# Slow Writer's Progress Thread



## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Since there are so many slow writers here, I'm starting a progress thread where we can cheer each other on, or commiserate when the words refuse to come. 

I had been doing well and then went through 5 days of no writing (was busy cleaning for a house visit and just couldn't seem to concentrate). But yesterday I had a great day -- reached 1,228 words, which is a FANTASTIC day for me. I don't often reach 1k, and then today I got another 753 words for a grand total of 69,097 words on my YA paranormal. I've never gotten so much on a project before, so I'm quite excited! 

Hoping to hit 70k by the end of the weekend.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

*cheers on all of us slow writers*

Thanks for making this thread! And congrats on yesterday's and today's progress!

Yesterday I had a great day too. I've been sick all week, so I was happy to find some energy with the kids out of the house briefly. I managed 1k on my fiction project and 1.1k on the non-fiction project.

Nothing so far today. The crud I have pulled me under and both kids home all day was the cherry on top (nothing like spending 2 hours on the phone with your parents asking questions for your daughter's family tree project - that burns the time!).

I'm hoping I can get 500 words in on the non-fiction while watching some Supernatural with hubbie. That is if the toddler (who didn't nap at all today) finally falls asleep...


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave said:


> *cheers on all of us slow writers*
> 
> Thanks for making this thread! And congrats on yesterday's and today's progress!
> 
> Yesterday I had a great day too. I've been sick all week, so I was happy to find some energy with the kids out of the house briefly. I managed 1k on my fiction project and 1.1k on the non-fiction project.


Thanks, Alexa, and way to go yesterday! That's awesome! I hope you feel better soon and good luck with the non-fiction!


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## Guest (Mar 25, 2016)

I'm really struggling with getting throught the first draft of my next book. Life keeps getting in the way. I've learned not to stress about it. It will get done.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

I think I am about halfway through a book, but I haven't even looked at it in a while. I think I need to rewrite the first half before I write the second. Kind of daunting.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Out_there said:


> I'm really struggling with getting throught the first draft of my next book. Life keeps getting in the way. I've learned not to stress about it. It will get done.


Yep, worse thing you can do is stress over it. It just makes it worse. When I'm going through difficult stretches, the only way I get anything done is by setting my timer for 5 minutes. Once it goes off, I decide if I'm going to go for another 5 minutes and so on. This simple little thing has gotten me out of writing funks many, many times. 



geronl said:


> I think I am about halfway through a book, but I haven't even looked at it in a while. I think I need to rewrite the first half before I write the second. Kind of daunting.


I've often heard it's best to focus on your ending first, because it's only once you have your ending that you will know your beginning. I find it makes a lot of sense. Good luck figuring it out!


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

I did a little over 500 words on the non-fiction last night.  Next couple of days are going to be hit or miss, as we're doing stuff for my eldest's birthday. It'll all get done, one word at a time!

I also need to find more people for my cabin for April Camp NaNo. I love it how the camps in April and July you can choose your own word count. My goal of 15k is way less daunting than 50k - lol. 



geronl said:


> I think I am about halfway through a book, but I haven't even looked at it in a while. I think I need to rewrite the first half before I write the second. Kind of daunting.


I am a pantser, and I don't always know what will unravel by the end of a novel. Honestly, I'd recommend just plowing through to the end, then going back and reworking things at the beginning. When things change halfway through my writing that mean I have to make bigger changes at the beginning, I note it and move on, or I'd never get the first draft done because I'd be going back too often to change things! For me, it's easier to fix stuff once the whole first draft is down.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

It is science fiction and have decided that we lose the moon (which didn't happen in first draft) and that the first chapter needs to be completely redone because it basically a narrative that sets everything up. Boring as heck.

I do look forward to adding chapters of character back stories though, which will add to length.

Should I make a note of the changed situation and move forward as if I have already rewritten the first half or not. I think I should do that.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

geronl said:


> Should I make a note of the changed situation and move forward as if I have already rewritten the first half or not. I think I should do that.


Well, everyone's process is different, but this is what I would do. I've gotten into too many endless loops where I kept rewriting the beginning, and ultimately not moving forward. I think it's one of the reasons it's taken me so long to get to where I am now.


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## julieannlevin (Mar 25, 2016)

What helped me become a faster writer is writing in 10-minute sprints. I time myself using the 5,000WPH app and then write in the full-screen mode of http://www.zenpen.io/ to avoid distractions. I write using a pretty detailed outline, so that helps too. Thia has all helped me write at least 2,000 words a day. It's all first drafts stuff of course. Hope this helps everyone!


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## VMJaskiernia (Jan 7, 2014)

When I'm in a good place I can write a lot, but I'm just rarely in that good place. I tend to become overwhelmed with how much I have to do, how much I haven't done yet, and how I'm letting people down  so I tend to not write more often than I do. I'm at 27K with Delphinium, which is estimated at about 80K, so that isn't bad. I wrote the first 20K in a few weeks, and the latter 7K has been a year of slow teeth-pulling. If I could only get back to that sprint-speed I'd be done soon.


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

So glad someone started this thread, and even happier to see that others are slow in writing, too. 

It feels like it's taking forever to get through my drafts, but I know I'll get there eventually. I do have good days where I can get around 1k to 1,500 words and really great days where I can reach somewhere between 2k and 3k, but keeping consistent is a tough thing for me. I think I just get a bit overwhelmed with the work and the expectations. I'm perfectionist and the worst critic of my own writing.  

It frustrates me and causes me further stress that I'm not as far along in my self publishing career as I would like at this point, but everyone has their own pace, and I'm still finding mine.


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

geronl said:


> It is science fiction and have decided that we lose the moon (which didn't happen in first draft) and that the first chapter needs to be completely redone because it basically a narrative that sets everything up. Boring as heck.
> 
> I do look forward to adding chapters of character back stories though, which will add to length.
> 
> Should I make a note of the changed situation and move forward as if I have already rewritten the first half or not. I think I should do that.


We lose the moon? Cool idea.  What leads the folks in your story to that decision? Are they tired of going to the beach only to find that the tide is out? Hate when that happens.  I kid. I kid.

Count me in for Team Tortoise! We all know what happens to the hare...


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## H. S. St. Ours (Mar 24, 2012)

Great idea for a post. No matter how fast I write, I always feel like a snail compared to those "Five novels in a month!" posters, and it can be depressing, especially for those of us with demanding day jobs. 

But I am content that it takes me exactly as long to write my books as they require, and I'm often reminded of the production adage that, of speed, quality and cost, you may choose any two.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

Ken Ward said:


> We lose the moon? Cool idea.


lol. Alien planet passes by (alien invaders) too close and knocks the moon out of orbit. It'll become a wandering minor planet like Ceres or whatever.


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## Douglas E Wright (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks for starting this thread. My problem is getting into the habit of writing. I wasn't always like this. I wrote everyday. But now, the last few years have been horrible. I do have a couple of novellas done in first draft. Being a pantser, once the story is written,I feel that's the end, even though I like to rewrite. After reading the thread about consistent earnings, I pulled out one of the first draft novellas and started rewriting this evening. Now, let's hope I don't stop until it's finished!


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

VMJaskiernia said:


> When I'm in a good place I can write a lot, but I'm just rarely in that good place. I tend to become overwhelmed with how much I have to do, how much I haven't done yet, and how I'm letting people down  so I tend to not write more often than I do. I'm at 27K with Delphinium, which is estimated at about 80K, so that isn't bad. I wrote the first 20K in a few weeks, and the latter 7K has been a year of slow teeth-pulling. If I could only get back to that sprint-speed I'd be done soon.


I feel you. I have to be in a very good mood to want to write and that's been hard lately. And I've got a series where people are actually waiting for sequels so the extra pressure doesn't help.


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## VMJaskiernia (Jan 7, 2014)

N. D. Iverson said:


> I feel you. I have to be in a very good mood to want to write and that's been hard lately. And I've got a series where people are actually waiting for sequels so the extra pressure doesn't help.


Yeah, exactly. I just have the one book out, but I know people are waiting for more (especially since 1 is so short). It's both really great and heartening that people want more, and yet just a guilt spiral that I'm not good enough to meet (my teeny tiny) demand.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I guess I qualify as a slow writer. However, I'm really not. When I concentrate on writing, I can and do produce. The fact is I'm guilty of not spending a sufficient amount of time on my manuscripts. I get distracted by on-line activities or busy work around the house or reading instead of writing. I also have had family situations in the last year that require not only a lot of time but also clutter my mind in such a way as to stifle creativity. I know I have to take control and block out writing time or my works in progress may drag on indefinitely. At the same time, it is unrealistic for me to expect myself to turn out monthly books like a machine. That's not going to happen. Yet I'm positive I can improve my output with better discipline.


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

VMJaskiernia said:


> Yeah, exactly. I just have the one book out, but I know people are waiting for more (especially since 1 is so short). It's both really great and heartening that people want more, and yet just a guilt spiral that I'm not good enough to meet (my teeny tiny) demand.


And it's even more pressure because the momentum from the first book is fading fast and I feel every extra second I take, those first readers will forget about my book and thus, the sequel. I've had close to 75 organic email signups but I've sold around 3200 copies of the first and how will those people know about the 2nd book unless it was released close to the first? Ugh, the pressure!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

jessie520 said:


> So glad someone started this thread, and even happier to see that others are slow in writing, too.
> 
> It feels like it's taking forever to get through my drafts, but I know I'll get there eventually. I do have good days where I can get around 1k to 1,500 words and really great days where I can reach somewhere between 2k and 3k, but keeping consistent is a tough thing for me. I think I just get a bit overwhelmed with the work and the expectations. I'm perfectionist and the worst critic of my own writing.
> 
> It frustrates me and causes me further stress that I'm not as far along in my self publishing career as I would like at this point, but everyone has their own pace, and I'm still finding mine.


The consistency thing is difficult for me as well. And that's what I really want to get better at, not necessarily "writing faster." My stories need to simmer and I've come to realize that I can't force the overall process, because if I do, I won't be happy with the result. This is something I need to accept and be okay with. But there is certainly room for improvement.

I think comparing ourselves to other writers is so detrimental, too. The only person we should be comparing ourselves to is the writer we were yesterday.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Sapphire said:


> I get distracted by on-line activities or busy work around the house or reading instead of writing. I also have had family situations in the last year that require not only a lot of time but also clutter my mind in such a way as to stifle creativity. I know I have to take control and block out writing time or my works in progress may drag on indefinitely. At the same time, it is unrealistic for me to expect myself to turn out monthly books like a machine. That's not going to happen. Yet I'm positive I can improve my output with better discipline.


Have you tried Freedom (or something similar) to block your internet? It's been a huge help for me as I am VERY easily distracted as well. And yoga helps me clear the mind and helps keep me from stiffening up as I have issues with my upper back and shoulders. Sorry about the family situation -- I hope that's gotten better.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Douglas E Wright said:


> Thanks for starting this thread. My problem is getting into the habit of writing. I wasn't always like this. I wrote everyday. But now, the last few years have been horrible. I do have a couple of novellas done in first draft. Being a pantser, once the story is written,I feel that's the end, even though I like to rewrite. After reading the thread about consistent earnings, I pulled out one of the first draft novellas and started rewriting this evening. Now, let's hope I don't stop until it's finished!


Good luck with the rewrite! Just take it one day and one page at a time. You can do it!


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## jrwilson (Apr 7, 2015)

This is definitely the thread for me.  I track how many words I write per day.  I'm averaging 93 wpd.  Yup, that's right.  93.  So far today I've written 333 words, making it a very very good day.  Sigh.


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## RipleyKing (Mar 5, 2013)

I took the last week off. Seven days this coming Monday. I enjoyed every moment of it so far. I'm a pantser, and proud of it. I didn't even work on a blog post. 

It's okay to take a day off once in a while.


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

A thread I can join!
In my case, three years to write an 86,000 word novel. About 78 words a day?! Seemed a lot at the time  
Lots of mitigating circumstances, I guess. I'm pretty busy with my day job and I went several months without writing at all when I started getting tinnitus in my right ear - damned near drove me crazy 'til I started to get used to it. Then the last six months were entirely taken up with editing.
If I'm honest with myself I'm probably not a natural born writer. Words do not fly from my keyboard; they are dragged out, screaming and kicking. Having said that, once they are our... they stay out! 
So my message to all is... just take your time and stick at it. It's not necessarily a race. 

I am now about 15,000 words into the sequel. Try to do a little every other day or so, though all I did today was re-write what I wrote yesterday. Great thing about it is... It's FUN


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Today I got the toddler to nap at a decent time and revised a 3k word short. Progress!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave said:


> Today I got the toddler to nap at a decent time and revised a 3k word short. Progress!


Way to go! That's great, Alexa!



L.J.Simpson said:


> A thread I can join!
> In my case, three years to write an 86,000 word novel. About 78 words a day?! Seemed a lot at the time
> Lots of mitigating circumstances, I guess. I'm pretty busy with my day job and I went several months without writing at all when I started getting tinnitus in my right ear - damned near drove me crazy 'til I started to get used to it. Then the last six months were entirely taken up with editing.
> If I'm honest with myself I'm probably not a natural born writer. Words do not fly from my keyboard; they are dragged out, screaming and kicking. Having said that, once they are our... they stay out!
> ...


L.J., I have tinnitus, too -- so I always have something on, either music, or a fan so I get some white noise, otherwise, it drives me nuts. Good luck with your sequel. If you're working on it every other day, and you're having fun with it, you'll get there! 

I was doing really well at the beginning of the month, but the last couple weeks, not so much. I was looking forward to settling in this week and working on stuff because I'd have the house to myself again, but of course, we have another house visit on Thursday, so I'll be preoccupied with cleaning. I hope the house sells soon cause I don't know how much longer I can hack the visits and constant cleaning...sigh.

Anyhow, if I can even get just a couple hundred words today, I'll be happy.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

I already know what I want in the next 2 chapters, so what is the rush. lol.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

It was like pulling teeth, but I ended up getting 635 words on my YA paranormal. I'm happy with that! Another 300 words and I'll be at the 70k mark! That's a milestone for me; the most I've ever gotten on a novel before is 50k, and that was during NaNo, several years ago.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Any progress is good progress! Right? 

A couple days of nothing (well, I did a quick edit and formatting of my next release), and today even though a friend was over most of the day, I clocked 1k on the non-fiction project. Good start to Camp NaNo! Hoping I can get more in tomorrow, but eldest has her dance recital! 



Gisele_1169 said:


> It was like pulling teeth, but I ended up getting 635 words on my YA paranormal. I'm happy with that! Another 300 words and I'll be at the 70k mark! That's a milestone for me; the most I've ever gotten on a novel before is 50k, and that was during NaNo, several years ago.


Congrats on closing in on the milestone!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave said:


> Any progress is good progress! Right?
> 
> A couple days of nothing (well, I did a quick edit and formatting of my next release), and today even though a friend was over most of the day, I clocked 1k on the non-fiction project. Good start to Camp NaNo! Hoping I can get more in tomorrow, but eldest has her dance recital!
> 
> Congrats on closing in on the milestone!


Nice on the edit and the progress on your non-fiction project, Alexa! Nothing much on my end. I revised a 500 word flash story, but that's about it. We had a couple of house visits and my focus has been pretty much out the window.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Finally got back to it today -- ended up with 948 words (on the YA paranormal) and am over the 70k mark! Yay! Also started playing around with the dictation tool in Scrivener. Pretty cool!


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

My WIP got sidetracked by an idea that germinated in my head and demanded to be written down. I think I can keep that down to a short novella (it's already over 8k) and finish the WIP within a week or so. Maybe. That is the plan anyway.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Since there are so many slow writers here, I'm starting a progress thread where we can cheer each other on, or commiserate when the words refuse to come.
> 
> I had been doing well and then went through 5 days of no writing (was busy cleaning for a house visit and just couldn't seem to concentrate). But yesterday I had a great day -- reached 1,228 words, which is a FANTASTIC day for me. I don't often reach 1k, and then today I got another 753 words for a grand total of 69,097 words on my YA paranormal. I've never gotten so much on a project before, so I'm quite excited!
> 
> Hoping to hit 70k by the end of the weekend.


Oh, I love this thread. Thank you for starting it because I'm a horrible failure with the 1,000 words a day thread. Mind you, I have good days, but with a part-time day job that I enjoy and a family to care for, I just do what I can with whatever time and energy I've got. I've been writing a long time, and it's been my habit to write everyday, but honestly, sometimes I'm lucky two put in a couple of hours a day. Even that is usually spent editing maybe 10 pages that really need a lot of work. The good news is that after every session, I know that the WIP is better than it was.

I've managed to finish and publish books, but I'm always looking for ways to work more efficiently. It's been an ongoing challenge.


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## SakuraMazaki (Oct 20, 2015)

Been managing to get my 100 word minimum a day for almost everyday this year. Not too many 1k days though, maybe a couple.


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## Douglas Milewski (Jul 4, 2014)

When I learned art, we alternated between sketching (focusing on speed) and drawing (focusing on excellence). The purpose was to build up both skills within you. Both skills are good and necessary, and both require practice.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

SakuraMazaki said:


> Been managing to get my 100 word minimum a day for almost everyday this year. Not too many 1k days though, maybe a couple.


That's great! I have a hard time putting words down everyday, but a minimum of 100 words, that sounds totally doable. I might just try that and see how it works.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Oh, I love this thread. Thank you for starting it because I'm a horrible failure with the 1,000 words a day thread. Mind you, I have good days, but with a part-time day job that I enjoy and a family to care for, I just do what I can with whatever time and energy I've got. I've been writing a long time, and it's been my habit to write everyday, but honestly, sometimes I'm lucky two put in a couple of hours a day. Even that is usually spent editing maybe 10 pages that really need a lot of work. The good news is that after every session, I know that the WIP is better than it was.
> 
> I've managed to finish and publish books, but I'm always looking for ways to work more efficiently. It's been an ongoing challenge.


Debra, it sounds like you're doing just fine. You're making consistent progress, which is fantastic! Keep at it!


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## LadyG (Sep 3, 2015)

I am one of the slow writers, too! And yet I keep signing up for different NaNoWriMo challenges as though that's going to suddenly turn me into a faster writer. 

I had all kinds of goals set and wonderful plans made for this, my first full week of vacation in nearly two years. So . . . it never occurred to me that my children would also be on vacation this week.  Can't wait to return to work so I can get back into the habit of writing 50-100 words per day.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

LadyG said:


> I am one of the slow writers, too! And yet I keep signing up for different NaNoWriMo challenges as though that's going to suddenly turn me into a faster writer.
> 
> I had all kinds of goals set and wonderful plans made for this, my first full week of vacation in nearly two years. So . . . it never occurred to me that my children would also be on vacation this week. Can't wait to return to work so I can get back into the habit of writing 50-100 words per day.


I think it's safe to say that most of us slow writers are ruled by our right-brain--the slow, creative, disorganized side of the brain. Our stories need more time to process. I mean, sure, we can train ourselves to write faster, but the processing time will always take the time it takes. And, I think if we can accept this, trust our abilities and our stories instead of being so hard on ourselves, it should make the entire process a little easier.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Gisele_1169 said:


> I think it's safe to say that most of us slow writers are ruled by our right-brain--the slow, creative, disorganized side of the brain. Our stories need more time to process. I mean, sure, we can train ourselves to write faster, but the processing time will always take the time it takes. And, I think if we can accept this, trust our abilities and our stories instead of being so hard on ourselves, it should make the entire process a little easier.


That's true for me, Gisele. Stories need to percolate for me. After the 2nd or 3rd drafts, I finally start to feel that I'm beginning to know this story, and then more connections start happening, the theme gels, and it really takes shape. It just takes me a long time to get to that point. I still have a hard time accepting how slow I am, but I'm working on it...


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## Fannin Callahan (Jun 8, 2015)

So glad to find this thread. As someone who is just recovering from serious writer's block, it is just what I need to boost my spirits. It is nice not to feel so alone!
I write without outlines, typically I have no idea what the ending will be. Everything is organic. I also write out of order. A scene will come to mind, and I write it. Writing those scenes is fast work. Those days I can hit five or six thousand words. Once I have dozens and dozens of scenes written I have to take stock and figure out how they can all mesh together. Obviously once six or seven scenes are written I start to have an idea of what of my story is so it isn't like all the scenes are unrelated! 
Anyway, this is when my output slows to a crawl, when I am organizing and putting it all together, and it can be very depressing. I wish I could write in a more linear fashion, but overall what I am doing works better for me. I spend way less time just staring at the screen.  But really, putting it all together is mind boggling, and very slow. Now at this point in the process, a good day is 500 words. I think this is because all of the excitement is behind me and this is just the grueling work. If you can write ANY other way, I wouldn't recommend it. My curse is that it seems to be the only way I can do it. 
What helps a little bit for me, is to pat myself on the back for those 500 words and to remember that I'll eventually be finished, no matter how long it takes. Any words are better than none.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Great thread, great posts.

I don't know that it's important how fast you write. What's important is: _that you write._

The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus once said:

"No great thing is created suddenly,
any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig.
If you tell me you desire a fig, 
I answer you that there must be time.
Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen."

The key word here is "time." It's important to be disciplined about when you write. Pick one day of the week. Pick one hour in the evening. Whatever your schedule is, pick a time that you will write, and stick to it religiously.

