Aleksa got a chance to unearth the forged artifact from the dig tonight, and now she’s royally bugged, because the earth layers at the site looked authentic, even though the artifact that’s come to light clearly is not.
I felt like crap all day, but am actually feeling pretty decent tonight—enough so that I’m hoping I’m about to kick this mess.
So.
How’s the writing going for you?
Thank you everyone for your kind words! It means more than I can say. I am not as frantic as yesterday, and I although I haven’t written anything I have more of my plot figured out. And I keep talking to baby.
Holly- It’s hard to see someone loose a baby, even a stranger. I can’t even imagine how you felt.
My first entry for WABWM: I finally came up with an idea I want to write about. It’s sort of a culmination of other little ideas that I had, and it’s only in the very early stages, but I brainstormed for 2 hours and wrote 4 pages of notes. It may not seem like a lot but it means so much to me because I’m actually EXCITED about it. Whee!
Welcome, and congrats on the idea. Having an idea you love is the necessary first step.
Welcome!
Making progress 884 words today combined with the cutting and pasting yesterday. I wish I had more time to write, things are getting exciting and the love angle is getting some traction.
Ok, so writing’s going good. David (protagonist) is reflective today — I guess because I’m getting sort of tired (routine cycle for MS — start out the week strong after plenty of rest over the weekend, but dragging my tuchus on the ground by Friday). I didn’t write as much today as I did over the weekend, or even yesterday… only 358 words before feeling just too tired to think any more. Even so, this is a commitment I made to myself as much as to anyone else (and I -did- manage to keep my promise to myself to go to the gym, even though I had to do the bike today instead of the elliptical or treadmill)… and I -will- keep up my consistency.
Glad you’re feeling better Holly!
I, however, am not doing so well at all. My friend’s newborn baby died. His lungs weren’t working properly and he had a heart problem the doctors could not fix. I am grieving for them. I myself am an expecting mother. I can’t even imagine how I would be feeling if I lost this baby.
Hopefully I can push through this and start writing. I really want to begin this story, but it seems that every time I feel ready life pushes me to the ground.
I am so sorry to hear about your friend’s loss. My thoughts are with them, and with you for a healthy pregnancy.
I’m so sorry, Tori. That’s heartbreaking. Something similar happened to me with my second pregnancy, when another woman lost her baby in the delivery room next to the one I was in while I was in premature labor and frantic to save mine.
All I can tell you is, love your little one, talk to him or her, sing, feel his movements, and tell both of you that it’ll be all right. We tend to latch on to nightmares—because we’re human, and one of the graces of being human is being able to put ourselves in someone else’s place.
But for now…don’t. Life comes with no guarantees, but it does come with wonderful moments, and you don’t want the fear of what could happen to steal the joy of what is.
That’s so sad. My thoughts are with them.
As little as this might comfort you or them right now, at least they had their baby – even if only for a wee while. A close friend of mine lived through the death of a baby, too. After they had learned to live with the loss, they found great comfort in the thought that they were allowed to hold their son for the few hours his life lasted. It is more than the mother of a still-born has or one of those uncounted thousands who desperately want a baby but never get pregnant (and believe me, having adopted and foster children is not the same although it eases the pain). I’ll pray for them and for you, of course.
So sad. So very sad.
I have three children and one grand child. My daughter almost died during birth, I will never forget the feelings I had at that moment. Don’t worry about writing unless it helps you relax. Do what ever you have to do to keep yourself relaxed and calm. Soon enough your baby will be here running around and causing chaos. Sorry for your friend’s loss.
None for me yesterday. An eventful weekend took me way out of my story.
I had to cajole and caress her all day but Miss Muse finally gave in and 431 has put me right back in it.
I love this game, it turns everyday into a victory.
Hang in there Holly. Hope you’re back to 101% soon.
I have been off and on lately. It is getting hard to stay focused and move the book along. My book is about the space shuttle so launches and landings always motivate me, plus I watch hours of live video. We just had a shuttle land, only 6 missions left. I need to finish the book before the missions end. CH 7 is moving along I wrote 1200 words today which brings me to 22K. 22K and almost half way, not enough, not enough words from the research I have done. I have outlined 18 chapters. I don’t think I am writing enough and need to expand. Also I’m going to have to find a way to interview an astronaut soon.
