Holly Lisle: Writer

DTD — 619, and Twisty Little Plot

Agh. Frustrating. I got the coolest plot twist tonight—one of those beautiful inspirational Muse things that you just love to have fall on your head—and I can’t say a word about it because it would be a HUGH spoiler.

But writing was Really Big Fun tonight, as witness the fact that I got a bit carried away and ran 119 words over my planned top limit.

For those of you pacing me, very sorry about that. Your limit still tops out at 500.

And I hope you have as much fun with your writing as I had with mine.

This was a total blast.

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60 responses to “DTD — 619, and Twisty Little Plot”

  1. Shannon Avatar
    Shannon

    Hi. I’ve been lurking for a few weeks, but decided to join in the fun. I’m working on my first ever first draft, a romance. I’ve had a couple of false starts over the years, but I finally decided to take the plunge for real. Reading these posts and comments was what pushed me over the edge. I’ve always had doubts and fears about my ability to write and about what I had to say, and I used those doubts as an excuse to not write. It never occurred to me that others have those same doubts and fears, and they don’t let that stop them- they write anyway! So I decided to not give in to the negative thoughts anymore. (Yes, I still have them, I just don’t give in to them.) I’m happy to report that I am 16,500 words into this project and at this point it feels like I’ve come too far to give up or turn back now.

    Reply
  2. Dena C. Avatar
    Dena C.

    528 for me today. I’m tired and have a slight headache so it will be a night of vegging out for me.

    Reply
  3. Lindsay Avatar
    Lindsay

    I had gotten in 380 words in yesterday before I had to go to class. I am hoping to get some more words in tonight after planning how my “lab” that I’m a T.A. for will go and taking some notes…

    Reply
  4. Cat (from HtTS) Avatar
    Cat (from HtTS)

    3613 words on my translation. I am nearly half way through. It never went this fast before and I am more than happy with what I got. Also, I am more than tired.

    Reply
  5. Treelight Avatar
    Treelight

    Hey, guess what? The slow-writer that is me actually managed 612 words!
    I probably wouldn’t have written so many if I had checked the count earlier, but on the other hand I wanted to finish the chapter.

    So, from tomorrow on I’ll have to continue with the rewriting of some parts, which probably won’t give me much of a word-count 🙁
    Well, the sooner I clean up those chapters (it’s for the best of the story after all), the sooner I’ll be able to really continue with new stuff.

    Reply
  6. Dawn K. Avatar
    Dawn K.

    I wrote 1,371 word today and then I received the neatest thing in my email from a friend! I don’t know if I’m allowed to link to things here but I really feel a lot of people might enjoy it. It was a talk done by Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity. If you haven’t listened to it you might want to do a search, my link was to a site called TED. I think she’s discovered a different way to think about our Muse and I really enjoyed hearing her point of view. Holly, I think you might enjoy it as well if your busy schedule permits.

    Reply
  7. Kait Nolan Avatar
    Kait Nolan

    779 yesterday. Another scene ended. I’m pretty pleased with it. A little lost on where to go next even though it’s outlined.

    Reply
  8. Scarlett Avatar
    Scarlett

    I didnt have much time today as have been out with the children meeting friends, but managed to grab 45 minutes and write 1000 words so happy in the end.

    Reply
  9. Michelle Avatar
    Michelle

    Wow, great word counts today! (Um, yesterday?)

    I’ve been watching, but not contributing lately. I got another full request for my first novel (!!!) so spent all of yesterday going over it obsessively again before sending it off.

    No word count to report today, but I wrote a detailed summary of the next scene and got some great world-building in that I’m really happy about!

    Reply
    1. Scarlett Avatar
      Scarlett

      That’s fantastic well done. Fingers crossed for you

      Reply
      1. SCBrazil Avatar
        SCBrazil

        Well done Michelle.
        Inspiration for all of us yet to get there.

        Reply
    2. Sarah Collins Avatar
      Sarah Collins

      Congratulations, Michelle! That’s a darn good excuse if I’ve ever heard one!

