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Post by newburydave on Dec 4, 2011 15:26:26 GMT -5
Hi, I'm dave and I get distracted from writing too easily. Could you use some mutual support too? Welcome to the "Anomalous Writing Activities Support Project" Thread. This is the thread I was talking about over in the NNWM 2011 thread for ongoing reports of wordcount against goals and other projects . My experience was that the reporting and mutual encouragement among the Anomaliens of Team Anomaly was a very beneficial feature of the NaNoWriMo thread for the last two years. My hope for this thread is that we can keep that going among us for all of our writing activities throughout the year. My thought is that we can brag / complain; encourage or nag each other about our projects and progress or lack thereof, here in this thread. Then we can go to the Sandbox or some other secure site to trade crits. I've set up some beta version Excel spreadsheets to track wordcount against goals and shared them in my Google Docs file . Here are the three Excel Spreadsheets / Workbooks: 1. An example wordcount using mythical numbers from 'Island out of time'; 2. A blank workbook with three pages of tracker sheets for download and use; Beta version Note: If you add a wordcount above your target value the estimated date of completion stops working. I'll fix it in the next revision. See my second post below for instructions on how to use the spreadsheet. You should be able to edit and save your own versions of this spreadsheet in this file if you want to show your efforts to the others here. So lets work out some reporting norms and get writing. Have at it. SGD dave
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Post by Kessie on Dec 4, 2011 17:48:51 GMT -5
Oh wow, this looks awesome! Gee, now I have to set some goals and stick to them. :-)
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Post by almarquardt on Dec 4, 2011 19:33:52 GMT -5
Yippee! Accountability!
Wait, did I just admit that I want to be held accountable? Gulp.
It is a great idea, Dave, and I plan on absconding with your spreadsheet post haste.
Thanks!
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Post by newburydave on Dec 4, 2011 23:04:46 GMT -5
That's why its there. Hope you find it useful.
SGD dave
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Post by almarquardt on Dec 4, 2011 23:33:16 GMT -5
I believe so!
My goal is to either finish or add at least 30k more to my nano novel by January 1, whichever comes first. That means I would have to write 1000 words/day. So far so good. In fact I wrote 1400 more words than I needed today making my current word count 55404.
How're the rest of you doing? What is your goal for the next month?
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Post by Kessie on Dec 5, 2011 0:55:52 GMT -5
Well, I butchered my way through setting up a spreadsheet (just copied and modified yours, Dave). I couldn't figure out how to tell it that I've already got a wordcount going, so I just put it in as one blank and now the thing thinks I'm waaaay under my limit. Oh well.
Alm: My goal is 1500 words a day. If I can just write that much every night, I'll knock this story out in another month or two.
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Post by newburydave on Dec 5, 2011 11:07:38 GMT -5
Hmmm, you mean I should have put in instructions for how to use the spreadsheet? Uh, sorry. It's really all in how you hold your tongue ;D =============== Okay, I'll be serious; it really is easy (had to be since I plan on using it too.) The grayed out cells are fixed, don't enter anything in them. They contain information, labels or calculations. The 'white' cells are the data entry cells. The cells in column A and B are where we put our dates and wordcounts. Note:I just fixed the headings in columns E thru G and J so they make sense. I didn't even recognize my programming shorthand there. They are in there for the bar graph that I haven't programmed yet. Ultimately there will be one entry for each day in your "Start date" to "Target date" range. It will be the 'Target wordcount' times the days elapsed. Since we don't have a bar graph display yet I just let the sheet calculate what that interim target should be for the 'Todays Date' you entered for that line. ++++++ Setting up your project tracking spreadsheet:In 'B1' next to "Goal:" enter your total wordcount goal. (for NNWM that would have been 50,000) In 'E1' next to 'Target Date:' put your desired end date. Almost any date format should work for input. I defaulted the date display format to my favorite 'dd-mmm-yyyy'. (For NNWM this would have been 30-Nov-2011) In 'G1' next to 'Start Date:' put your project start date. (for NNWM this would have been 1-Nov-2011) That should do it for set up. Our Daily Wordcount Goal "words/day"is automatically calculated from the two dates and your target wordcount. I like to rename the tab on the spreadsheet to reflect my book/story project name so I can track more than one project all in a single workbook. ++++++ Tracking your project:The only information you need to add to the spreadsheet is Today's Date and the "TOTAL Wordcount" that you achieved at the end of your writing for today. (I don't like to figure out how many words I added in a day; lazy I guess, that's what computers are for, right) The spreadsheet Up in my Google docs space has an example filled in. Put Today's Date in the 'A' column. Put the current Total Wordcount you achieved today in the 'B' column. Everything else should automatically calculate. Note: if you already have several days work into your project before youy set up the the spreadsheet for that project (like I did) it should still work. Just make sure that you put the date you actually started working on the project in for the start date, not the date you finally got the "Round Tuit" to set up the Tracking sheet. If you don't think this is working see my note below under "Beta Version". ===================== This is a beta version. I gave you all read write access to the file where the original Spreadsheet is located. If the auto calculations don't work please post your copy, with the nonworking numbers in it, up in my Google docs file and let me know, I'll take a look at it. Hope this helps (wish I'd thought of instructions before OIASE ) Write on beloved Sibs SGD dave
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Post by Kessie on Dec 6, 2011 11:09:43 GMT -5
Does editing fall into this category? I just got back a huge in-depth crit on a story and I'm eager to get into editing it. But that doesn't exactly produce a wordcount. Also, I've found that when I'm editing one story, I can't hold the story that I'm writing in my brain. Not enough RAM.
