DTD—256 words. Not every night is a good night.

I’m too tired to write. I got SOME words. Pushed myself to get my minimum. I can’t say I’m thrilled with what I got, and if I’m better rested tomorrow, I’ll expect better.

But I got SOME words, and I am happy with that.

Hope you’re having fun, and that the words are coming easily.

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By Holly

Novelist, writing teacher, on a mission to reprint my out-of-print books and indie-publish my new ones.

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Sarah
13 years ago

A little over 1700 in my main WIP, and an entire day devoted to planning and scheming and notecarding. I cancelled all my social activities in order to figure out where my book was going, and don’t regret it at all. I feel much better about things now. There is still a little bit of uncertainty near the climax, but I think that bit will grow organically, and maybe surprise me. πŸ™‚
260 in my short story, wherein the potentate finds her child returned to her, unharmed. Or is it?

Crystal Shards
Crystal Shards
13 years ago

520 words last night.

I couldn’t give my full attention to the story because I was trying to get a book read that was due for my AP Lit and Comp class. So that kept me pretty busy.

Patricia
Patricia
13 years ago

I’m afraid I haven’t been writing much on the actual book (except for an ambush and a knife in the dark, which was cool because I didn’t expect it), but I have been drawing illustrations and finally finishing the sketch of my main character (his hair is taking forever, especially because I took a break from it), as well as getting some more background info in there. I’m also involved in a rather epic roleplay (like Lord of the Rings epics, seriously), so that has also been taking up some of my time. I am happy though because I’ve still been writing a lot every day. Happy writing everyone!

Gabby
Gabby
13 years ago

120 words during my lunch break and no additional words tonight as I am packing for the long weekend. Good luck everyone with your words this weekend. Not sure if I will have any story time myself.

Clare K. R. Miller
13 years ago

689 words last night. Um… I just did tonight’s words so I don’t remember what exactly happened in last night’s! Oh, Ernest and Jack revealed that they bought guns and Cricket freaked out. She doesn’t really trust guns. Actually, there’s probably something in her past that would explain that…

SCBrazil
SCBrazil
13 years ago

468 for me.
My motivation is coming back. Maybe that’s because I’m with blind Hector again. I like him.
He got his sight back an hour ago and is currently recollecting mental visual images of all the huge creatures he can put a name against – elephants, hippos, apes, bears – cos he cannot put a word next to the two brutes currently barring his way. To hold his sanity in tact he is convincing himself they must have existed before he went blind and he just forgot what they looked like.
Having so much fun with Hector tells me I need to define Anaje more. She’s the Indian girl who is going to help him but makes my writing feel heavy.
Overall, a pleasing effort today.

Lisa
Lisa
13 years ago

Wow. So I’m back. I gave up on the WIP I was working on…at least for now…and I’ve been doing HTTS and hoping to start a new WIP soon. But then I found an old almost-finished manuscript and dusted it off, and, well, some nice glimmers seemed to come off with the dust. So I decided to finish it. It’s about 60,000 words already (it’s an old NaNoWriMo novel, my first actually, where I got past the word count but never quite finished the story), and I wrote over 1,000 words on it tonight. I am LOVING it. Most of the time I’m counting words when I’m writing…but tonight I was completely caught up in the story; I felt like I could have kept writing all day. It’s especially fun because I’m picking up just before the climax…so I’m really excited about the scenes I’m writing now.

Don
Don
13 years ago

Some are better then none, I got 657 be over 40,000 words by the first half of next week. Will have to add some prior scenes tomorrow and over the weekend, but no cutting that’s good.

Shannon
Shannon
13 years ago

I think I actually lost words last night, but it’s okay. I went back and rewrote part of a scene that just wasn’t working. Now it flows right into the next scene and it’s a lot less awkward. So I’m down on words, but my story moved forward. I’m okay with that.

Roisin
Roisin
13 years ago

694 last night. I’m at a fork in the path, where my story can take one of two possible routes, and I’m not sure which one to take. Think I need to plot out each route to its logical conclusion to see which one will take me to my ending in the most satisfying way.

