Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 154

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 37
Chapter Nineteen total words: 1514
Total words for the new draft: 78,575
What I hate: Tuesday should be better than Monday. It should be.
The Good: I typed when I got home.
The Bad: I didn’t do enough typing and my work computer problem is still there.
Fave line: “I saw that with one encounter. Why didn’t she go to Ckitat 5’s LLEOs while [Murderer’s real name] was busy shooting Jannuet and attacking C.M. Cenomtay and me?”
What I'm looking forward to: I have 22 beat scenes left to hit. *Blinks* I have never been this close to the conclusion. I’m also looking forward to the new complication Sithna brings to the group.
What I'm not looking forward to: Getting interrupted to fix the computer, AGAIN.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 153

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 289
Chapter Nineteen total words: 1477
Total words for the new draft: 78,538
What I hate: Last week.
The Good: Today, time and energy finally met and added words to the manuscript.
The Bad: Last Monday was a Monday. Tuesday, IT decided to put Windows 7 on my work computer, so I didn’t have time for anything else. Wednesday, I discovered the computer problem that everyone from IT keeps watching me recreate and I got sick and went home early. Thursday, IT is still working to fix the problem, I finally got to write in the notebook and paid bills when I got home. Friday, still trying to get the computer straight and I spent the weekend at a friends’ house so no real writing days either.
Fave line: “Because traps have worked so well for us?”
What I'm looking forward to: I have 22 beat scenes left to hit. *Blinks* I have never been this close to the conclusion. I’m also looking forward to the new complication Sithna brings to the group.
What I'm not looking forward to: IT not finding a way to fix the problem tomorrow. :(

Monday, January 23, 2012

Sunday, January 22, 2012

2012 Project Post 02

It feels like I have been on Step 1: The Read Through forever and not getting very far. First, I found out I had a lot less printed out than I thought, so I had to print it all. Second, how do I divide it into chapters? I finally decided to go by dates.

*Snort* No wonder people told me to work on description. This was an exercise in hypertext storytelling using mostly dialogue. :p

I had only got to day three in my narrative with Merrilee’s version of the spreadsheet when I was introduced to Kerryn’s more detailed version of the spreadsheet based on scenes. When I changed Forget the Sun to a hypertext novel, each scene became a file, so it’s already broken up that way. So I switched.

Next drawback, I realized I couldn’t printout the spreadsheet at a size to fit my horrible handwriting into the grid. So I was taking my notes on paper and then typing them into the spreadsheet. I’m not revealing how long I did that before I realized I was double working myself and reorganized the office so I can read and type at the same time. Today was my first day testing it since I didn’t do anything writing related yesterday. It worked much better than moving the binder to the dining table or the living room sofa.

So my goal for next week is to not miss so many editing days and finish the read-through. It may spill into February, but not by too much, I hope.

Stellar Gift of Death Post 152

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 338
Chapter Nineteen total words: 1188
Total words for the new draft: 78,249
What I hate: I still don’t have a calendar for the purse yet.
The Good: I typed up all the words I had written in the notebook and then some. I wrote for thirty minutes and then edited for thirty minutes.
The Bad: Yesterday was a rot. The dentist put my new bridge in and I could settle into any writing or editing before or after. And today after I did that bare minimum, I never got back to the writing or editing fiction.
Fave line: “It didn’t kill you.”
What I'm looking forward to: I have 22 beat scenes left to hit. *Blinks* I have never been this close to the conclusion. I’m also looking forward to the new complication Sithna brings to the group.
What I'm not looking forward to: Being stern with myself and working everyday.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 150

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 50
Chapter Nineteen total words: 753
Total words for the new draft: 77,814
What I hate: I still don’t have a calendar for the purse yet.
The Good: I got more done on paper at the doctor’s office.
The Bad: The bad news I got on Wednesday is stressing me out and wrecking my progress.
Fave line: “Still doesn’t tell us how “push” works.”
What I'm looking forward to: I have 22 beat scenes left to hit. *Blinks* I have never been this close to the conclusion. I’m also looking forward to the new complication Sithna brings to the group.
What I'm not looking forward to: Being stern with myself and working everyday.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 149

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 410
Chapter Nineteen total words: 703
Total words for the new draft: 77,764
What I hate: I still don’t have a calendar for the purse yet.
The Good: I spent most of the day going back and forth to the manuscript and other things and I had 410 words before I went home.
The Bad: I got hit with bad news at home, and it knocked me off my creativity.
Fave line: “In IGA’s defense and if you mean psychic, they didn’t know when the assignment was made.”
What I'm looking forward to: I have 22 beat scenes left to hit. *Blinks* I have never been this close to the conclusion. I’m also looking forward to the new complication Sithna brings to the group.
What I'm not looking forward to: Being stern with myself and working everyday.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

