Post your Progress

[MarigoldMari]

Progress: working a little on editing. There are tiny little errors. Decided where the first book ends and the second begins, so editing the first book. My friend showed my book to one of her English lit professors and he's excited about it and very impressed. This floored me and my confidence is like...past the clouds. Also started a Tumblr for my book, since as they are short stories they can reasonably be distributed every day. There's enough to last to about mid-November and more being created every 3 or 4 days, so it could go on for a long while every day without disruption. Still setting it up, so not giving the url out much yet. However, someone reblogged the first story whom I don't know and that floored me, too. Probably will announce the url on all my media sites soon.

Planning out and getting ideas for future Demon Stories (the book), too, all the while. Many stories are focusing on the mid 1800's now, and in the early 1990's. Recently was doing research on 1870's French fashion and I really want to make a story about that.

[Sathael]

After two years of letting my novel sit in its own juices, I have found a charitable friend who has agreed to sit through my atrocity chapter by chapter, thus I have finally begun editing.

I'm currently on Chapter One, and am drowning in research and fact-checking. If every chapter is going to be as bad as this, it will take me another two years before I finish the first act.

I'm not sure if I can survive at this rate. Tell my family I love them.

[PAUL-NAT-X]

progress:
i'm still wondering what i should do to expose my book a little more. sad

[Rennie`]

In the last couple of days (inbetween working and getting my flat back to a reasonable state) I have increased my word count from 75k to almost 78k. I found that my novel is progressing too quickly, there's no pause from the main plot so I have beefed it up with more description and dialogue from sub plots. I also found a chapter that gave away too much information that should essentially end the novel in 20k words fewer, so I rewrote it (took me long enough!) which added to the word count.

Once I've pieced the new chapters together I will go about adding the other subplot I completely forgot about (it's a vital subplot to not add), make sure the plots are all tied together in the end, add some little information (smells, accents, change of names etc) and edit grammar. I could be done by the end of the year!

[Michelle the Huntress]

Got 366 words done on book two yesterday.

[Desi the fuzzy fluffhead]

Hi people, sorry that I haven't been posting. School, work and writing is actually a lot harder to manage than I ever could have thought. At least for me. >.<
Keep up the great progress people.

Sathael

Welcome back!
And that sounds terrifying. The novel you wrote is quite a large one too, right? Like 150K plus or am I thinking of someone else? Most editing gets easier as time goes by, just stay on it.
Can I have your Apprentice Charm if you die? OuO
*kidding*

[haowopcmasjkka]

Wrote approx. a page of Cry? Not sure exactly how much because it's not necessarily being written in order. /doesn't know why he can't write a damn short in order/ I just have to make things difficult for myself, don't I.

As usual, spending too much time on irc, and not writing very much. Drawing occasionally, and perpetually stumped on math. I think today I'll at least try to stay off tumblr.

[MarigoldMari]

Progress: wrote two stories, totaling 6 pages on Word. One is a revelation type of story, the other is one about a mysterious violin. No one's really reading them. I've been having to beg. P*sses me off. In fact, my reads on Wattpad have gone down to about 100 reads a day over all, from 600-700 per day. I don't get it.

[Meoma-goddess2]

My problem is that I have a ton of great ideas in my heart but i just can't seem to get them down on paper. any ideas?

[Sathael]

Desi the fuzzy fluffhead

Welcome back!
And that sounds terrifying. The novel you wrote is quite a large one too, right? Like 150K plus or am I thinking of someone else? Most editing gets easier as time goes by, just stay on it.
Can I have your Apprentice Charm if you die? OuO
*kidding*

Good to be back, Des. Honestly just talking about writing can do a whole world of good for the motivation.
The one I wrote was just over 125k. Not quite 150k, but it feels like it might as well be. I'm hoping that the beginning is just more in need of editing than the rest of it, since I wrote the first eight chapters when I was fifteen (I'm now twenty -eep!), so I'm expecting the first bits to be of a far lower quality than the rest.
And I'll leave you my Apprentice Charm in my will. wink

[Sathael]

Meoma-goddess2

My problem is that I have a ton of great ideas in my heart but i just can't seem to get them down on paper. any ideas?

