August 2020 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, today.
  • 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. 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 August 1st!
 

Woollybear

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Hello Magnus!

Seven smaller goals this month.

1. "Chapterize" the manuscript. The breaks need re-jiggering.

2. Fix the five chapters that are really bad.

3. Break Brutus's leg in chapter 15 and carry that cost through the manuscript wherever he shows up.

4. Work through Alphonse's altered consciousness vignettes (this one might get pushed to September, but I'll start anyway.)

5. Research nuclear energy from several vantage points and work that science in, replacing the placeholders in the story ATM. (you can take the teacher out of the classroom...)

6. Incorporate ongoing and accumulating feedback from writers' club (this is an ongoing goal at this point).

7. Work through the comments/concerns I have left for myself in track changes mode and reduce my personal concerns by at least half.

None of these really come with a word count, so... well, that'll be OK. See y'all in a few days!

Oh-- 8. Sisyphus!!! That'll have a word count but I'll be secretive about it to avoid giving any hints for the guessing round.
 
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Layla Nahar

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Whew. I just want to keep writing. And keep taking care of life. My checklist:

1) Add words to my WIP
2) at least one act of responsibility or self-care
3) at least one act to bring more prosperity into my life, concerning income, care of my living and working spaces and of tools/vehicles
 
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The Second Moon

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I'll participate. I think it was February of 2019 when I wrote everyday of the month. I might try that this month. (though it was quite exhausting to write everyday for a month). :sleepy:

1. Do draft three of Barney, Mr. Thomas, and the Alligator Creature :e2writer:

2. Continue to write Apocalypse Stoppers :e2writer:

3. Learn how to spell "apocalypse" (and "(un)conscious") Seriously, though. It would help a lot to be able to spell better. :flag:



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@Woollybear - Break a leg with your goals...I mean break Brutus' leg :roll: (Yes. I am proud of that joke. :tongue)

@ Layla Nahar - Good luck with your self-care. I could work on that myself, too. If you have any good tips that could you help a girl out?
 
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Carrie

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Greetings!
I write almost every day and would love to interact with folks doing the same. I have been a part of a few "accountability" groups and it ends up falling apart because no one else is writing. "Hi, Carrie! How's it going?" "Going great, Carrie! Thanks for asking..." You get the idea. I just finished a first draft of the second novel in a series earlier this week and mailed it off to a first reader today. I think by next week I'll be getting antsy and want to start up again. It will be lovely to get to know everyone. All the best,
Carrie
 

WGough

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August Goals:

1) Revise Book III of The Saga!
2) Post here more often

Not lofty.

Welcome, Carrie! Looking forward to seeing you on this thread.
Here's to a productive August!
 

Soleggi

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Let's hope I can continue to stick with my goals this month.
-Write 20,000 words for Sparks first draft
-Take more time to simply reflect.


Sending hope that you'll all have a great August! Whether we meet our goals or not.
 

Keithy

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Finish the initial readthrough of Demon Hunter and analyse the entrails.

Reach 50000 words on the first draft of Dustworld (shouldn't be that hard...?)

Welcome to our merry crew, Carrie. Arrr, me hearties!
 
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April Swanson

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Hello everyone, old and new :)

My goals for the month are to write 10k of Book 4 and 25k of Shiny New WIP. Oh, and I need to send the beast that is Book 3 off to my CP.

Anyway, today was spent doing some fiddly stuff after publishing Book 2 yesterday. If I have the energy I might tackle the end of Book 3 later today but I'm thinking ... nah!
 

Carrie

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Goals?! Oh, sheesh. I gotta do goals?

Okay, this week I finished a solid first draft of the second book in my Lake Maribelle series, bearing the somewhat unimaginative title, Lake Maribelle Spring. Since finishing, I’ve been looking over the opening to the first book, Lake Maribelle, which was completed earlier this year. Yesterday, I rewrote the prologue from a different POV. (Okay, I’ll just tell you: it was the kitten’s POV and I am not embarrassed in the least! Kittens are a grossly underrepresented demographic.) The prologue is better—same scene, much more gripping opening. I had thought I would go on to do some serious revision in at least the first three chapters but I think it might still be too soon. I’m not seeing it yet.

So, the plan is to start book three, Lake Maribelle Summer, sometime early this month but I still feel a little depleted, so I may tinker with the openings of the two books for a little bit longer before doing so. I write a weekly newspaper column that goes out on Mondays so I traditionally start new projects on Tuesdays. We shall see. I also killed yet another keyboard (the third this year!) so I am typing on my laptop, which I despise. A person can’t be expected to start a new book writing on a keyboard they despise!

Whenever I start, I expect I will get at least a third of the new book done in August, a little more than 30K words. There. That is my goal, such as it is.

Thank you for the warm welcome. I am excited to hear what you are all working on!
 

Kerry56

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Goals for the month? Hmm, I feel like I've been writing nonstop for a couple of months already. Ahhh!

Ok, got that out of my system.

First goal is to finish my current novel, which I've named The Oolmar Pearl. It's sitting at 74k at the moment and the two main story lines are about to converge, which leads to a confrontation with one evil character and a surprise from another. I'm hoping to add at least 8k in this section, maybe 10k including the epilogue.

After that I'll take a few days to regroup, then it will be time for a re-write. I am one of those who re-write every few chapters, polishing as I go, so this might not be as traumatic as it is for others. Still an intimidating task.
 