I write all day at work, so don't have the energy to write at home in the evenings. So I picked Sundays as my day to concentrate on fiction. It took me 3 years of Sundays to write my first novel, but I don't know that I missed more than 1-2 Sundays over all that period. It became my top priority. I knew if I didn't stick to my plan, if I started making excuses as to why I couldn't write, the book would never get finished. It didn't matter to me if a friend had free tickets to see Sofia Vergara performing naked, I said no.

You have to develop the attitude that your book is more important than doing laundry, defrosting the freezer, picking lint balls off your sweaters - or whatever excuse you conjure up not to write. Do that, and you will finish what you start.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> That's true for me, Gisele. Stories need to percolate for me. After the 2nd or 3rd drafts, I finally start to feel that I'm beginning to know this story, and then more connections start happening, the theme gels, and it really takes shape. It just takes me a long time to get to that point. I still have a hard time accepting how slow I am, but I'm working on it...


Debra, I was nodding through your entire post. I know EXACTLY how you feel. 



Fannin Callahan said:


> So glad to find this thread. As someone who is just recovering from serious writer's block, it is just what I need to boost my spirits. It is nice not to feel so alone!
> I write without outlines, typically I have no idea what the ending will be. Everything is organic. I also write out of order. A scene will come to mind, and I write it. Writing those scenes is fast work. Those days I can hit five or six thousand words. Once I have dozens and dozens of scenes written I have to take stock and figure out how they can all mesh together. Obviously once six or seven scenes are written I start to have an idea of what of my story is so it isn't like all the scenes are unrelated!
> Anyway, this is when my output slows to a crawl, when I am organizing and putting it all together, and it can be very depressing. I wish I could write in a more linear fashion, but overall what I am doing works better for me. I spend way less time just staring at the screen. But really, putting it all together is mind boggling, and very slow. Now at this point in the process, a good day is 500 words. I think this is because all of the excitement is behind me and this is just the grueling work. If you can write ANY other way, I wouldn't recommend it. My curse is that it seems to be the only way I can do it.
> What helps a little bit for me, is to pat myself on the back for those 500 words and to remember that I'll eventually be finished, no matter how long it takes. Any words are better than none.


Fannin, your process is pretty much EXACTLY like mine. Scrivener is a godsend for writers who don't write in a linear fashion. I've tried starting at A and going to Z, but it ends up being counter productive. I need to let the story unfold like it wants to unfold. This process, for me, can't be forced.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Smarte said:


> The key word here is "time." It's important to be disciplined about when you write. Pick one day of the week. Pick one hour in the evening. Whatever your schedule is, pick a time that you will write, and stick to it religiously.


Yes, so true! Consistency is crucial. 

Today, I ended up with 200 new words. I'm sure it was closer to 400 but the delete key got a lot of action this afternoon. LOL! But I think the scene is now in better shape. Onwards!


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Fannin Callahan said:


> So glad to find this thread. As someone who is just recovering from serious writer's block, it is just what I need to boost my spirits. It is nice not to feel so alone!
> I write without outlines, typically I have no idea what the ending will be. Everything is organic. I also write out of order. A scene will come to mind, and I write it. Writing those scenes is fast work. Those days I can hit five or six thousand words. Once I have dozens and dozens of scenes written I have to take stock and figure out how they can all mesh together. Obviously once six or seven scenes are written I start to have an idea of what of my story is so it isn't like all the scenes are unrelated!
> Anyway, this is when my output slows to a crawl, when I am organizing and putting it all together, and it can be very depressing. I wish I could write in a more linear fashion, but overall what I am doing works better for me. I spend way less time just staring at the screen. But really, putting it all together is mind boggling, and very slow. Now at this point in the process, a good day is 500 words. I think this is because all of the excitement is behind me and this is just the grueling work. If you can write ANY other way, I wouldn't recommend it. My curse is that it seems to be the only way I can do it.
> What helps a little bit for me, is to pat myself on the back for those 500 words and to remember that I'll eventually be finished, no matter how long it takes. Any words are better than none.


I remember listening to Diana Gabaldon speak at a conference, and that's exactly how she writes. I'm not sure how long it took her to write her first Highlander novel, but they're enormous books. To do this day, I still don't know how she stitched it all together, but it's just how her brain works


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Smarte said:


> Great thread, great posts.
> 
> I don't know that it's important how fast you write. What's important is: _that you write._
> 
> ...


Agreed! I've often wondered how those who write at their day jobs manage to write more at home, but you certainly have a viable way to make it work. Dedication and determination are key...that much I've learned after 35+ years of writing.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Yes, so true! Consistency is crucial.
> 
> Today, I ended up with 200 new words. I'm sure it was closer to 400 but the delete key got a lot of action this afternoon. LOL! But I think the scene is now in better shape. Onwards!


Those 200 words moved the needle forward. You accomplished something.

I don't know this for a fact, but if a person is ripping out 5,000 words a day or completing an entire novel in 30 days, I can't help but wonder at the quality of the text.

Anything of true value takes time to blossom and grow.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Agreed! I've often wondered how those who write at their day jobs manage to write more at home, but you certainly have a viable way to make it work. Dedication and determination are key...that much I've learned after 35+ years of writing.


Dedication, determination... and I would add, organization.

You read a lot about the left brain, right brain, and how creative people are original and imaginative, but they're a disorganized mess. I suppose that may hold true in some cases, but not all. Like the ancient Greek philosophers, I tend to believe happiness and success come by achieving some level of _balance_.

I work as a senior copywriter in the creative department of a large, international corporation. Not to brag (too much), but over the years my copy has won our company a dozen awards for advertising. You can't handle a volume of writing projects, be creative, and get the job done without being organized. You need to set goals, daily goals, on what you're going to get accomplished that day.

Might sound silly, but I start nearly every morning by jotting down all of the things I need to finish writing that day on a post-it note and stick it on my monitor. Not the most wildly innovative system, but it keeps me on track.

I go about fiction writing somewhat similar. No post-it notes. But on Sundays when I sit down to write I know exactly what scene I'll be working on and what I want to accomplish that day. I don't base my happiness on the number of words I write. I base it on the fact that I sat down to write and moved the story forward. When you look at it that way, you always walk away from the keyboard feeling good.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Smarte said:


> Those 200 words moved the needle forward. You accomplished something.
> 
> I don't know this for a fact, but if a person is ripping out 5,000 words a day or completing an entire novel in 30 days, I can't help but wonder at the quality of the text.
> 
> Anything of true value takes time to blossom and grow.


Thank you, Smarte. 

It makes me wonder, too -- all I know is that I would never be able to do a story justice in such a short time frame. Not to say some can't, but I know I will never be one of them.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Smarte said:


> I go about fiction writing somewhat similar. No posted notes. But on Sundays when I sit down to write I know exactly what scene I'll be working on and what I want to accomplish that day. I don't base my happiness on the number of words I write. I base it on the fact that I sat down to write and moved the story forward. When you look at it that way, you always walk away from the keyboard feeling good.


I try never to focus too much on the words, either. I mean, I keep track of them, but I don't like to set "word goals." I'd rather focus on working for a set amount of time, or so many days a week. Right now, I'm just working on trying to set a more consistent routine. I'm getting there, slowly, but surely.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Wow, haven't checked in in a while.  

I got nothing done last weekend! 2k worth of quick edits on a novel and 500 words on the non-fiction on Monday, and 4k of quick edits on the novel plus another 500 words on the non-fiction on Wednesday.

No plans this weekend, so I'm going to have to try to focus on writing. The edit goal for the week is 15k (but I'm averaging like 3k per hour), and I wanted to be at 5k for the non-fiction for the month (at 2k now - I have a 15k goal for Camp NaNo this month).

Here's hoping I can find a strong dose of willpower for the weekend instead of melting into a puddle of "I need some down time because the kids drive me batty and I'm exhausted to boot."


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Gisele_1169 said:


> I try never to focus too much on the words, either. I mean, I keep track of them, but I don't like to set "word goals." I'd rather focus on working for a set amount of time, or so many days a week. Right now, I'm just working on trying to set a more consistent routine. I'm getting there, slowly, but surely.


You have the right attitude my friend. You know what you need to do. Sometimes it may be difficult to set routines, they seem almost counter-intuitive to the whole creative process, but if writers only write when they feel inspired, they're leaving their literary career in the hands of chance.

Sort of like going to the gym 3x a week, having a routine is dull and often inconvenient, but when you stick with it and see measurable results, it sure feels good.


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Worked on Book 2 in my Arca series last night for a few hours. While the end product is better, the word count went *down * 267 words. Given that I've only gotten partway through the first chapter... Yeah. Not the start I was hoping for. 

So, I guess I belong here. I sat on my awesome paper pirate hat though, so I'll have to make another.


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## KeraEmory (Feb 8, 2016)

I've been meaning to join in this thread for a while. My problem isn't so much a lack of time or determination, it's that when I'm not 'inspired' my writing sucks. And I only get REALLY inspired once every couple of months (and then I write as much as I can as fast as I can--my record is 28k words in one week). I also write as some describe upthread--a series of scenes that flow quickly but then must be strung together into a cohesive whole. Fortunately I'm also fairly good (I think) at plotting, and I can do plotting and other 'housekeeping' tasks for a work when I'm not feeling inspired. 

I know there's a school of thought that says to just write anyway, and that inspiration is for amateurs (or whatever), but really, when I'm not feeling it, my writing is TERRIBLE. Flat, boring, and not worth taking the time to fix. And I can't figure out how to trick my brain into being in 'inspired' mode more often. 

As such, I am likely going to be in the slow lane forever.


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## Michael Alan Peck (May 8, 2013)

My people! Now I know how the bee girl felt at the end of the Blind Melon video. I only write on weekends, and I can be quite disciplined about that, provided no true deal-breakers arise. (Last weekend was an emergency trip to see my dad, so no writing then.) My goal is 3000 words per weekend, though I'm capable of beating that when things are going well. But I've learned not to punish myself when it doesn't happen. The goal is to create something that resonates. And with a full-time job, I'll just have to live with the speed.


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## g2y32361 (Mar 7, 2016)

Hey slowies! 

I don't know if this'll be of any use to you, but I just wrote a blog-post on how I upped my word count. So if you want some advice that you might not have heard on how to write more words, check it out: http://www.nichumphrey.com/.


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## Kyra Gregory (Aug 9, 2013)

Michael Alan Peck said:


> My people! Now I know how the bee girl felt at the end of the Blind Melon video. I only write on weekends, and I can be quite disciplined about that, provided no true deal-breakers arise. (Last weekend was an emergency trip to see my dad, so no writing then.) My goal is 3000 words per weekend, though I'm capable of beating that when things are going well. But I've learned not to punish myself when it doesn't happen. The goal is to create something that resonates. And with a full-time job, I'll just have to live with the speed.


Sounds a lot like what things are like with me. I do try to write on the weekdays but I work a full time job that is absolutely exhausting, leaving me little time to write most days. If I manage to sit down to write, I usually only manage around 500 words on those days. On weekends, I tend to do a lot better unless something comes up. I usually write about 4k every weekend.


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## Michael Alan Peck (May 8, 2013)

Kyra Gregory said:


> Sounds a lot like what things are like with me. I do try to write on the weekdays but I work a full time job that is absolutely exhausting, leaving me little time to write most days. If I manage to sit down to write, I usually only manage around 500 words on those days. On weekends, I tend to do a lot better unless something comes up. I usually write about 4k every weekend.


Four thousand per weekend is more than respectable--and beats my average weekend, in fact. At our pace, we won't be releasing three books a year, as some others can, but we're still producing. And as long as we're happy with what we're turning out, we're doing fine.


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## Sarah Shaw (Feb 14, 2015)

I run the full spectrum from slow to watching paint dry as far as writing speed goes. At the moment I'm at the top of my game- managing close to one new or two slightly revised chapters a week! Today I wrote the whole day at the critique-free writing day our co-working space offers. Got close to finishing an almost entirely rewritten chapter. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if I got almost 2,000 words today! I've got around 16 more chapters to go, although almost all of that is editing, not new work. Ever optimistic, when I missed my self-imposed March 31st deadline to finish the draft I told people it would probably be only a few more weeks. Now I'm thinking maybe the middle of May... 
Happy writing, my fellow molasses masters!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

It's great to see so many people posting, and nice to know we're not alone!

I got 568 words on Friday, but haven't managed to get anything done since. We're just getting ready for another open house this afternoon, so the weekend was focused mostly on cleaning. Man, I will be so psyched once we get a buyer. I am so mentally exhausted...  

And, now that the house is all ready for this afternoon, I'll be off to my part-time job, which is cleaning offices.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Gisele_1169 said:


> It's great to see so many people posting, and nice to know we're not alone!
> 
> I got 568 words on Friday, but haven't managed to get anything done since. We're just getting ready for another open house this afternoon, so the weekend was focused mostly on cleaning. Man, I will be so psyched once we get a buyer. I am so mentally exhausted...
> 
> And, now that the house is all ready for this afternoon, I'll be off to my part-time job, which is cleaning offices.


Try not to feel too bad, as the end result sounds like it will be worth the short-term pain. I can't imagine that any writer in the midst of selling their home is terribly productive. But you can always write about the experience afterward


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## SakuraMazaki (Oct 20, 2015)

More than 500 words for my short story Sundays~


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

KeraEmory said:


> I know there's a school of thought that says to just write anyway, and that inspiration is for amateurs (or whatever), but really, when I'm not feeling it, my writing is TERRIBLE. Flat, boring, and not worth taking the time to fix. And I can't figure out how to trick my brain into being in 'inspired' mode more often.


When you say your writing is terrible, what exactly do you mean? No ideas are coming, the sentences aren't flowing, or are you saying the text is not coming out as 'finished'?

There is a book called _Writing Down the Bones_, by Natalie Goldberg. She recommends a layer approach to writing. Don't think of creating a finished product on the first draft. The first draft is just that, a first draft, or maybe even a rough draft. Don't worry that it's not pretty. Just get down the 'bones' of the scene or the chapter. Then go back and add in details. Your second pass may be to add dialogue, the third pass to add character description, the fourth pass to flesh out the setting.

You get the idea.

I tend to follow Natalie's advice. I don't worry about the first draft being perfect. It's okay if it's terrible. Like an artist sculpting a marble statue, you keep going back and polishing until it shines.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Try not to feel too bad, as the end result sounds like it will be worth the short-term pain. I can't imagine that any writer in the midst of selling their home is terribly productive. But you can always write about the experience afterward


Thanks, Debra. I guess it's just frustrating because there always seems to be "something" going on. I'm hoping we don't get any visits this week -- hubby will be away on business, and my mom isn't here this week either, so that means a quiet week for me -- will just be me, my son (he's 17) and the dog. Hoping to be able to take advantage of having so much time to myself.

I'm working with my writing coach this week, too, so that should help.


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

statoun said:


> Ever optimistic, when I missed my self-imposed March 31st deadline to finish the draft I told people it would probably be only a few more weeks. Now I'm thinking maybe the middle of May...
> Happy writing, my fellow molasses masters!


Six weeks late? No worries! In the summer of 2014 I set a deadline for a Christmas time publication.... which ended up March 2016. 
I don't set deadlines anymore... 
I did write 2500 words over the weekend, though. It's probably a record.
Just a thought... if I learn to write with eight fingers instead of two, will I be able to write four times as fast??


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Thanks, Debra. I guess it's just frustrating because there always seems to be "something" going on. I'm hoping we don't get any visits this week -- hubby will be away on business, and my mom isn't here this week either, so that means a quiet week for me -- will just be me, my son (he's 17) and the dog. Hoping to be able to take advantage of having so much time to myself.
> 
> I'm working with my writing coach this week, too, so that should help.


Not every week is stellar, but if you have one that's more productive than the others, than that's something. I know about distractions...my daughter moved back home, and I'm now looking after her dog a lot (she's an accountant and as you know it's tax season) and I've been taking my mom to numerous doctor's appts while learning a new day job. I'm also in the midst of getting my rights back on four books, which will mean more work when I release them on my own...yeah, there's always something...but that's okay. I move a little closer to my goals every day. You will too


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Not every week is stellar, but if you have one that's more productive than the others, than that's something. I know about distractions...my daughter moved back home, and I'm now looking after her dog a lot (she's an accountant and as you know it's tax season) and I've been taking my mom to numerous doctor's appts while learning a new day job. I'm also in the midst of getting my rights back on four books, which will mean more work when I release them on my own...yeah, there's always something...but that's okay. I move a little closer to my goals every day. You will too


Yes, there really is always something, isn't there? But, as long as we keep moving forward a little bit every day, we'll get there. Good luck on getting the rights back on your books, and with your new day job!

And, no house visits this week, plus my son is going over to his girlfriend's after school, so I have a complete distraction-free day ahead of me. Yay! 

Edited to add: I ended up with 650 words on my YA paranormal today. It's the first scene I've gotten down that is toward the end of the book. Starting to work toward the climax. Yay!


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Yes, there really is always something, isn't there? But, as long as we keep moving forward a little bit every day, we'll get there. Good luck on getting the rights back on your books, and with your new day job!
> 
> And, no house visits this week, plus my son is going over to his girlfriend's after school, so I have a complete distraction-free day ahead of me. Yay!
> 
> Edited to add: I ended up with 650 words on my YA paranormal today. It's the first scene I've gotten down that is toward the end of the book. Starting to work toward the climax. Yay!


Wonderful. That's progress!


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Haven't checked in for a while again. Between cleaning, kids, and writing, I haven't had a ton of time this week for forums or social media - lol (I barely had a chance to tweet my release this week).

I got through 15k of edits in the last 5 days on the novel. This may sound like a lot, but I've been through this manuscript so many times (it was my thesis novel for my M.A.) that I'm only tweaking some word choice/sentence structure and averaging reading around 4k in an hour. Trust me, it's still slow! If I had the time, I probably could have gotten through the whole 90k novel in a week - heh.

I also wrote 2.4k on the non-fiction, and that was split into 2 different days. Haven't touched that since Tuesday. Oops. This weekend hopefully.

Honestly, I do love this thread. So many times I was reading threads on Kboards and crying when I saw all the speedy writers. I keep having to remind myself, they do what they do, and I do what I do. Aside from life interruptus, I have to embrace my slower process as well. It's nice to know I'm not the only one wading through it at a slower pace.  

We'll get there -- one word at a time!


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

AlexaGrave said:


> Haven't checked in for a while again. Between cleaning, kids, and writing, I haven't had a ton of time this week for forums or social media - lol (I barely had a chance to tweet my release this week).
> 
> I got through 15k of edits in the last 5 days on the novel. This may sound like a lot, but I've been through this manuscript so many times (it was my thesis novel for my M.A.) that I'm only tweaking some word choice/sentence structure and averaging reading around 4k in an hour. Trust me, it's still slow! If I had the time, I probably could have gotten through the whole 90k novel in a week - heh.
> 
> ...


Congrats, Alexa, sounds like you're doing just fine. I love the final editing process because you do fly through it! I always struggle through the dreaded second drafts because that's when I realize how much needs to be rewritten, and well, rethought...it's a painfully slow process. But no matter how fast or how slow, I always feel that I've made a little more progress.

I've always been the tortoise in that proverbial race, but it has its perks, like taking time to think about what I'm writing and to see where it could be better..


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## P.A. Woodburn (May 22, 2010)

I'm horrified at my slow progress. I don't have all of the excuses you guys do. I'm retired.

Some of the things I've done that are really helping are:

Found a book by James Thayer called "The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel." I'm on my fifth read of this book. I bought it on Kindle and then paperback. I have it all marked and coffee stained. I think I'm getting a lot of things that didn't register before. Then I've started buying books written by Thayer and I'm marking those up to study his techniques in actual novels. He also teaches at the local univ. I may take his class.

You might not think this would help but I took a course given by our local police class (10weeks).  This was a super experience. Spent several hours in jail. learned how to shoot a pistol and M16, went on a ride-a long and helped to save a teenager's life. On and on-this was a great course and now I know who to contact if I need more info from the police. 

Took two courses on really learning Shrivener for windows.  Yes, for weeks these actions slowed me to a standstill, but now I feel more confidence in knowing what I'm doing.
I have about 58,000 words written. Now I'm going to have to do a lot of rearranging and cutting and adding, but I have more confidence.  I don't mean I know it all. I still have plenty to learn, but taking the time to improve my skills has really helped.

My current problem is I've got to put my butt to the chair, and that butt keeps getting fatter and fatter. I have five pieces of major exercise equipment plus I know about standing and walking treadmills, but I really need to immerse in writing before I try standing or walking or whatever.

I know I once wrote 13,000 words in one sitting, so it can be done. I think I may have pressed wrong button so you may get two posts that are intended to be one. Sorry.

I'm looking around for other courses I might take. I know when you're working it is really difficult to find time for writing but try to fill in some gaps in your knowledge. I think it might really help.


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## Seshenet (May 20, 2015)

I edit as I write, revising in my head and then typing, so while I don't manage to write every day, let alone every week (full-time job and social life), I feel like I come out ahead anyway. I've been an editor for many years, and I couldn't write any other way. So if that's slow, so be it.  

We all do what works for us. And I love this thread. If I were retired, I'd get a lot more writing done sooner. Looking forward to that day. In the meantime, I wrote 1,225 words yesterday. Have about 600 to go before I hit 30,000 in my 2nd book.


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## KingSweden (Dec 16, 2013)

I'm definitely a slow writer, but I'm wrapping up a 100k word project I started less than 3 months ago. That's a record for me! I'm hoping to finish the last chapter today 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

I finished my first draft recently (actually first 14 chapters are second drafts), and my average rate came out to 466 words per day.


