Gathering Of Dedicated Scribblers discussion
General Chat - How you doing?
Yesterday I kept going on youtube searches for another sound as background while writing and then changing my mind and doing another search for another singer and then compare whether I wanted to listen to live or recorded albums... Then it was one of those, what was the name of that one that sings that thing? And searching via hair colour to see if I could find the name, because clearly only that one will do for background music while writing. Someone I know not the name of and not what the song was.
After what felt like several life times of this, I managed to squeeze some writing out and it really felt like I was fighting my whole body to squeeze it out.
And then of course I hit pay dirt when I least expected it, I started down a path of the story where I just knew what will happen next and what will move and etc so I ended up writing until I realized I was too tired to keep writing and had to stop but my brain was in full alert while my eyes were sleeping.
But today is great, because the cat has decided I am interesting again and is seating close to me snoring loudly which makes me feel like going to sleep but i have to get out and do stuff and after 8pm my time I hope to get back to that bit where it felt easy to write more.
Also, I have run out of the chocolate with the orange pieces in it and it is just making me feel like the world is not worth living in anymore.
PS. I may be pms-ing.
Well, you have managed to start my day off with a good laugh.
I am sure everyone was worried, but I am glad to say, I have returned home victorious, I have chocolate with orange pieces in it.
Liavali wrote: "A thread to do daily updates on how the hell are we doing??? You can answer any of these questions or all of them or choose any information you wish to share about how the day is going for writing ..."I knocked out close to a thousand words yesterday, still 4000 short of hitting 20,000 by September 1st. To quote Lloyd Bridges "Looks I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines."
Good to hear that people are managing to crack out the words, no matter the tiredness or the lack of a cat. I've just crossed the 30k mark with chapter nine I've finished, so I'm feeling really positive about this whole book writing thing xD I am also doing a writing marathon with a friend of mine - where you write every day for 21 days - and it's working wonders so far. I highly recommend something like that just to try.
Today I'm having the rainy weather to write in and some spooky tunes to set the scene.
@M.L. Maybe it's time to try chocolate, coffee and loud tunes?@Maria That's great to hear, about doing marathons with people, I never heard of this, but am curious and would like to try in future.
Also WHO can write without a cat? Is that even possible?
Today I have already added to manuscript this morning ( which I am making myself do every day even when I really prefer to be re writing stuff to death until none of it makes any sense)SO I make myself write new pages to manuscript every day before going back to do any re writes on earlier things.
Now that I did new pages earlier I may tackle my chapter one that even though it has been changed quite a bit here and there I have decided I will try to just re write ALL OF IT, not review or edit, just actually take what I know is not working and just start with blank page again.
Wish me luck. I have chocolate, and a cat that yawned in my face yesterday and it stunk of rotten fish. IT IS ON.
I did it, I rewrote chapter one last night. Now ALL but a lot. This is where insomnia comes in handy. On the other hand, the cat is ignoring me today.
@Liavali I wish I had a cat. I feel like it would make my writing 120% better for sure :DGreat that you managed to rewrite the chapter, just don't get too bogged down at rewriting at this stage. It is important, sure, but it is also important to move forward at this stage c:
Maria wrote: "@Liavali I wish I had a cat. I feel like it would make my writing 120% better for sure :DGreat that you managed to rewrite the chapter, just don't get too bogged down at rewriting at this stage. ..."
I don't review anything unless I write a minimum of 500 words of new material adding to the story. Every day and been going ok!
As my focus is more on wrapping my soon-to-be-coming debut (and many hard decisions coming with it), I was happy to get to real writing today, even if all I did was to give a single scene from book two a major makeover.
Well done on giving anything a major make over! I do plan on trying to add 500 or more new words on my manuscript and have nothing in my head. Brain is like a blank page with some scribbles saying what what WHAT WHAT?????
So, plan may fail.
No writing happening today. Maybe the cat will get off her ass and be more helpful tomorrow. I blame her.
I'm not going to do much writing today. I had to fire 2 guys today, going to try to find one to hire. Got beginning of the month responsibilities to attend to after a long weekend. I am looking forward to writing tomorrow after everything is completed today. Today my goal is to separate nine chapters, place titles, page numbers, format and add illustrations before emailing them for review.
