This week, after a bit of a hiatus, I got a good 3500 words. Sometimes all Ineed is a bit of momentum. And to remind myself that it’s okay to have a few pages that totally suck. I love when they seem to suck less when I look over them later.
Caroline
It’s time for me to admit that I have become sufficiently derailed. Work, the flu, school…I have a myriad of excuses up my sleeve and yet none of them really hit the heart of it all. I am finding that I have been 100% side tracked by the question: what do you want to say? And if I think I’ve answered that one….then it’s: how do you want to say it?
I keep rolling my half written chunks of articles and short stories over in my head and I feel as though I’ve lost my voice. As though somewhere between beginning and pausing I’ve realized that my voice has shifted, that I’m saying things that I don’t want to say, that I’m using words I don’t want to use.
So what to do now. Just wait it out? Sit around and hope that my voice comes back, or that a new voice shows up? I feel that I’m letting down my part of the bargain on writeagogo. I had grand ideas for what I would get done and planned to post some of it (really! I did plan to!). and now it’s as though I’m sitting in an empty room staring at the wall with a cold cup of coffee in my hand saying “why?”
I have continued to tell myself to “shake it off” over the past few weeks, but now I realize that I think I need to just let this feeling happen and let myself sit in it for a while (like a pig in …). From there maybe something will come.
How’s everyone else doing? It’s hard to hear you all over the deafening scratch of pencils and clicking of keyboards.
Not very much, but I set up a new little writing nook, and it makes me want to sit there writing. And I finished up an article and sent it out just a few minutes ago. The magazine prefers electronic submissions (good on them), and I got back the Auto-Reply Thank You But Don’t Hold Your Breath note, so at least I know it went to the right place.
The last time I sent out a query, I did it hastily, on my way out the door to the destination I wanted to write about. I read the query later, and it had TWO typoes. I have no idea why they accepted my pitch, but I’m glad they did.
I checked this one today about a million times, and I hope everything is spelled right. I’m so glad I did it, though! How ’bout you?
I didn’t pot last week (WordPress and I had a bit of a spat) but I got 3500 words. WooHoo!
And this week……nothing. But it’s only Wednesday, right?
Caroline
If there’s one thing I learned in the Runagogo challenge, it’s that if I truly think I won’t be able to do something, I write about it. On the days that I HAVE to get out there and run or risk dropping too far behind, but I just can’t face it, I can’t put the running clothes on, just can’t do it, then I go write a post about how hard it is to get motivated, and then I immediately go run, no problem.
So I’m hoping that tack will work here. Because yo, I can’t get motivated. It’s my first official week of Writeagogo (yours too? What a coincidence!), and I will just die if I don’t hit my target of three thousand words this week. And so far, on day four, I got nothin’. Yet. Ask me in half and hour.
How ’bout you?
- Rachael
I have a confession. Although I signed up for Write-A-Go-Go with all the best intentions, I’ve only written about 1500 words in the past two weeks, and only 500 of those have been on my NaNoWriMo project, which is the one I’m trying to focus on.
Sigh.
If I may explain a bit… I hit 50,000 words in the last couple of days of November, and coincidentally, during a scene in which one of the main characters of my novel (an urban fantasy) was killed by the villain. I had been planing on killing off this particular character all along, but ended up really liking her, and not wanting to see her die. I know, I know, writers need to be able to kill their darlings. My problem was that I just simply lost interest in the story without her, because of the three main characters, she had become the most sympathetic one. Furthermore, by that point, the story had become a tangled mess, and I felt like I’d just lost my grasp on it all. So I didn’t touch it for several months.
The 500 words I’ve written for Write-A-Go-Go were a re-imagining of that scene, in which she doesn’t die, and while it feels more right, the rest of the story remains tangled and out of my control. But I love this story. I love the world, I think the characters are really interesting and well developed, and I think it’s got a lot of potential buried in it. I don’t want to give it up. I just don’t quite know how to get back into it.
All right. I think writing all this out has actually helped–I’m feeling better about my novel now. I think I’m going to spend some time brainstorming ways to get my characters from here to the end of the novel, create a new outline, and get back on the horse and keep writing.
Working on the final draft of my first story now, and it’s just about done. One more story and I can fill in the dreaded application… It’s only 1500 words, but it’s been through many revisions to get here. And it’s not a steaming pile of poop like I was afraid of.
W00t!
AliHawke
I’ve been taking a hard look at the story I intended to work up into a novel, and I think it’s much better suited for short story form (~ 10,000 words). I have about 12,000 words down already (don’t freak out - most of it was written before I joined Write-A-Go-Go), need about 5,000 more to hit the end of the story, and then I’ll go back and prune between 7,000 and 10,000 words. (This won’t be as difficult as it sounds.)
