July 2016 Motivation Thread

[kennychaffin]

Yep! I think at least half of the short stories I've done have ended up much longer, or served as heavy inspiration for novel-length work. We do tend to write what we read.

Yep and I don't often read novels.....
Poetry, short stories (mainstream, sf, fantasy, etc.), flash, prose poetry....

 

[N. E. White]

Okay...let's see, what did I do yesterday...

Though I had all day to write, and I had my laptop on with various stories opened and staring at me waiting for me to do something, I didn't write very much.

I did discover that I needed to re-vamp one of my chapters. I need to completely re-write it, so I started on that and it is going okay.

 

[Facing]

I didn't manage much yesterday either, just a very basic outline for my weather story and a bit of work on a second attempt for the anthology - a genetic map story.

 

[N. E. White]

a genetic map story

Woohoo!

 

[norm]

Still poking at my work in progress. . .

It still doesn't look like a story.

Going to poke at it some more.

 

[N. E. White]

Going to poke at it some more.

Poke until it is dead and then resurrect it.

 

[kmtolan]

It still doesn't look like a story.

Well, if you want to do the first-draft's-crap tango, who cares? Finish it, then poke the quivering mass and see if it squeaks.

 

[Facing]

I made some indirect progress today. I went to the eye doctor's. My new specs should be ready in about a week. Hopefully this will result in fewer headaches and more writing.

 

[norm]

Well, if you want to do the first-draft's-crap tango, who cares? Finish it, then poke the quivering mass and see if it squeaks.

I have no idea what draft I'm on, but it's definitely not the first one. I've had to go back and rework enough of the story at this point that the idea of drafts is pretty much out the window.

 

[kennychaffin]

I have no idea what draft I'm on, but it's definitely not the first one. I've had to go back and rework enough of the story at this point that the idea of drafts is pretty much out the window.

If you leave the window open that can cause a draft.

 

[Juliana]

First four chapters almost completely rewritten, and feeling really good about these edits. I'm also on schedule for this week, hopefully I can keep it that way!

 

[RedMage]

@norm, I'm just throwing this out there, but if you want or need some outside perspective, the forum's workshop is pretty helpful place. Maybe we can help with some of the problems you are having. It's a stickied thread, but the link is also in my signature below.

I finally looked at The Naiad's Shadow again last night after a week away. I still want to take a break and work on something else and am thinking of taking another shot at book 2 of Red King, which I have some new ideas For after my first attempt last fall, but Naiad's Shadow is also starting to call to me again.

 

[kennychaffin]

<whine mode ON>

Well.....with the exception of publishing my second collection Prosthetic Amalgams II, the month has gone to h*ll. I did complete one short story and one flash fiction (must have been a micro as well) but other than that I'm feeling completely unmotivated, few to zero new story ideas and the few ideas I've written down seem unworkable.

I've reviewed my completed poetry and with the exception of a handful of them, they simply suck.

I've tried working on 'in-progress' stories - drafts or uncompleted stories and have been unable to make any progress.

I'm really not sure what to do to pull myself out of this funk....

If I could only think of 'one true sentence' to start with maybe I could write again.

</whine mode OFF>

 

[millymollymo]

eh. July can be summed up with *headdesk*.
Word count progress comes in at under 1000 words. Yes yes, I know research and such counts, but there have been so many missed opportunities to add words. Editing/revisiting is always slower. Worth it but ...*gnash teeth* ...

Glad to see some of you are making progress!

 

[Facing]

My writing has been stalled but I'm busy reading Vogler and Campbell I'm the hopes their books will give me a better sense of story which is where I always fall down.

 

[CharlotteAshley]

Ugh, oh god, okay.

I just got up to the lake, and am having trouble acclimatizing to the chaos. My goal this month is 15,000 words on my novel, which means 500 words a day. I've been averaging 1k lately, but right now the idea of getting a few hours of peace and quiet per day feels like a pipe dream. So, I dunno.

I'm also short 4,500 words from last month, so really my goal is more like 20k. Call that my "stretch goal".

Team Headdesk! Woooo! :/

We're off for the weekend soon, so this is the end of my July. I fell massively short of 15k. Looks like the final total is 6650 for the month, and 22,000 words in the WIP so far.

This is mostly, but not exclusively, because I started July on vacation and spent the first two weeks of the month re-writing the first 15k from 3rd person into 1st. I didn't start laying down new wordcount until the 10th, and it was slower going than before. I'm starting to itch to go back, to revise. I have to rethink things. Insert new scenes. It's harder to bulldoze ahead at full speed.

Still, 22k. I have the first 6-7 chapters of a novel written. That's something, right?

 

[RedMage]

@CharlotteAshley and @millymollymo -- words are still words. A writer's life isn't a 100 meter sprint. Individual stories might be, but the life is a marathon. Keep working at it and you will get there!

I found a little time to write Wenesday night, and I'm hoping for more this weekend. I worked on Red King book 2, which I haven't touched for most of the year, I think... I left a scene only half finished when I set it aside and the words just poured out on Wednesday. I know how to finish the scene, but it needs some edits to the first half from last year before too many new words can be added. Thankfully, I know just what to do. Now to find the time.

 

[N. E. White]

1. Read/review two books
2. Enter the flash and maybe the micro contests
3. Edit my map story and pass it onto to a few beta readers to tear apart
4. Get back to my ghost stories

Okay - how did I do?

1 - CHECK! Got two books reviewed and posted.
2 - CHECK! New material is always fun to generate (even if they never sell)
3 - CHECK! The final came out okay. Very different from the initial draft, but much better for it. Thanks @Facing and @Andrew Leon Hudson!
4 - Dope! I instead went off on a tangent with my novel from last year. Not sure I'll get back to the ghost stories...

All in all, this was a fine month for me. I'm pleased with myself. I hope August is as productive.

 

[kennychaffin]

"No doubt I shall go on writing, stumbling across tundras of unmeaning, planting words like bloody flags in my wake...."
- Alexander Trocchi

 

[Juliana]

July is a tough month. I think this is the first July EVER where I've managed to work. We travelled in June instead, and now the kids are bigger they don't want me hovering anyway, and it's easier to ignore them and say 'get your own darn snacks.'

Also, they now sleep in like teenagers (they're 12 and 13) which gives me lovely long mornings...

So my two original goals were:
1. Finish and hand in a short story for an anthology – check.
2. NaNo a new wip, which I later switched to 'start revising older novel' after edit notes arrived – check. Nowhere near done, of course, but managing to stick to my self-imposed quota of 2 chapters a day, not that easy when some of the chapters are complete rewrites!

Roll on August...