And Yuletiding. And that is all.
See you in December.
November Novel, Day 3
Four sessions: 313, 15, 190, then 1997 words. If I had energy to write more about it I would. Let's just say I wrote some awful stuff and gave a character panic attacks. Wow. And 185 of semi-fluff. Whoohoo. Then 131 of actual fluff. This is good.
Count
- November Novel: 2,831 words – Total: 4098 words
- All Fiction & Poetry: 2,831 words – Total: 4218 words
- Blog: 49 words – Total: 479 words
On the Writing Front, November 1–2
So I got an 84 word start on the November novel, due to a gift scene popping into my head as I got under the covers. Problem: I was in bed. Solution: I memorized the dialogue and wrote it this morning.
Then I dove into the collaboration fic and got 1075 new words by cycling back through the section that needed it and adding two new scenes on the end because lo and behold, they were in my head last night as well.
It's back to the November novel. (I like that better than Nano. :shrugs: ) I've got snippets and snatches I've been collecting. I guess I better go dig them up and add them.
Stopped to add another 299 to the collaboration. Done with that for the day. Back to Novembering it.
Got all my old stuff in there that I think belongs in this story: 3143 words. Now, let's go from there. Ended at 3263.
Saturday night, I managed a snippet. Heading into a work-intensive Sunday, can't promise instant scribbles, but the ideas are there. Too bad the collab can't be my nano. I don't think... Must check the rules.
Count
- November Novel: 1267 words
- All Fiction & Poetry: 1,387 words
- Blog: 430 words
Posted in Writing
Tagged collaboration, nano 2013, writing process
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End of October Post
So I started this month out with a challenge to scribble in public and see where it took me. Apparently, it took me to almost 40,000 words of poetry and fiction besides blog posts and it was, to be frank, a really bad month for my discipline. So.
Heading into November, I'd like to do better, way better, and I'd really like to fill out a lot of the gaps in my work and finish some books.
November Projects
- Pieter/Ashen initial meeting book — There will be coffee.
- Collaboration fic with thecatisacritic — There will be special abilities and family dynamics.
- Yuletide fics — Lithiumlaughter is helping me brainstorm on the prompted one, and I'm still mulling over Laurie. Then there's bookswaps.
365 Challenge
I've downgraded the importance of this. It's weird. I should want, maybe even need to finish out the challenge, but I don't. I have so much raw material to turn into powerful books that readers actually want to read that I consider the challenge an unmitigated success and now want to seriously finish out all the stuff it started. So yeah. Expect books. Novelettes, novellas, and maybe novels. I've never been as fast at pulling out long fiction, but I'm going to try.
Count
- Fiction & Poetry: 3273 words - Month to Date: 39,410 words
- Blog: 0 words - Month to Date: 9,831 words
- Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words
How's your docket?
Scribbling, October 30
So started off by reading the collaborative additions, then wrote 609 words of what comes next. Then 184 off of a conversation snippet. Very busy day so having a hard time squeezing stuff in. And another 668 words. It's problematic, this writing out of order business.
Can't decide on a Nano project and it starts in 2 days. :headdesk:
After hours, I got another 289 on the collaboration and 69 words of rough-drafted poem.
Count
- Fiction & Poetry: 1819 words - Month to Date: 36,137 words
- Blog: 71 words - Month to Date: 9,831 words
- Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words
Frantically Writing Before Its November, October 29
So I had a rude awakening this morning when I realized it's almost November. Here goes.
And there goes 1478 words to wrap up the Justus fic. I hate having written it out, but I hope you like it, thecatisacritic. It's your own fault you asked.
Edited the collab piece to 397 words from 133. Added another 231 words after talking to thecatisacritic. And another 229 after evening prayer.
In between, I filled out another prompt for why Storm made Red Wolf leader. Truth is, I expected a different piece to come out, the one I'd originally imagined with Maker and that had a broader perspective and more about Red Wolf, but this came out instead, raw and under the surface of why Storm was angry about making Red Wolf leader, which was something different.
Starting in on "Everything is Blood" at 1029 words. I looked it over and didn't actually have to toss anything I already had but couldn't think of how to bridge from point A to point B. I love this fic, and I hate it. A lot.
Skipping that... I think I'm going to quit and update if I write more later. So I promised an update. I sketched and scribbled on some index cards.
