September Challenge - Write Every Day!

April - my sympathies on being stalled. I absolutely know that feeling. Let me know how outlining works for you as a solution. I'm glad to hear you had a breakthrough and I hope that's helped with the rough feelings around your writing. It might be a while before I forgive you for the earworm, though! (I worked on Sound of Music once. Those songs are permanently etched onto the inside of my skull...)

Pterofan - well done on the August story! It must feel good to get to the end of something and know it's done. (I'm stuck in the mushy middle of a novel and feeling much envy.) Good luck with the submission!

KitKate - great achievement! My goal is 1000/day and I am nowhere NEAR that this week.

WGough - Wow! Great word count! I am deeply impressed and more than a little envious.

Layla - I saw a forklift ballet once when I was on tour with a show, performed by the site crew in honour of a departing teacher. It was both wonderful and hilarious.

Taylor - sometimes those kinds of prompts are the best! Glad to hear you're having so much fun with it. I also like switching up the device or the program that I'm writing on/with when I'm stuck as a way of tricking my brain. I wish I still had a typewriter! I used to love playing on my mom's when I was a kid.

starrystorm - so excited for you about the writers' group! They can be a great drive to keep writing. I always find being responsible for having something to turn in is a great motivator.

This week has been a mix of ups and downs for me. I have kept my streak of writing every day, but the net gain of words has not been great most days. I've been stuck rewriting the same scene for a week, which has been driving me up the wall. I am, I think, in the dead centre of my novel, and this scene has to launch the characters into the entire back half of the book. And just because of the way my own stupid process words, I can't move forward until it's working. Argh. Anyway, I think (I think?) I've finally got a working draft of it.

Net gain of 1093 words today. We'll see how many of them stick around tomorrow.

That was a neat prompt, Taylor

April - it's good to take a day off sometimes. Congrats on finding that direction

Nice work, Starry

Ptero - enjoy that day off

Kithica - way to keep at it (&for some reason I think this is not the first time I've heard the term 'forklift ballet'…)



WIP - 1/2b page
R/SC - earning service (forklift time!). groceries & cooking so I have lunch.
$$ - some indy project work

Day 23
4,144 words drafted of Book IV. 77,920 words total on this draft. One scene and the Epilogue left to go. Researched medieval food. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. Obviously, the pie was baked first, and the birds were added after it cooled. Knowing that might've saved me from at least one childhood trauma.

Layla: Congrats on your words. Now you have all you need for a forklift driving character. Jealous.

Taylor: Your new piece sounds outstanding. Too fun!

April: Wine and chocolate are planning fuel. And walks. Always walks. So happy for your breakthrough.

starrystorm: Nice progress. Congrats on finding a writer's group.

Pterofan: 338 words is something much!

Have a great week, folks.

Well, I'm back producing. The results will appear later.

Here's the lowdown on bleaching hair in the 18th Century.

FLAXEN DYE FOR THE HAIR

Boil a pint and a half of ley prepared from vine-twig ashes; a quarter of an ounce each of turmerick, celandine roots, and briony; one drachm and a half each of lily roots, saffron, and flowers of mullein, yellow stechas, St. John’s wort, and broom. After straining off the clear fluid, use it frequently to wash the hair, which will in a short time change to a beautiful flaxen colour, which may be easily made more or less light at pleasure, by a very little attention to the several ingredients, and such other circumstances as cannot easily escape notice.

Click to expand...

https://www.beautifulwithbrains.com/hair-dye-18th-century/

Two pages done on the new story! I’ll have to research what a proper governess would do to shape her charge but I’m keeping the antics! Not sure how many words two pages equals on this machine...maybe 300?

starrystorm: Breaks are good. I hope you enjoy the writers’ group.

Pterofan: I think the pigs should gang up and chase the humans.

Kithica: Ha, sorry! Those tunes though…they are timeless. Thanks for your kind words. I shall certainly update with my progress. Good job maintaining your streak, despite being stuck in the sticky middle. The mid point is always a crucial scene; it’s no surprise you’re having a rough time with it. Fingers crossed it unsticks soon.

Layla: YAS. Forklift! (And yay for half a page!)

WGough: Good grief woman, you’re unstoppable! I’m sure those blackbirds died from natural causes…!

Cindyt: Cool, thanks for the recipe. I was hoping to have a use for that drachm one day.

Taylor: One film about a governess springs to mind… eh, Kithica?

I bought new pens and from those pens some semi-decent ideas have flowed. Yay! Also, I listened to the Witcher 3 soundtrack about three times today, and that always helps to get things moving. I’ve got a rough scene plan; now I’ve got to get stuck into the middle bit. Ye know, everyone’s favourite part.

Day 24: Decent bit; 6 miles; I am Carb

April Swanson said:

starrystorm: Breaks are good. I hope you enjoy the writers’ group.

Pterofan: I think the pigs should gang up and chase the humans.

