Holly Lisle: Writer

FInished My Ghost Story

1399 words, and my ghost story, The Other Chance,; is done.

The story in first draft runs 7641 words.

I always add some words in second draft, because my first drafts run lean.

I like my ending, I like the twist I got, and I definitely did not see the last bit going the way it did.

I’m going to collect my short paranormals into a Kindle edition, I think, after this story comes out. Probably throw in a couple of original short shorts, and maybe some other things.

So. Anyway. That was my words.

How did yours go?

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38 responses to “FInished My Ghost Story”

  1. Starrweaver Avatar
    Starrweaver

    I’m new, just jumped on board a few weeks ago and have been lurking about.
    I’ve been doing a ghostwriting/collaboration with another writer, my son. I’ve been helping to teach him about the process of writing, while I’m working on my skills since this is a genre I’ve little experience with as well as knew close to nothing about.
    Total work count on the project so far is 25,183 words as of 7-24-2011.
    I’ve still got some ways to go to get this project completed too.

    What I was curious about was how do you stay focused on a project when bad financial news comes knocking? Due to some changes, I make a total of $674/month now – that’s it. I’m 4 points short to qualify for disability, so I’m getting SSI. I want to become self sufficient – but at this rate I’m going to be homeless. I’ll be trying to write my manuscripts on the library computer, an hour at a time. Needless to say, the waters are rising and my family’s in a leaky boat with a dead motor. You’ve gone through the rough financial rapids – what can I do?
    I need to stay afloat, long enough to finish something and hopefully it sells.
    I don’t need to be famous or rich, I just want enough income so I can take a deep breath now and then. Any ideas?
    Thanks for being accessible.

    Reply
  2. Danzier Avatar
    Danzier

    1,714 words this morning. I wrote the next ten pages of Pipes; three scenes, all critical…and I discovered the bad guy isn’t who I thought he was. I thought it was the evil neighbor. Then I thought it was the grouchy cop. But now the neighbor and the cop are both obstacles, and the REAL bad guy is the guy between the neighbor, the cop, and the main character. He has a sort of Iago vibe to him. I think I’m going to like this… 🙂

    Reply
  3. Jarvis Avatar
    Jarvis

    I’ve never been enticed by ghost stories, but all the power to you.

    Reply
  4. Cassie Witt Avatar
    Cassie Witt

    Another 363 words tonight and some good stuff too. I was driving home from the movies and noticed how the fog was hugging the ground and the moon was barely there and thought…this would make a great spooky scene. So I started writing. I even managed to make it through the rampaging of my four year old through the house. Wish I could do more, but I have to get to bed early tonight. 🙂

    Reply
  5. McTash Avatar
    McTash

    This is great! You’re a machine, Holly.
    I’m a full-time mom of two girls (five and one year) and work full time as a proposal writer for a high-tech firm. I’m working on some short-story assignments in my creative writing course. The latest is a 3,000-word story on the redemption of social outcasts. So–I am accomplishing my number count–on the 30 minutes I have at work for lunch.
    Today’s count: 252 words

    Reply
  6. Danzier Avatar
    Danzier

    Decent number of words today. I got the groundwork for a paper and interviewed a character. 675 words for the character interview; 2 pages for the paper (maybe 1200 words) and proofread another paper. And I’m going to buy Holly’s Writing Discipline ASAP, because I also cooked meals and cleaned and washed dishes and I’m feeling like a used dishrag.

    Reply
  7. Red_Dot Avatar
    Red_Dot

    I took on a project of writing a book over a year ago while my job was real slow. I have since changed jobs and now my book has totally stopped. I have 28K in words with 9 Chapters complete. I have not written in 7 months. Still have not been able to write at home.

    Reply
    1. Danzier Avatar
      Danzier

      Hey, Red_Dot! Congrats on the new job! 🙂

      Reply
  8. WandersNowhere Avatar
    WandersNowhere

    I’m still in love with the new villain of my first book. He’s the polar opposite of Holly’s ‘Cousin Oliver’, the character who comes in out of nowhere and wrecks the book; this guy came in out of nowhere, SAVED my book, and then has the good courtesy to die at the end when his job is done. What more can one ask of a bad guy?

