Well, yesterday was not the most stellar writing day and today was worse.
Yesterday I wrote 700 words in a rush only to accidentally hit the off button on my netbook and lose it all. Then Cyclone Yasi's tail decided to drop about a month's rain on Melbourne in a day and I had more pressing issues to deal with like bailing out my backyard. I did eventually write another 1000 words or so but only by staying up too late.
After waking up every few hours to listen to what the rain was doing last night, I'm tired today and have been trying to get some heroine POV onto the page on and off all day. So far I've crawled up to 300 words or so but she's being unco-operative. So I'm going to give myself a pass for the day by saying an extra 700 yesterday counts. Or else I'll do 1700 tomorrow but either way I'm done for now!
Showing posts with label lack of progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lack of progress. Show all posts
February 05, 2011
May 05, 2009
Over and over
Wiktory! Four pages done, wordcount first digit increased by one. Very slow four pages but they're done. Now we just have to lather, rinse and repeat about 82 more times and I'll have a draft.
Speaking of lather, rinse and repeat, I've been watching the Aussie version of Masterchef, and I know lots of reality shows do this but I find the practice of spending the first half a minute or so after each ad break recapping what just happened before the ads extremely annoying. I mean, I get that they're trying to catch you up if you've just tuned in but normal TV shows don't do it, so why does reality TV need to? Do they think their viewers are dumb? Or perhaps goldfish who can't remember what happened three minutes ago? I'm hoping they'll ease off now that they're down to the regular half hour shows rather than one hour eps that they have to fill out somehow. Because apart from re-cap-itis (which really makes me want to change the channel) I'm quite enjoying it.
I was going to start my metrics again tonight but I shall leave that for another evening. Have to go sit on the couch and resist chocolate cravings now.
Speaking of lather, rinse and repeat, I've been watching the Aussie version of Masterchef, and I know lots of reality shows do this but I find the practice of spending the first half a minute or so after each ad break recapping what just happened before the ads extremely annoying. I mean, I get that they're trying to catch you up if you've just tuned in but normal TV shows don't do it, so why does reality TV need to? Do they think their viewers are dumb? Or perhaps goldfish who can't remember what happened three minutes ago? I'm hoping they'll ease off now that they're down to the regular half hour shows rather than one hour eps that they have to fill out somehow. Because apart from re-cap-itis (which really makes me want to change the channel) I'm quite enjoying it.
I was going to start my metrics again tonight but I shall leave that for another evening. Have to go sit on the couch and resist chocolate cravings now.
April 25, 2009
Bit by bit
Amongst other things, I read Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews over Friday and this morning. It's the third in the Kate Daniels series and the books keep getting better.
I think she does setting really well. For me, setting is something I go back and layer in. My first drafts are very talking heads and I'm first drafting now, so it's easy to read something and go 'but my stuff isn't like that'. No, right now it's not. Do not compare thyself to others while drafting. When you're in the throes of a book it's easy to read and think "I bet everyone else just sits down and brilliant polished prose flows like wine from their fingers". But it doesn't. (And if it does for you, please don't tell me while I'm doing a slog book). Bit by bit, word by word. That's how books are built. And first drafts are for finding the story.
One day I might remember this.
By the way, Ilona blogs here and has a very good series on reworking paragraphs if you look at her paragraph troubleshooting tag.
I think she does setting really well. For me, setting is something I go back and layer in. My first drafts are very talking heads and I'm first drafting now, so it's easy to read something and go 'but my stuff isn't like that'. No, right now it's not. Do not compare thyself to others while drafting. When you're in the throes of a book it's easy to read and think "I bet everyone else just sits down and brilliant polished prose flows like wine from their fingers". But it doesn't. (And if it does for you, please don't tell me while I'm doing a slog book). Bit by bit, word by word. That's how books are built. And first drafts are for finding the story.
One day I might remember this.
By the way, Ilona blogs here and has a very good series on reworking paragraphs if you look at her paragraph troubleshooting tag.
November 19, 2008
Happy Wednesday night!
