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Post by newburydave on Dec 23, 2011 19:03:56 GMT -5
DL;
wouldn't it be great if this was the Lord's time to make you able to support yourself full time with your writing?
Write on sis. SGD dave
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Post by Kessie on Dec 24, 2011 0:08:21 GMT -5
I'm in the midst of a second draft of that one story posted on my hubby's site. Once I'm done, it'll pretty much be unrecognizable. I might actually present it to the Sandbox for crits, though. I'm much happier with it. The first half of the first draft was sooo clunky ...
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Post by dragonlots on Dec 26, 2011 23:19:20 GMT -5
Dave - It would be wonderful! I'm getting tired of working, get laid off, collect unemployment, work a seasonal position, work full-time, get laid off, collect unemployment...I think you get the idea.
Right now I'm working PT as a tutor as part of the No Child Left Behind program. I'm home during the days and try to get writing done, in between looking for work which I have to do in order to collect unemployment. It takes a lot of time I'd rather be using for something constructive - like writing.
However, I was off last week and got much writing done. Yeah!
This week I tutor a couple of days and have the rest off. Have much to do.
Goals - get short story revised for Baen contest and get it sent off. Re-read 'Winter Awakening' so I can start the next book in the trilogy - in between other books I'm also working on.
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Post by yoda47 on Dec 27, 2011 11:26:05 GMT -5
Yay! I got a few hundred words written yesterday!
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Heather Titus
Full Member
a writer, a nerd, and lovin' it
Posts: 121
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Post by Heather Titus on Dec 28, 2011 1:01:37 GMT -5
OK, so I realized I should jump in with this since I definitely need accountability. Thanks for the tracker, Dave! I downloaded it and got it set up a couple of days before Christmas. Now, to actually sit myself down in the chair so I have something to enter in the tracker... Right now, I'm working on two novellas--an urban fantasy called Forged Steel and an epic fantasy titled Bargain with an Elf. Forged Steel is almost complete, with maybe another 10K to go. Bargain needs to be written almost entirely. I want to finish those soon so I can get to editing a novel and another novella.
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Post by dragonlots on Dec 28, 2011 13:45:12 GMT -5
Baen contest entry done and emailed off. Whew!
Total submissions : 4 short stories, 2 acceptances, 1 rejection so far. 1 contest entry - I don't normally do these, but since it was sponsored by Baen, who is on my radar for a future novel in a few years, I figured, why not. And two novels sent off to two different publishers.
Next up...Winter Emergence and Winter Moon to complete the trilogy - although I have an idea loosely based on the story of Esther rattling around in my head.
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Post by dragonlots on Dec 29, 2011 18:14:51 GMT -5
Over 4400 words today on a new novel. Not the one I should be working on, but one that has been in the back burner for a long while. If the plot line stays the same, then I may be able to write it fairly quickly. Have to wait and see.
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Post by Kessie on Dec 29, 2011 19:35:18 GMT -5
Dragonlots: 4400 words today? Wow, that's a bunch! If I can hit 1400 words a day, I'm happy.
I'm halfway through editing a story. I had to rewrite the first half, but now I'm caught up to the previous draft, so things will go faster. So ... much ... passive ... voice ...
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Post by dragonlots on Dec 30, 2011 1:00:50 GMT -5
4400 words, or 20 pages, was a record for me. Normally, I can dash off between 9-10 pages in a sitting. All those years of writing fanfiction taught me how to write quickly and well.
I'm more of a sporadic writer than an every day one, although my first year of NaNoWriMo, I wrote a chapter a day. This year I finished several projects and was very happy with what I did, even though I only got 20,000 words.
That being said, I'm seriously thinking of trying to get the new book done by the end of January and then start on 'Winter Emergence'. My publisher might not be too happy with me - but then - she's got 'God's Gift', plus I'm editing an antho for her this year.
Finally, don't anyone measure what you do compared to what I'm doing. I'm currently unemployed, mostly on break since my tutoring students are on theirs, and I'm using the time to my advantage. Number of words would slow down if I were working full-time, although, I did submit ten stories over the summer...
Anyway, I really want to be a pro writer. I've worked for this my entire life and now that I've got a good start, I'm really pushing myself to succeed. Writing is my passion. I invite God to join me when I write and He's been opening doors all over the place. I'm very, very thankful for the opportunities I've gotten.
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Post by almarquardt on Jan 28, 2012 22:30:32 GMT -5
Wow, no updates since December 30? And I thought I was slacking!
An update: I set aside my Nanowrimo novel and decided to finish up the edits for another book I submitted to the Amazon Breakout Novel award. My chances are slim (at 1:5000), but it's still a chance.
In the meantime, I'll be writing and sending out query letters to publishers and agents for my first novel. Not looking forward to that, but I need to get over my fear (terror) of rejection. One can't get published if one takes no risks.
How's everyone else doing?
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Post by Kessie on Jan 29, 2012 0:24:47 GMT -5
I've switched my focus to a different story that badly needs a rewrite. I've been churning through it, doing scenes and sequels and all that jazz. It's already a ton better. But I don't exactly get a wordcount. I'm actually taking more stuff out than I'm putting in.
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Post by yoda47 on Jan 29, 2012 15:13:09 GMT -5
Uhh, I got 1,000 words or so done the day before yesterday...
(don't ask my total for January...)
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Post by newburydave on Jan 29, 2012 21:51:02 GMT -5
Kessie;
You raise a good point. How to track editing progress?
Since I spend most of my time editing (hopefully that will get better), I think this metric is important.
I suppose the easiest metric would be how many words you "edit" in a day. I guess you'd need to get the raw wordcount before you start editing and put that wordcount into the spreadsheet.
Another option that I'd have to work on would be to put together a spreadsheet to track "Pages Edited" instead of wordcount.
Anyone have an opinion?
SGD dave
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Post by Kessie on Jan 29, 2012 22:02:00 GMT -5
Or maybe just "time spent editing"? I've gone over certain scenes so many times ..
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Post by yoda47 on Jan 30, 2012 13:12:23 GMT -5
Pages edited makes sense to me...
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