The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: 737MX on January 01, 2017, 12:55:32 AM
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Anyone else want to focus on starting or finishing their book in 2017?
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I am in! My #1 resolution for 2017 was already: Write Daily.
My biggest hurdle is making the time, since I care for 3 kids and an elderly parent. Maybe I have to learn how to write 5 minutes at a time, like I do when I lurk these forums.
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I have notes of all sorts that I wanted to use to make a digital cookbook. I tell myself I need to work on it but I get swallowed up by laziness. In reality, its the fun stuff thats left. Cook, take pics and eat. Make coffee take pics and drink. Time to get this up and going.
This will be my first attempt at writing for fun and sharing my own work with others.
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I'm in for this challenge. I used to (like 10-12 years ago) write a lot, and managed to finish around 5 books, though I never made any attempt to get any of them published. Since then I've made a few stints happen, but always fall off the wagon for some reason, most recently in June of 2016. I've been really wanting to get back into it, but now it seems so much harder because I have a "real life" that involves a "real job," a husband, and two step-daughters. The goal I set for myself, for starters, is at least 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week. I used to be able to do much more than that, but I figure this should be enough to shake the dust off and hopefully get me back in the habit of writing. My husband got a me a membership to a writer's group for Christmas, so I'm hoping to use that for encouragement as well.
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I finished mine recently :)
I would love to be in this group, though, to keep me accountable for moving forward with the subsequent steps: submitting it to professional reviewers, so that libraries relying on that as criteria can consider it.
Does this stage fit within this thread?
I am very happy to share my experiences (positive and struggly) with the entire process.
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Thank you, SeaKayEl :)
While I imagine each writer's internal process would be different, especially depending on what we're writing, some of the things that really helped me were:
1. Therapy. ha, yep! I was preparing to expose so much of myself (nonfiction) that I needed a lot of therapy. I really had to explore what I felt able to do, become brave enough to bring sections of the manuscript to people referenced in it, etc.
2. Books and articles by other writers about how to stick with it, cope with the isolation or emotions that come up for a lot of as we go, etc. Abovementioned therapist recommended Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. It really did help me! It helped me see I was not alone, and made me laugh hard about the whole shebang. But, I liked words by other authors, too, about how painful or humbling or embarrassing or frustrating, etc, some of it can be. Some forum members have said writing is "fun" or "for fun" such that time, energy, direct costs, or lack of payment should be a non-issue. For me, it's been really important emotionally and psychologically to connect with others for whom writing and producing feels more like a vocation, calling, demanding work, major investment.
There's my little tidbit for today. Hope any of it's helpful to anyone!
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I'm definitely in.
In case no one has heard of this group, they offer great motivation in November. Recommend getting on their Twitter Account.
http://nanowrimo.org/en/forums
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..."fun" isn't the word that comes to my mind when I think about my process. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some fun elements to it. My love for following through with this idea and the final product as I imagine it is the driving force.
All of that well reflects where I land :)
Finding the exact right word is fun for me.
Whittling a phrase to its bare bones is fun for me.
Some of the other demands? Oy.
I would add that for me, the ultimate experience of contributing (easing others' lives) is what drives me. This means, though, that my sense of fulfillment and "success" in a project is dependent on knowing that people I could not have otherwise encountered are indeed supported by what I've written. That's kind of a dangerous condition, know what I mean?
...Revisionist's History podcast "Hallelujah" which is about creative genius. Lenord Cohan's process of writing that song may be somewhat of an agonizing one, maybe you'd be interested in listening to it.
Wonderful, thank you! Though I prefer reading to listening, I'm definitely going to check that out. The week of Cohen's death, my sister was telling me about his process of starting with poetry and being forced by circumstance, essentially, into music. I had never known that, nor about his discomfort with performing. I then listened to something on CBC radio about it.
I was fascinated, and found it very comforting that Cohen had had such a difficult and strange journey with his contributions! It seemed like his initial or primary sense of calling was not in alignment with what the world was asking him for, which is an interesting consideration.
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Anyone else want to focus on starting or finishing their book in 2017?
I would love some accountability and encouragement on finishing my book...and would love to encourage others to do the same.
For the last 2 years or so I have been thinking about, brainstorming, drawing, and writing (on and off). This is what I have so far:
3 children's book ideas
2 (out of the 3 ideas) I have rough drafts (minus illustrations)
I have a few rough draft illustrations for both
What I would like to accomplish in 2017:
1. Self Publish one of my ideas.
Step 1: I have already decided which of my 3 ideas I would like to move forward with.
Step 2: Re-read (and possibly re-write)
Step 3: Complete rough draft illustrations for all pages
Step 4: Tweak, Tweak Tweak
Step 5: Final drafts (both writing and illustrations)
Step 6: Research the best way to self publish
I think my biggest hurdle will be overcoming my perfectionism (which I think has somewhat hindered me the last 2 years). I will re-draw one of my illustrations 10-20 times or more. Hhhmmmm, maybe now is a good time to read "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown that's been sitting on my shelf...
Anyway, I hope others will jump in on this journey with me!
I've been working on a 3 part series for two years! I am so frightened over putting my work out there to be judged! =/
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I am in! My #1 resolution for 2017 was already: Write Daily.
My biggest hurdle is making the time, since I care for 3 kids and an elderly parent. Maybe I have to learn how to write 5 minutes at a time, like I do when I lurk these forums.
That sounds great Poundwise. What will you be writing? A book, blog, journal, something else...? If there is anything I can do to help you reach your goal, let me know!
Today I will expand on my game plan I stepped out in my post above.
Well, it is Day 3 of the New Year and I haven't written yet! Will make a stab at it now, before everyone in the house wakes up. Maybe I can do something like the Minimalist challenge, where I will try to write for 5 minutes today, 10 minutes tomorrow, etc. up to an hour. Will discuss more about what I'm trying to write after I've actually gotten started!
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Home sick today but I did write for over an hour!
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That sounds great Poundwise. What will you be writing? A book, blog, journal, something else...? If there is anything I can do to help you reach your goal, let me know!
Some years ago I invested a fair amount of time plotting out a fantasy trilogy (though it looks like close to 5 books at this point) and I'd like to fill it out. Don't know if I will ever finish it, don't think it would ever get published, but this is something on my bucket list to do. Anyway, I spent about 15 minutes on it this morning! I'm going to try to follow Jerry Seinfeld's "Don't break the chain" strategy. Any time I write for even 5 minutes I get to put an "X" on my calendar, and will try to make as long a chain of Xs as I can.
I will also try to take the example of Jane Austen (or another famous woman author, I forget whom) who had no privacy or quiet time to write, but just wrote in short bursts amid the noise and conversation of her family.
I'm eager to hear about your progress, SeaKayEl!
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Awesome challenge!
I decided just last week that I wanted to get started on a project like this. I only have a vague idea of a story line, but I think I just need to start writing, even just short stories, to get the creative juices flowing.
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Anyone else want to focus on starting or finishing their book in 2017?
I would love some accountability and encouragement on finishing my book...and would love to encourage others to do the same.
For the last 2 years or so I have been thinking about, brainstorming, drawing, and writing (on and off). This is what I have so far:
3 children's book ideas
2 (out of the 3 ideas) I have rough drafts (minus illustrations)
I have a few rough draft illustrations for both
What I would like to accomplish in 2017:
1. Self Publish one of my ideas.
Step 1: I have already decided which of my 3 ideas I would like to move forward with.
Step 2: Re-read (and possibly re-write)
Step 3: Complete rough draft illustrations for all pages
Step 4: Tweak, Tweak Tweak
Step 5: Final drafts (both writing and illustrations)
Step 6: Research the best way to self publish
I think my biggest hurdle will be overcoming my perfectionism (which I think has somewhat hindered me the last 2 years). I will re-draw one of my illustrations 10-20 times or more. Hhhmmmm, maybe now is a good time to read "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown that's been sitting on my shelf...
Anyway, I hope others will jump in on this journey with me!
Just curious, are you doing this out of a desire to become published? Or are you pursuing for purely financial reasons?
And do you plan on publishing digital editions, print or both?
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
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I'd like to participate in this as well. I have three novels that I want to write this year. I'm hoping to finish the first draft of the first one in May.
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I am so frightened over putting my work out there to be judged! =/
That is an entirely reasonable, fair, and sane concern :)
It is extremely likely the work of any person will be criticized by some.
See my post re: my need for therapy, etc ;)
Outside of sheer error (fact, grammar, etc), a reader's experience is subjective. Where I see that a work may be sound, and is simply not to my preference, I don't post a harsh review—but many people do post their subjective experience, or even entirely imagined content, as objective fact. That sucks.
I know a lot of writers encourage us to share the earliest version with no one, and an interim version with only kind people who will gently give helpful input. Maybe some of us could be the latter for you, before you present it to the judgey world?
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I'm in for this challenge. I used to (like 10-12 years ago) write a lot, and managed to finish around 5 books, though I never made any attempt to get any of them published. Since then I've made a few stints happen, but always fall off the wagon for some reason, most recently in June of 2016. I've been really wanting to get back into it, but now it seems so much harder because I have a "real life" that involves a "real job," a husband, and two step-daughters. The goal I set for myself, for starters, is at least 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week. I used to be able to do much more than that, but I figure this should be enough to shake the dust off and hopefully get me back in the habit of writing. My husband got a me a membership to a writer's group for Christmas, so I'm hoping to use that for encouragement as well.
Awesome!! I have never heard of a membership to a writer's group...what is this?
My husband got me a membership to Romance Writers of America (https://www.rwa.org/). It's mainly (obviously) for romance writers, and what I write is probably borderline, but I figure it qualifies enough to count for membership. They have monthly meetings, seminars, annual gatherings and other such helpful things. I haven't really attended before, so I'll have to see how useful it is. Fingers crossed.
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How's everyone's writing going the last three days? :)
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I have no choice but to participate in this challenge! My publisher is expecting book 3 of my series. Well, technically they were expecting it two months ago but the poop hit the fan and I got seriously delayed. I really need to finish it this month, and then get book four going. Plus, I really want to work on some new projects outside that series and see what happens with those.
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Today is day 6 of my new year's resolution to write for at least 30 minutes at least 5 days a week. I wrote every day 1-4, but last night had a headache that wouldn't go away, and didn't manage to get any writing done. Today... isn't over yet. So I still have a chance.
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Haven't broken the chain yet! I'm thinking of raising the minimum from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, but maybe I had better try to keep the chain going for another few weeks to solidify the habit first. Having a lot of fun!
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People are smokin' at this! Fun! :)
I have made zero progress this week (re: submitting to professional reviewers). Life sucked me in. I know that parenting is priority above writing for me, though, and sometimes weeks are like this.
Life seems to have resolved, though, and I've carved out time next week, though, by refusing additional social contact M/T/W, with a reward of social contact Thursday.
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Posting to follow! Have been thinking about writing a book and sketched out some ideas for this a couple days ago, for the first time. Excited about giving it a try so glad to have this thread for encouragement :)
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Great job, SeaKayEl!! I'd love to see your illustrations some day when you are ready.
I haven't broken the chain yet, but I had an unexpectedly rough Monday so I'm trying to get up the gumption to put in my 5 minutes of writing. 5 minutes is really too short, but the good thing is that I have been often going overtime, and at least I am thinking about the stories every day instead of having to spend a couple hours trying to figure out where I was last time.
