October 2020 Challenge - Write Every Day!

ChaseJxyz

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Cindy: Geez :( cats can really do some damage if they want to
April: I hope you figure it out soon
Second Moon: Great wordcount!
Woolly: Corvid? No lol. And yeah I'm going to need to really do that, too. I'm very good at forgetting character descriptions
Layla: Congrats on words
Ptero: Snake orgies are definitely a thing, especially with garter snakes
Ice: Hooray!! Awesome job!!

Day 26: I ended up writing 800ish words of future bird stuff and maybe 100 about elves trying to figure out gravity. I mean, you can't see it can it even be real?
 

Woollybear

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That bunny tail is so cute.

No edits for me today, but I did drag myself outside, after the winds died down, and did about 80% of the drilling and screwing to assemble a new raised bed (2.5 x 9 x 1 feet).

Oh, also went on a new short hike (in the wind) this morning, but was so zonked out by it, that I fell asleep around 2 pm, so the hike already feels like it was yesterday.
 

Layla Nahar

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Ptero - They were all different species and they weren't moving. I think it was just a bunch of snakes hanging out getting some sun in a nice spot that snakes like. Maybe there's a snake broadsheet that says 'the stonewall above the swamp is a *great* place for a vacation - cool rooms deep inside, and a veranda to soak up the sun. I've been back a few times and I've seen the head of the big snake sticking out from between the stones, but I've never seen the big pileup again. Congrats on your 250 and your 100
ice! W0000T - 'FINISHED' Sweet sweet victory!
April - musings plus words sounds good
Cindy - congrats on the words - and that's some bunny pic :D
Moon - congrats on the 580 :). - my car - the muffler kicked just a day or two before I was to get it inspected. Mufflers don't last forever.




Day 27


WIP - added words
R/SC - did the dishes & put em away soon as I got home
BP/$$ - job 12 hours
 

Cindyt

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Day 27

Added words

Research

  • Elks in Tennessee? Of a kind.
  • When Native Americans flourish on the plains? 17th - 19th Centuries

Dress Her in Chameleon - Formatting. I’m on the home stretch. After which I’ll go back and make sure everything fires. Then submit.

Moon - I’m the only one who’s ever described her as rabbit-tailed. My husband and I adopted her brothers. William had a long busy black tail. Harry didn’t have so much as a nub for a tail. Guess who they were named after. Lol. They eventually up and moved in with neighbors. Lol.

Chase - They sure can. Somebody recommended a spray bottle, but my sister says that just makes her madder. She’s a demon.

Layla - It is cute. Congrats on the added words.
 

April Swanson

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Cindyt: Sometimes my laptop does straight quotes instead of curly ones just because. Formatting is fun! Glad to hear you’re almost there.

Second: Nice work crushing that goal!

Chase: Very nice wordage :)

Woolly: Very impressive! I assembled an Ikea bed once. Not quite the same …

Layla: Lovely words :)

2551 yesterday, but I know they’ll all need redone. I’m not sure whether to keep hacking words up, or to take more time to think out the scenes. Hm.
 

The Second Moon

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Day 27 - 706 words on the first story in The Pets of Jacksondale.

I think I can finish this short story today. My goal is for it is to at least be 5,000 words long. I'm at 4,410 now and the story (plot-wise) is almost done. They just have to escape the science museum by maneuvering around some jellyfish that spilled out of their tank and getting to the roof where some big birds can help them.

April - That's a tricky question, but I'm sure whichever way you go will be good.

Layla - That doesn't sound good. Now if only I knew which part a muffler was. :tongue

Woolly - I went shopping for hoodies and was exhausted after that. I probably should have taken a nap, but I watched TV instead.

Cindyt - I have no idea who your cats are named after.

ChaseJxyz - Thanks.
 

ChaseJxyz

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Woolly: Hopefully the exertion got some ideas flowing
Layla: Congrats on words
Cindy: Good job on words
April: Either way, that's an awesome wordcount :)
Second Moon: What kind of birds?

Day 27: More worldbuilding. Did some species history stuff and, because I'm so extra, I made a phylogenetic tree. Not counting sub-species or hybrids there are 13 species. I'm also playing with the idea that the world is either too young to have petroleum (or not enough to be reliant on it as an energy source) or that the decay-ers of lignen don't exist (so everything is coal), but both have some pretty big implications that I know I'm not fully grapsing yet. But that's also a far, far future problem to sort out so I should work on the actual problems for this story first lol
 

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I finished building the garden bed and started filling it with leaves and compost and manure. It'll be plantable by the end of the year.

Also got some character descriptions squared away--another 13 tucked in so far today for a total of 32 of the 74 total that I want. (I miscounted named characters, there are 37 altogether.)

