Thursday, April 5, 2012
ApriWriMo: Revenge Style - Week 1
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. - Robert Collier
So we're 5 days into our ApriWriMo Romance Writers Revenge Challenge and this is the first check-in post to see how everyone is feeling about their goals.
Have you changed your mind about your focus for April since Sin did her wonderful kick-off post? Made progress and are happy to see this is adding a little extra push to your month?Or are you tackling some hurdles and having a hard time getting started?
Let's hear it! This is a friendly, non-judgmental zone for your thoughts and progress reports. It's also a great place to share anything you think would help the group or to ask for help yourself!
Don't forget if you're on twitter, you can follow the hashtag #wordpirates to check in too!
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29 comments:
Good morning! First off, thank you, Scape, for taking the lead on this little project. You are an organizing wonder and could put professional cheerleaders to shame.
Now, as to my goals. Well...goal number one HAS BEEN MET. LOL! I sent the full request off to the agent last night so it's onto the next one. (Though I'll be sending queries to other agents as well.)
My new goal is at least the first 4 scenes roughed in on the new WIP by April 30. I'm getting the scenes out of order (as usual) and still discovering the story in my head, but I'm setting this goal anyway. Bottom line, I just want to see process and have proof that I've at least started the new one.
So you can update my goals as such. Now I have a major project for the day job but I'll be back!
I've been writing two ways: I have a notebook to write longhand which I tow with me everywhere; and I have my laptop for when the notebook writing isn't coming, I enter in what I have and hope by the time I get to the end, my brain will have unclogged enough to continue on.
I had 12 pages (I'm so embarrassed to admit that) when I started this challenge, and so far I've typed in 4 more pages, and I have about another 4 or 5 I believe still handwritten to be logged. So I think I'm doing decently. Usually before bed, I handwrite about 2 pages, which is my goal.
This week, I have two long time friends I rarely see--one I haven't seen since 2003, the other I see like twice a year--so Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday aren't going to be solid writing days. I'll have to use my weekend to catch up, I believe.
http://laurenoliverbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/writing-advice-youve-never-heard-before.html
Also, I think this blog might be inspirational to everyone as well. :)
I concur with Terri. Sabrina, you're the awesomest for taking the lead in this--thank you so much!
I've been told by the GPS if I tell anyone my word count for the first five days in April she'd murder me dead.
So I dare not say.
I'm doing well. I hope everyone else is doing well too. Thank you so much Sabrina for all of your hard work to keep track of this and encouraging us all. Every time I think about taking a break I think about how hard you've been working to make this month great and I type a little fast to hit my goal.
Like Hells, I've been writing both ways- longhand in my notebook which is almost full and on my laptop. I tend to outline my scene in my notebook for later translation into my word document. This process has helped me a lot.
Sin, and her damned bionic hand...*LOL* But YEAH on getting it out there.
And I can't agree with Lauren's first rule of thumb- turn off the iPod.
Nope, nope, nope.
Music is the soother to my soul. There are too many jumbled thoughts up in my brain to sort out and if there is not something going on outside of my brain I'm completely disconnected. But I also listen to the same song on repeat as I'm writing. It's background noise.
But I concur- most of my a-ha moments have either been when I'm out on the trail running or in the shower really early in the morning. Overall great advice. Thanks for posting the link Hells.
I've been in the zone for the last two months. Feels good to be writing again and writing something I enjoy.
Hi Everyone! Sorry I'm a little late.
First off - Sin - This is all you girl! You were the inspiration and I'm just helping facilitate. It was your awesome blog that kicked us off and I just want to say a big thank you for it!
Terri - I'm so proud you got that MS off. I'm now going to wait nervously with you!
Hellie - Don't ever be embrraseed of 12 pages! Heck - every single book starts with a blank page. Would you be embarrased to write that 1st page?
It sounds like you are doing great! WAHOO!!!!
For myself, while these first few days I haven't maintained the 1k+ I was writing the week before, I have managed to hit 500+ every day. I've been working until 7-7:30 so I can take Friday off without spending the day worrying over what I didn't get to, so I've cut into my writing time a little this week.
Next week I will rock it!
Would you be embarrased to write that 1st page?
Yes.
But I smiled so big when Sin said she found her groove again, that she enjoyed writing again, because it's sorta feeling that way for me too, at least right now, so it's good to have that back.
It does feel good doesn't it?
For me, it wasn't about getting it back but really feeling like I was in the groove for the first time.
March was the first time I've truly felt like I had the right to call myself a writer. Bad I know, but honest.
