[wwfward]

Welcome back WIPers! I'm wwfward, and I'll be your host for the December/January writer's group. As some of you know, we're going to have a change of format from our regular monthly WIP threads. Instead of a monthly thread, we're changing to a two month format. I think we can keep the monthly goals because that's easier than having a two month goal, but the graph will start over again to coincide with January.

Also, individual WIPers will now be able to update their own progress instead of notifying the host. Simply head on over to Google Docs and update the spreadsheet. Don't forget to tell us here on sffworld how you are doing on your work like we've been doing.

So those seem to be the only major changes. That's not too bad, right?

Ok, the first thing we have to do is start the group. If you want to join, simply post on this thread, and I'll send you a PM for the google gmail address and password. I'll start the FAQ and graphs once we have a good number of people because the graphs can't be up until we have a few names ready to go.

To summarize, here's agenda item 1:

1. Want to join? Post here and state your monthly goal!

2. I'll send you a PM with our unique WIPer gmail and password!

3. Wait for graphs to show up! (but we need people for it to do so!)

I'll start. My monthly goal for December will be 25,000 words.

Frequently Asked Questions:

I got the email and password. What do I do?!

Follow these 4 easy steps:

1. Head to Google Docs website: http://docs.google.com

2. Input our unique gmail address and password.

3. You should see two graphs: the Progress Spreadsheet and the Percent Completion spreadsheet. The Progress Spreadsheet has the word count graph while the Percent Completion has the percent completion rate graph. Click on what you want.

4. Find your name and update!

Wait, I want to join! Is it too late?

No, registration never ends. If you want to join, just post on this thread, and I'll send you the info straight away.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0AlLAspwcdjb2dGRaWnpPVl9lNFZtbE12ZTlGNUkz b1E&oid=1&zx=ew1htxw2degk

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0AlLAspwcdjb2dEdMbU5LUlFwWnJQNWNhSFRRZFJM SXc&oid=2&zx=h0kho2tot2ct

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0AlLAspwcdjb2dFZMcjd2a1Zzd0pFS0I4WTZ1Y2Jt TGc&oid=1&zx=c4xh4xrp8j43

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0AlLAspwcdjb2dGRzcUhqV1dudFRtRjByMXpmcHR0 YkE&oid=2&zx=8fdwptoiye23

[tmso]

Hey wwfward!

I'm in.

1) Finish my NaNoWriMo novel (I got 50k, but not the end of my story). I'm guessing another 20k will get her done.

2) Finish the edits on the 5th draft of my first novel.

wwfward, there's something wrong with the PM system for my account here on SFFWorld.com. I don't think you'll be able to PM me. I'll PM you my email address.

[RedMage]

You can count me in! I've got 2 goals as well.

1) 10,000 words on my next novella
2) Complete the final chapter of my NaNo WIP which I was not able to reach either.

Oh, and my PM's work. ;)

[MLSawyer]

Now that I'm back I'm going to bite the big one. (1) Goal for the two months is finish book 5. Not sure how many more words it will be but we'll try to get it done.

(2) I want to enter in the FF each month.

(3) Get 2 more chapters of book 3 through critters.

[Cirias]

I'm in! Hopefully this will encourage me to get a good amount of writing down on paper (well, screen).

(1) My goal for Dec/Jan will be to complete Part One of my novel, in it's first draft form. No idea how many words it'll be and I'm only two chapters in at the moment. Watch this space to see me failing miserably!

(2) I've decided to write and enter a FF entry every opportunity I get and possibly a Short Story if I can manage it.

[robotosaur]

I'm in too! Three goals, all relatively modest after last month's marathon:

1) Write Oct/Nov/Dec short story.
2) Write Dec. flash piece.
3) Research, outline and plan new novel project.

[BrightStar]

I'm in!

Just one question though, will we be able to change our goals from month to month? For example, this month I'm planning on aiming for 5,000 words but next month (January) I might go for something a bit higher (I figure December is always a busy month, and I'd like to have some time off to recover from November, and will also want to take a break over Christmas, hence a lower goal).

Anyways, to clarify: This month I'm going for 5,000 words.

[wwfward]

Hey everyone, sorry for the late update, but I finally sent all the notifications for the first wave. The graphs are up and running and should be up very soon.

@tmso: Holla! I've also sent you the info via email per your request.

@Cirias, MLSawyer, and robotosaur: Are you guys going to set a word count goal for December? It's ok if you're not going to, but there's a graph up if you're willing.

@ BrightStar: To answer your question, yes the monthly word count goals stay the same. We'll just create new graphs and new goals once January starts.

I think that should be it. Let's get writing!

[tmso]

Not much progress on my end. I needed a break, and that's sort of happening. I'll be traveling next week, so not sure I'll get much done then too, and I just got another side job so I probably won't have time in the middle of the month too. Then there are the holidays. I suspect my December goals will slide on over to January. :(

[BrightStar]

Not much writing from me so far, either. I've decided to take a couple of days off after working myself to death in November. But, I did make myself promise that this break would only last until Monday (5th December), so tomorrow I'll have to get back to work.

Whilst I'm delighted with the amount of words I managed to write last month, I've been left with a bit of a problem: looking over what I've written, there are some glaring plot holes. :( These are the sorts of things that my perfectionist mentality just can't let rest. So, unfortunately 2,600 of the words I wrote in November need to go through some major editing. (At first, I was even afraid I'd lose them all, but careful thought has led me to believe that most of what I have of those 2,600 can be saved---with work.)

Losing so much did leave me feeling rather disheartened. Did it happen because I set myself such a high word count last month? Did I rush my writing? The writing itself is decent enough for a first draft, but I fear that my hurry left me with no time to spot these glaring plot holes. Although I want to smack myself for not noticing them sooner, the truth is that, on some level, I think I DID spot them. I've never been completely satisfied with this chapter; there was always something about it that seemed "off". That bothers me even more than the fact that I now have to delete them. I think I was so hung up on trying to hit my word count (which I would have been able to do even if I'd slowed down a bit) that I wouldn't let myself stop and actually think things through. I just kept plodding on, even though I knew something was up. That makes me feel rather annoyed with myself. In the long term, I've done myself no favors.

Hopefully, my short break will have given me chance to tackle the chapter with renewed enthusiasm. I was beginning to get fed up of looking at the stupid thing, so a few days break was probably a good thing.

That being said, I've a busy day tomorrow. So that break might not end quite when it was meant to. I hope to get some time in anyways, but otherwise, I really should make a double effort to end my break on Tuesday. Otherwise, I fear a long 3 month dry spell coming up. (This would not be good at all.)