September WIP Challenge Check-In, Day 19 -- Toot Your Horn Sunday

[soldierwitch]

Hello, writers! Welcome to another Toot Your Horn Sunday! We're 19 days into this September challenge and my does the time seem to be flying. For those just joining us or who came aboard during linaewen 's hosting week, I'm Witch. I'll be your check-in host for the week.

Toot Your Horn Sundays are exactly what it says in the title. It's our chance to pat ourselves on the back and cheer about what we've accomplished so far in the challenge. Let's shout about how far we've come, y'all! Here are our discussion prompts:

-Name one thing you're happy about with your fic and/or the fic writing process so far.

-Share something you're proud of that you accomplished. Have you thought about your fic more than you had? Did you put something on the page no matter how short? Did you finish your outline or a first draft? Whether it's a big or small achievement, toot your horn!

-What do you have planned for this week in the September WIP challenge? Are you taking time off from writing? Pivoting to another part of your process? What are your goals for the week?

Comments

[soldierwitch]

Despite last week being pretty much a bust in terms of working on the WIP that I have set for this challenge, I really am proud of what I've done so far on my fic. There are words on the page now. Not much but they're there, and that's what I want to focus on this week.

My goal for this September challenge is to write 5K of my AU this month, I'm not sure if I'll make that, but I'm happy that this fic isn't just another idea hanging out in my journal with no real work being done on it besides jotting down ideas. I have an outline, it's incomplete, but I have one and that'll get me far as I work out the fic's climax and how it fits into the ending.

Other than that I'm recommitting myself to the challenge since I fell off last week. These check-ins really have been helpful, so I want to get back in the saddle.

[frogfarm]

And thanks for your additional words of encouragement, prompting me to get off my duff and occasionally interact with the community.

[soldierwitch]

You're welcome! I've loved reading your updates about your progress and your encouraging words as well <3

[xmarksthespotwhereistand]

Words on the page, yay! Congrats!
Check-ins are good to make it a daily wins game so thank you for doing the daily posts!

[soldierwitch]

Thank you! I feel the same way which is why I was so happy to find this community.

[frogfarm]

I didn't just finish my chapter this weekend, I finished and posted it last night.

I'm very happy that every time I've added something to this WIP, it feels like a more solid and beautiful structure rather than an exploding Jenga tower of random junk.

So far I've posted three chapters while in the middle of dealing with way more real life stuff. So even if it takes longer to finish this book than I planned, I'm already getting more done than I thought I would.

This week: More of the same. Packing and moving boxes, and as much writing as I can squeeze in.

[soldierwitch]

Your way with words. "...an exploding Jenga tower of random junk" made me laugh. It's great that you've been able to keep up with your writing despite real life being very busy for you.

Congrats on getting another chapter done and published! I hope your back is feeling better and that the moving process goes more smoothly.

[xmarksthespotwhereistand]

Congrats on posting and on your solid and beautiful structure! (I love the way you put that.)

[linaewen]

I am happy that I know where I am going with my fic in a lot of ways, and that gives me confidence that I will eventually finish it, even if I am currently feeling a little bit stuck!

I am proud that I did some writing sprints yesterday that helped me get to a place where I am ready to put real words on the page, so I am feeling like the stuck place I have been in is about to get unstuck.

I want to have the first paragraph of the next chapter written either today or tomorrow, then the rest of the week will be spent going on from there. The first sentence and first paragraph of a new chapter (especially after having been stalled for a long time) is always the hardest for me to start; once I am through that, it should go a lot easier.

[soldierwitch]

Yay, that's so great! Having a clear direction for a fic is such a confidence booster like you mentioned. Sending you positive energy to get through the first sentence and paragraph of this new chapter so that you can get the ball rolling on the rest.

[xmarksthespotwhereistand]

Yay for the path clearing in front of you! Hope it goes well this week!

[lea_hazel]

I'm nearly ready to resume weekly posting on my WIP. Pretty proud of that.

