the Joys of Progress (The Progress Report)

[Nat]

I feel the need to 'report'.

I've been working on Wielder World three almost exclusively for 4 months on a rewrite pass and I'm slowly slowly making progress. I've included some extra threats, rewrite the entire beginning and... yeah, you know.

I keep coming up with NEW ideas, though, so I jot them down to get to later.

So, good luck to everyone. Inching along here.

[C.B.]

Just put the final period in the First Draft of my current WIP. Went 130k, about 15k more than I expected. This will be the last of my Red Messenger series for Kindle Worlds.

Safe writing, all.

[Missy]

C.B. Matson wrote: "Just put the final period in the First Draft of my current WIP. Went 130k, about 15k more than I expected. This will be the last of my Red Messenger series for Kindle Worlds.

Safe writing, all."
Did you find the last book more difficult to write? I"m on my 5th and final installment of my series, and I find I'm dragging my feet on this one...

Congrats on that achievement, by the way. You must be floating!

[C.B.]

Thanks, Missy. Yeah, each one was a little harder - I think we tend to set the previous work as a mark to beat, and that's not always easy. First book is "Romance" (that giddy, dancing way you feel), second is "Married with Children," but after that it's gotta be "In It for the Long Haul."

Not floating right now, floundering. "It's Clobber'n Time!" Gots a lotta editing to do and some darlings are gonna die.

I've seen your promos (here and Twitter) and read your descriptions - looks like you've got a fantastic story/premise/world behind your books. Number five (five? really? Wow!!) is gonna be great... just let it happen.

[Missy]

C.B. Matson wrote: "Thanks, Missy. Yeah, each one was a little harder - I think we tend to set the previous work as a mark to beat, and that's not always easy. First book is "Romance" (that giddy, dancing way you feel..."
Thanks for that, I really appreciate the encouragement!

As for floundering, don't! You got this!

[Jane]

Coo. You all sound so organised. I'm a bit more. "Okay let's write the sucker and then we will see where it gets us."

And I'm always working on multiple projects

[Amie]

Oh man, you guys are doing the writing stuff that's so invigorating. I can't wait to get back to writing.

My summer activities have been all over the place...

-Getting my first novel into a paperback
-Early summer e-book promo via free and paid sites (was fun but now it's over)
-Getting my newsletter set up (with automatic drip emails too)
-Learning about Audiobooks. Now I've been practicing reading my book aloud and finding my voice variations for characters. (I do this when NO ONE is at home, LOL)
-Learning the strategy for getting one's books into libraries so I can pursue that mid-fall.
-Practicing for a new podcast/radio show that I was asked to permanently host, "Behind the Pen" that allows me to give back to the world by interviewing other indie authors. It's through RRBC.
-Not opening Scrivener every day and writing as I should! (Yikes)

Too much to constantly do! I need more hours. Seriously. I have to chain myself to my sequel and where those horse blinders or something. :P

[Caroline Cairn]

I was diagnosed with a horrid medical diagnosis in the middle of writing my third novel. At first, I gave up everything. What was the point of carrying on? Then about 6 months later, I got up again, and decided to resume my writing.
But heck, I'm in and out of hospital, fatigue is ruling my days, and so it's taking me forever to get back to the story. So far, I've only self-edited my WIP, so I can get my head back in the flow, but I can't seem to find the energy to write regularly.

On the other hand, each time I do get the motivation/energy to put my butt on a chair and type, it is thrilling. And I love it even more when I see my progress.

I'm the slowest writer in the world...so what?? lol

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

Caroline wrote: "I'm the slowest writer in the world...so what?? lol"

Right. So what? This isn't a race to see who can write the fastest. That you are thrilled when you are able to write is a good thing. Your book will be done when it gets done. I had planned to have my latest novel out in June. Here is is August and I'm thinking it may not be ready until next year at this rate. But, I'm enjoying it, so, yeah, no rush.

Sorry about your health issues.

[M. Ray Holloway Jr.]

I just passed 86,000 words on my current WIP.

[Nat]

Great job everyone!

I set my current project aside because... SO FRUSTRATING and picked up an older project to edit. It's a shorter work and I've gone through about 2/3 of it on a first pass. More work to do, but it has solid foundations on it.

[G.G.]

Caroline wrote: "I was diagnosed with a horrid medical diagnosis in the middle of writing my third novel. At first, I gave up everything. What was the point of carrying on? Then about 6 months later, I got up again..."

Sorry to hear about your condition. I hope you get well/better soon. I won't say that I know how you feel because each person is different, but having been diagnosed with incurable cancer about two years ago, I feel for what you're going through. Writing isn't easy when you are sick and when your spirit is down, but you are still doing it so that's great. So what if it takes time? It'll get there.

I set myself an easy goal and so far it has worked well: I have to write at least one sentence a day. It's not hard to keep. :P Oh and miracles do happen. I was told three months ago, that I was in remission and it was not likely that the cancer would come back, so never ever give up!!! *Hugs to you*

[E.P.]

So glad to hear about the remission, C.G.! That's great news!

As someone who is also struggling with pretty debilitating health problems--I finally, FINALLY get a firm diagnosis of Lyme disease, after literally years of being told by doctors that I wasn't ill, even though I could barely walk--I can firmly second the "keep your writing goals realistic" approach to working on your WIP. I started at 500 words/day for my latest work, and gradually increased it as I got more into it and could write faster and faster. Having a daily goal that was easy to meet meant I just sat down and did it every day, and voila! After a while it was done. I'm currently in the editing stages.

And I also find it helpful to let a draft sit for a while while I work on something else. Sometimes when you're stuck that's the only thing to do. The main thing is to be making some kind of forward progress somewhere, even if it's just mulling over what you're going to do next in your head.

[Angela]

Hang in there, Caroline. Just take it one day at a time. You'll be amazed at what you will accomplish.

[Melissa]

Gah, I'm done! I'm done with the writing portion of my next book! I finally typed "The End." Ahahahahahahahaha! *Insane gibbering*

I mean, I know I have a crap ton of editing ahead of me but I actually prefer the editing process since that's where the story really comes together. And while this story wasn't particularly hard to write, what with work, other projects needing my attention, and building up the desire to write without giving in to distraction had been proving to be a bit tricky. I'm very easily distracted. But I'm done! *melts in relief*

[Chris]

All of my "carefully planned" books kicked the bucket.
Decided to try a "Whatever happens, happens" story to get focused again, strictly as an exercise, and what do you know? I finally have a story I'm enjoying and want to tell. I knew I was into it when I sat down to maybe get a little written before lunch and left 6,000 words later.

[Patricia]

I have just created my new website and I have included a weekly report page. I agree with all the comments above. If you commit to telling the world how you are getting on, it prompts you to do some work when other things are tempting you to skive. I find working on more than one book, turning about weekly, my enthusiasm for writing, and the stories, stay fresh.