How is everybody else doing?
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That is SO cute!!! I'm really impressed... and intrigued! Will you color or leave it in black and white?
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I'm intrigued by that title! :)
My mum does really cool kids' books. She thinks her illustrations aren't "good enough." In my view, they're really awesome. I pointed to a book she bought me when I was a kid: Takashima's A Child In Prison Camp. Its illustrations are swishy and vague, but give an excellent sense...I "got" them as a kid, and it has won awards for those!
As for me, my kid's disability school disappeared, so I will have to sort out a new plan for my next step and also for attending the casual writing group I signed up for, d'oh! However, I have managed to write giant things during his lifetime, so will certainly find a way to continue.
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How are we doing, everyone?
I broke the chain yesterday. :~(
On the other hand, it was because I was going to bed later and later in order to get my 5 minutes of writing in after kids were asleep and other work done. I was trying to be creative at the time when I was most exhausted.I needed a reset, so I could go to bed at 9pm and get up extra early... which is what I did last night. Got up at 5:30 and put in almost two hours of writing, and my toddler hasn't woken up yet!
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Last year was my big year for writing and finishing my book, Leadership Step by Step. It launches on Amazon a month from tomorrow: https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Step-Become-Person-Others-ebook/dp/B01HUER0ZQ/ref=sr_1_3_twi_kin_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476913347&sr=1-3. I got my first hardcovers from the printer a couple weeks ago: http://joshuaspodek.com/theyre-hardcovers.
Last week I learned that Booklist is giving it a starred review. It has blurbs from bestsellers, top TED talkers, and luminaries like
- Dan Pink
- Marshall Goldsmith
- Seth Godin
- Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Frances Hesselbein
- Professors from Harvard, Columbia, NYU
- A 4-star General
and more. Come to think of it, I should have approached MMM, since I've participated in this community for years, and I consider writing here, as with writing anywhere, practice.
I self-published two books before this one, but I consider this one on another level for going through an established publisher, which came from writing a book proposal before writing the book, which came from working with a professional agent, which came from writing for years, developing the core idea for the book, and telling people about the idea, which led a friend to introduce me to his friend, who is an agent.
Since it's not on sale yet, I don't know how successful it will become, though the response from the blurb writers has been positive, so I don't know if my experience is worth learning from, but of all the things that helped, the first was writing consistently for a long time. I've posted to my blog every day since 2011 -- http://joshuaspodek.com/archives. That meant over 2,000 posts when I started writing the book and nearly 2,500 today.
For me, I made writing not something I struggled to do consistently but like brushing my teeth -- something I wouldn't go to sleep without doing. Can you imagine going to bed without brushing your teeth? I don't know about you, but it nearly makes my skin crawl. Writing enough got me to where I feel the same about ending a day without writing. But I had to get there. People think I'm disciplined, which helps me write. They have it backward. The writing came first and developed the discipline. Their thinking is like thinking that people lift weights because they're strong. They started as weak as anyone and became strong because they lift weights.
Writing teaches you many skills valuable for writing: how to come up with ideas to write about, discipline, focus, editing, working through dry periods, handling criticism, sore shoulders, talking about your ideas, finding your voice, getting past clichés, and so on.
Writing consistently for a long time also reveals and develops passion, as with any craft. I kind of liked writing before. I love it now. There's no way I would have developed that passion without all the writing when I was tired, unmotivated, and so on. I kept writing. Writing consistently enabled me to live what I wrote, since I teach leadership, and clarify my goals. My goal is not "to write a book." The book is a means to an end, which is to enable people to practice what I teach, which is empathy, compassion, creating meaning, value, importance, and purpose in their lives and the lives of people around them, and things like that. I'll measure my success not by sales, but by feedback from people who improved their lives and relationships by doing the exercises in the book. That purpose motivates and guides me so I'm not just writing a book, but using the book as a medium to communicate and influence interested people. Our world and nation could use leadership with those skills, in my opinion. I could only refine, clarify, understand, and state this purpose from writing consistently for a long time.
Another critical element for me was the public accountability of posting publicly. At first I had few subscribers, but I still knew others could read my work and, more importantly, could tell if I didn't write anything.
A big help that came with working on the book was working with a professional editor, mainly my book agent helping me write my book proposal. I had to develop my craft enough to reach the point where I was worth her time, but then she helped my writing develop a lot more.
Anyway, I'm risking writing too much when my work hasn't reached the market yet, but I felt compelled to share what developed my craft to the point of having a book with prominent people supporting it:
- Writing daily for five years, no exception
- Public accountability
- Professional editing
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Does it count if we're working on a script? My husband's the idea man for this one, but I'm the script doctor. Ideally we'll have a completed draft by summer.
I'm also toying with the idea of writing a book for new teachers. There are a lot of those out there, but few that address the poverty, homelessness, psychological disorders, and other special needs of students that we serve in impoverished urban areas. The great ones out there tend to focus on elementary (I work with teenagers) or specific skilks (e.g., literacy). I want to focus more on how not to get depressed or overwhelmed in the face of such need. An overwhelming number of teachers who start out in schools like mine leave the profession in 1-5 years when it's actually a wonderful place to work if you approach these challenges with the right attitude and strategies.
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Last week I learned that Booklist is giving it a starred review.
CONGRATS!!!!
On that, on the happy blurbs, on completing the book, on your success in exploring a new path in writing...
Can you imagine going to bed without brushing your teeth?
Yes.
But I can't imagine going a day without writing :)
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I just got back from a four day trip for my day job. I managed to write every day, which made me very happy. Since I went from east coast to west coast, my body clock was totally out of wack. I was waking up at 4:30 in the morning, so I decided to make the best of it! I even got writing done on the plane on the way back, despite the very cramped space.
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Nicely done, Izybat :)
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My word count for my current book crossed the 10,000 mark this week. It feels great because I haven't even gotten into the meat of the story yet, so I feel like my pacing is going well. Normally, I rush my beginnings because I want the action to just start already, so this is a nice switch.
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I am going to forgo my perfectionism (for the time being) and focus on getting rough draft illustrations regardless of how happy I am of them. I can tweak later.
Love this :)
Joon, I picked up Bird by Bird at the Library today! Thanks again for the suggestion.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I'm crazy glad my therapist mentioned it to me.
Maybe more than anything else, I have found it so helpful to read other writers' experiences of shame, embarrassment, humiliation, fear, etc, in the tricky matter of personal exposure (of one's personal story, to cruelty by complete strangers, etc). Writing is one thing... Putting stuff out there, wow!
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My word count for my current book crossed the 10,000 mark this week.
WONDERFUL!!!! Congrats!
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Though I understand that many are referring to what I would call drafts, minis, or unfinished/unpolished works when they dismiss self-published material, I was feeling slightly discouraged re: some folks' dismissiveness. Then I remembered that Andrew Hallam, author of the bestselling Millionaire Teacher, recently told me that The Wealthy Barber was self-published, so I looked that up.
Here are my favourite parts of this story, as told on wikipedia:
Chilton began his career by self-publishing his book The Wealthy Barber [...] one of the best selling Canadian books of all time, selling over two million copies since its release. [...] Chilton left his role in the publishing industry in 2007, primarily due to the guilt of not contributing to the development of the industry, while taking a third of all profits. [...] Chilton has stated that it is unlikely he will publish another financial guide book, as the writing process proved to be too strenuous...
I love that he self-published, and saw tremendous success via that path.
I love that it became one of the bestselling Canadian books of all time :)
I love that when he became a publisher of others' works, he ultimately left due to the guilt of taking more than a justified amount.
I love that (according to this account) he found serious writing "strenuous." (I'm not crazy, yay!)
The Joy of Not Working by Ernie Zelinski was a similar self-published success in that genre.
Very cool.
Of course, not every book will see this outcome, but...I feel happy when I see evidence that "self-published" does not equal "crap", that stuff rejected by or not submitted to publishers may be that which proves to be most loved/helpful, that there are endless variables that determine whether a book reaches the masses or not, etc.
We write, we put it out there. The rest is up to Whatever. We have to be okay with whatever outcome, but I think it's important that we have resiliency in response to some off-hand comments. That's my journey, anyway!
How's your writing going today? :)
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Thank you for the inspiring thoughts, Joon!
My writing is going. I missed two days this weekend, but painfully got back in the saddle yesterday. This morning I started out well also. Overall, I've only missed 5 days this month (or only 3, since I started the challenge on the 3rd) so I'm doing much better than I expected!
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..."Bird by Bird" (freaking amazing book by the way--I am so grateful you suggested it)
Yay!! Not everyone on the planet will like every single book, so I'm delighted this one resonates for you :)
...and there are so many of her thoughts and feelings that she shares that makes you laugh to yourself or feel relieved or feel like your not alone. It also helps that it's ridiculously funny.
Yep, those are all the ways it helped me too!
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I just hit 15,000 words. I'm cruising right along. I'm also impressed that I've been able to keep up a really good writing streak too. I've only missed like one day a week for all of January. Keep it coming.
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I just hit 15,000 words. I'm cruising right along. I'm also impressed that I've been able to keep up a really good writing streak too. I've only missed like one day a week for all of January. Keep it coming.
This is awesome!!
Can you explain to me about word count...I have been very curious about this. I have close to zero knowledge about the writing world....and the very little I know has been geared toward children's books. Are different total word counts put into different categories or really have no basis on a finish product? For instance, I believe the industry standard for a children's picture book is 32 pages (take what I say with a grain of salt...I'm no expert here).
Are your sights set for a specific word total or as a milestone marker or something else?
Regardless of my knowledge, 15K seems like a heck of a lot of words!! Keep killing it!
Some types of books are generally written to be in a specific word count range. Many in the romance novel genre (for Harlequin for example) have ranges where your book should be. For example 60,000 - 75,000 or something. Most of the books that I've written in the past have been relatively small for novels, in the 50k - 60k range. Which, from googling around, is about the length of The Great Gatsby or Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I'm hoping to get mine to start being longer, so I'm sort of aiming for the 100k mark, give or take. Some authors go MUCH further than that. Stephen King's It is approximately 444,000. I am NOT aiming for that in any way.
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I have hit my goal for January...
With three days to spare! Nicely done!!!!
Do you want to share another illustration (rough) with us? (No pressure; just an invitation.)
I've been writing like mad, but since my real goal in this thread is submitting a completed work to professional reviewer's, I'm not meeting that one yet at all. But, this thread is helping keep that in mind. I believe I'll be able to take one baby step in that task this week :)
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Doesn't seem like you can go wrong anytime you are writing like mad.
Right?? :)
It's funny, I was feeling increasingly stuck and confused in life (mostly due to stuff coming up in kid's disabilities) and suddenly I cracked and so much writing came...
I am fully embracing moving right along regardless of if I am fully happy with what I have created.
Adore this!
I think sharing what we're doing can help some of us stay motivated, so I encourage your pics...
I would love if anyone else wants to post any part of what they are working on.
I did different stuff around the 'net this week, but here's one blog post that folks particularly seemed to like:
https://financialtipsforthebroke.com/2017/01/25/in-sickness-in-health-the-flip-side/
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Oh, thanks so much, SeaKayEl!! Your words mean a LOT to me!
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Good work, everyone! I am trying to settle myself down into doing my writing for today. Have managed to not break the chain again, against all odds, but I'm extra tired tonight.
