Even Newer Post Your Progress Thread.

[Hobbit]

Spring cleaning.... (actually, that should be 'Summer cleaning' here.....)

The first thread was 16 years old, and 236 pages long...
The last thread was 6 years old.... which makes it not so new.... so here's a new one. (conversations from there can, of course, be continued here.)

However, the purpose is the same. The idea is that everyone posts updates of their progress on the latest story/novel/poem/whatever.

Mark

 

[RedMage]

I finished the first draft of my Lake Proper novella today! I wrote 1,274 words over two scenes today, bringing the whole thing to a close at 25,310 words. A great novella length, if I do say so myself.

Now time for read through and edits.

 

[RolandsFarblood]

@RedMage
Congratulations! 25,310 sounds like a very satisfying length for a novella, especially after the long scene you were wrestling with the other weekend.

I’m in a less measurable phase at the moment. Rather than adding lots of new words, I’ve been going back through existing material, tightening structure, checking continuity and deciding what actually needs to stay. It never looks as impressive in a word-count update, but sometimes removing or reorganizing something feels like more progress than adding another thousand words.

I’m curious how much distance you usually give yourself before starting the first full read-through. Do you go straight back in, or let the draft sit for a while first?

 

[RedMage]

Editing and revising are difficult phases in which to track word count changes. I've heard that lament from so many writers, and I've often expressed it myself, lol. They're a vital stage though, unless you're only writing for yourself (which is totally okay!).

I've chosen to dive right into a first round of edits. I wrote this with the plan for a series of novellas, and this is the third in the series as I have ideas for two earlier stories. My preference is to start writing at the beginning and work through to the end, and I attempted to do that here. However, I struggled with developing the earliest idea (I now have a better concept, but it's been sitting by the wayside for a bit while I worked on this third story). That said, I have placeholders, information on characters and locations--from towns to the MCs' favorite restaurants--and other elements that I explored for the first time in writing this third story but which, ultimately, belong in the earlier stories. The reason I wrote this one first is that it popped fully formed into my head and I had to create the others after deciding the characters had more story to them.

Thanks for asking @RolandsFarblood! It's been my plan to post this novella for critique--and I think I will still do that--but your question has encouraged me to consider largely setting this aside and turn toward writing those two earlier story ideas (which have become much more developed while I wrote this third story).

 

[Jonas Stark]

I'll post progress here, instead of the motivation thread lol

213k words logged since June 5th (I have problems), but finished the first draft of what will now be a two-parter, and currently outlining for the next book (which is suspiciously also looking like a two-parter already) while the ideas, plot lines, and characters are fresh.

Next step after getting those beats in is...worldbuilding! I need to make a couple maps to help me sort out where the war is going for the next couple books and to make sure I can ground myself before I attempt to write in a way that grounds the reader.

Then editing a draft for submission for a book I finished in 2011 lol, but that's for November. I've done a couple heavy edits over the years, but feel I'm better positioned to get this thing edited up and ready for submission...or self-publishing, depending on how the querying process goes.

@RolandsFarblood I'll chime in here as well. I usually let my drafts sit for a good long while before I go back and edit, mostly just to avoid any bias I might be holding about my thinking and mindset, a period of sobering up if you will. I've been extreme at times (7 years in one case), but usually I prefer to let them sit for at least six months, maybe even get another something done in the meantime before I go back and edit.

@RedMage congrats on completing your draft! It seems like shifting gears on your projects is serving you well! 25k words is a classic novella length

 

[RedMage]

Congratulations @Jonas Stark! That is a TON of words. And in only 2.5 months? I don't know how you've done it. Have you been working as well? Please, you must share your secrets.

Then editing a draft for submission for a book I finished in 2011 lol, but that's for November. I've done a couple heavy edits over the years, but feel I'm better positioned to get this thing edited up and ready for submission...or self-publishing, depending on how the querying process goes.

And I here I've been the past few years, having ideas to write second drafts of novels I finished between 2015 and the pandemic, yet so daunted when I picked them up or just looked at them that I dropped them before the day was through. Good luck with your 2011 project! Did you finish that before or after joining SFFWorld?

 

[Jonas Stark]

Congratulations @Jonas Stark! That is a TON of words. And in only 2.5 months? I don't know how you've done it. Have you been working as well? Please, you must share your secrets.

Thank you! Hard for me to believe as well, actually. If I didn't open it and see the word count myself, I wouldn't believe it.

I am indeed working, quite a bit actually. I just carved out non-negotiable time each night to write a minimum of 1,000 words. Two things happened; my word count drifted up to about 3-4k words a night (up to 7-8k on weekends a few times), and two (partially a consequence), my nights got a LOT later. There was a stretch in there where I was averaging 4-5 hours a night for sleep.

So, the secret for people who want to write prolifically and also work? Sleep is optional.

Also, I just get the story down. I worry about being Hemingway or Tolkien or whoever when I do my edit pass, and then I can really craft. Trying to do both at first is so frustrating and slow that I give up.

And I here I've been the past few years, having ideas to write second drafts of novels I finished between 2015 and the pandemic, yet so daunted when I picked them up or just looked at them that I dropped them before the day was through. Good luck with your 2011 project! Did you finish that before or after joining SFFWorld?

Honestly, I haven't looked at the 2011 story or read it since probably 2017 or 2018, when I did my heavy edit pass. I feel like it's a bit like opening the cover on an abandoned in-ground pool and not being sure if there's going to be a horror show or if it'll be just...fine.

Maybe I'll crack open the file on Halloween.

Edit - To answer your question, I think I likely finished it after I joined SFF World, given my join date. Much like was the case with this one, I was probably hard lurking while I was writing and then joined in the discussions and contests once I was clear.

