WIP challenge: day 31 check-in!

[littlebutfierce]

It's the last day of the January challenge! (& last call to sign up for the February challenge!) How did your month end up going?

Poll #9341

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

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How's progress on your fic going today?

View Answers

Great!
0 (0.0%)

Good
2 (28.6%)

Middling
2 (28.6%)

Not very well
1 (14.3%)

Not at all
2 (28.6%)

How did the month go for you, overall, with your goal fic(s)?

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Mean: 6.29 Median: 7 Std. Dev 2.60

Terrible 1		0 (0.0%)
2		1 (14.3%)
3		1 (14.3%)
4		0 (0.0%)
5		0 (0.0%)
6		0 (0.0%)
7		3 (42.9%)
8		1 (14.3%)
9		0 (0.0%)
Amazing 10		1 (14.3%)

& how do you feel about that?

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Tell us how you did on your monthly goals. Did you learn anything about your writing process over the month?

Comments

[ishie]

My goal was to finish two auction fics this month. Unfortunately I only managed one, but I did complete my picfor1000 story and add a lot of words to another auction fic! So we'll call that 1.5 maybe :)

I really need to come up with a structured writing plan, though. When The Mood Strikes works okay but only insofar as it matches up with When Time Permits. Plus it's super rough going picking something up again when I haven't worked on anything in over a week.

[littlebutfierce]

Sounds like you had a great month even if you didn't accomplish your original goals -- you still got a lot done!

Yeah, I struggle w/a routine. I'm good, mostly, for writing some kind of fic on a regular (hopefully daily) basis, but when it comes to structured plans for making sure I edit & stuff, it's much harder to make that a routine.

[crowdog66]

Whew! Last day of the month, and I wrote and posted a ~560-word short story, "Flags" (Garak/Bashir, soft R).

I met and exceeded my monthly goals, so color me all sorts of happy. I'm not sure I learned anything new (I've been doing this for a long time, after all), but I very much enjoyed the community and accountability that writethisfic provided. Thanks to all the mods and I look forward to doing even better in February. :)

[littlebutfierce]

Wow, congratulations on exceeding your goals! :D That's fantastic!!!

[littlebutfierce]

I am just trying & trying to edit this fic & I can't seem to get anywhere much w/it. I can't decide if that's because I'm generally distraction-prone lately, or if that's a sign that this fic isn't workable & should be abandoned. AUGH.

The month went all right -- I did post the fic for eastasianfandomgiftbag that I was agonizing over, & while I didn't post a 2nd fic like I wanted, I'm pretty much done w/my yuri_challenge main assignment, so I'm counting that! The fic that is causing me trouble lately is a treat I want to write, but I can't even tell if it works. ^^;;;

What I've learned is that if I sneak in my 750 Words first thing in the morning at work, it is much much easier to write fic in there (as opposed to half the time when I get home in the evening, when I'm tired/in more of a hurry, so prone to ranting about my coworkers in there for 10 minutes instead). Which is good! Except I'm paranoid about getting caught. Also I feel like I do less fic stuff in the evenings now, but maybe that's just because most of this month's energy has gone towards editing & it's felt really hard!!

[proseac]

I am just trying & trying to edit this fic & I can't seem to get anywhere much w/it. I can't decide if that's because I'm generally distraction-prone lately, or if that's a sign that this fic isn't workable & should be abandoned. AUGH.

Rachel Aaron says when this happens, it means you don't know something. You are missing information. So, maybe go back over your characters (especially if you have OCs in there) and figure out if you're missing part of their background. Or, maybe there's something about the environment that you don't know? Or the backstory?

I tried 750 Words and found it's too difficult for me to work in there, because I don't have access to all my reference materials. It's fine for just venting about my day (like you say) but as for using it for fic, that would be hopeless for me.

[littlebutfierce]

That's an interesting suggestion. I'm not sure if it applies in this case (I am going to be vague since technically what fandom I have is a secret!), but I'll think about it!

it's too difficult for me to work in there, because I don't have access to all my reference materials

Hm, could you explain what you mean? It's a website -- so surely you could just have your reference materials open in another application if you wanted them... ?

I find it most useful for doing first drafts of things, myself -- when what I'm concerned with most is just getting some words on the page.

[proseac]

I suppose you're right - it does sound like a really lame excuse now that I look at it!

IDK...it's all very subjective. When I'm writing in Word, I have other Word documents that contain my plotting, character outlines, etc. Similarly, when I'm writing in Scrivener, I have all my research materials imported into the program itself. Whereas with a site like 750 Words, all of that is external, and I have to remember where to look for everything. I'm either really lazy, or really dumb, one or the other. :P

In actuality, I suspect it's more the fact that I know it's timing me. I hate that. Someone told me about Written?Kitten! and I'm finding I like that much better, because it's more reward-driven and it doesn't track how long it takes me to write something.

