DTD—461, and dialogue that’s too heavy

The conversation between my two MCs at the moment feels pedantic. I cut it a bit short—my characters are headed someplace, and things are about to get hideously ugly…but at the moment, they’re talking about things that are thematic, and important, but as I wrote them felt awfully heavy-handed.

S’okay. That’s the sort of thing I always end up smoothing out and burying deeper in my revision, so I’m letting the dialogue stand. It’ll cool, I’ll get some distance, and I’ll see what it needs to make it better the second time around.

I have a big death planned for Sunday night. I just thought of it tonight when I wrote in yet another new scene card—and it’s perfect. And pretty surprising. So my first night of the new week is going to be something to look forward to.

I’m off tomorrow, and off Saturday—and in spite of taking B vitamins and getting extra sleep, I’m still worn out.

Thank you for the good wishes. I’m pretty sure this is my body reminding me that A) I’m 48, and B) I have a very bad habit of not taking time off even when I need it. So this week I have let a ton of work slide, and I have mostly vegetated. And taken B vitamins, and extra B-12.

I’ll put up the Friday night and Saturday night posts for those of you writing on the weekend.

And I notice our numbers have dwindled. For those of you hanging in, remember…the trick to finishing a novel is doing it even when you don’t feel like it—not doing it in a few desperate rushes of inspiration. Nights like tonight, inspiration is pretty hard to come by.

So if you’re still playing—good going. I’m cheering for you. Even a few words of background, or a reworking of your plot cards on the nights that you just don’t feel like doing anything remind you of your goal, and put you closer to its completion. And leave you with a sense of success for the night.

We are not who we say we are. We are what we do every day. Keep writing. You can do this.

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Comments

87 responses to “DTD—461, and dialogue that’s too heavy”

  1. Erin Kendall Avatar

    I’ve been struggling with my WIP since I got home from my honeymoon, and I’m ready to try this. I’m committing to 300 words minimum per day, which is doable. This will also help me stay accountable and on track. So here we go. ๐Ÿ˜€

    Thanks, Holly, for everything you’ve done for us. You are a blessing.

    Cheers,
    Erin

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Welcome to the fun. I’ll be watching for you. ๐Ÿ˜€

      And cheers on the whole wedding/honeymoon.

  2. ceecee Avatar
    ceecee

    839 words yesterday, 581 today, plus finished first critical pass/dissection on scene cards. Thanks, Holly for a stronger way to use index cards. It’s so nice to turn to my WIP’s next blank page and not have to panic! Fun factor: got to send my hero on a weather-changing rampage across the landscape. Lots of ya-ya’s escaped my being, too. Glad my neighbors weren’t watching through my window–I made some damn weird faces and gestures.
    Be well.

    1. Nancy Avatar
      Nancy

      LOL! I totally get your issue! Years ago, in college, my roommate (who was also a writer) and I would work out action scenes by acting them out. The people in the house we were living in on campus thought we were out of our minds. Which, in retrospect, we probably were. Now, since my friend (whose my crit partner) lives 3 hours away in another state, I make my husband do it with me, especially for things like sword fights or combat stuff. He too thinks I’m nuts — but he DID marry me — and this was part of the “contract”.

      Glad you’re on a roll!

  3. Don Avatar
    Don

    759 words not feeling it today was it Normal Mailer who said a “It dosen’t do a writer good to worry about money.”I’m going to take a break after 20,000 words (That will be tomorrow) get back on it Monday.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Don’t know if he said it, but I can sure second it. ๐Ÿ˜€

  4. Roo Avatar
    Roo

    “The conversation between my two MCs at the moment feels pedantic.” Must be traveling through the air.

    ZOMG it’s Friday already.
    I’m in (thought I’d be done with this section) so thank you so much for looking out for us through the weekend, Holly.
    (And please keep up that B12.)

    @expert, while I’m here: if you know what you want your climax to be, but when you read back your dialogue/action, no matter what noun/verb combos you throw up there, you still have static action — does anybody have a quick-trip method to writing rising action instead?

    I have *never* had so much difficulty doing rising action in a section. It’s usually cake AND the thing people like best. This time, NO dice anywhere.

  5. SCBrazil Avatar
    SCBrazil

    Unexpected visitors yesterday made me miss my session for the first time since I started this game.
    Iโ€™ve been here before and usually castigate myself so much I miss another day and then all days from then on.
    I had just found out my MC is blind, which I thought kinda groovy. I will write tonight and forgive myself.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Forgive, forgive. You deserve your own kindness as much as anyone you know.

