WIP challenge: day 3 check-in!

[littlebutfierce]

I'm keeping it simple tonight, because I'm exhausted & caught my partner's cold, so:

How's your week ending up so far? Are you making a strong start to the month? Do you feel like you'll have lots of time to catch up later?

And... it's the end of the week, so: please feel free to post snippets here, or ask for a beta, or talk about a problem with your fic that you want advice on!

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

So. Tired. Glad I eked out my 750 Words this morning at work as per usual lately, b/c... I've fallen asleep doing it before, which is hilarious (because I somehow keep typing for about a sentence after I fall asleep, & it's the most random stuff). But not v. useful.

I'm hoping I get to go to the writing session tomorrow night -- this is assuming I'm not going to go out as I planned b/c a) I now have a cold which b) my partner is still getting over & c) there's supposed to be a fair amount of snow here tomorrow (& from what I've heard London cannot deal w/snow at all, eyeroll).

& thaaaaat's about all I have brain for right now.

[lacerta]

Aw shame, get well soon!

Typing while falling asleep sounds adorable, though :D

[enemytosleep]

My friends have often said that of London and snow. Hope you feel better and can enjoy a night in if that's the case!

[dhae_knight_1]

For northern European countries we suck at snow. I'm in Denmark and two inches is enough to send everyone into a frenzy. Although... after the last two winters, we've gotten a lot better at dealing. Three solid months of 3 feet of snow will do that to a country. :-D

Hope you feel better. *hugs*

[lilly_c]

I'm definetly going to be on catching up for a while, have been in Glasgow all week and the little free time I did have I ended being very lazy and resting.

As I'm not long home I'm going to get cracking tomorrow. My eyes are closing on me.

Hope you feel better soon :)

[littlebutfierce]

Thank you!

Having a nice relaxing break sounds like a good idea. :D Good luck getting back into the writing.

[lacerta]

I made a little progress in the writing session with anehan. 18 more sentences! I can do this. *determined*

And I noticed that someone prompted a fic very close to what I started yesterday, sooo I'll be making changes and write that instead. Plus, now I have an official time limit which is helpful.

As for questions: I'm trying to cut down on my use of google and am looking for an alternative to google docs. Does anyone know of a service they could recommend?

[dhae_knight_1]

I've used Abiword and Dropbox. Good combo! :-)

[samecgh]

I don't know how much help this will be, since it can be distracting as well. If you know deviantart, they have something called Sta.sh that has online editing as well.

[littlebutfierce]

Yay, good luck w/those sentences!

Also, I love when people prompt things that you're already writing. :D

If you don't need an actual online word processor, I use Dropbox, though they had some security fail a while ago that made me wince a little. So I use SpiderOak kind of... on & off as a backup for Dropbox (I should be more regular about it). Dropbox has smartphone apps, which is useful -- actually maybe SpiderOak does as well. I should check.

I used to use Zoho for a while -- it's like Google Docs but less feature-rich -- but at the time it was also fairly buggy. Maybe it's not anymore, I dunno.

& ha, technically I guess a lot of my writing (in rough form) is backed up on my 750 Words account (which I do export regularly as well). Though it's obviously not what it's designed for!!

[dhae_knight_1]

Here; have the first couple of paragraphs of the Criminal Minds fantasy.

Through the throng of market carts heading out of the gates of the citadel, a lonely knight wound his slow way against the stream. He was riding a small roan mare, and led a massive black warhorse behind him. He wore chainmail under a black tunic and cape and a bastard sword by his side in a well-worn plain leather scabbard. On his shield, hanging off the right hindquarter of his mare, his coat of arms was proudly displayed; an argent stag rampant faced sinister on a sable bed.

The merchants took no note of him or his dusty horses; the guards simply nodded and waved him on.

As he approached he castle gates, all doubt as to where he was going vanished. Other knights, most of them with far larger retinues and far richer attire moved in the same direction. Where the black knight went, however, the knights sneered and their pages stared, pointed and whispered.

Too slow? Too boring? Too... anything?

[eve_doodle]

Sounds great- I'm instantly pulled into the scene and left wanting more. Who is that mysterious black knight and what is he doing there?

[insignia]

I think it's a good start! ♥ However, shouldn't he be wearing chainmail over his tunic? Or did you mean tabard? (Chainmail is not an under-garment ._.)

[enemytosleep]

The only thing that stood out to me was this line:

As he approached he castle gates, all doubt as to where he was going vanished.

So far no one is taking notice of him (besides the narrator), so is there someone outside of this snippet who was watching him that would doubt where he was heading?

[eve_doodle]

@littlebutfierce: I hope you feel better!

As for my writing: I haven't been much impressed with my work this week, as I didn't get much concrete writing done. I did, however, finish and post a chapter of my WIP and also wrote a bunch of outlines for a big bang that I just signed up for. All in all, not a very productive week but it wasn't a total loss.