The numbers geek in me wonders how to adjust the raw word count in the case of revisions. If I cut 3,000 words in the course of a week, should I count that as +3,000 towards my total? How about rewrites, which may result in net same number of words, but they’re better words? Or - terrifying thought - should I task myself with writing three first drafts of 10,000-word short stories for the challenge, then go back and revise them later? (But that’s three whole stories, eek!)
I’m using the “Angst” category for this post in a tongue-in-cheek sense. If I can come out of Write-A-Go-Go with a completed work ready to ship, I’ll count it as a win, in a “spirit of the law” sort of sense. Mostly, I’m wondering if anyone else is in this position.
3 drafts, 1 final draft, two first drafts. And that’s my weekly goal! Dang! this might work.
Well, I’ve been writing on and off ever since I learned how. And it strikes me that the off times have coincided with my life in general sucking - the past few months, for instance. So maybe if I can get back into writing I’ll have some good vibes bouncing around the universe to help me with reversing all the suckage.
Alas, I’m not off to an inspiring start. I’ve scraped together about 1000 words this week. But the first week never really counts, right?
Okay. Well, hello. Rachael here.
Time for a confession. Know how much I wrote last week? When I had a goal of 3,000 words? Yeah, about a thousand.
And this week, so far, is about another thousand. I know I still have two days till the end of the week and can possibly get it done, but there’s a part of me that is saying, START ON APRIL FIRST!
I love real, concrete start dates that make sense. Nice round numbers like the first of something.
Then I could just chalk up these slow weeks to a warming up. The training runs of writing, you might say. I’m just getting back IN to the swing of things. Right?
I am also very aware that it is a cop-out. Therefore I am confessing right here and now that YES, the part of me wanting to start on April first JUST won, and that’s what I’ll be doing. I mean, I’ve been working so hard trying to finish up the 100 mile challenge by April 1st, and I’ll be starting that again, and doesn’t it make sense to start with a bang? On my first anniversary? Yeah!
But I’ll still be writing. Maybe a thousand words next week, as I gear back up. And of course, I can go over that, which I like to tell myself I’ll do.
Is this like saying I’ll start my diet on Monday? Kind of, right? I know it is. But with you to hold me accountable, I’ll dabble my toes right now and jump in with both feet on the first of April. (It’s a get-out-of-jail free card for you, too, iffen you want it….)
But thanks for being here! I’m so excited about this, and I get all happy whenever anyone posts anything…..
Yay!
Rachael.
I’m working on the wrap up of my first short story this week, 1100 words and counting (1500 word limit for my online class). It’s going to need a rewrite, but I’m pleased with it. I need two short stories to apply for the creative writing program at a university near home, and I want them to be really, REALLY, good. I’m terrified they’ll reject me and say “Your stories are lame! You can’t study with us!” Right now I just want the ending written and I’ll make it shiny when I have a brain cell to spare. I think I prefer editing to a blank page waiting to pounce.
There’s also a NaNoWriMo novel to finish editing, but until I get these stories done it’s on the back burner. I like the story but the ending is naff and the middle needs work. The cliche police would probably have a field day with it. A friend in England wants to read it, but only in hard copy, which means a Lulu.com print-on-demand book, and I’m not doing that till it’s decently edited.
AliHawke
Hello, writers.
I’m Liz, a journalist in suspended animation thanks to a crummy chronic illness. Without the daily terror of a newspaper deadline, I think about writing all the time and do none of it. I’m finally feeling physically well enough to be able to try to get back to a bit of writing (at least during that hour or two on most days when my drugs are all doing their job), but how to replace that marvelously organizing deadline? I’m hoping this blog will give me a little structure and get me going.
I’ve started a kids’ book, and that’s what I’m going to work on first. Because my illness limits how long I can type/sit up/think, I’m going to start with a pretty modest goal: 250 words, three times a week.
Here I go.
Liz
yikes - i think the worst part is that i just typed “middle-age”. i was thinking “teenage” but honestly that’s been over for over a decade. and my last birthday was one of those ones where people start saying things like “well. this is it.” and rocking back on their heels….
so - on to the confession… unless some short answers on a statistical theory exam classify as “writing” then i am at the big ol’ NADA for the word count. yup. you heard me. i’ve written nothing. not one word. two days ago i wrote “coffee. contact lens solution. yogurt.” i’m pretty sure grocery lists don’t count. especially because i didn’t actually use the whole word…more like “blk gld. lens sol. yog.” you know? ooo - and today i wrote “general losses” several times while typing up comments for the auditors at work.
but you know what? i’m not worried. i crammed my head so full of knowledge that after my exam (on a friday night! the nerve!), i was so exhausted i just went home, lay on the couch and listened to my boyfriend and his mom chat. then we spent the next two days sightseeing around town and i think i might have knit something… not sure what… i was so completely brain dead i’m surprised i was able to wash my hair.
but now that’s over and i have one week off between courses - what better time to write than now! (ok, well, not NOW exactly because i brought my laptop home from the office and i need to work on a report to get some funding…) but just right as soon as i’m done that i’ll bang out at least a few hundred words tonight before bed. and every night… i think i need to manage my time a little better… i seem to be running out…
- JenC
1. I love reading blogs but feel weird about posting one of my own. I mean, what if people read it?
2. I only re-wrote one poem last week and must do better this week so I am saying so for accountability.
Okay, back at it.