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## CASD57 (May 3, 2014)

I'm slow by choice, after 14 novelettes  I've decided to write a Novel length book next after being inspired by some current events, the longest book so far has been 35,000 words, I'm hoping to double that
Today 1700 words  Total 10,100 so far  no big hurry I want this one to be right...


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

P.A. Woodburn said:


> I'm horrified at my slow progress. I don't have all of the excuses you guys do. I'm retired.
> 
> Some of the things I've done that are really helping are:
> 
> ...


A lot of those things you've done is invaluable research, which is another necessary part of writing, so kudos to you! It's important, at least for me, to understand that writing doesn't just mean sitting down and typing. Learning, researching, and allowing your brain to make connections and think about themes, and connections, and so forth, is also writing to me. Maybe we're doing more than we give ourselves credit for . But you're right, sometimes the hardest part is sitting down and composing what's been going on in our heads.


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## NicolaSDorrington (Apr 18, 2016)

I'm kinda new to these forums. Been lurking a while and finally decided to join, but I'm happy to see this thread. 

I've gotten a little depressed recently seeing so much from authors saying they put out books in a month and so on. I can't even imagine writing that fast! 

Though my problem is more consistency than anything else. If I have a good day I can write 5,000 words easily, unfortunately those days are few and far between and normally it's a few hundred if I'm lucky. Right now, though, I'm working on editing and that's even slower going. 

It's good to know that there are other people out there taking the slow and steady approach! Does anyone else have days where they just can't seem to get the words to come?


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

NicolaSDorrington said:


> I'm kinda new to these forums. Been lurking a while and finally decided to join, but I'm happy to see this thread.
> 
> I've gotten a little depressed recently seeing so much from authors saying they put out books in a month and so on. I can't even imagine writing that fast!
> 
> ...


I was so pleased to read this!! It takes me a year to write a book!! ( that includes edits, rewrites, proof-reading, cover design etc etc ) I get really bad eye-strain and can only write for five hours or so a day, if I do more I get migraines!! It was so good to read this, I'm glad I'm not alone!!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> It's important, at least for me, to understand that writing doesn't just mean sitting down and typing. Learning, researching, and allowing your brain to make connections and think about themes, and connections, and so forth, is also writing to me. Maybe we're doing more than we give ourselves credit for . But you're right, sometimes the hardest part is sitting down and composing what's been going on in our heads.


This. I've come up on this several times lately -- people repeating this same idea. Even if you're just out taking a walk and thinking about your story, that DOES count as "writing time." For me, I know my stories simmer a lot in the background while I'm doing other things. All too often, we seem to equate "being productive" with "words on paper," but I think it can take many other forms.

I've also stopped telling myself that I want to be a faster writer; what I want is simply to become more consistent. 

I love checking in and seeing everyone's updates -- I'm cheering along with the successes, and sending out encouragement to everyone who needs it. Hang in there, everyone, and remember that you're no alone! Focus on getting the words out one at a time, and eventually you WILL get there!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

NicolaSDorrington said:


> I'm kinda new to these forums. Been lurking a while and finally decided to join, but I'm happy to see this thread.
> 
> I've gotten a little depressed recently seeing so much from authors saying they put out books in a month and so on. I can't even imagine writing that fast!
> 
> ...


Welcome, Nicola!

I struggle with consistency and have MANY days where the words don't seem to want to come. Some days, all I can do is set my timer for 5 minutes and hope for a handful of words. I've often noticed that on days where it's really difficult though, it's because something in my plot isn't working, or there's something I need to figure out. I find free-writing on those days helps, too. Also, maybe just going out for a walk, or reading -- anything to get my mind off of it. Chance are my subconscious just needs a little time to work things out.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Stevie O said:


> I was so pleased to read this!! It takes me a year to write a book!! ( that includes edits, rewrites, proof-reading, cover design etc etc ) I get really bad eye-strain and can only write for five hours or so a day, if I do more I get migraines!! It was so good to read this, I'm glad I'm not alone!!


I get eye-strain, too, plus I have a weird eye-condition and have to be careful that my eyes don't get too dry, or the cells tear and it hurts something fierce. But at least now I know and as long as I use eye-drops every day and am careful when it's windy, I can manage it so I don't get any tearing. I still get quite a bit of discomfort, but it's nothing compared to when the cells tear.

I only found out what was happening when my eye doctor retired and a younger doctor took on his practice. The new doctor diagnosed it right away. I've been so grateful ever since. Anyhow, waaaay off-topic...lol

Oh, and by the way, I think many of us would be thrilled with a book a year. You're doing great. Hang in there!


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> I get eye-strain, too, plus I have a weird eye-condition and have to be careful that my eyes don't get too dry, or the cells tear and it hurts something fierce. But at least now I know and as long as I use eye-drops every day and am careful when it's windy, I can manage it so I don't get any tearing. I still get quite a bit of discomfort, but it's nothing compared to when the cells tear.
> 
> I only found out what was happening when my eye doctor retired and a younger doctor took on his practice. The new doctor diagnosed it right away. I've been so grateful ever since. Anyhow, waaaay off-topic...lol
> 
> ...


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## PhilipColgate (Feb 11, 2016)

I've recently become another slow-by-choice writer.  I've been able to crank out 5k+ in a day before, but I'm not pleased with the quality.  Perhaps I'll get there after more writing experience.  For now, I shoot for 1k words per day but don't cry if I only hit 750, which I frequently do.  My target length for books is 50k words.  At a pace of 1k words per day, that's still about 7 books written per year, so slow does not automatically equate with less prolific.  I love this thread.


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## Sarah Chute (Nov 11, 2015)

My WIP (currently, I'm reading through before I edit) was finished at just over 95,000 words. I started in August 2014 and finished February 2016. Of course, I didn't realize I wanted to write a book, so I was slow starting.  

What I found that helped me speed up (I wanted to write more regularly) was making a little chart on an index card of my progress. My goal was for 500 words a day, which I stuck to, more or less.
It worked! While it had taken me about 420 days to reach 40,000 words, I more than doubled that count (to 95,000) in only 111 days. 
So... I'll be tracking word counts for my next book.  It was nice to get into a more steady routine.


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

Just finished a short story I'm going to be submitting to an online lit mag.  

As for longer works, I'm moving along slowly but surely. I hit somewhat of a rut, but finishing that short story helped a bit to get the creativity flowing again.


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## NicolaSDorrington (Apr 18, 2016)

Thanks for the welcome!

I have to admit that normally when I'm struggling to get any words out it's because I'm trying to force my characters to do something they don't want to do! 

To give an idea of how slow I am, my first book took 5 years to finish. Admittedly I wrote the sequels much quicker, but it still took a year to get the Forever Queen out, and six month for the novella The Perfect Knight.

My next book, the one I'm working on right now, I first started writing when I was in my last year of  University. That was 11 years ago now...


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

PhilipColgate said:


> I've recently become another slow-by-choice writer. I've been able to crank out 5k+ in a day before, but I'm not pleased with the quality. Perhaps I'll get there after more writing experience. For now, I shoot for 1k words per day but don't cry if I only hit 750, which I frequently do. My target length for books is 50k words. At a pace of 1k words per day, that's still about 7 books written per year, so slow does not automatically equate with less prolific. I love this thread.


Absolutely agree with you! Quality not quantity ( though I wish I could write 5k words a day that were good! ) I spend a lot of time on rewrites too and then I like to leave the manuscript to stew for a month or so while I work on other stuff so that I have a fresh eye to edit with. I'm so delighted to find this thread, makes me feel less lazy!


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Gisele_1169 said:


> This. I've come up on this several times lately -- people repeating this same idea. Even if you're just out taking a walk and thinking about your story, that DOES count as "writing time." For me, I know my stories simmer a lot in the background while I'm doing other things. All too often, we seem to equate "being productive" with "words on paper," but I think it can take many other forms.


Agreed. Constructive daydreaming is a part of the process. You're working the plot out in your head. So when you do sit down to write, you know what happens next. When I sit down to write, I'm merely recording events that I've already witnessed in my head. If you don't spend time working the plot beforehand, you can waste a lot of time writing scenes that ultimately you toss in the trash, because you haven't thought it through.

Which leads to a question that I'll throw out to the group. Do you outline your plot? Or do you just wing it?


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## NicolaSDorrington (Apr 18, 2016)

I know I wing it. I can't outline plots because 90% of the time I have no idea where I'm going with it. I tend to let my characters do the work. I spend a lot of time working on them, and that tends to mean they really drive the plot once I get writing. But it does mean that editing takes a lot more time because I end up doing a lot of rewrites to get the earlier parts of the book to fit in with the way the plot develops.

I think if I could plot and outline I could probably write faster!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Smarte said:


> Agreed. Constructive daydreaming is a part of the process. You're working the plot out in your head. So when you do sit down to write, you know what happens next. When I sit down to write, I'm merely recording events that I've already witnessed in my head. If you don't spend time working the plot beforehand, you can waste a lot of time writing scenes that ultimately you toss in the trash, because you haven't thought it through.
> 
> Which leads to a question that I'll throw out to the group. Do you outline your plot? Or do you just wing it?


I could have answered what Nicola just did, word for word...lol. I'm still trying to figure out my process, but I think it's safe to say that my messy first draft will end up being my outline. I've had so many false starts -- my current project is probably the furthest I've ever gotten on a novel -- well, that is if I don't count my NaNo novel from years ago. That one needs SO MUCH work.

It's taken a long time for me to trust my process and to not give up when I'm halfway through.

I've tried outlining first, but everything feels contrived and when I start to write, the characters take over and take the scene in an entirely new direction -- which is always better, so I've learned to just go with it. Like Nicola said, it takes a lot more time to edit though, because it's like trying to fit a jigsaw puzzle together; you end up with a lot of missing or extra pieces.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

NicolaSDorrington said:


> I know I wing it. I can't outline plots because 90% of the time I have no idea where I'm going with it. I tend to let my characters do the work. I spend a lot of time working on them, and that tends to mean they really drive the plot once I get writing. But it does mean that editing takes a lot more time because I end up doing a lot of rewrites to get the earlier parts of the book to fit in with the way the plot develops.
> 
> I think if I could plot and outline I could probably write faster!


To outline or not to outline? There is no right or wrong answer.

Everyone works differently. Several years ago Bernard Cornwell ("The Last Kingdom") was the featured author on Barnes & Noble. They'd set up a bulletin board where you could ask him questions. I asked if he outlined his plots. He said no, that when he sat down to write he had no idea where his story was going. Cornwell said that because he didn't plan ahead, he often took the story down the wrong path - realized too late it didn't work, that he'd written himself into a corner - only to throw the text away, back out, and start again. All of which surprised me, as he's probably written 50 books.

When I was younger I probably started 20+ novels that I never finished. They're all sitting in file folders collecting dust. I'd get what I thought was a great idea, churn out 50 pages, hit a wall, and come to a dead stop because I had no idea what happened next. I repeated that fruitless process for years.

When I started outlining my plots everything changed. Knowing the beginning, middle and ending enabled me to finish what I started. It happened by accident. I was writing a historical novel. To start, I created an outline of historical events that I wanted to cover. Then I took my outline of actual events and began filling in fictional stories around each event. I didn't insert a lot of detail. Just rough ideas that I fleshed out later. For the first time ever, I had a track to run on. Can't begin to express how much this helped my plotlines.

It didn't make me write faster. It helped me write smarter.

Outlining is not like finding religion. It's not going to save the world or turn all your books into best sellers. It's just something that I've found works well for me.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Smarte said:


> When I started outlining my plots everything changed. Knowing the beginning, middle and ending enabled me to finish what I started.


Something I've learned along the way is how important it is (for me and my process, anyways) to know how my stories end. Once I know that, it's so much easier to figure out what happens in the beginning. It helps everything else fall into place. Until then, things keep shifting on me.

And, my update: Yesterday I got in 533 words, and today, I submitted a flash fiction story. Now I'm off to try to get a few more words in. 

Edited to add: Got another 700 words on my YA paranormal this evening! I'm happy with that!


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Smarte said:


> To outline or not to outline? There is no right or wrong answer.
> 
> Everyone works differently. Several years ago Bernard Cornwell ("The Last Kingdom") was the featured author on Barnes & Noble. They'd set up a bulletin board where you could ask him questions. I asked if he outlined his plots. He said no, that when he sat down to write he had no idea where his story was going. Cornwell said that because he didn't plan ahead, he often took the story down the wrong path - realized too late it didn't work, that he'd written himself into a corner - only to throw the text away, back out, and start again. All of which surprised me, as he's probably written 50 books.
> 
> ...


My first two novels I wrote 'on the fly' as it were, which was exhilarating but difficult, but as my third book is a detective thriller, I knew that I had to nail the plot and didn't even let myself start it until I'd got my characters sketched and the outline ( and those all important red herrings ) factored in. Have to say that it made writing a lot easier....or is it that I'm learning??


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Something I've learned along the way is how important it is (for me and my process, anyways) to know how my stories end. Once I know that, it's so much easier to figure out what happens in the beginning. It helps everything else fall into place. Until then, things keep shifting on me.
> 
> And, my update: Yesterday I got in 533 words, and today, I submitted a flash fiction story. Now I'm off to try to get a few more words in.
> 
> Edited to add: Got another 700 words on my YA paranormal this evening! I'm happy with that!


That is so cool! 
I'm procrastinating .....again!  Trouble is, I start on internet and the next thing I know, my cup of tea is cold and I've written nothing!! eek!  Today I will write!


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## AdamChance (Apr 20, 2016)

I'm a new joiner & this is my first post so hello everyone.

I am making reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaly slow progress with my debut novel. Real life keeps conspiring against me, however my aim is to finish it in the next few months. I've been at it almost a year!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Stevie O said:


> My first two novels I wrote 'on the fly' as it were, which was exhilarating but difficult, but as my third book is a detective thriller, I knew that I had to nail the plot and didn't even let myself start it until I'd got my characters sketched and the outline ( and those all important red herrings ) factored in. Have to say that it made writing a lot easier....or is it that I'm learning??


I would say part of it is that you're learning. I also wonder if perhaps certain genres make it easier? It seems like anything that is more plot-driven than character-driven would be easier to outline from the start? Well, at least, I'm pretty sure that would be the case for me, but who knows. 



AdamChance said:


> I'm a new joiner & this is my first post so hello everyone.
> 
> I am making reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaly slow progress with my debut novel. Real life keeps conspiring against me, however my aim is to finish it in the next few months. I've been at it almost a year!


Welcome, Adam! And good luck with your debut novel! Looking forward to seeing your updates.


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

AdamChance said:


> I'm a new joiner & this is my first post so hello everyone.
> 
> I am making reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaly slow progress with my debut novel. Real life keeps conspiring against me, however my aim is to finish it in the next few months. I've been at it almost a year!


Hallo Adam  My favourite quote is from Doris Lessing "You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn't care a damn about anybody else at all. But writing can't be a way of life - the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such a way that your writing emerges from it."
It takes me a year to write a book, that's why I was so delighted to find this place!!


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Someone mentioned tracking word counts, and I totally do that. Actually I have an awesomely detailed spreadsheet I use. I have a sheet for each separate month, and on each sheet is a word count tracker for drafting, then a spot for revisions, and I then have a totaling area where I also count reading, marketing, formatting, cover art, blog/newsletter, etc. So, with this I know how much time I spend on everything.

I am a compulsive list maker, and my spreadsheet helps with that itch. I have another sheet with yearly totals and graphs! This also helps me see which months I'm usually more productive (July seems to be my super-productive month right now, but last year I was sequestered to the bedroom due to a kitchen remodel, so we'll see how things fall out this year).

And like some others have mentioned, I spend a lot of time just thinking about what I'm writing. Sadly, no column for that on my spreadsheet - lol. That one's hard to quantify since my mind wanders around so much.  

My update: yesterday I revised a 6k short story (quick one-hour revision) and wrote 1k on my non-fiction (Sunday and Monday was a bust for me).

Today I have horrible neck and back pain because I slept wrong, so we'll see if I can stay awake when the toddler naps to edit the novel - haha.


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## writerc (Apr 15, 2016)

Smarte said:


> When I was younger I probably started 20+ novels that I never finished. They're all sitting in file folders collecting dust. I'd get what I thought was a great idea, churn out 50 pages, hit a wall, and come to a dead stop because I had no idea what happened next. I repeated that fruitless process for years.


Hello, I am new and have been lurking and in awe of what everyone is doing here! When I read that above I just thought OMG, that is so me! it is only now that my youngest has started school that I have been able to get back into writing and I have only now realised that I have to outline. I have written 75000 of a novel since last September and I am having to outline in retrospect as it still has areas where I am hacking through the weeds thinking wtf happens next!

I am so glad I am not the only one with a library of novels that ground to a halt between 30 and 50k!


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## Bickernicks (Dec 18, 2015)

Here's a quote from Joseph Heller:



> Heller told an interviewer in 1974. "It came so hard. I really thought it would be the only thing I ever wrote. Working on Catch-22, I'd become furious and despondent that I could only write a page [or so] a night. I'd say to myself, 'Christ, I'm a mature adult with a master's degree in English, why can't I work faster?' "


From this article: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2011/08/heller-201108


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2016)

My husband said something revolutionary to me last night. He said, "I don't want to hear about your word counts anymore. Stop thinking about your story in terms of word counts." 

Huh? Not talk about word counts? Why, that's how we writers measure progress, output. If we don't talk about word count then how do we talk about our work-in-process (my husband hates this term, but that's for another post)?

"Then how am I supposed to talk about it then?" I whined. (I added whined as a dialogue tag in case you couldn't hear the whining from the sentence).

My husband, the process engineer, former newspaper editor, answered, "By how much of the process has been completed. Or if the story is structured, what piece is underway, 50% finished, etc?"

Today I will be concentrating on story progression rather than word count. Already I feel less stressed...

Your thoughts?


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Stevie O said:


> My first two novels I wrote 'on the fly' as it were, which was exhilarating but difficult, but as my third book is a detective thriller, I knew that I had to nail the plot and didn't even let myself start it until I'd got my characters sketched and the outline ( and those all important red herrings ) factored in. Have to say that it made writing a lot easier....or is it that I'm learning??


Writing is a learning process. That's one of the things I love about it. There is no such thing as a wasted effort. Even if you rip up 20 pages and toss them in the trash, hopefully you learned something while doing so.

In a way, it's almost like the basketball player that continually shoots baskets, over and over, to hone his skill. Simply by doing, you get better.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Princess Charming said:


> My husband said something revolutionary to me last night. He said, "I don't want to hear about your word counts anymore. Stop thinking about your story in terms of word counts."
> 
> Huh? Not talk about word counts? Why, that's how we writers measure progress, output. If we don't talk about word count then how do we talk about our work-in-process (my husband hates this term, but that's for another post)?
> 
> ...


Your husband is a wise man.


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2016)

Smarte said:


> Your husband is a wise man.


Thanks!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave said:


> My update: yesterday I revised a 6k short story (quick one-hour revision) and wrote 1k on my non-fiction (Sunday and Monday was a bust for me).
> 
> Today I have horrible neck and back pain because I slept wrong, so we'll see if I can stay awake when the toddler naps to edit the novel - haha.


You're still making forward progress and that's what counts! So sorry about the neck and shoulder pain -- I'm in the same boat. Really need to start doing my yoga on a daily basis again.

I no longer keep track of my daily word counts. I focus on forward progress. My system consists of putting a sticker on my calendar every day that I work on any form of writing. For me, simplicity is key.


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Princess Charming said:


> My husband said something revolutionary to me last night. He said, "I don't want to hear about your word counts anymore. Stop thinking about your story in terms of word counts."
> 
> Huh? Not talk about word counts? Why, that's how we writers measure progress, output. If we don't talk about word count then how do we talk about our work-in-process (my husband hates this term, but that's for another post)?
> 
> ...


Fantastic advice!!  and yes, it's good to get away from that headspace, if you can! I'd rather write a brilliant paragraph than a chapter that is worthless and has to be binned ( can you tell I'm speaking from personal experience!


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> You're still making forward progress and that's what counts! So sorry about the neck and shoulder pain -- I'm in the same boat. Really need to start doing my yoga on a daily basis again.
> 
> I no longer keep track of my daily word counts. I focus on forward progress. My system consists of putting a sticker on my calendar every day that I work on any form of writing. For me, simplicity is key.


ah yes, the yoga, managed an hour and half today and felt like a new being and all ready to start writing again!


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Smarte said:


> Writing is a learning process. That's one of the things I love about it. There is no such thing as a wasted effort. Even if you rip up 20 pages and toss them in the trash, hopefully you learned something while doing so.
> 
> In a way, it's almost like the basketball player that continually shoots baskets, over and over, to hone his skill. Simply by doing, you get better.


Thankyou! You hit the nail on the head I think.... I love this place, everyone 'gets' what I'm on about!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Ended up with 1,044 words today, for a grand total of 72,948 words! Love it when scenes come alive. Now, time to go do that yoga!


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Ended up with 1,044 words today, for a grand total of 72,948 words! Love it when scenes come alive. Now, time to go do that yoga!


Congrats! Sounds like you are finding your groove.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Oh, I completely agree that it's best for some people to not even look at the word count and just look at the progress and forward momentum. If that helps you feel less stressed, then that is the way to go!

