A short run through the bowels of Madison Square Garden in disguise, still pursued by killers.
Finished the scene and the chapter, and now have 21,688 words completed.
Tomorrow, I’ll pick up Ki’s point of view, and the invasion of his lair by his unwelcome, trouble-plagued guest.
I had great fun with this scene. If I didn’t have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, I’d keep running with this. But I do. So that’s it for me for tonight.
Write well, have fun, and let me know how it goes on your story.
Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and prayers! I am finally back at home. Now I am just waiting to see if I still have a job.
Tori, I do hope and pray you and husband get home by end of weekend. And that this misfortune gives you lots of ideas for your writing. Essays on how to cope with such at the very least. Hugs.
Getting at least 250 words, usually more per day. About 400 tonight, didn’t think I was going to get into it, but once started it flowed. Up to a few words below 3000 on short story, Alabama Dreamin. Trying for Sentence Light, Protag & Antag needs, Setting, and Twist for each scene. I think it’s working.
Tori, I will DEFINITELY keep you in my thoughts! Maybe this is an opening for something wonderful to happen; I will hope so, anyway!
370 words today. Would have done more, but the kitchen fire this morning kind of threw the day into disarray.
I’m getting worried about my MC; she’s being attacked by a creature wtih no eyes that is somehow controlling a black sludge, and she’s wondering about the mechanics of the whole thing!
A wily and aged abbot on the homefront. A 17 year old female paladin clearly suffering PTSD. Why do they share the same recurring dream? Not sure that’s an interesting enough question to write more than the 8500 words I’ve got. But it’s a start. Added probably 20 words, and deleted *all* the double spaces between sentences on the old thing tonight. It’s going to be interesting. Thanks for the kick.
I want to know why they’re sharing the dream! And what’s the dream about? Are the two related somehow? Dang it, throw me a bone here!
Sorry, hadn’t looked at this in two years. A trusted reader is going to review and make sure that is the central question, or if it’s a red herring. Trick is, the abbot is the one who sent her to the front in the first place. A monastery is no place for a young girl, anyway, right? And she was so big, and seemed strong! Heh. Wasn’t it Meatloaf who sang: It’s all coming back to me now. And so it shall.
Well, she IS a Paladin, so I would think she was trained for the fighting, even if she is a bit young — and female.
I have stories like that; haven’t looked at them in a long, long time, don’t really remember much about them. Unfortunately, most of them are in storage and I can’t get to them, either. One day …
Well everybody is back on Earth along with a Guardian Transporter that got caught in the field as the team escaped along with two very confused and scared Banold. Went from 5715 to 6628 913 words, not sure about tomorrow, having a family do at my sisters if can get in any writing I’ll be happy. Hope everybody has a safe and happy 4th.
Slightly over the 250 again for 7/2 – hopefully more tonight, definitely more tomorrow. Happy 4th to all!
I kept going last night after I posted last time, finally stopping short of 2,000 words for the night. I wrote just a little bit more tonight, 338 words, bringing my total word count to 8,510.
Have a happy 4th, ya’ll! 🙂
Hope Tori is okay.
We had more heavy rain and hail and are now under a flash flood warning. I got 778 wc on my Alphasmart and was able to upload–right now it is sunny with dark clouds to the west.
GG/16552
398 words yesterday. 710 tonight. More progress toward building up some of the major details about how this world works. The magic on this world is only about three hundred years old (think crash-landed) and is still in its infancy; just how much knowledge have they gained about the physical limitations of this magic, and what might they discover yet, i.e., Newton’s discovery of gravity.
I saw a lot of discussion a short while back about the significance of getting your story down to One Sentence, so I took a stab at it: “A lonely witch, with a frightful face, risks everything to save the life of the only man to show her love, who just recently killed 13 Men of the Cloth.”
For the past couple weeks I’ve had a major writers block and haven’t been able to work on my novel. Some of my dad’s clients who work at publishing companies are waiting to read the first couple chapters and I don’t want to let them down!
But today, (thanks to Write a Book With Me) I’ve actually begun to write my story again!
I’m getting to the fun parts now. First of all, one of my characters suddenly tells my MC that he thinks she likes him and she starts freaking out saying she doesn’t. Then, the plot suddenly starts to unfold! I get to introduce my favourite group of characters. Their personalities are all set and ready and all I have to do is write.
Thanks so much!
