Writing Update Sept 18

I'm still working solely on Hive Mind at this point and I'm definitely falling back in love with writing.  I'm not sure that Hive Mind will ever get up to snuff but I'm learning a lot by going through the editing process. I can't wait until I get to start re-writing Outbreak. One of the challenges I've been having is that I've forgotten some of the details in earlier edits so I go back and read the sections. The real problem with that is that I can see how much work still needs to be done. I just have to keep reminding myself that there will be several more rounds of editing. At least I'm getting rid of the typos from NaNoWriMo.

For your entertainment, here is one of the more mangled sentences:
The converasation between the cousins was interrupted by the reappearanmce of Captain XCharles and Minerva. 

Except for the weekend when I went camping, I was able to consistently write each day. I also mostly made up the words from the weekend. This coming week I'll be writing a minimum of 200 words.

Statistics:
Words Written: 984
Scenes Outlined: 0

Works In Progress

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

54657 / 90000

Thriller - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

15809 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Writing Rough Draft

1751 / 50000

Shattered Lives - Brainstorming and Outlining

181 / 50000

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 50000

Writing Update Sept 11

I'm working on maintaining a regular writing habit.  I've been letting my day job take over my life and I want to really work on carving out time and space for things that are important to me.  This week, my focus has been to write at least 100 words a day. Next week, my goal will be to write at least 150 words a day and I'll continue to increase the number of words until I reach a reasonable number for continuous writing in the time that I have available. I'm hoping to reach the point where I can easily write 1000 words a day.

I'm really enjoying my return to writing. Immersing myself in my stories feels like coming home. I didn't realize how much I'd missed these stories and writing until now.

I'm currently focusing on re-writing Hive Mind since it is the farthest along and it should be easier to gain some momentum on.  This first draft almost feels more like an outline to me.  I think this is probably a good sign of how much I've grown as a writer. Also, looking at my project list, I think I need to stop starting new projects. Of course, a couple of these are failed starts from NaNoWriMo since I started the full time day job. I'm definitely looking forward to working on and actually finishing these projects.

Statistics:
Words Written: 341
Scenes Outlined: 0

Works In Progress
Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

54324 / 90000

Thriller - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

15809 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Writing Rough Draft

1751 / 50000

Shattered Lives - Brainstorming and Outlining

181 / 50000

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 50000

Writing Update Sept 17

Well, I did better than last week.  There are new words on the page of one of my stories.  Not very many but there are new words.  Here's to writing more each week.  May next week have a more respectable word count.

Statistics:
Words Written: 160
Scenes Outlined: 7

Works In Progress


Thriller (NaNoWriMo 2012) - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

51628 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

15799 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Writing Rough Draft

1564 / 50000

Literary+ Strangers Anthology - Outlined, Waiting to Write

0 / 6000

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment 2 - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment 3 - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update Sept 10

I'm a bad, bad writer.  At least, I've been finding the time to outline a scene each day even if I haven't done any other writing related stuff.  My goal this week is to really work on writing each day even if I only get a few sentences written.

Statistics:
Words Written: 0
Scenes Outlined:7

Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

51628 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

15639 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Brainstorming and Outlining

1564 / 50000

Literary+ Strangers Anthology - Outlined, Waiting to Write

0 / 6000

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment 2 - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment 3 - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update Sept 3

So, Camp NaNoWriMo went about the same in August as it did in June.  I think that I need to build up to writing that much in November.  I hope to write 500 words a day in September, 1000 words a day in October and 1667 words a day in November.  So far, I'm already behind but I can definitely catch up.  Sometimes real life gets in the way of writing.

Statistics:
Words Written: 0
Scenes Outlined: 2

Works In Progress


Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

51628 / 90000

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Worst Case Scenario (NaNoWriMo 2012) - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

15639 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Writing Rough Draft

1751 / 50000

Literary+ Strangers Anthology - Outlined, Waiting to Write

0 / 6000

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment 2 - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update August 6

I got off to a slow start on Camp NaNoWriMo but it should only take a few good writing days to get up to speed.  I really need to work on actually sitting down to write.  Not getting sick and spending the entire afternoon and evening on the floor trying not to puke again would be a good start.  Just a thought.  I was doing pretty well at writing at least a few sentences each night so that is something.  Here's hoping for a better word count next week.