Kithica: Ha, sorry! Those tunes though…they are timeless. Thanks for your kind words. I shall certainly update with my progress. Good job maintaining your streak, despite being stuck in the sticky middle. The mid point is always a crucial scene; it’s no surprise you’re having a rough time with it. Fingers crossed it unsticks soon.

Layla: YAS. Forklift! (And yay for half a page!)

WGough: Good grief woman, you’re unstoppable! I’m sure those blackbirds died from natural causes…!

Cindyt: Cool, thanks for the recipe. I was hoping to have a use for that drachm one day.

Taylor: One film about a governess springs to mind… eh, Kithica?

I bought new pens and from those pens some semi-decent ideas have flowed. Yay! Also, I listened to the Witcher 3 soundtrack about three times today, and that always helps to get things moving. I’ve got a rough scene plan; now I’ve got to get stuck into the middle bit. Ye know, everyone’s favourite part.

Day 24: Decent bit; 6 miles; I am Carb

Click to expand...

Please don’t start singing please don’t start singing please don’t start singing...lol

Gough - you are a machine!

Cindy - thanks for that link ("red, or other ill-colored hair"). Glad to hear the productivity is back.

Likewise Taylor

April - hope you advance to the middle soon (and then efficiently out of it!)

Day 24
(Yikes! What happened to September?)

WIP - 1/2 page
R/SC - earning service, ordered warm winter clothes online (wow. that's a pretty penny!); wee bit of cooking to make lunch & snax for work.
$$ - indy research

Day 23 - 111 words

Spent all day giving the story one last read-through (it's a little over 40K words) and just sent it on its way a few minutes ago. This publisher's taken some of my other M/M stories so I have confidence. Technically I wrote today, because I added two small paragraphs and added/cut/ revised some sentences. Editing never feels like "real" writing to me, though, so I may jot down a quick flash scene before bed.

Tomorrow I take another stab at the stalled story. Better fill up on caffeine.

April - I think a chicken chase would be funnier, because the chickens will turn on you. As research for my current story I looked up videos of cock fights (the chicken kind--minds out of the gutter, people!) on YouTube, and found hilarious videos of little kids teasing chickens and getting chased for it. Those birds are vicious. There's a theory out there that chickens share DNA with Tyrannosaurus rex, and after watching those vids I believe it.

Well, at last I did some work on my WIP. I printed out one of those 15 plot point sheets and wrote stuff down on it. I've got lots of stuff happening and patches of work done but it needs a structure. So... here's hoping that will work.

I'm off to Spain next week so perhaps I can get a plot structure finished by then and start writing the thing after that.

Day 24
No words today. Day job and car troubles. Waaa. Still on track to finish Book IV by the end of the month. Then, it's revise, revise, revise.

Cindyt: Glad you're back!

Taylor: Your typewriter is magic.

April: New pens are magic.

Layla: New winter clothes are magic.

Pterofan: Submitting is magic.

Keithy: Viajes seguros!

Happy St Gerard Day, folks.

Missed 3 days, but I'm back at it today. Things got crazy busy.

120 words. Slow start to a week, but it'll get better.

Day 24

New Words - 950

Read through - historical: Part One: Children of Fate; section one: The Unconventional Lady.

Revisions - Bonaparte Allen’s Dream

Submitted - Bonaparte Allen’s Dream. It will be published in time for my high school alma mater’s football homecoming. Go Wolves!

Taylor - Congrats on two pages. The word count vs. page number depends on what font and what point.
April - You’re welcome! Congrats on the new ideas. You can sing if you want, I’m deaf. Lol.

Layla - You’re welcome! Congrats on the half page!

WGough - Good that you’re still on track in the face of problems. It’s good to be back.

The next op ed is a Halloween piece, The House on Hill Street.

WGough - I was traumatized by the second verse of that song as a child, where the blackbird pecked off the maid's nose while she was hanging out the clothes. My mom had to invent another line of the song where a jenny wren came and popped it on again. And I continue to be in awe of your word count.

April - Yay new pens! I love stationery. And yay rough scene! Welcome to the middle, we can wallow here together.

Layla - Ha! I probably told the exact same story in February. It's one of my favourite memories of the tour.

Pterofan - well done on the editing and the subbing! Will keep fingers crossed for you.

Keithy - ooh! Spain, very nice! Good work on the plotting. Sounds like progress to me!

DanielSTJ - progress is progress. It's always hard coming back after life has interrupted for a while.

Cindyt - that's a lot of productivity, well done! And congrats on the submission!!

I have two days off from work and most life commitments, though I practically had to pull weapons to keep them that way. (It was originally four days.) So I have made myself a little writers' retreat out of them. And I AM UNSTUCK! YAY! I have a working draft of the scene from hell, though I'm sure it will need some editing down the line, I can at least move forward now. Net gain of 2053 words today. I *might just* make my word count goal for the end of the month. We'll see...

Two more pages done. I have no idea where I'm going, but somehow I'm still writing.

