July 2016 Motivation Thread

N. E. White said:
hopefully he'll get back to me in time for another revision.
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Well...Writing Buddy came through and offered some feedback. The problem is: the suggestion he made was perfect. *Too* perfect. It would bring together a lot of themes and make the story "pop" the way I want it to. But I feel guilty using his idea. :(

But I'm gonna use it anyway. ;)
 
I got in 300 words last night. Yes, I know, I'm shocked, too. :o

With a solid outline put together for the weird western rewrites, I figured it was time to get some words down. I do have a couple of outstanding issues (like having an antagonist who is not even physical, instead enslaving the mind (s) of human hosts - harder to show motive and character), but I've let it go long enough. I have to stop overthinking things and just write.
 
@N. E. White -- I agree with @Andrew Leon Hudson. Feedback is not given simply for you to mull over and set aside. It is an outsider's insights on a thing that was once only in your head with the purpose that you might dwell upon and learn something from it and, ultimately, incorporate it to raise your story to the heights of its aspirations. I wouldn't be here either if it weren't for the feedback you gave me. I used that feed back, and it made my story stronger. You should use your friend's too. Without guilt.

@Wilson Geiger -- Wohoo! That's wonderful! Keep at it!

@Facing -- Congrats! Tight stories are so much better than loose and baggy ones. And, opposite of clothes, people look closer at tight stories, wondering if there is more there than what meets the eye. ;)

I've also been working hard on my outline for the Changeling book/Naiad's Shadow and have tightened up the story, reworked character introductions, added quite a bit to the world, and found some ways to bring in story elements sooner and more strongly than I had anticipated. It's the outline for a tight, strong story now and I only have one chapter left to outline before meeting that June outlining goal I had.
 
Worked on editing and comics.
I'm halfway through my first read through of the novel "Who Would Destroy the Gods?", which is sort of where I need to be, but I'm going to be doing some heavy rewrites. Although nothing in comparison to "The Chronicler" (my version 0.0 draft story)
 
Wilson Geiger said:
I got in 300 words last night. Yes, I know, I'm shocked, too. :eek:

With a solid outline put together for the weird western rewrites, I figured it was time to get some words down. I do have a couple of outstanding issues (like having an antagonist who is not even physical, instead enslaving the mind (s) of human hosts - harder to show motive and character), but I've let it go long enough. I have to stop overthinking things and just write.
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Well, RedMage doesn't know it yet, but he just helped me solve this particular problem. I didn't know I could breathe a sigh of relief so loud. :)

I now have the framework for my antagonist's arc, which was the final piece of this puzzle. I already have book two outlined, and book three is loosely plotted. I'm sorta excited now. ;)
 
Wilson Geiger said:
I'm sorta excited now. ;)
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I know the feeling, I got totally jazzed when I saw the new image from the ESO observatory of Orion and realized that was the cover for my new collection - Prosthetic Amalgams II which was on the agenda for pulling together this month. I did some initial work (mentioned in the 'post your progress thread') over the last couple of weeks but really not much till I got that cover in place and then the Adrenalin or mania or something took over and I've pretty much pulled it together in the last few days.

Woo-Hoo! Go Baby Go!
:D
 
Wilson Geiger said:
Well, RedMage doesn't know it yet, but he just helped me solve this particular problem. I didn't know I could breathe a sigh of relief so loud. :)

I now have the framework for my antagonist's arc, which was the final piece of this puzzle. I already have book two outlined, and book three is loosely plotted. I'm sorta excited now. ;)
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Wohoo! I'm glad to have been of help, Wilson. Breakthroughs are great!
 
Gah...Goal wise everything but the writing is cleared. Fiction wise most of my limited writing time has been spent staring at plots. (I pin them up to track them so I can spot hiccoughs) I did get a couple of hundred words down but it won't see the light of day. Backstoritis. Ideas I'd attributed to a different story found a home in this.
It's going to be tough to get half way through second drafts before the 22nd...
 
millymollymo said:
Gah...Goal wise everything but the writing is cleared. Fiction wise most of my limited writing time has been spent staring at plots. (I pin them up to track them so I can spot hiccoughs) I did get a couple of hundred words down but it won't see the light of day. Backstoritis. Ideas I'd attributed to a different story found a home in this.
It's going to be tough to get half way through second drafts before the 22nd...
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Cheer up. Fixing the plot will save you work down the line. ;)
 
kennychaffin said:
My big goals for this month:

1) Put together a second collection of my work tentively titled Prosthetic Amalgams II

2) Complete a 'map' story for submission to the SFFWorld Anthology

my Stretch Mark Goal (I know, I know, blame @PeteMC ):
write 4 more short stories (to stick to the Bradbury plan: one a week)
as well as a few micro/flash/poetry pieces

and no I'm NOT going camping, it's too hot!
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Well, I got the collection done (woo-hoo!!) and since Nila extended the Anthology submission date, looks like I can take the rest of the month off, eh?

Oh wait....those damn stretch marks...... ;)
 
kennychaffin said:
...since Nila extended the Anthology submission date, looks like I can take the rest of the month off, eh?
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Noooo! Don't procrastinate.

I'm still pushing for an end of July finish (mostly) of my story. I'll submit it to the other readers (and maybe put up here for you all to vote in/out) at that time. If it gets rejected, then I still have time to write another. I'm not asking you all to do the same, but you could. :rolleyes:
 
Mid-month check in:

Half way through the month and I am onpar to make goal at 5400/10000 words written.

I received another rejection on Dwarves, but sent it back out along with a micro-fiction piece to an anthology. (Thanks to @Facing for that)

How's everyone else doing?
 
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I got in a bit over 400 words last night. Less than what I would normally expect, but these days, I'll take it and run. That break I took for the past few months may prove to have been worth it, though. I came back to my outline, the big problem I'd run into before, and I just talked it out. I was typing out the problem, and all of a sudden the solution just popped in there. Like it had always been there and I just had to let it simmer.

So with the antagonist's sticky voice issues worked out, now I can get back to the partial and full scene rewrites that are necessary to put together a complete second draft.

I had been dreading these rewrites, which is probably a big reason I'd gone on a sabbatical from writing, but now that the story is lined up, that dread is gone. I'm more excited than I've been in months.
 
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