2012 Fiction Words Weeks 1 - 2

Week 1

Progress Bar from Writertopia

Week 2

Progress Bar from Writertopia

Stellar Gift of Death Post 148

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 293
Chapter Nineteen total words: 293
Total words for the new draft: 77,354
What I hate: I still don’t have a calendar for the purse yet.
The Good: Made it to Chapter Nineteen!
The Bad: Didn’t get as much time to work on writing as I thought I would, i.e. I ran out of energy about 8pm.
Fave line: “You are Sithna who worked at the Hyperspace club in [name of building] in [name of city] on [name of planet] until [date] when your contract was bought by [Murderer’s real name]. You traveled with him and have participated in at least seven murders of sentients.”
What I'm looking forward to: I have 22 beat scenes left to hit. *Blinks* I have never been this close to the conclusion. I’m also looking forward to the new complication Sithna brings to the group.
What I'm not looking forward to: Being stern with myself and working everyday.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 147

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 562
Chapter Eighteen total words: 3195
Total words for the new draft: 77,061
What I hate: Overplanning my day.
The Good: The list helped me keep on track.
The Bad: I tried to play catch up on everything I had missed during the week and over-planned my day.
Fave line: “Don’t add me to the list of everyone you’ve let down on this case, Zy. I don’t want to be there.”
What I'm looking forward to: I have 22 beat scenes left to hit. *Blinks* I have never been this close to the conclusion.
What I'm not looking forward to: Being stern with myself and working everyday.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 146

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 471
Chapter Eighteen total words: 2633
Total words for the new draft: 76,499
What I hate: I am way too easily distracted, even at home where the distractions are things I don’t want to do!
The Good: Spent thirty minutes, finally got to the end of the fight scene. *Digs for Beat sheet* And it is my second pinch point scene and it’s right in the ball park of where it should be.
The Bad: I meant to come back and write some more but the siren call of resumed project ate up the rest of the day. I’m still not sure how that happened. Tomorrow I have detailed out what I want to accomplish before I get sucked back into the project.
Fave line: . But she couldn’t make herself move further away from his room.
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing if my to do list helps me manage my time better tomorrow.
What I'm not looking forward to: Need to sit down and rough out the upcoming scenes.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 145

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 98
Chapter Eighteen total words: 2162
Total words for the new draft: 76,028
What I hate: Getting stalled.
The Good: I didn’t go shred paperwork today and felt much better. Maybe spending an hour doing that was what made me feel so crappy the other days.
The Bad: Fridays are getting to be just as bad as Monday for getting words written.
Fave line: “I’m sorry I have to do this, Rejeld.”
What I'm looking forward to: Charting uncharted territory. I have a fight scene coming up, but I’m going to outline in the rough draft before expanding it.
What I'm not looking forward to: I have a lot of uncharted territory between me and “the end.”
Page 45 Meme: A meme came into my inbox. Get the nearest book, turn to page 45, and read the first sentence. It will predict your sex life for the year. The closest book was the manuscript, so I figured out which page is page 45 and this is the first sentence: He moved the handkerchief slightly, so she could see the wry smile.

Yeah, I don’t know what kind of sex life that means either.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Story idea

http://www.ghosttheory.com/2012/01/12/woman-claims-she-is-from-a-parallel-universe

Stellar Gift of Death Post 144

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 432
Chapter Eighteen total words: 2064
Total words for the new draft: 75,930
What I hate: I have felt like crap for the past two days and I really don’t know why.
The Good: Lots of words today (compared to my progress this year) and I had enough energy to work on Forget the Sun.
The Bad: The feeling like crap for the past two days means that this is the first day I’ve worked on anything since Monday. This is no way to finish projects. :p
Fave line: “I was going to duck, guys!”
What I'm looking forward to: Charting uncharted territory. I have a fight scene coming up, but I’m going to outline in the rough draft before expanding it.
What I'm not looking forward to: I have a lot of uncharted territory between me and “the end.”

Monday, January 09, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 143

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 536
Chapter Eighteen total words: 1632
Total words for the new draft: 75,498
What I hate: I have to go back to work tomorrow.
The Good: I finally got into the confrontation of the scene.
The Bad: Sometimes I think I have ADD. I couldn’t settle down to any writing until today.
Fave line: “And I thought you’d be more intimidating. The thing of nightmares, since you killed eighteen sentients.”
What I'm looking forward to: Charting uncharted territory. I have a fight scene coming up, but I’m going to outline in the rough draft before expanding it.
What I'm not looking forward to: I have a lot of uncharted territory between me and “the end.”