[soldierwitch]

Awesome! You'd mentioned before about setbacks concerning resuming your weekly posting schedule for your fic. Glad to hear that you've been able to make steady progress toward getting back to that schedule.

[lea_hazel]

Yeah, I took a break at the beginning of August when my buffer of drafted chapters began to run out. I'm almost fifty chapters in, and at this point, I've got a lot of balls in the air. I wanted to be sure that I wasn't dropping any important side plots, that all the foreshadowing was in place, that the timeline makes sense... You know, multi-chapter stuff.

[soldierwitch]

Oh, wow. Yeah, I'm not on that level yet, but I'm aspiring to it lol. How do you keep track of your timeline and side plots as you go?

[lea_hazel]

I started out with bullet point lists of ideas that I want to throw into the mix, but the real thing is, when I'm not writing I journal. I journal pretty much daily and I can look back on the marked entries to read my thought process for what I want to do next. For the timeline, I started out with a vague timeline and only backtracked to firm it up when I needed a frame of reference for a specific date (anniversary of a canon event). Lucky for me, the canon has an unbelievably extensive fan-run wiki with maps and timelines of their own. And there are also things that I'm willing to fudge a bit, and no one's commented on it, yet.

As for keeping track of side plots, I find that the best way is to write at least 4-5 chapters ahead of what I'm posting, so I can reorder, add, and remove scenes as needed. This is important, because sometimes inspiration strikes, and I write scenes out of continuity. I already managed to integrate one such important scene, but the second one, which was originally labeled "chapter 20-something", will most likely appear around chapter 60. So I guess the answer to "how do you do it?" is, "sometimes I don't".

[soldierwitch]

*takes notes*

Okay, so the list of ideas and the journaling I have down. It's the writing ahead a few chapters that I do not. See, the way you describe your process sounds so easy but it's the actual putting it into motion part that's difficult, at least for me. That's what I'm working on.

I know you said sometimes you don't keep track of it but like even knowing where to slot something that you wrote earlier that won't fit until way later takes skill and know-how. That's really cool.

[xmarksthespotwhereistand]

That's amazing, regular updates of a WIP is always something i admire.

[lea_hazel]

Thank you! It's been a long road, I've not usually been a very consistent poster.

[peachpai]

I'm proud of myself for getting the next part of a WIP posted today! I also wrote a good chunk of another part of it yesterday. I didn't have any other specific goals for September other than to start posting it, so I'm just kind of chipping away at whatever I feel like the rest of the month. Aiming for at least 100 words a day this week.

[soldierwitch]

*applause* Yes, to getting a part of your WIP posted and congrats on meeting your September goal, that's very exciting. *eyes emoji* And you're upping your daily word count goal for the week, too. You're cooking with grease peachpai!

[peachpai]

Yeah it's going surprisingly good!! Thanks for all the cheerleading! <3

[soldierwitch]

Of course! <3

[xmarksthespotwhereistand]

So great to see when reaching writing goals strengthen our writing muscles so we are ready to tackle more! Congrats on posting!

[peachpai]

Thanks!! Yeah, lowering my expectations initially really helped after a long stretch of nothing. Baby steps! :)

[xmarksthespotwhereistand]

This September, i managed to fit some lovely things into smaller chunks of writing time (lovely to me). I enjoyed discovering how i can utilize a half an hour in the morning or so. I even wrote a few drabbles, something that i didn't know previously i was capable of so that's also a learning new things kind of enjoyment.
I still haven't made writing a regular habit again and didn't progress with my actual WIPs with actual deadlines that i should focus on. I will try to check in from now on, not only when i have good news to report because i feel like that would make the check ins more effective for me. So that's to goals: to add words to my WIPs steadily and to track my progress regardless.

[soldierwitch]

Great goals! Also, carving out even a bit of time daily is so worth it. I made a discovery about morning writing recently as well, and for me it really is the best time to at least organize my thoughts and ideas even if I don't get anything down on the page because I can come back at another time and hop into my writing with a clear sense of direction.