- Nanbo
I’m a little slow on the start here, and actually likely won’t really get going until after April 1st when my one very short term off from my master’s degree is [regrettably] over. My goal is to use Write-a-Go-Go between April 1st and June 1st to help me get some of the chapters written [yeah, my goal is pretty loose, I know]. I’m a student in historic preservation and the thesis is scholarly [or so I hope, I don't want to see it sit on a shelf collecting dust for decades like so many others--but don't we all want something bigger?] It’s all about the federal role in preserving historic downtown structures using Union Station Tacoma, Washington as a big ol’ case study. Add to that a dose of “do new security requirements make it too difficult to rehabilitate and renovate old buildings for uses such as courthouses?” and hopefully it’ll turn into something.
A little more about me. I’m also planning a wedding [June 23, 2007] and am deep in the throes of that, and I’m a graphic/publications designer working in marketing at my university’s student union. I’m in my mid-20’s and just plain tired of being a student, so motivation for writing this thesis has been hard to come by. I’ve got undergrad degrees in architecture and environmental design and with the exception of the 10 week term I just took off, I’ve actively been a student for 21 years [starting in kindergarten]. It seems so ridiculous when I think of it in those terms. At any rate, I’m glad to be joining this crowd!
-The Bon
aw, man. I didn’t get my 3,000 words this week. I managed to churn out 1,313 words, though. Hopefully I can catch up tomorrow after work, though! Time to keep on keeping on!
-Steph F.
Hi everyone!
An introduction: I’m a graduate student (and a knitter and spinner, which is how I found my way here!). Although I do write other stuff, my primary project right now is scholarly non-fiction. I’ve been lurching through a dissertation for a few months now*, trying to stay focused on the process so I don’t lose my mind thinking about the deadline. My goal is to write 500 words a day (with one day off). Writing everyday produces a rhythm that I like–it creates writing as a daily habit, something as necessary as sleeping or breathing. It also reminds me that I actually like doing it, which is easy to forget when I procrastinate and (inevitably) let the anxiety seep in.
I love this! It feels like friendly accountability. I’m happy to be here.
Margaux
*My dissertation is on queer femininity and intimacy in French and American modernist travel writing (I don’t yet have a smart 3-sentence summary). Sometimes I also write here (really, really erratically).
Hello, write-a-go-go-ers! So, I had a little bit of trouble getting signed up…initially my comments weren’t posting. I tried four or five times the other day, to no avail. Today, I see that they have all come through…gulp. So, if you notice multiple, similar comments from jodi of o-town, that was me, and sorry. I am all straightened out now, thanks to the Knitter. (aka Rachael.)
Anyhow, the reason that I am here, the big project that I aim to focus on for these three months, (and no doubt beyond,) is the NaNo novel that I started last november. It’s called, “Clydeen, pants in hand,” and is a semi-auto-bio… memoirish collection of intersecting short stories. (Vague enough for ya?) It was coming along swimmingly, yet somehow, with the end of November, came the end of my being disciplined about writing time. I was waiting for a gentle foot-to-the-butt-cheek, and here it is. Hooray! Making a commitment out loud in blogland to all of you, having a deadline and a word count goal, these things will undoubtedly push me back into the throws of a writer’s inspired, desperate passion. I will be able to do nothing else in my spare time- only write. (Well, maybe exercise, too, but that’s a goal for a different group.) This is my hope, anyway. There is nothing like the rush of feeling the words come out just right, growing into something tangible, something cohesive and complete. Just thinking about it makes me want to skip work today. Knitter, do you have pink slips or something, so that we can get out of work and other annoying obligations, and just write? That would be so kewl.
My goal is 3,000 words per week. Ideally, I will follow Rachael in the 1,000 words, three times a week, but however it happens, 3,000 per week. Starting today, March 15th. Yep.
Best of luck to all of you, as we embark on this fun journey together.
Okay, well I’m going to introduce myself too. Because I’m a lurker and feel strangely shy about posting stuff. However if I don’t write down that I’m doing this then who will police me? Surely not moi. I am a famous procrastinator. Single mom of two but not working and not going to university and not parenting toddlers, unless tightly wound puppy counts. I am a poet and I have to have a manuscript completed by next Feb. I know that sounds like a long way off and I have the shape of the book in my mind but 2/3 of that shape is empty. I want poems to be easy things that just flow off my fingers but I’m afraid it’s all about the rewriting. I too am afraid of fiction and most types of prose but I’d like to overcome that with the idea that I’d like to earn more than a reputation as a writer. Still the possibility of poetry is endless. My goal is to complete another section (first draft) of my book before the end of this time.
ttfn
- Nanbo