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 142

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 231
Chapter Eighteen total words: 1096
Total words for the new draft: 74,962
What I hate: Contacts that have gotten too old. Luckily, my appointment today is to get new ones.
The Good: Finished the first scene of Chapter Eighteen.
The Bad: My daily word count has dropped and I would love for it to pick up a hair over the weekend.
Fave line: “So impatient. Give me time to type.”
What I'm looking forward to: Charting uncharted territory. I have a fight scene coming up, but I’m going to outline in the rough draft before expanding it.
What I'm not looking forward to: I have a lot of uncharted territory between me and “the end.”

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

2012 Project Post 01

My friend Mez has organized an edit your novel project for the entire year of 2012. This has become the new hang-up area for me and I thought I’d be done with Stellar Gift of Death (You can stop laughing now, I’ve made it to Chapter Eighteen.), so I signed up.

The final steps before you are ready to start are:
  1. Choose what you are working on, both the revision and the new project (if you haven’t already done so!)
  2. Set up folders, files, plotting cards, notebooks, whatever you need when you are writing and revising.
  3. Start thinking and planning, but don’t go crazy – you need slow, sustained progress. Don’t burn out before you’ve even started.
Project 2012: … and a Plan (with a capital P)
I was supposed to write this post between Christmas and New Year’s and didn’t get to it until now. Somehow I doubt #3 will be that big of a problem.

Choose what you are working on, both the revision and the new project (if you haven’t already done so!) The new project i.e. what you are writing to get a first draft is easy Stellar Gift of Death. When I finish it, I have a list of what to pick up next. I have a list of what to revise too, but everything on it is a short story. Getting off that list—though I’m hoping to cover those stories too working through this project—there’s the Hyrueliana (fanfiction edit which only has a few scenes left to write) and Night Storm: Forget the Sun (an experimental hypertext novel set in an universe where a vampire becomes a superhero). I want a fresh start, so Forget the Sun it is.

The binders, folder, and notebook filled with the previous version and notes for new ideas I had are sitting out on my desk. The computer files are now on my USB drive. There’s more than enough material to work with, given the nature of the hypertext novel.

More importantly, how am I going to structure my day to do this and write Stellar Gift of Death? I’ve done editing at the paying job and it is much harder than writing first draft. Plus the binder is a full two-inch monstrosity that I have no desire to haul to the paying job every day. So 2012 Project is a home project. Luckily, I have more time at now since I changed my paying job hours and I’m not nearly as brain-dead when I get home.

That said, I have no idea how much I’ll get done this first week. My FSA renewed and I promptly filled the week with medical appointments that I have put off for a few months. :p

Stellar Gift of Death Post 141

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 328
Chapter Eighteen total words: 865
Total words for the new draft: 74,731
What I hate: I have to figure out how long I should stay in Baton Rouge after my chiropractic appointments again.
The Good: The scene outline works! Granted, I didn’t get much typed, but writing during supper went super smoothly.
The Bad: I ended up spending too much time in traffic and I have another after-work appointment tomorrow night.
Fave line: Zy bit down on her bottom lip to keep from saying anything out loud, while her brain jumped between “gotcha!” and “we can’t be this lucky.”
What I'm looking forward to: Charting uncharted territory. I have a fight scene coming up, but I’m going to outline in the rough draft before expanding it.
What I'm not looking forward to: I have a lot of uncharted territory between me and “the end.”

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Stellar Gift of Death Post 140

Stellar Gift of Death 2011 Revision

Progress Bar from Writertopia

METRICS
New Words: 255
Chapter Eighteen total words: 537
Total words for the new draft: 74,403
What I hate: I never should have told my mother I’m still writing. It has never been important to her so she has no problem keeping me at her house for hours after I get home from work.
The Good: I read Prentenious Title: How I Went From Writing 2000 words a day to 10000 Words a Day. I don’t expect that amount of results, but her observations on time, excitement, and using a scene outline will help me get through the scenes when I feel like I’m floundering.
The Bad: I’m floundering right now.
Fave line: “I don’t want to calculate the odds out of one thousand six hundred seventy spaceport docks limited to passenger travel of just how many are big enough.”
What I'm looking forward to: Charting uncharted territory. I have a fight scene coming up, but I’m going to outline in the rough draft before expanding it.
What I'm not looking forward to: I have a lot of uncharted territory between me and “the end.”

Monday, January 02, 2012

My Year in Fiction 2011

Word Count for 2011

Progress Bar from Writertopia

I do like how this forces me to examine the results I made in the previous year. Often I surprise myself.

Stories I finished:

"Words of Parting" - 4966 words, the only original story I finished all year. I submitted it to the Triangulation contest, but it wasn't selected for publication.

"Something in the Air - 2673 words for Crossover Challenge #4. It's a brief glimpse of Glitch and Az in Kansas from the sequel to Dragons and Ninjas. If I participate in more of these challenges, I may get the major scenes of this story written before I actually write the story.

"Representing the O.Z." - 198 words written for tm_challenge Round 20. I couldn't resist answering the challenge with a little bit staring the Mystic Man and my OC Franklin.