I also don't like not having what's come before, in the same document, so I can just scroll up to review it. I know that theoretically I could copy & paste it into the window before I start, but that seems redundant when there are other options that don't require me to do that. *shrugs* As I said, lame excuses.

[xpaperplanex]

I know what you mean about the timing and having it be a separate thing. I have a friend who uses Write or Die and constantly recommends it to me. Sorry, but I don't want to work in something that's going to start making horrible noises at me if I need to go look something up or take a break. I also don't like the fact that it's separate, which is probably weird, since you can just switch over to Word or wherever to look at things, but if I'm working on a scene in a fic, I'd like to be able to scroll up and go over what I wrote earlier.

[littlebutfierce]

No, that makes sense -- everyone has their own ways that their brains are organized & little things that work as barriers to doing things. (Me, I'd much rather switch between applications than have everything open in one & possibly running slow on my computer ^^;;)

I don't mind the timing on 750 Words; at this point I ignore it, except to note (now that I'm sneaking it in at work) the general length of time I have it open, in case it... becomes an issue. ^^;;

[insignia]

I wouldn't call it an "excuse" at all, lame or otherwise. Sites like 750 Words exist as tools for people who are helped by them. If that's not how you like to work, that's a perfectly valid reason not to use it. No excuses needed :)

[enemytosleep]

If it's a fandom I know, I would be willing to read it for you if you want.

[proseac]

I learned that when I don't have a daily routine and daily mandatory check-ins, I do squat. :P Hence, the reason I just ran off and signed up for the February WIP challenge! Hee!

My Daily Drabble project ended on January 20th, and I barely wrote a single thing after that (although I HAVE been plotting like mad, but that doesn't count for inkingitout, so I need to get my buns in gear.

I'm playing with my Scrivener trial, slowly getting the hang of it although the myriad viewing options are confusing me big-time, and that's slowing me down. I think I need to take a step back and start with the most basic functions instead of trying to use all the features at once. My little pea-brain can't absorb it all.

I'm using Scrivener to work on my plotting, and hoping to get that all finished today so I can hit the ground running tomorrow and actually WRITE something.

[littlebutfierce]

Yeah, for me, routine is... if not everything, then a lot. ^^;;; (Which means when I fall out of the routine, it is hard to get back into it.)

All your plotting should reap wordcount benefits soon, though! Because then you'll be all set to actually write. :D

Scrivener is really interesting -- I love that you can save webpages in it & reference images & stuff. But I got a trial version for Yuletide 2010, & you get 30 days of using it. 30 days: not 30 consecutive days, but 30 days. & even now I still have days left on the trial. I haven't used it in ages, though, so maybe it wasn't as useful for me as I thought. ^^;;

Good luck moving on from the plotting to the writing tomorrow!!

[insignia]

If you need any tips for using Scrivener, the official forum is a very helpful and friendly place. Just so you know! :) *is a Scrivener fangirl*

[proseac]

Thanks! I will definitely check it out, once I've played in it a bit more. I've heard from a couple of people that the forums can be a bit overwhelming when you're just starting out with the program. Last thing I need is to be scared into paralysis at this stage! LOL

So far I haven't seen a single negative comment about the software, so that's definitely a good sign.

[insignia]

Yeah, I see how it might be a bit daunting. But since you mentioned viewing options, here's a thread with screenshots of how different people have it set up. It might give you some ideas! Or confuse you even more, I dunno :D

[proseac]

Wow, thanks! That's a great thread! I've bookmarked it for future reference and experimentation. Having always been primarily a Pantster in the past, it'll be interesting to figure out what layout and method of working is going to be best for me. I know I need to change my ways and organize my thoughts BEFORE I write - there's no going back. After writing myself into a corner a few times, I've learned my lesson! LOL

I'm actually using the Windows version of Scrivener, which I understand only came out around November 2011 after being in beta for some time. There seem to be some small differences between it and the Mac version in terms of functionality, but it sounds like they're focused on getting parity between the two platforms fairly quickly, so that's a good thing. The one frustration I had was that a couple of things in the tutorial didn't actually work for me, and I think the Mac tutorial was just adapted for the Windows version so maybe they missed those little things. I confuse easily, so that made me question my sanity a bit...:) Also, the tutorial was bloody long and took me three days to wade through. In hindsight, I should have done it in chunks, and played around for a bit with each piece before moving on to the next topic.

