Daily Goals Progress (Accountability and Encouragement!)

So with that, I’ll kick this off myself:

Current piece I’m working on Q2 piece: currently at 8400 words, 810 words written this morning. Hit brick wall with linking middle to end!

Good idea! I probably won't post much (I know how I can get distracted), but let's try.

Day 1: watched a lecture about opening pages. A big chunk of Q&A was also about querying. Although I'm far from that stage yet, it was very interesting. I went back to my novels' drafts (okay, not polished and not edited much yet) and to be honest, I wouldn't send their first ten pages to anyone, lol. 

No new words, but I sub-ed my recent HM to a market I really like, and I've done some edits. I also started copying all my bits and pieces in a single document (well 3 in fact: one for sci-fi, one for fantasy, and one for horror/weird). So not a bad day.

Posted by: @hannya

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Good idea! I probably won't post much (I know how I can get distracted), but let's try.

Day 1: watched a lecture about opening pages. A big chunk of Q&A was also about querying. Although I'm far from that stage yet, it was very interesting. I went back to my novels' drafts (okay, not polished and not edited much yet) and to be honest, I wouldn't send their first ten pages to anyone, lol. 

No new words, but I sub-ed my recent HM to a market I really like, and I've done some edits. I also started copying all my bits and pieces in a single document (well 3 in fact: one for sci-fi, one for fantasy, and one for horror/weird). So not a bad day.

Congrats on day 1 @hannya  

I agree - working on craft in parallel is essential and something I need to do more of myself! (it was even one of my goals this month!)

Day 2 countdown of 31 I added 400 words to the piece and I'm beginning to get a little annoyed with it. I just want it to end and start on edits, but the story is still incomplete.

On the plus side I did work on a different goal a little today - am reading a craft book titled 'Description', by Monica Wood and I read 8 pages. I always find craft books slow going. This one is good, but not at all what I had expected from the title, ironically enough.

I wrote 681 words yesterday. Not bad, not great, kinda hoping to crank up my average to at least 1000 words per day

Day 2 - No new words as I'm working on editing a 8k sci-fi. This edit pass focuses on voice and I suffer LOL. I'm really bad at voice and I've always avoided digging too deep into this, as I find it very hard and confusing. But this time, I really want to try. Even if I don't nail it, I can experiment and learn from my attempts.

Posted by: @marius

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I wrote 681 words yesterday. Not bad, not great, kinda hoping to crank up my average to at least 1000 words per day

Crank it up a bit at a time- thats part of the point of this thread, to help show your progress/be cheered on by your fellow forumites 

681 words is great!  

Posted by: @hannya

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Day 2 - No new words as I'm working on editing a 8k sci-fi. This edit pass focuses on voice and I suffer LOL. I'm really bad at voice and I've always avoided digging too deep into this, as I find it very hard and confusing. But this time, I really want to try. Even if I don't nail it, I can experiment and learn from my attempts.

Editing definitely counts though I always find it hard to give a 'word count' for editing, thats why I usually set goals of 'editing section or scene X'.

Voice is tough! So many different aspects to think of, and sometimes its hard to stay inside the skin of your POV, but usually it helps me to think 'how would they tell it?' if they were recounting it to me. But great to work on this stuff - I fnd wotf a great space to make these experiements and learn!  

Posted by: @hannya

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Day 2 - No new words as I'm working on editing a 8k sci-fi. This edit pass focuses on voice and I suffer LOL. I'm really bad at voice and I've always avoided digging too deep into this, as I find it very hard and confusing. But this time, I really want to try. Even if I don't nail it, I can experiment and learn from my attempts.

Boy am I struggling with the something similar right now. I'm 5000 words into my novel and in the back of my mind Stephen King is screaming at me that I should finish the first draft before making revisions, but I just know the perspective is wrong. So, I can either keep going and later change the perspective of the entire book, which is much more work, or edit these 5000 words and THEN continue.

...while I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I could just continue in the new perspective and change these first 5000 words later 🙄 but that feels wrong.

Posted by: @marius

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...while I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I could just continue in the new perspective and change these first 5000 words later 🙄 but that feels wrong.

 

THIS

I've pushed way through on 4 novels (none published) but the only way I have done it is keeping that forward momentum. It's also *nice* to have something easy to do as a first edit as that gets the momentum on your editing going when you get to it.

Posted by: @marius

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Boy am I struggling with the something similar right now. I'm 5000 words into my novel and in the back of my mind Stephen King is screaming at me that I should finish the first draft before making revisions, but I just know the perspective is wrong. So, I can either keep going and later change the perspective of the entire book, which is much more work, or edit these 5000 words and THEN continue.

...while I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I could just continue in the new perspective and change these first 5000 words later 🙄 but that feels wrong.

I get this feeling a lot myself, but as novels get longer, the knowledge that something isn't right in the earlier parts just seems to grow. The only way I've ever made it to the end of a draft is by being able to put that feeling aside. Most of the time, I'll add a note to the draft so that I don't lose whatever I was thinking, and then once I've done that, I'll proceed as if I'd already made the change. So I'd end that 5k, note to "change perspective"--as well as anything critical that I think will come out of that, including any minor writing snippets that are in my head relating to it--and then jump to the next bit.