      This isn’t a race. It’s a journey—and if you sit out a day, the journey still goes on.

  6. Debora Avatar
    Debora

    522 words today. Fun writing. I am letting my muse have her way. She’s very nineteenth century, and at times convoluted, because there’s a lot she does not want to reveal. So the story comes out in fits and starts. I don’t worry whether what I’m writing is in the right place as far as a final draft is concerned. If what I channel from my muse is to the point, and has importance for the plot, then I let her rip, or rant!

    Onward.

  7. Patricia Avatar
    Patricia

    750 words today and feeling good. I’ve come up with a tentative title for this one: Blood Covenant. Still the very beginning I’m afraid, but I like what I have so far and my main character is having a very nice, mildly uncomfortable yet exciting time exploring a completely new area and meeting new people. I’m excited! I feel terrible about stopping here, but I don’t want it to run away on me (I have a mildly self destructive habit that when I am really into a project I forget about my other daily needs, so I know how you feel Holly). Everyone is doing so well (any day you write something, even if it’s not that good, is a great day), and reading the posts here before writing really is a huge motivation for me. Thank you!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Nice title.

  8. Cat (from HtTS) Avatar

    I’m still in but I needed to take the kids for a short holiday. They’ll start school again in a week and they haven’t had any time with me where I didn’t write. It was overdue.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Enjoy the time off before school starts back. I hope you have a wonderful time.

  9. Anna Avatar
    Anna

    539 so far for the day. I’m working on the first private convo between my two MCs, and so far all they’ve managed to do is make each other feel awkward. So, I’m taking a break and will take another look at it an an hour or two. Hopefully I’ll figure out how to smooth it out a bit.

  10. Stormlyht Avatar
    Stormlyht

    876 words into my third part. Feeling pretty good about my characters and loving the way words are just flowing through me. I’m hoping this section will be done by tomorrow and I can work on the editing of part two as well. Yay!

    And Holly! Get better! *sends get well vibes to you* I hate feeling all draggy and crap. Sleep, drink water and juice and feel better! ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Colleen Avatar
    Colleen

    403 words yesterday, and 644 today. They’ve been hard won, as I’ve been in the middle of a mild funk lately, and I’m writing a scene in which my MC and love interest are flirting. Very difficult mental transition to make.

    I’m over 5000 words now, which is making me very happy – and astounded. These words really do add up, and that makes it even easier to keep going.

  12. Ann Avatar
    Ann

    I’m still here too! Arg, struggling – but I do think it’s important to just keep doing it, even if the words seem far from brilliant. 200 so far today, just plodding along. I’m planning for more this evening, wish me luck ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Roo Avatar
      Roo

      I’m struggling too. Luck. ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. Ann Avatar
        Ann

        And the same to you as well! Struggling still seems better than not writing at all, but it will be nice when the fun days on the page reappear!

    2. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      I’m cheering your count. Remember…it’s just first draft. The only reason first draft exists is to give you something to fix.

  13. Sarah Collins Avatar

    Holly, I hope you get plenty of much needed R&R this weekend. (I also hope it’s okay to call you Holly, but since everyone else is doing it … LOL. And no, I doubt I’d jump off that proverbial bridge!)

    I added 788 words on Thursday. I had so much trouble with this scene. It took four days to write 1200 words when I had been doing over 1000 a day. Ouch. But I found my groove with it, and for that I’m happy and grateful. It’s one of those monumental scenes and I felt the pressure of rolling out something “perfect.” It was only when it occurred to me that my characters would never handle it “perfectly” that the words started to flow. I’ve had an ongoing conversation with my crit partner about this, so it was almost funny that I found myself caught up in it.

    I have to say, too, that I love WABWM. I literally scan through it before I start working – often the same thread more than once – so I can sit here knowing I’m not alone. Writing tends to be a solo gig, but knowing so many of you are out there and seeing the accomplishments AND the struggles as we go is awesome for me. It’s motivation at its finest! And I love the accountability, too. I doubt there’s a soul out there keeping an eye on my word count, but knowing I’ve got to report in keeps me moving. I’m so glad to be a part of this!

    1. Nancy Avatar
      Nancy

      I second that, Sarah. And it’s soooo addictive to log on and checkout everyone’s progress. When other people are struggling when I am, I feel less of a “hopeless case”. And when I see others zipping along, it reminds me that I have days like that too — and will again. And when I’m doing well, it’s fun to be able to share that with people who get it!

