The Writers Aspirant Accountability Thread

Posted by: @ease

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Great work, Joel, @hannya, @toddjones, @writhmic, @tiinag, @bon, and @gideonpsmith on checking in already.

 

I am unsure if I get extra credit as I have checked in *twice* or it actually counts against me as clearly that means I wasn't doing the goals I originally set as I had forgotten I'd even set them.....   

Posted by: @ease

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Ease's June Goals:

• Write half or more of the mid-level plot. One bullet point per scene. 

FAIL - I did not do this... completely forgot I even intended to. But I did write ~8000 words of prose.

• Revise alien hermit crab story for an anthology, and submit it.

FAIL - The submission window doesn't open until August, if at all... but the story is revised and ready!

• Submit a story to Intergalactic Rejects anthology call (this one's easy because the story has to be already written).

SUCCESS - This one was easy. I even through in some extra revision.

 

July Goals:

• Upload three episodes to Vella... ASAP!
• ... that's it, because that's essentially three whole short-stories with the added burden of being interlinked. 

 

Congrats on the succesful June goal @ease !  

them's some ambitious goals for July tho, better get crackin" if you are to get that done  

Been a while since I've been on the forum, so I'd like to post here to hold myself accountable:

July goals:

1. Write a flash fiction piece and send it somewhere
2. Write the first draft of my Q4 story
3. Hang out on the forum more than I have in the past

Posted by: @storysinger

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https://contest.scifidea.org/

The Dyson Sphere is next on the agenda after the contest deadline. Even if you don't enter it is a concept worth learning about.

I enjoyed spending ages researching this but didn't enter. One name on the list winners stands out. Well done, Brittany.

Fantastic to see you here, @thewritingwolf - I like those goals!

@time, me too. I *really* wanted to, but it would've meant parking all of my other ambitions, and probably still missing the deadline. Brittany is a legend (because of, and regardless of, this win). I really hope the organization pulls through with the funding.

Please forgive a snippet of SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION.

 

The first three episodes are available now, with a new one coming every Thursday.

• Upload one more episode and get a fifth written.

Wrapping up July, and what a month!

July goals:

• Keep on going with the flash fiction workshop. Finished, and I enjoyed it so much. 5 new flash stories under my belt, and I'm quite proud of them. A lot of flash read and critiqued too. Talks and webinars attended. I feel I learned a lot. I also experimented a lot. But above all I had FUN.
• Read a lot. Done. One book finished, another huge one is half way.
• Probably no time for much else. True. This was such a frantic month, but so so good.

I also got a HM for Q2 which I didn't expect at all.

So what will I do in August. I have already started a big project these last few days, which is the rewrite of my draft zero novel. The beast is 120k so it will take long. I have learned a lot since I wrote it so it needs a new approach, some new ideas, a bit of fresh energy. It was flat, too complex, lacking theme, consistency, hooks, clear and distinct characters (and not a million of POVs, please). It was too far from what I have in my mind. So off I go.

August:

• Rewrite novel, 1 chapter a week (I'd be tempted to try 2, but it's the first time I do this, so let's be sensible for once).
• Edit at least 1 short story or 2 flash.
• Keep on having a minimum of 8 submissions pending at all time.
• Submit for Q4

Happy August everyone

Posted by: @toddjones

July 2024 Goals:

• Start a new story for Q4 WotF - FAIL
• Revisit Semi-Finalist WotF story and notes for part 2 to complete story - COMPLETED
• Jot notes down for a future new story - COMPLETED
• Become a Q2 winner! (Think big or go home ... wait, I'm at home. Augh.) - ACHIEVED HM

 

August 2024 Goals:

• Complete a new story draft for Q4 WotF
• Complete draft for part 2 of Semi-Finalist WotF story

@hannya, five new flash stories is amazing! Sounds like you really honed your edge. You gonna send them out? That's an ambitious August, but you've already shown repeatedly your vast capacity, so I'm certain you'll knock it out of the park. I'm glad you're letting us follow along with your journey.