Definitely don't write the rest of the whole novel in the wrong perspective, though! That sounds like a nightmare to me...

Posted by: @marius

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...while I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I could just continue in the new perspective and change these first 5000 words later but that feels wrong.

I'd say that's very personal. I have some friends who would absolutely stop sleeping, eating, functioning if something like this happened, as their brain would constantly remind them that something is wrong, and we can't have something that wrong going on, now, can we?

I personally just add a note in red fond with yellow highlight, swearing at my past self for not having seen this coming and kicking my future self's bum so that everything gets fixed at edits. Then again, I'm a full pantser, so I'm used to writing messy and throwing nonsense at the page. And I can still sleep well. To the screams of horror from my writing buddies 🤣

Day 3 and 4: not much done. I had my first publication coming and my brain'd turned to mush, lol. I managed some edits though, but nothing mind-blowing. I hope to get back to a more serene atmosphere by the weekend. I have several projects I want to work on (either first drafts or edits) and I need to keep on tidying my files. Let's go!

Posted by: @doctorjest

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Definitely don't write the rest of the whole novel in the wrong perspective, though! That sounds like a nightmare to me...

After my wife submitted a new novel to her editor, she was given feedback: Remove the main character, make it about his friends.

Another novel: This should be in first person, not third.
So yeah, nightmare.  

Posted by: @hannya

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Day 3 and 4: not much done. I had my first publication coming and my brain'd turned to mush, lol. I managed some edits though, but nothing mind-blowing. I hope to get back to a more serene atmosphere by the weekend. I have several projects I want to work on (either first drafts or edits) and I need to keep on tidying my files. Let's go!

 

 

Taking a breather after something comes out I think is perfectly normal - even advisable - we need to pause and celebrate/enjoy the moment

I also find it productive to have multiple projects on the go at the same time. That way I'm always in the mood for at least one of them!

Posted by: @tj_knight

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Posted by: @doctorjest

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Definitely don't write the rest of the whole novel in the wrong perspective, though! That sounds like a nightmare to me...

After my wife submitted a new novel to her editor, she was given feedback: Remove the main character, make it about his friends.

Another novel: This should be in first person, not third.
So yeah, nightmare.  

 

ugh. I think i'd rather switch third to first POV than who the MC is altogether. Switching MC is a major major rewrite 😲 

This thread is a great idea. Thanks, @gideonpsmith! I've been struggling with an opening scene. It needs an immediate, internal source of tension instead of trying to derive all its propulsion from the overarching plot, it needs sharper characterizations based on a clearer understanding of what's at stake emotionally for the two principals, and the world-building needs to grow naturally from what's happening in the scene instead of plonking into the mix like a cinderblock thrown from an overpass. My goal is to have a solid draft of the scene by Sat. or Sun. 

Posted by: @ian1109

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This thread is a great idea. Thanks, @gideonpsmith! I've been struggling with an opening scene. It needs an immediate, internal source of tension instead of trying to derive all its propulsion from the overarching plot, it needs sharper characterizations based on a clearer understanding of what's at stake emotionally for the two principals, and the world-building needs to grow naturally from what's happening in the scene instead of plonking into the mix like a cinderblock thrown from an overpass. My goal is to have a solid draft of the scene by Sat. or Sun. 

Nice goal - specific and time limited!

I don't know how writing works best for you, but for me, I often end up making a rough beginning and then re-working the beginning at the end anyway as otherwise I worry too much about getting the beginning 'perfect' without knowing how the rest of the story goes.

reporting in for accountability myself - edited one paragarph today, so not a lot, but am continuing to read the Monica Wood craft book mentioned above

Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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I don't know how writing works best for you, but for me, I often end up making a rough beginning and then re-working the beginning at the end anyway as otherwise I worry too much about getting the beginning 'perfect' without knowing how the rest of the story goes.

 

Yes, I do the same! I'm back at the beginning after writing a complete draft. 

It is Friday! (Friday is not only good for the weekend, but Friday am is also my writing time!) I am at the cafe. I have my 50000calories cinammon bun and my 0 calorie black coffee and I am ready to go! Will report back later if this led to anything other than doom scrolling....but am posting here my intent to write in the hope that it will help keep me to that

Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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....but am posting here my intent to write in the hope that it will help keep me to that

Go, go, go! I'm sure you'll manage lots of writing today!

Same here, I'm sitting at my laptop hoping for fresh words. We'll see!

Yesterday was focusing on the other side of the publishing world with the selection of stories for publication. It took long (we received over 500 if I remember right). So many great stories to discuss and to either accept or regretfully let go. I enjoyed participating in that step of the process. No writing for me then, this meeting took all my writing time, but it was so worth it.