The good news is that I've stopped rewriting the same old sections, and have now moved on to a new and interesting bit, so I hope to make more progress. I think my challenge for February will go a little further... beyond 5 minutes a day, now have to accomplish this 5 minutes before 10pm (so that it doesn't keep me up late) and I will see if I can do two reps of 5 minutes a day!
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Not so good! :~(
I broke the chain Jan 30-31 because I was doing extreme cooking. But the day is not over. 10 minutes before 10pm!
Great work on your schedule for January, SeaKayEl!
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10 minutes before 10pm!
Aren't you glad a day goes all the way to midnight? :)
How often I have relied on the fullest definition of the word "today"...
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Hurray, my little bit of writing is done for the day! A new chain begins...
How is everybody else doing?
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I'm doing fairly well. I've managed to write about 6 days a week for the last 5 weeks or so. I even managed to keep up with it this week, even though I have a cold that is clearly trying to kill me. I hit 20,000 words tonight!
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As of today, on my Google calendar I have a bright green bar across the next three weeks forbidding me from taking on any new volunteer commitments until after I have submitted my thing to the reviewer!!!
That'll show me!
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I'd love to join in on this challenge, as this year I've decided I really want to start up a blog (a videogame food blog, for people who are into that sort of thing) and maybe a little writing on the side, see if I can churn out some stuff that I can monetize, or even just enjoy writing a spicy story or two. First step, honestly, is to start reading again-- I find that I write MUCH better when I'm reading lots of stories, and also to come up with a timeline, budget, and plan for the blog itself, since I'm going to be sinking some money and resources into the food aspect of it.
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>_______________>
I ... am tentatively in.
I'm 11K into That Thing a novel that I really shouldn't drop. (Calling it a novel sounds Big and Scary, so I'll probably just call it "that thing" sometimes)
I also have several short stories that need a final polish and need to be sent out so I can start my very own rejection letter binder. ;)
I also have a graphic novel project trying to vault its way off of the backburner.
But doing these things has become very daunting so I've managed to avoid actually... you know... doing most of it.
Hoping to get the push here to get off my ass when it comes to getting myself and my work seen and read.
:)
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Hoping to get the push here...
......::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::push.
Done :)
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Hoping to get the push here...
......::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::push.
Done :)
lol. XD
Gracias.
I actually have a short story picked out. Tonight I'll do a final editing pass, and then I'll submit it to my first choice professional-rate place tonight, too.
O__O
Yes. Yes, I will.
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professional-rate place
What is that, dear Oro?
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professional-rate place
What is that, dear Oro?
You mean which market is it? Or what a professional rate is for short stories? Or is this an amusing comment about the frustrating pennies (or lack there of) that people feel is appropriate to pay? Lol.
I think I'll keep which place it is quiet until the story sells, as it's not likely to get sold to the first place I send it to. :) First up is a place that pays 8 cents a word, which is a professional rate. Not exactly big bucks when talking about a 1,500 word story, but professional. ;P
I'll go down my list into the semi-professional paying places, but if it doesn't get bought there, I'll shelve it. I don't want to get published enough to do it for free.
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Oh, I see! I just 100% didn't understand the phrase. I thought you meant a place that had professionals that would rate your story somehow, like a quick feedback thing. (Doesn't that sound like a great service? I guess some professional beta-readers do something along those lines.)
For the first time ever, the MMM forum just told me I'm posting too fast. ?!?!?!?!? I'm trying to click veeeeeeeeeeeery sloooooooooooowly this time.
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Oh, I see! I just 100% didn't understand the phrase. I thought you meant a place that had professionals that would rate your story somehow, like a quick feedback thing. (Doesn't that sound like a great service? I guess some professional beta-readers do something along those lines.)
For the first time ever, the MMM forum just told me I'm posting too fast. ?!?!?!?!? I'm trying to click veeeeeeeeeeeery sloooooooooooowly this time.
Oh! I can totally see how you'd read it that way. :) Thanks for clarifying. Hopefully I clarified too.
Ug, outside eyes are so valuable. I'm super lucky right now in that I have several writerly friends who are kind enough to lend their eyes (and minds) when I quietly (or otherwise) wish. I try to reciprocate, because it is really a labor of love. :)
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Ug, outside eyes are so valuable. I'm super lucky right now in that I have several writerly friends who are kind enough to lend their eyes (and minds) when I quietly (or otherwise) wish. I try to reciprocate, because it is really a labor of love. :)
That is a SERIOUS gift they are giving, yes!!
I had to pay two people hundreds of dollars each to beta-read (big book, but still, big $ outlay for me!).
Beta-reading is something I'd be willing to do (free at this time in my life), so if folks here want to arrange to send me stuff (after the green bar in my calendar is deleted), do!
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Same, actually, time willing. :) With the caveat that short stories are really all I'm prepared to beta currently, and my own comfort zone is more in spec fic.
^__^
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I have a a decent outline finished AND a workable marketing plan. I'm going to do most of the writing in the summer, but the planning is going well!
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Alright! I submitted a short story to a spec fic place.
*rubs hands*
Let the rejection letters commence.... 8D
I mean, it would be great to get published, but even the feeling of being started is great, no matter what or what doesn't come of it. :)
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AWESOME, ORO!!!!!!
You are sure one who gets things done!
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AWESOME, ORO!!!!!!
You are sure one who gets things done!
>___> SOMETIMES.
(But thank you!!)
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I have a a decent outline finished AND a workable marketing plan. I'm going to do most of the writing in the summer, but the planning is going well!
This sounds delicious, Mezzie :) Great job!!
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Alright! I submitted a short story to a spec fic place.
*rubs hands*
Let the rejection letters commence.... 8D
I mean, it would be great to get published, but even the feeling of being started is great, no matter what or what doesn't come of it. :)
Congratulations!! Getting to the point where you are, published or not, is an accomplishment!!
I will try to be inspired enough to get back on the wagon, myself. I have been falling off, but today I did a little writing and I will do a bit more now... yell at me everybody if you see me writing on MMM tonight instead of either working or going to bed.
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yell at me everybody if you see me writing on MMM tonight instead of either working or going to bed.
Challenge accepted ;D
heh heh, I just checked... Poundwise, you are being Very Good so far!
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I went to bed. :P
Today I will try to stay off MMM until I've done my writing again! I'm not sure why it is so easy for me to write paragraphs and paragraphs on a forum but it kills me to write three sentences otherwise.
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I'm not sure why it is so easy for me to write paragraphs and paragraphs on a forum but it kills me to write three sentences otherwise.
In those first few minutes, it is so much lonelier in the latter space!
(But, after the first fifteen or so, when we sink into that glorious flow, writing solo is the least lonely space I ever experience.)
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I wrote 300 words today even though I super duper didn't want to.
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I held firm on my upcoming writing space, declining to take on two volunteer gigs I tend to enjoy.
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I'm not sure why it is so easy for me to write paragraphs and paragraphs on a forum but it kills me to write three sentences otherwise.
In those first few minutes, it is so much lonelier in the latter space!
(But, after the first fifteen or so, when we sink into that glorious flow, writing solo is the least lonely space I ever experience.)
Well, at least I started a new chain today. But I think I have to follow your lead, Joon, and make more space in my life, somehow. There is not enough me to go round!
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I'm in! I'm about half way through writing a book on licensing music online. But I made most of that progress back in December. Time to buckle down and finish the book!
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Welcome, Ox05!
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Edging terrifyingly close...
So far I have:
Declined all invitations for additional work this month.
Processed five months worth of backlogged paperwork.
Completed all my school work.
Practiced multiple songs.
Washed all my dishes.
Completed tax return prep as far as is possible in early February.
Renewed domains for the year.
There is literally only one competing file left between me and the writing step I am so diligently putting off.
One.
Yikes.
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You can do it Joon!! Just join me in five minutes of writing!
My latest chain is now 5 days long... and now, since it's Saturday, I'm going to try a second rep!
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Okay! I am setting my timer now for 5 minutes of my 'next step' (submitting book to professional reviewer)...
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I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Poundwise!!!!
I set the timer for 5, and started.
I chose ONE place to submit to.
After 5, I did another 5.
Then another 5.
At which point the submission was complete!!
THANK YOU!!!
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Thank you, SeaKayEl!!
Thank goodness (and you) for this thread. I was so overwhelmed and frightened. When I went to start typing in the submission page, my fingers started trembling! Then my whole body. I kept going (obviously). But I was sure in wonder at the incredible response of angst my body has to so many of the steps along the way...
Now I feel like dancing around. So I will :)
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You guys are BEASTS! :DD
Nice!!
I'm currently trying to break up my days by type of output. Some days are art, some days are writing. Doing writing every day currently seems... untenable. :/
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I just hit 25,000 words. I'm still going strong with my 30 minutes a day 6 days a week streak.
I just went to my second writers group meeting. To be honest, it was a little overwhelming to me, because today's topic was about self-promotion of the author once you're published. It was good information to know, but as I'm no where near published yet, it was a bit intimidating. Either way, the motivation is still strong, and I'm going to ride it for as long as I can keep it up.
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I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Poundwise!!!!
I set the timer for 5, and started.
I chose ONE place to submit to.
After 5, I did another 5.
Then another 5.
At which point the submission was complete!!
THANK YOU!!!
Hey hey hey! Great job, Joon!!! I'm so proud of you-- and you should be proud of yourself!!
And Izybat, 25,000 words-- that is some accomplishment!!
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I decided to change the narrative on the next few pages of my story. I'm finding it harder than the first time I wrote it...
I find this to be the case across the board for me. i.e., The first go is always the easiest. Every revision is progressively more challenging to pull off.
Go, SeaKayEl!
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There are other Mustachian authors?? I never knew this thread existed!
I am a published author working on a sequel to be published later this year. I will have to scan all the posts here in the next few days to see what everyone else is working on. I'm guessing privacy concerns will force most of us to be somewhat secretive about our projects, which kind of sucks.
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I'm in. I'm writing a cook book geared towards strength/performance athletes. I had originally thought I would finish it up last year, but it turned out a decent amount of material didn't fit with the actual book I was writing, thus a second book in the works. Cookbook will be completed first, and done this year. The other one, we'll see how I feel about it once I get a few more chapters written.
Anyone know a good resource for formatting a book? I could do it myself, but I'd rather pay $500, work an extra hour consulting, and enjoy my life a lot more than spend days formatting this damn thing.
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Anyone know a good resource for formatting a book? I could do it myself, but I'd rather pay $500, work an extra hour consulting, and enjoy my life a lot more than spend days formatting this damn thing.
ha, yep!
After one major project, I vowed "never again". I promised myself that if I did the insane work again of developing an entire book, I would pay for certain rounds of proofreading, as well as for layout. I have kept that promise to myself.
I went through Amazon's CreateSpace for various tasks in the last project. I paid that company for layout, and am largely happy with it. I did have to pushpushpush for a readable font, it was critical to wait for a physical proof of each one before proceeding further, and there were a couple of small glitches that I missed (e.g. the layout hyphenated a domain url, which made it incorrect). But, if I do more projects, I will definitely pay for layout again and I would happily use CreateSpace.
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There are other Mustachian authors??
So many! Only a handful are on this thread, but yeah, lots!
I'm guessing privacy concerns will force most of us to be somewhat secretive about our projects, which kind of sucks.