Me though, I am obsessed with numbers. I love them. Hence my crazy spreadsheet. Maybe at one time it deterred me and depressed me, but since I have been writing for over 2 decades, I don't get as down about it. I still see the, "I've made it one step forward" no matter how many words I've written. But I've finally settled into a groove where since I know myself and how I write better, I can make word count/progress goals for myself that I know are attainable. And if I fall a little short, I'm not frantic. I make sure the stuff for publication is planned to be done WAY ahead of time, so I have plenty of wiggle room. Which is kind of funny because I'm also an awesome procrastinator. I'm a walking contradiction - lol.

I am actually thrilled with my progress this month, especially since it's way better than the previous 3 months.  

Oh and yoga -- been planning to pick that up again, but I keep putting it off. I should really just do it! But today I think hubbie will try to help with a shoulder rub.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Stevie O said:


> Hallo Adam  My favourite quote is from Doris Lessing "You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn't care a damn about anybody else at all. But writing can't be a way of life - the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such a way that your writing emerges from it."
> It takes me a year to write a book, that's why I was so delighted to find this place!!


Welcome Adam, and some of my writing colleagues would say that a year is fast Stevie. I've belonged to a critique group for quite some time. A number of our authors have been working on their first books for 5 or 6 years. I and another colleague who've been doing this a while each took 10 years to write and edit our first books. It got a bit faster each time after that, but I'm still not prolific by any means.

And as a mystery writer, I'm a big fan of outlining the first third of the book, where characters and subplots are introduced, murder happens, etc. I do some outlining in the middle section and by the last third, I let the words fly because the story's been set out and there's a logical way to ramp up the tension action and reveal the killer. In other words, I always know who did it and why before I start writing. Once in a while it changes, during the writing process but I spend a lot fair bit of time thinking about what I'm going to write before I begin. And I really like that part of the process!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Smarte said:


> Congrats! Sounds like you are finding your groove.


Yes, and hopefully I won't lose it this time! 



AlexaGrave said:


> Oh, I completely agree that it's best for some people to not even look at the word count and just look at the progress and forward momentum. If that helps you feel less stressed, then that is the way to go!
> 
> Me though, I am obsessed with numbers. I love them. Hence my crazy spreadsheet. Maybe at one time it deterred me and depressed me, but since I have been writing for over 2 decades, I don't get as down about it. I still see the, "I've made it one step forward" no matter how many words I've written. But I've finally settled into a groove where since I know myself and how I write better, I can make word count/progress goals for myself that I know are attainable. And if I fall a little short, I'm not frantic. I make sure the stuff for publication is planned to be done WAY ahead of time, so I have plenty of wiggle room. Which is kind of funny because I'm also an awesome procrastinator. I'm a walking contradiction - lol.
> 
> ...


I think it's wonderful that you know what works for you, Alexa! And I'm glad to hear that you're having a productive month! Hope the shoulder rub helps! 

I'm also really enjoying reading about everyone's processes. This thread has become so encouraging!


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Yes, and hopefully I won't lose it this time!
> 
> I think it's wonderful that you know what works for you, Alexa! And I'm glad to hear that you're having a productive month! Hope the shoulder rub helps!
> 
> I'm also really enjoying reading about everyone's processes. This thread has become so encouraging!


Wonder if we could convince all of our spouses/significant others/local masseuses that shoulder rubs are a vital part of the (slow) writing process?


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

Does anyone else find pressure a hindrance rather than a motivator? I am a slow writer and probably will always be, but lighting a fire under my butt doesn't really seem to do what it's supposed to for me. I got this lovely line in a review of my sequel: _"so all I can say is N D Iverson had better be putting in some night shifts because I for one am counting the days till book 3 !!!!"_

Kind of languishing now...


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

N. D. Iverson said:


> Does anyone else find pressure a hindrance rather than a motivator? I am a slow writer and probably will always be, but lighting a fire under my butt doesn't really seem to do what it's supposed to for me. I got this lovely line in a review of my sequel: _"so all I can say is N D Iverson had better be putting in some night shifts because I for one am counting the days till book 3 !!!!"_
> 
> Kind of languishing now...


The way I cope with pressure depends a lot on my frame of mind. Also, if it comes from a publisher, it tends to be a great motivator because I don't like to let people down. The same is true for my writers' group, although the pressure isn't as tense because the stakes aren't as high. The pressure I put on myself can be relentless, but if I'm too hard on myself I get tired, then fed up, then apathetic. I've learned to be much easier on myself, content with taking baby steps at times, because at least I'm moving forward


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> The way I cope with pressure depends a lot on my frame of mind. Also, if it comes from a publisher, it tends to be a great motivator because I don't like to let people down. The same is true for my writers' group, although the pressure isn't as tense because the stakes aren't as high. The pressure I put on myself can be relentless, but if I'm too hard on myself I get tired, then fed up, then apathetic. I've learned to be much easier on myself, content with taking baby steps at times, because at least I'm moving forward


As you said, frame of mind is a big factor. I've been stressed with LIFE in general lately and thus have been putting more stress on myself because I'm not writing the 3rd book as fast as I should be...


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Welcome Adam, and some of my writing colleagues would say that a year is fast Stevie. I've belonged to a critique group for quite some time. A number of our authors have been working on their first books for 5 or 6 years. I and another colleague who've been doing this a while each took 10 years to write and edit our first books. It got a bit faster each time after that, but I'm still not prolific by any means.
> 
> And as a mystery writer, I'm a big fan of outlining the first third of the book, where characters and subplots are introduced, murder happens, etc. I do some outlining in the middle section and by the last third, I let the words fly because the story's been set out and there's a logical way to ramp up the tension action and reveal the killer. In other words, I always know who did it and why before I start writing. Once in a while it changes, during the writing process but I spend a lot fair bit of time thinking about what I'm going to write before I begin. And I really like that part of the process!


Debra, I've just written an English detective thriller (it's in the KS program right now...cue bitten nails, sleepless nights etc) and now I'm trying to plot the second & third one. I once read of a famous thriller writer who didn't know himself who dunnit till the very end, which sounds fantastic but I'm not sure I could do it! Thing is I think I would be making a lot of work for myself, it's difficult to know how successful my own thrillers are because I know them inside out..... but thanks for the encouragement, I love this thread! Everyone is so warm and friendly


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

N. D. Iverson said:


> Does anyone else find pressure a hindrance rather than a motivator? I am a slow writer and probably will always be, but lighting a fire under my butt doesn't really seem to do what it's supposed to for me. I got this lovely line in a review of my sequel: _"so all I can say is N D Iverson had better be putting in some night shifts because I for one am counting the days till book 3 !!!!"_
> 
> Kind of languishing now...


Languish and dream....I'm just awkward, if I get peer pressure I just do the opposite! tuttut! But seriously, I've noticed a lot on this thread of how much work you can do that isn't a daily word count and I think it's true. Anything that inspires you must be good for your writing surely? ( Can you tell that this is what I keep telling myself?? )


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

N. D. Iverson said:


> As you said, frame of mind is a big factor. I've been stressed with LIFE in general lately and thus have been putting more stress on myself because I'm not writing the 3rd book as fast as I should be...


Who decides how fast "you should be" writing your third book? Sounds like you're being hard on yourself. Instead, focus on the fact that someone loves your work, and take the writing one day at a time.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

N. D. Iverson said:


> Does anyone else find pressure a hindrance rather than a motivator? I am a slow writer and probably will always be, but lighting a fire under my butt doesn't really seem to do what it's supposed to for me. I got this lovely line in a review of my sequel: _"so all I can say is N D Iverson had better be putting in some night shifts because I for one am counting the days till book 3 !!!!"_
> 
> Kind of languishing now...


I don't mind external pressures. I work as an advertising copywriter, so am dealing with daily deadlines. They're a great motivator for cranking out work.

I'm not fond of internal pressures. When you put pressure on yourself, you're apt to explode. Rather than putting pressure on myself to write X number of pages in X number of hours, I prefer to set up routines, like I'm going to work on my fiction on Sunday afternoons. Once such routines become habit, it releases the pressure.


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Smarte said:


> I don't mind external pressures. I work as an advertising copywriter, so am dealing with daily deadlines.


Am curious if your day job skills help you to write the blurbs for your books? 
Writing the blurb is my least favorite part of writing.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

sstroble said:


> Am curious if your day job skills help you to write the blurbs for your books?
> Writing the blurb is my least favorite part of writing.


Good question. I've worked as a journalist, an advertising copywriter and have ghost written dozens of magazine articles for corporate executives looking to make a name for themselves (amazing how many CEOs and other corporate big shots are poor writers).

Wish I could say my day job translates into a silver bullet when it comes to writing book blurbs. It doesn't. I'm right alongside every other writer that is probably experimenting with their book description trying to find the right promotional copy that is going to land them on Oprah's Book List.

In advertising, it's all about finding the 'hook.' Usually that means zooming in on a specific product benefit and spinning it in such a way that it is indispensable to your readers. Whether it'll make your teeth whiter, help you lose weight, make all your neighbors envious... there has to be something in it for YOU.

Haven't quite figured out how to translate that into book blurbs, but if I do, will gladly share it here.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

I keep switching WIPs too.

I am setting aside the novel for the novella because I have a great cover for it now. I want to finish it and polish it and throw it up on Amazon.


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Smarte said:


> Good question. I've worked as a journalist, an advertising copywriter and have ghost written dozens of magazine articles for corporate executives looking to make a name for themselves (amazing how many CEOs and other corporate big shots are poor writers).
> 
> Wish I could say my day job translates into a silver bullet when it comes to writing book blurbs. It doesn't. I'm right alongside every other writer that is probably experimenting with their book description trying to find the right promotional copy that is going to land them on Oprah's Book List.
> 
> ...


aha! Maybe I need to write a book that will whiten teeth, promise neighbour jealousy AND a diet that works...can you get me on Oprah with that?  joking aside, the blurb has to be my most hated chore along with the synopsis... I always want to say to people, if you read it, you'll know what it's about! Someone should invent some software to write blurbs


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Who decides how fast "you should be" writing your third book? Sounds like you're being hard on yourself. Instead, focus on the fact that someone loves your work, and take the writing one day at a time.


Good point. I guess the internal pressure comes from all the "cliff" talk around here. I feel like it I don't release promptly that I will lose any momentum I have and perhaps even readers...

But I like the way you put it in a different light-- focus on the fact that someone likes my work. I just hope they're still there when I do eventually finish the 3rd book


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

Smarte said:


> I'm not fond of internal pressures. When you put pressure on yourself, you're apt to explode. Rather than putting pressure on myself to write X number of pages in X number of hours, I prefer to set up routines, like I'm going to work on my fiction on Sunday afternoons. Once such routines become habit, it releases the pressure.


I feel like a routine will help, but it's hard to start one for me. Life just makes things harder than they should be sometimes, you know? Any types on starting a routine and sticking to it?


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

N. D. Iverson said:


> I feel like a routine will help, but it's hard to start one for me. Life just makes things harder than they should be sometimes, you know? Any types on starting a routine and sticking to it?


From the advice I've heard (and keep failing to take because I want to do it all!) is to start small. It's all about baby steps. Start by scheduling 15 minutes at a specific time or something similar, and then make sure you successfully do that for 3 weeks straight to form the habit (I think people say it takes 2-3 weeks to successfully form a habit). Then ramp up from there.

Again, I keep failing to take this advice, and it probably doesn't help that my kids completely scramble my brain.


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Smarte said:


> Good question. I've worked as a journalist, an advertising copywriter and have ghost written dozens of magazine articles for corporate executives looking to make a name for themselves (amazing how many CEOs and other corporate big shots are poor writers).
> 
> Wish I could say my day job translates into a silver bullet when it comes to writing book blurbs. It doesn't. I'm right alongside every other writer that is probably experimenting with their book description trying to find the right promotional copy that is going to land them on Oprah's Book List.
> 
> ...


About 5 years ago, attended a writers' seminar taught by 2 authors whose books are published by big NYC publishers. Told them that writing a 70,000 word novel was easier for me than trying to write a short blurb to hook potential readers to the point they would read the story. One of the authors said it's that way for all writers.
Now, 5 years later, writing blurbs is still like going to the dentist for a root canal for me. So, any insights you come up with as time goes on would be great.


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Stevie O said:


> aha! Maybe I need to write a book that will whiten teeth, promise neighbour jealousy AND a diet that works...can you get me on Oprah with that?  joking aside, the blurb has to be my most hated chore along with the synopsis... I always want to say to people, if you read it, you'll know what it's about! Someone should invent some software to write blurbs


If your book cures warts and is able to double a person's income, you definitely get a shot on Oprah. 

Seems to be a common thread among authors that writing the book blurb is a pain in the tail. Am guessing most of us would rather be expending our efforts writing fiction than on marketing.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Stevie O said:


> Debra, I've just written an English detective thriller (it's in the KS program right now...cue bitten nails, sleepless nights etc) and now I'm trying to plot the second & third one. I once read of a famous thriller writer who didn't know himself who dunnit till the very end, which sounds fantastic but I'm not sure I could do it! Thing is I think I would be making a lot of work for myself, it's difficult to know how successful my own thrillers are because I know them inside out..... but thanks for the encouragement, I love this thread! Everyone is so warm and friendly


You're welcome.


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

N. D. Iverson said:


> I feel like a routine will help, but it's hard to start one for me. Life just makes things harder than they should be sometimes, you know? Any types on starting a routine and sticking to it?


I'm not really sure if a routine is the best way to go. I can't get much done if I feel I SHOULD be at the keyboard at this particular time or whatever. 
What has worked for me is recognizing the times when I _am_ able to get things done. I'm don't suppose it would work for everyone but I seem to write better and faster late at night with a glass of wine at my side. Any free time I have during the day I generally use for checking for typos (on account of the wine), jotting down ideas and so on. 
I guess the truth is that everyone is different and the trick is to find what works for you. Stick at it and I'm sure you will!


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Smarte said:


> Am guessing most of us would rather be expending our efforts writing fiction than on marketing.


Definitely.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

L.J.Simpson said:


> I'm not really sure if a routine is the best way to go. I can't get much done if I feel I SHOULD be at the keyboard at this particular time or whatever.
> What has worked for me is recognizing the times when I _am_ able to get things done. I'm don't suppose it would work for everyone but I seem to write better and faster late at night with a glass of wine at my side. Any free time I have during the day I generally use for checking for typos (on account of the wine), jotting down ideas and so on.
> I guess the truth is that everyone is different and the trick is to find what works for you. Stick at it and I'm sure you will!


That makes a lot of sense to me. I think the trick is to find a "routine" that works for each individual -- but that doesn't necessarily mean sitting down every day at the same time. Sometimes the routine could incorporate non-writing things. For me, because I'm most often at home, part of my routine is getting the housework out of the way first, because if I don't, I won't be able to concentrate when I finally do sit down. Also, when I'm cleaning, my mind is often thinking about my characters and my stories. Doing yoga or taking a brisk walk before also helps to clear my mind.

Right now, this seems to work for me anywhere from 3 to 5 days a week. Some days it's just brainstorming, some days it's just editing, and some days it's just writing poetry. But this is also a huge improvement because I used to go for weeks without writing anything at all. Now, I'm working an average of 4 days a week toward my writing goals, and it's slowly going up every month.

Most often, I end up writing in the afternoons, but that's not set in stone. It depends on how hard it is to get my mind in the right place, and what else is on my schedule, but at least now I know what I need to do to get my mind to where it needs to be. And I've had many days where all I could do to convince myself to sit down was to set a timer for 5 minutes. When the timer rang, I'd decide if I was up to doing one more, and so on. That little thing got me out of writing funks more times than I can count. And, luckily, those days are getting further and further apart.

In the end, it's a process and it doesn't happen overnight.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Finally edited 5k yesterday. But I am behind for the week, so I guess what I know I'll be doing this weekend.   It's just been one of those weeks.


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## P.A. Woodburn (May 22, 2010)

I'm still researching rather than writing. My research has led to my deciding I will have to do some major changes to novel in progress. Need to do more research before I write again because don't want to keep making major changes. So rather than my research speeding me up it is slowing me down, but I hope to end up with a better product.


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> That makes a lot of sense to me. I think the trick is to find a "routine" that works for each individual -- but that doesn't necessarily mean sitting down every day at the same time. Sometimes the routine could incorporate non-writing things. For me, because I'm most often at home, part of my routine is getting the housework out of the way first, because if I don't, I won't be able to concentrate when I finally do sit down. Also, when I'm cleaning, my mind is often thinking about my characters and my stories. Doing yoga or taking a brisk walk before also helps to clear my mind.
> 
> Right now, this seems to work for me anywhere from 3 to 5 days a week. Some days it's just brainstorming, some days it's just editing, and some days it's just writing poetry. But this is also a huge improvement because I used to go for weeks without writing anything at all. Now, I'm working an average of 4 days a week toward my writing goals, and it's slowly going up every month.
> 
> ...


Exercise works for me too. I spend more time walking my dog than writing - in fact the bulk of my ideas come when I'm in the woods of by the sea. 
From my perspective (that of a happy amateur) I think that writing three or four days a week is fine. If you can nudge it up a little, great. Personally I have days when I sit down and it soon becomes obvious that I'm not in the right frame of mind. Just not up for it. It doesn't happen all that often so I don't worry too much. 
My motto: Enjoy the journey - the destination will come in its own good time.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

My whole family is intrigued by the subject matter of a certain book I started last year. Life brought my progress to a stop. I started back up by writing other things. I'm only adding short scenes to the book right now. My husband keeps bugging me to stop on the rest and concentrate on finishing this book. He is convinced it is the best writing I have done and that it's a fascinating story. I actually agree with him. Nevertheless, the more he prods, the harder it is for me to work on it.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave said:


> Finally edited 5k yesterday. But I am behind for the week, so I guess what I know I'll be doing this weekend.  It's just been one of those weeks.


You'll get there, Alexa! Hope you had a productive weekend! 



L.J.Simpson said:


> Personally I have days when I sit down and it soon becomes obvious that I'm not in the right frame of mind. Just not up for it. It doesn't happen all that often so I don't worry too much.
> My motto: Enjoy the journey - the destination will come in its own good time.


