April 2020 Challenge - Write Every Day!

blake.e.weis

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Day 3- 200 words. Continuing to edit as I start to send pages to coworkers wife. Hoping to hear something soon.
 

Woollybear

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Hey y'all about 700 words today on Novel and closing in on final bit for Short Story.

Hopefully more cohesion tomorrow. You know, in terms of reporting and interacting.
 

Cindyt

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Day 3

Word Count 2315

April - WTG on the 2K and revised chapter!

Pancake hats...

This is the kind I was searching for:
18th%20century%20pancake%20hat.webp


This is the first image I saw:
PANCAKE%20HAT%20JOKE.webp



greendragon - :hi: :welcome:

Keithy - 1213 words! My hat’s off to you! Eat your nephew’s Easter eggs? Hell, yeah!

I've been sleeping a lot myself, when I wasn't watching the 16th Season's last epi of Grey's Anatomy and reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
 

Layla Nahar

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That’s fine work, Keithy
2277 is a very satisfying number, Cindy
Well done, April
Great, Taylor
Ok, April, looks like you got a second wind - congrats!
Hello greendragon, & welcome :)
Hey blake, congrats on that 200!
Patty, wtg with the 700
Cindy - curious what you found out about that hat. I have been calling those ‘shallow crown hats’. I’m trying to make one.






Day 3 (it seems I’m back to being unable to post at the end of the day because of internet problems)


WIP - a rather scant 1/4 page
R/SC - washed dishes, made a nice omelette, watched videos about how to make a face-mask
BP/$$ - earning service
 

K Robert Donovan

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Good afternoon everyone - glad to see some familiar posters.

April – 2000 is a good sitting. I understand the “ropey” comment – sometimes you just have to move on and hope future inspiration will improve it.
Taylor – well done knocking out two pages
Greendragon – welcome. Glad you are making such consistent progress and hope you can return back to the 2000/day mark.
Keithy – it will be interesting the see where you take the raised questions regarding Kaylee’s tail.
Blake – interesting that you also use the wife of a coworker to review your material. I am in the same boat. She's been invaluable, beta-reading and line editing my full 180K ms.
Patty – what’s your short story about?
Cindy – I like the second hat better 😉
Layla – lol on the scant ¼ page comment. I’ve been spending DAYS writing a query letter that only amounts to 300 words (9 drafts). I swear I stare at the screen and tweak 3 words per hour
________________

So I posted again out on Query Letter Hell under SYW. Go take a look and let me know what you think. As I commented above its been an agonizing experience but I am sure will pay off in the long run. I plan to send out queries in about two weeks. I am working on my Synopsis further, getting my webpage ready to go public, and then will finalize my research of the targeted agents. Fingers crossed. I'm pretty excited!!.
 

Woollybear

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Forgot to check in yesterday--wrote about 1700 words between two projects. Today feels like it has ended early.
 

Layla Nahar

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Taylor, I always say - it’s those 10-words, 1-senetnce, a few lines - those are the days when we know we’ve really accomplished something - because it would have been so much easier to let the blank page win. Congrats on that forward motion :)
KR - congrats on keeping at that query & synopsis.
Congrats on that 1.7K Patty
(April, talk about ‘I’ll eat my hat!’ ;) )




Day 4


WIP - a true 1/4 page
R/SC - made a DIY/hack mask with a bandana and pipe cleaner. It only works because I have long hair to loop around it to hold it up
BP/$$ - earning service
 

Keithy

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Hello everyone, I just gave up for the day.

Blake - nice 200 words. Hope they are well received.
Patty - don't worry, we're all a bit mentally dishevelled sometimes.
Cindy - still in the 2K club, well done (and hat doffings)
Tayloe - forward not back is the key.
Robert donovan - fingers crossed.
Patty - 1700 words is a good strong effort.
April - me too!