I managed 383 new words and could actually use a few tiny bits of what I already had written.
The “listen to you muse” idea is still working sort of, because I noted some bits and pieces during the day and could flesh them out in the evening.
No words last night. Went to bed instead.
…still plotting out new scenes… 🙁 I wish I could get back to writing already. It’s taking so long because I can only work for half an hour or so each day.
378 words. Wish I could be more productive, but it’s better than 0 🙂
Now off to mow the lawn before it rains again.
I second that!
Not the lawn-part, for I have no garden 😉
1837 words yesterday. I have the day off and a few ideas. Some things are starting to shape up.
1079 last night and ONLY 2 SCENES LEFT!
Way to go!
Let us know when you finish!
That’s wonderful. I’m readying myself to cheer wildly.
Go you!
A bit over 1600 words last night. So happy about them, though! I was about ready to delete all my files, and I opened HtTS lesson 13- Can’t I Just Kill hem All? and it got me back on track. So now, things are going to change for my damsel in distress, who has been kind of a jerk to her ex-husband this whole time, and who I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with. I also introduced a prison full of madmen, some of whom are cunning enough to talk their way right out of prison, if given the opportunity.
1113 words and I had a ton of fun. I sat down and the words flowed even better then they usually do. My MC is learning a little more information about her situation. One of my minor characters revealed weaknesses he has that I didn’t realize which is a bit exciting. I would love to be working on all of that now, but alas, I have to make a little money at the day job.
Well, I wrote my post for the day, but the evil computer gods saw fit to delete it. I wrote a little yesterday, but not on Dragonfly, even though I said I would. Bad me!
But, I did spend some time thinking about my story again last night, wondering if I had strayed or missed something. That’s when I realized my characters had left the palace without getting the Dragon Stone, the whole reason they went to the palace in the first place. Granted, they did get poisoned unexpectedly when the stone was being delivered, so I lost track a little. Going to go back and add a new scene, leaving myself a note to help remind myself why they are in the palace for the revision.
I’ve also reconsidered the number of stones I want them to find. Now that I am reaching the end, some of what I had planned seemed a little cumbersome. I may have to change direction a little there…
522 words. Sometimes I write just to write, exploring the mind of my narrator. I thought at the time it was all drivel, but I read back over what I wrote just now and don’t completely hate it.
Sometimes my muse pitches me words, and my inner critic/left brain says no, you don’t want to say that. Whenever this happens — or put it this way, whenever I am aware that this is happening — I force myself to write down the words my muse has pitched me. Why do battle over a few words? This is just a first draft. Anything goes, I keep telling myself. Give your muse a free rein.
I’ve never written a book from beginning to end before, so this is an entirely new experience for me. I’ve been dwelling too long in the land of the SAFE and PERFECT. Now I’m flying without a net, and I’m scared. I know where I want to end up, but will I ever get there? Did I take a wrong turn? Am I lost?
The answer is no, maybe just side-tracked;-)(
1200 words yesterday, but about half were on Bx1/Cllimbing Off the Pedestal. It was a hard scene to write, slowly developing the dual nature of a character that is crucial to the story.
The other half of my words were a proposal for a non-ficiton book I wrote many years ago. Now that I wrote up the first draft of the proposal, the book sounds better than I thought. More editing, then off to an agent.
About 200 words and a mind map of my theme and where the main characters are in relation to it at this moment.
This week (actually this whole month) is really busy and stressful, which I think is why my words have been so slugish. My husband has the first of 6 rounds of interviews for a really good job (he’s been out of work for a year) so it’s roll the dice or crap out time for us. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find my ‘quiet place’ today but I really want to write.
Cheers to everyone else on your progress – however big or small.
