[Sixty]

Bloated.

I ended up cutting off a LOT of stuff; in retrospect, that might have been too much. I'll need to re-add a lot of stuff to expand the scene-setting, mostly. Spent way too much time telling emotions, and I removed several unnecessary scenes or parts of scenes. I'm thinking I might need an extra revision in between clean up the beginning, although I liked my writing a lot better as I went on...it changed from completely rewriting half the words to changing a sentence or two every few paragraphs.

[Yellow]

Always a good sign - shows that all the hard work is paying off

At the moment, I'm trying to stick to 1000 words per day, at least five days per week. It doesn't always happen (I think last week I did three days), but the rate at which I'm getting through this book is soooooooo much better than the last one. I don't spend weeks obsessing over the next scene any more, only to find that it didn't come out quite how I planned. Instead, I think about it for a day or two, and still find that it didn't quite come out how I planned.

About 23k words in so far!

This post has been edited by Yellow: 11 March 2009 - 07:41 AM

[Grimjust Bearegular]

Yellow, on Mar 11 2009, 08:38 AM, said:

Always a good sign - shows that all the hard work is paying off

At the moment, I'm trying to stick to 1000 words per day, at least five days per week. It doesn't always happen (I think last week I did three days), but the rate at which I'm getting through this book is soooooooo much better than the last one. I don't spend weeks obsessing over the next scene any more, only to find that it didn't come out quite how I planned. Instead, I think about it for a day or two, and still find that it didn't quite come out how I planned.

About 23k words in so far!

You write a 1000 words per day?! I'm lucky if I can manage that in two weeks. I wish I had that kind of discipline...I could've finished a whole bunch of stories a long time ago. Damn this penchant for procrastination!

[Yellow]

It's difficult, especially when you get back from work and you know you have about an hour to get it done, before the missus comes home and you need to make the tea etc etc. If I have a day off from work (or on a weekend), I can get it done before 10 am, which is no hard deal.

But it's doable. Painful some days as well, but you definitely get a kick from finishing those 1000 words, and you can be on to the next stage so much quicker than letting it stew in your mind for X amount of time. (For comparison - my last book I just wrote when I felt like it, so some weeks I'd do 10k words, then I'd do nothing for four months, then do some more... the thing took me about four years to write 200k, which I've vowed will not happen again)

This post has been edited by Yellow: 11 March 2009 - 08:32 AM

[Grimjust Bearegular]

Yellow, on Mar 11 2009, 09:29 AM, said:

It's difficult, especially when you get back from work and you know you have about an hour to get it done, before the missus comes home and you need to make the tea etc etc. If I have a day off from work (or on a weekend), I can get it done before 10 am, which is no hard deal.

But it's doable. Painful some days as well, but you definitely get a kick from finishing those 1000 words, and you can be on to the next stage so much quicker than letting it stew in your mind for X amount of time. (For comparison - my last book I just wrote when I felt like it, so some weeks I'd do 10k words, then I'd do nothing for four months, then do some more... the thing took me about four years to write 200k, which I've vowed will not happen again)

Jeez, I've been writing for 6 years now, on and off of course, and I've finished like 5 stories, the longest being 26 pages. It's ridiculous! I keep telling myself I'll write in the weekends, I'll write when I get my new lap-top, I'll write when i have some time off from work...but I never do. Maybe it just isn't for me. But I'm glad you guys can do it. Your books will surely be awesome!

[Lisheo]

Grimhilde, on Mar 11 2009, 02:15 PM, said:

Yellow, on Mar 11 2009, 09:29 AM, said:

It's difficult, especially when you get back from work and you know you have about an hour to get it done, before the missus comes home and you need to make the tea etc etc. If I have a day off from work (or on a weekend), I can get it done before 10 am, which is no hard deal.

But it's doable. Painful some days as well, but you definitely get a kick from finishing those 1000 words, and you can be on to the next stage so much quicker than letting it stew in your mind for X amount of time. (For comparison - my last book I just wrote when I felt like it, so some weeks I'd do 10k words, then I'd do nothing for four months, then do some more... the thing took me about four years to write 200k, which I've vowed will not happen again)

Jeez, I've been writing for 6 years now, on and off of course, and I've finished like 5 stories, the longest being 26 pages. It's ridiculous! I keep telling myself I'll write in the weekends, I'll write when I get my new lap-top, I'll write when i have some time off from work...but I never do. Maybe it just isn't for me. But I'm glad you guys can do it. Your books will surely be awesome!

Im the same. Although the longished unfinished story I've ever written is about 300 pages long. Epic novel would have been awesome. Think there's a summary around here somewhere.