My latest is linked to in my sig :)
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Ug. I'm dropping in motivation, guys.
I need to continue to plug away on the Hard Long Story that is officially out of the glorious and worry-free first 10K words and into the 'oh god what am I doing' zone.
AKA everything is hard, and first drafts are always so, so rough.
I also need to continue to edit and write new flash and short stories.
(While simultaneously working on several art projects)
How do you guys motivate yourself when things slip into the 'less fun' part of the cycle? And yes, I know that you have to put in the time, that all first drafts suck, and that what is on the page never matches what is in your head.
I'm more looking for actionable suggestions-- do you have a routine that works for you? A reward for yourself for effort put in?-- rather than the usual "just do it" advice. :)
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I've self-published one novel and am getting ready to release the second on the twenty-first. However, I have to rework a major plot point, but that's nearly done. The first book hasn't sold that much, but I've learned a ton about self-publishing.
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How do you guys motivate yourself when things slip into the 'less fun' part of the cycle? And yes, I know that you have to put in the time, that all first drafts suck, and that what is on the page never matches what is in your head.
I'm more looking for actionable suggestions-- do you have a routine that works for you? A reward for yourself for effort put in?-- rather than the usual "just do it" advice. :)
I would never say "just do it", because much of it is too damn hard to "just do", lol.
My biggest tricks to keep going through the rough times:
1. Change of scenery. If I just couldn't do another word/page at home, it was time to try a new location. A coffee shop, a cowork station, the library. Coffee shop worked best for me, because there was the right level of stimulation/sound/interaction with privacy. It also had other humans who appeared to have the same need, and I made them into my imaginary writing buddies, my pacers.
2. Warm bodies. See above. Other places I found warm, silent, writing bodies were at Just Write meetups, Writing Out Loud sessions, etc. Sitting near other people committed to silent focus does wonders for me. I want to star the Just Write meetups x1000. If there's not one near you, you can make your own!
3. Rewards. I set incentives, things to look forward to. "Every 1000 words, I get to have a hot drink." 'After five hours of work, I get a hot chocolate with whipping cream." Or a swim, or time in a hot tub, or to watch Netflix. Etc.
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:3 Thanks, Joon!
ETA: Sorry if I was a bit peremptorily grumpy about potential advice. XD I went to a drawing class/session the other day and when I asked for assistance making the transition from being a half-way decent artist who mostly uses sketches and lines... to a painter (aka transitioning from lines to shapes as the main method of conveying a figure) I was pretty much told, "yup sure is hard."
>__>
Thanks, bro.
Yeah. I got that part.
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Ug. I'm dropping in motivation, guys.
I need to continue to plug away on the Hard Long Story that is officially out of the glorious and worry-free first 10K words and into the 'oh god what am I doing' zone.
AKA everything is hard, and first drafts are always so, so rough.
I also need to continue to edit and write new flash and short stories.
(While simultaneously working on several art projects)
How do you guys motivate yourself when things slip into the 'less fun' part of the cycle? And yes, I know that you have to put in the time, that all first drafts suck, and that what is on the page never matches what is in your head.
I'm more looking for actionable suggestions-- do you have a routine that works for you? A reward for yourself for effort put in?-- rather than the usual "just do it" advice. :)
One tool I've used to push ahead is the writing mini-marathon. Sometimes I'll do it for 4 hours, or maybe even 8 hours in a row. I check my word-count each hour. I post my hourly numbers on a sticky note, or if I need more motivation, on the writing forum I frequent. I can frequently crank out 500-600 words per hour, so an 8-hour marathon can result in almost 5,000 word, which is the equivalent to chapter, give or take. Yes it will need polishing and editing, but the groundwork is set.
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That's a good idea, Nick. I often do "sprints" with friends (setting a timer for 20 minutes, pomodoro style, and having informal competitions followed by a break).
That sounds like a more meditative/solitary way of doing it. :)
I like your post-it idea, too.
For me, data collection can be a motivator!
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Anyone know a good resource for formatting a book? I could do it myself, but I'd rather pay $500, work an extra hour consulting, and enjoy my life a lot more than spend days formatting this damn thing.
ha, yep!
After one major project, I vowed "never again". I promised myself that if I did the insane work again of developing an entire book, I would pay for certain rounds of proofreading, as well as for layout. I have kept that promise to myself.
I went through Amazon's CreateSpace for various tasks in the last project. I paid that company for layout, and am largely happy with it. I did have to pushpushpush for a readable font, it was critical to wait for a physical proof of each one before proceeding further, and there were a couple of small glitches that I missed (e.g. the layout hyphenated a domain url, which made it incorrect). But, if I do more projects, I will definitely pay for layout again and I would happily use CreateSpace.
Awesome, thank you so much!
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That's a good idea, Nick. I often do "sprints" with friends (setting a timer for 20 minutes, pomodoro style, and having informal competitions followed by a break).
That sounds like a more meditative/solitary way of doing it. :)
I like your post-it idea, too.
For me, data collection can be a motivator!
I'm a fellow data nerd! I have dozens of spreadsheet tabs as I grind forward with my sequel because there are so many characters and settings and such.
And my problem with sprints is that I'm just getting warmed up when they end! I need a few hours at a time to get into the flow.
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That's a good idea, Nick. I often do "sprints" with friends (setting a timer for 20 minutes, pomodoro style, and having informal competitions followed by a break).
That sounds like a more meditative/solitary way of doing it. :)
I like your post-it idea, too.
For me, data collection can be a motivator!
I'm a fellow data nerd! I have dozens of spreadsheet tabs as I grind forward with my sequel because there are so many characters and settings and such.
And my problem with sprints is that I'm just getting warmed up when they end! I need a few hours at a time to get into the flow.
It's true! :) But sprints are good for when I'm having attention problems that a marathon couldn't solve.
I have to admit, getting into Flow has been hard for me post adulthood. :/
I know the answer is to systematically remove distractions, but Actually Doing It is super duper hard. Both in terms of how many distractions there are, and how good they feel.
:/
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Two years ago I woke up in the back of a campervan in the middle of nowhere in Iceland, and couldn't get back to sleep until I'd written down the scene I had in my head. Since then, I've added almost 50 000 words, but it is still just a start. Part of the problem is that I've written most of it in English, which is my second language. Also, I've yet to decide the genre or age group I'm writing for. I know the stories I want to tell, but there are so many of them, and they can be adjusted to all age groups. I started out with adult fantasy romance, since that is what I read, but when I told the stories to my kids, they really loved them, insisted that their friends got to hear them too, etc. Since I've discovered I'm shit at writing sex scenes, changing the stories to YA would probably be an improvement. I've also considered illustrated books, but would need someone else to do the art.
To make it even more convoluted, Norway has two written languages, and although everyone is able to read both, one would give a larger mass market, while the other one probably caters to an audience that is more interested in my type of stories.
My goal for this year is to get more text written down, in any language, get some more flesh on the bones of the major characters, and straighten out the story lines.
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All fabulous, gaja!!! I know the way you opened this post certainly drew me in :)
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All fabulous, gaja!!! I know the way you opened this post certainly drew me in :)
:)) Same!
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BOOM! 30,000 words. Still going strong.
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BOOM! 30,000 words. Still going strong.
Great job!! :D
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I got my first rejection letter for a short story!
It's begunnnn. 8D
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Orvell, YOU WIN!!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome going, and congrats :))
Izybat: Yeah, boom!
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Ug. I'm dropping in motivation, guys.
I need to continue to plug away on the Hard Long Story that is officially out of the glorious and worry-free first 10K words and into the 'oh god what am I doing' zone.
...
How do you guys motivate yourself when things slip into the 'less fun' part of the cycle? And yes, I know that you have to put in the time, that all first drafts suck, and that what is on the page never matches what is in your head.
I'm more looking for actionable suggestions-- do you have a routine that works for you? A reward for yourself for effort put in?-- rather than the usual "just do it" advice. :)
Break it down until the parts of the problem are approachable. Over the years, I've discovered these things work for me:
1. When I don't know what goes next, I do a lot of off-the-page writing, usually by hand. I try to psychoanalyze the characters and their motivations and what isn't working on the page right now. I write about characters' relationships to one another, how they feel, little descriptions and reflections. I might write mini scenes, which may or may not make it into the book. Sometimes I write about my own feelings toward the process, what I find frustrating and what I may be afraid to write and why. The act of writing helps me keep focus on the world of the novel, and it's all low-stakes off-the-page stuff, so I don't have to sweat it.
2. Try to bounce characters off of one another; create tension and conflict. The hardest part of fiction for me is to come up with the right dramatic actions that reveal what's going on. Riffing and descriptions are relatively easy. The series of dramatic actions over all the chapters is the narrative arc; there may be several arcs for a big complicated novel.
3. That said, I must allow my characters a degree of freedom; they're not just pool balls I can bounce off of one another in a deterministic fashion. I'm very bad at pool. Characters must be allowed to be as surprising and contradictory as the people I know, or else they're not very interesting.
4. If a word, a sustained metaphor, character, scene, chapter, or storyline isn't carrying its weight, I will get rid of it. Sometimes it's painful, and I have to put the work away for a long time to see what isn't working. Pruning is part of the work of writing. As is revising. Sometimes I have to re-write a section a few times to get the storyline right before going on.
5. I've stopped using punctuation; sentences are fluid to me, and I like to be free to move parts of them around. I rely on line breaks and my ear to sort things out. After I'm completely done with, say, a 20 page story, it takes me about an hour to put in all the punctuation because I can hear in my head how the sentences should go. Right now, my novel is hundreds of pages with very little punctuation, but it's manageable.
6. If I can't think of the right word or phrase, I will write a string of words or phrases approximating what I'm trying to find, and this process sometimes leads me to the right words. Sometimes I never find the right words.
7. I use Freedom to turn off the internet. In the past, I've also unplugged the modem.
8. I'm a homebody writer. I like to pace back and forth, take books off my shelves and read a few pages, and say certain lines aloud. I find music and other people talking distracting. My day job gives me more than enough interaction with others. During a period I wasn't working, I took my laptop to the public library to write for a while each day: human faces, but in a quiet environment.
9. Try to improve my understanding of the medium. I'm constantly looking up words, even words I know, to further understand their shades. I also read in my genre and have a sense of the big books that come out every year: it's incredibly stimulating to see what other people can do, and reading is the only way to develop a sense of how narrative works.
10. I rarely get stuck anymore, but I sometimes do get thoroughly sick of working on a particular section. Sometimes I have to say good enough for now and move on to another section of the book.
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It's great to meet everyone here: three cheers for all the progress made!
I've been writing for a long time but have also taken several years' breaks to attend to other parts of my life. I'm trying to make more space in my life for the writing right now. My goal is to write for at least one hour four days a week. I hope to finish my book (started a long long time ago) in 2 years. I write fiction.
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Welcome, dca :) What a wonderful opening post, too!
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Thank you so much for the writing tips, dca! They will be so useful to me because I have gotten stuck again.
And Orvell, I'm sorry that you got the rejection, but you are still amazing to have gotten to the point where you're at!!
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Only because I cannot do this in my "real life," I am tempted to do a little bragging on myself...it's hard when you are proud of yourself, but 1) most writers you know sell virtually nothing so you feel like you can't share news of your success with them, 2) most of your friends and family haven't read your book, so although they might be proud of you, they really don't care that much.
