Group A Buddy Group Post -- December

[dbskyler]

Creating a place for the four of us where we can communicate, support, encourage, poke, whine, and brag!

Comments

[dbskyler]

And, to start things off . . .

I am hoping to get some writing done this weekend. The good news is, I feel like writing. The bad news is, I feel like writing something that isn't my WIP. And I really need to force myself to engage with this WIP, or it will again have zero progress for months.

I'm going to try to give myself a small writing goal, and say that once I hit it, I'm allowed to go work on something else.

How's the weekend going for everyone else?

[charamei]

Hooray for the writing mood! Small wordcount goals are definitely the way to go XD

[charamei]

I've red-lined chapter 1 and the epilogue; I'm going to try and get chapter 2 done this evening and tomorrow. Started rewriting one of the scenes from NaNo, but I think I really need to rewrite chapter 3 first; so much happens in it that I can't even remember. The aim is to get red-lining done by the end of next week, and then I can focus on the rewrites over Christmas.

ETA: Oh, here's a question: does anyone have any good ideas for describing scents without recourse to generalisations (spicy, pungent) or comparisons (cedar, cinnamon)?

The former is bad writing; the latter is causing me problems because there's no possible way that my newborn Time Tots could know what cedar and cinnamon smell of to make the comparison. Likewise, they don't know what most things on Gallifrey smell like yet, so I can't just call a rabbit a smeerp.

So. Cedar and cinnamon. What do they smell like?

[dbskyler]

Sounds like you've made good progress, and are on track to make more! Well done!

As for describing scents, oooh, that's really hard. I don't think you're going to be able to get people to recognize cedar and cinnamon just from a description without using those words, but you could talk about the impact they have? For example, cinnamon makes me hungry, and it smells sweet to me (although that might be because I associate it with sweet things, like apple cider). Cedar smells woodsy to me, and fresh, and it feels comforting. But newborns wouldn't know those terms, or have those associations, so that might not work.

If it's important to really say what the scents are (as opposed to just describing new sensations newborns are having), maybe an adult could walk into the room, give away that information in a conversation and then walk out again?

[charamei]

maybe an adult could walk into the room, give away that information in a conversation and then walk out again?

There are no adults XD No adults, a big scary alien on the floor above them, and they're locked in. If an adult wandered into the nursery he'd be mobbed by cuddle-starved toddlers before he could open his mouth.

Terms are fine; their Looms gave them perfect vocabularies. You're right about the associations, though. I might just have to go with 'it's sweet and spicy, and it calms him down and makes him sleepy'. The effect of the scent is more important than the scent itself, after all.

[dbskyler]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOMS!!!! (Sorry, couldn't resist. :D) I think going with how the scents make them feel is a good tactic.

Poor little toddlers! I hope the big scary alien turns out to be Leela or something. ; )

[anehan]

It's the 6th already and I've done exactly zero writing. *sigh* I've been sleeping. Like, really sleeping. Maybe the flu is trying to come on. I don't know. I've also been quite busy and continue to be so until the 14th. I hope that after mid-month, I'll be able to devote more time to writing. However, I should write at least a little bit every day even before it so as not to lose my touch. *whips self*

[charamei]

I hope whatever's ailing you goes away soon!

If it helps, I find that 100 words/day is a good number when I really don't feel like it or don't have the time. It's a godawfully slow way to write, but you get something done - and when you next have a chance to write properly, you're not looking at quite as much work as you would be otherwise.

(Also, if you're so blocked that writing is painful, it's big enough to feel like an achievement and small enough that you can grit your teeth and push through it.)

[anehan]

I opened my WIP folder today and finally got back to writing. I'd forgotten how good it feels, even when I'm producing crap. :-) I set a goal of 100 words, as per your recommendation, and actually wrote 300. I feel ridiculously pleased with myself.

[charamei]

Hooray for you!

It does feel good, doesn't it? Rather like coming home.