@toddjones, grand work on getting that plotting done. Do you have a target market for SF pt. 2? Maybe V42 Q1? I'm hoping that V42 proves to be the answer to Life, The Contest, and Everything for many Aspirant Writers 😊 

@ajschultz6, @clfors, @writhmic, @pdblake, @annax, @kz_richards, @joel-c-scoberg, @storysinger, @physa, @pegeen, @kent, @jeschleicher, @sconn, @gideonpsmith, @ericstallsworth, @tiinag, @olivia-ava, @abeona, @bon, @tj_knight, @thewritingwolf - how went your July? Y'all (excluding a couple overachievers 😉) have two months left of V41 Q4 - that is oodles of time. 

For myself:

Posted by: @ease

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July Goals:

• Upload three episodes to Vella... ASAP!
  • SUCCESS
• ... that's it, because that's essentially three whole short-stories with the added burden of being interlinked.  
  • Success?

added July Goal:

• Upload one more episode and get a fifth written 
  • SUCCESS -Episode 4 is uploaded, Episode 5 is written, and as of just now, so is Episode 6.

August Goals:

• Write and upload 4 more Kindle Vella episodes.
• Write another chapter of the Ashes to Ashes sequel novel.

That looks like more than I can reasonably achieve, but given I have deadlines for both, I'm not giving myself a choice.

I hope you're all having a fantastic summer, and that the parents among us are surviving the summer break. A friend of mine has gifted two (of my four) daughters dozens of days of free summer camp, and I am endlessly grateful. Not sure I'd have achieved my goals, or kept my sanity, without it.

Also, if you haven't already, chuck your socials up in this thread, give someone(s) a follow or a like, and let's keep supporting one another!

Thanks for the kick @ease

July was awful writing wise. I was on holiday for a bit of it but for a couple of weeks I had a horrible infection that made all the glands in my mouth swell up, my tongue turn white and left me with a horrible taste for a couple of weeks. Along with the pounding headaches and the glands in my neck swelling up too, I didn't get much done.

Anyway. August is never a good month for me. A couple of horrible anniversaries, one either end of the month, and a boat load of bad memories. I may rock in a corner for a while but I hope some writing will get me through the worst of it.

I won't set any goals for this month. Just getting any words down at all will be sufficient for me, though I really want to get my WIP over the line, which should be doable.

@pdblake I'm sorry you have that ahead of you, and hope it passes less painfully than expected.

When I know I have a tough time ahead of me, I often set the goal 'one word per day' - it feels pretty manageable, and 9 times out of 10 that one word turns into one thousand (but it's fine if it doesn't).

Sending thoughts and feelings your way.

@pdblake I'm sorry you had such a bad month, that infection sounds so painful. I'm a big believer in showing yourself grace and kindness, so I applaud your plans for August, and I hope it'll turn better than expected

My goal for July was to tinker with ideas, so I did that. I have two new story ideas developing and somewhat outlined. The newer one compels me more at the moment and I'm trying to figure out the best starting point and POV.

August goal (besides surviving this heat) is to keep writing, keep reading, and hopefully get a full draft out of one of the two new WIPs. Team soft goals! 

Posted by: @ease

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Do you have a target market for SF pt. 2? Maybe V42 Q1?

I have a couple in mind. It can't be WotF, since it continues/finishes the storyline and isn't standalone.

@pdblake Sorry you had such a bad month. Glad you're optimistic about next month.

My July wasn't so great. Mostly tinkering.

Started something new the other day, so I'll shoot for 15k this month and more reading. Less reading, I'm sure, is why I've slowed down.

Read read read!

July goals were:

1. Submit something to a magazine

Submitted multiple pieces to multiple magazines (and then got lots of rejections 😆 )

2. Write a new flash fiction piece

I did write new flash fiction

3. Go on vacation

I have just got back from vacation today! With covid ☹️ 

So I did very well on my July goals even if they didn't end up quite as I would have liked them to  

August goals:

1. Write some more blog posts - have been more consistent recently and so got more traffic and I would like to keep that going

2. Write a new flash fiction piece

3. Bought a boat load new craft books and plan to try and break one of them open

200 words today, so, getting there?

I did send a novel out for a beta read, so there is that...

@tj_knight That beats my 17, and zero novels sent out for beta reads!