OK Saturday is usually a day off for me but as we can't go the local shopping mall there's no reason to do absolutely nothing. So I did 347 words. Kaylee's arrived at hospital in a daze, so can't tell who's saying what. But what she does hear is: “Is that a costume?” and later on: "Oh look, she’s got gills. Isn’t that amazing?"

research

Stone fish poisoning. Ye gads it's not fun.

non-writing

It was difficult to find a Chinese that does delivery tonight. It wasn't my favourite.

keep on swimming (especially if you're a Mermaid)
 

Cindyt

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Day 4

Word Count 2362

Research - The Cherokee word for sulfur. Couldn’t find one. And I had to have it to treat childbed fever. So, my brain warmed up, and I translated yellow dust: Gosduha Dalonige, which is as close as I could get it.

Donovan - That hat is whimsical. Good luck with the query letter! I’ve sent only one in my lifetime, to Cosmo, and they actually were interested in reading it. But, alas, it wasn’t for them.

April - You would like that hat. :D

Keithy - 347 words are good.

Layla - WTG on ¼ page. I first saw one years ago on The Patriot where Heath Ledger’s character’s wife wore one. I thought it was cool. Another name is the shepherdess hat. It has ribbons that can be tied under the chin or behind the neck or left dangling. I wanted to know if women sometimes used hat pins. They did. It was sometimes worn over a ruffled cap.

Here's the website: https://vintagefashionguild.org/fashion-history/the-history-of-womens-hats/

And here's a sewing instruction Youtube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDyz1S6nSZ4
 
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Woollybear

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Congrats to all. My shoulder is cramping so this is quick. I want to really catch up. In the meantime, I polished Chapter 2 a bit and added 1000 words as a result.
 

Taylor Harbin

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More words on paper today but I’m so tired after mowing the lawn that I forgot how many.
 

Keithy

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Cindy - 2362 is a goodly amount. I think you're on the right lines with the Cherokee for sulfur.
Patty - in the 1K club, well done.
Taylor - oh dear, you need self-mowing grass... it's called green paint :)

OK, I've had an interesting day. 611 words done, finished a chapter. Kaylee's woken up but her tail transformation thing isn't working well. In the meantime, the bad guys have been sinking ships.

I'm beginning to wonder if I've got too much main plot and not enough anything else. But the opportunities for subplots seem limited unless I put Kaylee into a high school type situation, and I'm not keen on that idea. (And I don't want a love triangle, thanks very much). You know how it is, you write something and immediately know you're going to tear it to bits in the revision.

Anyway... We'll be off food shopping for some of our imprisoned family members tomorrow.

Keep swimming... :)
 

Cindyt

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Day 5

Word Count 2063

Research - 18th Century methods of execution. I chose hanging.

Patty - Hope your shoulder’s better. WTG on the 1K!

Keithy - Congrats on the 611! Be safe.
 

April Swanson

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Layla: Barumpa-tss!

Cindyt: Excellent word counts. I would choose a nice clean beheading (assuming those were still kicking around back then).

Keithy: Yes, I know that feeling! I wouldn’t worry about lack of subplots … if they’re needed then you’ll know it.

Taylor: Ha, congrats on unknown quantity of words :)

Patty: Eek, hope your shoulder gets better soon. My right one is a nightmare. Awesome sauce editing Chap 2.

Got 2k and edited a chapter. I got into the swing eventually but it was hard to get going. Right now I’m working in three one-hour bursts, which help with avoiding the news. Stay safe, folks. I think the road’s about to get pretty bumpy.
 

K Robert Donovan

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Query Letter - my query letter is almost done - I have a few other tweaks to make.

Synopsis - I found a great site with an 11 step guide for building a single page synopsis (single spaced) targeting 500 words. I have the meat of it written at about a page and a quarter. Now I have to fine tune it for flow and tension and review the AW guides again.
Here is the link: http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/04/17/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/

Agent Research - I am finding interviews for targeted agents, reading webpage profiles, and finding other sources to personalize each query.

So overall I'm getting closer to sending my book out for query.

Keep at it everyone.
 

Keithy

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Cindy - good going with the 2K - I like the research. Guillotine?
April - Same as Cindy (except the Guillotine)

OK I've had a bit of a think about Fishy Tail and I've decided to chop it about a bit and add a subplot. I had 40K words but I spent six or seven chapters getting the story going and that's too many (the wife said that too). Kaylee is going to high school - there's going to be something suspicious going on there for her to investigate. Then there's her power over young men to consider, which is going to cause considerable trouble.