Count
- Fiction: 2868 words - Month to Date: 34,318 words
- Blog: 215 words - Month to Date: 9,760 words
- Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words
365 Challenge
- 237–238/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn: A Time to Die – 3740 words
- 239/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Hard Decisions – 543 words
Posted in Writing
Tagged nano 2013, writing process
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Reading and Writing, October 28
Today, I started by typing in my sketches for the Justus fic (still haven't caught up on "Amnes") and writing up my scribbler post for the weekend.
Starting editing and writing in the Justus fic at 2177 words. I got to 2264 before the end of the workday.
Between work and home, there was a major shopping trip for Thanksgiving/Christmas/craft fair, which was fun but knocked out most of my writing time handily.
Right before bed, I got another 133 words down for the collaboration on an index card. Writing on index cards seems to be a thing for me. It works better than notebooks.
Count
- Fiction: 220 words - Month to Date: 31,450 words
- Blog: 742 words - Month to Date: 9,545 words
- Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words
On Downtime
I recently read P.C. Wrede's "Not Writing" and found it hit upon something I don't often like to face up to in my own writing life: my process includes periods of not writing. Sometimes I need to read and refresh and refuel, but more than that, I go through phases of mulling and percolating and mentally hammering my way through a thorny problem or just not thinking about it while not getting so immersed in another fic that I really don't percolate while not thinking about it.
I need to accept this as part of my process, not use it to make excuses, but accept when I'm working by not working. It does happen.
And from the original post:
I spend quite a lot of time not-writing. I have, on occasion, been told that I have writer’s block when I haven’t produced anything in a long time. I always find this a bit puzzling, because I don’t feel particularly blocked. I could sit down and write a new first chapter or a bunch of backstory for something or any number of bits and pieces that might eventually find their way into a story; I just don’t see much point in doing so right then, for one reason or another.
Sometimes, the reason is that I have more important things to do, like getting the plumber to stop the waterfall in the bathroom while I move all my paper books out from under the leak in the ceiling, or like being executor of my mother’s estate. Sometimes, the reason is that I am sick and tired of the thing I’m working on, but I know better than to start a shiny new project while I am in the miserable middle of an older one, so I choose not to write anything. Sometimes, the reason is that it is a nice day and I am going to take a book outside and sit under a tree and read. Sometimes, the reason is that I need to mull over the things I already know need to happen in the current story so that I can figure out the exact right thing to be the next piece of it. Sometimes, the reason is that I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere and I need to completely rethink my plot, starting two or six or fourteen chapters ago. And sometimes, I simply have a profound disinclination to write.
I don’t call any of those things “writer’s block.” I don’t think they are deserving of the term, and I don’t think I ought to be allowed the copout.
Reading and Writing, Weekend October 24–27
So playing total catch-up here (I know, I know). On Thursday, I managed to write some at the end in the Justus POV fic of "Its Own Absolution" due to a wonderful antagonists prompt from in_the_blue. It gave me a good headstart. I percolated a lot on Sabbath about it, but didn't turn that sketch into fic until Sunday, and awkward fic at that.
Somewhere in there, I also sketched down some other stuff and have started to rethink my approach to this collaboration. I need something that doesn't fit easily into worldbuilding I've already done for any other story. It's not fair to thecatisacritic.
Also, trovia got me off on an amazing Avengers fanfic novel (I'm a sucker for brothers), so there's that. It took time to read and was good for when I was feeling totally bleh on the mental front.
To the counts:
October 24, 2013
- Fiction: 1041 words - Month to Date: 29,911 words
- Blog: 0 words - Month to Date: 8,803 words
- Nonfiction: 48 words - Month to Date: 362 words
October 26, 2013
- Fiction: 180 words - Month to Date: 30,091 words
- Blog: 0 words - Month to Date: 8,803 words
- Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words
October 27, 2013
- Fiction: 1139 words - Month to Date: 31,230 words
- Blog: 0 words - Month to Date: 8,803 words
- Nonfiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 362 words
Posted in Fandom, Writing
Tagged writing process
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Upcoming Attraction
Can I just say that I am super-excited about the upcoming Captain America: Winter Soldier?
I've been interested in this triangle of characters meeting for a while: Black Widow, Winter Soldier, Captain America. I am so hoping they do it justice.
Posted in Fandom
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