Author Topic: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017  (Read 39739 times)

737MX

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Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« on: January 01, 2017, 12:55:32 AM »
Anyone else want to focus on starting or finishing their book in 2017?


« Last Edit: November 23, 2018, 08:23:27 AM by 737MX »

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2017, 06:30:39 AM »
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.

naughty240

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2017, 03:32:25 PM »
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.

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2017, 04:18:44 PM »
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.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2017, 07:16:22 PM »
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.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2017, 07:36:31 PM »
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!

Rhoon

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2017, 07:38:39 PM »
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


joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2017, 01:12:52 AM »
..."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.

PAstash

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2017, 01:48:59 AM »
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! =/

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2017, 05:02:19 AM »
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!

naughty240

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2017, 10:08:40 AM »
Home sick today but I did write for over an hour!

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2017, 11:47:48 AM »
Quote
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!
« Last Edit: January 03, 2017, 11:49:42 AM by Poundwise »

Cookie78

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2017, 01:04:55 PM »
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.

progman2000

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2017, 02:47:19 PM »
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


Metta

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2017, 03:34:14 PM »
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.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2017, 04:04:37 PM »
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?

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #16 on: January 03, 2017, 05:08:06 PM »
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.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2017, 02:59:57 AM »
How's everyone's writing going the last three days? :)

DragonSlayer

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #18 on: January 06, 2017, 06:46:23 AM »
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.

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #19 on: January 06, 2017, 05:28:21 PM »
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.

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #20 on: January 06, 2017, 07:15:25 PM »
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!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #21 on: January 07, 2017, 11:45:43 AM »
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.

CloserToFree

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #22 on: January 07, 2017, 12:13:28 PM »
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 :)

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #23 on: January 09, 2017, 07:38:14 PM »
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?

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #24 on: January 09, 2017, 07:52:56 PM »
That is SO cute!!! I'm really impressed... and intrigued! Will you color or leave it in black and white?

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #25 on: January 09, 2017, 09:08:46 PM »
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.

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #26 on: January 15, 2017, 05:58:26 AM »
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!

JoshuaSpodek

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #27 on: January 15, 2017, 07:47:02 AM »
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
« Last Edit: January 15, 2017, 07:54:57 AM by JoshuaSpodek »

Mezzie

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #28 on: January 15, 2017, 09:06:16 AM »
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.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #29 on: January 15, 2017, 07:01:05 PM »
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 :)

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #30 on: January 20, 2017, 06:47:27 PM »
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.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #31 on: January 20, 2017, 09:30:18 PM »
Nicely done, Izybat :)

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #32 on: January 22, 2017, 01:09:44 PM »
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.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #33 on: January 22, 2017, 04:34:57 PM »
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!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #34 on: January 22, 2017, 04:35:41 PM »
My word count for my current book crossed the 10,000 mark this week.

WONDERFUL!!!! Congrats!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #35 on: January 24, 2017, 07:11:08 PM »
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:
Quote
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? :)

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #36 on: January 24, 2017, 07:14:51 PM »
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!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #37 on: January 24, 2017, 08:54:39 PM »
..."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!

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #38 on: January 26, 2017, 06:57:51 PM »
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.

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #39 on: January 27, 2017, 03:54:27 PM »
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.


joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #40 on: January 28, 2017, 05:55:50 PM »
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 :)

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #41 on: January 28, 2017, 06:22:07 PM »
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/

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #42 on: January 28, 2017, 06:42:29 PM »
Oh, thanks so much, SeaKayEl!! Your words mean a LOT to me!

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #43 on: January 29, 2017, 07:51:08 PM »
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!


Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #44 on: February 01, 2017, 05:48:06 PM »
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!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #45 on: February 01, 2017, 05:58:10 PM »
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"...

Poundwise

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #46 on: February 01, 2017, 08:36:12 PM »
Hurray, my little bit of writing is done for the day!  A new chain begins...

How is everybody else doing?

Izybat

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #47 on: February 04, 2017, 08:11:44 PM »
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!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #48 on: February 04, 2017, 08:20:01 PM »
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!

Fish Sweet

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Re: Finish (or start) Writing Your Book 2017
« Reply #49 on: February 06, 2017, 01:02:59 PM »
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.