      Thanks not only to Holly for being brilliant enough to think of this — but to all of you out there plugging away along side me.

      Happy weekend all. Holly — rest up and treat yourself like you would your best friend!

    2. Debora Avatar
      Debora

      I love the accountability of it, too. It helps to motivate me, or should I say Holly’s generous offer of this thread helps motivate me to write every day.

      I don’t keep track of anybody else’s word count. Maybe because my word count is on the low side, which is just fine with me. It’s more about having company along the way.

      Like you, I am so glad to be a part of this!

    3. Larkk Avatar
      Larkk

      Totally agree. Just the fact that I have a place to log my word count helps me think of new places and times to get more words. Which moves me along on this formidable endeavor. (Sorry, just had to use those words, couldn’t think of better ones.) I get overwhelmed by the whole thought of it quite regularly, and come here to see that everyone else is doing it one day at time just like me, and I go back to work.
      Yay, Holly Lisle!

    4. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      I’m delighted to be doing this. And yes, call me Holly. Much prefer it to any of the alternatives.

      Congrats on the words, too. Nice count.

      1. Nancy Avatar
        Nancy

        What… you don’t like Professor Lisle?

  14. Nancy Avatar
    Nancy

    Ahhhhh. Through that horrible scene and moving forward now. My MC and the caravan is entering a small town, attached to which is a monastery filled with intolerance… and containing a curious and overly-tolerant young accolyte who the MC is destined to meet.

    I smell plot-thickening ingredients brewing… or maybe that’s just the veggie lasagna I took out of the microwave here at work.

    Who cares? I’m moving again. And there’s FUN. Must be all the chocolate I injected into my plot cards last night!

    1. Colleen Avatar
      Colleen

      Glad the injection of FUN worked, Nancy. ๐Ÿ™‚

      I’ve having fun writing, but my MC … not so much. It doesn’t help that she and I are both feeling a little sleep deprived lately. Hard to make the words sparkle.

  15. MistriHelen Avatar

    I’m not posting so much because I get confused over the time shift, because I’m in the UK and tend to be a day ahead all the time. But I have been writing 250 words a day, and I’m finding it very useful – and fun ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Hi, Mistri,

      Don’t worry about the times. Just post to the newest Write A Book With Me post. Whichever one is on top when you come in is the right one. ๐Ÿ˜€

  16. Khena Avatar
    Khena

    377 words yesterday. I am struggling a lot with this scene. The statue of the dragon that showed up the other day the Voice said was part of a prophesy, started walking around yesterday. I know the Voice is going to do this neat little ceremony and the statue has something really important to my story to say…. but I don’t know what it is, and I seem to be afraid to find out. So I wasted my writing time in the viscous cycle of Spider Solitare, and sorting Perler beads for my husband. At least some good came out of it. Hopefully I can get past my troubles today.

    1. Sari Avatar
      Sari

      evil spider solitaire and other associated solitaire games ๐Ÿ™
      I feel your pain…

  17. Beckie Avatar
    Beckie

    I added 941 words to my romantic suspense novel so that stands at 2230 . The next scene is an encounter with the Bad Guys, so that will be exciting to write.

    Also edited and added a 500 wc ‘chapter’ to my textnovel entry. That story is already written, so it just requires the editing.

    I write on weekends so hope to get words down tonight, Saturday night and on Sunday with a goal of 3k or so.

    On Saturday we pick up my oldest daughter from debate camp!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Cheers. You’re making great progress.

      Debate camp? That sounds so cool.

  18. Meghan Avatar
    Meghan

    I’m signing up at the beginner level of 250 words per night, 5 nights a week.

  19. Lisa R Avatar
    Lisa R

    328 words during lunch break at work. I feel the kids schedules gearing up for school already. Last night we had a meeting relating to my daughter’s school that lasted 3.5 hours. It is a private Catholic school with amazingly fun families, so it was also a lot of socializing. Life is going to get very hectic in the next three weeks, so it was nice to get an okay word count during my break. I will have to rely on this once the sports start!

    Holly, thank you for the encouraging words. I have been having a tough week and that was very helpful. I will definitely be writing this weekend with what you said in mind.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      My youngest got his homeschool paperwork for last year finished today. (Certified teacher verification.) I’m going through the catalogues looking for books and kits and supplies for next year (seventh grade). We’re using The Well-Trained Mind’s curriculum, adapting it to our needs.

      I’m leaving him out of the gearing up, because he does not want to think about getting back to work…but I sure feel it.