      Reply
    3. Patricia Avatar
      Patricia

      Congrats! Definitely inspirational to hear of your success. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Ann Avatar
    Ann

    609. I like what I got.

    Reply
  11. Lisa R Avatar
    Lisa R

    289 words. I am very glad I already hit my monthly goal. My husband is gone this week and I forgot how demanding single parenthood is especially when school starts. Of course, word counts also don’t go well when he calls during my writing time. But, I did enjoy the writing I did. I also did a little reading on the current topic of sled dogs. I wonder how I am going to pull this off in my writing. I don’t even have a dog and I have only been dog sledding once. Hopefully I can make this believable.

    Reply
  12. SCBrazil Avatar
    SCBrazil

    280 today. Things still feel a bit stale but I’m getting there. Introduced the second MC and am working towards getting her to meet Hector.

    Reply
  13. Jessica Avatar
    Jessica

    275 I’m happy with the progress but feel like I should be able to do more. It’s like working through molasses! The story is there in my head, but my fingers are resisting the words. I’m going to try to break through it today.

    Reply
    1. Patricia Avatar
      Patricia

      I find that it is always best to not think about what you’re writing, but simply let your fingers move. Don’t worry about spelling mistakes, and even if what you’re writing sounds stupid just keep going and don’t stop. A vague outline of important scenes has helped me through my book so far, and the characters fill in the rest. But if I ever try to nitpick what they do or say everything sounds artificial and hollow, and they resist with all their might every step of the way. Good luck! 🙂

      Reply
  14. Khena Avatar
    Khena

    2600-ish words for me. Wrote the scene in the middle of the chapter I am working on where my MC walks in to afternoon court, demanding a private audience with the king, and shocking everyone there with the changes in her. Then i realized as I wrapped the scene up, she was intending on telling the king something she hadn’t figured out yet. Opps. So I went back to the previous chapter and started another scene I had meant to add, but forgot about. Chapter 14 really irritates me…

    Reply
  15. Minze Avatar
    Minze

    878 words, and it was fun. I usually write for ten minutes, using the timer on http://kukuklok.com. It’s got a snooze button. Today I hit it and wrote for ten minutes more because I was on a roll and didn’t want to stop. 🙂

    Reply
  16. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    D&D:584 and a rescue complete, but no-one can know about it.
    OFL: 1030, and some modest conflict forcing people together.
    A late finish, but pleased to have got the words.

    Reply
  17. Leah Avatar
    Leah

    1130 words today, and a huge development for the hero. Social and political turmoil ahead.

    BTW, has anyone else found it funny how Muses work? I had several scenes planned for my characters that never made it into the story and were changed by my Muse to bypass them entirely. Suddenly, what I thought was important turned out not to be so!

    Reply
    1. Lisa R Avatar
      Lisa R

      I find my muse halarious. My character was supposed to be working with a cook, but instead she will be with the dog trainer. This was definitely NOT my idea.

      Reply
  18. Julian Adorney Avatar
    Julian Adorney

    318 words tonight. I could’ve done more, but this closes out Chapter 5 so it felt like a good stopping point.
    Fun writing session. My main character discussed fate and free will with his best friend, wondering whether he’s fated to lose his current war or whether he can still fight and win. The consensus is it’s up to him; free will over fate.
    I like the overall conversation, but I’m not sure how good the words themselves are. A couple lines felt stilted; a few of my characters’ gestures seemed off. I guess I’ll know tomorrow.
    I also edited last night’s work. It was fuzzy, but I managed to shift the focus and tighten it up. I like the finished version.

    Reply
  19. The Pencil Neck Avatar
    The Pencil Neck

    1057 words

    Normally, I kinda try to write a scene a night. But last night, I finished part way through a scene. It actually felt pretty good starting in the middle of the scene so I think I’ve been shorting myself on production. Tonight, I kepty going for a couple of hundred words into the next scene just to get that same sort of flow going.

    Tonight, the Thief fought the Warrior and displayed abilities that fledgling vampires aren’t supposed to have especially without having been trained on them. The use of that skill ended the fight and the Warrior let the Thief and his Mentor leave. But as he turned to see to his injured protege, they could see a thread of magic attached to the back of the Warrior’s skull. When they try to tell the Warrior about it, he ordered them out of his house.

    The next scene starts with the Mentor dragging the Thief down the stairs and they argue about what to do and how to figure out what the spell is because they both know that the Mentor will soon be hit by the same spell.