Statistics:
Words Written: 1464
Scenes Outlined: 2

Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

51628 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

15639 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Brainstorming and Outlining

1464 / 50000

Literary+ Strangers Anthology - Outlined, Waiting to Write

0 / 6000

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update July 30

This week wasn't much better writing-wise than last week but I did make some writing progress.  This week marks the start of the August session of Camp NaNoWriMo.  This is where you should see some real writing progress made.  There will be some large jumps in word count for A Guide to Inter-species Dating, and if I run out of story before the end of the month, the Steampunk Seasonal Serial will get more words due to being behind schedule since I'd hoped to have the first draft long finished by now.  I'll try to keep up with posting my Camp NaNoWriMo stats on a daily basis but I won't make any promises for later in the month.


Statistics:
Words Written: 1237
Scenes Outlined: 2

Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

51628 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

15639 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Literary+ Strangers Anthology - Outlined, Waiting to Write

0 / 6000

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update July 23

Well, this was a pretty awful writing week.  I wrote a single sentence.  I have the excellent excuse of being focused on re-establishing my workout routine and doing lots of work on the almost ready to be revealed Secret Project that has nothing to do with writing.  I'm planning to make up some words this week, though I certainly don't expect to catch up on my monthly quota. I do however really need to finish the rough draft of the Steampunk Seasonal Serial before August starts so that I can edit it in September after the August session of Camp NaNoWriMo.


Statistics:
Words Written: 11
Scenes Outlined: 0

Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

51628 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

14402 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Literary+ Strangers Anthology - Outlined, Waiting to Write

0 / 6000

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update Jul 16

This week was even rougher for my writing than last week.  I was traveling and attending funeral stuff which put a pretty large dent in my time and creative energy.  I didn't get much added to my WIPs but I wrote a couple of flash fiction pieces that kept me sane this week.  Hopefully, now that I'm back home I can return to my writing schedule and get caught up on my writing.  I'm entering this week a bit beaten up but definitely not down for the count.

Flash Fiction Posted:

Steven is Not a Ghost
Zombie Dave

Statistics:
Words Written: 1866
Scenes Outlined: 7

Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

51628 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

14391 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Literary+ Strangers Anthology - Outlined, Waiting to Write

0 / 6000

Literary+ Smoke and Shadows Serial Installment - Brainstorming

0 / 700

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update July 1

Look!  It's the return of my weekly writing updates.  That means I'm writing regularly again.  I'm trying to get back on track for WIP500.  It'll probably take lots of consistent writing and winning both the August and November NaNoWriMo Sessions.  I threw in the towel on the June session of Camp NaNoWriMo, so I'll be finishing that story during July.

My current goal for each day in July is to write 500 words on the Steampunk Seasonal Serial, spend at least half an hour on rewriting Hive Mind and a complete scene outlined for A Guide to Inter-species Dating.  A Guide to Inter-species Dating will be a short story collection to be written during the August Session of Camp NaNoWriMo.  I fully expect to finish outlining before the end of the July and will move on to outlining for other future projects.

Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

53250 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Writing First Draft

12121 / 50000

A Guide to Inter-species Dating - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

H is for Hive Mind

Hive Mind was the result of my first successful NaNoWriMo.  I've learned a lot about writing since I wrote that first draft and even more about what I think makes for a good story.  I have plenty of rewriting to do before Hive Mind lives up to my expectations.

The more rewriting that I do on Hive Mind the more this first draft feels like a prose form outline.

What does that mean to me:

• Most of the action is blocked in
• All of the major story points have been written in some form.  The chain reaction goes rather neatly from Point A to Point Z.  The plot is fully present though perhaps in a bare bones state.  That leads to what is missing.
• Missing Pieces:
• Character motivations that lead to those plot developments.  I need to flesh out the characters and their wants and needs so that they aren't making choices just because it makes a better story.  Many of these characters have other options so they need strong and compelling reasons to make the choices that they do.
• Character development in general.  I'm missing the little quirks that make the characters human and easy to relate to.  I also need to add in the little character interactions that make the building of the relationships between the characters clear.
• Technology and World-building.  I need to sit down and really think through what makes this Steampunk Alternate History tick.  I have a general idea in my head but I need to make it more detailed so that it can be consistently applied to the story.  No inconsistencies allowed.

I have lots to work on but I've been falling back in love with this story, so it'll be fun!

E is for Exposition

E is for Exposition also known as introducing my current WIPs to everyone visiting from the A to Z challenge.  These are all working titles that are mostly being used so I can tell the scrivener documents apart.