  20. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    Forgot to say, Holly, that I really hope you feel better. Try some vitamin C, too! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      I’m getting a LOT of fresh fruit (major part of eating Paleolithic), but I could hunt down some sort of general vitamin, too. I haven’t taken any of those in years.

  21. Dawn K. Avatar
    Dawn K.

    2,485 words on Dragon Touched today. What a fantastic writing day! I added two scenes, discovered Tsaya could poison people and wondered why I didn’t know that in the first place. My muse sure did get me with that one. Crafty muse.

    1. Nancy Avatar
      Nancy

      Sweet word count. And ya gotta love it when it flows like that! Congrats.

  22. Emily Avatar

    Just finished all my Sentence Lites today. (Hurray!)
    I’m taking a week or two off from that project and I’m wondering if it would be best to start planning my next book in between or take a break from writing all-together.

    1. Emily Avatar

      Maybe I’ll catch up on my reading ๐Ÿ™‚

  23. Lisa Avatar
    Lisa

    I just wrote 828 words, and I didn’t think once about my word count! Hooray!! This week was pretty much a loss–I think I wrote one other day this week–but I had family in town and way too much going on. Anyway, I’m back on track now. I was torn between my busman’s holiday project and my original WIP, since it’s Friday but I hadn’t really written all week, but I went for the original, and I’m glad I did. Found out a lot of interesting stuff and see where the plot is going now. Very excited about writing over the weekend.

  24. Lacey Savage Avatar

    Holly — Glad to hear you’ve figured out the source of your exhaustion, and more importantly, that you now know what you need to do to be kind to yourself and recuperate. Hope you have a lovely, laid-back weekend!

    I’m sorry for being MIA this week. I felt like a punching bag for the day job this week, and I’ve had very little me time.

    I have, however, been writing. What few minutes of spare time I managed to carve out, I used to write.

    So, my progress this week:
    Monday – 625 words
    Tuesday – 781 words
    Wednesday – 511 words
    Thursday – 781 words (same as Tuesday, right down to the word. Freaky!)

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Thank you. And huge cheers on the progress. Some weeks suck. Glad you made it through.

  25. Erin T Avatar
    Erin T

    I’m here. It’s been a rough week. No writing. But I realized last night, talking to a friend, that the world I’m writing in now may be a world I visited in a short story years ago. In fact, the MC of that short may just be one of the MCs of this new YA. It’s unsettling – I haven’t thought of that short in years but always wanted to go back to it. And then today it kind of leapt out at me…

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      I love that sort of serendipity. I hope you find some compelling connections between the old world and your new one.

  26. Shawn Avatar
    Shawn

    450 words. The getting to know one another part continues. Very soon though, they have to plan the next course of action….so I can screw that up for them.

    1. Shawn Avatar
      Shawn

      Now I’m at 702. I thought I was done for the day, but had a little time at lunch to carry on.

      1. Holly Avatar
        Holly

        Cool. Nice work there.

  27. unxplaindfires Avatar

    Hope you didn’t count me among the dwindled(ers).
    I had a frantic week but still managed to get words, all of which were long hand on notebook paper because someone I told not to touch my MAC, did.
    When they dropped it… well you can imagine. Four year olds, what can you do. Probably would have survived the fall if it wasn’t right next to a stairwell and a twenty foot drop to the hard cement basement floor. But its back, got to love extended manufacture warranties. You give them a broke p.o.s. and they send you a shiny new MacBook. YEAH!!!
    So, words! I’ve got em.
    I even wrote a little while helping my Dad install a roof on the garage. I still have to transfer all my handwritten stuff to my computer and then get to work on straightening out where my story is going. The Internet just kicked on this morning – switched from Comcast to WOW! and Comcast would just not let it go, couldn’t give me a break on regular service but the moment I say I’m leaving they beg with all kinds of offers. I switched out of pride at that point. I won’t be bought with bundled marketing.
    So, work today (Evil Part Time Job) all day and tomorrow morning, which means tomorrow afternoon will be catch up and I’ll post words tomorrow night.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Congrats on getting a working ‘puter back, and getting words.

      Yeah, I always get the extended warranty. I know plenty of people who scoff—but my machine is my job, and a quick turn-around is critical to me.

      And like you I’m sort of fascinated by people who don’t give a shit about the customers they have, but will bend over backwards to bring in new ones, or try to bribe back the ones they’ve lost.

      How’s WOW!?