Layla: Congrats!
Cindy: That homestretch looks great! Congrats.
April: So many words, congrats!
Second moon: Well done on the short story!
Chase: LOL you did NOT go all dendogram on us. What? You did? Love it. Incidentally, another way to get rid of fossil fuels is to have a previous idiotic dominant species burn all the fossil fuels in 300 years and kill themselves in the process. Then when they die from their stupidity and greed and the next species ascends a mere hundred thousand years later, it's still way too soon for fossil fuels to have reformed yet.
 

Pterofan

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I think I got my days confused. Let's play catchup here. Day 24 was the 90 words. Day 25 was the 3/4 page, maybe 300. Day 26 looks to be another 90, maybe 100 if I'm lucky. Day 27 is about half a page, call it 200 at best.

I was going to type this morning, but got distracted by paid work again. Looks like it's going to be more longhand after I watch TV.

Layla - wonder if snakes have a chat room? How do they text?

Ice - :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
 

April Swanson

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Second: Nice work! Good luck finishing the story.

Chase: That is some serious world-building!

Woolly: Cool—what do you plan on growing?

Pterofan: Nice effort over all the days!

Layla: Yay the things :)

I revised an old chunk then ploughed ahead with 1400 words or so, then decided the entire plot is crap and needs thrown out. So I’m heading back to the beginning of the book for take 2. Book 4 feels like it’s going the way of Book 3. Oh joy.
 

The Second Moon

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Day 28 - 143 words on The Pets of Jacksondale. I did not finish the short story. I really want to but I have so much school work.*sigh* I left off with Holly and her friends almost out of the room where a tank of jellyfish was spilled.

April - I hate it when the entire plot feels like garbage, but redoing it might be very beneficial for you.

Woolly - Good job with the character description.

ChaseJxyz - The birds are going to be hawks. I need the hawks to get two cats, a ferret, and a rat terrier off the roof of a science museum. Research tells me hawks can not lift more than five or four pounds, so I'm going to make them carry the cats and dog in a basket or blanket with multiple hawks lifting it. The hawks could easily lift a ferret, though.
 

Cindyt

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Day 28

Word Count - 304

Dress Her in Chameleon - Finished formatting. Currently residing in grammar-check hell. Did a bunch today and then created a better cover image which I’ll pot to my siggy later. I laid the bones for a better description (For the book’s amazon page.) I may go ahead and buy an ISBN now instead of waiting for the possible paperback. That way, I can put my own logo on the ebook.

Moon - Cats are named for England’s Prince William and Prince Harry. (My husband’s doing.)

April - When I type on my blogs, they are straight. I think some of it depends on the font. IDK.

Chase - I have tons of fun world building.

Woolly - Congrats on the character descriptions

Layla - Have fun!

I may or may not stick with just the ebook for now.
 

ChaseJxyz

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Woolly: The issue with that, tho, is that they probably used up all the rare earths and left a bunch of junk behind. While Dosadi Screws-esque artifacts are interesting, it's not what I have in mind for my setting.
Ptero: Nice job on various words on various days
April: That sucks :(
Second Moon: Got it
Cindy: I can really tell :) Especially with all the research you do

Day 28: Worldbuilding was about religious stuff. I already knew a lot about the dominant faith and some basic stuff about other ones, so I ended up working out how they influence various things. Army stuff and inter-species microagressions are next on the list.

- - - Updated - - -

Woolly: The issue with that, tho, is that they probably used up all the rare earths and left a bunch of junk behind. While Dosadi Screws-esque artifacts are interesting, it's not what I have in mind for my setting.
Ptero: Nice job on various words on various days
April: That sucks :(
Second Moon: Got it
Cindy: I can really tell :) Especially with all the research you do

Day 28: Worldbuilding was about religious stuff. I already knew a lot about the dominant faith and some basic stuff about other ones, so I ended up working out how they influence various things. Army stuff and inter-species microagressions are next on the list.
 

Woollybear

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Woot! The descriptions are all in there. Yes, it does feel contrived, to anyone who may have wondered about that--it does feel that way as I plug along, but at least I can rest knowing that all the characters *do* have a physical tell on the page! Except for two or three who, upon reflection, didn't need one. In all but two cases there's a repeat hint about appearance, in a subsequent scene. (I suspect the main characters have many repeat hints since there was some character description previously, just not a dedicated edit to make sure I had covered myself.)

The second half of the additions went by so much quicker than the first half. I think it's because the list was making its way toward the minor characters, so it felt less critical to figure out how their appearance fit into the story. There's an old astronomer with a wispy beard who could have as easily been a young and hairless astronomer fresh out of her educational program--it doesn't matter, it's a trivial character who appears once for one purpose. So these later descriptions were not so hard. I do worry a bit that I've not done justice to the clothing in the world, but I did manage to tuck in a few hints there as well. Mostly I worry that sometimes these characters are not properly dressed for their weather. (Oh cr*p, I just realized I really haven't described the weather as much as maybe I need to. Sigh.) Oh well. That is a problem for another day.

