December 2019 Challenge - Write Every Day!

Magnus

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This is a thread open to anyone who wants to start, maintain, or reinforce a writing habit. (It can also be about revision, editing, research, or even just the everyday stuff you need to keep up with to support your writing.)

The idea is that repeating something daily will build a habit that becomes stronger over time.

It's entirely up to you how much and in what way you participate. Post your goals if you like, or just check in when you can!

Here are some tips:


  • Set achievable goals – I can't stress enough how important this is. To build a habit, doing something is more important than quantity or quality.
  • Try to do a little every day – even if it's just writing a sentence or two. It reinforces the habit of sitting down to write and makes it easier to get keep it up in the long run.
  • Be adaptive – You'll always be facing new challenges, and what works for someone else doesn't always work for you. What worked for you last week might not work this week. Try different types of goals, different times of the day, and different tricks to reward or motivate yourself. A good habit is what works for you.
  • Be patient – It takes a long time to build a strong habit, and progress happens in tiny increments; you won't always notice it day by day, or even week by week.
  • Failure is a part of the process – Failure is a natural part of improving your skills because it lets you figure out what went wrong so you can do better in the future. When you fail to hit your target, your job is figuring out why it happened. That way, you can find ways to get around your roadblocks (and don't be scared of lowering the bar).

Remember: if you share your experiences in the thread, others might be able to help out with tips, tricks, and support! And it's okay to just take a break for a day or two, or have scheduled days off. Find what works for you.

Good luck, and see you on December 1st!
 

starrystorm

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I'll be gone the first week of December for Disney World, but I hope to participate again.

Try to write and edit everyday is my goal. Probably won't make it, but if I make writing my goal everyday, then at least I'll do it sometimes.
 

Cindyt

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I zoned out in November. I was sick much of the month and I'm still sick, but better. I did do some publication formating, but I just could not create in either book or write an article.

My goal is to schedual daily sessions of the following:

  1. Continue formating the historical, Dress Her in Chameleon, for publication.
  2. Continue revising the the second draft of the crime novel, A Deadly Spill of Scarlet.
  3. Post two new blog articles on Growing Up Buford each month.
 
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Keithy

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Well, the second draft of Demon Hunter should be done by Christmas.

It's a question of what to do after that: either a proper outline for the Sun Queen or else do some work on one of Logic Bomb or Fire Witch.

I just know I need to work on something - I have a compulsion.

I need to put up Christmas decorations soon. Bah humbug.
 

DanielSTJ

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I'm fully in. I'll try to write everyday, I did decent last month, but if I slip up it's no big. It's the effort that counts! :D
 

Pterofan

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I'm in as well. I don't think I can keep up the 1000 words every day, but I'll take a shot at it. If I miss, I miss. My real goal is to finish either Book 1 or Book 2 of the series I'm doing, or both.
 

Taylor Harbin

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I’ve been jolted out of the fantasy mood for the time being. Now I’m brainstorming a time-traveling detective piece for an upcoming anthology. Never written in this genre before but I’m growing fond of my initial concept. Actually, it’s not so much a true “detective” piece as much as it is a “time traveling research” piece. I want to do something besides a murder. Right now I need a name for the protagonist, rules of the world, and research the feasibility of my plot.

Since this month will be hectic with moving into a new house and Christmas travels, my goals are as follows:

- Brainstorm a little each day, on any project.

Good luck, everyone!
 

Layla Nahar

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I'm in with my usual 3 -> Write + Life :

1) Add some words to my WIP
2) 1+ action of responsibility or self-care
3) "BP/$$" - I'm changing the classification of 'action to increase earning power' & devoting this to earning service and the 'Big Project' - which is a combination of a Biiig tidying up (Konmari, actually) and GTD ("Getting Things Done" by David Allen, with a little help from Fly Lady). I'm going to put some things which had once gone into the 'increase earning power' category into the self-care category, at least till the Big Project is done.
 
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K Robert Donovan

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I'm in for advancing either Book 2, revising Book 1, and researching the whole query process. I was interrupted last month with travels and the arrival of a new grandson. Hope to be able to spend considerable time writing this month.
 

Pterofan

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Starting the month off with a drive by. I've been working on paid stuff all day. We'll see what happens tonight.

Oh, and I put in over 1000 words last night, so I maintained the streak through the month of November. Yay, me!

I may skip the daily drop-in tomorrow, depending on weather conditions (snow/sleet/freezing rain scheduled).
 

sandree

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I’m in. Didn’t do too well last month. I got stuck in a bog of life stuff and some self confidence issues. This month might be spotty too because we may be moving.

Today I did get back to editing following an in depth beta read. My head hurts trying to get timelines and ages to work out. I apparently have no sense of time.
 

CloudLabyrinth

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I feel a little burnt out from nanowrimo last month. I'm trying to keep writing with a lower the daily word count so I have time for the rest of my life. I would love to have 20k more words by the end of the month, but I'll be busy so who knows.
 

Keithy

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Pterofan - many hat doffings sent your way for your consistent hard work. :)

Today's writing total is 931 words on Demon Hunter. Shana wakes up powerless in prison with Ella and Grog. There's a bit of girly bonding going on then they discuss the plan to get out. It's "wait until they bring some food and jump them." Genius.

Did some work on the outline for Sun Queen. Lessons have been learned. Analysing "Game of Thrones" has given me food for thought; I cannot make it exactly the same structure but I need to keep the character count and main plot lines under firm control. Perhaps I can get this ready for when I finish "Demon Hunter", which should be before Christmas hits.