I’ve been doing writing in ten minute bursts recently, but I’m having a hard time trusting what I produce. The style in the first 12k or so is quite sparse and a little detached, showing everything by implication. I’m worried that the more recent sections don’t work in that style as well, because I’m against a timer and just shoving words down on the page. Or that’s what it feels like, at any rate.

Still. Onward.

Roisin
Roisin
Reply to  Roisin
13 years ago

Update: Thought I was done for the day (yesterday’s words were technically written early this morning), but no.

I figured it out! Or rather my muse did. While I was doing something else, she sat on my shoulder and whispered that I should stop being so stubbornly logical and write a middle road. It’s so good to be on speaking terms with her, and she always has better ideas than I do.

I realise I’m talking about half of my brain.

Still a little uncomfortable with writing at breakneck speed. I think I might complete this piece the way I have been, just to keep the style intact, then have a go at timed writing for my next project.

Oh, and words – so far – are 386. It’s only 1 in the morning, but I don’t know if I’ll get any more, and I think I’m happy with the ones I have and the breakthrough anyway.

Dawn K.
Dawn K.
13 years ago

Working to finish a different project right now. Wrote and edited about 3000 words on that. Super pleased with the day!

Kait Nolan
13 years ago

OMG I figured it out! I filled in the holes! I know exactly what happens now! Woo!

Adam
Reply to  Kait Nolan
13 years ago

congrats! always a good feeling when things fall together.

Treelight
Treelight
13 years ago

I rewrote a bit more, but after only about 180 new words on the counter I got so awfully tired that I had to go to bed.
Somehow I felt a bit more awake and in a sufficient write-mood when I woke up in the middle of the night and continued my work. That brought me a bit further and I found outcould use some of the existing stuff with only slight alterations while I exchanged some paragraphs with completely new one’s.
That left me with a total of 319 new words.

Cat (from HtTS)
13 years ago

518 WIP and 1355 in my translation. I also seeded 100sqm new law. I just hope it’ll be raining the next few days.

Kait Nolan
13 years ago

Somewhere around 750ish (added and deleted stuff, so the actual added was around that) to assorted spots after my full read through. Really pleased with all the notes I made on expansions and things to add. I think it will help tie the beginning more firmly to the end.

Sarah Collins
13 years ago

335 on the WIP for Wednesday.

HannaBelle (aka Belle)
HannaBelle (aka Belle)
13 years ago

Words yesterday on Pedestal, 1090.

I wrote myself into a corner with previous chapters. So, this was a new beginning chapter. I like it better than the others, they seemed too vague. This one might have too much in it but it does set the stage for more to come — at least in a better way than the others.

Lisa R
Lisa R
13 years ago

544 words and was exhausted. However, Holly’s post yesterday about the revision pieces she will be asking for really had me thinking. I still don’t have an ending. Plus, I haven’t been positive of my theme. I looked at my outline and my nicely revealed itself to me. I wrote up a quick paragraph and all of a sudden I was slapped in the face. My theme told me I was an idiot. She has been there the entire 10 chapters and is in my outline. Everything fit so very well. I am in the clouds.

Michelle
13 years ago

Sorry for those of you having rough days. πŸ™ But at least we’re writing!

980 for me today. Nothing groundbreaking, but I did get a nice little metaphor in that plays nicely off events in a previous scene. The little things make me happy. πŸ™‚

Khena
Khena
13 years ago

A little over 1000 last night. Since I typed in my notebook work from the day before, I’m not really sure how much, but it’s over 1k at least. I’m sitting at 63k at the moment, and the last 3k have been just horrendous. I’m already starting to dread the end, and I have another 40k to go! But my characters are having a little chat with their King (well, her king, not his) and just found out he’s not going to help them quite like they wanted. Go figure. The gods are going to meddle again by the end of the scene, but only after Isotte makes a decision about what she’s going to do now. Should be intersting to write =)

Laura
Laura
13 years ago

623 words yesterday. My MMC got invited to a job interview (at least he thinks it is a job interview) at the local library and didn’t even throw a tantrum. A pleasant surprise for me, since it made things a lot easier than I thought.