Starting tomorrow, I'm planning on getting down and dirty: at least 2.5k for the next chapter, lots of research for my big bang, and to top it all off, a quick drabble for fan_flashworks. Really counting on tomorrow's writing session to get the writer in me going!

[enemytosleep]

Big goals, good luck!

[insignia]

Feel better soon! ♥

I haven't done any writing today, but I've started sorting out the sequence of events in my story for fan_flashworks. Then I found some inspiration for my Western fic by spending more time than necessary reading about Wagner operas and medieval German poetry. It makes sense in my head, really!

[dhae_knight_1]

LOL - well, whatever works to get us writing. We're artists, you know? It doesn't have to make sense to anyone but us. :-D

[enemytosleep]

Overall things have not gone well this week for writing. :| I caught up on a lot of different non-fic projects, and my partner is working this weekend, so if I can focus myself maybe I can get some stuff penned down!

Sorry you've both got a cold. *offers hot tea*

Here is a snippet from my languishing help_japan(feel free to critique/cheerlead as you see fit)?

It was a sign of how much the temperature had dropped that even Ling, currently trapped in the far corner of his own mind, was freezing. He tried to rub his arms, but he was firmly shut out of control for the present. The glimpses of sky that he'd managed to catch as Greed walked promised nothing welcome. Dark, heavy clouds hung low, blocking out the setting sun and any warmth it might have offered, while a damp fog settled amidst the trees, stretching wispy coils to snake around their feet. He'd have to convince Greed to get them indoors, then. Greed seemed to feel that even admitting he could experience the sensation of coldness was far below a homunculus's pride. Ling couldn't see what pride there was in brooding out in the cold; but if he'd learned anything about sharing a body with Greed, it was that they sometimes had to give up on trying to understand each other.

Greed, Ling spoke sharply, It's going to rain. We should find somewhere to sleep for the night - someplace warm.

Will the little princess freeze if we don't?

Ling knew he'd have to make Greed feel like it was his own idea. It's already quite cold, and the sun hasn't fully set. Once it's dark and the rain comes, we'll need to get indoors. Greed appeared to lift an eyebrow, mocking him. We also need to consider the rest of the team: Ed's automail bothers him when it rains, and when it's cold. We're getting too close to the final battle for him to be injured by the weather, of all things.

You just want to double up in a hotel with the kid again. Greed was full on smirking now.

I feel we've more than proven the benefits of shared body heat this winter - but indoors will be so much better.

Greed huffed and kept walking. Ling sat quietly and waited. He knew he'd have an opening, eventually. He just had to be patient for it.

[bay_alexison]

You just want to double up in a hotel with the kid again.
LOL Greed. Of course he would say that bluntly. XD

Nice snippet there! Curious about the story, so I'm looking forward to it when you have the chance to post it!

[samecgh]

I haven't been writing on the stories I should be writing on. On the other hand, I have gotten far in another story. Hopefully, I can just sit down in front of the TV tonight and work on a chapter at home so I can bring it to type up later.

[littlebutfierce]

Words are words, so yay for writing! Sometimes setting a certain fic as a goal seems to guarantee that I'll work on any fic but that one, ha. But nevertheless, yay for writing! Maybe taking a short break from your goal fics will help your brain get back into gear to work on them next.

[jesseszen]

Me - Busily writing!

Chicken soup, fuzzy socks and early bedtime prescribed for you.

[littlebutfierce]

Heh, thanks! & yay for writing!

[crowdog66]

I hope you feel better soon!

Let's see, this week: posted another chapter of one of my undeclared WIPs, plus two stand-alone stories and a poem. Not bad, although I'd hoped to be further along on the WIP front.

As for a snippet, here are ~300 words from "Flags", which I wrote and posted this week:

*****************************

Julian Bashir shrugged into the suit's jacket and turned from side to side, surveying himself critically in the fitting room's mirror. "You know, this actually suits me."

He could see Garak's face reflected over his shoulder, his grey lips curved in a smug little smile. "Much better than those unfortunate combinations of purple and orange you usually insist on wearing, I daresay."

"This is purple." He tugged on the jacket's cuffs, admiring the thin edge of brilliant white shirt that flashed beneath them. "It reminds me of a type of flower in my father's garden back on Earth, actually, when I was growing up — he called them flags, but they were really a species of iris. Very pretty, anyway."

Garak refused to be diverted. "Yes, but it's all purple of related deep tones, with flashings of royal blue. Extremely fetching, if I do say so myself. It complements your caramel skin marvellously."

Julian couldn't suppress a fond smile of his own. "Caramel, coffee, toast, honey… you always describe me in terms of things to eat."

The friendly gleam in Garak's blue eyes became considerably hotter. "Perhaps that's because you're so delectable, my dear."

"Mm." Memories of the previous night, of opening and kissing and licking and savouring, brought a slight blush to his cheeks. "Look who's talking."

