V37 Alternator Challenge

Thank you for the suggestions. Honestly I feel like sleep is my biggest barrier (that and being distinctly NOT in love with my job). When I'm writing something new I do find my wait at the bus stop and ride on the bus quite productive sometimes. Maybe I just need to start taking my notebook with me again - despite it being pitch black out when I go to work these days. And your offer of a critique is generous too - maybe I'll take you up on it. But sleep needs to come first !

Weird question, but it works for me sometimes--do you have a cell phone that you could take quick notes on and/or poke at drafts in progress with? (Preferably one with access to Google Docs or some such, for easy transfer from device to device.) I can't edit longer pieces on my phone, but I can write early draft material on it. Might work for you; might not. (My mom doesn't understand why it worked for me.)

Thanks guys for the warm welcoming.
I've been a slump for the last year, I know what it's like
BTW what did you do on Nanowrimo? Any luck. This year I focused on short stories so no Nano for me.

Well done Michael on keeping up that pace. Very impressive. Alex it sounds like you are doing a pretty solid job too with both revising and new writing.

Wish I could join in and say how well I'm doing but honestly I am in one of the biggest slumps I've been in for a long time. One of these days I'll get a few good nights of sleep in and I'll feel capable of putting words on paper (or editing words). In the meantime I'm here to cheer all of you on!

Disgruntledpeony - sometimes I feel like the last holdout in the world with no cell phone. But inching ever closer to deciding to get one.

aidanka I did absolutely nothing for Nanowrimo. Despite my plans to work on a novel rewrite it just didn't happen. I personally think if you want to consider short stories as part of Nano that is okay. My first Nano I did what would be the "classic" nano thing - I wrote a novel that I basically wrote entirely that month (although I had a couple paragraphs written before Nov 1 I don't count that as breaking the rules). After that I've been all over the place - all I care is that when I participate in it whether it gives me a bit of a boost to my enthusiasm and desire to write. When it doesn't I leave it behind (like this year). So that's my long winded way of saying if you wrote and want to count it as Nano relevant you should

Disgruntledpeony - sometimes I feel like the last holdout in the world with no cell phone. But inching ever closer to deciding to get one.

No worries! Just wanted to check. You might be able to finagle something with a pocket flashlight, although that might stay too far into juggling of objects.

Streetlight is probably enough light at my actual bus stop in reality. If I'm honest it isn't the dark getting in the way :p

Lack of sleep is a great obstacle to writing and, in my personal experience, only really solved by sleeping. My youngest just turned three months old and I have soup between my ears most days. We may just both have to ride it out, czing, and here's hoping we both get caught up on rest this weekend (and then find wonderful low-stress jobs!). My reader-brain is a little more resilient to impairment and so I'm just filling up the creative tank on bad days.

That is a good idea glib! I haven't been reading much and I have a couple good books on writing I could read to maybe stimulate some of the writing urges!

I don't have a new born but I can only guess it would be mushy peas filling my head if I did

I'm a little late to this thread, but I like the sound of this challenge. I think I'll try something like it in 2020 (although I may do it biweekly).

Hopefully whatever form you like will work for you. Bi-weekly seems like a good pace to me, if I can bust out of these doldrums I suspect I will start using the two week interval.

For those of us alternating this quarter,

I picked up The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass based on a suggestion somewhere else on this forum and I'd like to report that it's perfect for rewriting in short sessions. The exercises he gives are applied to your current projects (I personally am not in the mood for general writing exercises when I have more ideas than time) and they are nicely portable: you can follow his guided brainstorming for one of your emotional moments while away from your main workspace/draft.

Still looking for the secret sauce, one draft at a time!

Someone is doing tweet discussions of that book (C.L. Polk I think). I came across one of them and it made me wonder if I should pick that book up - then here you are recommending it. I do find a good writing resource can often break me out of my slumps. Perhaps this is just the thing I need! Thanks for the suggestion!

Woohooo! I have done some revision work over the last two weeks or so. One key thing completed was to do another round of revision on a previous HM story that I have submitted for Q1 V37. I'm hoping for a better placement this time around as I have definitely improved the story overall.

