WIP Challenge Day 2, Monday

[jagnikjen]

So day two is about halfway done where I am...

What have your writing efforts been like today?

~ Great
~ Not bad
~ So so
~ It was a struggle
~ Miserable
~ Nonexistent

If you were able to do something, anything, what did you accomplish?

Discussion topic...

If you could take/were interested in taking a writing class (in person or online) what topic(s) would you choose?

If you've already taken some online classes, through what site did you take them?

Comments

[crowdog66]

Today's efforts have been great, actually: ~1600 words written in about two hours, and a new chapter posted of "Ovum" (my Garak/Bashir mpreg fic, which has so far won the approval even of folks who usually won't touch that genre with a ten foot pole). Included in today's word count was the ~500 words necessary to finish Chapter 4, and the first draft of the opening of Chapter 5.

Re: the discussion topic... if I could, I'd take a writing class on effective editing, which I know is an area I sometimes have difficulty with. So far I haven't taken any online classes in any subject, including writing. :)

[jagnikjen]

Since yesterday, I was able to come up with several more ideas for conflict for my challenge fic. It'll require a bit of revisions in several places, but the story will be much stronger for the additions/changes.

Any classes I take this year will be about plotting and/or conflict.

I am a member of Savvy Authors (www.savvyauthors.com) and have taken several classes and participated in a couple of online topic chats. There are also a lot of blogs with good articles that you have access to for free. Basic membership is free, though most of the classes will cost you to take, anywhere from $5 to $30. If you join for $30 a year, then more of the classes are free or discounted.

I am also a member of RWA and my local chapter. Many RWA chapters offer online classes. I don't think I've actually taken too many classes this way, but usually membership in the parent organization ($120 for the fist year) is required in order to do so.

[jagnikjen]

Awesome job; keep up the good work.

Savvy Authors (www.savvyauthors.com) offers a variety of editing type classes. I'm planning on taking one later in the year myself (though the particular one I'm looking at is like $60 or something).

[haruka]

Great! I only started working on my 1sentencefic an hour ago, but it's going well so far. :) I'm trying to make as much progress as possible before going back to work tomorrow.

I never took any writing classes, but when I was younger, I read a few how-to books on the subject and really learned a lot that I still apply to my writing today.

[jagnikjen]

I read a ton of books about writing too, only I had so much info in my head I had a hard time making sense of it for a while and couldn't get much writing done. I did finally learn what worked for me and got past the blockages though. :)

[the_rck]

I've gotten no writing done yet. We're still having family time. My goal for today is to reread what I've already got of the chapter to try to get back into it.

[littlebutfierce]

Wrote about 800 words on a possible yuri_challenge fill -- kind of a continuation of trying out a prompt a couple days ago. It's helping me see what's working about this prompt & what needs to go, so there's hope!

I'd actually like to take a narrative non-fiction writing class (though I imagine a lot of things I'd learn there would be applicable to fic as well!).

[jagnikjen]

Any progress is better than no progress. Good luck.

[jagnikjen]

Great job!

[lassarina]

Nonexistent for the year so far, but there'll be some words later today.

[talibusorabat]

400 words and I'll probably have to call it quits for the day. It hasn't been a good day for paying attention to things.

[psyco_chick32]

:D :D :D Let's go with Not Bad! I sat down and wrote a whole one-shot from beginning to end... but it wasn't long (not even 1k) and not plotty - more of a character introspection.

But I finished it before the due date, and not literally last-minute, so I'm proud :D

I took several writing classes in college; none online, though.

[crowdog66]

Thank you for the Savvy Authors tip -- it looks like a great site! I've bookmarked it for a day when I've got a little more free time to browse it. :)

[lullabymoon]

Managed just under a thousand words for my exchange fic and the rough draft is now done. A great day!

I've never taken a class but I think I would be interested in taking an editing one someday, or one on how to analyse reading to give good concrit. At the moment though, I'm content in absorbing information from a lot of people around me and figuring out what works best for me.

[pinstripefedora]

Well, between the fact that it's still kind of a madhouse here and the fact that I'm putting off dealing with a difficult revision that has to happen before I can continue writing, I wrote less than 100 words today. But the fact that I managed to get any down at all is a small victory in and of itself. I'll take what I can get at this point.

Hm... I never really thought about the taking classes thing. I think I agree with lullabymoon, I'd love to get better at improving my ability to analyze stories for concrit purposes. It's the reason I don't beta very often - I'm willing to do it, and I'm pretty good at catching mistakes, but I can't usually tell them why what they did is wrong, so they get drafts back covered in notes like, "Something about this sentence sounds weird. Fix it! >(" which really isn't helpful at all.

[bay_alexison]

Had gotten a little over 400 words of my Big Bang and finish that extra scene. I find I'm able to write more quickly with some jazz music on as it relaxes my mind a bit, haha. Besides that, I had also been thinking which possible betas I want to look over my fic incase I haven't heard anything from my current beta. Two of those betas had seen my writing before and I know what their critique strengths are while the third possible beta I had never worked with before but I heard from my friend that she's good. I'll ponder over this a bit more and then perhaps I'll ask around.

I took one writing class at university and it helped me quite a bit in terms of picking out the right action words and using adjectives and adverbs more effectively. Haven't taken an online class, but if I were probably an editing one since I tend to not catch too many grammar mistakes in my own writing.

[lacygrey]

Just some thoughts on online writing courses since I missed the check-in Monday.

The courses I did were with Writer's Digest (Descriptive Writing 2003, Fiction Fundamentals and Making a Scene 2011).

Good Points: Course Plan. Book Choice. Exercises. Deadlines that give an incentive to write. Some of the instructor input (though the instructors were very different in their approachs and the amount of energy they put in).

Bad points: They are pricy (see the site: all prices are in 3 figures). The 'new' computer interface (Blackboard Learn) is archaic and unfriendly. Low class size/participation of class members in 2011 (probably a result of the first two bad points) makes it a bit lonely.

I don't intend taking another course with Writer's Digest, though I do intend to use exercises from some of their other courses, all of which can be read for free on their 'Writer's Digest University' website under the 'course outline' links on each course.

I'm going to try to use 750w as my incentive to do this type of exercice...once Ive got the present load of RL work off my back.