[dbskyler]

It's very possible that you're getting sick! Take care of yourself and allow yourself to sleep if that's what your body is asking to do. But I also think that you and charamei are right; if you can set a very small daily writing goal, that will keep you in "writing mode" and make you feel that at least some progress is happening. To finish off last month's challenge I set myself a goal of 20 words per day, which worked really well as it was so ridiculously small, I was able to force myself to sit down to do it even when I was exhausted. Then once I started, things usually took off and I would go well beyond that word count.

[anehan]

Then once I started, things usually took off and I would go well beyond that word count.

That's exactly what happens with me. Today, I began with the goal of 100 words, as per charamei's recommendation. I'm now at 300 words. It's not terribly much either, but it feels good. Even if it's actually pretty crappy writing. :-)

[dbskyler]

Yay, good for you!

[dbskyler]

I've been in editing mode, which has been frustrating because my word count has been steadily decreasing over the last three days as I keep taking words out. On the other hand, I think this section is really starting to come together, so that's exciting. I just wish that my editing wasn't so heavily skewed towards getting rid of things. Why did I write so much garbage?

[charamei]

Look at it this way - you may not be adding to your wordcount, but you are progressing in writing the fic nonetheless. It's not ideal, but it's a start.

Sometimes you just need a scene to be right before you can move on. Especially if it's critical to what comes next. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Tagalong Conversation Scene. *glares*

[dbskyler]

Yes, you're right, it's good progress. I just wish that I had set my goal as "finish this section" instead of "write 1000 words." My official count hasn't quite dipped into the negatives again, but we're getting there! Oh well. The progress really is the most important thing. I'll stop whining now.

[charamei]

I don't think you're whining! If that's the impression that I gave, then I'm sorry.

[dbskyler]

Oh no no no, I don't think you think I'm whining! I think I'm whining! I mean, I know I'm making progress, but I'm also getting frustrated at the declining word count, and I feel like I'm whining about it. But it's also nice to have a place to whine, because then I can get it out and get over it and get on with the editing!

[charamei]

I got to my Call to Adventure scene in Chapter Two! And then I rewrote it. I wasn't expecting to, but it's paced a lot more believably now (shrunk from 600-ish words to 300), and I cleared up a plothole at the same time.

And I flew while writing it! It's been over a year since I last had anything close to an adrenaline rush from writing. It looks like pure bloody-minded determination from September to March, piddling about a bit, and then NaNo have finally done their job and got my creativity back.

This is about ten times as exciting as the actual writing! XD

[dbskyler]

Yay for really enjoying writing again! That's a great feeling, isn't it? Also, congratulations on the rewrite and clearing up the plothole! :D

[charamei]

Abruptly, the telepathic screaming ceases to affect his mental state and his mind returns to silence, inasmuch as any Time Lord's mind is ever silent, which is to say, he can hear the whole of Gallifrey but nobody's emotional state is affecting his own.

No, I didn't write that. But I am dithering horribly between 'abruptly, the screaming stops' and 'the screaming stops abruptly'. Sometimes it's good to remind myself how much worse it could be...

Also abruptly doesn't look like a word any more

[dbskyler]

LOL, "abruptly" is a very strange word, isn't it? And yes, bad!fic can be oddly comforting. I sometimes go back and look at the first drafts of my finished stories in order to remind myself that good can come from inauspicious beginnings!

[dbskyler]

Just sent the section to beta! It feels really good to be done with it (for now). Next I have to do some canon re-watching, and then hopefully I'll be back to adding words to this fic! Right now my official word count is a measly 97, so I've got quite a ways to go to get to 1000. (And just think, at one point I was considering signing up to write 2000 words this month. Ha ha ha, ha ha ha! I am such an incredibly slow writer.)

[charamei]

Hey, 97's a good start! It sounded like you were at -300 or something earlier this week!

And yay for finishing sections! That's always a good feeling.

[charamei]

Dear God, I have written nearly 11,000 words on 'why the Doctor is asexual' in a little over a week. I haven't essayed so quickly since my dissertation. *dies and is dead*

Still! I can fully focus on First Steps now. It's been sat here on my desk all day, looking askance at me while I try to dissect the Master in as little space as possible. Tagalong in particular: 'If you want to talk about my brain, talk about my brain over heeeeeere!' No, sweetie, because you're still sane.