      1. unxplaindfires Avatar
        unxplaindfires

        $34.00. that’s it and I was able to replace a 1200 dollar machine. My Dad gave me a hard time for purchasing ex-war’s, until his thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, when he walked into the ocean carrying the $1000.00 SLR digital camera My siblings and I got our folks for the occasion. Sent the camera back with the warranty number and the manufacturer sent a replacement WITH a free inter-changeable lens and a leather carrying case.

        WOW! is just that. Scheduled thursday at 2 p.m.. A person showed up a 1:55. Introduced themselves, explained what they were going to do, asked if we would prefer he used the existing holes in the brick (yes, of course) and then went to work. 20 minutes later he explained the remote and On demand, shook my hand and was out the door without leaving a mess.
        Same internet speed and More channels for nearly 40 dollars less. The second day of service was interrupted by storms and we didn’t have cable or internet until about 10 p.m. Got a call from WOW! they were prorating the day of lost service, a savings of $3.49. I couldn’t help but laugh. Great, great service.

  28. Jessica Avatar
    Jessica

    511 wonderful Thursday words. Just enough dialogue to confirm a couple of things but not too much of an info dump. MC now has a madman fugitive, CSIS, and a hunter after her. She had to make the first really big sacrifice – breaking a major promise – because of this. And things are about to get personal when her mother turns up for a visit.
    … and the conflict keeps building!

    If this keeps going at pace I should be done 1st draft before my bday! Thanks Holly, for continuously cheering us on! Keep writing everybody! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      That sounds pretty hectic. And you’re doing a nice job of upping your stakes. Congrats.

  29. Larkk Avatar
    Larkk

    886 fun words in the coffee shop. Nick’s younger sister tells him she’s seeing an older man. So fun when reality brushes up against my fantasy world within our world in an ironic way.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      This sounds intriguing.

  30. Jules Andre Avatar

    The numbers have dwindled, so I guess I’ll step in and start up from here. I’m in!

    I have never finished anything substantial. I’m one of those that never lets myself finish a first draft because I expect final draft quality the first time around, even knowing that it isn’t possible. I have a story ready to go (except I’m not sure the ending I have in mind is any good, nor am I sure where I should start…) which has been in serious work for months and in my head for a few years, so let’s see how it ends up. Thanks for setting this up.

    I’m shooting for 100k words, and probably 4 nights a week to be realistic. My biggest problem is discipline, so I’m hoping this helps. Onward!

    1. Nancy Avatar
      Nancy

      Welcome to the party, Jules.

    2. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Welcome. Be nice to yourself. Accept the days when you just get a few words as being as valuable as the days when you get a lot.

      Glad you’re here.

  31. Minze Avatar
    Minze

    590 words. I was worried that things would become stagnant and boring, but thank goodness they got going again.

  32. megan Avatar
    megan

    YEah, as Sari said, Holly, maybe many of the non-posters are still lurking…
    I started School, and it is my son’s b’day (hi5 Ieva), BUT I have been working through Holly’s Novel Pre-Writing Workshop and making breakthroughs; maybe 100 words last night and this morning on the train to school, but Breakthroughs!! (Still dont have a name for my half angel but now I have a better idea why he is here and what he’s expected to do.

  33. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    532 words, taking me into my second scene. So far, so good!

  34. Brent B. Avatar
    Brent B.

    736 words. Choo! Choo!

    I’m back on the word train today. I’ve never actually finished a draft before and I found it hard to gauge if I’d done enough pre-work.

    This is the first time I’ve went back and read something I wrote and found it’s bloody pretty good on the first go round. I’m so glad I went back and made the characters and issues feel more personal to me. Okay – sure – there are 9 f*** bombs in the first 736 words, plus a few other choice expletives; but I gotta write what I know.

    As far as my new MC goes . . . Well, being roped to the top of a truck trailer, getting a fat lip, and reliving a childhood nightmare hasn’t done a whole lot to bring out her sunny disposition.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Sounds like a terrific scene.

  35. Sari Avatar
    Sari

    I haven’t posted for a while, but I have been reading posts! I just saw Hollie’s note that numbers have dwindled, and didn’t want you all to think I’d given up.

    I’ve been revising. I know, I know you’re not supposed to until the end of the first draft, but I got to a point where I felt like the last 10k words had been heading nowhere, and I needed to go back and check. And it’s not as bad as I first thought but I’m glad I have. Over the week I’ve probably also added about 5k words.

    Can’t post or write over the weekend coz I’m going skiing. W00t!!!! Feel free to be jealous ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Catch you all on Monday, and enjoy your weekend!