Research - I have to look into cheerleading moves.
- I still need to watch a NFL game.

non-writing

cooked sunday roast dinner
weight loss has hit a brick wall
glanced at "seasonal decorations" and pretended they're not there.
watching Man in the High Castle

keep swimming! Those words won't write themselves.
 

Cindyt

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Day 1

Word Count - 2562

Growing Up Buford Blog - First draft of my next article, Bullied.

Research - Bullying, pioneer reminisces, Cherokee months

Revisions - Historical: timeline, 5 sections of the prologue, condensed the table of contents, searched for a Cherokee village with no luck. I may have to settle for another illustration.

Keithy - What a way to start the month!


I added two new scenes to the historical prologue.
 

blake.e.weis

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My main goal in December is to edit the 2nd Draft of my Invasion of Japan book and to plot out the next chapter in my WWII/WWIII book.
 

K Robert Donovan

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Day 1

I reworked the opening of Book 1, making use of feedback provided by Beta-readers. So I wrote about 1000 words. I need to fine-tune it a little but am otherwise pretty happy with the result.
 

April Swanson

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Pterofan: Yay you! Hope pizza was tasty :)

sandree: Good luck with the editing. I only just nailed down a timeline of major events in my world. I’m continuing to ignore smaller stuff like character ages because I just can’t be bothered :p

Keithy: Excellent work. I have no idea how GRRM keeps all the places and characters in order. He must have a million moleskines.

Nice to have you back, Cindy! And an excellent word count to kick things off.

Robert: Good stuff. I usually have to redo the opening chapter again and again and again.

I fiddled around with Chapter 12 then accepted that the last chunk of this book needs completely reimagined (about 30-40%). I spent a good few hours bashing out ideas in my notebook and got a few things figured out, but there’s still a lot to do. The most difficult thing about this is making sure my mood doesn’t plummet, so the official line is: I’m very Excited and Enthusiastic about this major rewrite it’s like Christmas came early YAY.

Day 1: Decent bit; nae miles; double doughnut
 

Layla Nahar

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Ugh - I did it again! Wrote up, then somehow failed to post -


Day 1 - still under the weather. I went to work late & wasn’t good for much there, but fortunately it was a slow day.






WIP - 1/2 page & happy about it. I got stuck and had to wind back my work a bit. Still not feeling that ‘ok I’m out of the woods’ feeling tho
R/SC - made rice so I don’t have to eat the same thing for lunch tomorrow; early to bed for me today (though the snow outside is really pretty!)
BP/$$ - earning service
 

Taylor Harbin

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No real word count to speak of, but a very productive day of research for my time-traveling story. Who knew that gold smuggling in the 1930s could be so fascinating? It's so interesting I don't mind being jolted out of my fantasy groove. The only hiccup is that I'm terrible with names in other languages, so trying to make characters outside my own background and frame of reference is challenging.
 

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No editing today but I did produce a newsletter. I am working on an approach to this that differentiates it from the sea of newsletters that readers receive. Made a little progress on that.

Taylor - great you found a topic that grabs you

Layla - sorry to hear you are under the weather. It seems to be going around. As a homeopath, I’m always interested in the current acutes and their symptoms as it can help with choosing a genus epidemicus remedy that works for lots of people. If you care to share, please do.

April - I love capital E “Excited and Enthusiastic!” I want to not be bothered by character ages but I have a few children and the beta reader kept saying - how old is she now?

K Robert - here’s to being happy with your edits!
 
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Pterofan

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Day 1 - 165 words

Yeah, I know, pretty pathetic compared to November, but the paid stuff has a deadline and I have bills. It'll probably be next week before I type up last week's longhand and find out how many words I really wrote in November. I'll be switching off between books 1 and 2 with the emphasis on 2, because that one looks shorter with a more direct plot so I should be able to get it done faster.
 

shanthini

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Hope if it's okay that I jump in as a newbie.

Goals:

1. Write 5,000 words a week
2. Write/edit something every day
3. Finish Book 1 (I'm so close and the 5,000 a week should get me there)

Progress for Day 1: 1,303 words (646 was a rewrite, but I'm counting it as progress anyway)
Day 2 so far: 495 words, but I will take time to write later
 

Layla Nahar

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Keithy, great start to the month!
Cindy!! Good to see you :) and speaking of a great start to the month - way to go
KR - congrats on those words
April, keep going!!
Sound like fun research Taylor
sandree - did you ask what my symptoms were? The #1 - coughing, like if I laugh, or sometimes talk, but there’s no stuff (that’s coming from my nose)
Ptero, much feelz. I was starting to have some good days, then I hit this problem with my story and I’m back down to the minimum again…. sigh.
Congrats on that editing, blake
Welcome shanthini - congrats on that 1301 and the 495!


Day 2


Feeling a bit better, but still not great.


WIP - 1/2 page
R/SC - made arrangements to return an online purchase
BP/$$ - earning service
 

Keithy

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Layla - good to see you again!
Taylor - ooh, time travel. I like that sort of thing; that and alternate universes.
Pterofan - well, you can't keep zooming along all the time. Same happened to me after doing 10000 in a week: life caught up with me.
Shanthini - welcome aboard. I often count rewrites as progress.

Word count today was 829. The villain has had a mishap with the wormhole generator and wants Shana to help fix it. Then the Ice Demon turns up and causes havoc.

I did some useful work on the Sun Queen outline. It's looking like five POV characters.

research

Cheerleading moves.

non-writing

putting up Christmas decorations

keep swimming, you can do it.