The SFF Writing Check-in Corner

Dennis E. Taylor

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Anyone seen the Simpsons episode "The Book Job?" I did multiple spit-takes watching that one. Way too close to home on some stuff.
 

Jane Berry

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Editing my YA Scifi: Got through only two pages today (six is my daily goal). :( I got stuck on a scene that feels draggy. I sat there all morning trying to fix this thing. I finally gave up and went to another spot and ended up adding 1300 words. So all in all, not a bad work day.
 

khosszu

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I've been having a good writing week! Off from work, I managed to do major edits on my MS by focusing only on this project, and ignoring my 2 other WIPs. The word count is 85k and shrinking as I edit. Only 1/3 left, and hoping to get it done in next 10 days!!! Then I'll really need some betas who aren't my friends (LOVE my friends, but they're too shy to give me an honest critique, sigh). The goal would be to start querying by...hm, let's say october. Too ambitious? Probably. The MS is YA Paranormal Romance.
 

Dennis E. Taylor

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I know a lot of people write too much, then have to trim it down. I have the opposite problem. My SF novel has been sitting around 72-73 K for weeks, and I had set myself a goal of 80K.

Well, the other day I had a revelation, and finally hit 80,500 by covering a few missing subjects. I'm now doing a round of editing, and I should be ready to enter Query Letter Hell some time next week. Woot!
 

Kricket

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Editing my YA Scifi: Got through only two pages today (six is my daily goal). :( I got stuck on a scene that feels draggy. I sat there all morning trying to fix this thing. I finally gave up and went to another spot and ended up adding 1300 words. So all in all, not a bad work day.

I hate being stuck. Focusing on other stuff always helps me too. :)

I've been having a good writing week! Off from work, I managed to do major edits on my MS by focusing only on this project, and ignoring my 2 other WIPs. The word count is 85k and shrinking as I edit. Only 1/3 left, and hoping to get it done in next 10 days!!! Then I'll really need some betas who aren't my friends (LOVE my friends, but they're too shy to give me an honest critique, sigh). The goal would be to start querying by...hm, let's say october. Too ambitious? Probably. The MS is YA Paranormal Romance.

:e2cheer:

I know a lot of people write too much, then have to trim it down. I have the opposite problem. My SF novel has been sitting around 72-73 K for weeks, and I had set myself a goal of 80K.

Well, the other day I had a revelation, and finally hit 80,500 by covering a few missing subjects. I'm now doing a round of editing, and I should be ready to enter Query Letter Hell some time next week. Woot!

I tend to underwrite as well. I'm just so eager to get to the end I just skip stuff or forget things.

ION, I finished my outline!!! I get a new book now and can start the actual writing. :D
 

Threak 17

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Continuing to press by blog, submitted a SF short, editing my next book & jotting down ideas for my next short...nice week so far.
 

Buffysquirrel

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Still supposed to be editing my time-travel novel. Just can't find the energy or enthusiasm.

Also supposed to be querying my Fantasy gambling novel. I can mention that here, right?

I need hot tea, love, and a good kick up the behind.

ETA: am using http://manuscriptwishlist.com/ to find likely agents. Anyone else used it?
 

Taylor Harbin

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Last week, I finished editing my YA Historical Fantasy of 65,000. Waiting on betas to reply. Soon afterward, I edited a short story that I plan to submit to Tor.com when they reopen for submissions on September 30. Today I finished the first draft of another short story that I'd like to send to the same market, once it's ready.

I've been trying to crack the short fiction market for a few months now...
 

WriteMinded

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How have I missed this thread? Well, I've found you now.

Today I will finish the last — the last — run through of my over-long novel. When I started this, I was at a dead halt in the book I was working on. The first draft was nearing completion, but I got stuck on how to make something happen. I thought it would be a good time to do the revisions in Book One. That way, I'd have plenty of time to come up with a solution to my problem.

But that didn't happen. So here I am with my long book now longer than ever and a gaping hole, that I have no idea how to fill, yawning near the end of Book Two. And my anxiety growing.
 

J. A. Rama

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How have I only found this thread now?

I have a gigantic idea for a trilogy-of-trilogies that's been lumping around my head for years, and though I've been plugging away at it, I never made much progress. This month I finally made a change, and I decided to put it in hibernation and instead to focus on writing some short stories so I can actually get something done. Right now I'm working on prepping for NaNoWriMo, editing a short story, and writing another flash fic.
 

rwm4768

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I did some pre-writing work today on a new epic fantasy. I've finally figured out a few of the things that have been holding me back for months, and I really like how things are shaping up in general.

Of course, I'm not very far into the process yet.
 

annapalooza

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I've written 20,000 words in my urban fantasy (are superheros magical realism? I don't know, but I have loads of time to figure that out) and then promptly decided the pov wasn't working, and used that as an excuse to go back to the beginning so I'm sitting pretty at like...3000 words. I do tend to be more productive when I've already roughed something out, but sheesh. Still feels like a kick to the gut.
 