Yes, I agree! Worrying changes nothing and is so detrimental to the psyche.

~~~

My update: I took the day off last Thursday -- the brain needed a break. It was such a beautiful day that I spent most of my afternoon in my screened-in patio, reading. Finished reading THE LOVELY BONES. Friday I brainstormed a bit and edited a few scenes. I also don't usually write on the weekends--too much going on. Anyhow, Happy Monday, everyone, and I wish you all a very productive week!


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

L.J.Simpson said:


> I'm not really sure if a routine is the best way to go. I can't get much done if I feel I SHOULD be at the keyboard at this particular time or whatever.
> What has worked for me is recognizing the times when I _am_ able to get things done. I'm don't suppose it would work for everyone but I seem to write better and faster late at night with a glass of wine at my side. Any free time I have during the day I generally use for checking for typos (on account of the wine), jotting down ideas and so on.
> I guess the truth is that everyone is different and the trick is to find what works for you. Stick at it and I'm sure you will!


Agreed. Writers are all different.

Whereas it might not be for everyone, a routine time for writing works for me. Have dedicated my Sunday afternoons to fiction since 2009.

Initially it was not easy. I'd get a nervous sensation in the pit of my gut as the pressure to sit down and write mounted. Hard head that I am, I'd get over that, sit down, and once I put fingers to keyboard, the pressure disappeared entirely, replaced by the god-like joy of creating a new world.

Over the years, the anxiety I used to feel Sunday afternoons has disappeared almost entirely. It's morphed into a sense of anticipation. As it's one of the few opportunities to do the type of writing I love, I look forward to the time I get to spend with my fictional characters.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

9.7k edited on Saturday (though my brain was mush by the end of it -- clearly I'm better off sticking to one-hour stretches instead of reaching for that second hour in a row). 5.3k edited today.

No progress on the non-fiction since last Tuesday, so my camp NaNo count is lingering at 7.8k. OK, so I may not hit the 15k goal this month, but it's just the side project. Maybe I'll be less exhausted tomorrow to work on it, but tonight, I'm wiped!

It's lovely to see everyone's progress here, even if slow/small.


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Smarte said:


> Agreed. Writers are all different.
> 
> Whereas it might not be for everyone, a routine time for writing works for me. Have dedicated my Sunday afternoons to fiction since 2009.
> 
> ...


I love it when that happens, it's like catching up with old friends and hearing their stories!


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## Smarte (Oct 1, 2014)

Stevie O said:


> I love it when that happens, it's like catching up with old friends and hearing their stories!


Yes! Between 2009-2014, working pretty much only on Sundays, I wrote two novels about ancient Greece. I used to describe my time writing to my son and friends as, "I'm going off to play with the Greeks."


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

How's everyone doing? This week has been absolutely awful focus-wise. I've managed to do a bit of editing on Tuesday and Wednesday, but other than that, I just can't get into the right frame of mind. OH, and we woke up to snow this morning! SNOW!!!


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Am taking slow writing to a whole new level --- took 3 rewrites to flesh out 507 words to 521. Must be because it's Throwback Thursday on Facebook?


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## SakuraMazaki (Oct 20, 2015)

Have been getting my minimum, but not much more than that. Came down with a cold. :/


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Gisele_1169 said:


> How's everyone doing? This week has been absolutely awful focus-wise. I've managed to do a bit of editing on Tuesday and Wednesday, but other than that, I just can't get into the right frame of mind. OH, and we woke up to snow this morning! SNOW!!!


It's a struggle for me too, but because I've had other necessary activities (meetings & appts.) after work....next week won't be much better until Thursday. But at least those will be writing-related events, so that's okay.


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

I finished my main edit and am now proofreading for my Book 1 release next week. So far, 5000 words done over two days.   Stupid migraine. Only ~105,000 words to go. Good thing my family likes peanut butter, as I'm not cooking much this week!

Book 2 has gotten 15 words added in the past two weeks. 

Next book, I'm getting an editor so I can concentrate on writing new stuff more and less on iterative grammar checking.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Gisele_1169 said:


> How's everyone doing? This week has been absolutely awful focus-wise. I've managed to do a bit of editing on Tuesday and Wednesday, but other than that, I just can't get into the right frame of mind. OH, and we woke up to snow this morning! SNOW!!!


I hate weeks like that! And Mother Nature needs to chain winter up already.

I hit my 60k goal for the month for edits of the novel, but I haven't touched the non-fiction still. Guess my week has been tough too. We'll see what I can get done tomorrow if I don;t sleep all day - lol.


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> How's everyone doing? This week has been absolutely awful focus-wise. I've managed to do a bit of editing on Tuesday and Wednesday, but other than that, I just can't get into the right frame of mind. OH, and we woke up to snow this morning! SNOW!!!


Yeah right Gisele, the snow! It's blooming May Day tomorrow! I spent a great week idling, planning a promo campaign, wondering about the first chapter of the new book, doing design re-designs for book covers and a piece of flash fiction. A busy week and yet not tied to the keyboard, which was a nice change! 
I'm trying to remind myself that life is not always typing


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

I finally finished the first draft of that novella.

yay.


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

geronl said:


> I finally finished the first draft of that novella.
> 
> yay.


I love that feeling!!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Seems like I'm not the only one that felt like she was walking through mud during the week -- but I'm glad to see that many of you were still productive!

Geroni, CONGRATS on finishing your novella. That is AWESOME!

The rest of my week was a total bust writing-wise, but I did tinker with my website -- added an article written for a haiku magazine I ran a few years back. If anyone has an interest in haiku, you might enjoy reading it:

http://grleblanc.blogspot.ca/2016/04/easy-steps-to-better-haiku.html

Then we had a house visit scheduled for Saturday, so Friday was mostly a cleaning day. Our snow was gone within a few hours, thank goodness! And today, the bitter, cold wind seems to have died down. Think it's actually going to be a gorgeous day. Yay!

Happy May 1st, everyone, and I'm hoping it's a productive month for each of us!


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Stevie O said:


> I love that feeling!!


Me too! I just finished the 5th draft of mine, and I love the part where I'm finally getting close to the last and final draft. Editing moves quickly at this stage!


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Happy May 1st, everyone, and I'm hoping it's a productive month for each of us!


Yes, it does feel good! I have a novel that nearly complete (first draft-wise) too.










I'll probably put the novella up in a week or so. I'm going to go over it and do a re-write and find some beta readers. This is the cover, by the way.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

sstroble said:


> Have gone from walking through mud to swimming through peanut butter last week, which kept me from scheduled, set aside writing day of Friday (have 4 such days of the week). As a result, current story is first one that have asked my alpha reader for advice BEFORE beginning the next sequence of scenes.
> Have never written in this way before during 45 years of writing for publication. Feel like I'm walking on a "dark and stormy night" through dense wooded terrain, no moonlight or flashlight, and without handheld compass, GPS unit, or other navigational devices, only an alpha reader guiding my way.
> Am wondering how final result will read?


I'm so sorry you're going through a challenging time with your book. It really goes to show how each story is different. Is there anything about this story that has you feeling nervous or unsure?



Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Me too! I just finished the 5th draft of mine, and I love the part where I'm finally getting close to the last and final draft. Editing moves quickly at this stage!


Congrats, Debra, and I hope the editing goes very smoothly!

And, Geroni, good luck on your upcoming launch! That's so exciting! 

In other news, we almost got an offer on our house -- something on the buyer's side fell through with their house, so we're keeping fingers crossed that it's something that will iron itself out.


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Gisele_1169 said:


> I'm so sorry you're going through a challenging time with your book. It really goes to show how each story is different. Is there anything about this story that has you feeling nervous or unsure?


It is historical fiction. 
Have heard Garrison Keillor and other authors say, "You have to let your characters take you where they want to go." That is proving true with this one and now I know it has to be that way with any story after this one is done.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

The novella is done, I think. The second draft is 18k instead of 17k.

Now to hunt down some beta readers...


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Today was the first day this week that I actually had a chance to touch any actual writing.   (Monday and Tuesday I did set up a promo, do a critique, and quick edit and format for my final upload for the Reversed pre-order. But most of Monday was my brain agonizing over something that sounded wrong as far as editor suggestions go...I think my brain is hardwired the wrong way for something, and it seriously hates me - lol.)

7.5k of the novel edited today. Here's hoping more tomorrow. And hubbie is taking off this Friday - I told him he needs to take the toddler to the park so I can work for an hour.


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Had a great week, in that we had some warm sunshine for the first time in nine months, ( oh yay! ) I found out that I'd won a flash-fiction writing competition in an American Magazine ( me!) and started production for the In A Mirror City audiobook. I even managed to do some proof-reading and started a new short story, so I think I'm allowed the weekend off to go gallivanting....right?   
she said, gallivanting away


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Stevie O said:


> Had a great week, in that we had some warm sunshine for the first time in nine months, ( oh yay! ) I found out that I'd won a flash-fiction writing competition in an American Magazine ( me!) and started production for the In A Mirror City audiobook. I even managed to do some proof-reading and started a new short story, so I think I'm allowed the weekend off to go gallivanting....right?
> she said, gallivanting away


Well done, and congrats! Weeks like that are worth celebrating. I'm just happy to have spent 3 hours working on my urban fantasy today. It wasn't all in one sitting--that never happens--but it's more than I've done all week. My daughter decided to do some housework for me as a Mother's Day Gift. My son is cooking dinner tomorrow. This means more writing time.


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## SakuraMazaki (Oct 20, 2015)

Woo, actually had a 1k word day. Mind you... 200 to my main story and the rest is split into short stories. >.>


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## Stevie O (Apr 17, 2016)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Well done, and congrats! Weeks like that are worth celebrating. I'm just happy to have spent 3 hours working on my urban fantasy today. It wasn't all in one sitting--that never happens--but it's more than I've done all week. My daughter decided to do some housework for me as a Mother's Day Gift. My son is cooking dinner tomorrow. This means more writing time.


Hope you had a great day too!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

sstroble said:


> It is historical fiction.
> Have heard Garrison Keillor and other authors say, "You have to let your characters take you where they want to go." That is proving true with this one and now I know it has to be that way with any story after this one is done.


Yes! And I think all too often, we are afraid to hand over the reins. We really need to learn to trust the process, and our characters! 



AlexaGrave said:


> Today was the first day this week that I actually had a chance to touch any actual writing.  (Monday and Tuesday I did set up a promo, do a critique, and quick edit and format for my final upload for the Reversed pre-order. But most of Monday was my brain agonizing over something that sounded wrong as far as editor suggestions go...I think my brain is hardwired the wrong way for something, and it seriously hates me - lol.)
> 
> 7.5k of the novel edited today. Here's hoping more tomorrow. And hubbie is taking off this Friday - I told him he needs to take the toddler to the park so I can work for an hour.


Sounds like you're making some solid progress, Alexa! Keep it up!



Stevie O said:


> Had a great week, in that we had some warm sunshine for the first time in nine months, ( oh yay! ) I found out that I'd won a flash-fiction writing competition in an American Magazine ( me!) and started production for the In A Mirror City audiobook. I even managed to do some proof-reading and started a new short story, so I think I'm allowed the weekend off to go gallivanting....right?
> she said, gallivanting away


Congratulations on the the flash-fiction competition win, Stevie! That is absolutely wonderful news! Good luck on the new story and I hope you had a wonderful weekend of gallivanting; it sounds very well-deserved! 



SakuraMazaki said:


> Woo, actually had a 1k word day. Mind you... 200 to my main story and the rest is split into short stories. >.>


FANTASTIC!!!! Yay! 

*My Update:*
Well, last week was dismal -- only managed a bit of editing/brainstorming, but I did get my newsletter out and got two new subscribers! Woo Hooo! lol I don't have any books out, but I am widely published in the haiku department, so am keeping my newsletters mainly focused on that for now. It's a start. 

Hoping this week is more productive, but we have a house visit tomorrow morning, and I am already feeling distracted. 

Anyhow, that's enough rambling from me. Wishing everyone a happy, productive week!


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Congratulations on the the flash-fiction competition win, Stevie! That is absolutely wonderful news! Good luck on the new story and I hope you had a wonderful weekend of gallivanting; it sounds very well-deserved!
> 
> ...
> 
> ...


Stevie: Congrats on the flash fiction! Sounds like quite the productive week, so I hope your time off will make this week even better. 

Gisele: You've got more subscribers than I do.  Poetry is its own challenge; brevity, soul of wit and all that. Keep the forward momentum going! Good luck with the house visit, too. Selling a house is always nuts.

Me. 
I published last week. Spent the past five days formatting for Smashwords in fifteen and twenty minute chunks when I could get it. Finally got Smashwords approval today. I'm hoping to get some more work on book 2 this week, preferably in longer chunks of time.


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## NicolaSDorrington (Apr 18, 2016)

So I think I have fallen behind even the pace of the slowest of slow writers now. I honestly feel like I have made no progress in ages. I went away for the weekend and knowing I had a fairly long train journey ahead of me took notepad and the editing I was doing with me. Didn't touch it. Even when completely bored on the train I still couldn't bring myself to edit. I think I'm developing some kind of block about this book, which is a shame, because it's one of my favourite things I've written. I know I just need to push through with it, but so far it ain't happening!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

kdiem said:


> Gisele: You've got more subscribers than I do.  Poetry is its own challenge; brevity, soul of wit and all that. Keep the forward momentum going! Good luck with the house visit, too. Selling a house is always nuts.
> 
> Me.
> I published last week. Spent the past five days formatting for Smashwords in fifteen and twenty minute chunks when I could get it. Finally got Smashwords approval today. I'm hoping to get some more work on book 2 this week, preferably in longer chunks of time.


Thank you, Karen! The visit went well -- they called our realtor while they were still here, wanted to know where the land marker/pins were and got all excited when they realized how far back the yard extends! Keeping fingers crossed!

And, CONGRATS on your release! That's so exciting! I hope things go well with book 2! 



NicolaSDorrington said:


> So I think I have fallen behind even the pace of the slowest of slow writers now. I honestly feel like I have made no progress in ages. I went away for the weekend and knowing I had a fairly long train journey ahead of me took notepad and the editing I was doing with me. Didn't touch it. Even when completely bored on the train I still couldn't bring myself to edit. I think I'm developing some kind of block about this book, which is a shame, because it's one of my favourite things I've written. I know I just need to push through with it, but so far it ain't happening!


Oh, I feel ya, Nicola! Something's that helped me out of that head space many times is setting my timer for 5 minutes, reading over what I wrote, and doing tiny edits. Just that has gotten me unstuck and back to writing more times than I can count. Good luck! You can do it!


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

NicolaSDorrington said:


> So I think I have fallen behind even the pace of the slowest of slow writers now. I honestly feel like I have made no progress in ages. I went away for the weekend and knowing I had a fairly long train journey ahead of me took notepad and the editing I was doing with me. Didn't touch it. Even when completely bored on the train I still couldn't bring myself to edit. I think I'm developing some kind of block about this book, which is a shame, because it's one of my favourite things I've written. I know I just need to push through with it, but so far it ain't happening!


Absolutely understand how you feel. I just had a week off work, which is kind of unusual for me. I spent a couple of days painting the fence and then had a day out with the family, after which I really thought I could push on with my writing but...nothing. I sat in front of the computer and ended up playing Tetris. It's tragic, it really is. Now I'm back at work I find myself adding bits to the book every time I have a few minutes to myself. I'm sure there's a lesson in there somewhere but for the moment I'm darned if I can see it.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

Super hero novella will be posted soon. I consider it the past.

I wrote first chapters of two different blog stories in the last two days, probably more than I can chew.


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

This week, aside from Monday, has been a huge bust!

I wrote about 1.2k on a short story/novelette on Monday. No writing or revising since.

Last 2 days I've been dealing with my free promo for Love Fades (along with taking a nap today with the toddler - man, she wears me out).


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave said:


> This week, aside from Monday, has been a huge bust!
> 
> I wrote about 1.2k on a short story/novelette on Monday. No writing or revising since.
> 
> Last 2 days I've been dealing with my free promo for Love Fades (along with taking a nap today with the toddler - man, she wears me out).


Hey, at least you made progress with that short story! I got maybe a total of 700 words stretched out over three days. I'm working with my writing coach next week, so hopefully she can help me get out of this funk. Today I need to catch-up on some housework, but hoping to get in a few words, too. Mercury retrograde is on its way out, too, so yay for that!


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## NicolaSDorrington (Apr 18, 2016)

I am currently the slowest of slow writers. Yesterday I managed a grand total of about 20 words, and that was the first writing I'd done in a week.

*sigh*

I have some serious kind of block right now when it comes to writing. I have three books I could really do with working on, and yet can't seem to work on any of them.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

I have a little side story I have been adding to in fits and starts that has grown to 7,200+ words. It'll probably be a novella. There are no chapters. It will be part I, part II and maybe part III if I feel like it. I'm not even sure what to call it, much less a genre.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

After having two back to back house visits to prepare for this week, I am slowly getting back to it. Reworked a scene today on my YA urban fantasy project -- I ended up with 550 more words, but actually wrote more than that because I deleted bits here and there. So not too bad a day! 

I was supposed to work with my writing coach, but I ended up rescheduling; didn't have enough new material to work with. I also can't believe it's already Thursday. The week just flew by. Also very relieved that Mercury has gone direct again!  

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!


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## K&#039;Sennia Visitor (Jan 14, 2014)

Ooh! It took me 3 years, but I finally finished a short story. It's really, really terrible, but yaaays for finishing it! I feel like I deserve a cookie. "giggles"


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Flights_of_Fantasy said:


> Ooh! It took me 3 years, but I finally finished a short story. It's really, really terrible, but yaaays for finishing it! I feel like I deserve a cookie. "giggles"


That's awesome -- congrats! And, I think that earns you at least 2 cookies!


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## K&#039;Sennia Visitor (Jan 14, 2014)

Gisele_1169 said:


> That's awesome -- congrats! And, I think that earns you at least 2 cookies!


 *accepts two chocolate chip cookies from the communal cookie jar*

Ummmm. I need these, today. Got my edits back from my friend and now I get to make it good. *freaks out*


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

I love this thread so much. Congrats on your accomplishments everyone, no matter how small they are  

I've been in the biggest writing funk for what feels like ages, but I'm going to try and break that over the weekend. Hopefully!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

jessie520 said:


> I love this thread so much. Congrats on your accomplishments everyone, no matter how small they are
> 
> I've been in the biggest writing funk for what feels like ages, but I'm going to try and break that over the weekend. Hopefully!


Good luck, Jessie! You can do it! Just take it one sentence at a time. It's all you need to do and you'll get there.


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## K&#039;Sennia Visitor (Jan 14, 2014)

Finished my second revisions and added 938 words. "giggles muchly" 

    *sending Jessie and Gisele, and everyone else in this thread, magical writing energy to accomplish all your goals*


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

Thanks so much for the encouragement, I appreciate it!  

Managed to get 868 words today, so I consider that a success.


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## JosiahUpton (May 18, 2016)

I've been working on the sequel to Sons of Sludge for almost two years now. It's very nearly done. But as much as I love my characters and the story they tell, there are many days when I'm _so_ over it. If you include the time it took to put out S.O.S. (much of which was spent hanging on the hook of an agent that ended up passing), I've been in this world for almost four years. That's too long.

I attribute my snail's pace to having only a single dedicated 6 hour slot to write a week. The rest of my time is eaten up by a full-time job, raising three young and wild boys, and spending my nights recovering from the former. By the time everyone's fed and in bed, my wits and nerves insist that it's beer and tv time.

But it won't always be this way. Once all the kids are in school, my goal is to pump out three novels a year. Counting the days until my youngest moves out, while enjoying the ride the entire time.

Josiah's Pretentious Quotable: *My family is my story. Even if I never write another word, I would be a most successful author.*


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

NicolaSDorrington said:


> I am currently the slowest of slow writers. Yesterday I managed a grand total of about 20 words, and that was the first writing I'd done in a week.
> 
> *sigh*
> 
> I have some serious kind of block right now when it comes to writing. I have three books I could really do with working on, and yet can't seem to work on any of them.


Slowest of the slow? Looks like I've been usurped  Could have sworn I had that title...

But I feel ya. I've got readers that keep asking about my third book in my series and I feel bad when I have to keep saying, "I'm working on it..." It's been a super slow go. Only about 17,100 words into a 80,000 word novel...


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## NicolaSDorrington (Apr 18, 2016)

I have to say that somehow, since that post, I've turned a corner. I came up with a new little idea that I thought I'd better get down before I forgot it, thinking I would just jot down a few notes to be able to go back to it when I'd finished my current WIPs. Instead, four days later I'm 8,000 words in, and going strong everyday. 2,000 a day for me is massive. If I could keep this rate up, I'd have the book done in a month. 

The last time I wrote that fast was when I wrote The Last Knight. I got the first draft done in 7 weeks. It just then took me about 3 years to edit it.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Wow, everyone! It's so great to see all the updates!

Flights and Jessie, way to go on the progress, and Nicola, 2,000 words a day? Wow! That's amazing! 



JosiahUpton said:


> I attribute my snail's pace to having only a single dedicated 6 hour slot to write a week. The rest of my time is eaten up by a full-time job, raising three young and wild boys, and spending my nights recovering from the former. By the time everyone's fed and in bed, my wits and nerves insist that it's beer and tv time.


Yeah, that'll do it. But you've already got one book out there, and you're still making progress and moving forward. That's the important thing, so hang in there! 



N. D. Iverson said:


> But I feel ya. I've got readers that keep asking about my third book in my series and I feel bad when I have to keep saying, "I'm working on it..." It's been a super slow go. Only about 17,100 words into a 80,000 word novel...


Hey, you've got two books out there already, and have fans looking forward to your next book, that's something to celebrate! Just take it one sentence and one day at a time. 

My update: I'm still picking away at my YA Urban Fantasy. Got in another 250 words on Friday. Probably got around a total of 1000 words for the whole week, which I guess is better than nothing, right?  I'm also back at 67k, too (after cutting a few thousand words worth of scenes), so I'm happy about that.

Wishing everyone a lovely Sunday, and a productive week!


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## 1984Phins (Apr 10, 2016)

Added a page, so this is a very productive day so far!


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

NicolaSDorrington said:


> The last time I wrote that fast was when I wrote The Last Knight. I got the first draft done in 7 weeks. It just then took me about 3 years to edit it.


 Harry Shaw, in Errors in English and Ways to Correct Them -- "There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting." Science fiction novelist Michael Crichton: "Books are not written--they're rewritten."


