrastination, so I think I’ll give myself to the end of March, and then begin drafting in April. I can’t wait to report some actual word counts!
A very solid 1300 words today. Pleased with that.
April, I'll be curious what you think of Maass' book. I read it a long time ago, perhaps I should dig it up and review. I always find myself flip flopping on whether to outline and how much. On one hand, I find the words fly when you know where you're going, on the other, when you get off track sometimes it's hard to know when to follow your characters lead and when to have them quit stalling and get back on track.
April, I'll be curious what you think of Maass' book. I read it a long time ago, perhaps I should dig it up and review. I always find myself flip flopping on whether to outline and how much. On one hand, I find the words fly when you know where you're going, on the other, when you get off track sometimes it's hard to know when to follow your characters lead and when to have them quit stalling and get back on track.
Got another 1000 words and some progress on a new short (though handwriting is always slow and arduous for me).
Hi, I'm going to do a driveby today & prolly till the gig is over or till I get used to working 9 hours & riding my bike 90 minutes…
Wrote ~1/2 page, did stuff, 3/3 & now it's bedtime
Wrote ~1/2 page, did stuff, 3/3 & now it's bedtime
Driveby me for me as well. I've settled in a bit better. Had a huge writing session to help me along (1.5k!), and I feel good about my test. However, no time to celebrate, since I have another one on Thursday. Snow is coming again tomorrow for me, though >.<
Looks like everyone is having a pretty productive day. Lots of renewals in the 1k club. I get join the club again tonight with 1639 words that somehow magically made their way into my mss tonight, pushing me over the 20k mark in my FN. I love productive days!
March is slipping away. Let's make it count! Good luck to all.
March is slipping away. Let's make it count! Good luck to all.
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Hello, friends 
Drive-by today. It’s great to see so many of you being productive - look at all those 1,000-word days adding up!
As for those of you who haven’t got quite as much down on paper - scoot over and make room for me. I haven’t written a thing since my weekend progress with sketching out the next chapters. Just one of those “too tired after work” situations - I’ve been reading a lot, instead.
There’s always today, and tomorrow, and the next day... but boy am I looking forward to reaching the end of this thing so I can plug the holes in the first half and start revising the stuffing out of it.
Drive-by today. It’s great to see so many of you being productive - look at all those 1,000-word days adding up!
As for those of you who haven’t got quite as much down on paper - scoot over and make room for me. I haven’t written a thing since my weekend progress with sketching out the next chapters. Just one of those “too tired after work” situations - I’ve been reading a lot, instead.
There’s always today, and tomorrow, and the next day... but boy am I looking forward to reaching the end of this thing so I can plug the holes in the first half and start revising the stuffing out of it.
No morning writing for me. Went to the theatre and being an hour drive we didn't get back until 11:30. Going to have another late night tonight so I'll probably do more reading than anything.
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On track and managing 1000 words every day this March. Apart from that one day last week where it was an epic fail.
niknicnac- Congrats on 20k! That's a huge milestone into the book. I reached 18k myself today, and hoping to get there on Friday. You're probably better prepared for the next step than I am, haha. I'm wondering when I'm gonna hit the wall.
Lakey- And if all those days fail, you got the day after that! It's a good to see you're excited for revisions. When you know what you want changed, it's so satisfying to finally get to the point where all you're doing is fine tuning the everything to its best quality!
Taylor Harbin- With all that material, I hope you got some good inspiration for your writing when you can get back to the desk! I'm trying to resume my backlogged reading this week myself, but the stars haven't aligned.
Keithy- Sorry to hear. Hope things settle down soon enough, so you find some peace and quiet (and pages when you're feeling it).
Will Collins- That's some serious consistency, man. Kudos. Ten days to go! Finish strong!
I got my 1K stamp again today! Quick and clean, which is exactly what I needed on a day like this. Read the last of my homework for tomorrow's test and going to hopefully keep things steady for the last week and a half. By the skin of my teeth, I'm on schedule for 25K on the 31st. I need 1K words every remaining weekday of March to hit my goal. Closing out this week is crunch time, I don't have nearly the college workload interfering next week as it has this week. I have a tiny bit of wiggle room, where I can make up some lost words next week, but that's pushing my limit. I can't guarantee more production than 5K per week, so I want to keep with my current situation. Two days and 2,000 words from the last weekend pit stop for March!
