October 2020 Challenge - Write Every Day!

Keithy

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Another not very productive day writing-wise. I don't know, I can't get going at all.

Dustworld: 75 (not very good) words.

reorganized the kitchen cupboards. Think Tetris with mugs.
 
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Layla Nahar

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Keithy - sounds like some good progress, with a bit of growing pain
Cindy - beep beep back!
April - GIMP would be coming along better if it would actually function without bresaking down. And considering it's the most cumbersome, counter-intuitive tool ever made, it's coming along ok. & Congrats to you on that 2876
Moon - congrats on day 199 ;) (that's some dedicated world-building ;) :D ) The artist did a great job
Chase - sounds like a good day's work
Ptero - congrats on the 289, and on the new assignments




Day 20


WIP - added words
R/SC - called in sick for the first half of work instead of struggling to show up
BP/$$ - 7 hours - I um got sick again last night, as mentioned above. Something I ate, I guess, again...
 

icedesperado

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Layla: Oh no! I'm sorry you're sick, but I'm glad you took care of yourself! Rest and lots of tea.
Keithy: 75 words are still words, even when they suck. Go you!
Ptero: Grats on words and new assignments!
Chase: IMO, all words count even if they're reused words. :) Someone's gotta use them!!
Second Moon: OMG cover art!! That's so exciting!
April: 2k club way to go!!



Day 19: I wrote words, can't remember how many
Day 20: 1767 words

I am SO. CLOSE. to finishing!!! I think it's going to be on Friday or Saturday this week. Yippee! Thanks everyone for the kind words as I've raced towards this finish line. <3
 

Cindyt

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Day 20

Word Count - Added words

Dress Her in Chameleon - Learning about and formatting for ebook. In the process, I’ve trimmed 1,444 words and 57 pages so far.

April - Thanks! Awesome word count yourself there!

Layla - Woot on added words!

Chase - Nice work!
 

April Swanson

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Second Moon: Love the pic.

Chase: Nice work!

Pterofan: Great job. Love it when you can actually see improvement.

Keithy: You probably need a break to recharge.

Layla: Yay for words but boo for more sickness :(

ice: Go go go!

Cindyt: What program are you using for formatting? I’ve heard Vellum is really good—and easy.

A whopping 422 for me yesterday, BUT I did figure quite a lot out. I feel today will be in a similar vein.
 

The Second Moon

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Day 20 - Formatted Barney, Mr. Thomas, and the Alligator Creature.

Formatting was frustrating, so I went out to go through a drive-through for coffee with my rat terrier, Sofi, riding in the passenger seat. She isn't a big fan of car rides, but I'm trying to get her used to it so when we bring her camping. Anyways, I pull up to the window to get my mocha frappes and the girl (who looks to be my age) says, "It's on the house. I'll pay for it. Have a good day you two." I drove off stunned, but grinning.

Oh! And did you notice the Alligator Creature in my avatar is wearing a watch?

April - I love the pic, too.

ice - congrats!

Layla - *laughs embarrassedly* I though no one would notice that typo.

Keithy - Better than 0
 

ChaseJxyz

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Ptero: Congrats on 289 words
Keithy: Would stepping back for a bit help? Or do you find pushing through helps you through with this?
Layla: I hope you're feeling better
Ice: I'm excited for you! Keep it up!
Cindy: Congrats on words and progress on the ebook
April: Honestly I really like the days when I figure stuff out more than I write words because it always feels like future progress will come out so much stronger. I hope it's something similar for you
Second Moon: What a nice moment of kindness!


Day 20:I didn't do really any writing stuff yesterday. I had to go to the actual office because my work laptop was acting up and that threw off my whole day. I did some thinking about how the global volcanic winter would create a mini ice age and how the difference in climate would change things while traveling around. But all my ducks are now in a row to get the surgery I was supposed to have in April rescheduled to...sometime. It's up to insurance and when they do the pre-approval. The Bay Area is doing really good covid-wise so doctor stuff is happening again. I have an unrelated appointment in Berkeley tomorrow and I'm looking forward to just...going to a bakery and buying things. Things are still very weird, but they're getting better.
 

Pterofan

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Spent most of today working and haven't gotten to writing yet. Mostly I've been feeling guilty about sharing that downer of a bear story, so I'm here to relate a more positive recent encounter with nature. I live in a semi-rural area--lots of farms bordering suburbia. I was out on a back road yesterday and there was a hawk by the side of the road, very much alive and standing in the grass. I figure he'd just caught, or just tried to catch a mouse. There wasn't any traffic so I stopped in the street and we stared at each other for a couple of minutes. That sucker was huge. They don't look that big when they're perched on top of a utility pole. Then a car came along and I had to move. The hawk took off but didn't go far. He probably went back to mouse hunting as soon as we pesky humans left.