    Reply
    1. Khena Avatar
      Khena

      I try to do the same thing. I like finishing a scene a day if I can, since it makes me feel good, but starting at least 100 words of the next scene makes it that much easier for me to get into it the next day. It gives my muse something to mull over until I have writing time and generally works for me…

      Reply
  20. Jamie D. Avatar
    Jamie D.

    I can’t remember if I commented last night or not – got 506 words last night, and 516 words tonight. Things are going pretty well I think…but I need to start writing earlier at night if possible. I’m exhausted by the time I’m done!

    Congratulations on your big idea, Holly!

    Reply
  21. Ieva Avatar
    Ieva

    14000+ words and an awesome writing session 🙂 I finished chapter 11 and know some of the things I need to say in ch.12, so. Well. I guess I’ll be moving forward (even if not today since I have to do some planning).

    There was a celebration and a seductive young man that my heroine treated very awkwardly. Well, she’s unused to seduction and besides, her heart is sorta broken.

    Reply
    1. The Pencil Neck Avatar
      The Pencil Neck

      14,000+.

      Man.

      That IS an awesome wriiting session.

      🙂

      Reply
      1. Ieva Avatar
        Ieva

        Arg.
        1400, so still a woman. Who can’t count.

        Reply
        1. Sarah Collins Avatar
          Sarah Collins

          ROFLMAO!

          Reply
    2. Ann Avatar
      Ann

      Wow! Amazing.

      Reply
  22. KQ Avatar
    KQ

    Back at it, with 1029 words. Carved time out. Enjoyable scene, I broke through my impasse by having my MC overhear a conversation. Also, Realized that I can explain some things by adding a small bit to a few scenes at the beginning. It will amp up the conflict and add some suspense, raising the stakes. Tucked some notes about it in my ‘revision notes’ file and am moving forward. Glad to be back at it!

    Reply
  23. Clare K. R. Miller Avatar
    Clare K. R. Miller

    542 words today. Also, I got engaged 🙂

    Reply
    1. KQ Avatar
      KQ

      Congratulations!

      Reply
    2. Sarah Collins Avatar
      Sarah Collins

      Congratulations! I love the way you threw that in there, ever so casually. LOL!

      Reply
    3. The Pencil Neck Avatar
      The Pencil Neck

      Congratulations!

      Reply
    4. Ieva Avatar
      Ieva

      Congrats! 🙂

      Reply
    5. Debora Avatar
      Debora

      Oh wow! Congratulations!

      Reply
    6. Jessica Avatar
      Jessica

      Congrats! That’s awesome!

      Reply
    7. Patricia Avatar
      Patricia

      Congratulations on both the word count and the special occasion!

      Reply
    8. Ann Avatar
      Ann

      Congratulations on both!

      Reply
      1. Dawn K. Avatar
        Dawn K.

        Congrats! Just wanted to wish you happiness in your engagement as well.

        Reply
    9. Cat (from HtTS) Avatar
      Cat (from HtTS)

      All the best wished from Germany.

      Reply
    10. Treelight Avatar
      Treelight

      Wow, that’s double good news, I guess!

      What do you think will be achieved first … the finish of your first draft or your actual wedding?

      Reply
      1. Clare K. R. Miller Avatar
        Clare K. R. Miller

        Thank you to everyone who has congratulated me! I’m really excited and happy.

        I’m pretty confident the first draft will come first, heh. My fiance is still putting himself through college.

        Reply
    11. laurel Avatar
      laurel

      That’s a good opening for a novel. Congratulations. Be deeply well.

      Aisling

      Reply
  24. Adam Avatar
    Adam

    came across this and i thought it was a great way to help keep me writing, so i decided to join in the fun. i’ve been working on this project off and on for the past 5 years, and the world it is set in has been in development since the fall of 1999.

    wrote about 600 words tonight, and finished off the rough draft of chapter 8 (my outline predicts 34 chapters, but that’s subject to change if necessary), bringing total length of the novel to just over 40,000 words. The 2nd half of the chapter seemed to write itself with little input from me, and i’ve felt like that for the past 3 chapters, which is a distinct change from how i started.