The news: My novel has sold over 25,000 copies now, and it looks to have a long tail. Sales for Sept - Jan were super consistent. The publisher has told me they will give me a higher royalty rate for the sequel (about half finished). I get SO frustrated because I wish I had more time to devote to it. I'm not the type who can work for a half hour during lunch. I get nothing done that way. I need windows of at least 2 hours to even marginally effective.
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That is truly wonderful, of course, Nick_Miller!!
Yes, it is important to have a place to share our successes :)
Great job!!
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The news: My novel has sold over 25,000 copies now, and it looks to have a long tail.
Congrats! That's awesome.
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Nick, that's baller! Congrats. 8D
Today: I wrote a few words today--noodling an idea for a short story involving universal translation devices that are rejected by a certain percentage of the population-- edited an old flash fiction piece, and sent that one off into the submission hole too.
\o/
Slow and steady.
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I am in love with everyone on this thread. Is that weird? So be it :)
I self-published a very short book (~15,000) a few years ago and it got a decent response -- not enough to retire on, no, but several thousand folks who have read and resonated with my work which feels kind of amazing. Even now, four years later, I get the odd email from someone who's read it and found it helpful and funny and inspiring and it always makes my day.
I've been working on the follow-up off and on almost ever since and I'm sooooo close to having the first draft done, I can smell but not yet taste it. I've got about 50,000 words, I'm aiming for between 60,000 and 70,000. And I'm super excited about this book! The idea hasn't let me alone for the last four years and I'm grateful that I'm in a space now where I'm physically and mentally healthy enough to work on it.
One practice I have engaged in that is super helpful to me is working with a writing coach. A few times a year, he runs a bootcamp in which you are expected to send him 1,000 words a day or ... well, I'm not sure what happens if you don't, because I always do, even through work travel and stomach bugs and simultaneous work travel + stomach bugs.
So apparently the thing that gets me to write is having someone else who cares if I write. I will post my progress here, okay? And follow along with all your brave and intrepid progress, too.
Today I met with my coach about what I produced in bootcamp at the beginning of February. I also did some rejiggering of my book map/outline based on his feedback. He is always encouraging me to be messier, at least in my first draft, because he says that the first draft is for the writer to get to the place where they feel like they got it all out. Then in the editing process we start thinking more and more about the reader's experience.
I tend to be a very tidy writer -- like, I go over the same chapter a million times until I'm happy with it before moving on to the next one -- but I like his advice. It's helping me shake things up and in the process I've found myself going down a few unexpected roads and I like it.
Onward!
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madgeylou is here! My feet starting kicking with joy!!! ha! :))
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madgeylou is here! My feet starting kicking with joy!!! ha! :))
Mine too!! I need to look for fun new threads more often! Mwah!
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I just hit 35,000. I'm loving all the progress!
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I can't help update on marketing my book. Amazon officially started shipping on the 16th.
Yes, I'm showing off. I expect all of you to too. As much as I like sharing my success so far, I'm also writing what would have motivated me when I was in the thick of writing. I like writing, but people recognizing what you put into your work and getting out of it what I wanted to give them is tremendously satisfying. I don't believe anyone doesn't want recognition for their work.
I should also mention that I've worked more diligently and longer hours over the last two months in marketing the book than in the six months I took writing it. Note marketing is two-directional communication, not just promotion. I'm learning a lot more from my readers than I did without marketing. I wish I had done more listening a long time ago but I was too afraid that I'd look like I was just promoting. But you have to share what you're doing for people to respond back.
Since then, 41 5-star reviews and 1 4-star, averaging to an official 5.0 stars. Here is a link to Amazon's page to read more (https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Step-Become-Person-Others/dp/0814437931) and here is a screen shot:
(https://i2.wp.com/joshuaspodek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/41Reviews.png?resize=700%2C338)
I can't tell you the feeling of the public responding so positively. For example:
As a former non-commissioned officer with the US Marines in Iraq, I have read a lot of books on leadership to enhance my own abilities. This is by far the best book I have read on the topic.
and
This is a very beautiful book. The author has drawn from a wide variety of fields and is able to distil a great deal of wisdom and knowledge into simple and powerful exercises.
and
I was actually moved by Joshua Spodek’s book.
among many others.
The biggest positive feeling came from seeing my book on the shelves at the Union Square (Manhattan) Barnes and Noble, a global flagship store, then to use the techniques in the book to lead the staff to put the book on the display table, including some on the main floor.
(https://i1.wp.com/joshuaspodek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/LSbS_BN_03.jpg?resize=700%2C525)
(https://i2.wp.com/joshuaspodek.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/LSbS_BN_04.jpg?resize=700%2C525)
Besides the joy in sharing and, I hope, not looking too much like showing off, I hope this helps motivate others to realize their dreams in writing.
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JoshuaSpodek, you should absolutely feel safe here sharing your success, yes! I can hear the celebration and sharing (versus showing off) in your voice :)
Congrats, again, on succeeding in completing your writing, putting your work out there, staying committed through the marketing piece, and on the commercial success! It must feel truly amazing to have your book displayed in amongst other well-known ones, and in such a major shop to boot.
I've had wonderful success too, but will provide the caveat that this has been with some projects and not others. Thus, I'm not entirely comfortable perpetuating an idea of "formula applied = commercial recognition." Some amazing books see this; some amazing books well marketed do not.
I encourage all of us to go ahead and feel all the feels in relation to our work—whether that be success in terms of income, success in terms of recognition, success in terms of achieving one's goal of so many words, success in terms of a sense of satisfying completion, success in terms of helping one person experience joy, connection, healing, thrill, or life change...as well as discouragement, frustration, humiliation, shame, embarrassment, disappointment, etc. It's all fair, all valid, all normal, all healthy. Good stuff.
Writing and putting our truest stuff out there is big soul work, it changes us. Even without the shiny stats for any one given project, there is so much goodness in completing our work (for our own souls) and offering it out (in case it gifts additional souls).
Every day I am so grateful for countless people who write—commercial accolades or no commercial accolades—because so much has helped me in profound ways.
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JoshuaSpodek, you should absolutely feel safe here sharing your success, yes! I can hear the celebration and sharing (versus showing off) in your voice :)
Congrats, again, on succeeding in completing your writing, putting your work out there, staying committed through the marketing piece, and on the commercial success! It must feel truly amazing to have your book displayed in amongst other well-known ones, and in such a major shop to boot.
I've had wonderful success too, but will provide the caveat that this has been with some projects and not others. Thus, I'm not entirely comfortable perpetuating an idea of "formula applied = commercial recognition." Some amazing books see this; some amazing books well marketed do not.
I encourage all of us to go ahead and feel all the feels in relation to our work—whether that be success in terms of income, success in terms of recognition, success in terms of achieving one's goal of so many words, success in terms of a sense of satisfying completion, success in terms of helping one person experience joy, connection, healing, thrill, or life change...as well as discouragement, frustration, humiliation, shame, embarrassment, disappointment, etc. It's all fair, all valid, all normal, all healthy. Good stuff.
Writing and putting our truest stuff out there is big soul work, it changes us. Even without the shiny stats for any one given project, there is so much goodness in completing our work (for our own souls) and offering it out (in case it gifts additional souls).
Every day I am so grateful for countless people who write—commercial accolades or no commercial accolades—because so much has helped me in profound ways.
+1. Couldn't agree more. Thanks for this.
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So-so, SeaKayEl. Only wrote 12 days in February. I have the usual excuses-- went on vacation, husband was sick, etc. but I think that the pieces will fall into place now that I have "no more starting things" and "no Internet after 9pm" planned for Lent. As long as I get up before 6am I can find the time to write.
Great going, Joshua! Keep the reports of success coming... it is inspiring to everyone to see that publication can happen to even unto a lowly MMM member!
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Congrats, Joshua!
And way to go, SeaKayEl, on your progress.
I've been trying to make room in my life once again for the writing, which took about a year and a half hiatus when I became a new mother. One challenge is that some of my best writing hours used to be at night; I get tired in the evenings but get a burst of energy right around 10:30pm. I would then sometimes read and write until 2-3am if I didn't have to get up for work the next day. Now, with a crazy toddler at home, we never get to sleep in past 6:30 or 7:30am. I don't function well on 3-4 hours of sleep, so I've been trying to go to bed earlier and become more of a morning writer. It's hard because this goes against my natural rhythms.
What about you guys, are there times in the day that work better for your writing?
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... Only wrote 12 days in February. ...
12 days is good! My goal is 4 days a week, or about 16 days a month. I just know I'm not going to write during the long stressful work days + commute + wrestling a toddler at home. On the weekends, my husband's been taking the babe out for a walk in the mornings and then napping with him after lunch so that I can have some writing time.
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I just hit 40,000 words. I'm starting to get those niggling voices that tell me that I should have done more of X, or that Y is really not developing enough. I'm trying very had to tamp down on them so that I can just keep writing. Once the first draft is done, the rest can be fixed in editing, right?
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Once the first draft is done, the rest can be fixed in editing, right?
Yep! Dozens and dozens and dozens of rounds/opportunities remain :) Keep plunking those words down for now!
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Nice job, Izybat!
I wrote 800 words tonight. Calling it a win. :) One chunk at a time...
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Great job, Orvell and Izybat!
Yesterday I went to a meetup here in Boulder where about 20 writers get together at 9 am and everyone takes a minute to lay out their goals for the morning. Then we all write until 11:30 when we circle back up to talk about what we got done. It was fantastico! I wrote almost 3,000 words.
I also booked myself a vacation to Mexico -- a week in Frida Kahlo's neighborhood in Mexico City and a week in San Miguel de Allende where I went last May and looooooved. Last year I had to work while I was in Mexico and still got a lot of writing done. This year I'm using vacation time so I won't have to work, and am hoping to get even more writing done. My first draft should be done long before then, so I will probably be editing and rewriting by that time. Exciting!
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The Boulder event, in Vancouver (as perhaps elsewhere) it was called Just Write, and listed on Meetup. There were so many each week! Happy for you, madgeylou, to have had such a great go at yours :)
I remember you reporting on your SMdA last year. You were SO HAPPY. It was one very rare trips I've ever heard of on the forum that I thought I might like to take one day!
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I'm currently reading and listening to old Shetland folk tales and calling it research. The dialect is incredible. Listen to this tale about a sea monster (starting at 1:50): https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLD0EB1C1D5350B738&v=3v-Mg2dyLbY
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The Boulder event, in Vancouver (as perhaps elsewhere) it was called Just Write, and listed on Meetup. There were so many each week! Happy for you, madgeylou, to have had such a great go at yours :)
Yes! That's the one! I'm on the waitlist for next week but I might just show up and hope for the best :D
I remember you reporting on your SMdA last year. You were SO HAPPY. It was one very rare trips I've ever heard of on the forum that I thought I might like to take one day!
Yes, it's sooooo nice there. I'm excited to be there and not have to work! I'm also excited to see a bit of Mexico City, especially Frida Kahlo's house. Gosh I love her!
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Well, I just crossed the 45,000 mark for my current book. I realized on Saturday that my writing was starting to feel a bit stale, so I bought three books last weekend and plan to read them for inspiration. I've been reading a lot of non-fiction books lately, and I think I just need to get a bit of a reminder about other books in my chosen genre.