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Taylor Harbin

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Well, I didn’t have time to do work on the novel but I did have an unusually productive day: 4 and a half pages on a new story!
 

Layla Nahar

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Welcome back, Moon! “If you have any good tips” <— Just do one thing, and if a task is overwhelming, break it into micro-steps and give yourself a gold-star when you do one. It’s so easy to procrastinate…
Gough! Good to see you
Hello Soleggi & welcom




Taylor, a great day! WTG :)




Day 1. I think this month the Write Every Day Challenge Thread turns 4.



WIP - added words
R/SC - little bike ride in the countryside, dip in the lake, a wee bit of crafting :D
BP/$$ - job, 5 hours; one housemate email. Tried to remove a stuck aluminum seat post from a steel-frame bike. No luck. Well, at least I know now. Next step is to find a place nearby to donate it to.
 

Keithy

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Carrie - your book sounds interesting. Kittens are good!
Taylor - ah, it's so good to start something new.
Layla - cripes, has it been that long?

today's progress:

Dustworld: 366 words.

Demon Hunter: I read the segment where Shana fights a company of guards.

non-writing

Eating. Sleeping. I know did something else but can't remember.

just keep swim swimming! :) no slacking now
 
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ChaseJxyz

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This month's measurable goal will be "get this third quarter done." I'm currently at chapter/beat 23 of 40 so it's not too out there! For a daily goal it'll be "Make some progress on [bird book] each day," with progress being either words in the WIP or doing more outlining/figuring out problems that will need to be solved. I'll do SOMETHING today once I figure out dinner; it's getting pretty late and my brain don't work good if I haven't eaten in awhile.
 

April Swanson

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Keithy: Jolly good start to the month!

Layla: Your day sounds lovely. And yay for words!

Excellent work, Taylor!

I dipped into the penultimate chapter of Book 3 yesterday, adding about 224 words. Need to push on a wee bit more, then I can let it sit for a couple of days.
 

The Second Moon

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Day 1 - 1,117 words on my linked short story collection Sky Beast. I ended on Ollie going to see her best friend, Douglas.

I thought that I would only write 250 words, but I exceeded that by a lot! Also, I finished one of the short stories in it and started on a new one.

Layla - Thanks for the tip!

Taylor - Ooo! New stories are always fun.

Keithy - I'll try to keep on swimming!

April - letting work sit is always a good way to see what's working and what's not.
 

Animad345

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Hi everyone! I'd love to join this wonderful, supportive thread!

My goal is to finish my current manuscript.
 

WGough

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Day 1
Revised a scene in Chapter 3.

April Swanson: A fiddle and dip day. I'll take one of those.

Carrie: The kitten's POV, how fun! I agree with the keyboard rationale.

Taylor: Congrats on 4 & 1/2 pages!

Layla: Way to get it done. Sorry about the bike seat.

Keithy: Nice work!

ChaseJxyz: Yes, dinner first. Always dinner. A sound plan.

The Second Moon: Way to get things done. Congrats on that word count.

Have a great week, folks!
 
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starrystorm

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Trying to have a goal of writing near 1000 every day. Currently I'm on the mind-crushing second draft of my story which means I rewrite everything. Occasionally I copy and paste paragraphs, but most of its a total rewrite. I hate it because it takes forever, but honestly its the most helpful draft I go through.

Day 1.....1,135 words
 

Layla Nahar

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Keithy, congrats on the 366 and the read-over work
Hello Chase & welcome
April, congrats on the 224 new words
Moon, that’s a super expectation exceeding. Enjoy that brunch at the 1K club!
Hello Animad and welcome
Gough, congrats on that revision
starry, I rewrite my second version from scratch. Congrats on a 1K+ start to the month :)




Day 2


WIP - added words
R/SC - some chores
BP/$$ - did some apartment tidying for houesmate visits; job 7 hours
 

Keithy

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OK I've had a bit of a meltdown today over time and interruptions.

Looked at the Sun Queen again with some regret because I'd need a couple of weeks to get into it at least. I'm struggling to get 20 minutes.

Some guy is coming tomorrow to paint the house. "head in hands."
 

ChaseJxyz

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I only got a few paragraphs yesterday but at least 1k today! My new laptop is also scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so that'll give me more options than working on my desktop, which will be nice for my eyes/head.

Keithy, that sounds really rough :(
 

April Swanson

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Second: Excellent start to the month!

Welcome, Animad :)

WGough: Happy revising :)

starry: Congrats on the 1k!

Layla: Yay for words :)

Keithy: Uh oh. Here, have an ice cream to cool you down :p Oh—and here’s a beer to get you through the painting …

Chase: Excellent wordage. Enjoy the new laptop!

I’m on a semi-holiday so only added 200 odd words to Book 3. I’ve got one more chapter to revise and then I’m putting it away for a few days. Ugh, Book 3. *shakes fists*
 

The Second Moon

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Day 2 - 733 words on Sky Beast

I ended on the Sky Beast (AKA "Crumb") finally getting fed up with everyone being scared of him, though it makes him feel powerful.

Layla - I did enjoy brunch at the 1K club :Coffee:(though I got kicked out today for only reaching the 700's, but I'll make it my goal to return)

Keithy - Sounds rough.

Chase - Yay for the new laptop

April - I hardly wrote while on vacation so adding 300 words is excellent.