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Gisele_1169 said:


> I'm also back at 67k, too (after cutting a few thousand words worth of scenes), so I'm happy about that.


"My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip." 
― Elmore Leonard, Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing

Your willingness to cut out a few thousand words is motivating me to do the same with 2 stories now in the midst of rewrites. 
Thank you


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

1984Phins said:


> Added a page, so this is a very productive day so far!


Awesome! One page at a time and you'll get there! 



sstroble said:


> Harry Shaw, in Errors in English and Ways to Correct Them -- "There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting." Science fiction novelist Michael Crichton: "Books are not written--they're rewritten."


I've come across these quotes before! Love'em! 



sstroble said:


> "My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip."
> ― Elmore Leonard, Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing
> 
> Your willingness to cut out a few thousand words is motivating me to do the same with 2 stories now in the midst of rewrites.
> Thank you


I'm so glad that you found that motivating. I usually just plop cut scenes into a separate folder so I still have them if I later realize I need the material. And I figure there's always a chance parts can be used for other projects, too. It makes it easy to cut what I feel isn't needed at the time.

Also, I don't write in linear fashion, so after a while, I end up with a lot of scenes that don't fit anymore. I've gotten used to slicing and dicing them out. 

Good luck with your rewrites!


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Gisele_1169 said:


> I'm so glad that you found that motivating. I usually just plop cut scenes into a separate folder so I still have them if I later realize I need the material. And I figure there's always a chance parts can be used for other projects, too. It makes it easy to cut what I feel isn't needed at the time.
> 
> Also, I don't write in linear fashion, so after a while, I end up with a lot of scenes that don't fit anymore. I've gotten used to slicing and dicing them out.


Ended up only cutting 188 words from one story and 513 words from the other but that is 701 words total, not bad for a holiday that has been telling me, "Take it easy today. Relax, it's a holiday. You don't need to write today..." ever since waking up.

Also end up with scenes that don't really fit anymore. Hunting them down and removing them is time consuming, laborious, often boring.......wonder if it's the same as when a film editor slices and dices, shortening some scenes and removing others entirely to shorten the 3 or 4 hours worth of film down to what the movie studio wants, a movie about 2 hours long?


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Absolutely no progress last week, but that was due to several things (kid events, trying to catch up to house cleaning, and a distraction I just blogged about - the top things).

Hoping to change that this week. Hubbie taking the kids to the park shortly, so here's hoping for 1k on Memorial Day!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Even though I've been dealing with some construction over the past couple days (we're getting our patio redone and there is constant banging, drilling, and sawing going on) I'm slowly making progress on my YA Urban Fantasy. I'm adding bits to weave scenes together, cutting extraneous stuff out, and also doing a bit of brainstorming here and there. My word count has probably gone down by another thousand words, but things seem to be falling into place, and I'm starting to see the project as a whole. Yay!

Hope everyone's week has been productive so far!


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## K&#039;Sennia Visitor (Jan 14, 2014)

I am using the excuse that I'm waiting on my Sir Kind Knight of Editordom to get back to me on the short I wrote last week. And my inner lazian is all, "no hurry, take your time."  

  And this week I'm doing crime research, which is really fun and necessary. 

  I've got like 7-10 different stories/series I'd like to write, and since my brain is like an empty sieve most of the time I have to research everything, and I can't write everything at once, so I'm in my crime cycle right now.


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Even though I've been dealing with some construction over the past couple days (we're getting our patio redone and there is constant banging, drilling, and sawing going on) I'm slowly making progress on my YA Urban Fantasy. I'm adding bits to weave scenes together, cutting extraneous stuff out, and also doing a bit of brainstorming here and there. My word count has probably gone down by another thousand words, but things seem to be falling into place, and I'm starting to see the project as a whole. Yay!
> 
> Hope everyone's week has been productive so far!


Since you're kind of in a similar boat, any advice on writing while occupied? I'm buying my first home (side note: yay!) and it's going to be a hectic month! Any advice for not letting your writing slide during crazy-busy times?


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

N. D. Iverson said:


> Since you're kind of in a similar boat, any advice on writing while occupied? I'm buying my first home (side note: yay!) and it's going to be a hectic month! Any advice for not letting your writing slide during crazy-busy times?


Oh, I know exactly what you're going through. Our house has been on the market now for almost 4 months and I've been struggling to find focus throughout most of it. I myself just went through about three weeks of virtually no forward progress, but I'm slowly slipping back into the flow of things. I like to blame this last writing slump on Mercury retrograde. 

I've discovered several things that help limit my distraction levels (because I'm ALWAYS distracted): I use Mac Freedom, and recently discovered brain.fm -- listening to that the last couple days helped me focus and cut some of the noise out. You can try free sessions to see if you find it helps.

Some days, all I can do is set my timer for 5 minutes and at least read over material. It often helps me get back into a story. Exercise and doing yoga is also VERY helpful, especially the yoga. It helps quiet my mind and stops my neck, shoulders, and upper back from stiffening up. 

There's also the pomodoro method which can be very helpful. If you're not familiar with it, it's just a timer method. You can learn more about it here: http://pomodorotechnique.com/

Hope that helps! And, your first home -- that is so exciting! Congratulations, and I hope it all goes smoothly!


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## K&#039;Sennia Visitor (Jan 14, 2014)

I've heard that a daily writing routine, where you always write at the same time, under the same conditions, every day no matter what is helpful. Like say you get up every morning at a certain time and only write for 20 minutes, but you do it every single morning. Or every night at the same time. Or maybe every time you get into your car you dictate your story into your phone. Every time you eat, you scratch out a few words out (might be difficult if you eat with utensils).   The important thing is just having some sort of daily schedule, that you can meet even if you have a houseful of guests or are in the midst of a huge construction project or all 8 of your kids get the chicken pox, etc.


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Flights_of_Fantasy said:


> I've heard that a daily writing routine, where you always write at the same time, under the same conditions, every day no matter what is helpful. Like say you get up every morning at a certain time and only write for 20 minutes, but you do it every single morning. Or every night at the same time. Or maybe every time you get into your car you dictate your story into your phone. Every time you eat, you scratch out a few words out (might be difficult if you eat with utensils).  The important thing is just having some sort of daily schedule, that you can meet even if you have a houseful of guests or are in the midst of a huge construction project or all 8 of your kids get the chicken pox, etc.


Happy to have been pointed toward this thread (thanks!). I am slow and part of the reason is I cannot create if I engage in ANY kind of organizational logistics. I like what you've said above about a writing schedule and I like the idea behind it, but I just know I can't do it. The millisecond I try to self-impose a schedule, no matter how un-rigorous it may be in its construct, is the moment my muse flits away into the ether. Sure, I'd be able to crank out some words for a while and follow the schedule to the letter, but it wouldn't last, the crash would occur and then I'd be back to square one (think: crying in the fetal position in the shower).

All of that said, I've learned that I'm a pretty fragile feather of a writer. Every little thing has to be alright (to kinda sorta quote Bob Marley) and I can't worry about a thing if I'm to write well or pretty much keep writing at all.

On the day writer's skins were being passed out, I wound up with tissue paper.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Ken Ward said:


> Happy to have been pointed toward this thread (thanks!). I am slow and part of the reason is I cannot create if I engage in ANY kind of organizational logistics. I like what you've said above about a writing schedule and I like the idea behind it, but I just know I can't do it. The millisecond I try to self-impose a schedule, no matter how un-rigorous it may be in its construct, is the moment my muse flits away into the ether. Sure, I'd be able to crank out some words for a while and follow the schedule to the letter, but it wouldn't last, the crash would occur and then I'd be back to square one (think: crying in the fetal position in the shower).
> 
> All of that said, I've learned that I'm a pretty fragile feather of a writer. Every little thing has to be alright (to kinda sorta quote Bob Marley) and I can't worry about a thing if I'm to write well or pretty much keep writing at all.
> 
> On the day writer's skins were being passed out, I wound up with tissue paper.


Ken, I understand that completely. It took me years to realize that the stricter I try to set a schedule, the less it works. My writing coach helped me to discover this by the way -- I don't think I'd be this far ahead in my novel without her help. She's been a godsend, and I highly recommend her to anyone who is really struggling with their writing. You can check her out here: http://laurensapala.com/ 

Anyhow, yeah, writing at the same time everyday just isn't for me. I've tried it so many times, and after a couple days I always freeze up and seem to do everything BUT write at that particular time. My routine has to stay VERY flexible or it just won't work. Right now, I'm aiming for one session of 20 minutes, at least three times a week. This helps me sit down, and then I'm okay for several sessions. But, if I try to make it anymore specific than that, or aim for more sessions, it ends up being very counter productive.

On days that it's really hard, those sessions may be shorter. Whatever it takes to make it easier for me to sit down at the computer.

I've also realized that aiming for a particular number of sessions works better than aiming for word count goals. Word count goals DO NOT work for me. It's the quickest way for me to stop writing completely. 

Some of us just need more time to process our stories, and I don't think anything can be done to change that -- but when we start being hard on ourselves because of it, it just makes things worse. So now, I don't worry about writing my stories faster, I am just aiming on writing more consistently. I think what I need to do more though, on days where I can't seem to sit down, is perhaps work on something different: another novel, short stories, nonfiction, or poetry. Chances are my inability to write is due to my subconscious needing time to work things out. Free-writing also helps during those times, too.

In the end, we just have to be kinder to ourselves and accept that our process is what it is. And we have to stop comparing ourselves to fast writers -- I believe that is one of the most negatively impacting things we can do to ourselves.


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Ken, I understand that completely. It took me years to realize that the stricter I try to set a schedule, the less it works. My writing coach helped me to discover this by the way -- I don't think I'd be this far ahead in my novel without her help. She's been a godsend, and I highly recommend her to anyone who is really struggling with their writing. You can check her out here: http://laurensapala.com/
> 
> Anyhow, yeah, writing at the same time everyday just isn't for me. I've tried it so many times, and after a couple days I always freeze up and seem to do everything BUT write at that particular time. My routine has to stay VERY flexible or it just won't work. Right now, I'm aiming for one session of 20 minutes, at least three times a week. This helps me sit down, and then I'm okay for several sessions. But, if I try to make it anymore specific than that, or aim for more sessions, it ends up being very counter productive.
> 
> ...


Great post. Thank you very much for sharing that. I like the idea of the 20 minute sit-down sessions you've mentioned. Might have to try that.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Ken Ward said:


> Great post. Thank you very much for sharing that. I like the idea of the 20 minute sit-down sessions you've mentioned. Might have to try that.


On days you really struggle, aim for 5 minutes. I can't count how many times it's gotten me out of writing slumps. And, if all you can get on a particular day is one 5 minute session, it's still better than nothing. Most of the time though, it's that first 5 minutes that's the hardest.

Actually, I think that's what I'm going to do today. I've been really struggling the last few weeks. Just too many things in my head. 

My update: All I managed to do yesterday was submit a flash fiction story. I also started reading Dean Wesley Smith's Writing Into the Dark. Really enjoying it so far. The construction on our patio is still ongoing. Think it should be wrapping up today though. Yay!

Anyhow, wishing everyone a lovely weekend!


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## The_Empress (Jan 8, 2016)

It would probably be good for me to hang out here.  I'm not that slow when I get going, but all my writing time and energy has been going towards work for the last 2-3 months, and I've been stalled. It's good to hear from people who also have ups and downs.


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

Hope everyone's having a good writing week  

I managed 300 words today. Started a new short story with a character I created in a previous short story. I like her, so hopefully this goes well!


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## TeiranSmith (Sep 2, 2015)

I have spurts where I can crank out 5,000-8,000 words a day when I am able to dedicate an entire day to writing and am not suffering from dreaded writers block. When I started my debut novel, first two chapters were done in the blink of an eye. Then, BAM. Nothing. I couldn't get back into the groove for nearly two months. I literally didn't write a word for two months. It was torture!

I struggle with writers block. If I can't connect with a story or the characters, I can't write. I'm very character driven in my writing, so if the characters aren't "speaking to me" it's impossible for me to write. Call me crazy, but when I write, it's almost as though it's the characters telling the story and I'm just the vessel putting it on paper, or rather onto the screen. 

I am half way through the third novel in my NA romance series and I've hit a wall. This is like the fiftieth one! 

So while I have days where I can write 5,000 words, I have weeks and even months where I'm lucky to write 500 words. Those weeks and months are pure agony! The past month has been nothing but torment for me. I think I've only written 300 words this week. I'm currently staring at my screen begging for anything. I'd be happy with a sentence. 

At this rate, the book might be done a year from now. It's very frustrating. I'm envious of the writers who are putting out multiple books each year. I'd be lucky to finish one at my pace.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Well, I'm still in editing mode on my YA paranormal -- am adding bits and deleting bits, and my word count is staying the same (around 65k) which means I am making slow but forward progress. I've managed to work a bit on it every day this week, so yay! The construction on the patio is almost done -- ended up taking a lot longer than we expected it to. 

Our house has been on the market now for a little over 4 months and I'm starting to feel like it will never sell. We've gotten so close several times, but something always intervenes. I try to stay positive and tell myself it's just a timing thing, it will happen, but we haven't even had a showing in almost three weeks. 

There are just SO many houses on the market right now. It's ridiculous. Ah well, maybe with the patio redone it will help. The backyard looks awesome, too, with all the plants starting to bloom. So, fingers crossed!

Also, I love reading everyone's updates. It's nice to know we're not alone.  

I wish you all a productive end of week and a lovely weekend!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

The_Empress said:


> It would probably be good for me to hang out here.  I'm not that slow when I get going, but all my writing time and energy has been going towards work for the last 2-3 months, and I've been stalled. It's good to hear from people who also have ups and downs.


Glad you found us, and we can totally relate. I hope you find your creative flow again soon!



jessie520 said:


> Hope everyone's having a good writing week
> 
> I managed 300 words today. Started a new short story with a character I created in a previous short story. I like her, so hopefully this goes well!


That's great, Jessie! I hope it's going well. 



TeiranSmith said:


> I struggle with writers block. If I can't connect with a story or the characters, I can't write. I'm very character driven in my writing, so if the characters aren't "speaking to me" it's impossible for me to write. Call me crazy, but when I write, it's almost as though it's the characters telling the story and I'm just the vessel putting it on paper, or rather onto the screen.
> 
> I am half way through the third novel in my NA romance series and I've hit a wall. This is like the fiftieth one!
> 
> ...


I have been working on my current novel off and on for years. I'd get overwhelmed and then stop working on it completely for months, sometimes years. I'd work on other things in between, short stories, nonfiction, poems, etc. About a year and a half ago I started working with a writing coach, and I've been actively working on this novel again since. I'm learning to trust my characters, trust the story, and trust my writing abilities and process.

I know what you mean about your characters telling the story. They totally run the show for me as well. It's like I'm watching a mini movie in my head and I often have no idea what's going to happen until it does. That's why too much outlining doesn't work for me. I start to write and then the characters take off on their own -- and I've realized that the story is usually better if I let them.  I've also realized that my stories need to percolate every so often and trying to force things during those times doesn't work. My process is what it is. What I need to practice more is to train myself to work on other projects during those "percolation" times.

Have you tried freewriting when you're blocked (about the block), or just interviewing your characters to find out what's on their mind? Freewriting gives a chance for your subconscious to voice its concerns/thoughts and can be very helpful. 

I hope the words start to flow again for you soon! Hang in there!


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

The best thing ever: when hubbie takes both of the kids to swim lessons and doesn't make you come with.

I'm up to 3.2k words for the week already! And that was just between Monday and Wednesday.

It's one of those things where he's purposely letting me have some writing time, so if I didn't write I'd feel as guilty as snot - lol. Which means I may be writing most of the day on Sunday because he may be taking both kids with him to a water park (he may not take the toddler, though - still up in the air).

So, this is making up a little bit for a few unproductive weeks. Though A Very Grinka Christmas is quickly changing from a short story to a novelette. 6.6k in already and I have at least 3 more scenes (minimum), one of them being a huge one. Plus I just gave Grinka a tree nymph to crush on. This has been a blast to write.


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## Sarah Shaw (Feb 14, 2015)

Diving in at this late date because I seriously need motivation and I'm away from my usual motivators- coworking space, writing groups etc. and I've set a deadline with my editor for July 19th! Yikes! I'm more than 2/3 of the way through a 140,000 word novel, but while I have most of the rest written, it needs a lot of rewriting- and then I still want to go over it all for language and accuracy (it's a historical novel) one last time. Got sidetracked and didn't write for two days. Today I've set the pomodoro and cranked out one 25 minute session. My goal is at least 4 every day. 

That said... taking a deep breath and diving in for another...


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## matt5ki (Jun 8, 2016)

I wrote more of my novel last night, The Fantastical Gregory Shortbread.

While it's now onto its second draft, I am so slow at writing it. I know I need to write more and I managed to maybe add another 300/400 words last night. If I can just get to the end of the 2nd draft I can go back to the start and make the 3rd round of edits.

Probably sounds like I'm doing this fast but I started it over a year ago and had the idea 2 years before that.


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## Sarah Shaw (Feb 14, 2015)

TeiranSmith said:


> If I can't connect with a story or the characters, I can't write. I'm very character driven in my writing, so if the characters aren't "speaking to me" it's impossible for me to write. Call me crazy, but when I write, it's almost as though it's the characters telling the story and I'm just the vessel putting it on paper, or rather onto the screen.


Yep. This is me. For that reason the idea of being able to outline a novel before you've even started writing it just sounds like something off an alien planet to me. Does.Not.Compute.


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

Gisele_1169 said:


> That's great, Jessie! I hope it's going well.


Thank you, it has been! I got a total of 2,600 words yesterday, which is the most I've written in a single day in a looong time. And it felt really good.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

jessie520 said:


> Thank you, it has been! I got a total of 2,600 words yesterday, which is the most I've written in a single day in a looong time. And it felt really good.


That's FANTASTIC, Jessie! Way to go!!! Woot!


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## K&#039;Sennia Visitor (Jan 14, 2014)

I did this for my FB status, but I'll add it here, too, since I don't have a lot of FB friends who are writers. 

  So I am a short story writer and I'm okay with that. A very sloooooow short story writer. *teehee* But I'm working on that. I have published 8 books since Aug, 2013 - all short, 4 non-fic, 5 short stories. My publishing schedule has been 2 books, 2013, 3 books, 2014; 2 books 2015; and so far 1 book in 2016.

If I publish just 2 more stories, this year, I will make my first goal, which is "do better in 2016 than I have in 2013,14, and 15." My next goal will be 1 short story a month, then after that, one short story a week, then finally my ultimate goal, one short story a day. By the time I reach this goal I shall be totally self-sufficient and living on my own. Or if the money doesn't come, I will at least be very productive and be able to impress people with how prolific I am. "giggles"

I put so much pressure on myself to write, but when I'm in the zone it's really fun. I need to get back to fun!


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

Mwahahaaargh! My most recent was about a lesbian. One of my best mates from school is gay and she said she wished there were more books where there were gay characters that were gay incidentally in the way other characters were short or tall or had brown or blonde hair, so I did that. 

Sorry it's been ages since I posted on here! Yesterday,  I was reading back this year's output so far, about 20k, and was delighted and surprised to find it wasn't as pants as I feared. Now I just have to figure what happens next. Onwards and upwards.

Also wanted to share this. A few months ago I was saying, glumly, that I'd only written three words that day and my mate said, 'that's three words that weren't there yesterday.' Which could be a good motto for writers like us!

I so agree that comparing ourselves to faster writers is a sure fire path to misery. I think it's best to not think about how far there is to go, only what I've done and what happens next. That way I don't get depressed by the amount I have to do and finishing almost comes as a surprise! 

Cheers

MTM


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## matt5ki (Jun 8, 2016)

Managed to do a good chunk of my novel over the weekend. Having to pick chapters apart but got through some tricky ones. They're not perfect, that can be done on the third draft. For now I've managed to make it make more sense but I will have time to think on how to get it right on the next draft. Not quite got the idea yet, but there's time, I'm aiming for a 2017 release so I have a lot of time to make sure I get the chapters I finished this weekend working properly


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Great updates!

Queen_of_Shorts - Good luck on your goals. You're doing great!

MT McGuire - That's fantastic on the 20k so far! Woot! And yes, the only writer you should be comparing yourself to is the one you were yesterday.  

matt5ki - Good luck with your novel and its 2017 release! 

My update: Last week, I worked on my novel every day from Monday to Friday, and averaged 2 writing sessions of 20 minutes each day! That's fantastic for me because I very rarely am able to focus for more than 3 or 4 days a week. And, I also worked on it yesterday and today, so that means I only missed one day out of the last 8! 

The going is slow (editing), but I don't care, it's the consistency I'm aiming for, so I'm super happy with my progress.  

Wishing everyone a productive week!


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

Woot! Go us. Clearly we are all creeping forward. Seconded, too, here's to a productive week folks!

Cheers

MTM


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Last week was a fantastic week. I wrote almost 5k on A Very Grinka Christmas.

This week has started out not so great. It's swim lessons right now, and hubbie took them again, but I have no energy at all to write.

Been trying to market my release today (which has come in at zero sales or reads so far - blah), but the toddler has been determined to make life miserable. It took her over an hour to fall asleep for her nap. Then after her nap, she pretty much refused to eat lunch in a timely manner (chewing on the patty of a hamburger for at least 45 minutes).

I just want to crawl in bed because I don't even have the energy to market my story anymore. I am seriously thinking marketing on anything is going to have to be put on hold until the toddler is in school. Which sucks because I still have a release per month July through October, then a release end of November, and that's just this year. Oh, yeah, and a free run scheduled for the end of the month.

The toddler makes it so I can't think straight. I keep screwing up on everything I'm doing, so it takes me twice as long to do it!


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

AlexaGrave said:


> Last week was a fantastic week. I wrote almost 5k on A Very Grinka Christmas.
> 
> This week has started out not so great. It's swim lessons right now, and hubbie took them again, but I have no energy at all to write.
> 
> ...