    Reply
  9. Larkk Avatar
    Larkk

    I sat down to write a character description, but 1308 words of the second scene in the revision tumbled out instead. 🙂 I think it’s time to start the block revision/cut, which is largely new scenes. I’ve done my best to have everything ready, but I don’t think I can hold myself back anymore.
    I’m so stoked to get into this!

    Reply
  10. JWD Avatar
    JWD

    Final count for the night, 2022, and it is definitely past my bedtime. 4am. mrg.

    Reply
  11. JWD Avatar
    JWD

    1,574 yesterday, 800 so far today. Still trying to eek a bit more out. It’s the little transitions that always bog me down. Like, just getting my characters from just outside a town to inside a town.

    Reply
  12. Cassie Witt Avatar
    Cassie Witt

    351 today. A little more inspired than the other day. I wish I could have written more, but, alas, I must go to bed early so I can get up early. Ah, another day of work…

    Reply
  13. Becky Avatar
    Becky

    I’m glad to hear you finished your story! Sounds like it was a good first draft with the twist and surprises. As for me, I finally got past an ugly section that needs to be fixed in the revision (ugly AND boring). Now that that’s done I have a candybar scene coming up!

    Reply
  14. Cassie Witt Avatar
    Cassie Witt

    255 today…and I don’t think any of it is going to be kept, but just getting words down on a page feels good, so I’m off to bed soon…early bird, worm, and all that jazz.

    Reply
  15. Danzier Avatar
    Danzier

    Well, it’s Monday. Yesterday I wrote 8 pages of script and three pages of what needed fixing in the first 10 pages of script. The new pages look like fluff, and I’m not happy about that, but it’s a rough draft–and, in spite of looking like fluff, I planted two red herrings and one big important clue, plus some B-plot and a couple of comic beats.

    The biggest problem I see in this script, though, is that all my characters sound like me talking. Scriptwriting makes it easy to over-focus on dialogue, and to me this reads like I’m talking to myself. I’m not sure how to fix that.

    Reply
  16. Jessic@ Avatar
    Jessic@

    Took a much needed day off from writing on Monday. I didn’t even bring my laptop lest I be tempted to go ahead and get some words in. I figured this book is flying along so well, I don’t want to wait until I hit a wall to take a break.

    It paid off, though. I came back to it Tuesday and realized my first few chapter got the job done, but not with any real flair. There needed to be more conflict, more drama. So, I sat down and started working on a mind map. Claire needs CONFLICT was what I put in the middle, and from there, it branched out into at least four more things I can put in her way right from the beginning. It makes the whole story more interesting and it ties in really nicely.

    Managed another 4957 word since Tuesday. And, I just noticed that I got lesson 2 for HtTS. Yay! I know what I’m doing this weekend.

    Reply
  17. WandersNowhere Avatar
    WandersNowhere

    No time to scratch between my legs let alone write, but Ideas are stewing in this ol’ brain of mine, and the more I think about the revision of Book I the more I’m seeing it as a complete and coherent entity for the first time.

    Woohoo 😀

    Reply
  18. hanna Avatar
    hanna

    Started using HTRYN with Bx2. worksheets 1 and 2 done. Also re-reading Character Clinic. My characters need work and this is a story about characters.

    Reply
  19. Felicia Fredlund Avatar
    Felicia Fredlund

    I did the organic conflict for the conflict module today and I’ve been reading in a non-fiction book about writing (Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell).

    Reply
  20. Danzier Avatar
    Danzier

    I attacked HTTS lesson 7 today, and even hand-written, I got a lot of words (around 400), character development, plot points, a critical map, and Poughkeepsie. I have to write another ten pages of script for Monday, but I think it will be ok.

    Reply
  21. JWD Avatar
    JWD

    3266 words last night. Good day.

    Reply
  22. Gabby Avatar
    Gabby

    about 30 mins brainstorming last night

    Reply
  23. Teri Avatar
    Teri

    My writing looks like it’s picking up now. I’ve written eight days in a row so far, and more than 100 words on three of them. 🙂 Not so many on the 19th, only 55 words, but I’ve managed to finish one more scene and start another since WABWM started up again.

    Reply
    1. Teri Avatar
      Teri

      And 109 words for my birthday! 🙂

      Reply
      1. Danzier Avatar
        Danzier

        Happy Birthday!