-Mackenzie
By the way, from the novel I’m writing, The Hunted, (working title) which I just wrote about here, I wrote exactly 300 words today of chapter five! Each chapter consists of about 3 or 4 Word Document pages, so it’s coming along really well. 🙂
-Mackenzie
995 words of sentence light today and my book is planned. My working title is Dragon Touched, I’ll work four days a week on it Wed.-Sat. with a goal of 1,250 words per day. I can’t wait to get started tomorrow! The finished project needs to be less than or equal to 90,000 words.
PS forgot to say how inspiring was the nightime bush walk! Gave me lots of ambience for one of the 3 books in the back of my mind,
No words for me last night, was my baby angel’s (13 in 3 weeks) investiture into Scouts, on a floodlit bushwalk in freezing weather. The bbq was nearly blown away by the wind off the antarctic, but a good night anyway.
So reading all your comments has once again filled me with inspiration, Great Game!.
Oh, and Happy 4th of July all you folk.
First, I am so sorry to hear about your situation Tori, I will keep you in my thoughts. Everything will work out, be strong and try to keep your spirits in a positive place.
Today I was able to get 446 words out and I still have more planned for the latter part of the evening. With homeschooling four kids, cleaning duties, and lets not forget the cooking – gotta eat – my writing has to be well planned out in advance so hubby can take over. I am fortunate to have such a strong support group at home. I just have to share this part real quick. When all my children found out how serious I was with my writing, they all sat down and wrote me the cutiest story. And now they rather read than watch the TV. How cool is that!!! Thanks for letting me brag a little!
Happy writing everyone
Talina
I decided to start playing this game and so my word count is 500 per night. Thats a little under a full page for me. I can usually write that much pretty easily. Here in Seattle its summer break from school and I currently have about 8,000 words written. I started it mid June right before school ended. So yeah. I met my goal today and my MC is heading off on the road to a city on the other island to start her initiation travel (she is a “witch”).
Post # 1
No new words from me today but I did do a lot of cutting. I know I should keep my editing head safely tucked away somewhere until after I’ve finished the first draft but I just couldn’t resist. I’ve had quite a long break from this novel and I wasn’t really feeling comfortable just picking up where I left off.
I’ve knocked myself back to 19026 words but the good thing is I’ve done a complete read through and I feel that I’m reacquainted with the story and my characters again.
Only 181 words today, but I also spent about 30mins working on my TiddlyWiki and trying to collate the planning I have for the fantasy story. I think it was worth it..every little helps! 🙂
I hope everything works out ok for you Tori. xx
428 words today before work, for a two-day total of 717.
MC’s romantic interest, in the hospital under heavy sedation, has just realized that she’s told the bad guys where Our Hero is, and how to get him to come to them…and that it’s too late for her to do anything about it now.
115 by 1:15pm today. I’m going to try again tonight. I usually get my best ideas when I get ready for bed.
I’ve reached 8,600+ words. I am so psyched. I usually give up around 5,00.
I need to proof my post a little better. lol
Tori – you’re in my thoughts. Hang in there!
I skipped the day before due to a family emergency that left me so mind-sick that there was no way to write. And then yesterday was a long drive and wait at the court room, so I wrote 1197 words (approx. handwritten pages) during this time. I would have written more on the way back, but I had to take over driving for my hubby…he had a stress attack. He has a bad childhood with court rooms and these days always get to him.
I have a ton of messages to answer, but I will try to add a few words for the next thread while hubby is at the forge making our anniversary knives. Then probably take the 4th off…it’s our anniversary day.
I’m sorry for your troubles. I HAD to wish you a Happy Anniversary, though. Ours is July 4th, too! DH chose the date so he’d always have the day off, then he mentioned something for bonus points about fireworks with me, LOL. It’s our 12th this year. Congratulations to you!
316 words… pretty good considering I had jury duty and was awake several hours before I usually get up.
1105 words yesterday – more than on the previous day when I felt like writing! Proof that if I apply the butt glue and tough it out long enough, I do eventually get to the writing zone and make progress.
Introduced the love interest, which adds a new complication for my heroine.
300 words! I like allowing myself to do such small chunks.
Tori- I’m so sorry. I hope everything works out, and I’ll keep you in my thoughts. 🙂
402 words on the 2nd.
Hero has a job and a boss and a potential partner in crime. I’m using your character sheets to flesh them out a bit .
My writers block is beginning to ease a bit *bounces* thanks for doing this.
No words last night. Got home from baking night with the girls exhausted. Fortunately I’ve got plenty of stuff in my head, so that’s not the problem. Looking forward to tonight’s session. I’m going to try to get my writing done before gaming tonight because I’m always pretty tired when I get home afterwards.