One at a time, Meoma. Write down your ideas for other projects, but for the time being, just work on writing one. Pick your favourite. Trying to work on more is exhausting, in my experience.

I also find story boarding really helps formulate ideas well: Where does the real meat of the story begin? What is the latest point that you could jump in and still have a complete story? Do you know where the story ends? Try have the beginning and the end in mind before you write; I find it helps me work towards a goal rather than float off on a tangent. What are the things that need to happen in order for the end to be reached? String them together, and you should have a rough story line. Once you fill in the gaps, you basically have a complete plot.

Or is it articulating the ideas that you're having trouble with?

[Sir Icehawk]

Doing some editing today. Gotta catch 'em all!

[Meoma-goddess2]

Sathael

Meoma-goddess2

My problem is that I have a ton of great ideas in my heart but i just can't seem to get them down on paper. any ideas?

One at a time, Meoma. Write down your ideas for other projects, but for the time being, just work on writing one. Pick your favourite. Trying to work on more is exhausting, in my experience.

I also find story boarding really helps formulate ideas well: Where does the real meat of the story begin? What is the latest point that you could jump in and still have a complete story? Do you know where the story ends? Try have the beginning and the end in mind before you write; I find it helps me work towards a goal rather than float off on a tangent. What are the things that need to happen in order for the end to be reached? String them together, and you should have a rough story line. Once you fill in the gaps, you basically have a complete plot.

Or is it articulating the ideas that you're having trouble with?

Well i'm writing a sci-fi/horror story and i have a lot of good ideas for the it but i just cant seem to make them sound right on paper. For example: my main character, an amensiac girl with no memory of her past, is meeting her 'Creator" for the first time and an epic battle scene ensues but it's cut short when her sends her back into the past only for her to discover that she destoryed her homeworld.
But when i write it, it just doesn't seem right/

[Rennie`]

Right! I've not progressed.... really.... I'm the Queen of Procrastination.

But, I have created a new outline. It has a list of chapters with events and characters involved. It will help me see, from a glance, what needs adding/expanding/editing. I am now doing a detailed timeline so I can keep the dates relatively consistent (which is important for my novel, I can't have farmers planting during an Inundation or humid nights in winter). Once that's done I can go through my novel and make sure the story line is consistent and fluid, then I tackle the very last stage: GRAMMAR!!!

I'm hoping to increase the word count to 80k, maybe 85k, but for now word count is not essential.

[Sathael]

Meoma-goddess2

Well i'm writing a sci-fi/horror story and i have a lot of good ideas for the it but i just cant seem to make them sound right on paper. For example: my main character, an amensiac girl with no memory of her past, is meeting her 'Creator" for the first time and an epic battle scene ensues but it's cut short when her sends her back into the past only for her to discover that she destoryed her homeworld.
But when i write it, it just doesn't seem right/

Okay, well my first thought is that with amnesiac stories, the writer has a chance to leap straight into the second act. However, in doing so they run the risk of omitting the first act completely. The first act still needs to be in the story, but perhaps through dreams or flashbacks or chapters set in the past, it still has to be included, which some writers fail to do.
Don't forget to write your initial build-up. In fact, by choosing an amnesiac story you're possibly making this harder for yourself, because said build-up will have to be sprinkled throughout the rest of the story.

Secondly, even if it doesn't seem right, you can plough on ahead and write it anyway. What you don't like can be fixed with editing in second and third drafts, etc. Don't be afraid to write a sucky chapter or beginning; it can be amended at a later date once you have the entire story down. What matters is just getting it written so that you can continue on with the rest of it. Don't bother with it being perfect for now, just get the story out.