EDIT: Not to meniton the odd other 1000+ pages of stories andnotes in the same world.

[Yellow]

Grimhilde, on Mar 11 2009, 02:15 PM, said:

Jeez, I've been writing for 6 years now, on and off of course, and I've finished like 5 stories, the longest being 26 pages. It's ridiculous! I keep telling myself I'll write in the weekends, I'll write when I get my new lap-top, I'll write when i have some time off from work...but I never do. Maybe it just isn't for me. But I'm glad you guys can do it. Your books will surely be awesome!

You have to force yourself to do it, whether you're in the mood or not. This article might be interesting:

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2009/01/c...-in-age-of.html

A trick I use to get myself in the mood is to come in, go on my usual forums (like now), then gradually work towards the writing forums I go on. There's one I end up on where I'm not registered and don't ever post, so I never get caught up in discussions... but just reading the thread puts me into a writing place. It's easier to then go and do some work.

Would be harder if I was talking about the flim I went to see last weekend (e.g. on this forum), as my mind would be in a different gear.

[Sixty]

What I do to write is...well, lately I've mostly only been revising so I don't have a word goal.

I try to avoid working by words and instead by content or plot; that is, I try to do 1 chapter per 2-3 school days and 1 chapter per weekend/no school day. My chapters were initially anywhere from 4k-7k words but after my first revision the longest is under 6k, and most are around the 3-4k range. I've started my second revision and the total is around 127k words (by ms word count), and 600+ pages using 12pt courier new, or ~150k by the old typewriter count.

A good way I found to get myself in the mood for writing was to read something else. If it was something bad, my innate over-competitiveness would kick in and I'd have a sudden urge to write something better (except it's a first draft, so it's intrinsically worse) or I'll get some inspiration.

[Grimjust Bearegular]

Yellow, on Mar 11 2009, 07:18 PM, said:

Grimhilde, on Mar 11 2009, 02:15 PM, said:

Jeez, I've been writing for 6 years now, on and off of course, and I've finished like 5 stories, the longest being 26 pages. It's ridiculous! I keep telling myself I'll write in the weekends, I'll write when I get my new lap-top, I'll write when i have some time off from work...but I never do. Maybe it just isn't for me. But I'm glad you guys can do it. Your books will surely be awesome!

You have to force yourself to do it, whether you're in the mood or not. This article might be interesting:

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2009/01/c...-in-age-of.html

A trick I use to get myself in the mood is to come in, go on my usual forums (like now), then gradually work towards the writing forums I go on. There's one I end up on where I'm not registered and don't ever post, so I never get caught up in discussions... but just reading the thread puts me into a writing place. It's easier to then go and do some work.

Would be harder if I was talking about the flim I went to see last weekend (e.g. on this forum), as my mind would be in a different gear.

Thanks for the article, it gave me a few ideas. I think I'm gonna start writing at work, when it's quite here and not much else to do. I'll just surf the interwebs then anyway, so why not write instead? It might be very productive:)

[Sixty]

I'd try writing at school (when I have pc access) but I'd probably be too distracted. It's hard enough to play mafia when I'm listening to someone droning in the background.

[Fist Gamet]

A number of years back, the writing section was kept fairly busy by several budding authors posting up parts of their works-in-progress, chapter by chapter, for feedback and suggestions. For those who do not remember, it worked really well and was incredibly useful. It made a huge impact on my own writing and certainly made me a far better writer. I would like to know if any of you feel this is something you would want to kick-start once again? I know for sure there are at least a couple of you who would enjoy this, but it can be disheartening to post something up and get no replies at all (which has happened a few times).

Yes, it takes a bit of time and effort but if you have work you would like feedback on then you need to reciprocate, yes?

It might help to think of it as a long-term project, and you don't need to be posting and reading every week. You just need to be willing to stick with it over time.

Anyway, if we can generate some interest, we can take it from there.

[Sixty]

TBH based on advice I've read about avoiding such online posting if you want/plan to get published, I'd be a little averse to posting large chunks of my WIP. A chapter or two maybe, or an excerpt. Otherwise it'd be limited to other projects.

[Fist Gamet]

Hmm, where did you get this advice, mate? What was the problem?

[Yellow]

I wouldn't worry too much about that. You can just send out a word document to the interested parties with your latest updates in--that's what a few of us used to do and it worked pretty well.

I'd be up for this, if others are.

[Sixty]

I believe this was posted somewhere on AbsoluteWrite. I don't recall the exact reasoning, but I believe the poster was published or an agent or something along those lines so I'd be inclined to agree...