 

[Jonas Stark]

Finished the outline for the next book, tentatively titled "Palm Crescent", named for the military operation by the imperial force, like "Field Survival 14" was. Oddly enough, the outline is only 60 words less than the Lyetuna outline, so expecting this to wind up as a two-book arc, as previously predicted.

Now, putting it down.

I couldn't resist and did crack the lid on Operation Ten (my 2011..."opus"). Woof. It's genuinely a bit scary under there, with the plot holding up and the craft seriously lacking, but a fun project to work on in November.

 

[RedMage]

Great work @Jonas Stark! What's next? Are you going to dive into writing Palm Crescent, or will you take up Operation Ten now?

I finally found a title for my novella in my Lake Proper series: The Sylvan Plot. The story features dryads, so... Still, it's not as magical as the title for the previous story Lost In Silver, which I have yet to write or even develop past initial concept!

 

[Jonas Stark]

The Sylvan Plot...love this title actually! It's active, mysterious, inviting, without even having to know anything else. When are you diving into Lost In Silver? These titles...I marvel at your ability to come up with them.

What's next? After rest? lol

September-October: Let the mind lay fallow, maybe some mapmaking if I feel up to anything at all.
November-December: Operation Ten rewrite/edit (didn't get in depth with my peek in, but what I saw suggests some major help needed, so we'll see how far along I can get)
January-May: Prep work, worldbuilding, character exploration leading up to Palm Crescent
June-August: Palm Crescent...let's see if another 200k+ word mania is on tap! The arc ends on a cataclysmic reveal for the series, so I'll be motivated to get there. This is a plot beat I've had in mind since 2017 and I haven't wavered from it.

I realize only now how spent I truly am. Not a huge deal, because I did quite a bit this summer, but it was so successful, I'm tempted to run it back next year. Let's see.

Oh, and somewhere after December, I'll shop Operation Ten. If it doesn't get picked up, I'm ready to tackle a genuine effort at self-publishing...so maybe I need a couple extra cybersecurity contracts to help with the war chest lol

 

[kmtolan]

We have a heading! Finally, I know where I'm going with my story. Preparing revised first draft to keep in what matters, add what's needed, and toss what's no longer pertinent. Looking forward to version 1.4, heh.

 

[RedMage]

We have a heading! Finally, I know where I'm going with my story. Preparing revised first draft to keep in what matters, add what's needed, and toss what's no longer pertinent. Looking forward to version 1.4, heh.

Congrats, Kerry! That's great to hear! From your previous posts, I was genuinely uncertain whether your struggles were those issues we all deal with when trying to figure out a new story or something more serious. I'm glad to hear you've found a solution!

The Sylvan Plot...love this title actually! It's active, mysterious, inviting, without even having to know anything else. When are you diving into Lost In Silver? These titles...I marvel at your ability to come up with them.

What's next? After rest? lol

September-October: Let the mind lay fallow, maybe some mapmaking if I feel up to anything at all.
November-December: Operation Ten rewrite/edit (didn't get in depth with my peek in, but what I saw suggests some major help needed, so we'll see how far along I can get)
January-May: Prep work, worldbuilding, character exploration leading up to Palm Crescent
June-August: Palm Crescent...let's see if another 200k+ word mania is on tap! The arc ends on a cataclysmic reveal for the series, so I'll be motivated to get there. This is a plot beat I've had in mind since 2017 and I haven't wavered from it.

I realize only now how spent I truly am. Not a huge deal, because I did quite a bit this summer, but it was so successful, I'm tempted to run it back next year. Let's see.

Oh, and somewhere after December, I'll shop Operation Ten. If it doesn't get picked up, I'm ready to tackle a genuine effort at self-publishing...so maybe I need a couple extra cybersecurity contracts to help with the war chest lol

Sorry for replying late, Jonas. Thanks for what you've said on my titles. I've had a rocky history with titles. My earliest works had great titles, then I spent a decade with bland, uninteresting titles that I simply settled on. Now... idk? However, I really, really like "Lost in Silver". Friends helped me come up with that and it just sounds so magical, so much like a fairytale. Of course, having said that, I now have to work some fairytale sort of element into that story, LOL!

I sent you a DM on this, but I'll put it here too so you and/or others can join in: how about some writing flash fiction stories over the next two months? Nothing too long, easy to do in one or just a handful of sittings over the course of just a few days. Something to keep the creative wheels turning, or maybe see as a set of cool down exercises after a long run to keep your writing muscles from seizing up. Nothing requiring a long commitment.

Otherwise, good luck with your plan! I look forward to hearing how it turns out. Are you often able to keep to plans like this? I make schedules like this and, inevitably, some story issue throws them all out of whack.

---

For me, I'm still trying to decide on my next project. There are three possibilities atm: scifi Relics and two novels set at Christmas, one an Adult/YA Victorian Era magic school that I'm in the plotting/outlining stages of, and the other is the MG Santaland that needs a second draft. Christmas is coming up, so it's great inspiration for those stories. That inspiration will hit after Halloween though, so I have the better part of two months to work on Relics or those other two stories without the inspiration of Christmas music playlists.

All that said, @N. E. White helped me solve my problem with the current Relics chapter. I thought I needed to introduce readers to a handful of minor characters who regularly come in and out of the story (the crew of the two POV MCs' small spaceship) in order to pull on readers' heartstrings later in the book when some of these minor characters. I couldn't figure out just what all the characters should do while I went about getting to know these minor characters. This weekend, Nila helped me see that I shouldn't pull on readers' heartstrings, but on one of the MCs who doesn't know these minor characters. Whew! That's solved. Now just to turn my thoughts back to that novel and away from the others.