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For some reason I'm struggling this week when I've been doing so well all year so far. I'm not sure if it's a lack of motivation, a "saggy middle" or some combination of the blizzard and being annoyed at my job that's making it trickier to get in the words that I've been hitting to date. Must keep pushing. If I stop for any length of time, that's my downfall. That's when it becomes easier to not go back. Gotta keep going.
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For some reason I'm struggling this week when I've been doing so well all year so far.
Would some different styles help re-energize your flow? e.g., Poetry, song, random dialogue, writing exercises, etc? Or tapping into another aspect of your being entirely, via dance, playing (vs listening to) instrumental music, conversation or mime with strangers, theatre games?
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Thanks all, for your encouragement. Tonight felt much better and easier than the last few nights. Knocked out 1000 words in half an hour. That's what I'm talking about.
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Annoying setback today. I opened my book and started to write, and my computer crashed (this happens like once a month). Unfortunately, I had Scrivener open, and was typing. My system rebooted and lost the whole scene I was working on. 3,000 words, gone. Apparently it hadn't backed up in a while either, so I can't seem to recover them. Sigh. That sets me back like a week at least.
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Oh, shit, Izybat!!! Ack!! I know well how much that SUCKS. There's the time and energy put in, but moreso (to me anyway) the wording, the flow, the phrasings. Feels like those cannot be captured again, yes? Dammit. So sorry :(
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Oh nooooo Izybat! I hope you are able to walk it back in there easily since you wrote it once already.
I'm off to another Just Write meetup this morning, wish me luck!
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Well, after much work (and a horrible cold keeping me permanently exhausted), I have once again reached 45,000 words. This time, I have attempted to guarantee that my work is not only saved, but backed up. No need to go through that again.
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I just crossed a major milestone. I hit 50,000 words on my current book! I'm super stoked, because most of my previous books were about 50k total, and this one isn't even close to being done yet. That means that I might actually be on track for hitting my 100k goal for this book. Now to make sure I back it up...
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Way to go, Izybat!
I think backing work up is at least 92% of a writer's real work ;)
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I'm also trying to modify my writing schedule to see if I can get more done quicker. I've been writing 30 minutes a day, 6 times a week since January, which is awesome. However, I've decided I want to see if I can up the ante. Recently, everyone I ate lunch with at work moved on to other jobs, so I suddenly find myself with no one to eat with. The last two days, I've brought my laptop to work and wrote on my lunch hour, with the intention of also writing at night to double my writing time. Well, it hasn't worked out exactly as intended. I did write at lunch, but then didn't do it when I got home. Oh well, I'll keep working on it.
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I just hit 55,000 words, which I'm excited about. Plus, yesterday I finally managed my new goal of writing twice a day (on my lunch hour and at night). Hopefully I can keep it up, it sort of depends on the availability of food to take to work from home so I can eat lunch without going out.
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Yes! Thanks for the bump! Glad to hear you are making some progress, SeaKayEl. And hoping Izybat and everyone else is making progress, too. Let's hear all about it!
I have a couple more chapters to write, then my first draft is done. I'm at 62,000 words and counting, thinking I might end up at 70K when it's all said and done. I sent the mess of a first draft to a couple of friends, not so much to get feedback on what's there, but to solicit their ideas for what's missing, because I'm positive I'm missing a ton of important stuff.
My goal is to have the first draft done by April 20, then my writing coach is going to read it and meet with me the day before I head off to Mexico and have my extravaganza of writing / walking / eating tacos.
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I think I have a good 12 pages of narration that I like (until the next drafts, LOL).
I have also done some quick sketches using the squared off 8 X 8 paper and they look better in my opinion. Less open space and / or space I feel like I have to fill.
Izybat, have you hit 60k yet?
How's everyone else doing?
@SeaKayEl Not quite. I'm getting there. I should hit 60k in the next few days. I did go to my writers group on Saturday, so that was fun. I always learn something interesting, and it's nice to be around people that are actually getting published. It makes me feel that I can get there too some day.
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I'm shredding several feet (!) of drafts and proofs from previous projects. I feel like this is still part and parcel of "writing" :) I do think it will be energizing too.
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I'm having another minor slump in motivation. I'm writing a scene that I'm going to need to do research for and just dragging my feet about actually doing the research. (It's a scene where the main character gets a self-defense lesson.) If I don't do the research, it's going to come off really dumb sounding ("She hit stuff.") But since I'm not feeling motivated to actually do the googling I need to do, I have been putting off writing for yesterday and today. Must regain momentum.
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Well, it took longer than anticipated due to a writing slump in the middle of the week, but I've passed 60k! 61,169 and counting.
@SeaKayEl. Thanks for the YouTube advice. I looked up some videos that allowed me to get past my block that I was having.
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Had a thought this weekend. All the post/blogs/etc talking about "what you running to?" as opposed to just "running from work." I'm definitely running towards spending more of my workweek writing. I enjoy it more than anything I've ever done. It's already been a 3-year-process and I think it will be another 3-5 years more, bare minimum.
First, I'd want a stache of $300K (hopefully accomplished within 3-5 years) I would want to be able to leave this alone to grow until age 62
I'd also want to be debt free other than our mortgage (car will be paid off in 1.5 years, student loans should be paid off within 3 years)
And I'd want to be earning at least $15K-$20K yearly through my writing
So if I woke up in 3-5 years, and had $300K in investments, no debts other than mortgage, and was already earning $15K-$20K yearly with my writing, I would consider talking with my wife about taking the plunge and perhaps taking a part-time job that would allow me to write more. However, if my sequel bombs (I don't think it will), then this is all VOID.
Anyone else dreaming/thinking of a possible transition into writing over a long period of time?
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Hey, I have your dream life, Nick_Miller!! That helped me feel really good during a tough transition :)
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jooniflorisploo, is your story about transitioning posted anywhere on the forums?
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I have a thread on it, but the short version is: I am moving from a place I love, with people and a landscape and climate I adore, in favour of my closest friendship, support for my child, respite for me, and new opportunities for me. Only twice before I have left a place/situation while I still loved it with all my heart! Those are hard for me.
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Thought I'd jump into this. My writing group (Myself, MonkeyJenga, SisterX, and Meowkins) are cleaning up our second romance novel before releasing it to the world. 57k words in length, so somewhat short, but I think it's turned out pretty well!
Personally, I'm working on my second choose your own erotica that I hope to have finished in the next month or two.
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Anyone else dreaming/thinking of a possible transition into writing over a long period of time?
*THIS*
This is actually my goal/dream.One of the main reasons I want to be financially independent is to be able to do whatever I want with my time, including making money by writing. I have a lot of fun things I like to do, writing being the main one, and I feel like I can't devote the time I want to it while I'm working full time. I would love to be a full-time novelist, but I have a ways to go to get there.
Like you, I would need to be out of debt (except the house), and we're getting very close there. Likely 12-18 months and we'll be debt free. But I would also have to have a lot more savings than I currently have. I also want to make sure that it's possible for me to make money doing this, so I wouldn't give up my (very lucrative) day job unless I had a few published novels under my belt that I knew were selling.
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Thought I'd jump into this. My writing group (Myself, MonkeyJenga, SisterX, and Meowkins) are cleaning up our second romance novel before releasing it to the world. 57k words in length, so somewhat short, but I think it's turned out pretty well!
Personally, I'm working on my second choose your own erotica that I hope to have finished in the next month or two.
Welcome Pooperman!
I could be wrong but I believe you guys all had a thread going at one point. I actually was going to post to it, but got a message about it not being active for a while and how I should start my own thread. So that how this one got started!
I certainly did star a thread last year. There are far more hobby novelists on the forum than I expected! It's certainly a fun thing to do and we all hope that it turn into more than a hobby at some point. How has everyone done as far as marketing and sales? I've noticed a few things about selling on Amazon that I could share if anyone's interested.
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Anyone else dreaming/thinking of a possible transition into writing over a long period of time?
*THIS*
This is actually my goal/dream.One of the main reasons I want to be financially independent is to be able to do whatever I want with my time, including making money by writing. I have a lot of fun things I like to do, writing being the main one, and I feel like I can't devote the time I want to it while I'm working full time. I would love to be a full-time novelist, but I have a ways to go to get there.
Like you, I would need to be out of debt (except the house), and we're getting very close there. Likely 12-18 months and we'll be debt free. But I would also have to have a lot more savings than I currently have. I also want to make sure that it's possible for me to make money doing this, so I wouldn't give up my (very lucrative) day job unless I had a few published novels under my belt that I knew were selling.
Yup. And it's so hard to do both a full-time job (especially one that's more than 40 hours/week) and actually crank out a decent novel or two, especially (like many of us) if you have kids. I think kids change everything, from eating up most of your post-workday, to increasing your monthly expenses, thus requiring more savings to make the leap. My writing time never starts until 9PM at night, at which time I'm already tired on most nights. I don't do well writing 30 minutes at a time...it takes me at least 30 mins just to "get into a grove," so I usually end up with a short nonproductive session or else I end up writing until 1AM, being super productive but super tired at 6AM when I wake up the next morning.
Still, if it was easy, everyone would do it.
I do get a tinge of jealousy at the local writers in my network, mostly young single adults or SAHMs with school-age kids, talk about how nice it is having writing time. But everyone's situation is different, and we have to deal with ours the best we can.
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Oy, I completely fell off the wagon and have not written since March! Taxes and political actions have taken up all my spare (non family) time.
However, I did come upon the following very heartening article.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/04/peace-is-in-the-waiting/523383/
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^ WOW!! Yeah!!!!
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After a bit of a rough week (just a bunch of unrelated stuff going on), I got back on track tonight and cranked out a bunch of words. Just hit 65k. I'm hoping I'll get some good writing in this weekend too, which would be nice. I'm actually rather surprised that I've done all my writing for this book in short spurts of 30ish minutes. I haven't done a single (that I can recall) long stint of several hours, which usually happens at least a few times while working on a book. Either way, the work is clearly getting done.
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I just turned my first draft in to my editor!! 🤓
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Hey madgeylou, awesome!!!!! How are you feeling??
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I just turned my first draft in to my editor!! 🤓
That's awesome!
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Hey madgeylou, awesome!!!!! How are you feeling??
Yay thanks! I feel happy! I know I still have a lot of work ahead but I got most of what I have to say on the matter out of me! I think? Haha I'm sure more will come out in the coming weeks, but this is a big milestone and I intend to celebrate it with an ice cream bar followed by a few days where I try to think about other things.
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Posting to follow!
I have a project that I am on/off again, that I would really like to finish. I've written about 25k words, but I only recently planned out the entire novel.
I have a few writing projects that I would like to complete too, on the non-fiction side, on supporting parents in a particular area. But I'm really not too sure on how to start, and whether doing several projects is the best idea right now.
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After forgetting to check my total for quite some time, I realized today that I surpassed 70,000 words today. I can't wait to see how long this book is going to be when it's finally done.
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After forgetting to check my total for quite some time, I realized today that I surpassed 70,000 words today. I can't wait to see how long this book is going to be when it's finally done.
That's amazing...keep hitting those milestone!
Thanks @SeaKayEl!
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I can't believe I only just found this thread. Thank you so much for starting it SeaKayEl!!
I would love to have a place to talk about my writing since I don't know anyone IRL who is a writer.
