2012 Results and 2013 Goals

[RedMage]

No problem Wulfen! I hate killing threads (especially when there are such great things happening in them like in this one!) and I was worried that was what I had done with this one.

Mr. Murdock, I PM'd you with the info of a shared, group google docs account that we had used for a few months before stopping the group last time. The account was made by wwfward (thanks man!) but was purposed for all group members to use to help alleviate the role of the month's host and allow that person to better accomplish their own goal for the month. Take a look around. We copied and pasted the graphs into our old threads so know that if you change numbers, it does change them on the old threads as well. I'm not sure if that's important anymore but, sometimes, it's nice to look back at a period in your writing you were really proud of yourself during. Good for motivation, that sort of thing. The group was always changing so we just kept the info in the PM's and didn't put it in any threads. Thank you to do the same.

On that note, I am not sure of how clear I was, but I would be very supportive of starting up the goal threads again or even doing something similar here on sffworld or at somewhere else. I'd participate and help run it too. I'd just ask for fuller participation from my friends and fellow group members.

[JRMurdock]

I think this motivation thread will be a good thing. I guess I should look through the old threads to see what was done before

[tmso]

Like any endeavor, troops, ya need a strong, unwavering leader.

Someone with the fortitude to whip the minions into shape.

Someone to put the fear of god into their trembling limbs.

Someone to shout out the distractions and--

Oh, I'm sorry, I meant, someone to gently prod ya all with a cowpoke. :-)

It is not easy being the ring leader. No matter how smooth the set up, someone has to organize everything and keep it running. And I think an offsite thing isn't a good idea. No one wants to go somewhere else, report their numbers and then come back here. What's the point? I wonder if we can some how utilize the poll feature for a pseudo-word count tracker? I'll do some tests and see if it might work.

With that said, yes, I would be happy to help move things along, too.

[zachariah]

I'm gonna sign up for this one, yes sirree. I very much fear if I don't get that novel done this year, at least in first draft form, it'll never happen.

[RedMage]

Yay! That's four people now for our comeback with the monthly threads. Yipee!

So tmso and I had a little discussion, it sounds like I have been nominated to head up the first thread in January. If that is alright with everyone I will go ahead and do so. tmso, if you would look into the possibilities of what we can do for tracking, that would be wonderful.

In the meantime, I am going to continue trying to get into the google docs account because, for some reason, it denied me repeatedly last night when I tried to login. Have you been able to get in Mr. Murdock? tmso, have you tried it? I'm not sure it is working anymore access-wise...

[JRMurdock]

I have not tried getting in there yet. What I would recommend rather than share a gmail login would be to create a freash doc and share out the document to multiple editors. It'll be easier that way and everyone will be able to access the page with their own login and we don't run the risk of one account accessed from multiple locations getting locked up.

[RedMage]

Scratch my previous number, we now have five. I recently found this in regards to tmso's announcement of our upcoming thread in another, current thread:

:excited!:

I thought of that tonight, Mr. Murdock. I wondered if you might have been in it while I tried to access it as well but, apparently, that was not the case. So, since I cannot get in, and if we cannot find another way of tracking our progress, we may need to do exactly what Mr Murdock is proposing. However, let's try to pursue as many options as we can. We still have a couple of weeks, afterall.

[tmso]

I thought of that tonight, Mr. Murdock. I wondered if you might have been in it while I tried to access it as well but, apparently, that was not the case. So, since I cannot get in, and if we cannot find another way of tracking our progress, we may need to do exactly what Mr Murdock is proposing. However, let's try to pursue as many options as we can. We still have a couple of weeks, afterall.

Oh, dear, I'm sorry. That was me!

When I logged in, it asked me if someone from "the northernmost" was trying an unauthorized login. I said that that location was okay, but then I stayed logged in, trying to see what I can do in the way of forms on Google Docs. Couldn't find anything, but I created us a Site (website) that got as far as selecting a crappy template that wouldn't let me edit it. I think Google Sites is way too complicated for me to figure out right now.

Does anyone know HTML? Or PHP or whatever it is that was used to build this site:
http://srcc.com/cgi/srcc/commute.pl?action=form

This is the Santa Rosa Cycling Club commuter miles tracking web page. It is very nifty but also very simple. A commuter just enters a name and password, their miles, then the date. And viola! The program logs it into a table. Could someone adapt the code on that page for us? Substituting word count and weeks, instead of miles and months, of course. I can host the pages on my website, but I don't know what all we'd need for the back end - the code and stuff.

[RedMage]

Ah! Ok, no prob tmso. I thought the something else had happened to the Google Docs account. But no worries. So that account does remain an option if we need it. Good to know. Thx!

Edi: And no, sorry, I do not know any coding languages at all.

[Santaria]

Wow, I'm so impressed by everyone and happy to find myself surrounded by real writers.

I started of the year in the middle of a hectic busy life that involves full time jobs and two small children. Writing, which I did pretty minimally before, felt like a pipe dream, I was lucky if I showed up to work on time in clean clothes. And then I heard an interview with a YA author who said she wrote during her babies' nap times. I thought, well, I'm not even in the baby stage anymore, so if she can do it..... I'm still lucky if I get to work on time in clean clothes, but I've managed to eek out some time for writing.

So my accomplishments this year are small: a first draft of one short story, an flash fiction entry (at io9) and I came on here and started learning from all of you. Pretty good since my goals were nothing!

Next year I hope to
1) complete the one short story I wrote last year
2) pick up the novel (novella?) that I am about 20,000 which I have not touched for 5 years and finish it!
3) more flash fiction entries, I guess I should pick a doable number, maybe 3
4) sketch out some ideas for novels/stories

I will probably just keep track of it in my head. I use spreasheets ect professionally but i think my goals are simple enough to keep track of in my mind.

Thanks for the motivation to set goals! They usually work for me as I cannot stand an unmet goal...

Next

[tmso]

Hello Santaria! Nice to see you setting writing goals, and sharing those with us. Great work on getting that flash with io9.

Okay, I managed to mess with the html of that page I mentioned, but the original programmer used C++ (I think). I'll try to figure out how to tabulate the data with javascript instead. Should be simple. I think. Anyway, we might have an automated form to keep track of our word count. It won't be fancy. Just a table, maybe a graph, but it will do the counting for us (because we all know how bad writers are with math - ha!).

[RedMage]

Okay, I managed to mess with the html of that page I mentioned, but the original programmer used C++ (I think). I'll try to figure out how to tabulate the data with javascript instead. Should be simple. I think. Anyway, we might have an automated form to keep track of our word count. It won't be fancy. Just a table, maybe a graph, but it will do the counting for us (because we all know how bad writers are with math - ha!).

That's why I use a calculator, lol!

Also, welcome Santaria! Congrats on the flash as well and good luck with your goals. I hope your family is good to you this next year and allows you the time to accomplish them.

[Holbrook]

The last 12 months have been the year of hell for me. A lot of personal stuff that turned my world upside down. Thankfully my agent has been very understanding. My current WIP is well outlined and my detailed research has been completed. I have 40,000 words written in first draft. My intention is to get this first draft finished by the end of January if possible. With things now more on a even keel and my world has stopped spinning I hope to sent the completed, edited manuscript to my agent by the spring.

[RedMage]

Sorry to hear about your horrible year Holbrook. However, it sounds like you are ready to turn 2013 into the year that 2012 should have been. Best wishes in doing just that.

[JRMurdock]

Great to see you're still around, Hol. Hopefully thing will take off in 2013 and make up for all that went awry in 2012.