"Oh, but I'm certainly not irresistible, not the way you are." He stepped forward as Julian came back to fully facing himself in the mirror, to pluck at the suit's shoulders and waist and hips with a tailor's professional touch, checking the fit. "So slim and sweet." Stepping back again, he looked Julian up and down and seemed satisfied with what he saw. "No, I think 'astringent' would be a far better descriptor in my case."

"Or 'invigorating'," Julian suggested, still tinted faintly rose. "Like dark chocolate."

The Cardassian shrugged. "Perhaps. You would know better than I."

[enemytosleep]

I like this witty back and forth, and the connection and passion these two have is very palpable (is it Star Trek?). I like it. ;D

[roane]

Writing! Thanks to dhae_knight_1 for pointing to Grooveshark--I'm now listening to the right music while trying to write Donna. Who is currently very cross with Sherlock because her apartment was broken into and he's a little too happy about it. ;) Presented, uncritiqued and written a short bit ago:

"Whoever was here was looking for something," Sherlock said. "If someone wanted to just destroy, they'd slash the couch cushions, tear down the curtains. No, this is much more methodical. Emptying desk drawers, examining closets. From the looks of things, I don't think they found what they came for. Detective Inspector, have your people look at the security footage from the hallway. Check the CCTVs from outside the building as well."

"They're looking right now," said the DI, wearing the familiar expression I'd come to expect at crime scenes—the one that said, "Sherlock Holmes can go bugger himself."

"I doubt they'll find anything," Sherlock said, rubbing his hands together. "If you can get into a locked apartment and leave it—still locked—without any trace of entry, why would you be so stupid as to get caught by a security camera? Oh, John, this is at least an 8. Brilliant!"

"Oi! Could you not look so bloody pleased? My home has been trashed." Donna looked less shaken. Anger has a way of doing that.

"Yes, well, they didn't take anything, did they? What's the problem?"

"Sherlock..." I said. In response, I got the cool-eyed expression that showed absolutely no understanding for human emotions or social conventions. It really was a wonder he'd ever made it out of grammar school alive. Donna looked to me, and I shrugged. "Yes. He's like this all the time."

[enemytosleep]

Nice little scene! The only thing that stuck out for me was the word "apartment" as all my Brit buds use the word "flat."

[snowynight]

I wrote 2K on my Very Difficult fic sequel. I hope I can keep the discipline of writing everyday. Then after finishing it, I can start on having it betaed and working for my casestory fic.

My problem so far is that Tony's story line of discovering magic was dry and doesn't have much stake. I still need to figure out what pushes him into an obsession. I need to figure out fast, otherwise the story line 's just too boring to read.

[enemytosleep]

My very limited knowledge of Iron Man is about to show, but he's a scientist, and every scientist I know has that inert obsession with finding the answer to the question. Is magic abundant in this world? Is it something he's discovered on accident? I can see him wanting to find out how it works and why people can even use it (be it all people or only certain people - and if only certain people, what criteria do they have that others don't). Good luck!

[bay_alexison]

Got more editing done from what Beta B suggested. I got some time tonight so I might be able to get more done before sleep. I also got an email from the beta of my help_japan fic. I'll look at her notes tomorrow though as I want to finish some edits on my Big Bang first.

[littlebutfierce]

Woooo, I hope you're able to keep up the editing!!

[pinstripefedora]

Weirdly, I was sitting at my computer feeling sorry for myself and generally not feeling at all like I was in a proper frame of mind to write, but before I threw up my hands and walked away, I told myself, "you can't go to bed without writing anything, so just write one sentence and then I'll let you go," and... a couple hundred words just fell out of my keyboard and onto the screen. And they're -- well, probably not the best I've written, but they're not bad, either. That was a nice surprise after a bad couple of days. :D

I think it's a bit early to tell how I'm doing with my goal, but I've got a good feeling about this month.

And for the first time, I do actually need some assistance! You see, in this chapter, my main character is supposed to go on a really, really awkward date, but I have actually never been on a date in my life and therefore have no confidence in my ability to write this scene effectively. Does anybody have any awkward date stories that they'd be willing to share, or know of a website where I could go to find some or something?

[dhae_knight_1]

LOL - well, that's how it usually go with me. Thinking 'I've got to write at least 200 words (because that's my Words Count daily goal), and usually it ends up being a lot more. :-)

No date stories, sorry. :-(

[lullabymoon]

Was puppy sitting yesterday and managad to knacker both myself and the puppy so I didn;t get anythng done.

Sent my draft away this week but have done nothing since. I knew that was going to happen though so I'm not too worried. Going to get back into writing tomorrow.

[littlebutfierce]

Oh, but at least then the puppy was probably nice & quiet when the humans were trying to sleep? :D

Sounds like a break after finishing up your draft is a good idea, like you said. Good luck getting back into the writing tomorrow!