Hive Mind
NaNoWriMo 2010
Status: 1st Draft Complete, 2nd Draft in Progress
Genre: Steampunk Adventure
Short Summary: A teen from a telepathic community is kidnapped by a crew of airship merchants and the only ones willing to go after him are his sister and their best friends.

Outbreak
NaNoWriMo 2011
Status: 1st Draft Complete, Resting
Genre: Science Fiction
Short Summary: Zombie plague outbreak on a space colony.

Greased Gears
Status: Outline Complete, Partial 1st Draft, Stalled for other projects
Genre: Alternate History, Steampunk,
Short Summary:  1920's murder mystery involving airship speakeasies.

Seasonal Steampunk Serial
Status: Outline in Pieces, Starting 1st Draft
Genre: Steampunk
Short Summary: An experiment in serial style writing. The first female Santa Claus and the fight to save Christmas.

There might be a few other minor projects hanging around but these are the major ones that are likely to be mentioned with any kind of frequency.

A is for Adventure

After a month and a half of no writing and no blogging, I've decided to get back on the horse with a flying leap.  I'm joining the Blogging from A to Z Challenge this month and I'm setting some lofty goals for my fiction writing.

I don't have any inclination toward script writing so in the interest of solidarity with my writer friends participating in Script Frenzy I'm going to do my own mini-NaNo challenge.  I'm setting a goal of 1000 words a day.  Ideally 500 words will be written on the rough draft of my Seasonal Steampunk Serial and 500 words will go towards the rewrite of Hive Mind.  How that will actually breakdown will be anyone's guess.

Wish me luck!

Writing Update Feb 5

This was a much better writing week.  I still have some words from January to make up for WIP500 but I'm going strong on my write every day in February goal.  I'm pretty happy with my writing for the week.  I got to attend a write-in on Saturday which helped boost my word count.

Monday:  0 words
Tuesday:  0 words
Wednesday: 556 words
Thursday:  562 words
Friday:  506 words
Saturday: 1223 words
Sunday: 284 words

Words Written: 3131

Writing Posted:


None this week.


Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

52249 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Brainstorming and Outlining, 5/25 sections complete

0 / 50000

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update Jan 22

Consistency is still not one of my traits.  I'm working on it though.  It probably doesn't help that I still haven't settled into the routine of taking classes again and that I was sick on Friday.  I do have the very satisfying feeling of being entirely caught up with the word count that I should have for #WIP500.  One thought about re-writing: it is a bit disappointing to do lots of writing and only see the word count go up a little bit.  I know that will change especially towards the end of the draft but for now it is still a bit sad.

Monday:  0 words
Tuesday:  0 words
Wednesday: 664 words
Thursday:  0 words
Friday:  0 words
Saturday: 0 words
Sunday: 3876 words

Writing Posted:


None this week.


Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

50553 / 90000

Writing Update Jan 15

This was not my week for consistent writing or blogging apparently.  Starting classes was a major disruption to my daily routine.  I need to reestablish my routine and really stick to it so that I can write consistently.

I am really enjoying the process of re-writing.  I'm remember what I was thinking as I wrote the first draft and I'm falling in love with the story again.  The words on the page have a long way to go before they do justice to the story but I'm making progress on that too.

Monday:  288 words
Tuesday:  0 words
Wednesday: 1107 words
Thursday:  112 words
Friday:  916 words
Saturday: 0 words
Sunday: 281 words

Writing Posted:


None this week.


Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

50039 / 90000

Steampunk Seasonal Serial - Brainstorming and Outlining

0 / 50000

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000

Writing Update Jan 1

Happy New Year!  I ended the year with a large flurry of words to complete the rough draft of my NaNo 2011 novel and started that novel with a snippet from the future of the story.  I didn't write everyday this week but when I did write I was quite productive!

Monday:  0 words
Tuesday:  542 words
Wednesday: 275 words
Thursday: 295 words
Friday:  300 words
Saturday: 734 words
Sunday: 736 words

Today marks the start of the #WIP500  challenge.  I'm excited to get lots of words written this year and I have lots of projects to work on!  I'm also playing along with a challenge on Google Plus called 31 Things in 31 Days for January.

Writing Posted:


Hope for the Future
Rough Draft, 642 words
Outbreak Future Snippet, 31 Things in 31 Days


Works In Progress

Outbreak (NaNoWriMo 2011) - Resting

54270 / 90000

Hive Mind (NaNoWriMo 2010) - Editing and Writing Second Draft

47542 / 90000

Greased Gears - Writing First Draft

9326 / 90000