Either way, my WIP is still undergoing extensive revisions even halfway through my 6th draft so I wouldn't be too keen on sending it out. D: Maybe when it's closer to completion.

I suppose if someone wanted to exchange a couple chapters, though, there'd be no harm.

[Yellow]

There's lots of "advice" on AbsoluteWrite.

I can't remember the name of the site, but it's something like SFFW workshop or something, where basically people upload a chapter of their work and get feedback on it. The only way to earn enough credits to post up another chapter is to crit at least three other people's uploads. This ends up with a thriving community because you can't be selfish--you have to take part if you want to upload your own stuff.

My point is that people who use that site get published all the time. They can remove their chapters any time they want.


Anyway, back to us. My WIP is a sequel, so perhaps not the best thing for people to read. But I did just finish a rewrite on the first book, and I want to shop it around soon... so if you want to send me a chapter for a read, I can do the same. Getting some feedback would be useful at this point.

edit - I found the site.

http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/

I used it a few years ago, and got some useful feedback on my prologue and first chapter. Like any site, it has its drawbacks - I know that a couple of the people who gave feedback were just trying to rip through the work as fast as possible and give just a superficial crit... but most of the feedback was from people who spent the time to think about what I was trying to do and give genuine advice. The nice thing is that you are almost guaranteed at least a couple of responses, due to their points system.

I can't remember if membership is only free for the first few months, or if paid subscription just gives you extra access, but I know I was on there for a good few months and didn't pay a penny.

This post has been edited by Yellow: 16 June 2009 - 06:48 AM

[Sixty]

Hmm that seems pretty neat; I might try it out.

But if you wanted to do an exchange of some sort via this forum I'd be down. I'm not so sure exactly why critique you'd be looking for (something in-depth like an editor almost, or just a general reader's impression etc.) but I'd be open to suggestions.

[Grimjust Bearegular]

Yellow, on Jun 16 2009, 07:23 AM, said:

There's lots of "advice" on AbsoluteWrite.

I can't remember the name of the site, but it's something like SFFW workshop or something, where basically people upload a chapter of their work and get feedback on it. The only way to earn enough credits to post up another chapter is to crit at least three other people's uploads. This ends up with a thriving community because you can't be selfish--you have to take part if you want to upload your own stuff.

My point is that people who use that site get published all the time. They can remove their chapters any time they want.


Anyway, back to us. My WIP is a sequel, so perhaps not the best thing for people to read. But I did just finish a rewrite on the first book, and I want to shop it around soon... so if you want to send me a chapter for a read, I can do the same. Getting some feedback would be useful at this point.

edit - I found the site.

http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/

I used it a few years ago, and got some useful feedback on my prologue and first chapter. Like any site, it has its drawbacks - I know that a couple of the people who gave feedback were just trying to rip through the work as fast as possible and give just a superficial crit... but most of the feedback was from people who spent the time to think about what I was trying to do and give genuine advice. The nice thing is that you are almost guaranteed at least a couple of responses, due to their points system.

I can't remember if membership is only free for the first few months, or if paid subscription just gives you extra access, but I know I was on there for a good few months and didn't pay a penny.

I'm defintely gonna check that place out. Thanks for the link

[Yellow]

Sixty, on Jun 16 2009, 02:06 PM, said:

But if you wanted to do an exchange of some sort via this forum I'd be down. I'm not so sure exactly why critique you'd be looking for (something in-depth like an editor almost, or just a general reader's impression etc.) but I'd be open to suggestions.

I'm not asking for detailed line-editing or anything like that. I'd like to know if the story grabs people, if characters behave and speak in a believable way, if it's balanced and self-consistent, all that kind of stuff. Basically I'd like to know what readers think of it A couple of people have read it so far and the response was that it was enjoyable--from what I can tell, it was a good read, not amazing and not terrible. I'd like something more specific, which is probably more doable when taken a chapter at a time.

But yeah, whatever kind of crit you (and others) want for your own stuff, I'm happy to try. If you want my email addy to send anything, just let me know and I'll PM you.

Any other takers on this? Gamet mentioned above that this kind of activity seriously helps with the motivation and workrate... and it definitely did for me when I first started here. I think I wrote about three chapters in six months before joining up here, and after that I was cranking them out at a rate of about a chapter a month (or even less!), because I wanted to get the story out to the people who were reading it. It was good fun

This post has been edited by Yellow: 16 June 2009 - 06:05 PM

[MTS]

I'll take a look at anything if people want me to, but I'm not nearly confident (or prolific) enough to put up any of my work. I is shy