I don’t know if and how much I’ll write today. I got a call from my editor yesterday and there are some things she wants me to do, so I might have to concentrate on them. But I’ll definitely try to find some time for my WiP!

Good luck with your writing! πŸ™‚

Larkk
Larkk
13 years ago

Editing Sunday’s words took a lot of time and didn’t get me much net gain, but by the end of the night I was up 576 words.
Tonight I’ll have to see if I can make sense of them.

Jessica
13 years ago

I did write something. It wasn’t much because I got interrupted by 3 different emergencies. But I was up so late helping friends that I can’t remember what I wrote… not a good sign when there’s a department meeting this morning. Looks like my brain’s kicked off early.

On the positive side, I’ve got an extra long weekend starting tomorrow. Got a cottage booked at a lake – no internet, no interruptions. So I will be gone from the boards for a while but I’ll be back Monday night and hopefully have a really big jump on my word count. πŸ™‚

Happy writing, everybody!

Sarah
Reply to  Jessica
13 years ago

Ooh! Sounds fun. I hope you have an enjoyable, productive weekend!

Adam
13 years ago

pushed forward in chapter 10, and started introducing other characters that will join the brothers to take on the necromancer. almost everything i wrote was dialog, and the rest of the chapter will be similar i’ve got a feeling. mostly a history dump, as the oldest brother is trying to convince two of his associates to join the cause. looking forward to finishing this section off, and moving into the next section, where i’ve been seeing other scenes and fleshing them out in my mind.

1200 words is what i got

Ceallai
Ceallai
13 years ago

502. Finally I get the time to write something! I really need to finish this re-written third chapter, but I’m finding it hard to make it as funny and detached as the first two. The words aren’t coming as easily.

My (currently 6-year-old) heroine show her best friend this stone she’s found. They discover quite by accident that it glows in the moonlight, and she has a vision. She doesn’t want to tell him about it. Next time I write, this may cause strife between them – after all, they’re best friends, and only six, and any reason’s good enough for a scrap at that age.

Am lucky in that one of the children I’m minding is her age, meaning I can incorporate some of her behaviour in there to make it seem realistic. Of course, my character is six ELF years old (meaning she’s actually sixty) meaning she’s more experienced than human children, but elves mature very slowly. πŸ™‚

SCBrazil
SCBrazil
Reply to  Ceallai
13 years ago

Sounds good.
Children, moonlight, magic and elves.
Just my cup of tea. I look forward to reading more.

Dena C.
Dena C.
13 years ago

308 for me yesterday, and I consider myself lucky to have gotten that. Yesterday was one of those “take this job and shove it” kind of days. I’ve got scars on my tongue from biting it so much. So I came home, tried to write, struggled to get 308 but my head wasn’t in it, so I gave up and made bread. Hopefully things will be better today.

Leah
Leah
13 years ago

962 tonight. Words were hard to come by in the beginning but got over that hump after a bit.

KQ
KQ
13 years ago

Didn’t post yesterday because I had nothing to post. I went through a period of hating my story and wanting to shelve it. So, I sat down and wrote 292 words of a new story, really liked what I got. Now, in the way of strange mood swings, I really like my old story again, and am going to get back to that. Will post tomorrow, unless I swing again…

Greg
Greg
13 years ago

D&D: 510
OFL: 1181 – coincidentally the exact same amount I got yesterday!

I had a spell of not being too sure about either of my stories a couple of weeks ago, but thankfully that seems to have passed. I think that’s because I’ve got to know my characters better and am therefore enjoying writing about them more.

Julian Adorney
Julian Adorney
13 years ago

822 words. I’m in the midst of a false climax; my protagonist thinks he’s in the battle for his life, but it’s only the battle for his current situation. The words flowed well; I could have kept going, but I’m exhausted. I’ve gotta start writing earlier.