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Post by newburydave on Dec 7, 2011 13:15:47 GMT -5
That's why I called the thread/group "Writing Activities".
My thought was that we can use it for any writing projects we need to do.
If my own experience is any measure editing is probably the bulk of the Activity we have to do to bring a first draft to publishable status. I'm not aware of any standards for editing rates, I suppose the rates will change as we mature as writers. If we get enough people to use this thread to record editing projects maybe we can establish some benchmarks over time. (sorry, I was a statistician in my former life.)
But yeah, please do use it for your editing project.
Did my instructions help any with the problem you had with the spreadsheet before?
SGD dave
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Post by Kessie on Dec 8, 2011 23:23:42 GMT -5
Dave: Thanks for the instructions! I got it working with my hubby's help. He pointed out that I was dividing by zero. Smart person that I am.
Anyway, I finished chopping up the previously posted story. It went from 67000 words to 37000 words. Now I have to rewrite most of the character development and add a lot of action scenes to up the stakes (my ticking time bomb was completely inoperative).
I can't put word subtraction into my monthly word count. It'd REALLY break the spreadsheet.
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Post by newburydave on Dec 9, 2011 19:36:16 GMT -5
Um, I'd suggest starting over and playing it straight.
If you subtract words then just go back and reduce the affected daily totals.
The idea I had for this sheet was that it was a kind of memory jogger for us to use personally. The important numbers are the estimated completion date and how we're actually doing against the daily interim goals.
A word of caution based on my own experience. I have a bad habit to get so tangled up in the measurements of progress (tweaking the data spreadsheets and graphs) that I fail to make any real progress.
As they say in the military, "The Map is not the territory." This spreadsheet is just a map of our achievements. The achievements are the stories we are writing. Concentrate on the story and keep the sheet simple.
SGD dave
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Post by almarquardt on Dec 9, 2011 22:19:58 GMT -5
Good idea, Dave, about keeping it simple.
So far I'm keeping up with my daily 1000. I can't tell yet if my goal of 80k will complete the story, or even if I'll make the 80k. With family coming up from out of state for a few days for Christmas, I'm sure it'll cut into writing time.
I'm not too worried about it. Takin' it one day at a time.
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Post by Kessie on Dec 10, 2011 0:22:03 GMT -5
Dave: Oh, I got it working just fine. I have to rewrite so much of this story that I'm just plugging in my word totals of the rewrite. The funny thing is, I'm still getting about my usual amount.
Almar: Good luck with the slow and steady! That's how you eat an elephant. One bite at a time. :-)
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Post by newburydave on Dec 10, 2011 10:43:04 GMT -5
Almar; When I did NNWM last year I hit 50k and the story wasn't over yet (those characters still had a lot to say and do before they'd agree to be done) so I kept on writing until I got to a reasonable ending point at @ 62k. I had the issue with the thanksgiving holliday toward the end. I found that the Lord helped me with enough extra output on the days that I could write to more than make up for the days I couldn't. I got the 62k done before Nov 30 with His help. Since then the story has grown and more detail has flown in on the wings of inspiration; plus He gave me the initial story germ for two, parallel, follow on stories using characters that we met in "Zander". I guess I'm using the formula that is common in romance novel series where the friends of the "bride" have their own stories which start after the original heroine is "saved, sanctified and married [with a baby]" (if you've ever read any of Mrs. Paul King's stories). I spent some time doing research into the female psyche by reading contemporary romances and noticed this formula being used with good effect by many of the romance authors. It certainly can save you a lot of character introduction wordcount in the beginning of the story if the new main POV was a major secondary or tertiary character in the original story. Plus, in the Amazon kindle world it induced me to buy the "next book in the series" many times. ( Yes I have to admit I have many romance series in my Kindle archive, I'm not proud of it but I do.) I figured if it worked for them it might work for me too; especially since I proofread my work, use spell check and try to write with good grammar (some of those "successful" romance writers don't ). I've actually got several of these foundational stories, like Zander, on the anvil (written in my head). I done the research and have character sketches and foundational history time-lines written for a least six major story universes. Five of them have partially done foundational novels, I just need to get the stories finished and into editing. I guess that's one big reason I wanted this thread, to light some fires under my own procrastinating, HDADD self to get writing. Hey, tell your friends. The more the merrier and the more likely it will be to work. Write on beloved SGD dave
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Post by Kessie on Dec 10, 2011 17:41:40 GMT -5
Dave: Wait, so, when you have a story, and you write additional stories that develop the minor characters from the first story ... that's a romance novel formula? Because I'm busy doing just that. Is that okay in fantasy?
Hey, do you have your first story on the Sandbox for crits? I'd give it the once-over if you wanted. (Having seen how people really do crits, I might even be better at it.)
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