My lad is now 8 years old but the twilight zone between the ages of one and three is still very fresh in my mind! Having my son about the place is still like having your brain stirred constantly with a huge wooden spoon but it's getting easier to live a normal life with the brain damage. We all feel like that sometimes. For what it's worth I find it best to step away from the book for a week or two but then I burn out quite easily. Sympathy, empathy etc from casa McGuire, anyway.


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## MarcusPeterson (Jun 8, 2012)

This thread was designed for me!  I've been working on my first book (a novella, the first in a series of five) for about 5 years.  I've been editing it since September.  I'm a slow writer, and I sometimes take months between working on it.  Sometimes I get distracted by other things (book 2 is about 50% written and book 3 is in process, along with the first page of about 10 other stories), sometimes work is just too busy to focus on anything else, but mostly it is just lack of dedication. Maybe this thread can inspire all of us to get off our asses and get our writing done!


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

AlexaGrave said:


> Last week was a fantastic week. I wrote almost 5k on A Very Grinka Christmas.
> 
> This week has started out not so great. It's swim lessons right now, and hubbie took them again, but I have no energy at all to write.
> 
> ...


I hear you. I have a toddler. 2 words: teething molars. Ugh.

I am moving at a snail's place on my wip. So sleep deprived these last few days that if he wakes more than once tonight I'm going to ban myself from driving the car tomorrow. So yeah, no writing.

BUT. I posed a question on my own Facebook feed this evening asking for expert opinions on a scenario that arises in my wip (what the process is for an older person with an injury to be released home from hospital etc), and got lots and lots of helpful feedback, including 3 health professionals offering to phone and talk to make sure I got it right! Including a senior geriatric specialist doctor whom I used to flat with back when we were students.

So that was pretty cool.

Sent from my GT-S7390 using Tapatalk


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## ElvenSteele (Jun 14, 2016)

Hi all, newbie here.
I'm finding that the more free time I have to write, the less l get done. Give me a couple of hours to write, and I go like the clappers. Give me a full day, and I'll spend it nit-picking every other word. Does anyone else have that problem?


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

M T McGuire said:


> My lad is now 8 years old but the twilight zone between the ages of one and three is still very fresh in my mind! Having my son about the place is still like having your brain stirred constantly with a huge wooden spoon but it's getting easier to live a normal life with the brain damage. We all feel like that sometimes. For what it's worth I find it best to step away from the book for a week or two but then I burn out quite easily. Sympathy, empathy etc from casa McGuire, anyway.


Thanks! My youngest's antics will forever remind me why I never want a third child. My eldest was bad, but never quite this bad (unless I purposely gave myself amnesia) - she's 8 now, too! And yes, the brain scrambling with kids is crazy! I really do hope I can eventually put the pieces back together because trying to complete a thought in my head right now is few and far between.

Today, no progress again. Once the toddler napped, I had to get other stuff done (since we went to the park in the morning). And then she had an hour long tantrum after she woke up from the nap. She's upping her game on me. I need to come up with better countermeasures.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave said:


> Been trying to market my release today (which has come in at zero sales or reads so far - blah), but the toddler has been determined to make life miserable. It took her over an hour to fall asleep for her nap. Then after her nap, she pretty much refused to eat lunch in a timely manner (chewing on the patty of a hamburger for at least 45 minutes).
> 
> I just want to crawl in bed because I don't even have the energy to market my story anymore.
> 
> The toddler makes it so I can't think straight. I keep screwing up on everything I'm doing, so it takes me twice as long to do it!


So sorry about this, Alexa. I see parents with young kids and get tired just watching them.  I only have one son (he's 17) and he finished school this week, and is graduating next week.  I know how tiring it is when they're so small, but it really does go by in the blink of eye. I remember my son's first day of kindergarten like it was yesterday. Now, he's finished school, has a girlfriend, his own car, working part time, going to college next fall...it all went by so fast.

Anyhow, I hope things are going a little better for you. Hope sales and reads have started trickling in. Good luck!



MarcusPeterson said:


> This thread was designed for me! I've been working on my first book (a novella, the first in a series of five) for about 5 years. I've been editing it since September. I'm a slow writer, and I sometimes take months between working on it. Sometimes I get distracted by other things (book 2 is about 50% written and book 3 is in process, along with the first page of about 10 other stories), sometimes work is just too busy to focus on anything else, but mostly it is just lack of dedication. Maybe this thread can inspire all of us to get off our asses and get our writing done!


Glad you found us over here, Marcus! Good luck with your books and I look forward to reading more of your updates! 



David E Steele said:


> Hi all, newbie here.
> I'm finding that the more free time I have to write, the less l get done. Give me a couple of hours to write, and I go like the clappers. Give me a full day, and I'll spend it nit-picking every other word. Does anyone else have that problem?


Hi, David!

I've heard a few people talk about this, not here specifically, but on podcasts. There's a term they coined for it but I can't remember for the life of me what it was -- something about how the amount of work adjusts to the amount of time you have to do it. I have a hard time focusing if I know I have too many hours in front of me. Although, it's not quite the same thing that you've mentioned. I just can't seem to get in gear until all the cleaning and other things on my to-do list are crossed off. I only seem to be able to sit down around 3 in the afternoons, even though I'm home all day. If I sit down too early, I'll get up a hundred times for various reasons.

Sometimes I'd love to have an office outside the home to limit distractions. Ah, well, c'est la vie, I guess. 

My update: I've been keeping my slow but steady pace, putting in two to three sessions (20 minutes) a day since Sunday. Yay! Still in editing mode so no word count tallies, but it's still progress. Also found out yesterday that a poem I entered in a contest won an honourable mention! Very happy about that. 

Anyhow, hope everyone is having a splendid week and hope you all have a great weekend!


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## JE_Owen (Feb 22, 2015)

Finally coming to this thread. My name is Jess and I am a slow writer.  

I'm proud to have been putting out a book a year for the last four years, and while I'd like to write faster and work on multiple series and, y'know, maybe quit the day jobs that are impeding the writing . . . it might have to wait until I figure out a better schedule.  

Mostly I just wanted to drop in and cheer on my fellow slow-burners. Every word counts!


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

David E Steele said:


> Hi all, newbie here.
> I'm finding that the more free time I have to write, the less l get done. Give me a couple of hours to write, and I go like the clappers. Give me a full day, and I'll spend it nit-picking every other word. Does anyone else have that problem?


Something similar. I find it very hard to get into the groove when I have a day off. I seem to do much better writing just for an hour or so in the evening - or even in tea breaks at work. Don't beat yourself up over it - take your time and enjoy the journey.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

JE_Owen said:


> Finally coming to this thread. My name is Jess and I am a slow writer.
> 
> I'm proud to have been putting out a book a year for the last four years, and while I'd like to write faster and work on multiple series and, y'know, maybe quit the day jobs that are impeding the writing . . . it might have to wait until I figure out a better schedule.
> 
> Mostly I just wanted to drop in and cheer on my fellow slow-burners. Every word counts!


Welcome, Jess!

That's wonderful on your books and being able to put one out a year. Sometimes I feel like I'll never get to the point that I'll even have one ready to publish, so my hat's off to you! Looking forward to reading more of your updates!


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## alawston (Jun 3, 2012)

I am a slow writer by nature. I agonise about things for weeks and months before putting pen to paper (and I _do_ still write a good chunk of my first drafts with pen and paper, that's how slow I am). I bumble through first drafts in fits and starts, putting aside my writing for days, even weeks at a time, due to various other demands on my time.

And then, hours before a deadline, something in me just kicks back and pours stuff out. I don't know how this keeps working for me, and I don't want to dig too deeply in case it stops. I wrote a 10K short story in March and April. I'd ground out 3,500 words throughout those two months, then somehow got down 7,000 on the last day of April, hours before the cut-off for an anthology. I don't even know how I managed that - throughout the day and the evening if you'd asked me how I was getting on, chances are I'd still just be glowering at the notepad or the laptop screen moodily.

And now I've got to do it again. I've got to write a 5,000 word short story before the end of June. I've got a little time at the weekend, and I booked one and a half days off work next week to devote to it. But... 5,000 words. I know we're writing on a board where there's a guy selling a book that claims you can write that much in an _hour_, but... it's going to take me more than one hour.

The real killer is, well, you know that perfectionist streak many of us have that kills our speed with procrastination and endless revision and second-guessing? Mine is getting a huge fuel injection from the point that I'm working on a highly prestigious project and I absolutely _have_ to put forward the very greatest story I can possibly write. It's like feeling the pressure to follow up on a bestseller... when you haven't in fact ever written a bestseller.

So yeah. Hi.


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## Ted Cross (Aug 30, 2012)

I began this new novel about two years ago now. I'm nearly happy with the first chapter and ready to start on the second.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

I wrote another scene today. I'm trying something new. This week, instead of writing with a word count goal in mind, I'm just sitting down with the intention of writing a complete scene - or as much of the scene as will come to me, if it's a long ish one. 

So far I'm much happier with the quality of work I'm producing. I guess my brain is focussing more on the scene itself and how it all works together, rather than producing make-work to satisfy an arbitrary master. Which works for me.

Oddly (and happily), the scenes are shaping up to be over 1000 words each anyway, which had been my arbitrary session goal.


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## Kyra Gregory (Aug 9, 2013)

^ Sounds like a good tactic to work by! 

For me, this month is turning out to be the slowest of the slow months for me. What I thought would be a month of possibilities due to finishing work slightly earlier has been a month filled with events related to work or being sick (as far as being hospitalised!) because of work. 

So far, my month when it comes to writing has been like this;

3rd - 967 words
4th - 1,709 words
5th - 2,623 words
7th - 1,550 words
13th - 404 words
16th - 787 words

Total so far: 8,040 

I know that seems like a lot to some people but for me, knowing what I used to be capable of (sometimes as much as 3,500 useable words a day), it just isn't. I'm hoping I'll pick up a little bit during the rest of the month or, at the very least, hope that July will be better.


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

alawston said:


> I am a slow writer by nature. I agonise about things for weeks and months before putting pen to paper....
> ....The real killer is, well, you know that perfectionist streak many of us have that kills our speed with procrastination and endless revision and second-guessing?


That's me. I just can't leave sentences alone. I fiddle and fuss until I sometimes forget what I was trying to say. 
An artist friend of mine once told me that it's all too easy to fiddle around with a painting to the point that it never gets finished. Sooner or later you need to step back and say, "Hey, we're done." 
Over the weekend I wrote 1200 words. I pretty much knew what I wanted to say so there wasn't much thinking time involved, but in all it took about five or six hours. As usual, a good deal of that was second guessing.

Just wondering, but how long does it take my fellow slow writers to knock out about five hundred words?


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## matt5ki (Jun 8, 2016)

Working through the 2nd draft of my novel I managed to do lots of work on 2 chapters, wading through lots of overwritten stuff as well as adding bits after making amendments to some things earlier in the book. Envisage at least 2 more drafts before it's remotely publishable but I'm feeling accomplished this weekend!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Great updates everyone, and welcome newbies! I didn't get much done this weekend. Just too much stuff going on -- getting ready for our son's graduation, and working on the patio. Most of it is completed, thank goodness. Now, all that's left is a few finishing touches and staining. This has turned out to be the never ending project from hell, but it looks so good compared to what it was before. Hopefully it will help to bring in an offer on the house. Things have been horribly slow on that end -- we haven't had a visit in like 3 weeks... 

Next weekend is prom and graduation, and then we're away for a week, so I doubt I'll be able to focus on much of anything. Another couple weeks and things should be getting back to normal.



TheLemontree said:


> I wrote another scene today. I'm trying something new. This week, instead of writing with a word count goal in mind, I'm just sitting down with the intention of writing a complete scene - or as much of the scene as will come to me, if it's a long ish one.
> 
> So far I'm much happier with the quality of work I'm producing. I guess my brain is focussing more on the scene itself and how it all works together, rather than producing make-work to satisfy an arbitrary master. Which works for me.
> 
> Oddly (and happily), the scenes are shaping up to be over 1000 words each anyway, which had been my arbitrary session goal.


Glad it's working out for you! I can't write with word count goals. The only way I get anything done is to aim for timed sessions.



L.J.Simpson said:


> Just wondering, but how long does it take my fellow slow writers to knock out about five hundred words?


On average, for me, that can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

Wishing everyone a great and productive week!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Hey, everyone!

My goodness, this place has been quiet. I just wanted to pop in to see how everyone's doing. No writing at all on my end. First it was my son's graduation, then we were off to New York for a week, got an offer on the house while we were away, accepted it, and now we're busy picking cabinets and stuff for the new townhouse and packing. 

Our closing is on July 28th, so I doubt I'll be getting much writing before we're all settled-in again. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!


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## Sarah Shaw (Feb 14, 2015)

Knowing that I always work well with deadlines, I booked a developmental edit back in May for later this month. Considering how much work the book still needs I'm thinking that might have been a mistake... 
It _has_ at least got me writing every day, though. I've been using the pomodoro method (basically, setting a timer for 25 minutes and then a 5 minute break). Word count goals work well for me on first drafts, but this is editing and I find it's best to use some kind of timing method to try and keep myself in the manuscript- instead of off chasing historical details on the internet- which can too often turn into tangents.
Sympathies especially to those who have free time and can't seem to use it. I know that one well. In addition to the pomodoro sessions I've worked out a whole bevy of tricks over the years to keep me working. The best ones all involve some kind of social or financial pressure: I rent space at a coworking space, which surrounds me with a bunch of other people who are all working pretty diligently on their own projects. That gives me both a guilty sense that I ought to be working too, and also makes me feel I have to justify the expenditure by producing something. I'm in several critique groups, too, and don't want to let them down by not producing anything. 
Anyway... *waves to everyone* 
Back to work.


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## matt5ki (Jun 8, 2016)

I'm usually slow, but I started the 3rd draft of my novel on Saturday and managed to work through 8 chapters. 3 chapters were fine, just little tweaks, but some need major surgery. Happy with how much I managed to get done this weekend while still being able to get some rest in


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## Michael Alan Peck (May 8, 2013)

Having moved past the outline phase (and I do a lot of outlining), I'm now in head-down word-count mode, which is going pretty well. My goal is 1500 words on Saturdays and Sundays, and I've hit or beat that for a while now. A 4,000-word weekend ending yesterday brought me close to 60,000 works for the current WIP. The problem is that this thing's going so long, I'm going to have to get it where I want it, chop it in half, and release it as two books, I think. Not a big problem, but one that's new to me.

We shall see. So long as things are moving, albeit moving slowly, I'm happy.

Well, happier.


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> ...
> My goodness, this place has been quiet. I just wanted to pop in to see how everyone's doing. No writing at all on my end. First it was my son's graduation, then we were off to New York for a week, got an offer on the house while we were away, accepted it, and now we're busy picking cabinets and stuff for the new townhouse and packing.
> 
> Our closing is on July 28th, so I doubt I'll be getting much writing before we're all settled-in again.
> ...


Life happens, and at least it sounds like it's good things. Congrats on the offer! You've been so stressed about selling for so long that it has to be an enormous relief to have that out of the way.



Michael Alan Peck said:


> ...
> So long as things are moving, albeit moving slowly, I'm happy.
> 
> Well, happier.


That's how I feel about it too.

I was doing OK, averaging about 500 - 1500 words a day on my WIP, _Human_, but then my kid got sick... and I got sick. Still trying to shake this stupid cold. Now I'm just hoping that anything I've writing while on cold meds is not pure dreck. A few sections are suspect already and I suspect will get cut once I get through the first draft. I also just got back my editor's comments on another book, so have to spend some time editing that too.

Best of luck to everyone, and stick to it!


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## jessie520 (Jul 26, 2015)

There's been construction right out front of my house and down the street, plus a summer camp going on in the soccer fields behind the house, so all of the noise has not been helping. Today I couldn't take it anymore so I walked up to the library (which is literally on the end of my street) and sat in the air conditioning for about 2 hours. And got just under 750 words. I've found my new favorite writing spot. I don't know why I haven't gone there sooner!


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## JE_Owen (Feb 22, 2015)

David E Steele said:


> Hi all, newbie here.
> I'm finding that the more free time I have to write, the less l get done. Give me a couple of hours to write, and I go like the clappers. Give me a full day, and I'll spend it nit-picking every other word. Does anyone else have that problem?


Yep! When I have two hours or less in the morning I get my best work done, because timeframe is limited and it's what I _want_ to be doing. When I have all day I have a little more trouble avoiding distractions. Doesn't bode well for full-time writing does it?  I try to write in the morning when I'm fresh and, if I have the afternoon free, do the PR and "business" stuff then. The important work is already done.

Ugh, though, we are moving right and progress on my latest WIP has ground to a halt. Trying to keep the Idea Tank churning on my morning walks with the dog though . . . Here's wishing many words to all!


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

I have been pretty buried in other life stuff. I'm also getting burned out on everything that goes behind a monthly release (even if they're just short stories, they all still need covers, blurbs, editing, and banging my drums to convince people to buy them).

I am not going to make myself a set schedule after A Very Grinka Christmas comes out at the end of November. Nope! No more once a month for me.  

Anyway, writing has been slow. Kind of non-existent. Took last week off completely, pretty much. Revised a story this week, though. Next week I have to get started on the rough draft of the second novel in my trilogy. I'm so nervous since it's been so long since I've written the first. Eek!

OK, back to obscurity and trying to not get sucked into reading ALL the Kboards thread.


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## matt5ki (Jun 8, 2016)

I'm trying to plough through the 3rd draft of my novel. I'm bashing out the dents in the story where it isn't working, but that's causing more issues. It's going to take a lot of work and the tougher chapters are giving me nightmares to the extent I keep walking away from it and tackling it in small bites.


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## matt5ki (Jun 8, 2016)

Writing has ground to a halt over the weekend, though I did a little bit on Thursday evening. At a point in my novel where I have needed to add a lot so make later events better.

It's not right but I can't think of a way to make it better, so for now I'll carry on and then go back and fix it on the next draft. It's slow going.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

kdiem said:


> Life happens, and at least it sounds like it's good things. Congrats on the offer! You've been so stressed about selling for so long that it has to be an enormous relief to have that out of the way.


Thanks Karen, and unfortunately, the offer fell through.  The lady freaked out during the inspection (think there was something going on with her and her hubby). So basically, one night we find out that the inspection went off without a hitch, and next morning we find out the buyers are backing out. And now, we risk losing the deposit we put on our townhouse.

We also had to return sinks, fawcets, lightbulbs...not fun, not fun at all.  Honestly, at this point, I'm starting to think the Universe is telling us to stay put for a while longer.

I managed to edit a few scenes over the last few weeks, but that's about it. My head's just not in it.

Anyhow, I hope everyone else is having better luck with the writing than me.


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Thanks Karen, and unfortunately, the offer fell through.  The lady freaked out during the inspection (think there was something going on with her and her hubby). So basically, one night we find out that the inspection went off without a hitch, and next morning we find out the buyers are backing out. And now, we risk losing the deposit we put on our townhouse.
> 
> We also had to return sinks, fawcets, lightbulbs...not fun, not fun at all.  Honestly, at this point, I'm starting to think the Universe is telling us to stay put for a while longer.


That really sucks. On the bright side, you've gone through one inspection so you can relax a little whenever you get another offer if you go forward trying to sell. Less anxiety about major repairs that way.



Gisele_1169 said:


> I managed to edit a few scenes over the last few weeks, but that's about it. My head's just not in it.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope everyone else is having better luck with the writing than me.


Not me. Just as I started getting over a nasty cold, one of my siblings died. So, yeah. Have had trouble writing. Struggled writing a brief eulogy. Finally starting to put a few words down again on my book 2 and a short story again.

I did manage to send back a round of edits for a second pass to my editor, so got something done once the initial shock wore off.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

kdiem said:


> That really sucks. On the bright side, you've gone through one inspection so you can relax a little whenever you get another offer if you go forward trying to sell. Less anxiety about major repairs that way.
> 
> Not me. Just as I started getting over a nasty cold, one of my siblings died. So, yeah. Have had trouble writing. Struggled writing a brief eulogy. Finally starting to put a few words down again on my book 2 and a short story again.
> 
> I did manage to send back a round of edits for a second pass to my editor, so got something done once the initial shock wore off.


Oh, Karen, I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. How awful...sending love and light to you during this difficult time.

Oh, and yes, on the inspection, at least we won't have to worry about it the next time around. I have to say, it all feels rather trivial in comparison to what you're going through right now. Hang in there. {{{hugs}}}


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Oh, Karen, I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. How awful...sending love and light to you during this difficult time.
> 
> Oh, and yes, on the inspection, at least we won't have to worry about it the next time around. I have to say, it all feels rather trivial in comparison to what you're going through right now. Hang in there. {{{hugs}}}


Thank you. July was an awful month, and your well-wishes are appreciated. Life continues, and as I start to write again, that helps.

A problem never feels trivial when you're in the middle of it, and it sounds like your house sale/move has been a thoroughly frustrating affair. Best of wishes.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

kdiem said:


> Thank you. July was an awful month, and your well-wishes are appreciated. Life continues, and as I start to write again, that helps.
> 
> A problem never feels trivial when you're in the middle of it, and it sounds like your house sale/move has been a thoroughly frustrating affair. Best of wishes.


Thanks, Karen. August hasn't been the greatest up to now. My husband's last grandparent passed away last week, and then yesterday I found out that a lady I greatly admired (I learned most of what I know about haiku from her) passed away. We had lost touch but I had reconnected (online) with her a couple months ago. I am so grateful for that. She had fibromyalgia and couldn't handle the pain anymore. She ended up taking her own life. I'm still in a bit of shock about it -- it's just so tragic and sad. 

Anyhow, let's hope the rest of August is a little happier. The one good thing so far this month is I got a new iPhone -- my last one was just useless. I was constantly having to remove apps and music to have room to take pictures (it was a 5C and I only had 5GB of storage and a big portion of it was being used by the IOS software itself). Anyhow, I now have a 6S and 16GB. Plus the screen is about a third bigger. What a difference! 

I'm working on my morning pages with the 750words.com website. I'm liking it so far. Hoping it will ease me back into things.

On the house, no movement. We're thinking of lowering our asking price again. Think it's the only way we'll get nibbles at this point. The market is just so saturated right now, unfortunately. Ah well, I'm resigned to whatever happens at this point.

Anyhow, hope everyone is having a productive week so far!


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## JE_Owen (Feb 22, 2015)