I did manage to throw together some new pages last night, but today is also formatting, checking for chapter breaks and formatting the dialogue properly before sending it out to annoy someone else. Aside form that the cat has provided morning entertainment, by throwing up profusely and then attempting to eat it. That's right, it is all happening today!
I have done close to nothing today. The cat is sleeping her usual 22 hours daily and is not helping either.
I wrote 2 paragraphs yesterday and not entirely happy with them. Hopefully today is more productive. I made my own soda using carbonation and Italian vanilla syrup. =D
Making your own soda sounds very fancy. Also 2 paragraphs is good, even if you don't like them the story is continuing and that is what editing and reviewing is for! I did only a page of weird writing yesterday but I don't care, I managed one page! It may not make any sense later and have no place anywhere but it was like a start on a view of where it's at 60 years later. Doesn't need to be good, make sense or even read normally as a text, just putting the things in writing means I can sort it out later.
Fingers crossed I can write a little more again today! I will attend a free workshop from London organization called Spread the Word and tonight (tonight for me, I am Berlin) I will participate in writing workshop of JJ Bola, so excited cause having even small interactions with other writing folks and exercises or workshops always inspires me to keep writing.
That's exciting. Your writing style is going to change I bet, but for the better. So far this courser hasn't taught me anything however, it has introduced me to a few other inspiring writers/authors and if we make a long term writing team, it will all be worth it.
Yup, teaching or learning anything new is NOT what this course is about, but it gave us a time table, an urgency to keep going and has sorted some groups so it's been ok for that!
Have you ever been in the situation that you're chain-stuck by tasks that "wait" for one another?Book 1 is pretty much finished, and I am delaying the final typo-hunting proofread for when I have the cover (2 weeks probably) so I can test the conversion with cover included.
I'm delaying reading the current draft of book two for the same reason - I want to read them back to back to check consistency and flow from one book to another.
And I'm not sure if poking into the early draft of #3 amidst all of that would be a good idea... but I might go for that and at least make notes what'll need to be edited because of the changes in #1 and #2 since 2018 when I made that early draft of #3...
An embarrassment of riches! But I know the feeling of not knowing what you can do and being stuck.
I've eventually done and made some small edits on the first chapters of #3 just so I do something...
LOL, nothing worst that trying to sit on your hands!
For the majority of information that I have researched, the most successful new author releases for trilogys, come when a trilogy is released together rather than 1 book at a time. Not sure if this helps assist you or not but it might be wise to write all 3 books. Then have 3 covers created so that the art styles are similar and then publish. New authors with new titles are more often then not found to not have finished or continued to complete all 3 books so most readers do not take chances on picking up their single 1of3 books.
What you say has a point - after all, they say that the best way to promote a book is to write a sequel.However, the usual spacing allows me to spread the cost (especially when it comes to covers). I've done a lot to reduce the gap by weaving work on the sequels between drafts of the debut, and will do my best to shorten the gaps. But publishing it also allows me to (hopefully) let it get a few reads and maybe reviews, and let me explore some of the low-cost ways to throw attention on it.
And only when the trilogy is complete, I'd think whether giving it a major push would be worth it.
For now, I'm going to spend the weekend in the hills, get some ideas, and come back refreshed in mind, even if tired in my legs. Hope you others get something done while I'm gone :)
Booksniffer is going life this week. Bringing in followers could give you 'FREE' advertising.
Health is back down so even though I actually wrote quite a bit new pages for thingy, overall today am excited about reviews but have no energy for any re writes or maybe not even to write. The cat doesn't seem to care though, she screamed at me until I fed her and then disappeared again, this room mate is very moody...
Have not yet gotten back to writing my own stuff at all, but at least managing reviews which can be inspiration for getting back to my own writing!
Well I had a busy weekend. My body is tired but I got a Mexican omelet burrito here and hopefully that fuels me to start writing something today. I'll start my hour timer in a bit and hopefully some words will magically appear on the screen =D.
Good luck!I will at some point today also sit in front of computer and hoping the words appear!
Inspiration has returned. Will be writing today!
Oooh I made it, 1500 words today. Also 3 or 4 reviews and did a plan of my entire novel. I joined the 100 day book thingy. I want to make sure I finish my first draft. Doing big push!