Belle (the wannabe) again. 250 words today, around 1000 total on Bx — my working title. I have not structured the story yet, but I am finding something I am sure you experienced writers are well aware of. Things are coming out of the one character I am working on that surprise me. And this is within the first 1000 words. Wow. Holly has referenced the Muse several times in post. Can someone direct me to some reading on that based on Holly’s perception of it? Thanks, in advance, for sending it.
https://hollylisle.com/books.html#MTM
That’s a free download. She has more techniques in the How To Think Sideways course.
951 words, and before anyone gets the idea that I’m a fast writer I must tell you that this is a story already written once. I finished the first draft and a revision about two years ago. I’ve learned a great deal in the Think Sideways course, stuff I’m now using to rewrite the novel.
Last night’s words made me a little uneasy. The day before I ended Ursus’ scene with “An oily blackness filmed his eyes and he stumbled through the door.” Last night Avery saved Hudo from the advances of Magda, and I’m worried. I’m just not sure if any guy really wants to be saved from the advances of a woman. Rats!
Depends what kind of a woman Magda is? How shallow is Hudo?
1230 words, but no proper writing, just brainstorming what my heroine would see, hear, smell and feel as she’s walking up to the ruins and starting to pick through the rubble.
@Tori: I’m thinking of you. Keep us posted.
Almost 1000 words last night! I have not set myself any kind of goal – just that I’m going to make a date with my characters five nights a week, for however long I can. This feels – doable.
2,040 words last night, pushing me over the 40k mark!
woah!
0 Words–huge storm and no electricity from 7 pm until around 2 am! But I don’t work today so I will have more writing time.
You are not alone. A BIG FAT Zero words here too! No storm, No power failure, nothing at all to stop me, but I wanted a break, You see, The great week-end is coming. Let us see, How much I knock off, Beers? I’m a teetotaler! Coffee? May be, but words, it’s going to be words.
Sounds good–overindulge in words. I think i will too since our outdoorsy plans are ruined by the current weather.
I feel your pain. We had a huge storm here a couple of weeks ago. The power was out for 26 hours; luckily the temperature was only in the low 90’s at that time. We lost the tops off a few old trees and had a fence knocked down. Our horses were ankle deep in water.
But everyone was ok and I actually did some plot development with pen and paper. 🙂
2020 words for me last night. That pushes me over the 60k mark.
495 words on White Knight, up to 11,979 total. Donovan now thinks that Aryssa has been sent by someone trying to mess with his mind, and he’s not happy about it.
Began the first scene of the first chapter of my book. (The very first scene of the book occurs twenty-five years later.) I am cheating a little to post a word count here, because I incorporated some paragraphs from a letter I had written earlier into this scene.
So my somewhat inflated word count is 887.
Hi Debora, Do you know what Holly would say? mm, The letter, well, wasn’t that written by you? So it counts. We are not doing a mathematical marathon here, nor our words are dollars to count them like gold. The exercise is just to keep you focused, and a way to keep tap of your progress. So take things in their spirit. Right Holly?
Aoi- Your prayers are greatly appreciated. I need everything I can get at the moment to keep me from breaking down and to get home before my work decides they have had enough of waiting for me to return. Getting robbed was bad enough…but this is much worse.
One good thing: I am having some really good ideas for the story I want to write thanks to Thinking Sideways. It has made all the difference.
Yeah. This definitely has applications to fiction.
762 words but I’m not sure if they are any good. End of the first scene. Introduced the main character and gave him a huge unsolvable problem (he just does not know it yet – not the problem, the unsolvability)
You’re in my thoughts and prayers, Tori.
Just 265 words tonight, and 1480 in total – but I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things again. Exciting, really.
800+, and the chapter ended (by my searching party finding a commonfolk girl in a state of total shock in a cave-in). My antagonist made a point of getting an amulet (well, a useless trinket, but a pretty one) Vega sold to this girl off her neck.
Kind of hilarious that the title of the post was # words and rockband.
I did 603 words — while listening to Status Quo play 3 miles from here. 🙂 (Yeah, it was that loud, at 10pm)
Ouch. That’s loud. Nice words, by the way.
@ Jessica and Sarah-
Thank you for your concern and your prayers. I wish this comment was an exercise and nothing more, alas, it is not. Hopefully we will be out of here by the end of the weekend. If we are I keep my job. If not, I’ll have to find something else.
