October 2019 Challenge - Write Every Day!

Layla - don't worry overmuch. You do a lot of work every other day.
Starrystorm - I find it hard to listen and read unless I'm not serious about one or other.
Sandree - I like "Destrier Station". It doesn't indicate battle too much (apart from the warhorse bit, but well...)

My progress today is 1812 words. About a third of that is recycled material from the 1st draft. Shana has mostly healed her injuries apart from her arm, which is still missing a hand - that will regrow tomorrow. Her new friend takes her to see a shrine that seems to be dedicated to her people. Are her people gods? Such things are relative.

Keep at it, everyone. It can be done.

Update Oct 20

So I started writing again on Book 2 - Combined yesterday and today, I wrote roughly 1600 words. It felt good to write fresh material again. I have officially walked away from Book 1 and will let it sit while I wait for feedback from Beta readers and then will revisit it again in about 4-5 weeks for another self edit review.

I discussed the subject of hiring a freelance editor with my wife yesterday and we have agreed to move forward with the investment. I know it will cost me a few grand but I think it will help fine tune my writing and increase my chances for getting picked up by an agent when the time comes to query. I'm hoping to be ready come early spring 2020. I also think I'll be well advanced with writing book 2 by that time.

WGough: Excellent revision! You show those chapters who’s boss.

Keithy: Awesome! Feeling energised is the best.

starry: Great job editing. I believe that starting is the hardest bit. Once you’ve got your bum down and your hands on the keys/fingers around the pen, it slowly gets easier.

sandree: WOOHOO! That’s really great to pass a milestone like that. We’re snappsies—my MS is also a bit short and I also have to go work on my cover!

Layla: Big woohoo 1 1/3 page! That rest paid off.

Robert: Awesome word count. Re editors, unless you’ve found one you love, you should have a mooch around here and on kboards or writer sanctum for good recommendations. I’ve got limited experience of hiring editors but I don’t think they should cost you that much.

The beast is DONE. Draft 5—in the bag. Wrote about 5084 today just to get the thing finished. It’s sitting now at 62.6k which is just shy of my 64k goal, but it’s growing, and the story has tightened and developed since Draft 4. 17 chapters revised, at least 43, 610 words drafted … I’m gonna have a wee reading binge now to treat myself, then I’ll read through the MS and make an attack plan for, god help me, Draft 6.

Day 20: Flying unicorns; 6 miles; sorry, back

Day 19 - 240 words
Day 20 - 174 words (both days flash)

Spent the last two days working on the paid stuff. That's out the door now, so I can get back to my own stuff tomorrow. Or procrastinating, whichever comes first.

April -

April - woo hoo for you!

Wait when did Shana lose a hand?? & that's a good day's work even with the recylcling, Keithy
RK, Congrats on that 1600 & on keeping the flow going
Shangalangadanga April! To the finish line with a mighty 5K. Wow.
Hello Sandree!


Day 21

WIP -- 1 page
R/SC -- put a bill in the mail
BP/$$ -- called someone who has a tool I need for a project; earning service

Hey!
Keithy—Nice progress! Recycled material just means it was good to begin with and now you know where it goes.
K Rob—Is the sitting and waiting part as hard as it sounds? Nice to have another to work on in the interim, though!
April—Nice! That is so exciting!!
Pterofan—I am a fan of creative procrastination when it is called for. Let that stuff just stew a while in your brain, right?
Layla—WTG on the page! And the 1 1/3 before that? Nice. Some days are just worth it. ��

7,096 today. I was seriously intimidated by these scenes I wrote today. But they turned out really well. Once I finally sat down and got to it.

Robert Donovan - yeah, I've had dealings with independent editors before. Not always useful.
April - well done on your fifth draft!
Layla - Shana got injured when she got thrown off a castle wall onto some spikes. Nasty!
ubriel - mighty good progress there!

No actual work today, but I have planned out the start of the next couple of scenes. The most important is a banquet scene. As you well know, eating is not just about the food; it's more about the politics.

research - medieval alcohol and how much it takes to leave the drinker... "incapable".

non writing:

I know I did something but can't remember what.

keep swimming!