I went through this with Demon Hunter and it's much improved (but that needs more work on subplots)

The Navy SEAL is going to be downgraded (for now) to a minor character.

The mutant shark with tentacles is staying.

Non-Writing

Ran some errands including feeding "the Prisoners". They were grateful.
Lots of queuing up outside shops because they won't let too many people in at once.

Keep swimming... :)
 

Cindyt

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Day 6

Word Count 2586

Research - The British equivalent of the American biscuit: scones.

April - In the British Empire, nobles were beheaded, while commoners were hanged. My character is a mere former stable boy whom Mimi used as a handy coachmen.

Keithy - Good luck with the subplot!
 

Pterofan

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I'm back! The techs were just here and set up the home Internet system. I can surf the Web again! :hooray: I've already notified the publisher and hopefully will start getting steady assignments so I can pay for this. No more sitting in the car poaching WiFi from fast-food joints! (Which these days could earn me a fine. We're not supposed to leave the house except for stuff like food and medicine. And a power strip so I can plug my DVD player back in. And a mask for when I go out in public. Looks like I'll be visiting WalMart later.)

I've been writing every day, but no real progress on anything. I think I was using the lack of Internet and therefore paid income as an excuse to slack off. I just discovered I have sufficient speed to watch vidios on YouTube, so now I have an even better excuse. You'd think I'd get more done, being stuck in the house and everything, but no. This thread may be what I need to get myself going again.
 

April Swanson

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Robert: Good luck with the querying!

Keithy: I’m glad the shark is here to stay :)

Cindyt: Another crackin’ day. Mmm … tatty scones are my favourite.

Layla: Yay the things!

Nice work, Taylor.

Pterofan: Woo! Glad you’re connected. And we are here to hold you accountable :D

Good grief each day is a slog right now. Still, got the 2k done and the chapter revised. Unnngghh.
 
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Woollybear

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April, you are rocking the dedication! 2K and a chapter is a lot. Keep up the good work.

Pterofan--Glad to see you back!!! :) Hope the words start up for you--I suspect you've accomplished a lot during the no-internet-access days. All that writing probably has a secret pay-off of one sort or another.

Taylor, congrats on the 2 pages! I rounded up for you. Why not? :)

Keithy, good luck with the chopping, and the inserting of new ideas. I'm pretty good at chopping--part of the reason I wanted a hefty word count on the first draft. I suspect most of the chapter I worked on today will get chopped when all is said and done. Anyway, yes, let us all keep swimming and not lose our masks in the process.

Layla. All the things. All the awesomeness. All the time. :)

CindyT -- Such research could include baking. Just a random thought. :) Congrats on the 2500+ words! That is amazing.

K. Robert-- your packet is coming along! Huzzah. Good luck with the final touches.

I worked through my Chapter three today and was horrified how bad it was, in part because I know I read it in January and thought it was passable at the time. No, it isn't, not at all. The plot movement was there (which is probably what I was looking for, in January) but gah I was not prepared for how bad it was, even after telling myself the whole manuscript is a steaming pile. (But my steaming pile, and a complete one, so I love it anyway.)

Anyway, after chopping out whole sections of idiocy and meaningless characters-shuffling-about, and inserting motivation and internal deliberation from the VPCharacter, it's 150 words longer overall. Manuscript is 105.5K, and at the rate I'm adding/deleting I feel like the final final word count will be where I'd like, which is slightly more than the first novel.

Off for a short little walk now. :)

TL;DR: 150 words.
 

Keithy

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Cindy - you've been busy again.
Pterofan- welcome back
April - yeah, it's slog even when I do nothing...

OK I've spent some time revisiting the first two chapters, mostly hacking but some adding. The mutant shark is in the first chapter. In the second chapter, the first person she meets on land has had a sex change and age increase by 20 years.

I suppose 500-600 words added, hard to know for sure.

keep swimming. :)