I haven't even looked at my novel in about a week now. You gotta take a break every now and then. Since our little trio were reading and reviewing the first 9 chapters of each other's work I figured this would be a good time. But also...I just finished a re-write of a horror script and I'm sending it to a professional reader for notes. Also, just cranked out the first five pages of a new script I'll be writing on the side. Writing never stops, it just changes direction.
Write hard, amigos.
M.L. wrote: "I haven't haven't even looked at my novel in about a week now. You gotta take a break every now and then. Since our little trio were reading and reviewing the first 9 chapters of each other's work ..."You are a machine. I barely managed to finish chapter 17 for this week. Is the outline for a script and a novel completely different?
The same. I think I might try out the Coursera screenwriting class to keep me on a schedule.
Oh wow, that is hardcore! So you are doing the Boo novel, it's script, and re writing a horror scrip also?
That's 3 writing projects on the go!
I think I would cry if I tried to do that. Like just sit down and cry. And I almost NEVER EVER CRY.
M.L. wrote: "I haven't even looked at my novel in about a week now. You gotta take a break every now and then. Since our little trio were reading and reviewing the first 9 chapters of each other's work I figure..."Damn, amigo, your'e totally going to get a movie deal soon!
I'm struggling hard to focus. I hate everything I write. I want it to be genius, I now is impossible to have something barely good at the draft stage but I get so discouraged when I see how much I suck at writing. I guess is part of the creative process, to hate one self.
I had this, more with the other things I tried to write before, because I kept reading it and reading it. And hating it all. I also had not read other people's first drafts. Over the last 10 years of writing and writing courses and workshops I have read many people's first, second and third drafts of things and it really made me feel very different about what writing can be.
There are some people that their first draft seems to be a poesy already sorted, but it takes them weeks and weeks to write a couple of pages. That is fine, everyone is different.
Others write just ok on first draft but don't give up and keep moving forward.
In the end you have to finish a first draft to be able to hate your first draft. I spent a lot of time hating all my small chapters and every paragraph and sentence and never finished anything before, I think it was taking too much out of me all the hating it. Made me not feel like continuing.
This time I don't hate it. It's not perfect but it doesn't feel like I hate it. I think this time I will manage to finish a first draft because of that.
Maybe stop re-reading anything you write. Just always start on new page and not look behind, just in front.
My first drafts are so bad I give up trying to be a writer after every one. But, I put it away for a month or two. When I look at it again, it's not so bad because I forget about all the problems and the hell I put myself through just to get it done. In screenwriting we call it putting it under the mattress. That's why I work several projects at once. Knock one out then on to the next episode. Will any of them ever sell? Who knows. But, it doesn't hurt to have more than one lottery ticket, if you know what I mean.
maybe you're right guys, I'm probably stuck in a single thing, I have to get my head a little bit out of my mess and later return with a fresher mind. I was also writing a book of short stories, perhaps I should alternate between both projects
I think you should totally try different things, cause you will find what works for you. be it alternating projects or just focusing on continuing, you will find the way that works for you.
Today is a good day, not health wise but I did write 2500 words today, and I may even write more after dinner!
So today I managed already 1800 words. Thing is I have given myself a deadline, within the 100 day book thing, and I want to finish first draft by the 1st of October.
That means writing a minimum of 2000 words every day until then. A bit worried I am biting off more than I can chew but I am determined to finish a first draft!
So that is not enough and I will write more today.
Managed! 2.730 words!! Today's goal accomplished.
Liavali wrote: "Managed! 2.730 words!! Today's goal accomplished."Seems like you're on the home stretch. Push on. Good luck.
Getting impatient, I want to be done now!!
I actually wrote some more and today's word count is 3973. It's a sprint for me now people, no more marathon talk from coursera!!!!
Managed to write today? What time, and how many times did you pay attention to something else instead?
Managed to write yesterday? feeling up for another round?
Still excited about characters or is watching the cat sleep become more interesting?
Ready to scream at the computer screen, OR, if you are vintage, wanting to burn your notebooks filled with your writings yet?
What distracted you from writing today? Yesterday? What will distract you tomorrow?
Feeling at all hopeful or grateful about anything. ANYTHING?