Sandree – Congrats! You did a great job!
Layla – Hi, there! Great to see you, too.
Keithy – Good progress!
Robert – Great word count, and that must’ve been an exciting meeting!
April – Wow, 5000+ words, that’s amazing. Great job!
Pterofan – And, which came first?
Ubriel – More than 7000 words, that’s amazing. I’m glad they turned out really well.

My own progress:
I wrote 17753 words since I last checked in. I felt so refreshed and inspired and just sat and wrote. I don’t intend to edit this piece as I wrote about reuniting with my family after many years, about my feelings and about the things we did on holiday. Just for me, kinda. But it felt so good to finally write again, that I can’t wait to write more tonight, or tomorrow again. Yay!

Day 21 - forgot to check the actual word count before I came to the library. It was over 100, that's all I remember.

We're supposed to get a rainy afternoon, so I think I'll settle in bed with a cup of tea and the laptop and see if the magic happens.

PiaSophia - well done your progress.
Pterofan - good total whatever it is!

I've been putting my efforts into the upcoming scenes under the title of "banquet." There's about 18 points relating to things happening. So, today I did 452 words finishing the previous chapter "temple"

non-writing

made a shelf for the shed.

ubriel, wow & dang! Congrats on that 7K!!
A banquet should be fun keithy Nice keeping at it
Hi Pia - good to see you too, & congrats on all those words, & on the enjoyment
Ptero, congrats on the 100 or so!


Day 22

WIP -- 1/2 page
R/SC -- at all the brownies and dealt with 2 procrasti-tasks. Whew. Then rallied and did a wee laundry, and got my lunch ready for tomorrow.
BP/$$ - earning service

Update Oct 22

Yesterday I wrote another 600 words and am on to page 5 of my draft of Book 2.

This morning I received favorable feedback from my first beta reader who finished chapters 1-13 (54 total). He even did some line edits and inserted comments throughout the ms. Very helpful.

So, I spent all this evening researching the subject of - Do I hire a pro-editor before submitting to an agent - and the answer is, no. So I am going to save my money, work my book through draft #4, and work on researching agents and the query process.

PiaSophia---Family feelings... Is this project hard for you?
pterofan---Did the magic happen? Was it in the tea?
Keithy---A banquet (scene) this complex can't not be awesome.
Layla---Thanks! and good job on the 1/2 page. I have to admit I am more impressed with the brownies and procrasti-tasks. Particularly the word "procrasti-tasks". I love it.
K Rob---Grats on the feedback! That has to feel good.

I only got about 105 words into my WIP today because I spent all my writing time on my Patreon Serial Project. I had a couple of false starts on it. It is not the complex and intricate story that my WIP is and I feel like it is less important to me. But I did finally make progress on it and I got about 1,742 words into part 2 before I had to stop for the night. I really need to put more effort into it. It is kind of like a "loss leader" kind of thing. It needs to get devoted attention.
In other news, I am having a sort of creative identity crisis. I keep trying to write fantasy and ending up with hard sci-fi. It's a stupid thing to complain about but I have to throw my fit and tantrum about it so I can get over it and accept it and get on with the work of doing a good job.

Day 22 - 116* words of flash

The asterisk is because I also typed up some longhand left over from the end of the book, with cuts and rewrites and such, so my final total of "new" words was probably much more. However, I counted/estimated those longhand words already. To do so twice would be cheating. Too bad, because I hit over 2000 words on the one longhand stint. Dang it.

Ubriel - the magic didn't happen, but I had a nice nap.

Found the 1976 version of Carrie on TV yesterday. I was working at a second-run movie theater when it first came out, so I saw it for free. Suckered in a couple of friends by not warning them about the shocker right at the end, just so I could see their reactions. I can be nasty sometimes.

Pterofan - Keep going! I saw Carrie for the first time recently and loved it.
Keithy - Congrats on the 452, good word count
Layla - Thank you! You're going steady as always, good for you! And congrats on finishing the procrasti-tasks, those are the hardest as we all know.
Robert - That's so nice. Glad your beta reader could be of help!
Ubriel - It's okay to rant and be mad sometimes. Writing about it helps. Hope you're in a better flow! And to come back on your question: this particular project isn't hard for me, as it's about my lovely side of the family.