sstroble said:


> Progress!
> 
> An hour before the back and forth and back and forth started, had joked with my wife: "I need to have a Minion with an exploding head that I can use for my photo on my Facebook author page. I can include a caption of 'This is what happens when a writer cannot get the ideas written down fast enough.'"


This... I was just telling someone that one of my motivations for wanting to write faster was that I have so many ideas! From a career standpoint I'd love to "quit the day job" but...eh, it also gets me out of the house and makes the writing time more precious. There are just so many books clamoring to be written.

My writing update: Nothing written. Ugh. I did get invited to participate in a neat project ( can't say more  )so I need to work on that because the deadline is coming up. Work schedule has been in constant flux and I'm helping a friend house hunt. AND we're still moving in to our new house, with lots of projects to get it ready for winter. But those problems seem trivial when I see a few people here in the thread have had deaths in the family--that is so difficult, and draining in every way. I wish you all well.

The silver lining: Since my brain is haywire, I've been using spare time to actually . . . read more books. And that has been super inspiring, so I'm chomping at the bit to sit down and work. Filling the well, as Ray Bradbury put it.

Good luck all!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Okay, I think it's time to clear the cobwebs in here.  How is everyone doing? So glad to see fall settling in. My son just started college this week and I'm slowly trying to settle-in to a routine. I have my chapter book out to my writing coach for an edit, and I also have a short story out for a critique with someone I discovered through the forum here. 

Also just started a short story today -- got 168 words! Woo Hooo! LOL! You gotta start somewhere right?  

Other than that, our house is still on the market, although we have a couple that is VERY interested. If they can sell their house I'm feeling pretty confident that we'll get an offer. And, we've got an open house scheduled for either this weekend or the next. Our realtor says fall is their busiest time, so fingers crossed! 

Looking forward to hearing how everyone is doing! Happy September!!!!


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

My recent non-fic book has finally cleared out of my head now that the 30day drop off has happened and I have stopped obsessively checking the dashboard.

So today I was ready to work some more on my cosy mystery.  1200 words  

I'd been stuck at the 20k limit for a while and I decided to take some advice I've seen here on the boards and write the climax scene, so I know where I'm headed. Excellent advice. I now know more about my villain and his motivation, and have got a better sense of the character arc of my mc.

I also googled roofies, and spent time on google maps looking for places to stash a kidnapping victim near my location.  And brain-stormed puns that might be useful for titles.

Of course, what I *should* be doing is working on a third non-fic book so I've got a nice set of three, but apparently my brain needs to change gear for a while.


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

I've recently had a few surges ahead with two 7k-ish word chunks. It was exhilarating to get that far ahead on a manuscript that I've been working on for 5 years (gag!). But I've been productive recently and I guess I'm posting here about it because I'm a millennial that needs instant gratification.  Hopefully I can keep up at least a third of this pace, if not more.


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## Joseph Malik (Jul 12, 2016)

1700 words today, but I don't know if it counts because I completely rewrote a scene and then copy-pasted it over the old one.

For the past few weeks I've been going back through my conlang as the Faerie become more involved in the second book. Back when I was writing their language I came up with words for a lot of really cool ideas that we don't have words for. For instance, they have a word for the increased value something has as a memory over the value it had in your life at the time, with variants for whether the value is a lesson learned, a treasured memory that you revisit, or whether you're just better off without it. Three words for one concept that we don't have a word for at all. But then, when you live for a thousand years, you spend a lot of time in your memory.

I wish I'd laid the language bible out better. It has been a slog going through it. It's amazing, though; it's been 20 years and I can still read it pretty well. And of course I took the better part of a day to import the orthography into a TTF last week. But now I can type in Elvish, so that's something. Right? 

Right?


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

Joseph Malik said:


> And of course I took the better part of a day to import the orthography into a TTF last week. But now I can type in Elvish, so that's something. Right?
> 
> Right?


Making your own fonts is entirely awesome.  My book cover artist made her own font in her handwriting for my author name just because I liked the one she wrote in as a placeholder. Before my computer died, I could type in various runes, although I didn't create them, it was still fun to do.

I'm about to get to work on writing for the day. I've been slacking, so I have a loftier goal today. Yikes. :x


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Nice going on the progress, everyone! And, Joseph, creating your own fonts - wow, colour me impressed! That is so cool!


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

Congrats on the progress everyone. I've been creeping forward with my project again. I'm not 100% enthused though. But I'm not sure if that's because there are a few factors in my life that are making it difficult to be enthused about anything right now or whether it's because it's not funny enough. It's a bit edgier than my other books. At the same time I'm just sort of plugging on with it thinking yeh yeh the magic will happen eventually. But I haven't sat guffawing in my chair at anything I've written so far. Then again that might be me rather than the book. I think it's going to be an interesting story, it's almost as if I can't be bothered to put the jokes in. My life feels like that too at the moment though (doing the Carer thing. Dad with dementia and mum just starting dementia too, lots of NHS red tape, bit depressing).

It's lovely to read how well everyone's doing. So what if we're slow - we're enjoying ourselves.


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

Just finished another chapter at an additional 5,225 words. I'm finally getting into the exciting chapters with all the action in them leading up to the climax, so they're going quite a bit faster than my earlier chapters. My style changed a little bit in writing (since it took me years to get this far) and now I'm worried about quality and second-guessing myself. I guess I'm not used to writing this fast. 

I'm keeping track of my writing on MyWriteClub. I don't necessarily do my sprints there though, since copying and pasting back to Scrivener gives it funky formatting which I have to take time away to fix. I just like the UI and the feeling of being less alone in the world.


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## Peter Spenser (Jan 26, 2012)

I have not read every post so, if I'm repeating something, please pass.

I also am a slow writer, and sometimes deride myself for it, but I took comfort upon reading this:

http://theconversation.com/the-man-with-no-plot-how-i-watched-lee-child-write-a-jack-reacher-novel-51220


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

After four years, I finally completed my first novel.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

LucasCWheeler said:


> After four years, I finally completed my first novel.


Woot!
Congratulations!

Sent from my GT-S7390 using Tapatalk


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

TheLemontree said:


> Woot!
> Congratulations!


Thank you. :3


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

LucasCWheeler said:


> After four years, I finally completed my first novel.


Fine job! Booyacka!


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

M T McGuire said:


> Fine job! Booyacka!


Thank you!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

LucasCWheeler said:


> After four years, I finally completed my first novel.


That is FANTASTIC, Lucas! Congratulations!!!!


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

M T McGuire said:


> Congrats on the progress everyone. I've been creeping forward with my project again. I'm not 100% enthused though. But I'm not sure if that's because there are a few factors in my life that are making it difficult to be enthused ...


No wonder you're unenthused with as rough as things sound for you right now. My sympathies, and best wishes.

If it helps any, I think your blog is hilarious, and I've just gotten a copy of your Few Are Chosen to try?



Peter Spenser said:


> ...
> I also am a slow writer, and sometimes deride myself for it, but I took comfort upon reading this:
> 
> http://theconversation.com/the-man-with-no-plot-how-i-watched-lee-child-write-a-jack-reacher-novel-51220


Thanks for the link! Interesting read, and yes, a bit of a comfort.



LucasCWheeler said:


> After four years, I finally completed my first novel.


Congrats!  Good luck


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## LucasCWheeler (Feb 19, 2015)

kdiem said:


> Congrats!  Good luck





Gisele_1169 said:


> That is FANTASTIC, Lucas! Congratulations!!!!


Thank you both.


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## Peter Spenser (Jan 26, 2012)

Peter Spenser said:


> I also am a slow writer, and sometimes deride myself for it, but I took comfort upon reading this:
> 
> http://theconversation.com/the-man-with-no-plot-how-i-watched-lee-child-write-a-jack-reacher-novel-51220


After I read the article, I went to the library and took out the book that the article is based on, _REACHER SAID NOTHING: Lee Child and the Making of MAKE ME_, by Andy Martin.

It is an eye-opener and should be a comfort to all slow writers. It turns out that Lee Child is a slow-as-molasses pantser! He took seven-and-a-half months to finish _Make Me_, and all he started with was his genre, his predetermined main character, and the basic premiss of each book: main character goes somewhere and has an adventure.

He even readily admits to all of the things that he does not have finalized when he begins the book.

It's a fascinating look inside the mind and working methods of one of today's most successful genre authors.


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

kdiem said:


> No wonder you're unenthused with as rough as things sound for you right now. My sympathies, and best wishes.
> 
> If it helps any, I think your blog is hilarious, and I've just gotten a copy of your Few Are Chosen to try?


Bless you! Thanks so much. Things are a bit shit so I'm glad the blog is going down well. I really enjoy doing it. As for grabbing a copy of Few. Yay! Fistbump! Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy it now!

Love the thing about Lee Child too, as a total pantser, I love that somebody that famous is too. Also Pratchett, took about 2 years to write each book, he just managed to get one out every six months because he would write several at once! ;-)

We are not alone! Mwah ahahargh!


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

Haven't posted on this thread for a while, but well done everyone.
Personally, I've had more time to devote to writing of late and have managed to do in excess of 500 words on each of the last ten days. Let me tell you, this is a LOT faster than normal. Admittedly, I had it all worked out before writing but I was still giving myself a hearty pat on the back. Then I chanced upon that other thread where someone is  blasting out 100K in just one week and I once again feel inadequate, inconsequential, ineffective and insecure.
Luckily, there is an answer to this. It also begins with 'in' and is, of course, inebriated. I've just done my 500 and shall have a couple of cold beers before I retire for the night.
Goodnight to you all


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

L.J.Simpson said:


> Haven't posted on this thread for a while, but well done everyone.
> Personally, I've had more time to devote to writing of late and have managed to do in excess of 500 words on each of the last ten days. Let me tell you, this is a LOT faster than normal. Admittedly, I had it all worked out before writing but I was still giving myself a hearty pat on the back. Then I chanced upon that other thread where someone is blasting out 100K in just one week and I once again feel inadequate, inconsequential, ineffective and insecure.
> Luckily, there is an answer to this. It also begins with 'in' and is, of course, inebriated. I've just done my 500 and shall have a couple of cold beers before I retire for the night.
> Goodnight to you all


Great going. Ignore the spawny 100,000 a week person, in three weeks, when their fingers no longer work, we'll still be typing! ;-)


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

M T McGuire said:


> Great going. Ignore the spawny 100,000 a week person, in three weeks, when their fingers no longer work, we'll still be typing! ;-)


Agreed! The worst thing you can do is compare yourself to other writers. Focus on your own journey. Just because someone writes faster than you, it doesn't mean they are a better writer, or write better stories.

My update:

I'm in a total writing funk. Can't focus AT ALL. Worked on revising a chapter book for a little while, but the last two weeks I haven't done anything regarding my writing...sigh. BUT, we finally got another offer on our house. If all goes well, we could be in our new townhouse by mid-November. This entire situation has been so draining, so I'm hoping if this goes through, it will help me find my focus again. Fingers crossed!


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

Fingers crossed for you. Stress is a real mojo killer.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

M T McGuire said:


> Fingers crossed for you. Stress is a real mojo killer.


Thank you so much! I'm trying not to get too excited until everything with all the houses involved goes through and that all papers are signed. As long as there aren't any unexpected issues, everything should be official and the sold sign up by October 27th.


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Agreed! The worst thing you can do is compare yourself to other writers. Focus on your own journey. Just because someone writes faster than you, it doesn't mean they are a better writer, or write better stories.
> 
> My update:
> 
> I'm in a total writing funk. Can't focus AT ALL. Worked on revising a chapter book for a little while, but the last two weeks I haven't done anything regarding my writing...sigh. BUT, we finally got another offer on our house. If all goes well, we could be in our new townhouse by mid-November. This entire situation has been so draining, so I'm hoping if this goes through, it will help me find my focus again. Fingers crossed!


Of course, you are right about focusing on my own journey - and indeed I do. I'm not far off finishing the collection of shorter works and all being well, I'll publish sometime next month.
Hope the house moving goes through OK. I'll never go through it again, that's for sure - until the move to my final resting place, at any rate. 
Just to cheer you up - and this is a true story - when I was in my late twenties I put my small, one bed apartment up for sale. The market was really depressed at the time but I finally received an acceptable offer from a guy in his sixties. I duly signed the contracts and waited for the call from my solicitor to say that the deal had been completed. Well, I did get a call from my solicitor, to say that the prospective buyer had dropped dead with a heart attack the day before he was due to sign. I ended up living there another few years.
I just hope you have better luck!


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

L.J.Simpson said:


> Of course, you are right about focusing on my own journey - and indeed I do. I'm not far off finishing the collection of shorter works and all being well, I'll publish sometime next month.
> Hope the house moving goes through OK. I'll never go through it again, that's for sure - until the move to my final resting place, at any rate.
> Just to cheer you up - and this is a true story - when I was in my late twenties I put my small, one bed apartment up for sale. The market was really depressed at the time but I finally received an acceptable offer from a guy in his sixties. I duly signed the contracts and waited for the call from my solicitor to say that the deal had been completed. Well, I did get a call from my solicitor, to say that the prospective buyer had dropped dead with a heart attack the day before he was due to sign. I ended up living there another few years.
> I just hope you have better luck!


Good luck with your launch! And that is CRAZY about your apartment and the buyer. Oh my gosh! 

Oh, and on my adventures, well, our hot water tank also decided to let go this morning! AND, the roofers are already here to fix a leak. It is just by some crazy chance that I went down to the basement when I did. Only damage was to an old bed that was propped against a wall. Thank goodness.

At this point, I don't have much sanity left...


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## kdiem (Feb 29, 2016)

Good luck on the house, Gisele_1169! All those repairs mean the house will have less major issues at the next inspection. Must have been a bad couple of weeks for water heaters... we just got ours replaced a few days ago as our old one got uppity and decided we didn't need water any hotter than lukewarm ever.

I'm finally starting to get out of my summer slump. While I've averaged 400 words a night on Book 2 this month, that doesn't count all the stuff I've deleted and rewritten, or the 3000 words put into two short stories. I _meant_ to just make notes on the short story ideas and focus on Book 2, but at least one should be ready to release before Christmas so I can give my newsletter peeps a gift. Not bad for a month that included a four day trip, guests, sickness, and the usual house malarkey.

Any other slow writers tempted by dictation software? I keep wondering if it would make it faster, as my phone voice recognition is lousy. Especially when I use a cheesy accent.


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## L.J.Simpson (Mar 12, 2016)

kdiem said:


> Any other slow writers tempted by dictation software? I keep wondering if it would make it faster, as my phone voice recognition is lousy. Especially when I use a cheesy accent.


I tried voice recognition software in the past - just for e mail and that kind of stuff. Frankly, it didn't work so well for me; there were just to many errors and it drove me crazy going back and fixing them all. In fairness, I should have spent more time training the software, which itself has probably improved since I tried last.
The reason that I probably wouldn't bother using it for writing is that my sentences rarely survive more than a couple of re-reads. I just like to play around with sentences until they sound just the way I want them to. This is another way of saying I don't have a natural flair for writing elegant prose at a whim. I really have to work at it. So, the keyboard for me!


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## N. D. Iverson (Feb 1, 2016)

M T McGuire said:


> Stress is a real mojo killer.


Ain't that the truth?

And colds. I've caught the dreaded cold season sickness and it's thrown a wrench in all the strides I've made over the last 30 days trying to get my 3rd book finished (I WAS lighting a fire under my butt until my body gave up on me ).


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## M T McGuire (Dec 6, 2010)

N. D. Iverson said:


> Ain't that the truth?
> 
> And colds. I've caught the dreaded cold season sickness and it's thrown a wrench in all the strides I've made over the last 30 days trying to get my 3rd book finished (I WAS lighting a fire under my butt until my body gave up on me ).


Mwahahaaaargh! Oh yes and colds! What bastards they ate they stuff up everything! Clearly a head full of snot is incompatible with a head full of plot. my sympathy. I have suffered many, many colds and I loathe them with a passion.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

kdiem said:


> Good luck on the house, Gisele_1169! All those repairs mean the house will have less major issues at the next inspection. Must have been a bad couple of weeks for water heaters... we just got ours replaced a few days ago as our old one got uppity and decided we didn't need water any hotter than lukewarm ever.
> 
> I'm finally starting to get out of my summer slump. While I've averaged 400 words a night on Book 2 this month, that doesn't count all the stuff I've deleted and rewritten, or the 3000 words put into two short stories. I _meant_ to just make notes on the short story ideas and focus on Book 2, but at least one should be ready to release before Christmas so I can give my newsletter peeps a gift. Not bad for a month that included a four day trip, guests, sickness, and the usual house malarkey.
> 
> Any other slow writers tempted by dictation software? I keep wondering if it would make it faster, as my phone voice recognition is lousy. Especially when I use a cheesy accent.


Thanks, Karen! And so sorry to hear about your hot water tank, too! I can't help but think that the super moon was partly to blame there. 

Glad to hear that you're getting back into the flow with the writing. Considering all the business and stuff you've had going on, that's amazing. Good luck with your next release, too!

On the dictation software, I've only dabbled with it a bit. I'm such a slow writer though, that I can't see it being much of a benefit for me, at least not at the moment. I probably will experiment with it again at some point down the line.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

L.J.Simpson said:


> I tried voice recognition software in the past - just for e mail and that kind of stuff. Frankly, it didn't work so well for me; there were just to many errors and it drove me crazy going back and fixing them all. In fairness, I should have spent more time training the software, which itself has probably improved since I tried last.
> The reason that I probably wouldn't bother using it for writing is that my sentences rarely survive more than a couple of re-reads. I just like to play around with sentences until they sound just the way I want them to. This is another way of saying I don't have a natural flair for writing elegant prose at a whim. I really have to work at it. So, the keyboard for me!


Yeah, I get that. I also found it really annoying to have to speak out punctuation. So distracting.


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

N. D. Iverson said:


> Ain't that the truth?
> 
> And colds. I've caught the dreaded cold season sickness and it's thrown a wrench in all the strides I've made over the last 30 days trying to get my 3rd book finished (I WAS lighting a fire under my butt until my body gave up on me ).


I used to get colds all the time. Now, as soon as I feel something coming on, I take echinacea. It's worked wonders. And, even if I still do come down with something, it's usually gone in a couple days. Taking vitamin D during the winter also has helped a lot. But yeah, I sympathize. Getting sick totally sucks. 

I hope you feel better soon!

House Update: We're still waiting. Right now, everything hinges on the sale of a mini-home two houses down the chain (buyers need a co-signer). If that can go through, everyone else involved has been pre-approved on the financial side of things. If their buyer (the mini-home) falls through though, there is still a lot of interest and the realtor said she had no worries about them finding a buyer. The owners still had showings yesterday, even though they already have an offer on the table. This means they really want to sell, which is good!

Nothing on the writing side...sigh


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

Well, you've all been way too quiet. Just wanted to bump this thread up again.  

We've been in our new townhouse since December (and absolutely loving it!) but I'm still in a writing funk.   Now that summer is over and September is here I'm hoping I'll be able to get back into the writing. Currently going through Joanna Penn's How To Write A Novel course and reading Libbie Hawker's book on outlining: Take Off Your Pants. Anyone read this one? I'm finding it very interesting.

Hubby is away this week on business too, so the house will be quiet. Fingers crossed!

How is everyone doing?


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## AlexaGrave (Jun 11, 2015)

Gisele_1169 said:


> Well, you've all been way too quiet. Just wanted to bump this thread up again.
> 
> We've been in our new townhouse since December (and absolutely loving it!) but I'm still in a writing funk.  Now that summer is over and September is here I'm hoping I'll be able to get back into the writing. Currently going through Joanna Penn's How To Write A Novel course and reading Libbie Hawker's book on outlining: Take Off Your Pants. Anyone read this one? I'm finding it very interesting.
> 
> ...


We have gotten quiet! I hope you get some writing done this week with your hubbie away. 

I'm making progress. Finished the rough draft of _Thorns_, the sequel novel for the Trinity Torn series in June. Since then I've drafted, revised, and edited a 16k novelette, the sequel to _Hell Hath No Fury_. Pre-order due up on the 13th and release on the 26th! 

Now I'm getting the hang of Aeon Timeline and re-reading _Mind_ while plugging in events. Then I need to write out my revision plan and dive into revisions for _Thorns_.

So, forward momentum!


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## michisjourdi (Jan 21, 2016)

It's not easy to find time for writing when you're going to school five days a week. And you have to spend most of your off time doing assignments for the aforementioned school. But I managed about 800 words the other day. And it felt good.  

The upside of school is writing seems more fun than doing assignments, so now I'm procrastinating by writing.


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## Pandorra (Aug 22, 2017)

Consequences. I find myself bogged down with them at the moment. I am not only a pantser, I think I am a little bit crazy when it comes to my writing .. i.e. if I forget to set something up for my MC or char's along the way, I make them do without and improvise... this may come from my D&D days but this is where it takes me back to consequence... then my MC has a thing with animals.. so we see a lot of them in the book, but letting them GO once they stroll into a scene .. well lets just say that's not always easy to do, so now I have a baby wolven along I didn't plan for .. that caused several pages of writing I also didn't plan for and a small detour from the main road due to the MC's 'guide' and the wolven not being welcome in public .. now I have to work one into a scene in the town I'm coming to and let the other go do his own thing for awhile, which is even MORE pages I didn't plan on .. and all of that is just the tip of a long iceberg lol .. 


So yea, I wrote 12-15k words in 2 days, after a week of avoidance... but only 1k of it was actually intended..


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## Gisele_1169 (Feb 16, 2016)

AlexaGrave: It sounds like you're making wonderful progress! Woot! Keep it up! 

michisjourdi: 800 words is great! Hang in there. Every word counts!  

Pandorra: I know how you feel -- my stories tend to go all over the place, too. I'm still working on finding the right balance between outlining and pantsing. Fitting it all together becomes absolutely overwhelming. And, 12 - 15k in two days? Wow... 

My update isn't even worth mentioning...honestly, some days I feel like just throwing in the towel on novels. It shouldn't be this hard...


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## writer-artist-mom (Feb 21, 2015)

To everyone: keep writing, slow progress is better than none! And it does add up.

I'm managing about 1100 words/week right now being a stay at home mom of an almost 6 month old. I keep a little paper notebook where I nurse her to get a few words down sometimes, and as she gets older she plays by herself for 15-20 minutes and I can sit next to her while I type on my laptop   I'm not willing to sacrifice any sleep by writing after she's gone to bed lol.


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