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Agony Aunt
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Today I mostly wrote ... the word count thread.
I have - and I don't actually mind. I have such a narrow focus when writing that I lose track of the whole.Periodically I go back and read the whole thing. And find all kinds of things I don't remember writing, even though I have extensive notes on the gathering phase. Weird but good feeling.
I doubt you're the only one who finds that happens, Alicia. It would help if I could write for six days in a row.Wrote about 400 words today. Sigh. Visitors - wonderful, wonderful visitors and so maybe I should give up watching TV tonight... Hmm... maybe not. I'll try again tomorrow.
Anna wrote: "I doubt you're the only one who finds that happens, Alicia. It would help if I could write for six days in a row.Wrote about 400 words today. Sigh. Visitors - wonderful, wonderful visitors and so..."
Don't think we've had a TV for fourteen or fifteen years now :-)
Amazing the amount of life you get back, even if you just sit and read
Oh well done, Jim, I've been wondering what the secret to your extensive output is. I see my evening slot as resting the eyes (!!) and 'switching off'. I do, however, sneak off upstairs to fiddle with all things writing if there's nothing much on.
Anna wrote: "Oh well done, Jim, I've been wondering what the secret to your extensive output is. I see my evening slot as resting the eyes (!!) and 'switching off'. I do, however, sneak off upstairs to fiddle w..."After a while we wondered how on earth we'd ever found time to watch TV :-)
I'm usually completely out of energy by evening - reading is out of the question. It's one of the little extra losses of chronic illness.Fortunately, TV fills that dead spot admirably.
After weeks of not writing - the first scene in Chapter 36 is done!2076 words is a bit long, but it covers several critical pieces, so it moves.
Good conclusion to a tough period. I love that when I come back, I'm still all here. Just wish it happened more often and much more reliably.
I must admit that I've been busy and it's cut into writing time. Also I'm pondering what writing actually gets read.
I stick to writing at least 300 words a day. An absolute minimum. Having said that, yesterday I did not write a single word (if one doesn't count the social media posts). Meaning that today I'll have to write the double amount. Let's see if it happens :)
Jim wrote: "I must admit that I've been busy and it's cut into writing time. Also I'm pondering what writing actually gets read."You're not the only one pondering that. I've been thinking the same thing and I know others are too. September has been my worst month ever so far and that's since 2012.
However, words can last centuries, not everything does.
Verena wrote: "I stick to writing at least 300 words a day. An absolute minimum. Having said that, yesterday I did not write a single word (if one doesn't count the social media posts). Meaning that today I'll ha..."It's a good discipline. I've stuck to it even if only blog posts :-)
Anna wrote: "You're not the only one pondering that. I've been thinking the same thing and I know others are too. September has been my worst month ever so far and that's since 2012.However, words can last centuries, not everything does...."
I'm probably going to slacken off on two blogs, perhaps post every other week, to give more time for writing stuff
It is probably good to try a different regime from time to time, Jim. I've made an alteration to mine which I am trying out - too soon to come to a correct conclusion yet.
yes, when I can prove to myself mathematically that it isn't working, it's time to think again
I've been following your blogs for such a long time now that I find myself having commented when they first came out!
They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old :-)
Not much writing but bits here and there. This last two weeks there wasn't much time at home and I then spent ages writing about 300 words. It has just occurred to me that if I want to tack an extra bit on the Christmas story I wrote last year and get it out in time for this Christmas I will have to get my finger out of my arse pronto. On the up side, I've been redoing keywords and blurbs for all my books and I have finished six of the ten on Google Play now ...
M.T. wrote: "I've been redoing keywords and blurbs for all my books and I have finished six of the ten on Google Play now..."That kind of cleanup work takes a lot of time: small tasks, but each different, require a lot of thinking because you often haven't done the task for a while.
I have a whole bunch of them I'm not doing right now - trying to finish writing this middle book of the trilogy first, and then do all those tasks for both books, and the prequel short, simultaneously, thus saving on that thinking part.
Since hardcovers are now available, I want those, even if only to show the ebook and paperback are less expensive!
Alicia wrote: "M.T. wrote: "I've been redoing keywords and blurbs for all my books and I have finished six of the ten on Google Play now..."That kind of cleanup work takes a lot of time: small tasks, but each d..."
I hear you. I haven't done hard covers yet because ... ugh not enough spoons. Had a trapped nerve in my back a few weeks ago, it's just gone and I get back to normal when I get a gall bladder attack. So now I feel as if I've swallowed a pencil sideways. I'm not sure how long that's going to last. Hopefully it will go away eventually.
In the meantime, busy day today but I hope to get some writing done.
I had a good writing week, giving the writing priority over the chores and marketing. However... yes... I'm now behind with marketing and living and so a Saturday will be spent catching up. But! Tonight I plan to watch TV, I need to catch up on that too.
Anna wrote: "I had a good writing week, giving the writing priority over the chores and marketing. However... yes... I'm now behind with marketing and living and so a Saturday will be spent catching up. But! To..."Good plan. I hope the evening was relaxing.
Switched medication around, lost the brain fog. 70 words two days ago turned into 1401 - a complete scene I can work with. Thought I had lost it.Unfortunately, the pain is not well suppressed, and that is exhausting to deal with, too. But no brain fog is what I really care about.