I didn’t write any on my novel yesterday. And I said I would, so I feel bad. =< I spent quite a bit of time thinking about it before bed though. I realized I had strayed from the object of my novel in the last chapter. My team had gone to the Palace to get a Dragon Stone, and they left without my mentioning it. Granted, my mc's got poisoned unexpectedly when the stone was delivered, but still. I'm going to go back and add a new scene and try to shift my focus back to where it should be. Hopefully it will help. I'll need to leave a note for my revision step for the rest of the chapter, but resist the urge to go back and change it now. At least I hope so. I already had printed it out to avoid that before I realized I left a scene out.
Unfortunately, I only got 120ish in the past two days. However, I’ve been wondering what I’ve been doing wrong that gives my Me and my Muse a hard time: namely, I made my hero too suave and nice and my Spy too cold and dislikable. Well, that can be changed…
I love it when light bulbs flash 🙂
920 words on my WIP and 14xx on my translation. I am feeling better although not entirely satisfied with the scene in my WIP. There is some tension missing. I might have to tighten it during revision and add that she (MC) doesn’t want the two men she’s traveling with to know she’s female.
D&D: 516 words and pretty much the end of the battle scene, at last.
OFL: 1045 and a couple of short scenes that I now realise may get revised out, as they’ve ended up a bit flimsy. Oh, well.
I also started a third project. At the moment I am alternating periods of paid work on temporary contracts with periods of writing, so as I am currently not working (or, more accurately, not being paid for the work I do!), I’m trying to maximise my writing. Really enjoyed the opening scene of project 3, which I shall code RFW, and got 1018 words.
Got sidetracked by another project, so no new words on SEA. I’m kicking myself for not getting started earlier in the day. At least I’m making progress somewhere. But I’m going to make a vow here (oh, do let’s be dramatic about this): tomorrow, I will start working on SEA within one hour of waking up and I may only work on the new project after SEA is done for the day. Yes, I fully intend to battle my laziness with the threat of public failure.
1477 words. (Revision)
I’m glad you’re feeling better, Holly!
I’m pretty pleased because I think I’ve figured out my ending and my denouement. It wraps up some things I’d been worrying about using a muse bomb that got thrown in that I’d been thinking about removing during the revision. So I’m pretty psyched.
The Crime Lord, seeking revenge, sent some assassins to kill the Mentor and my Thief. But the Thief was already gone and the Mentor locked in the basement. The assassins killed the Mentor’s maid and then freed the Mentor from the sarcophagus she was lockd in.
Bad day to be an assassin.
687 words tonight. Hannah just finally watched the rest of the interview Jeff gave a reporter on her lawn, and she’s not happy at the implications he gave about her. Twasn’t a pretty scene, but I did enjoy writing it (torturer that I am).
Glad you’re starting to feel better, Holly.
1000+ words, and a really cute love scene. It’s funny and my heroine is acting funny, and people are laughing, and she’s sorta admitting to herself that she’s attracted to the guy.
He, as it turns out, is more interested on who poisoned his food. What a nerd.
I really have to raise my wordcount goal just a bit, because right now, I’m thinking “500 words a day is fine” so I write for 45 minutes and then stop. Basically, I need to coerce myself to write just 5 minutes more… because I know, there will be more than 5 in the end.
520 words exactly tonight. My story had kind of stalled so I went back last week and worked on outlining and getting a plan laid out. Tonight I was able to jump back in and introduce a new character. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s going to cause problems for the MC.
Started a new project today, a short story. I did the outline and 928 words of a first draft.
Its about snowboarding. And demons.
591 fun words today. The elf needs a tool so she can take the gun apart (she is, oddly enough, turning out to be the most mechanically minded of the group). Cricket and Ernest argued about who should go looking for one. Cricket won but was sidetracked by her friend showing up and being excited to see her.
Glad to hear you’re getting a little relief from being ill!
very productive night writing for me. finished chapter 12, and got a start on ch 13. Tzal found a tailor, and replaced his shredded and bloody silks, and the tailor happened to know of him and the events of the morning. The tailor sold him a nifty cloak that displaces the wearer’s true location a few feet so it is harder for opponents to hit him. it might take Tzal a bit to get used to his opponents not striking where he is, as his fighting style is based upon deadly counterstrikes, but i’m sure he’ll manage.
about 750 words tonight, but they felt good getting out.