So many words. So little time.
Tag: fellow writers
I got in two and a half writing sessions this week. I say “half” because I only did one 10-minute session Saturday before all my motivation gave up and wandered away.
Still, three solid writing days, and writing for 11 weeks in a row! I’m very happy about the accountability posting this weekly is giving me, which is quite motivational. (Maybe I should start posting my weekly workouts, too, lol.)
How has the writing been going for everyone else?
Ten weeks. I’ve done some writing every week for ten weeks!
That’s a huge victory for me. I used to write all the time, but the last six years have been sporadic at best. Writing fiction has become a habit again, along with writing articles for class and honing those skills.
At least 750 words three days this week, which is my goal. Yay!
I didn’t get a lot of writing done this week. Basically only Thursday, and somewhere a bit less than a thousand words. But still: words.
Discovered something unexpected about my MC’s father.
I also didn’t get any work done on my HTWAN lessons. I’ve got to get that going again.
This week wasn’t a good writing week. I did get some writing done twice…but probably only about 500 words total. Stress seems to make writing nearly impossible for me, so I’m floundering. I’ll try to gain some focus next week.
The good news is my characters are talking to me, so yay!
Four straight weeks talking about writing on Sunday! I’m really proud of that streak. Really. It seems that for the past couple of years, all I’ve talked about here is books and book reviews, without time or room for anything else. But writing is where my heart truly lies. I’ve made it a priority this year, and the affirmation of that is in these weekly posts.
This week was an excellent writing week: I wrote four different days (I don’t write on my three long work days—we’re talking 12+ hours—because I’m just mentally and physically exhausted after those early, long days) this week, and my goal is 750 words in each writing session.
Nailed it. Which means I wrote 3,000 words this week! This makes me very happy. Years ago, I remember writing 10k in a single day—more than once—for NaNo, but that was years ago, pre-stroke. So, very happy with my 750 words a day…and they are just flowing, which is even better!
I haven’t been able to work on my HTWAN lessons this week, but I’m about to go do that right now. So: 3,000 words for the week!
Happy writitng!
Look at me: for the second Sunday in a row I’m talking about writing! Yay for New Year’s goals that last longer than a week…
The truth is, I haven’t started actually writing this story yet. But I’ve completed five weeks’ worth of worksheets for Holly Lisle’s How to Write a Novel Class, and now I have an actual idea (or three) of what this story is about, in addition to knowing more about my characters and the conflicts. (To be fair, what I knew about them before this class was basically zero.)
And I know what my first scene is—along with my second. This story is not about quite what I thought it was, and it will be interesting to see how it develops. I’ll be starting the first draft this week, so here’s to hitting my writing goals…the same week my semester starts.
…well, actually, Sunday is for talking about writing. As opposed to books and book reviews, as I do every other single time I post. I basically haven’t mentioned writing in like the past year. That’s because I haven’t really been writing—grad school and working full-time keeps me busy—much less have I felt like talking about this fact.
But not being creative makes me cranky and changes who I am, and I don’t want that to be my reality anymore. So, I’m getting back into writing. Baby steps, right now, but it is forward motion (in the words of Holly Lisle).
I’m doing some very basic work on a new story, and I’m hoping to get things ready to start writing very soon. I’ll be posting writing updates weekly to keep me motivated.
Onward and upward. Write on.
Sometimes, the writing comes easily. Sometimes…it feels like running a marathon with 10-pound weights on each foot: impossible.
This week, it has been both for me.
I did manage to get at least some words written every day Monday-Thursday, although Tuesday and Thursday only saw a handful, nowhere near my goal. Yesterday, I was mentally done with the week, and I didn’t even try.
Today…it’s been going fairly well. I only have 500 words to go to meet my word count goal for the day…which was initially 0, but since Tuesday and Thursday were barely productive, I knew I needed to make them up today. So, 2,000 words so far today, 500 to go.
Feeling a lot less completely overwhelmed with life and work and school as a result.
This week was fairly productive, considering it was the first week of grad school (Eep!). I did a tiny bit of writing—1,000 words or so—in The Fall, plus outlining 10 scenes in it as well. Having an outline made the writing flow pretty well. Something I know, yet I still started writing this story with no outline. Smart move, there.
I did a little outlining in the Witches revision, also. I’m sort of feeling my way with that, since I’ve revised the story several times, and this is more of a re-write than a revision, but I’m using the current draft as a guideline. We’ll see how that works out. My voice and style have changed significantly since I originally plotted the story.
Yesterday I attended a local authors’ event with a friend. It’s part of the library’s Year of the Book promotion. Each author had a table, and they each spoke for 10 minutes.
My friend and I went because we both love Rachel Caine’s work. (I’ve read The Morganville Vampires series, the Weather Warden series, the Outcast Season spin-offs, and her re-telling of Romeo and Juliet. I’ve been wanting to read her The Great Library series as well.)
Somehow, by sheer luck, we arrived about 15 minutes before Rachel’s talk, just in time to hear Sarah MacTavish. (I feel like I’ve heard of her, but can’t swear to it. I read SO MUCH that authors sometimes get a little bit mixed up in my mind sometimes.) I enjoyed her talk, and the short chat I had with her afterwards, and bought her book, Firebrand. Young adult fiction about the Civil War from an author who carries her supply of books in an R2D2 suitcase? I’m sold! I’m looking forward to the read, just as soon as I wrangle enough time from my schedule for it.
My purchases for the day:
It’s been quite a while since I purchased physical copies of fiction. The bottom two books I bought at the event, the top three at B & N beforehand. I was so excited when I got home, but I had serious reader’s indecision: What to read first?
Answer: Firstlife, by Gena Showalter, because I’m hoping to get approved to review the second book in the series, and because I’ve been interested in this one for a while. Isn’t the cover gorgeous?
Confession: I read the entire thing last night. Loved it! The concept is so unique, and the characters compelled me from the first page. You should definitely read this!
I kind of forgot to post an update yesterday, so this is a day late (and a dollar short).
Current word count: 24,257. Almost halfway done.I feel this word count is more impressive if you also know that I’ve written 4,000 words each of the last 3 days.
Current mental status:
Tomorrow Is Another Day 