Going to make a concerted effort to work on something new for the next two weeks starting tomorrow. So through the rest of the month I want to work on a new story. I am fairly certain I know which one I want to work on but will allow myself tonight to let things percolate. I think my biggest issue I want to connect on for it is the voice of the character. It is a follow up story to one I finished drafting a while back. That one has one of the strongest voices I've written. This new one is from a different character POV and I want them to be clearly different but don't want this new one to seem weak in comparison. Just have to get some ideas of how to make that voice distinct and strong.

I'm glad you're getting more done now. Perseverance pays off.
My fresh attempts for this quarter are either really poor or taking forever to get anywhere.

I've got a moderate cache of those hanging around the place. I feel like all the ideas are worth exploring I just wonder if I wasn't in the right place to do them justice or if they weren't substantial enough for the length of story I tried to create from them or... or... or...

I do think I will get back to all of them at some point though. So even if those fresh ones are slow for now doesn't mean they will always be that way. Hope the right one strengthens/speeds up for you

So how's everybody doing on the challenges?

I'm still going strong on the story a week challenge. Sent in story #37 last night.

Going for two stories/week the next three weeks, since I've got Anthology submissions to write in addition to my weeklies. Fun, fun.

V/R,
Michael

Wow nothing like pushing yourself Michael. I have gotten back to doing some writing finally! I expect these first two weeks to be about writing a second story to follow the one I will edit in the second half of the month (that one will be my entry for this quarter).

Well done Michael!

I ended Q1 with one story from new ingredients, and one rewrite/edit of leftovers. That will probably be my goal again for Q2, although I'm still lifting pot lids and peering into what I have simmering while thinking about 2020 as a whole.

I've set up a 2020 tracking spreadsheet. I love playing with Excel so far it seems to be helping me hit a variety of goals - not just writing goals, but reading goals and various life goals. Not a resolution but instead something that is easier to start at beginnings (could've started it in December if I hadn't been funked out).

New story is coming along. I did dash in briefly to edit one small thing on my related story because it's been niggling away in my brain for a while.

I've set up a 2020 tracking spreadsheet. I love playing with Excel so far it seems to be helping me hit a variety of goals - not just writing goals, but reading goals and various life goals. Not a resolution but instead something that is easier to start at beginnings (could've started it in December if I hadn't been funked out).

New story is coming along. I did dash in briefly to edit one small thing on my related story because it's been niggling away in my brain for a while.

Ooooh, I Love a good Excel spreadsheet!
*runs to make 2020 matrix*

Don't know if anyone is still working on some kind of alternating schedule or not - I'm still attempting it and finally have some results to report. I completed a story the other day, and have now also finished the edit on another one. The edited piece is a flash piece and may still need another round so it flows a little more smoothly. But I'm going to shift to writing a new piece (although it is actually going to be finishing a piece I previously wrote the first couple paragraphs of -- it's simmered a while in my back brain and I think it's ready to come out now). Then I've got a couple other flash pieces I'm going to put to the editing part of the cycle.

My February goal is 3 stories written and 3 edited and I think I should be able to hit that!

My alternating is more accident than design this quarter. Since November/December, I've never struggled so much to get the editing over the line. I have too many stories almost ready for submission, but sometimes it's just one aspect I'm unsure of how to fix.

Haven't been alternating, but still cranking on The Great Challenge.

45 Weeks in, 45 stories done. 7 more to go.

That’s seriously impressive. Congratulations

I just sent in story #48.

How are you guys doing on your challenges? Still going strong?

I'll skulk back and admit that my alternator challenge caught COVID-19. I decided to reframe my goal as attacking writing like a feral possum trying to get into a garbage can, and going at it with great intensity whenever I spot the smallest chance. I seem to be averaging two stories a month this way.

Michael, have you finished your challenge? Is it time to get the parade & fireworks ready?

I decided to reframe my goal as attacking writing like a feral possum trying to get into a garbage can, and going at it with great intensity whenever I spot the smallest chance. I seem to be averaging two stories a month this way.

Seems like a good plan to me! 

Michael, have you finished your challenge? Is it time to get the parade & fireworks ready?

Yes, and I'm sorry I didn't announce it here. 52 for 52, total success. Actually it was more like 54 because a couple weeks there I did more than one.

That said...

In the month and a half since completing that challenge I've done VERY little.

SF x1
SHM x5
HM x18

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