Today I read a lot and wrote little. Completely fine with that. Have some ideas simmering, think I'll go and write them down since I'm already on my laptop anyways.

RK - congrats on the 600 & on the feedback
Congrats on all those words ubriel!
Nice work with the 116 Ptero
mmmm - filling the well! Nice, Pia

Day 23

WIP -- 3/4 page
R/SC -- a bit of cooking so I have lunch for tomorrow. And eating the rest of the brownies because apparently I didn't eat them ALL yesterday
BP/$$ - earning service

Robert Donovan - 600 is a nice round number.
Ubriel - better luck tomorrow. I get my genres mixed up too.
PiaSophia - I read a lot. I need to write more too.

OK I really struggled to get going today, really tired and fell asleep after doing ~150 words. But then I kept at it and did 1143 in total. The new plan is to give Shana a makeover and get her invited to a medieval banquet with Grog posing as her rich merchant father.

keep swimming!

Everybody. I had to get away, but I'll be back with today's report.

I did a little editing of Book 2. The opening conflict actually occurs with a flashback experienced through a dream. I know where I want to get with the drama but I was taking far too long in the dream getting there. So I had to re-evaluate what message I wanted to convey and what tension I wished my reader to experience and redid part of it. Then I got tired and went to bed.

So I edited about 1000 words and wrote maybe 200 words of new material in Book 2.

Cindy - looking forward to your report

Keithy - that's funny you fell asleep. When I'm in editing mode, I often play soothing background noise like rushing wind or cascading waters and have nodded off as well. CHIN UP, EYES OPEN!!

Layla - you are inspirational with your steady pace of writing material. Thank you for being here and encouraging others by word and example.

PiaSophia - I have to comment on the 17,000 words - That's awesome!!

Pterofan - Nice job on the 116 and the 2000.

Ubriel - I get the frustration with the 105 words especially when you've kicked out a lot more in the past but it sounds like you transitioned into some quality writing. RE: fantasy becoming SciFi - here's the fix - that blaster your main character is carrying, take it out of his hand and replace it with a sword. The smooth metallic floor he/she is walking across surrounded by the hull of a ship - alter it to rough cobblestone or dirt surrounded by towering oaks. I'm just having fun with you. Both Genres are fun to write. I am currently writing fantasy but I have storylines thought out in both a SciFi arena and a Victorian era drama.

April - nice job slaying the BEAST!

Day 23 - 517 words of flash

I'm hoping this is my last flash. I've made a list of things I can work on so I don't have any excuses. Book 1 of the series is top of the list, followed by a M/M story I got partway through but abandoned when the other book took over. I have a couple other things I can fiddle around with. I will write something every day. I just don't know for sure what yet.

Housework, of course, has been all but totally abandoned.

Keithy - sounds like this newer version of your story is shaping up well. Keep swimming!

Layla - Cooking ahead is something I should do more often. And... how could you miss eating ALL the brownies yesterday?!
Keithy - What do you like to read?
Cindy - Hi! Hope you're doing well.
Robert - Thanks! You're doing great yourself.
Pterofan - Congrats on the 517.

Today I wrote 1200+ words. Content.

keithy - congratulations on that rally and making it to 1K
Good to see you Cindy - been thinking of you
KR - congrats on the editing, & the drafting and the insight!
Ptero, congrats on 517 words of flash
Pia - 1.2k+ words is a great way to contentment (I think it was my Higher Power making sure I had enuf brownies for the next day )



Day 24


WIP - 3/4 page
R/SC - came home from work and took it easy (ate cookies & creme horns)
BP/$$ - earning service; spoke with my friend to get advice about a project

Day 24
Revised Chapter 38.

Sorry for the drive by. A week of doctor's appointments and work anxiety.

Drive by. I wrote yesterday and today, and a few other days, but I've been in a depressive slump. I'm getting out of it and back on track. I'll catch up tomorrow!