        Reply
  24. gabby Avatar
    gabby

    It’s great to have WABWM back. 🙂

    Just to update: Last week I did 3 or 4 days of 90min brainstorming sessions.
    The week before I had a couple more sessions (can’t really remember now).
    I have lots of brainstorming left to do. There are some key things I still haven’t figured out. Mostly my antagonists are causing me trouble…

    Reply
  25. Jessic@ Avatar
    Jessic@

    Yesterday I managed 2450 words, housework and half an hour on my stationary bike. All around a good, productive day.

    Today, I waited at the doctor’s office for my hubby and had the foresight to bring my laptop along. It was a smart move, I got 1633 words while I was waiting. Otherwise, I would have wasted this time just waiting. Well, not just waiting, I don’t go anywhere without a book in my purse, but still. I wouldn’t have gotten the words I did so far. I might have the chance to sit down again later and get some more. Here’s hoping.

    Reply
  26. Prue Avatar
    Prue

    Congratulations Holly! Nice going.

    No words for me today – still getting over bronchitis. I’ve unearthed my list of ‘red herrings’ prior to writing The Most Difficult Scene In The Book. I’ll be doing that this week.

    Reply
  27. Felicia Fredlund Avatar
    Felicia Fredlund

    I started looking at the conflict module for lesson 7 today. But I’ve been dog-watching so I haven’t be able to relax for a few days. Now I’m back home and tomorrow I’ll dive into the module, hopefully.

    Reply
  28. zette Avatar
    zette

    Congratulations on getting this one done! It looks as though short stories have become a bit easier for you over the last few years!

    I am on the last edits of a YA Contemporary mystery that I hope to add to my growing Kindle/Nook/Smashwords collection as soon as it goes through the editor. I may join you here for writing something new, though. I am having a horrible time keeping on track with a couple pieces I began and really need to finish!

    Reply
    1. gabby Avatar
      gabby

      Hi Zette,
      I really enjoyed your 2YN course. Do you have the alien story published anywhere? I don’t have a kindle or anything but I was hoping it might be available somewhere for purchase as PDF or something similar?

      Reply
      1. zette Avatar
        zette

        Sorry I’m so late with this. I am having computer problems from hell right now.

        And I’m glad you liked the 2YN course!

        I have a first draft of Darkness Falls (I think that’s the one you mean), but I had some trouble with it by the end. I needed to rethink a lot of motivations and add some more alien depth here and there. I have notes on it, but it’s still not quite there.

        And, as a side note, you know that you can download a Kindle reader for the computer, right? The same with Nook. They take any Kindle or Nook book and allow you to read them on a regular computer. You might also look into Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/ ) which can translate some types into others.

        Also, if you buy books from Smashwords, you get a choice of many different formats, including PDF.

        Reply
      2. Gabby Avatar
        Gabby

        I haven’t used Smashwords so I might check that out. (yeah, Darkness Falls was the one I was thinking of.)

        Reply
  29. Colleen Avatar
    Colleen

    I allowed myself to get derailed yesterday, so no words. Tonight I’m finishing writing up a new knitting pattern, so, while there will technically be words and creative effort in the same place, I don’t think it counts. 🙂

    But I’m going to break ground on the nonfiction on Wednesday (or today, in one of my little 10 minute sprints I can sneak in at work).

    Reply
  30. Larkk Avatar
    Larkk

    The Focus Outline cards got another workout today when I chased down the repercussions of a setting change in the conflict tracker sheets. I continue to be amazed by how well this whole thing holds together even when I stumble.
    Hopefully those of us without e-readers will have a way to read the stories too?

    Reply
  31. Hanna Avatar
    Hanna

    Kindle collection sounds interesting. I put some of the pdfs for HRTYN on my Kindle, so I can read them when I have time.

    No words, other than two 200 words overdue emails. Do those count? 😎

    Reply
  32. Danzier Avatar
    Danzier

    Way to go, Holly! 🙂 And the Kindle Collection sounds interesting. I hope it works.

    All my words today were to the cops because someone stole my gas cap and the gas out of my car–and some others in my parking lot. Not fun, but maybe I can annoy some of my characters with something similar.

    Reply

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