posted
08-25-08 Did You Write? . This again is a chance brag about your accomplishments or cry about your failures, or otherwise tell about what is going on in your life. I write this note each week to give you a goal to work towards, to get some writing done so you can report in a reply, that you actually did something. I have used it many times to force time to get something done so I could say I wrote. I consider writing as new writing, of course. I also consider editing, even if it is someone else's work, as writing. I consider poetry as writing. Blogs, articles, writing assignments are also considered writing. I even consider E-mails, if they are very wordy and apply to writing, as writing. You might be able to come up with something else that will qualify as writing, as long as you believe it to be writing.
As for me, Yes, I can say I wrote. I got to the end of the first Waxy Dragon story based on My vacation visit to my writing partner. I have some heavy editing to do as I started the story while writing only one handed, and took a whole lot of short cuts to get it on paper. I have a lot of filling out to do in the story. I sometimes mentioned a scene, rather than write it. As it is, the story is up to page seven with 4386 words. That added 1832 words this week. After I edit this piece, I can then start on another story we plotted out based on our vacation. My writing partner has finished a story based on the vacation and I will have to edit that too, while she edits my story. We will be busy. We have another author involved but he has not gotten started yet. he is working on a parallel story right now.
I am way behind on my story ideas. It is the 25th and I should have 25 story ideas posted already. I am doubling up as much as possible, but today, I have posted my twelfth story idea. Unless I have a really good week, I doubt I will have more than 24 story ideas posted for the month. It is not horrible, but not good either, since I am supposed to have 31 at the end of the month. I will have to do double duty next month to make sure I am fully caught up. This is not the first time this has happened and won't be the last. I could have added more words by editing the piece this week, but had one of those weeks where I was not home very much. The story ideas are fun to write. I don't have to be stuck in a "universe" for any length of time. I get to explore all sorts of situations and worlds with the knowledge that tomorrow, I will be able to write another new piece.
It is a true pleasure to be able to type with both hands again. You don't know how frustrating it is to not be able to type as fast as I read. Back in July, I was carving on a handle of a beer stein I made and the knife slipped. It cut two tendons in my left index finger. It is healing, but we have a little problem. At this moment, the last knuckle is not moving. It could well be that the tendons stuck together, which can happen, and I may need more surgery to fix that. Right now, the therapist is working on the finger to try to free it up. I have exercises I have to do with the hand between times. They are a royal bother. The finger is still stiff in all joints which is a problem, but it does not effect my typing since there is very little bending involved. The skin is also tender and is a bother when I lift something or bump it. The rough spots in the skin are also driving me up the wall. It bugs me every time I touch a high spot. At least I can type, that is a start.
On the woodworking front, I have not done too well. I have had one of those frustrating periods. when you have wood spinning fast, it can leap out of the grip of the equipment holding them. I started on a vase and it seems as if it is on the ground far more than it is being cut into. Luckily, I have not gotten very far on the cutting so no damage is done. We had a club meeting Thursday and they demonstrated how to make Christmas Ornaments. I did make two ornaments, but they were out of junk wood and did not come out too well. I did get some neat ideas, though and will apply what I learned soon.
AS to the question of the week, Yes, I can say that I did write.
posted
Got a little bit done on my City of Night rewrite, including the all important main City descreption.
Posts: 2626 | Registered: Apr 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
My 7k word story last week is now almost 18k, so it's progressing quite nicely. So yup, I wrote.
Still waiting for my editor to get back with her recommendations on my lastest short story batch, and then I can get to finishing those letters to publishers.
posted
Another washout week. I made a major decision about rewriting my last story---but haven't acted on it, even just to cut and paste, to compile a new word processing file of what I'm saving.
I'm not hopeful of the coming week---much like last week, I've got a hurricane coming up on me, and that'll distract me no end, just like last week.
quote:I'm not hopeful of the coming week---much like last week, I've got a hurricane coming up on me, and that'll distract me no end, just like last week.
Why do people actually live in Florida during hurricane season?
posted
I did. Over the weekend (Sunday for me) I drove to the historical site at which my novel opens. I walked in the footsteps of those who first took up arms in defense of the United States (even when it was still English colonies), and learned the layout of the land and the history of the people.
[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited August 26, 2008).]
posted
Ohhh thanks for asking. I did indeed write! I worked on the first chapter of Journey last night, thanks to some helpful advice on the opening paragraph.
I edited part of it as well, which I need to refrain from doing or I'll never get past the first chapter.
Does working on a diagram with your eleven year old on the "The Water Cycle" count as writing?
posted
I did indeed. I think this is the first time I've reported in here, too, though I'm hoping that will change going forward.
I finished the outline of a novel I've been tossing around in my head for the better part of a year, just letting it brew. No real title yet, just a working one, so I have something to call it, which is The Lonely Castle. 8 pages of outline, and I'm really happy with it. I'm going to let it stew for about a week, then go back, take another look at it, make sure I'm still okay with it, and then probably start in on chapter 1 as soon as I'm done that.
Also started an outline for a short story, and thought about a way to rewrite another short that I've never been wholly happy with.
I'm feeling amazingly productive (for me at least), which has been at least partly spurred by my new writing toy. I just picked up an old blackberry, no phone service or email or anything like that. I'm just using it for notes and ideas, maybe the occasional bit of drafting, but probably not. The memo pad size limit is just too small for that, plus I'd have to retype it all, since it won't let me just beam the note over to my computer. Oh well, nothing's perfect. It's just nice to have a full, if small, keyboard to use when that amazing idea lights up my brain.
posted
Apparently, Rhaythe inspired me last week. (Thanks!) Not including online writing, I wrote about 5,900 words, mostly for Odal's Story.
I also moved Odal's Story into a new binder to make room in my original story binder. As I did, I thought of how writing and filing are like gardening. Nurture growth here, weed there, and transplant when needed.
So, yes, I grew new additions to my writing garden.
posted
It's slow going. I'm trying to do justice to one Critter's critique a week and to looking over stuff here for the Wotf group I'm in. In the meantime, I AM slogging through "China Station." I believe I have reached the climax. Something is arriving, the actual owners/builders of the station. I guess this is a first contact story. It needs a fresh take on aliens.
I have NO IDEA what comes next. Tomorrow I'll find out as I push out another 200 words minimum. Even the pov character keeps morphing on me and the boy with the silver eyes still has some big secret he's yet to reveal to me.
In some ways this is exciting. I prefer it to having the whole story plotted out with my part reduced to filling in the words. Yet, it's scary. Can I indeed come up with interesting...fascinating stuff to finish the story off? That was my problem when I was doing the story a week. Every week I had to finish with a new and different bang. By Thursdays I was nervous and Saturday I was desperate. Going this slow, I have more time to dredge up ideas and discard the really, really stupid ones.
posted
The young adult novel is three minor tweaks away from being completed! However, I'm still tripping on what is turning out to be the toughest part of this whole story: the agent query letter. I hate condensing 78K words into a one page summary. Still, it's been an interesting challenge, and my mind constantly makes suggestions as to how I can conquer it.
One of my SF short stories got reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-jected last week, so I printed out a fresh copy and sent it out again.
My latest SF novel is still in its opening phase (only 3K words so far). My digital recorder and I talked through a few ideas on my drive to work this morning, and I now know how to solve a problem that was nagging me over the weekend.
I revisited an unfinished 4K word SF story last night, and realized it didn't suck nearly as bad as I remembered, so back to the starting lineup it goes. I'll be working on it this week.
Also...once I've submitted the young adult story at least once, I will finish up two other 'almost there' SF short stories before I turn the full force of my fragmented attention to the SF novel.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
