disgruntled_owl | Entries tagged with get your words out

Status Update

This writing week went better than it had a right to, given my work schedule and other stuff going on in my life, but I'll take the little miracles where I can get them.

1. Words written this week: 2,260. I met or exceeded my GYWO daily quota (411 words) four times, and as of Sunday night I crossed the 20,000 word mark.

I'm finding that I can write words relatively quickly in longhand (about 500 on 30 minutes), but when I am entering things into the computer and revising, I slow way down. It gets tricky to balance making progress against my GWYO goal and actually finishing projects by completing second and third drafts that don't generate many new words (unless I find myself doing wholesale rewrites). Sometimes I am drawn to my GYWO goal, which often feels insurmountable and makes me feel guilty for not writing more, but I'll also look at projects I care about and know they need the kind of attention that won't get me closer to my desired word count. I'd try to make progress on both but most days I just don't have the extra time. I guess it's just a matter of figuring out how to work with that tension from day to day.

2. Write 4+ mornings a week: Made it!

3. Friday Morning Writer Date: A quick one, part of which I spent filling out a Congratulations/Best of Luck card for the executive director of the agency where I work, who retired later that day (and sadly, I can't count those words for GYWO). But! This coming Friday, I leave for my long-weekend, out-of-town writing retreat, so I'll be able to make up for any recent short sessions.

4. Write two original stories: I may have inadvertently started something that would qualify for this. I signed up for GYWO Yahtzee (admittedly, without thinking it through all the way) and received a set of five picture prompts. The idea here is that I'll write something for each prompt, and receive a score based on length and whether I hit on certain things during the story. I took a look at the first prompt, started writing, and just...kept going. It's a longhand first draft, so I'm not yet sure how much of what I've written is really usable, but it felt good to run with an original fiction idea.

5. Write to prompts for story ideas: Achieved (see #4). Essentially, I used one prompt to cover multiple writing sessions.

6. Post personal fanfic: I wrote a Van Helsing (Hammer) headcanon that I'm not sure I'll ever post anywhere, but am glad I have recorded for reference.

7. Craft on My Commute: My Gotham Writers Workshop course is over and I didn't really want to go back to the Story Grid, so I started reading the DIY MFA book by Gabriela Pereira (creator of the DIY MFA website). I've been really enjoying it so far. The early chapters are focused on writing productivity and on using the scientific method to identify writing practices that work for you.

Status Update:

1. Words written this week: 1,058. I met or exceeded my GYWO daily quota (411 words) once. Last week I made my February GYWO check-in. As of 3/1, I was at the 10% mark for my 150,000 word goal. March is always a super-stressful month at work, so I don’t have much hope for catching up. I would like to meet the proposed March monthly goal of 12,740 words, but that might be a real long shot.

2. Write 4+ mornings a week: Achieved.

3. Friday Morning Writer Date: Achieved. Turned my ankle on the way to the coffee shop, but I made it there and made it happen.

4. Write two original stories: No specific progress this week. I’m still writing scenes for my Gotham Writers Workshop Character Development course, though.

5. Write to prompts for story ideas: No specific progress this week. A lot of the homework for the Character Development course is oriented toward making lists or trying to capture the characteristics of people I encounter to day-to-day life. It’s useful stuff that’s getting me thinking, but it means that I don’t produce that much in the way of stories or produce many more words that count towards my GYWO total.

6. Post personal fanfic: No specific progress this week. I expect that I’ll be working on my recipient-oriented project for a while. Still, sign-ups open for Round One of the 2019 MultiFandom Drabble Exchange (

multifandomdrabble) this week, so if I do that I’ll get the satisfaction of finishing something, however small.

7. Craft on My Commute: Achieved. I read Gotham Writers Workshop lecture content and listened to more Writing Excuses. I feel bad because I kind of want to give up on the Story Grid. The book is big and hard to trundle around, and I feel like the book would have been better had the author written it about two or three years after he did, and taken the time in the interim to think through his ideas more. That said, I’m about halfway through, and I am learning some stuff, so maybe I can force myself to push through to the end.

1. Words Written this Week: 2,959. This week I primarily wrote brainstorming notes and draft text for my fic, which I hope to finish by the middle of this month. I achieved the daily word quota for my Get Your Words Out pledge level (411 words) three days this week. I also completed my first GYWO check-in for January. As of 1/31, I wrote 7,053 words, putting me around 5 percent of my 2019 goal (150,000 words). This is still behind where I need to be, but I did surpass the mini-goal I set last week (6,370 words for the month), given that I started the GYWO challenge about halfway through January. Gotta keep my head down and run my own race.

2. Write in the Morning 4+ Days per Week: Achieved, mostly by moving my Craft on My Commute reading to my ride home. I realized that I should have some more specific rules for this item. So, to be able to check this box, I need to write for 20 minutes or more before noon.

3. Friday Morning Writer Date: Achieved. I also found a hotel in Maine for my late winter/early spring writing retreat so I now have a longer term treat to anticipate.

4. Write Two Original Stories: No progress this week (see #5).

5. Write to Prompts for Story Ideas: Achieved a little bit. I did one or two exercises from the LeGuin book but mostly focused on my fic (#1). I realized that I needed to reframe this exercise so it will be more useful.
( Thoughts and feelings about this under the cut )

6. Post Personal Fanfic: Some progress this week (see #1).

7. Craft on My Commute: I read most days this week and finished up Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. LeGuin. I also listened to part of Episode 234 of the DIY MFA Radio podcast, in whch the host interviewed David Corbett, author of The Art of Character. It was interesting to learn more about the interests and writing strategies of the author of one of the best (if intimidating) writing guides I’ve read. The podcast option continues to be helpful for this project because I carry a change of clothes and shoes to work during the winter (two on gym days) and sometimes it’s nice not to have to carry a book on top of everything else.

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disgruntledowl

Entries tagged with get your words out

Writing Goals Update: 3/17/2019

Writing Goals Update 3/3/2019

Writing Goals Update 2/3/2019

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