I'm not sure what kind it was, maybe a red tail. It looked way bigger than I thought a hawk would be. I'm not used to seeing them that close. Maybe it was a juvenile eagle--we have baldies in the area. Tomorrow I'll take off "work" and drive over to the Environmental Center at Middle Creek, where they have a display of stuffed local birds and see if I can ID him.

My neighbor reported seeing a large hawk on our street. They fly over the neighborhood occasionally. Unfortunately, the neighbor just got a mini fox terrier puppy, perfect snack size for a bird of prey. Until the puppy puts on some weight, we're all watching the skies.

I promise to write something before midnight, I swear.
 

Woollybear

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Hi Guys.

I'm still a slacker when it comes to checking in (life... grumble grumble) BUT I am finally happy with the approach I've settled on for a goal I set in August.

I made real progress on this goal today! And my gut says this approach is a winner. I'll follow through the rest of the manuscript with this approach starting tomorrow. This is a big edit I want to finalize before printing the manuscript to read through the hard copy.

XOXO

See you in a day or so.
 

Layla Nahar

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ice - congrats on all the words - it sounds like Christmas in October ;)
Cindy - congrats on adding those words
April - 422 & clarity sounds great
Moon - nice work :)
Chase - hope you get a little boost from the writing down-time :)
Ptero - I got surprised by a hawk - well, we were both surprised, I spect I spoiled his morning. But he was a lot bigger than I expected.
Woolly - hello!


Day 21


WIP - added words
R/SC - did some ballet at home
BP/$$ - GIMP, job 5 hours
 

icedesperado

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Layla: It really is Christmas in October! :) Congrats on the ballet and the words!
Woolly: Life happens! Grats on the progress!
Ptero: Definitely recommend putting a bright sweater or vest on the little pupper. My mother has a teacup poodle and has it wear a sweater with creepy eyes on it lol.
Chase: I know how you feel. Just going out and doing basic things has been really wonderful.
Second Moon: Free coffee is the best! Especially when accompanied by a pupper.

Day 21: 1287 words
 

Cindyt

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Day 21

Word Count - 157

Dress Her in Chameleon - The deal with my ebook formatting--for now--is getting my word dock up to specs, which should be completed on Saturday the 24th. Then I’ll transfer to Kindle Create where I’ll preview and fix, then upload it to KDP. I’m hoping it will be accepted.

A Deadly Spill of Scarlet - Jimmy warns Billy about falling to drink.

April - Kindle Create once I get Word up to specs.

Layla - Steady on those added words!

Woolly - :hi:

Chase - Thanks. I need to do more writing, but I'm hooked into formating.
 

April Swanson

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Second: Free coffee sounds like an excellent reward for formatting!

Chase: I always have to remind myself that the non-word days count too, and can often be more productive in the long run. Glad the virus is doing well in your area.

Pterofan: Oh wow, that sounds so cool! Once I was walking and a bird (a big one—that’s as specific as my ornithology permits) swooped down right in front of me and plucked a poor wee vole from a bush. What a way to go.

Woolly: Yay for progress!

Layla: Yay for words and dancing. Hope you’re feeling better.

ice: Great count! Enjoy the 1k club :)

Cindyt: Nice work writing alongside formatting.

Another thinking day for me yesterday. I’ve got about 65% rough-drafted/figured out so I’m gonna go back to the beginning and start sorting chapters, and pray my brain figures out the ending by the time I get there.
 

The Second Moon

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Day 21 - 264 words on a new MG linked short story project from the POVs of pets (2 cats, a ferret, and a dog).

Today I need to fine someone to put my front cover, spine, and back cover together. No more slacking.

April - Yes, the coffee was delicious.

Cindyt - Woot! Making progress

ice - I think the pup was the reason she gave me the free coffee or it could have just been kindness.

Layla - Thank you

Woolly - Sounds good.

Ptero - I once saw a bird of prey (no idea what kind) perched on my fence. It was massive!
 

ChaseJxyz

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Ptero: There was a bald eagle nest cam one year where one of the eagles brought someone's pet cat for dinner and people were QUITE upset. Any outdoor pet cat sized or smaller could be a snack.
Woolly: I'm glad you've found a good system!
Layla: congrats on words
Ice: nice job on 1,287 words
Cindy: You still got some words done, which is great!
April: I wish you good luck on the figuring-outing
Second Moon: Nice work on 267 words


Day 21:
Non-bird words: none
Editing prep: Figured out some more editing tasks. Everything with the plot really started during the big disaster that happened in the recent past and a friend pointed out that I should really be talking more about how it was a giant creature that caused it, since that's very interesting (even if the author doesn't believe that to be true, she's still writing the story as if the things the people believe are true).
 

