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Agony Aunt
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Today I mostly wrote ... the word count thread.
1603 finished words - the first scene since the move - is complete, and I spent all last evening putting it through the thorough editing process that lets me mark it as polished and done.Phew!
Funny, but it's as if all that time in the middle - all the angst about not writing, and not being able to write - just vanished.
May the next one not take so long.
Thanks, MT.Got well started today on the next scene. If I bothered adding up those words, there'd be quite a bunch, but I don't count words written - just fiction that's finished. Much easier to pin down.
M.T. wrote: "I hear you. Word count just make me feel better when things are going slowly"Do what makes you work best and feel best. No one's grading!
I generate a lot of words which are just thinking outside the head; no one is going to see most of them. If I counted them, you'd think I was prolific. Not, just incapable of thinking in-head.
Mwahahahargh! I hear you. I wrote at least 70k of the K’Barthan series that I didn’t use. I’ve written 90k on the current w.i.p. And another 40k of that which I’ve binned. Managed 820 or so today, which was heartening.
Cheers
MTM
700+ potentially usable words of actual fiction. And this was in spite of the visit last night of an old friend (and she may be coming back tonight), so gravy.I'm finding that attacking the hard part of a scene after identifying it is helpful. May the insight continue! Gotta get this book finished one of these days.
That’s brilliant! I did 520 yesterday. They were hard fought and it’ll only be about 100 today, because it’s visit the parents day and things are a bit grim on that front.Cheers
MTM
Well, the story is done and my chief critic - my dear wife - has given it the thumbs up, but oh this editing! Will it ever end?
Leslie wrote: "Well, the story is done and my chief critic - my dear wife - has given it the thumbs up, but oh this editing! Will it ever end?"Editing has always pointed out to me things I needed to learn to do better - and I try very hard to not repeat mistakes.
If that system works for you, the pain is temporary.
327 new words - plus a bunch of necessary research. A little a day is good right now. Took hours, but that's typical.
That’s brilliant Alicia, I’m so pleased you’re managing to make some progress. Things are going less well here, there’s been An Emergency at the old dears so I have had to smooth ruffled feathers and sort things out there.Massive plotting breakthrough yesterday though. I should have at least 10k to write before I get stuck again. And Lord Vernon is in this one which is always a joyous blast!
Cheers
MTM
Yay, Mary!Done more tweaking than adding. Had edits back from my chap and I've not felt up to the task of actioning them. Today I bit the bullet! Made decent progress.
Kath wrote: "Yay, Mary!Done more tweaking than adding. Had edits back from my chap and I've not felt up to the task of actioning them. Today I bit the bullet! Made decent progress."
The good thing is that work that doesn't feel right because of life often turns out to be fine or close to it when you're in a better place. You write what you write.
I've had an interesting time, my main character is facing some horrible decisions and pressure from all sides. He's in a bit of a pickle ... much like his author. Strange also how the characters end up going through the same shit you do. Have done another 400 or so today, possibly a snadge over 500 (I forgot to reset the counter one one of them) on two different projects.Also made the novel w.i.p. into a mobi file so I can read it through on my kindle.
Happy. A week of research and preparation finished a new scene today with 1550 words in need of a bit of polish.First full one since the move - which is amazing in itself - and only took a week or so to get to here. Process works.
We're moving again soon, so there will be more stops - Feb. 1st is supposed to be when they give us the keys.
I don't think I can finish a whole chapter by then, but maybe I can get a scene or two more.
This was another kind I hadn't tackled yet, so that was good, too.
Now I can laze about - and go to a party at five - without feeling as if I should be writing instead of gabbing. Everyone on our wing - 4th floor east - is invited to a wingding. They've been listening to construction noises for ages now.
I wrote fifty words yesterday.But I took another hour to edit it down to that.
If anyone's interested in joining in a Fiction in Fifty words monthly with prompt, you can check the details here.
I did 270 words today, and believe me, they were a fucking miracle! ;-) Well done Alicia and Jemima. I have to see if one of my funny stories is suitable (and short enough) for Jim’s new venture.cheers
MTM
363 a famous catering company with a six missing and also the number of words what I have writ today. Off to Sussex now. Probably through some snow, half way!Cheers
MTM
M.T. wrote: "Did 450 and then 570. Today, I did a very long blog post. https://mtmcguire.co.uk/2019/01/26/de..."