  36. Kevin Jackson Avatar
    Kevin Jackson

    Another 250 words of plot. The villain is coming together well, and I’ve got another character auditioning for a part. The exciting part is that I’ve got enough material to get over the hump of the middle and into the climax. I’ll probably be writing by next week.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Looking forward to seeing your posts.

  37. Jamie D. Avatar

    Slow but steady at 302 words tonight…I’m still letting the low word counts “convince” me that I can write every day even with my other obligations. Missed one day this week, but I plan to write each night this weekend anyway, keepin’ on. I feel really good about my progress so far – almost to 10,000 words. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      I’ve managed to put together at least a page every work night since I started this…and there were times when I didn’t write before because I knew I didn’t have the time or the energy to do 2000 words. I’m finding writing in this fashion to be wonderful fun, and the progress bar is still filling. I’ll roll over 30K in another day or two. Probably two.

      So, yeah. This is a good way to write books and still have a life. I’m delighted it’s working for you.

  38. The Pencil Neck Avatar
    The Pencil Neck

    927 words today.

    I finished up a scene where my MC made a girl cry and got the information he needed to get – that needs to change to a fail. And started a scene where he’s examining another corpse and he recognizes someone he’s already talked to as one of the looky-loo bystanders, the mother of the first person killed. This will finally give him a lead.

    Oh, and his assistant, trying to improve his position with the powers-that-be, goes off and blabs a cockamamie theory to Councilor. Which just makes them both look like bumbling idiots.

    1. Nancy Avatar
      Nancy

      I love these little peeks into your story. Makes me want to read it!

      1. The Pencil Neck Avatar
        The Pencil Neck

        Thank you. I consider that a huge compliment.

  39. Patricia Avatar
    Patricia

    283 words today, and it is now coming along smoothly…:) I can’t wait till I get to the later scenes!

  40. Nancy Avatar
    Nancy

    A slow night. I’m still struggling with this scene. But I did 668 and I’m happy with that. As Chief Inspector Dreyfuss once said: Every day and every way I’m getting better and better. (twitch twitch)

    Now it’s time to collapse.

    Holly, hope the B-12 does the trick.

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      It seems to be helping. Thanks. And cheers on the words.

  41. Ieva Avatar

    500+ words, but, considering it was my son’s birthday, not bad at all.
    I actually wrote a scene where my MC becomes “a better person” and it didn’t feel tacked on.

    I have also sorta acknowledged my strengths.
    nr.1: dialog (I pretty much started writing stage plays when I was 12 or so, and for a good reason)
    nr.2: inner change (actually, it’s the same thing as a dialog, only lumpier [wow, it’s actually a word!])

    and my worst thing ever is action. To the point that if I’ve written somebody breaking free from prison by smashing the bars and taking a dive in an alligator-filled ocean 20 feet below I can be fairly certain my readers are asleep. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Ieva Avatar

      335. Blergh. Oh well, “it was my son’s birthday” still stands.

      1. Nancy Avatar
        Nancy

        Ooooh, I wish I had your skill set. I’m the master at description, but my inner change stuff always sounds contrived. Probably because it is. Something I’m working on!

        I’m pretty good at dialogue, but no master. Action is easier for me, as long as I have a clear visual in my head. I tend to see my scenes as scenes in a TV show, so visualizing the action generally tends to be less of a problem.

  42. KQ Avatar
    KQ

    2233 for me. I have to say, it was great to do it! I seem to have gotten back in the saddle again. The best thing I could have done was get through that crap scene and move forward. Good dialogue, internal conflict, I feel so good about it!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      Awesome. Congrats!

  43. red_dot Avatar
    red_dot

    1,110 words tonight. OMG what happens if I actually finish? Ch5 feels like it will be long. 13,000 words now. There are a lot of things that will need fixing, but I am forging ahead. A good thing about never writing is that I don’t have an editor in my head or is that bad?

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      If you finish…then you have written the first draft of a finished story. ๐Ÿ˜€ Which is a deeply wonderful thing.

  44. Jim Mitchel Avatar

    Iโ€™m nearing the end of chapter sixโ€™s second scene.

    So far, I am having fun learning more about a very interesting, and turns out quite vicious, character. I stopped writing just a she saw a creature from her darkest childhood nightmares. Should be fun wrapping this scene up tomorrow! :0)

    Word count for today: 347

  45. Clare K. R. Miller Avatar

    537 words today, to finish a scene and get the MCs outta there. Because people are trying to kill them, and now Jack gets it.

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