Pterofan

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Day 21 - about a page longhand, I'm calling it 300 words
Day 22 - 405 words on Book 1, some new, some re-used. Discovered my one MC played football in high school. I shouldn't have been surprised by that; he's 6'6" and built like a rhino. Of course he played football. His fraternal twin brother, who's smaller, played different games under the bleachers with the cheerleaders.

I drove over to the Middle Creek Wildlife Area this afternoon, but the center that houses the stuffed bird collection was closed. Damn Covid. I'm going to say it was a red-tailed hawk, because that's the largest kind I know of that lives around here. I saw more pretty leaves, so it was worth blowing off an afternoon.

Ice - thanks for the tip. The puppy's going to need a sweater anyway, because he's a shorthair and winter's coming. I'll pass the info about bright colors on to my neighbor.
 

Layla Nahar

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ice - congrats on the 1287
Cindy - congrats on the 157
April - felix cogitare ;)
Moon - congrats on the 264
Chase - wtg with that editing
Ptero - congrats on the ~300 & the 405


Day 22


WIP - added words
R/SC - did the dishes when I got home even though I was tired & kind of down, & then I got some energy to work on lunch for tomorrow
BP/$$ - job 12 hrs, & a wee bit of GIMP
 

Keithy

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Driveby here. Best wishes to everyone, hope you are doing OK.

I'm having a serious bout of give-up-itis right now. It's not that I don't think I can write good stuff, it's just that it'll take so long to learn how to do so properly that I might be better off learning to so something else instead. I've made some expensive mistakes in terms of money and time wasted, and I am neither rich nor young. I suppose having a couple of other disappointments today hasn't helped.
 

April Swanson

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Second: Nice work!

Chase: Good luck with the editing.

Pterofan: Great job on both days. The pretty leaves don’t last long so I agree it was time well spent.

Layla: I definitely didn’t need to google that :p

Keithy: I suggest you sit down and ask yourself why you want to write. If you want to write to make money, then yeah … you’d be better off doing something else. But if you want to write because you enjoy it, then give yourself some time off, dust yourself down, and get back to it. I’ve had multiple times when I’ve wanted to quit but the feeling has always passed.

Cindyt: Nice job with the words and formatting. Isn’t formatting a joy? :p

Absolutely shattered yesterday so half-heartedly revised Chapter 1, then made a pitiful start to Chapter 2. Today will be better!
 

The Second Moon

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Day 22 - 1, 203 words on the new project.

Is it normal to compare your cover to other covers and then feel bad about yourself? Don't get me wrong. I love my cover for Barney and Mr. Thomas. It's what I envisioned, but sometimes I feel like people don't like it and that's why they're not buying my book. Just my anxiety getting to me. Thanks for reading.

You all are doing great!
 

ChaseJxyz

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Ptero: Merlin bird ID is a phone app that's really good at helping you ID birds with vague descriptions, you could always try that
Layla: Sounds like a super long day, great work finding the time for words
Keithy: Is it possible that your current project isn't the right one for you right now? A beginner baker is going to feel like a failure if they jump straight into macarons and soufles, they need to cut their teeth on sugar cookies and sheet cake.
Cindy: congrats on words and progress
April: Tomorrow is always a new chance for stuff to be better :)
Second Moon: It's hard to not compare yourself to others, but the comparisons aren't always fair. Apples and oranges and all that


Day 22:
Non-bird words: none
Editing prep: put all the editing things into the spreadsheet. Boy that's a lot of things to edit
 

Layla Nahar

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Keithy - fwiw - the most important thing is - do we have a love for it. I was fretting about whether I could 'make it' and I forgot that I liked writing. So I decided to fit writing into my life in a balanced way and let happen whatever would happen.
Cindy - congrats on the words & all
April - here's to a satisfying day :)
Ptero - waaaving!


Day 23


WIP - added words
R/SC - ballet, got bread
BP/$$ - job 9 hours, wee bit o gimp
 

Cindyt

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Day 23

Word Count - 142

Dress Her in Chameleon - Formatting. And I’ve managed to trim words and page counts. Woot!

A Deadly Spill of Scarlet - Billy spots the man he had a gunfight down a mountail with before he quit DEADco in 1982.

April - P. Good luck on the 24th!

Layla - Woot on added words.

Chase - Good luck on the editing prep.