I'm not sure how much I have any actual daily goals right now, but I have a vague, annual goal to have daily goals again very soon. In the meantime, I have a broader, kind of weekly sense of make some kind of meaningful progress. I've done that, but mostly in the front part of the week, with my drafting and initial what-are-these-words-doing-here edit sweep of the story. Nothing yesterday or the day before, though, so I'm posting here with the determination to make a story sweep tonight.

(My draft has a bunch of bullet-point notes at the top, with things I need to review. One of these will be intensity. I am laid-back by nature, and if I don't watch out for it, so are my lead characters.)

I did 913 words today, so I'm gaining steam. If you count the notes I made about necessary changes in previous chapters, I definitely went over the 1000 word benchmark. I decided to keep a list of things to do later instead of immediately going back to previous chapters because apparently, there's literally always something you can edit

Posted by: @hannya

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Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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....but am posting here my intent to write in the hope that it will help keep me to that

Go, go, go! I'm sure you'll manage lots of writing today!

Same here, I'm sitting at my laptop hoping for fresh words. We'll see!

Yesterday was focusing on the other side of the publishing world with the selection of stories for publication. It took long (we received over 500 if I remember right). So many great stories to discuss and to either accept or regretfully let go. I enjoyed participating in that step of the process. No writing for me then, this meeting took all my writing time, but it was so worth it.

thank you for the encouragement @hannya ! While I did get some done, work ended up being more hectic than normal and I did not get anywhere near done what I had planned! 200 words edited and reading on some craft book.

Good for you with the lit mag work - I do slushing for a couple of markets and its always so worthwhile

Posted by: @doctorjest

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(My draft has a bunch of bullet-point notes at the top, with things I need to review. One of these will be intensity. I am laid-back by nature, and if I don't watch out for it, so are my lead characters.)

love this idea - do you have a list of the bulletpoints and you apply them to every story or is it individual each time? I myself tend to write overly chill protagonists so maybe I should take a leaf from your book  

Posted by: @marius

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I did 913 words today, so I'm gaining steam. If you count the notes I made about necessary changes in previous chapters, I definitely went over the 1000 word benchmark. I decided to keep a list of things to do later instead of immediately going back to previous chapters because apparently, there's literally always something you can edit

913 words? strong work for a friday! 👍 👍 👍 

Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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love this idea - do you have a list of the bulletpoints and you apply them to every story or is it individual each time? I myself tend to write overly chill protagonists so maybe I should take a leaf from your book

It's a real mix of bullet-points. For this one, I have a specific detail noted for research to validate the correctness of details, and a couple of detail notes about things I'd like to change or refine because they feel like missing pieces, but I also have some more generic ones, which are along the lines of:

• Sensory hooks
• Emotional intensity
• Specificity in details

These are things that just strengthen the writing in the post edit, in addition to things like simple logic checks--have they done everything they should do, and have they always done everything because it made sense to them, rather than because the story required it? Mostly they have, but sometimes, you find things that make less sense when you question them. And you can become a bit blind to those questions in your own ideas.

Day 6 was edit time. I have new words I'd like to write too, but so many drafted projects need some love. If I want to start 2025 with as clear a slate as I can, I really must finish them.

My current edits are on a 7k sci-fi. I kept on working on voice, and I hope to finish that pass today. As the plot is now pretty solid, next pass will be on settings and descriptions (I tend to underwrite them even though the vision is very vivd in my mind). Hopefully, I'll then only need a pass for line edits, weak words, sentence/paragraph rhythm. AND a final pass that should be text-to-speech.

I started that story in July 2023. Yes, I'm still at it 🤣 

Oh and one rejection. Life's back to normal, sigh. Another 2 years to go for an acceptance lol (if lucky)

Posted by: @hannya

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Day 6 was edit time. I have new words I'd like to write too, but so many drafted projects need some love. If I want to start 2025 with as clear a slate as I can, I really must finish them.

My current edits are on a 7k sci-fi. I kept on working on voice, and I hope to finish that pass today. As the plot is now pretty solid, next pass will be on settings and descriptions (I tend to underwrite them even though the vision is very vivd in my mind). Hopefully, I'll then only need a pass for line edits, weak words, sentence/paragraph rhythm. AND a final pass that should be text-to-speech.

I started that story in July 2023. Yes, I'm still at it 🤣 

Oh and one rejection. Life's back to normal, sigh. Another 2 years to go for an acceptance lol (if lucky)

for hovering ideas/new words I have scratch files that I write the paragraph and come back to later. That way I don't forget them, but it doesn;t mean I have to do all the surrounding work that will detract my focus from what I am really meant to be working on. Don't know if you have similar ways of not forgetting ideas when they buzz in?

How did the pass on the 7k sci-fi go? Love that you do multiple passes focussing on one thing at a time. I also do this, though some things are not worth their own pass so get grouped. 

Ah yes, the eternal cycle of rejection. But if I get a rejection, I try to remember that just is a mark of the fact I'm writing and putting stuff out there. Celebrate every small success, even if on the surface they might not feel liek successes 😉