Feels good to get this task done--now I want to finish up my spreadsheet to get the details officially recorded.

Layla: Well done! Yes, they do text with their tongues. This feels right.
Chase: Sounds good... Dosadi Screws is a new one for me and I must now find out what they are. :)
April: Maybe potatoes to start? I have a couple sprouting on my counter. I am sorry to hear you are not finding joy in the project, but it will come.
Cindy: Impressive. I wish I'd bought more than a ten pack of ISBNs.
Pterofan: Longhand is good. enjoy the writing!
Second moon: The short story is your reward after you finish school work, yeah? This is the trick I use, anyway.
 
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Pterofan

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Day 28 - I forgot to look, I think it was a bit over half a page. At least 200 words, maybe 250.

Looks like another drive-by today, once again due to assignments. I was going to write last night but then I got stomach cramps or something and ended up dashing off flash before going to bed. I think it was the cookie binge that did me in, or the lettuce that I may have left in the fridge a bit too long. I'm fine now. Pepto-Bismol is my go-to drug.

Layla - the tongues! Yes!
 
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Layla Nahar

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April - n steps forward, n-x steps back is still progress - congrats on the 1400 & revisions
Moon, congrats on the 143
Cindy - congrats on the 304
Chase, sounds like fun
woolly - sounds like keeping up the good work
Ptero - congrats on the half page


Day 29


WIP - added words
R/SC - washed my lunch boxes etc as soon as I got home, & got lunch &c ready for tomorrow
BP/$$ - job 12 hours
 

Cindyt

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Day 29

Dress Her in Chameleon - Editing. Spent an inordinate amount of time searching for an imprint logo maker that had halfway decent elements. No luck.

Chase - Happy worldbuilding!

Woolly - Congrats on finishing the descriptions! Did you know that if publish with Kindle you get a discount on your ISBNs at Bawker?

Layla - Congrats on added words.
 

The Second Moon

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Day 29 - 679 words.

I finished up the short story! My goal was for it to be at least 5,000 words. I finished it at 5,252 words. The issue is... I'm having a blast writing it, but I don't really enjoy daydreaming about the characters. I don't know if you feel the same but daydreaming is a very vital aspect to me loving my characters. I'm heavily debating if I should even continue with the book because of this issue. GAH!!!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!! SHOULD I CONTINUE OR NOT????

Anyways, I'm really surprised I finished it yesterday since I was so busy. I did two school assignments and made a small batch of cookies (I never bake so I surprised myself). Too bad the recipe only made 19 cookies and with 6 people in the house, that's a very small amount of cookies.

April - At least your getting sales. I'm not, but I'm hoping that putting out the second book in the series will boost sales.

Cindyt - I never would have guessed that about your cats' names. Two of my three cats are named after food (Taffy and Pepper) and one has a "human" name (Frank)

Layla - Thanks.

Ptero - Feel better soon!

Woolly - Cool new avatar! Is that what a woolly bear is?

ChaseJxyz - Good job with the worldbuilding.
 
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ChaseJxyz

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Woolly: Fall into the rabbit hole that is Snaiad. Same guy who did All Yesterdays and All Tomorrows. http://www.cmkosemen.com/snaiad_web/snduterus.html
Ptero: Congrats on words
Layla: Nice work on words
Cindy: Sounds like it's time to break out Photoshop
April: Ah, Amazon, gotta love them
Second Moon: I totally get the daydreaming thing. What helps for me is to have some sort of seed for it. What if instead of [thing in story] they did [other thing]? How would they react to [thing]? Or were in [whatever AU]? That seems to help

Day 29: Boy I got some stuff done. Figured out names/sizes for army units and their commanders, came up with various microaggressions between species, figured out birbnobyl changed things in more subtle ways, and made a map of birb palace.
 

Layla Nahar

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Cindy - wtg editing!
April - talk about do not want!
Moon - great work :)
Chase - I like birds. About a year ago I fell down a big youtube rabbit hole that started with cockatoo tantrums...
Ptero, congrats on that page




Day 30 - I woke up 6 minutes before I was supposed to punch in.


WIP - took a skip day
R/SC - ballet (ballet is hard!)
BP/$$ - job 9 hours
 

Cindyt

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Day 30

Word Count = 131

Dress Her in Chameleon - Editing and working on the description the book’s Amazon page.

Moon - Yeah, I know what you mean. I doubt I could write about characters I didn’t love.

Chase - I lucked out and generated one for each of the two logo prospects.

Layla - Oops! Hope you had a fun day off.
 

The Second Moon

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Day 30 - 0 words.

After much debating I decided not to write the pet stories. It just wasn't working for me. I think I'm also going to shelve another project that just isn't capturing me like it used to.

Almost at the end of October, everyone. I hope I can get the second book in the "Barney and Mr. Thomas" series published in November.