Here's another good blog today.
http://tessanderson.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/worshiping-at-the-temple-of-structure/
I finally got to look at the first link Hellie posted. That's an interesting list. Huh. The only thing I'm on board with is the Aha moments. Had one on the way to work so I emailed it to my home email from the work email. If I write it on paper somewhere, I'd just lose it.
I do that too Ter. Sometimes it's just easier if I run into the office and open up an email and type it out in a quick rush just to make sure I get it down somewhere. Then I send the email back to myself.
And sometimes I hear just snippets of conversations that I don't know where they belong or really what's going on. Like Cin said the other day, "The clan is lost. Leave it be."
Her own people. Is it that she doesn't care or that something so terrible has happened she can't fathom trying to rebuild.
I love writing. I love that I've finally found that love again.
March was the first time I've truly felt like I had the right to call myself a writer. Bad I know, but honest.
Must think up a nickname for you.
Bad, yes. Honest, yes. I think we all go through times where we feel like this. I can say in all honesty, I haven't felt like a writer in 5 years. I was a fluke. A one time wonder that wouldn't happen again. I thought about just giving up and never trying again. Sometimes you just have to wait out the storm to see the sunshine again.
Scape - I know EXACTLY how you feel. Took me a while and I got scolded for it too, but none of the scolding matters now because you've crossed into writer-hood and you can own it now. Doesn't it feel awesome?!
Sin - I'm ecstatic to see you so excited and passionate about the writing. It was always in there, sometimes we just have to wait out the life stuff until we can reach it again.
Congratulations everyone! Sounds like a great start for ApriWriMo.
Scape, thank you for organizing this challenge. And SIN thank you for making it. I for one need my butt kicked now and then … figuratively not literally. So lets see, what have a done so far? Hmmmm
Set up a meeting for my apprentice to discuss plant life that would be present in his world. Discussed how cell differentiation would be applicable to a story line. Pointed him in the direction of several research sites, both scientific and literary in nature. And I’m reading through his latest rewrites.
Well, I was a little stuck, but sat down the other night and hammered out 3267 words. Now, if RT doesn't totally derail me, I think I will be finishing this book by month's end!
Go, crew!
" Must think up a nickname for you... Sometimes you just have to wait out the storm to see the sunshine again."
Look out when SIN talks about nicknames & sunshine. Just sayin' ...
I did go into hiding Julie! :)
Wait, Sabrina has a nickname...Scapegoat!
Hello, Pirates!
I missed Sin's original post so I went back and read it, and I'm hoping it's not too late to join. My computer crashed last week, but my brother saved my documents. Yay! Then somehow in the updates yesterday my manuscript disapeared. ARGH!
My goal is to work off an old copy.
Di
Hi Di - Of course you can join in!
Sorry to hear about the computer issues. :(
HA! I found my missing ms! Did you hear my happy woo-hoo from NorthEast Ohio? So my new goal is to write 1k words a day.
Di
I'm editing! Again! :)
No seriously, it's a good thing. Ter helped me shake loose what I think was wrong with the last 100 pages of my story. So I'm tackled 25 of them and I have the last 75 to go. :)
I also sent out my first query! Yay! But I said my story is a Regency-set historical. Not historical ROMANCE!
Ugh! Face-> palm
I have no idea if should send an updated letter of it that'd just make me look like an idiot. Which I am, of course.
Yeahhhh Di!
And Marnee you're not an idiot, you're Excited. Big Dfference!
Yay, Di! That's for joining us, for saving your files, and finding the important one. LOL!
"I did go into hiding Julie!"
Good job hiding Scape. Your life could be in Danger. Last time SIN hit me with "a name" I laugh so hard I almost choked on my tea. It Was Horrible.
SIN.
Not the tea! : )
I missed this post yesterday, so I'm just checking in. I have nine pages. That's way off my pace to meet my goal, but this was spring-break-grands-invasion week, and I had less free time than I usually do. Plus I did bios for three characters.
Something I read in an old Barbara Samuel's interview made me feel better. She said her writing pattern is one day off for every three days writing and she always takes one weekend day as "her" day to read or play. She finds she is most productive on this schedule. Since she's one of my most admired authors, her words made me feel less guilty about my inability to be a write-every-day writer, no matter how hard I try.
I was totally supposed to check in for Jill the other day and forgot. Then my phone wouldn't let me see the blog. I'm not quite sure why they are called Smartphones when they are constantly doing dumb shit. And don't say it's the operator. It's NOT the operator.
Jill is on track and wishes everyone good luck and good job. :)
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