The one thing it'll take me quite awhile to get the hang of, I think, is what is going to show up in each window or pane on the screen (two editor windows plus the Inspector) depending on where I click. I find I'll click on something in the Binder, and all of a sudden the document I was working on will disappear, and then it takes me about five minutes to figure out how to get it back! Perhaps I should avoid using the split screen for awhile until I learn the basics...

[insignia]

The tutorial is pretty massive :D

I'm not sure what's in the Windows version at this point, but in the Mac version you can lock one editor via "View > Editor > Lock in Place", to keep it from changing. "View > Binder Affects" lets you choose which editor the binder... well, affects ^^; There's also a preference setting to have it automatically affect the other editor if the current one is locked. Does that help?

[lilly_c]

I'm just about there with a rough draft of my big bang fic but I didn't get to look at my SVU fic. I'll take progress on one of my big fics as a good sign.
Today has involved no progress at all, I'm not sure what the rest of this week will be like in terms of fic either. I'm in Glasgow on a disabled students course till Friday and it's pretty full on, but hopefully some of the downtime will be kind to me :)

Yeah I always get more work done on fic when I have a lot going in RL. This month's RL was deadlines for uni work and the fic was a lot more interesting than editing essays.

[littlebutfierce]

Yay for making so much progress on your big bang draft!!! That's awesome progress. Good luck fitting in some writing around the course this week!

(& yeah... fic is much more interesting than so many things I have to do... ^^;;;)

[enemytosleep]

No writing today, and I haven't finished my bookkeeping either. D: I will give that another go after dinner time or my accountant will kill me. I hope to start fresh next month (tomorrow!) and take care of some of these projects!

[littlebutfierce]

I hope your bookkeeping got done, at least, so you can start February w/a clean slate for fic!! & I hope the short break from writing was restorative for your creative brain.

[enemytosleep]

*shifty look* I got most of my bookkeeping done? D:

To keep this short: I have to use an older computer in order for my accountant to access my Quickbooks files (he's on an old PC that can't read the files I make on my Macs). The keyboard for my ancient IBM crapped out yesterday, and so I didn't get to finish inputting all my figures in the spreadsheets. I was not impressed. :| I'm heading out to buy a new keyboard now, so hopefully tonight I can FINISH that tonight and maybe open my help_japan fic and stare longingly at it but not write anything.

[insignia]

For me, January has been marginally more productive than usual, but far less than I'd hoped. But I've worked more on fixing my attitude than actual writing, which is still some kind of progress, and lays the groundwork for awesomeness in the future. February will be better!

[littlebutfierce]

I'd say the mental part of getting writing done is huuuuge, so yay for making progress on that front! Good luck w/February!

[insignia]

Thanks! :D

[snowynight]

January has been productive, as I achieved my goal of finishing poetry_fiction fic and a line in my fandom bingo. I'm slowly trying to utilize index card method in Celtx, though the software confuses me sometimes.

I think I learn not to be too ambitious in my idea. I have the tendency to think u awesome setting to me and wonder what to do with it. I need to focus more.

[littlebutfierce]

Wow, congrats on all the fic you got done! That's brilliant.

Knowing what kinds of ideas you handle best in fic is an important thing to be aware of, so yay!

[bay_alexison]

This month has been very hectic so not much writerly stuff done. Not able to get my help_japan finished as I hoped, but at least I polished it up a bit before sending it to my beta, so now I'm waiting for her comments. Also got in touch with my beta for my Big Bang and got a bit of editing done along with more edits another beta of sorts suggested too.

[littlebutfierce]

That's fantastic that you got your help_japan fic up to the point where you could get it betaed! Good luck moving on w/it from there!! I hope February leaves you more time for fic.

[pinstripefedora]

I wrote yesterday but forgot to check in. Oops.

Well, I think I wrote about 500 words, but most importantly, I finally finished this stupid scene. I'm really dreading having to go back and edit it in a few days because, honestly, I would really never ever have to read any part of it ever again. I'm pretty sure I've spent the entire month working on just this one part. Seriously, I know it's only one scene, but the amount of victory I feel right now is more equivalent to finishing the chapter.

In other good news, I've figured out the other scene that's been blocking me, too. All I need to do is come up with a sufficiently believable Noodle Incident, and that scene should be done with in short order.

What did I learn about my writing this month? Well, first of all, I had forgotten how negatively my siblings impact my efforts to write. Also, I've learned that I sometimes have to adjust my writing schedule depending on the circumstances, and that it doesn't kill me to do it.

[littlebutfierce]

Woooooo, yay for finishing the scene! I feel like sometimes I get stuck on just one scene for ages, too -- it sucks, so high five for breaking through!

I hope you're able to have some writing time (& mental space) away from your siblings in February. :/ But yay for also figuring out you can be flexible w/your writing schedule!