The Pencil Neck
The Pencil Neck
13 years ago

682 words. (Revision)

Had a really bad stomach problem this morning. Didn’t work. I expected to write more but just really wasn’t feeling it.

Our Thief went to talk to some friends who would know the various magicians in the city. He went to talk to an old herbalist and he had a really bad allergy attack. He got the information he wanted but the old lady wanted to give him something to feel better.

Garlic.

That didn’t go well. So now, he’s been outed as a vampire. And his mom’s going to find out.

Treelight
Treelight
Reply to  The Pencil Neck
13 years ago

Did I ever mention how I love to follow these little bits of your story?

The Pencil Neck
The Pencil Neck
Reply to  Treelight
13 years ago

Well, whether you did or not, thanks. I really appreciate it.

Sometimes I’m afraid I’m boring everyone. Or that no one cares and I’m just sending bits off into the interwebs to die a lonely unread death.

Larkk
Larkk
Reply to  The Pencil Neck
13 years ago

I, for one, read all the posts here and I think a lot of us do that. Learning about how others approach problems has taught me so much, as has knowing that everyone has struggles similar to mine; and that even the accomplished writers on this blog have to fight to get words out sometimes.
Reading about the progress you are making each day on your novel is a blast, and more than once my jaw has dropped when I read about the next plot twist. Maybe being afraid of being boring or irrelevant is a part of being a writer? I don’t know, I’m new at this, but just wondering.

The Pencil Neck
The Pencil Neck
Reply to  Larkk
13 years ago

Maybe we are all worried about that.

But, yeah, like you, I read al the posts. I enjoy seeing what other people are doing and how their stories are going and also getting little tidbits of their lives in the process.

Treelight
Treelight
Reply to  The Pencil Neck
13 years ago

I think the story-pieces you share with us have just the right measure. They are not too long, tell quite interesting and funny bits, but don’t make reading the finished book redundant.
Well, and I like thieves πŸ™‚
I hope you will let us know when your book is ready and available to be read properly.

Patricia
Patricia
Reply to  Treelight
13 years ago

Yes please do! I second this comment. πŸ™‚ On another note, I also am afraid that people would find my little sneak peaks into the story boring, or find it tedious to hear me talk about my story. (So far there is only one or two people in my life actually willing to hear me rant about my book)

The Pencil Neck
The Pencil Neck
Reply to  Treelight
13 years ago

Thanks. πŸ™‚

And don’t worry, if I ever finish this thing and get it where I want it to be, I will be trumpeting that fact all over the internet.

May
May
13 years ago

I’m just starting this. Long story short, after I gave up writing for a while, I finally have a story I want to write for me alone. So, I am really happy with my prologue, and though I didn’t get many words in tonight, my MC witnessed a murder that will affect her for the rest of the story. Gotta love beginnings, right?

The Pencil Neck
The Pencil Neck
Reply to  May
13 years ago

Welcome to our li’l shindig. πŸ™‚

SCBrazil
SCBrazil
Reply to  May
13 years ago

My story is similar May.
You’ve found the ‘write’ place.
I have been checking in everyday for a while and am now further into a novel than I’ve ever been before.
On the days I’m not inspired, I check in first, read the posts and then go and do my stuff. For me at least, it really works.
Good luck.

May
May
Reply to  SCBrazil
13 years ago

Well, thanks for the welcome
And yeah, checking back here does help with story ideas, doesn’t it?

Valerie
Valerie
13 years ago

417 words today. Nothing spectacular either, but words are words.

Ieva
13 years ago

Ahhh. Well. I didn’t push myself, I’m afraid, which leaves me with a lot to do for the remainder of the week. On the other hand, if I don’t wreck my health completely, I stand a better chance of writing more novels in my life, so perhaps taking it easy is a reasonable choice. It’s not like I’m writing The Master and Margarita or something.

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