My first post in this thread. During August I'm intending to sub stories to the following 4 markets:

• Saros SpecFic - 5-18 Aug

- just waiting for the window to open as story is ready (an R from WOTF)

• APEX Magazine unpublished window - August to September

- currently revising a story for this (an HM from WOTF)

• Uncanny Magazine - 5 Aug - 2 Sep

- need to revise a story (an R from WOTF)

• Apparition Lit magazine - 15-31 Aug

- need to revise a story (hasn't been to WOTF but may not be suitable)

Posted by: @ease

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@hannya, five new flash stories is amazing! Sounds like you really honed your edge. You gonna send them out? That's an ambitious August, but you've already shown repeatedly your vast capacity, so I'm certain you'll knock it out of the park. I'm glad you're letting us follow along with your journey.

Thanks! Yes, I'll send them out. I've already sent 2 in fact, but only because these markets were closing, and probably not reopening for a while, so I didn't have much time to spend on revision (which I will do when the Rs come back, lol)

Still going strong, despite the temperature these days being hell. Chapter 1 of my novel is now rewritten; too long at 6k but that's a problem for future revising me. It's definitely darker, which is what it needed. The characters start finding their voices as well, and that was a huge issue for me in draft zero.

I'm also 2/3 into the revision of a 7k sci-fi short story, and it really comes together nicely. Not sure it'll ever be a contender for WOTF because it's really leaning into horror now. But who doesn't like a bit of sci-fi horror??? Off I go again, I'm at final boss fight-to-the-death thingy 🤩 

@ease Excellent progress on those goals!

I’m late on updating, but I was able to write four new stories last month, which I think meets my July goal. Didn’t place in my writing contest with any of my stories, but I wrote 3 out of 4 in less than a day each, so it was good practice for writing more efficiently.

For August I hope to write 450 of Q4, and fully outline it. If I can get that done, I will also write a story for another market.

I have already outlined and abandoned two stories for Q4 because I determined they weren’t right for WotF. It’s so frustrating knowing where I fall short but being unable to fix it. Every time I follow a story that interests me, it morphs into something that no longer fits the market. Surely there’s a crossover between what makes me tick and what WotF wants, right? Right? Maybe story number three checks all the boxes.

I always struggled to come up with fantastical. A story with like zero basis in reality and go from there. Like EJS's people that live inside a sun. I never would have thought of that. My ideas were always struggles in possible scenarios, not impossible ones.

I think IGMS stories were good for the impossible. Perhaps no coincidence that EJS was a major editor over there. Dunno if you can still find them anywhere, but they were good for inspiration. That was probably the closest market to WotF in terms of what they publish(ed).

Dave frequently talked about transporting your reader. I think in the 450 it's super important to transport (speculatively, that is). If you take us away, and fast, you've probably got a decent story for WotF.

@tj_knight This is exactly my struggle. I will definitely focus on transporting the reader during that first 450. Great advice!

Posted by: @kz_richards

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I wrote 3 out of 4 in less than a day each,

That is certainly efficient writing. I need to improve on my speed at getting the first draft down, then going back to edit. I edit what I have done at the start of each session (it is an itch I cannot seem to shake off until I have done it), which reduces my output to a glacial speed.

As always, I can't really remember my previous month's goals but they are mostly the same each month so I will take a punt and say:

• FINALLY start writing a novel...Failed.
• Submit a story to another market....Success!
• Edit another story with a view to sending it out...almost there with two stories (both former HMs). I submitted to BCS for the first time and got a very helpful critique back, which I will hopefully put to good use.

August goals:

• FINALLY start writing a novel
• Submit two freshly edited stories to another market
• Start my next story for WotF

Posted by: @tj_knight

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I think IGMS stories were good for the impossible. Perhaps no coincidence that EJS was a major editor over there. Dunno if you can still find them anywhere, but they were good for inspiration. That was probably the closest market to WotF in terms of what they publish(ed).

You mean these stories?

All past issues? Whaaaaat?

I'm looking at the names and I'm like, personal hero, personal hero. Daaamn. What a great find! Thanks for posting that.

So many WotF folks in there.

You're welcome

Trying to keep up with more social media is challenging for me. 🙁

Posted by: @thewritingwolf

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July goals:

1. Write a flash fiction piece and send it somewhere -- I DID THIS!
2. Write the first draft of my Q4 story -- I got started, but it's still a WIP
3. Hang out on the forum more than I have in the past -- um...yeah.

As for my August goals, I'm trying to write four (five?!) fresh stories for upcoming/closing open calls. I've already finished two of them, and I started going to a local writers meetup that has been very helpful with my focus.