Haven't gotten a chance to write over the weekend (I swear all my classes secretly plotted to have tests on the same two days). Yesterday I had another writer's group meeting. Today I just realized
a) my antagonist is incredibly naive and nobody in their right mind would go through with her plan
b) her plan doesn't work
c) the ending of my book feels too much like every other book I've written because somehow it randomly switched to a save-the-world ending right before the climax and I've been thinking it doesn't fit.

I have a lot of rethinking and re-planning to do today.

I can do this. I just have to clear my mind. Maybe today during lunch I get can some brainstorming in. Why don't these realizations come to me during the first draft? Why now? I'm almost done with my second draft.

Day 24 - 295 words

Our town's annual street fair opens today and it's raining like mad. Par for the course.

Layla: Yeah, it’s that time of year when the heating needs to go on most evenings. So long, cheap fuel bills.

Pterofan: Oh, yeah, birds are definitely related to dinosaurs. I know this because I believe everything Sam Neill tells me, and also I observe the seagulls from my living room. Definitely some velociraptor in there.

Keithy: Glad you found some time to think about your story. Enjoy Spain!

WGough: Boo to car troubles. I admit, I had to google St Gerard. Not sure Google helped me out… Unless it’s Gerard Majella, saint of Women and Children? (Gerard Majella…a man )

Daniel: A slow start is better than nae start!

Cindyt: I must know more about the ghost! Also, 950 is awesome sauce.

Kithica: I’m still on the quest for the Perfect Pen. So glad you’re unstuck! 2k is amazing! Yay!

Taylor: Just keep swimming.

starrystorm: Better to realise this stuff now than not at all! Getting the antagonist right is so crucial, yet it’s so easy to fluff up. You can do this. It’ll just take some time

I planned four and a bit chapters today. Could have been a bit more focused, but had one eye on super-depressing rolling news, which was a bit silly. Anyhoo, it’s Bake-off tonight, and I’ve made a lovely lemon loaf. Here, everyone have a slice

Day 25: Decent bit (just); 5 miles; when life gives you lemons—

Today I managed 535 words for my book! I'm not sure if I'm clear of the patchy spot yet or not, but this at least got me reoriented with the story, and that's all I really set out to accomplish today!

Hope everyone else is doing well!

Day 25
1,210 words drafted of Book IV. Researched medieval musical instruments. 79,255 words total. Epilogue left to go. I'm thinking I need another chapter before the Epilogue. If so, I probably won't meet my goal for the month.

Daniel: Great attitude. You're right. It will get better.

Cindyt: Great word count. Amazing revision and sub. Congrats.

Kithica: Terrific word count. Wishing you all the words on your days off.

Taylor: Sound like you're having fun. Congrats on your word count.

starrystorm: You can do this! Revisions and revisions and revisions.

Pterofan: Sorry about your street fair. Our big fair is held in May. It gets hailed out every year.

April: Planning four chapters is amazing. Close. St. Gerard of Csanád is the patron saint of Hungary. There are three different accounts of his death, my favorite being he was "put into a spiked barrel and rolled down the hill during a mass revolt of pagans." On his Wikipedia page, there's a picture of a statue depicting him holding what looks like a fish, but could be a loaf of bread? A cudgel?

Cool enough for heat? Seagulls outside your window? Lemon loaf? Make room on the couch; I'm coming over!

xenylic: Congrats on reorientation. Such a relief.

Here's something from your neck of the woods, April. Happy St Caian of Tregaian's day "about whom little is known." But there's a medieval church named after him, "dating from the 14th century in Anglesey, north Wales."

Drive by.
WIP 1/2 page
R/SC - earning service
$$ - I took a skip day. Time for bed.

Keep writing everybody!!

DAY 25 (already?): Today I managed to write a 1,000 word short story for a writer's group and another thousand of just writing down whatever comes to mind to try to fix a problem in my story. It worked. So that's 2000 words today.

Day 25

New Words - 1087

Read through - historical: Finished part one.

Kithica - Congrats on being unstuck and having an amazing word count!

Layla - Congrats on the 1/2 page!

WGough - Awesome word count!

Pterofan - I live in a town that has swans in the river. Those things are definitely dinosaurs and totally remember when they used to have teeth.

Taylor - well done on the two pages! And that's what a first draft is for. Once you've got something down, you can always shape it later, if it needs it.

April - ooh! lemon loaf. Nice! And well done on the planning. Four+ chapters sounds like a lot to me.

Xenylic- congrats on the wordcount and on meeting your goal for the day!! I am all about celebrating the little victories along the way

starrystorm - congrats on your 2000 words!! that's awesome!! so glad you're finding fixes to your story problems.

Cindyt - congrats on the wordcount!! well done!

I split my productivity between housework and writing today. Went back and did a little revision on some earlier chapters, refining voice for one of the characters. I need to clean some stuff up so I can send a chunk on to my beta readers, but I keep putting that off in favour of new words. I wanted to crack 2K again today, but didn't quite make it (so close!). My bed is calling and I have an early meeting tomorrow. Still, 1945 net gain is nothing to sneeze at.

Put the governess story on hold because I need to develop develop more. We’re about to go spend three days with my folks so I wrote one page on a new prompt.