    Thanks to the editing tutorial, for the first time ever i’ve been able to go back over my work and tear it apart in order to make it better. Prologue and first scene of ch 1 have been dissected, but i’m waiting to move edits into my digital copy for the time being, and i’m a very slow editor. i need to beef up descriptions of surroundings and some other things so that the environment is more clear and doesn’t distract the reader so much, but i’ll do that on the revision pass. just pushing forward the story on my rough draft has proven to be the best method of making progress on this, and this blog will be a great tool to help keep me motivated. thank you for offering it.

    Reply
    1. Sarah Collins Avatar
      Sarah Collins

      Welcome, Adam! Great to have you here. =c)

      Reply
    2. Ieva Avatar
      Ieva

      Hello and welcome!

      Please poke around Holly’s site, here’s a wealth of useful information. One suggestion that I have found valuable, is – no real edits before the first draft is finished! (The idea is that you’ll change so much anyway so there’s no use in constantly rewriting chapter 1, adapting to all changes you have.)

      Reply
      1. Adam Avatar
        Adam

        Normally, i would agree with you on the editing, however mine is a first person narrative in which while drafting i ignore the use of the word ‘I’. This forces me into a 2 pass edit strategy, the first pass is just removing/reworking as many of the ‘I’s as possible, and the 2nd pass is the real edit. plus, my first pass editing is something i can do while waiting at my sons’ football practice. It isn’t the most efficient method, and maybe as i grow as a writer i’ll learn how to avoid this issue, but for now this is the best process i’ve found to continue making progress on the project.

        and thank you to everyone for the warm welcome!

        Reply
    3. The Pencil Neck Avatar
      The Pencil Neck

      Welcome!

      Reply
    4. Deb Avatar
      Deb

      Welcome to the wonderful world of Holly. If anyone can show you the way forward, she can!

      Right now I’m not writing – being in the middle of a house/country move (from UK to Spain) and my daughter going off to work in New Zealand today, there’s just too much else going on for me. But I’m following along here and intend joining in in the next couple of weeks when things settle down a bit.

      My planned novel is brewing and I’m itching to actually start writing it. I had one published a few years ago but have sort of lost the way since then. HTTS renewed my faith in myself and convinced me to pick up with what I love most – writing.

      Looking forward to following your progress here. Good luck 🙂

      Reply
    5. Patricia Avatar
      Patricia

      Welcome! It’s wonderful to work alongside everyone here.

      Reply
    6. Ann Avatar
      Ann

      Hi Adam! Welcome and hope you have fun.

      Reply
      1. Dawn K. Avatar
        Dawn K.

        Hello Adam and welcome! I’ve found writing beside others to be tremendously helpful and inspiring. I hope you have fun with it as well.

        Reply
  25. Elise Avatar
    Elise

    Not much fun for me today, but I wrote 860 words. I added something to a previously written scene to foreshadow events to come and added a new scene. I guess I have to learn to enjoy the unexpected more. Right now it’s just making me feel lost and out of control.

    Reply
  26. Sarah Collins Avatar
    Sarah Collins

    I’m glad you had your fab moment, Holly, even if you have to keep us in suspense!

    As for me, I ended up down 62 words on the edit and I’m through chapter 7 of 25. In other news, the suspense idea won out over the romance, so my newly crowned WIP stands at +1071 for the day and I’m LOVING it. I’ve had a dream about the darn story for two nights in a row. The first night hooked me, while the second answered all of those nagging questions. I can’t WAIT to get this one down! It has – or will have – one of those jaw-dropping plot twists and I am SO proud of it!

    Reply
  27. Jim Mitchel Avatar
    Jim Mitchel

    Started chapter nine today, and things went well.

    The two main characters are piecing together what they know, and don’t know about their situation. It’s fun writing these two characters. They like talking to each other. Makes things easy for me! :0)

    Word count for today: 634

    Reply
  28. Patricia Avatar
    Patricia

    I definitely had fun writing today, as is evident with my word count of 2,677. My heroine gave Ryan a talking to (and a bit of some fist fighting on the side) and finally got him to get up and start doing something about his problems instead of waiting for someone else to fix them. About time too, I was about ready to start yelling at him. Things should be looking up in the near future!

    Reply

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