Given I don't go to the day job on Friday's, Thursday is effectively Friday, so that makes Wednesday nights cheerful-making. Though I would like to put in a request that the days slow down just a smidge or I'm going to blink and I'll be wearing a silly paper hat and pulling crackers and eating Christmas pudding with no idea how I got there.
Here's the daily report:
Progress - Wolf 2 revision
New/Revised pages - Revised 20.
Intriguing things - Marco. We like Marco.
Annoyances - Nothing to report.
Music - Back to the original soundtrack at the desk.
Linear/Non-linear - Linear
Location - The desk. Word and Think.
Taking care of Mel - WW meeting. Actual real live cardio done on the elliptical without a heart attack occurring. Amazing! Now I just have to repeat the feat on a regular basis.
Muse food - Soon to be Criminal Minds watching.
Here's the daily report:
Progress - Wolf 2 revision
New/Revised pages - Revised 20.
Intriguing things - Marco. We like Marco.
Annoyances - Nothing to report.
Music - Back to the original soundtrack at the desk.
Linear/Non-linear - Linear
Location - The desk. Word and Think.
Taking care of Mel - WW meeting. Actual real live cardio done on the elliptical without a heart attack occurring. Amazing! Now I just have to repeat the feat on a regular basis.
Muse food - Soon to be Criminal Minds watching.
October 27, 2008
Word by word
Long time no blog. Sorry but there was a bout of gastro (stomach flu for the US readers) that didn't really bear discussing last week and then many days of boring lying in bed eating white toast and drinking flat lemonade between much sleeping. T
So not much writing really happening, I'm still wading through the Wolf 2 revision, trying to get Act One to behave itself. I think I've got it ticking over better but now I've reached a point where I need to work out how to slant the next bit. And the girls keep throwing up snippets of a couple of other books (yes, I've managed to start two more books lately, so that makes the next five books that I have starting snippets or chapters for....not counting any of the contemporaries). Go me. Hopefully the girls will work out which one they want to work on next by the time Wolf 2 is done, all this ping ponging around is giving me creative whiplash.
Still, it's better than dead silence in the head and words are getting on to pages so we'll take that as progress, even if it is somewhat spread out progress.
And now, for your entertainment, a picture taken with the new camera.
I love fuschias, they look like little dancing ballerinas. As a kid we used to delight in picking the unopened buds and squishing them on each other. Now, I am wise enough to let them open and enjoy the pretty.
So not much writing really happening, I'm still wading through the Wolf 2 revision, trying to get Act One to behave itself. I think I've got it ticking over better but now I've reached a point where I need to work out how to slant the next bit. And the girls keep throwing up snippets of a couple of other books (yes, I've managed to start two more books lately, so that makes the next five books that I have starting snippets or chapters for....not counting any of the contemporaries). Go me. Hopefully the girls will work out which one they want to work on next by the time Wolf 2 is done, all this ping ponging around is giving me creative whiplash.
Still, it's better than dead silence in the head and words are getting on to pages so we'll take that as progress, even if it is somewhat spread out progress.
And now, for your entertainment, a picture taken with the new camera.
I love fuschias, they look like little dancing ballerinas. As a kid we used to delight in picking the unopened buds and squishing them on each other. Now, I am wise enough to let them open and enjoy the pretty.
October 04, 2008
To paraphrase Captain Jack
Why is the words gone?
This scene just does not want to come out and play with the computer. Maybe rum would help!
In other news, I have managed to lose one of the little rubber ear thingys off my relatively new headphones! Now they poke my ear. I can't exercise in my big clunky noise cancellers. Dopey Nike headphones. Boo! Also my mother assures me she can find me another pair of evil scissors. Yay!
This scene just does not want to come out and play with the computer. Maybe rum would help!
In other news, I have managed to lose one of the little rubber ear thingys off my relatively new headphones! Now they poke my ear. I can't exercise in my big clunky noise cancellers. Dopey Nike headphones. Boo! Also my mother assures me she can find me another pair of evil scissors. Yay!
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