It's almost as alienating as being Mustachian. I thought people would be more enthusiastic about my writing since it is clear that I am very passionate about it. And I am interested in their hobbies and pastimes and avocations, so why can't they be interested in mine? But friends and family don't get it at all. They won't even read my work. Does anyone else find that?
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I can't believe I only just found this thread. Thank you so much for starting it SeaKayEl!!
I would love to have a place to talk about my writing since I don't know anyone IRL who is a writer.
It's almost as alienating as being Mustachian. I thought people would be more enthusiastic about my writing since it is clear that I am very passionate about it. And I am interested in their hobbies and pastimes and avocations, so why can't they be interested in mine? But friends and family don't get it at all. They won't even read my work. Does anyone else find that?
Is it alright if I tell you about my projects?
I've been writing short stories for years while I was working full time. (Some won awards!!)
Two years ago I finished a short story collection.
In the past year and a half I've finished a series of humourous, action packed crime fiction novels. Now I'm working on a mystery.
Yes, for some reason I feel pretentious if I talk about writing to some people, even though I have an Aunt who has published, and everyone in my immediate family likes to dabble.
And yes, would like to hear more about your projects.
I don't know why, but I've been procrastinating like crazy on my writing.
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Welcome, Stachey!
It's GREAT if you tell us about your projects :)
Yes, no one I know will read my stuff through. Some will look at very short sections (e.g., a few paragraphs); one voluntarily did a great read-through with notes on part of one. Aside from that, no one will look unless I pay the big bucks. Captain Awkward actually has a couple of posts about this, and says that is very normal/common, so to be super grateful for the few that will read as volunteers and be prepared to pay for that service. I've done that, but I'm a long way from recovering that cost on the last project, so am unlikely to commit to any more public projects.
Are there no writing groups in your area? Those can be lovely.
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I started a book a few years ago, interested to catch up
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Welcome, Stachey!
It's GREAT if you tell us about your projects :)
Yes, no one I know will read my stuff through. Some will look at very short sections (e.g., a few paragraphs); one voluntarily did a great read-through with notes on part of one. Aside from that, no one will look unless I pay the big bucks. Captain Awkward actually has a couple of posts about this, and says that is very normal/common, so to be super grateful for the few that will read as volunteers and be prepared to pay for that service. I've done that, but I'm a long way from recovering that cost on the last project, so am unlikely to commit to any more public projects.
Are there no writing groups in your area? Those can be lovely.
Cheers joonifloorisploo! Yeah what I find strange is that a few people have read my work...and REALLY liked it. But will they read more? No. I find that odd. That someone reads a couple short stories, really likes them, then doesn't want to read anymore. The ones that are doing that used to write but don't now. So maybe it upsets them because they think they should be writing? I don't know. But overall most friends and family don't want to read any of my work.
I've been thinking about looking for writing groups. I tried one many years ago but was not thrilled with the result. Maybe it was just that group of people.
Thanks Flyingkea! I thought my problem was because I didn't know any writers. Perhaps not.
Good luck with your writing everyone!
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I can't believe I only just found this thread. Thank you so much for starting it SeaKayEl!!
I would love to have a place to talk about my writing since I don't know anyone IRL who is a writer.
It's almost as alienating as being Mustachian. I thought people would be more enthusiastic about my writing since it is clear that I am very passionate about it. And I am interested in their hobbies and pastimes and avocations, so why can't they be interested in mine? But friends and family don't get it at all. They won't even read my work. Does anyone else find that?
Hi SeaKayEl! Thank you for starting this thread! How is your book coming along? (I loved your idea of a spreadsheet to track progress.)
I find I'm always torn between what I want to write and what I think other people would like to read. Always part of me is trying to anticipate what the reader would like. Do any of you feel like that? How do you get the focus back to 'your voice' as it were? Or does that just take time?
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I find I'm always torn between what I want to write and what I think other people would like to read. Always part of me is trying to anticipate what the reader would like. Do any of you feel like that? How do you get the focus back to 'your voice' as it were? Or does that just take time?
This is one thing my writing coach has helped me a lot with -- he says that when you write a first draft, you don't even need to think about the reader -- it's just about getting what's in your head down on paper/in pixels. Then, as you edit, you start thinking more about the reader's experience of the piece. I like this way of thinking about it because then you don't have to choose -- you just do one then the other. :)
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I find I'm always torn between what I want to write and what I think other people would like to read. Always part of me is trying to anticipate what the reader would like. Do any of you feel like that? How do you get the focus back to 'your voice' as it were? Or does that just take time?
This is one thing my writing coach has helped me a lot with -- he says that when you write a first draft, you don't even need to think about the reader -- it's just about getting what's in your head down on paper/in pixels. Then, as you edit, you start thinking more about the reader's experience of the piece. I like this way of thinking about it because then you don't have to choose -- you just do one then the other. :)
Cheers Madgeylou! I really like that idea.
How are your writing projects going?
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I find I'm always torn between what I want to write and what I think other people would like to read. Always part of me is trying to anticipate what the reader would like. Do any of you feel like that? How do you get the focus back to 'your voice' as it were? Or does that just take time?
This is one thing my writing coach has helped me a lot with -- he says that when you write a first draft, you don't even need to think about the reader -- it's just about getting what's in your head down on paper/in pixels. Then, as you edit, you start thinking more about the reader's experience of the piece. I like this way of thinking about it because then you don't have to choose -- you just do one then the other. :)
Cheers Madgeylou! I really like that idea.
How are your writing projects going?
I'm struggling a little bit, to be honest. I've been working on this book off and on for 5 years! Jesus! And I have a first draft. But I'm struggling with this idea of how to tell the story. I've been trying to tell MY story, and ask questions and invite the reader into my experience to see if it resonates with them ... and to offer suggestions on how to move beyond the limiting parts if it does.
My editor has suggested that I should focus more on the reader's problems and how I can help solve them. THEN go into my story, to build a sense of authority and 'yep I've been there and can help you out.'
So I'm having a hard time with this. The topic I'm writing about -- how to give up self-defeating patterns around love -- is very tender, and I don't want to come on too strong and make my readers feel like there's something wrong with them that only I can help them with. I want it to feel more like an exploration of where we are, and how what we've been taught can limit us, and how we can move beyond that.
So ... yeah. I'm on this awesome writing retreat in Mexico and feel like I'm filling pages and not really getting anywhere. Blah. Nothing to do but keep going, though. I do have faith that I will eventually crack it, because I always do.
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madgeylou, if you want, I'll read it. This is because I'm interested in the topic and I'm your target audience :) I'm not a pro, so I wouldn't be giving a pro perspective. I would just be sharing the experience of a reader you hope to effectively reach. I'm not at all pained if you don't want a reader at this stage, though!
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madgeylou, if you want, I'll read it. This is because I'm interested in the topic and I'm your target audience :) I'm not a pro, so I wouldn't be giving a pro perspective. I would just be sharing the experience of a reader you hope to effectively reach. I'm not at all pained if you don't want a reader at this stage, though!
<3 Thank you Jooni dear! I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT!!! I will PM you to get your email address :)
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Good for you Madgeylou for sending it off to an editor! That is always a huge milestone achievement. It sounds like it would be difficult to write...anything that is a personal project that is close to the heart is always hard to write...at least I find. But it sounds like it's getting closer and closer to the way you want it to be.
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madge, I'm reading away. Half way through already! I've made a personal commitment to read 1/4 of it every day for four days, so at the end of two more days I should have my notes to you. Some solid, powerful stuff in there! Lots of ease and flow, so no problem reading at this rate. Go you!
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Thanks so much for the encouragement, Stacey, and thanks again for reading my draft, Joon! I am excited to hear your thoughts on how I can develop it to be even more helpful! ☺️
I spent the day at the unbelievably vast and deep Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City today and it's got some ideas flowing in my head about how I might want to re-approach the intro. Of course part of me wants to scrap the whole book and start over and make it EVEN BIGGER. But maybe I'll try to finish this one first and plan the next one as THE BIG ONE.
I saw this painting (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4b/79/f8/4b79f835946baf7d1f396282e06661f4.jpg) today and I can't stop thinking about it ... I honestly want to live inside it. It just makes me remember that we humans have seen some shit and yet we are still here, laughing and crying and holding each other and trying to grow. So much inspiration.
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Wow! That painting is amazing!
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I can't believe I only just found this thread. Thank you so much for starting it SeaKayEl!!
I would love to have a place to talk about my writing since I don't know anyone IRL who is a writer.
It's almost as alienating as being Mustachian. I thought people would be more enthusiastic about my writing since it is clear that I am very passionate about it. And I am interested in their hobbies and pastimes and avocations, so why can't they be interested in mine? But friends and family don't get it at all. They won't even read my work. Does anyone else find that?
Is it alright if I tell you about my projects?
I've been writing short stories for years while I was working full time. (Some won awards!!)
Two years ago I finished a short story collection.
In the past year and a half I've finished a series of humourous, action packed crime fiction novels. Now I'm working on a mystery.
Yes, for some reason I feel pretentious if I talk about writing to some people, even though I have an Aunt who has published, and everyone in my immediate family likes to dabble.
And yes, would like to hear more about your projects.
I don't know why, but I've been procrastinating like crazy on my writing.
Well, I think I've figured out ehy I'm procrastinating. The words aren't flowing the way I want them to right now, and miss perfectionist here doesn't want to write it if it ain't right. I need to remind myself that the first draft is all scaffolding, and if I can get the bare bones of the scene down, then on my second pass I can re-write it. And then go over it again :) It doesn't need to be perfect the first time.
That reminder is helping me get back into it.
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Flyingkea, have you read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott?
It's all about the writing process. I found it useful when I read it (which was quite awhile ago).
It helps with procrastination.
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Flyingkea, have you read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott?
It's all about the writing process. I found it useful when I read it (which was quite awhile ago).
It helps with procrastination.
No, never heard of it. I have read a few different writing books though, so I might have a look when I get a chance.
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I had a delicious time beta-reading Madgeylou's draft and providing notes (which I hope prove both supportive and helpful!).
Today I am culling hardcopies of my book's drafts, for shredding or scanning, as needed.
So, not writing outside of my little life's ponderings, but still in the game and happy!
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I had a delicious time beta-reading Madgeylou's draft and providing notes (which I hope prove both supportive and helpful!).
Oh yes! And definitely! ❤️
Your idea for starting the book sparked another idea on me that I'm now working with! I can't thank you enough for the help and the support!
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Oh good, madgeylou!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad!!! :)))
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I've been on vacation and just got back, so I haven't written anything for like a week and a half. I have to get back into the groove now that I'm home before it completely vanishes.
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I haven't written very much this week. :(
I find when the weather gets nice, my enthusiasm for sitting at a desk wanes considerably.
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Well, after a week and a half off, I finally got back into the swing of things. I wrote for 40 minutes today, and got about 1,200 words done, which is about twice my usual daily average. Just got to keep it up.
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Writing has been very slow for me, but at least on Sunday I did interview my mother a bit about family history, and got some good stories to put in.
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Big progress today. Landed on a version of my intro that I think will work, though I may need to add more jokes. Also worked through the Table of Contents and did some reorganization around a more developed version of my thesis -- if the old narrative of love doesn't work anymore, let me propose a new one! Feeling good about it!
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PS Raise your hand if you find editing MUCH MUCH MUCH more difficult than generating words!
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Awesome, madgeylou!!!