Starwatcher

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This will be my second post in the AW Water Cooler.

As a computer programmer who is a bit of a wordsmith, I write a lot of technical documentation and user instructions, and have also written my mother-in-law's memoirs (based on her tape-recorded description of her experiences in a Soviet labor camp after World War 2). But I have always wanted to write science fiction.

Well, I am taking next week off work, and will be dedicating it to starting work on my first novel. It will be a First Contact novel, set here on Earth in the near future. I have a good idea of how it starts, although the end is a bit murky so far.

My goal is 20,000 words for the week. I don't yet know if that is reasonable, or completely nuts. I will report my progress here -- I guess the intent of posting this is to make myself responsible.
 
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rmkrisby

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I want to start having hard wordcount goals beginning in December (after what is already a crazy semester). However, I have started blogging again. I also did some reflecting on my first work, and realized I've learned a lot, the biggest of which is patience (I also decided to give my rough first book away to anyone for free).

Blogging isn't writing the stories I have in my head, but it's still writing something. I have also began what is going to be a lot of worldbuilding.
 

introvertedwife

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I've been trying to hold myself to a hard 3K a day goal until the middle of November, but I figured I wouldn't make it yesterday. There was a Halloween club meeting and in theory the Doctor Who season finale. But then my cable went and lost the BBCA signal so, surprise, I got in another 1.5K words.

So thanks, Time Warner. I guess.
 

WriteMinded

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This will be my second post in the AW Water Cooler.

As a computer programmer who is a bit of a wordsmith, I write a lot of technical documentation and user instructions, and have also written my mother-in-law's memoirs (based on her tape-recorded description of her experiences in a Soviet labor camp after World War 2). But I have always wanted to write science fiction.

Well, I am taking next week off work, and will be dedicating it to starting work on my first novel. It will be a First Contact novel, set here on Earth in the near future. I have a good idea of how it starts, although the end is a bit murky so far.

My goal is 20,000 words for the week. I don't yet know if that is reasonable, or completely nuts. I will report my progress here -- I guess the intent of posting this is to make myself responsible.
Hey, have fun with that!

Technical writing is very different from fiction writing. I used to write instruction manuals, proposals, and other business crap. Writing fantasy is much more satisfying.
 

Kweei

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Benen pretty much dead on the writing front, but I did dig up 3 old stories and subbed them to some new markets.
 

Blinkk

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I've been moving for the past month but the place I'm moving to doesn't have internet set up. It's a long story but we have to get satellite, so we have to get a dish installed. But there are complications in that which are too crazy to get into right now.

Anyways, I have to use my neighbors internet to check email, or go into town which isn't necessarily close. It looks like there's only two more weeks of this madness before I can get internet again. It's pretty frustrating.

Because of that it's been pretty tough to keep my writing schedule. My life feels pretty upside down right now. I just want to be done moving.
 

WriteMinded

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All those revisions done and rolling along again in the other book. I have some fixing to do though. One of my characters seems to be in two places at the same time. Damn. He's pretty extraordinary, but he does have some human limitations.
I've been moving for the past month but the place I'm moving to doesn't have internet set up. It's a long story but we have to get satellite, so we have to get a dish installed. But there are complications in that which are too crazy to get into right now.

Anyways, I have to use my neighbors internet to check email, or go into town which isn't necessarily close. It looks like there's only two more weeks of this madness before I can get internet again. It's pretty frustrating.

Because of that it's been pretty tough to keep my writing schedule. My life feels pretty upside down right now. I just want to be done moving.
Ever get your internet up and running? Sounds like you've moved to the center of Nowhereville.
 

Blinkk

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All those revisions done and rolling along again in the other book. I have some fixing to do though. One of my characters seems to be in two places at the same time. Damn. He's pretty extraordinary, but he does have some human limitations.

Ever get your internet up and running? Sounds like you've moved to the center of Nowhereville.

I know that grind, WM. My characters seem to be able to travel long distances in just an hour or two.

Not yet. We have to get satellite installed. My goal is to have it before the step daughter comes home from college. College kids need their internet.
 

unionrdr

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Got to writing some more of book two of my Time Lords 2034 series again today. Book one was some 437 pages in Kindle. Been writing book two of my home brewing series & started a third that's a couple chapters in on John Henry & the blue collar workers. Was watching the making of "The Day The Earth Stood Still". Also saw how many are freaks about collecting & building Gort, the robot from the movie. I saw the prop one in the Hollywood Museum. That was so cool I'm thinking about a documentary-style book of first contact sorta like the movie. Based on current times & knowledge though. Kinda like Area 51 comes to Cleveland...
 
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