Perhaps I should try to get into nursing school now instead of later? Or stay home and actually WRITE my freakin book? I don’t know.
And Holly- Thank you. Thinking Sideways is the only thing-besides my husband- that is keeping me sane at the moment. Without it I would be reduced to tears.
Sorry to hear about the unfortunate situation you’re in. I can relate to your woes about getting into school and it taking away valuable time from your writing. Last September, I decided to enroll in a two year medical office program. In a weird way, the school thing takes the pressure off me to write a great novel my first time out . Now, I can relax (a little) and just try to enjoy the process of writing a novel and learn from whatever happens.
I got 600 words yesterday, and I really like what I got. I love when characters are in trouble no matter what they do.
2000+ and still going for a bit. Its been a helluva day. A bloody, unconscious monk on the metal floor of a ship turned out to be a poisoned librarian in disguise on the run from god knows what…
Thanks again!
Ooh. Interesting teaser there. My mind lights up with possibilities for the “god knows what.”
Absolutely exhausted, only 1360 today. May write some more if my head decides to behave (I hate getting migraines on the days I want to dedicate to writing)
1360 words is enough and more. Don’t be so greedy, relax. May be I wonder it is your writing that causes your migraines? Oh! just kidding. You know what causes migraine, I suppose? no stress, relax. You are otherwise doing great 🙂
500 words even tonight. That completes the first draft of my short story. I’m going to print it out and let it rest for a couple of days before I start revising.
Now, the question is: Do I begin the very difficult revision of my first novel or do I begin writing my second? I really don’t like the idea of leaving my first novel unfinished. But I had set it down and started working on the second when I realized what bad shape it was in. Now… I think I know how to fix it. Hmmm… decisions, decisions.
I think if the novel is in *really* bad shape you should first see if it’s salvageable (look somewhere in Holly’s page, there’s a handy test for that) and even if yes, ask whether you can salvage it right now.
My first novel (well, my first novel in English) is waiting there until I gain some more experience to handle it properly. (I think that I’ll rewrite it from scratch.) I love the idea and the characters, but I know for certain that I can’t handle the MC as he is now and the double plot lines.
Both of the original stories from the first novel are salvageable. From the Burn It workshop, one story got 60 points and the other got 55 points.
The first is the story about a thief who was accidentally turned into a vampire and then has to save the vampires (more specifically his mentor vampire) from a magician coming up with a spell to destroy them all. And the magician is casting this spell using items my main character stole for him. So, it’s all my main character’s fault.
The second is the story about a half-breed orc who is the first of his kind accepted as a novice magician and the unfortunate truth that his magic talent stems from the infernal side of his nature.
I had these two stories bound into a single story with a whole slew of coincidences. The two main characters just happened to be best friends and the magician in the first story just happened to be one of the teachers in the second. I just figured out how to separate them a few days ago.
Well, why are you even asking questions? 😀
One finished (as in “really finished”) novel is waaaaay better than two drafted. Nay, one finished is even better than ten drafted. Sure, it’s the next step to take and thus a tad scary, but not impossible. (At least people somehow manage to do it, right?)
I figure that this “writing the novel with Holly” gig can be used for editing too.
Oh, and good luck with that 🙂
Hah! 🙂
Of course, you’re right. What’s my problem?
I’ve never actually, really finished a novel before and I guess I’m playing it SAFE. 🙂
Let’s rock that revision!
Hi Pencil Neck, Start revision I tell you. Your second work can wait. Remember, you have the problem of confusing two stories while writing. Let me tell you, right now, I have ideas, plots, characters, and words floating in my head for 3 short stories, 4 novels, no, 5 novels, but I don’t get distracted from my current project. I am not going to start any new ones till I see this through. I don’t block the other ideas either, as and when they come, I take them down, and leave them at that. revision or write, But its your decision, and you have to take it.
Thanks, Anambika.
My problem with the two stories merged into one was that I was adding complications and figuring out ways to solve problems, etc., and it got out of control. At the time I was writing those, I didn’t know how to maintain focus. Holly’s Sideways course taught me how to do that but unfortunately, I didn’t start Holly’s course until I was over halfway through. I think I can keep things straight now. 🙂
My problem is that I’ve created this whole new universe for my second novel and I’m really getting into the characters and the world and the plot lines. But, I also really love the universe and characters in the original one.
So… I’ve just got to make the decision. 🙂
My wife wants me to go the revision route so I can finish the novel sooner. Then she wants me to sell the novel and make millions of dollars so we can buy enough land so she can stop boarding her horses on someone else’s property.