Lakey- And if all those days fail, you got the day after that! It's a good to see you're excited for revisions. When you know what you want changed, it's so satisfying to finally get to the point where all you're doing is fine tuning the everything to its best quality!
Taylor Harbin- With all that material, I hope you got some good inspiration for your writing when you can get back to the desk! I'm trying to resume my backlogged reading this week myself, but the stars haven't aligned.
Keithy- Sorry to hear. Hope things settle down soon enough, so you find some peace and quiet (and pages when you're feeling it).
Will Collins- That's some serious consistency, man. Kudos. Ten days to go! Finish strong!
I got my 1K stamp again today! Quick and clean, which is exactly what I needed on a day like this. Read the last of my homework for tomorrow's test and going to hopefully keep things steady for the last week and a half. By the skin of my teeth, I'm on schedule for 25K on the 31st. I need 1K words every remaining weekday of March to hit my goal. Closing out this week is crunch time, I don't have nearly the college workload interfering next week as it has this week. I have a tiny bit of wiggle room, where I can make up some lost words next week, but that's pushing my limit. I can't guarantee more production than 5K per week, so I want to keep with my current situation. Two days and 2,000 words from the last weekend pit stop for March!
Also, congrats, DanMorrison! I just knew while I was typing someone would sneak a post underneath me. May you have many more 1K+ days ahead of you!
Nice, Nic Congrats on the 1K day!
Lakey, I'm just scraping by these days.
& Keithy, take it easy, meditate on things, let them come to you
Will Collins - wow!
Dan - you too, wow!
Way to go, xen
Day 21 - ~3/4 page! Got home from work early because of the 'storm'. I climbed out of the youtube rabbit hole and managed to transcribe more of my WIP, and I did a little cosmetic fun work on my site, just something to keep my chops up. Contacted hopeful and former housemates about business - oh Self Care - I bought a water boiler to take to jobs with me so I can have proper tea.
3/3
Congrats on the 1K day!Lakey, I'm just scraping by these days.
& Keithy, take it easy, meditate on things, let them come to you
Will Collins - wow!
Dan - you too, wow!
Way to go, xen
Day 21 - ~3/4 page! Got home from work early because of the 'storm'. I climbed out of the youtube rabbit hole and managed to transcribe more of my WIP, and I did a little cosmetic fun work on my site, just something to keep my chops up. Contacted hopeful and former housemates about business - oh Self Care - I bought a water boiler to take to jobs with me so I can have proper tea.
3/3
I am cheering for everyone! You're all making such great progress People hitting 1k or 100 or anything in between is awesome! And for those in my boat, who are just thinking about writing but not actually writing: hang on tight, we'll all get back into it soon.
My back is doing much better (I treated my bed to the "jumping in grapes to make wine" treatment to soften it up some more) and all this time to think has given me some excellent new twists and turns to add to my story, so even just thinking is great.
Let's keep it going, guys!
People hitting 1k or 100 or anything in between is awesome! And for those in my boat, who are just thinking about writing but not actually writing: hang on tight, we'll all get back into it soon.My back is doing much better (I treated my bed to the "jumping in grapes to make wine" treatment to soften it up some more) and all this time to think has given me some excellent new twists and turns to add to my story, so even just thinking is great.
Let's keep it going, guys!
Dan, Will, and Xenylic: Way to keep the 1k club going.
Lakey, Keithy, Taylor & Thereeness: Thinking and planning is all part of the writing process too, then you'll be hitting the keyboard again.
Layla: right on point as always.
A little thinking and planning myself today and 770 words
Lakey, Keithy, Taylor & Thereeness: Thinking and planning is all part of the writing process too, then you'll be hitting the keyboard again.
Layla: right on point as always.
A little thinking and planning myself today and 770 words
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