What a truly moving picture you have shared = thank you so much for describing Dementia as it is, 'People live with dementia, the family and carers do the suffering' this was said to me a few years back, how true it is!
Rose Marie wrote: "M.T. wrote: "Did 450 and then 570. Today, I did a very long blog post. https://mtmcguire.co.uk/2019/01/26/de..."
What a truly moving picture you have shared = thank you so much for describ..."
Thanks and thanks for reading. I think that’s very true, although Dad is also suffering at the moment, he’s clearly miserable, which is one of the reasons why he’s being so horrible but I hope we’ll be able to sort him out soon.
Cheers
MTM
Kath wrote: "Hang in there. I made a comment on the 'chat' thread. Probably would have been better here!"Thanks. I got it and it sounded grim! I will be glad when we get him settled.
Jud wrote: "Oh Mary, have a huge big everlasting hug."Thanks me duck.
I did 680 words on the non fiction today so at least that’s one in the eye for the shittiness quotient!
Cheers
MTM
I've put together another Port Naain Intelligencer novella but I got people to send me pictures and strung them together as a story. Initially it was just supposed to be random stories but the pictures 'fitted'And since 27th December I've done just over 30K words :-)
Jim wrote: "I've put together another Port Naain Intelligencer novella but I got people to send me pictures and strung them together as a story. Initially it was just supposed to be random stories but the pict..."Nice going. I'm down to the barest minimum, clearly, but it's about 200 words a day when I allow for days when I don't get time to write.
that's what we have to do, I had days I never got to the computer for one reason or anotherWe cannot let them upset us
Jim wrote: "that's what we have to do, I had days I never got to the computer for one reason or anotherWe cannot let them upset us"
too right. Obviously, it's all non-fiction at the moment, although the idea of reading the fiction is very appealing, I just need a bit more time to get my head round it so it will have to be on the back burner for a week or two.
700 yesterday 604 this morning, all non fiction - the tale of how my Grandfather taught the budrigar at the home he was in to wolf whistle and also to say, ‘who’s a silly little bugger then’ and how the wolf whistling escapade came back to bite him on the bottom! Second round of Sussex today. Only a smattering of snow so we should be fine.Cheers
MTM
Oh alright then. 😊 I was going to do one refuting the findings about night owls being mentally ill more often. As in of course they are because the entire fucking structure of society is built to accommodate larks. Why else do we get up and go to work every morning while it's still fucking dark and night time! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Scene 26.1: Scoured clean; edited through every method I always use to the most polished I can do before the beta reader (if I still have one!) gets it.Listened to it.
1871 words. Words used immediately in the construction (I don't even bother with the more distant ones any more): 9256 (those are the discards). No wonder it takes me so long.
Alicia wrote: "Scene 26.1: Scoured clean; edited through every method I always use to the most polished I can do before the beta reader (if I still have one!) gets it.Listened to it.
1871 words. Words used im..."
You’re doing it though! You and I writing the speed glaciers move!
Cheers
MTM
The night owl one sounds good too! I'm a night owl so I'd like to read about these findings of yours
M.T. wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Scene 26.1: Scoured clean; edited through every method I always use to the most polished I can do before the beta reader (if I still have one!) gets it..."We are glaciers!
And my subconscious mind finally popped out what was bothering it: a tiny plot hole, which can be fixed by a couple of lines of dialogue. Sleep helped, and interrupted, twitchy sleep somehow kept working on that tiny 'what is wrong' glitch.
Sigh.
Alicia, I hear you. With the current commotion about Mum and Dad I’ve had to ditch fiction completely. I haven’t a cat in hell’s chance of sorting anything or retaining a plot so I’ve gone over to non-fiction. I did 1538 words about living in a school yesterday, a shower of balloons during the end of term carol service and I turned the budgerigar story into a blog post!
The shit has hit the fan between shorts and the novel is too much. I would be feeling crap if I didn’t have some non fiction to write. The 101 projects at once is currently saving my arse!
Cheers
MTM
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Cheers
MTM