I’m leaning the revision route, too. But without the whole buying a ranch motivation.
The workshop mentioned is Burn It, Bury It, Let It Live.
300 and still going for “tonight” although in my timezone technically it’s tomorrow. 🙂
Heroine is about to find out that her first encounter with the red haired man may have affected her with more than just a high electrolyte count. Of course with 6 taquila shots in her system one can never be sure.
My husband got robbed. We are on vacation and we got robbed! They took his wallet(it had our gas money in it AND his license…among other things), they took his car keys and his cell phone. So now we are stuck here until we can make enough money to get home. Did I mention that he is legally blind and he lost his glasses? So we have to wait for his old ones to get sent here too. This vacation has turned into a complete hell. If I don’t get back to Oregon soon I’ll lose my job.
I wish I could say that despite all this I was able to start my project, that I was able to get past the planning stages. I didn’t. I probably wont for at least another month.
Everyone…please keep me in your thoughts. If I lose my job…I don’t know what I’ll do.
Wow, that’s a pretty rough blow. I hope you get home ok.
I truly wish your post was some sort of creative writing exercise … no? (((Hugs))) and prayers for a return trip to Oregon, a job to go home to, and a happy ending – soon!
Keep holding on and pushing through, you will get to the other side of this! You’ll be in my thoughts and I wish you the best. In my life I find that once I push through the really nasty bits there is always something good to be found on the other side. Getting there sucks but the only thing to do is keep looking for answers. I know the economy is bad but if your job can’t understand this emergency there is probably a better job waiting on the other side that you wouldn’t normally take a chance on.
Hi Tori, Don’t worry, You will make it. Remember this, ‘Everything passes, even this will.’ Believe me I tell you, You will soon find yourselves back home, with your job, and everything alright. Then, when you are sitting in your arm chair, cozy and secure, Remember the incident, and make a vow that you would never put yourself in such a position. Not the robbing – you can’t help it, but about your job. If you have writing in you, you have everything in you. you can make a life out of nothing but napkins in a coffee shop. If you are hit, by fate or whatever, don’t go down, bounce back, and bounce up, and go beyond the reach of whatever that hit you. My way of life. And I am a surviver. uff!
Tori, hugs. E-mail me.
875 words. Not bad for a migraine day. And I know the next major cliffhanger I need to hit, and a muse bomb told me how to resolve the last one.
I’m learning a little about my planning process with this one. Maybe I don’t need to be quite so structured in my outline as I always think I should be.
2159, finished the last scene in ‘part 2’. It’s nice to see the light growing stronger at the end of the tunnel. Thanks, Holly, for setting this up.
My daily goal is 500, and I hit 754 today. I’m still ready to run with it, but had to spend most of the day away from the computer. Exciting news though – the word count topped 30k! My first novel and I’m at 30,197 words! My characters are demanding to get out of my head and I’m having a BLAST! It’s hard to believe I only started writing fiction two months ago because I didn’t think I could handle it. (My day job is writing non-fiction – and, um, homeschooling five kids and decorating cakes). Fiction ROCKS!
Fiction TOTALLY rocks. Nice progress, too.
Thanks!
Hi Sarah, simply great 🙂 hats off!!! This is from the Boasting Rabbit, and I say it is something. 30K in 2 months? amidst 5 kids, cakes, and non fiction, My head spins. … … … I have a serious urge to put my tail between my legs and go away quietly. But I won’t do that. I have to stay here at least to cheer you folks. { KEEP IT UP SARAH} But wait till I catch you 🙂 No pressures involved here though, mind you 😉
Ha! All of the chaos makes it pure bliss to sit down and squeeze time in with my characters. When I actually HAVE time, I’m a blank. When I know I should be doing something else, the pages practically write themselves! Now, if I only had a laptop to write from the deck of our boat, I’d be on my second or third novel by now. LOL!
Well here’s my first post. I picked up my 2007 NaNo novel again. In all actuality it only had 5725 words (the main document with consistent plot.) I have around 12k altogether. But for the purposes of this They Followed a Star…to Betelgeuse now has 6,276 words making tonight’s word count 251. WOO HOO! 😀
I can’t wait to see how this pans out. I just moved the scene I quit in a little further along to some understanding between the characters involved. The story is a sci-fi-ey and rather butchered version of the sacrificial savior tale. And it is also very silly-but it’s mine and I love it even if it is silly.