Alicia wrote: "Switched medication around, lost the brain fog. 70 words two days ago turned into 1401 - a complete scene I can work with. Thought I had lost it.Unfortunately, the pain is not well suppressed, an..."
Brilliant news about the brainfog, if less so about the pain. Nice one.
Alicia wrote: "Switched medication around, lost the brain fog. 70 words two days ago turned into 1401 - a complete scene I can work with. Thought I had lost it.Unfortunately, the pain is not well suppressed, an..."
Brain fog is no good for a writer, is it! So I'm glad that at least one thing has been fixed. Maybe the other will be fixed soon.
Jim wrote: "I saw a nice meme, "Write the book you want to read. Because you'll read it seventy-five times before you publish the damned thing" :-)"
I certainly will Jim!
Anna wrote: "Maybe the other will be fixed soon..."Unfortunately, that is highly unlikely - I've exhausted the non-opiate possibilities, and refuse to go to a higher level (experience has shown the problems with brain fog from them!)
Experience with pain doctors has been exhausting, and I can't afford it when trying to finish the middle book in my mainstream trilogy - it takes forever to go to doctors' offices and then deal with the exhaustion and pain caused by doctor visits. 'Iatrogenic' is the name for that.
It's been very difficult since the previously-working drugs stopped being effective. Last time this happened, it was because they went to generics, and the generics only worked from 2 of the five companies that produced them (months of me figuring that out!), and they won't guarantee which company they will buy them from. But these Celebrex are clearly labeled Pfizer - so unless the online pharmacy is substituting generics for brand name (incredibly hard to prove, too), it's stopped working as well. I've feared this for years; it may have happened.
Meanwhile, I am stubborn enough to want to write with my good time. Silly me.
Totally understand that desire to write with the good time, Alicia. I've managed to do some this week and have got into it a bit. I want to know what's going to happen next, which is always good!
Still slogging through the latest read through - found a continuity error on dates but managed to resolve it.
It's a seemingly endless process isn't it :-(
I don't know how you do it to be honest. I can barley write a single paragraph email without missing out letters or even entire words because my brain is much faster than my typing.
Barely, even. See what I mean? :)
Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "Barely, even. See what I mean? :)"But I love the typo!
Don't know what the fallout will be from attending son's covid-zoom-wedding-reception-one-year-later, and even though everyone was fully vaccinated, we will be careful for long enough to make sure we have no symptoms that we might bring back to our retirement community, it was splendid.My son asked if I would to a mother/son dance with him. I can't walk or stand much at all, so I did it on my Airwheel S8 - and had a blast. I hope someone took a video. Hadn't danced in years - and it's all still in there now that I have bionic 'legs.' We were both pleasantly surprised.
Alicia wrote: "Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "Barely, even. See what I mean? :)"But I love the typo!"
does go against the grain ;-)
Jim wrote: "It's a seemingly endless process isn't it :-("You're not kidding .... to make matters worse, am getting near the start of another round in my crit group so I have to work on another book to get ready to circulate in that!
Jim wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "Barely, even. See what I mean? :)"But I love the typo!"
does go against the grain ;-)"
I read your comment yesterday, Jim, when I got back from Boulder, and then again this morning by accident when checking the group - and it took all that time to hit me. That's how brain fogged I got from the trip!
Corny comment, it was.
Been working on that second book for the crit group. Don't think I can address all the comments from the round a few years ago as it is only a short book and I don't want to put loads of extra new scenes in. I think I've dealt with the important issues anyway and there are new people in the group now so will be good to get some different perspectives.
Still waiting for the feedback from my last two chapters - my beta reader moved a long way! Moving is hard.She's definitely worth waiting for.
Happy writing - not all feedback needs to be expanded into more. Your readers can make astounding mental leaps with what you give them.
On another front, after two weeks on a detour for our son's wedding, I am finally having a brain a bit again - and started in on the process for the current scene. It always grounds me - even when I think I've finally lost it.
I feel I'm getting back in the swing of things with fewer major interruptions and I wrote approx 1,000 words this morning. It felt good, right and the morning disappeared too quickly.
Thanks Alicia. It does help to know that I sometimes check in here with my progress or lack of it!
Anna wrote: "I feel I'm getting back in the swing of things with fewer major interruptions and I wrote approx 1,000 words this morning. It felt good, right and the morning disappeared too quickly."Glad things are going forwards :-)
Ah, well, the builder came this afternoon prior to scaffolders who will be traipsing through the living room in order to erect... and reach... (don't ask). This begins Friday and the roofers and builders will follow next week. Essential we get it done before an easterly storm as the rain gets swept up under the tiles when it's in that direction.It feels like sabotage but I plough on. I did a lot of editing today and hope to conjure up some words for chapter 38 tomorrow. Yay!
Interruptions - the bane of existence.I'm completely blocked when other things happen because I can't hold two thoughts in my mind - either the writing gets priority or it sulks.
Hope the disruption gets done what is needed. The ones I hate are the ones that don't resolve anything!
The person from Porlock comes in many, many guises, tis true.
Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "The person from Porlock comes in many, many guises, tis true."He does get about, his memoirs could make fascinating reading :-)
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:-)"
lol.