July 2016 Motivation Thread

Hello, my name is Beth and I'm addicted to writing first drafts.

Seriously, I have a couple more stories rattling around in the forefront of my brain, but I need to get the first edits of these other two books first. I feel like the kid who has to eat her brussels sprouts before getting dessert.
I'm about 1/3 of the way through the edits for "The Chronicler"
 
I've made steady progress on my revamped novel. Outlines for all four major characters are completed. Not quite done with the first chapter, but getting close.

But, if my outline is correct, I have about 50 more chapters to go. Since this first weighs in at about 5k, I think the novel will be around 250k.

(gulp)

I can do this, right? If I end up with 250k of words, something of value will come out of it, right? Right? o_O
 
Beth Wagner said:
Hello, my name is Beth and I'm addicted to writing first drafts.

Seriously, I have a couple more stories rattling around in the forefront of my brain, but I need to get the first edits of these other two books first. I feel like the kid who has to eat her brussels sprouts before getting dessert.
I'm about 1/3 of the way through the edits for "The Chronicler"
Click to expand...
Hi, Beth. I'm Red. Welcome to the club. ;)

I think we all deal with having multiple stories swimming around our heads. In the past I have often drawn inspiration from music, either directly for some character or storyline, or to get me into a place to write some fight scene or a death scene or whatever. BUT, I don't have any music for Naiad's Shadow, so I keep listening to other music that is tied in with other stories, which then makes me want to write them instead. Ugh. So yeah rewards system, finish this, then I can do that. Maybe you can set yourself a specific amount of edits to do, say 20 or 30 pages, then you can take 15 minutes to indulge in one of the other stories.
 
I can't remember the last time I wrote. I know it was in the last week, so I don't think I'm doing badly at all on this desire to write stories. I just can't remember if it was Monday or sometime over the weekend...

My partner at the office is on vacation this week, so I'm doing both of our jobs. So, of course, all of our coworkers are slamming me with stuff, saying "Ooh, lets try to get the stuff from him that we can never get from his partner!" I was so exhausted last night that I just fell down on the couch when I got home and didn't get up until bedtime.
 
RedMage said:
I can't remember the last time I wrote. I know it was in the last week, so I don't think I'm doing badly at all on this desire to write stories. I just can't remember if it was Monday or sometime over the weekend...

My partner at the office is on vacation this week, so I'm doing both of our jobs. So, of course, all of our coworkers are slamming me with stuff, saying "Ooh, lets try to get the stuff from him that we can never get from his partner!" I was so exhausted last night that I just fell down on the couch when I got home and didn't get up until bedtime.
Click to expand...

That totally sucks. :( Hope it gets better next week.
 
I don't know what's going on with me....it's like motivation, my muse has fled....or maybe, I'm hoping that this is just a fallow period and creativity is about to burst forth in grandiosity!

I did just now force myself to finish and post a story for the Flash challenge this month.....
 
Unexpected death of the writing machine - not that it's impacting writing, just access to the social awesomeness that is the internet. This week's been proper manic with everybody else's things so I haven't moved forward on my own. That means I missed my goal of half way done by 22nd.
Less distractions around now though :D
Keep plodding folks!
 
Last night, I switched from re-assessing last year's novel to my short story idea for the forum contest. And I realized I needed to start the story much sooner in my character's life. He's a fifth grader now, so I can tell fifth grader jokes!! It's a pretty dark story (why should this be any different from all my other stories?), so the jokes will relieve the pressure. Any good fifth grader jokes out there?
 
N. E. White said:
Last night, I switched from re-assessing last year's novel to my short story idea for the forum contest. And I realized I needed to start the story much sooner in my character's life. He's a fifth grader now, so I can tell fifth grader jokes!! It's a pretty dark story (why should this be any different from all my other stories?), so the jokes will relieve the pressure. Any good fifth grader jokes out there?
Click to expand...

I don't know about grades (or mental age) but I came up with this one last week:

What do you call a crow that sticks around?
A Velcro.

(yes I've got a crow - probably injured wing - hanging around in my trees for the last couple of weeks.)
 
N. E. White said:
Any good fifth grader jokes out there?
Click to expand...
That you can ask such a question suggests you haven't endured listening to enough of these. The children's library of any decent sized city will be full of joke books that appeal to children. I doubt any of them will appeal to you but they may help you flesh out your character.
 
kennychaffin said:
I don't know about grades (or mental age) but I came up with this one last week:

What do you call a crow that sticks around?
A Velcro.

(yes I've got a crow - probably injured wing - hanging around in my trees for the last couple of weeks.)
Click to expand...
That's about the right speed.
 
RedMage said:
Hi, Beth. I'm Red. Welcome to the club. ;)

I think we all deal with having multiple stories swimming around our heads. In the past I have often drawn inspiration from music, either directly for some character or storyline, or to get me into a place to write some fight scene or a death scene or whatever. BUT, I don't have any music for Naiad's Shadow, so I keep listening to other music that is tied in with other stories, which then makes me want to write them instead. Ugh. So yeah rewards system, finish this, then I can do that. Maybe you can set yourself a specific amount of edits to do, say 20 or 30 pages, then you can take 15 minutes to indulge in one of the other stories.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm doing right now. I'm just impatient with waiting to get to the part where I write. If I start too many first drafts all at the same time I won't finish any of them. :)
 
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