Tin Man/Medical Investigation: Alchemy - 33,804 words for the annual BDPT. This story had been banging around my head for a while, so I made it fit into the prompts to help my team win, and then the results were never tallied!

I wrote 107,062 fictional words in 2011, which leads to a new section in this meme. Stories I didn't finish:

Untitled steampunk mystery - 434 words. I have the characters, setting, and plot, but it hasn't gelled completely yet. I typed up an opening scene and haven't gotten back to it.

Tin Man: Prince of the Outer Zone - 8974 words are done in this sequel to Tine Man: Pirates of the Nonestic. I thought turning to this story on Mondays (which are brutal days to write on with the paying job) would give me a boost when I turned back to Stellar Gift of Death. I didn't really see a boost, but I have typed the first two chapters now.

Stellar Gift of Death - I wrote 56,013 words in 2011, giving this story a total word count of 74,148. I have the beat sheet and it works. I have characters who I understand. So I think my brain, Perfect Girl, and the Fear Monger are latching onto what I don't know about the setting and the universe to freeze up the process. In 2012, I will have to break past that.

My favorite story this year: Alchemy. I was a tad bit nervous about the Medical Investigation half, but everyone who has read it has enjoyed it.

Story most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: "Something in the Air" but I really don't blame anyone. I think it needs the context of the rest of the story.

Most fun story: "Representing the O.Z."

Stories I wrote that I never thought I'd write: "Words of Parting" I didn't think this part of Mealte's back story could work as a separate story. It needs revising, but the core holds up.

Hardest story to write: Stellar, otherwise I'd be finished with it!

Biggest disappointment: I only typed 158 days out of 365. Granted some of the remaining 207 days were spent on rough drafts, plotting, or unmeasurable world building stuff, but that still leaves plenty when I didn't do any of that.

Biggest surprise: Miles/Az in Alchemy. With as much brainstorming I did on that story, it didn't develop until I started writing.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would, less, or about what you predicted? I got really close to the total number of fictional words I wanted to write 182,500, 59% complete. But I had a goal of not writing fanfiction until I finished four original stories and I only finished one. And still wrote three fanfics!

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I meant to submit more and promptly forgot all about doing that.

Did you meet last years' goals? Write 182,500 fictional words between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011

  • Specific: Write at least 500 words every day - Considering I only have 158 days when what I wrote was countable, I'm mildly impressed I got to 107,062 words.
  • Measurable: Post the weekly total every Saturday at DUF using the Writertopia progress bar - I've been consistent with the posting.
    • Keep track of daily progress with a marathon spreadsheet - I've been consistent with this posting too.
  • Action-oriented: Finish Stellar Gift of Death by March 20, 2011 - nope.
    • Finish a 5000-word short story for Triangulation submission by March 31, 2011 - yes.
    • Finish steampunk mystery - nope.
    • Finish another story in the Piper of Shadows universe - nope.
    • Finish the "Blue Man on the Porch" - nope.
  • Realistic: Finish four original stories before any fanfiction - nope.
  • Trackable/Time-based: Each story has a marathon tracker of its own, and metrics are posted daily at DUF - yeah, I think tracking is now a habit.
Submit enough stories to get rid of the anxiety over it
  • Specific: Submit to six markets by Dec. 31, 2011 - I submitted to two markets and neither was accepted.
  • Measurable: Find a tracking method that I can update without fuss. - I found Sonar3, which I like for as little as I have used it.
  • Action-oriented: Look for 12 markets - didn't do.
  • Realistic: Send out at least one story in February, April, June, August, October, and December - didn't do.
    • Have conversations with the Fear Monger; it helps - didn't do.
  • Trackable/Time-based: Honestly note the anxiety over each submission on tracking method - Sonar3 lets me do this; I just banished the whole goal of submissions out of my mind.

Do you have any goals for the coming year?

Fiction Writing

  • Specific: Finish Stellar Gift of Death
    • Edit "Words of Parting"
    • Edit "Blue Man on the Porch"
    • World building for the steampunk mystery
    • World building for Piper of Shadows universe
    • World building for Zy's universe
    • Edit Forget the Sun for Mez's 2012 project.
    • Write 2000 words a week and pick out a new project once Stellar is finished.
  • Measurable: Post the weekly total at DUF using the Writertopia progress bar.
  • Action-oriented: Dedicate at least 30 minutes on a writing project every day.
  • Realistic: Write what I feel like I can't not write.
  • Trackable: Each story has a marathon tracker of its own, and metrics are posted every day at DUF.
Submitting more stories
  • Specific: Submit to three markets.
  • Measurable: Enter submissions into Sonar 3
  • Action-oriented: Look for 12 markets.
  • Realistic: Look for email markets.
  • Trackable: Note how anxious I am about the submission in Sonar3.