Yep, for me a 100% revision (beyond editing) is the ultimate challenge. Whew.
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Editing is SO much more difficult than writing. Especially when the characters won't do what you want them to do. Grrrrrr.
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It's all hard--throwing words up on the blank page, revising;)
I'm at the revising stage of my novel now. The main story arc is there, I think, but I'm still creating several new arcs and refining things with this draft and re-typing everything along the way. I don't type at my computer every day; some days it's thinking, reading, researching, pacing, doodling in my notebook. All a part of writing!
Rebecca Solnit's tips for writing, with a nod to mustachianism (Tip #6):
http://lithub.com/how-to-be-a-writer-10-tips-from-rebecca-solnit/
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After my vacation/time off from writing, I've been a bit slow to get back into it. I think I managed 2-3 sessions this week, and I'd like to do better. I'm trying to get myself back up to the 5-6 I was doing. I just have to buckle down and do it.
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I've had a rough couple of weeks, and haven't written a word in almost two weeks. I need to get myself back on track.
How's everyone else coming along?
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A boost of enthusiasm had me writing 2000 words today. The progress feels awesome. Now I need to make sure I keep it up. I'm a stone's throw away from finally hitting 75,000 total.
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A boost of enthusiasm had me writing 2000 words today. The progress feels awesome. Now I need to make sure I keep it up. I'm a stone's throw away from finally hitting 75,000 total.
Nice! Great job getting back on the horse :)
I'm still editing, fleshing out, rewriting. I don't know when or if I will ever be done!! But I'm putting one foot in front of the other and I guess if I keep doing that, I'll be ready to publish it someday. I'm aiming for the fall!
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It's all hard--throwing words up on the blank page, revising;)
I'm at the revising stage of my novel now. The main story arc is there, I think, but I'm still creating several new arcs and refining things with this draft and re-typing everything along the way. I don't type at my computer every day; some days it's thinking, reading, researching, pacing, doodling in my notebook. All a part of writing!
Rebecca Solnit's tips for writing, with a nod to mustachianism (Tip #6):
http://lithub.com/how-to-be-a-writer-10-tips-from-rebecca-solnit/
Thanks for sharing this! (And best of luck with the novel; the idea very idea of a novel is daunting to me. :))
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I read a really good book about writing by Lawrence Block. A couple takeaways were:
-figure out a daily page count that works for you (his was five pages a day). Write for however long it takes each day to make your page count (his was sometimes one hour, sometimes four). The important part was not to increase your page count over time. Find a number of pages that you can comfortably finish in a day and do that consistently, day in, day out.
-when you're doing your daily writing just concentrate on what you are writing about that day. Don't start thinking about the whole project because you will get overwhelmed. Just focus on what you want to accomplish in your five pages that day.
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Posting to follow and to be able to find and read this thread again soon. I've always wanted to write a book but never had much to say. When I met arebelspy and his wife a couple of years ago, we chatted a bit about her writing and I decided I should just go for it and write a romance novel. Even if I only ever write one, even if I only ever self-publish and never make a lot of money on it, at least I'd have done it. I've mostly procrastinated since then. Have written about two half-chapters and done most of an outline. Only actually got any writing done after months of not being able to decide what to call my main characters and finally deciding to just go with he/she. I can add names later. I did a short online course to find out how to use Gantt charts and used a book as my sample project for practice. Then I spent a few more months reading dozens of romance novels as research (aka procrastinating some more). It's time to get down to work. I actually updated my Gantt chart about a month ago, setting June as my start date. Totally forgot about the fact that I'd be on holiday (it was the kind of holiday where I rushed around meeting up with everyone - since I live abroad, I have to do that every year or so) and wouldn't have any time for writing. But I've been back for a week now, so no more excuses, need to start writing at least a few sentences every day!
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I've had a rough couple of weeks, and haven't written a word in almost two weeks. I need to get myself back on track.
How's everyone else coming along?
Very poorly. Haven't written a word for two months. But now the kids are out of school, I think I'll be able to start up again soon. It got very hectic what with end of year concerts, fairs, and parties. I'll start again tomorrow morning if I get up early enough.
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I've had a rough couple of weeks, and haven't written a word in almost two weeks. I need to get myself back on track.
How's everyone else coming along?
Very poorly. Haven't written a word for two months. But now the kids are out of school, I think I'll be able to start up again soon. It got very hectic what with end of year concerts, fairs, and parties. I'll start again tomorrow morning if I get up early enough.
You can do it! I managed to push myself back on track. I think I wrote 6 out of the last 7 days. My book is now at 82,000, and it's getting near the climax of the story, which should be very exciting. I'm hoping to finish the book in the next month or so. Then on to the hard part, editing and revising.
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I've had a rough couple of weeks, and haven't written a word in almost two weeks. I need to get myself back on track.
How's everyone else coming along?
I'm going to spend some time tonight on it. Currently, 3k words left to go before initial editing. Then I'll have to do a gender switch and a 2nd edit. Finally, I'll assemble the monstrosity that is a CYOA. 6k words -> 150k words because of minor changes and additions and pathing weirdness.
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I've crossed over 86,000 words. It has occurred to me that by the time my book finally gets done, it will likely be much longer than it "should" be, but I'm actually okay with that. I've written several books before, but I've never taken the next step and actually edited them or revised them. I figure once I get to that stage, there will actually be a long list of changes, and probably quite a lot of text that will get cut. I'm hoping that the editing process will bring my book back within a reasonable range. I'm hoping to finish this particular first draft within the next month or so. Then on to the hard part...
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I can't believe I only just found this thread. Thank you so much for starting it SeaKayEl!!
I would love to have a place to talk about my writing since I don't know anyone IRL who is a writer.
It's almost as alienating as being Mustachian. I thought people would be more enthusiastic about my writing since it is clear that I am very passionate about it. And I am interested in their hobbies and pastimes and avocations, so why can't they be interested in mine? But friends and family don't get it at all. They won't even read my work. Does anyone else find that?
Oh, this is normal! And understandable, I think. Writing is such an internal process, it isn't like talking about photography or kayaking or gardening. I actually try not to talk about writing at all with f&f, unless its the business end of it. Having said that, I do feel very supported by my family in that they always ask how it's going and are excited when I get something published.
I don't expect them to want to read my work or that my work would necessarily be a fit/entertaining for them... there's no reason to expect that. Everyone has their own preferences and taste for genre and style and voice. Also, nothing turns you off faster on a story than the feeling that you *have* to read it.
The other thing is, having f&f being really interested in your writing might make you feel good, but it doesn't help you write. Not write faster, not write better. You can tell yourself a story about how the fact that the people close in don't really care about your writing is why you can't write, but that would be a lie.
What's really important to me is 1) getting out of my own way so I can tell my stories 2) learning craft, always learning, so I can get better at telling stories. And while its nice to have other people who relate, no one else, even other writers, really fully understands what is going on in your head.
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The group project of a novel (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073XNPCW1) is finally released :). Still working on my erotic CYOA. Looking like I'll have it out in about 3 weeks if all goes well.
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I'm almost at 95,000 words, which is the longest book I've written to date. I'm right at the climax of the book, so I think if were to buckle down and write for several hours at a time (rather than < 30 min) I would probably have the book done in a week. My husband is going to be out of town this weekend, so that might provide the perfect opportunity to knock it out. Until then, I'll just keep trudging along.
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Well, I think I did it. For real.
I just finished the first draft of my current novel. 101,049 was the final word count. Right on target for what I had envisioned. The book is still really rough and needs a ton of editing, but that's a problem for another time. In fact, I think I'm going to try out the advice of pretty much everyone and put my book away for 4-6 weeks before I reread it. Hopefully, by then I'll be more objective about it's merits.
It's been a long damn time since I've finished writing a book. It feels great.
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Hey izybat, great job!!!!! Wow!!!! Congratulations :)
You really stuck through it. Total score, big time!
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Well, I think I did it. For real.
I just finished the first draft of my current novel. 101,049 was the final word count. Right on target for what I had envisioned. The book is still really rough and needs a ton of editing, but that's a problem for another time. In fact, I think I'm going to try out the advice of pretty much everyone and put my book away for 4-6 weeks before I reread it. Hopefully, by then I'll be more objective about it's merits.
It's been a long damn time since I've finished writing a book. It feels great.
Woah! Well done you!
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Yay! Congrats, Izybat!
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I've made progress, albeit slowly - my story is now approx 30k words long.
I also wrote a short story, which is 4.5k words long. Letting it sit for a bit before I go back to edit it.
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Still working on the CYOA. Most of the actual writing portion is done and it's mostly a case of just putting the pieces together for the ~170 sections that make it up. About 1/5 done putting it together at this point. Then comes a round of editing followed by release. The cover is complete and ready to go. It will be about 80k words when finished.
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So my last post was about finishing my novel that I was working on. I did the reccommended thing and set it aside and didn't look at it (it's going on 4+ weeks now). In the mean time, I've started another book. I'm about 8,500 words into that one. I had a vacation in the middle of the month, and that wound up throwing me off so that I didn't' write for two weeks. I'm back at it though. Now I just need to figure out how to balance writing a new book (that's the fun part), with editing/reviewing the old book (that's the less fun part). Revising is not my specialty, so I have to make it work somehow.
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Just checking in!
@Izy, does your "finished" novel need content editing or just copyediting? I wasn't sure where you were in the process.
@Pooper, are you writing a Choose Your Own Adventure? Like an official one for Chooseco, or one that's similar in style?
@Flyingkea, what's your story about? Making any progress?
I'm working on my sequel, but I'm resting in October because as you all know, it can be mentally draining. Plus October is too awesome of a month to spend all it hunched over a computer.
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@Pooper, are you writing a Choose Your Own Adventure? Like an official one for Chooseco, or one that's similar in style?
It's for myself and in Amazon. This is the second one I've done. The first (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07483KP33) (NSFW) I did about a year ago. You click on a link in your kindle to progress the story and make your choice rather than flipping to a page number.
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haha, cool, Pooperman!!!!
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@Nick_Miller - my finished story likely needs both copy editing and some story edits. I feel like the pace is off, but perhaps that's just me as the author. There are also a few "never tied this up" kinda things that need to be fixed. The good news is that I'm almost done with the first pass of reading/suggesting edits. I've been doing them on paper, so I'll still need to transfer the changes to the document, but it's good progress!
Also, I'm around 21,000 words into my next book, which is nice progress too. I was worried about working on two pieces at once, but it's going better than anticipated. Hopefully I can keep it up.
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Just checking in!
@Izy, does your "finished" novel need content editing or just copyediting? I wasn't sure where you were in the process.
@Pooper, are you writing a Choose Your Own Adventure? Like an official one for Chooseco, or one that's similar in style?
@Flyingkea, what's your story about? Making any progress?
I'm working on my sequel, but I'm resting in October because as you all know, it can be mentally draining. Plus October is too awesome of a month to spend all it hunched over a computer.
Thanks for the reminder, haven't done much in ages - kept falling asleep while putting the toddler to bed :/
Written a bunch today though :)
Story - sort of a modern day world, but people started randomly developing magic during WW1. My story is set about 5-10 years later, and is exploring different peoples reactions to magic. Perspective is from a woman who has fled an abusive marriage, and is one of the first people to gain employment for the primary purpose of using her magic. (She has the ability to suppress peoples ability to see the future and works at a casino)