MayNoWriMo!

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Okay, so it's May here, so here's a new thread for making goals and commiserating when things inevitably don't go as planned.

Still going ahead with my studies right now, so my goals are boring:

1. Keep up with the reading.
2. Get as far ahead with my remaining assignments as I can.

#2 is basically because I only have 1 short paper due in May, but have 1 small paper and then the 3 big, threatening major assignments due in the first couple of weeks of June.

So my #2 goal is really more like:

1. Do that short paper.
2. Finish off the literature review for my research proposal, plus get started on the other parts of that assignment.
3. Get started on my social theory essay.
4. Finish off my short story, including edits and the 300-word statement to accompany it.

...

So far today, I've finished the first draft of the story. It needs edits before I submit it for critiquing, and then it'll be an ongoing project.

I wrote about 1200 words of it last night, so about 550 today. Also attended class, but that was mostly uneventful.

Okay... Your turn!
 

TNK

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
540
Reaction score
64
Location
Nevada
My goals are simple:

1.) Finish the novel I stared last month.

I have around 15k more to go. :)
 

Ramshackle

*scribbles*
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 31, 2013
Messages
680
Reaction score
148
Website
www.badmenagerie.com
1) Finish the first draft of WIP (maybe 20k to go).
2) Get to at least 5k of the other WIP.
3) Get some plans down for the middle meat of the third.

Eep!
 

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Edited the short story. I need to post it online for the class to critique, but I'll leave that for a bit.

Otherwise, just attended class today - not really done much else.
 

Sam Argent

Rygel XVI
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
828
Reaction score
70
I'm in this time around. My goal is to see how much writing/editing I can do in a month. It's a personal progress report to see how far I've come. 2k written so far today, and I'm going in for another round. You won't see me until I write another 2k. Good luck, everyone!
 

VP_Benni

likes a colorful font
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Messages
5,337
Reaction score
242
Location
Probably the library.
There's a carnival on campus and I won a stuffed puppy and a stuffed piggy. :D

Goals for May:

*Stay on top of school work (duh)
*Read 3 books with each 100 pages of Atlas Shrugged counting as one blah blah
*Complete 5 of my DayZero goals
*Write 2.5k of anything fictional... ANYTHING...
*Bake something chocolate because I really want chocolate right now
*NOT eat both cans of frosting before having a chance to frost the baked chocolate thing. Eating one can beforehand is acceptable. Just not both.
*Play video games

May isn't a super busy month for me outside of school and work, so I'll have to see how it goes.

~Amber~
 

Sam Argent

Rygel XVI
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
828
Reaction score
70
Another 2k, and I no longer feel bad about not writing anything yesterday.
 

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Just did a 25-page reading for social theory. Another 10-pager to read, and I think that's it for this class's readings for the week. :)

After that, probably I'll do more reading.

ETA: 10-page-ish article read. 35 pages for the day so far. :) Might take a brief break and watch a DVD or a few youtube videos or something.

ETA2: Just read 20 pages (3 articles) for my research methods class. So, 55 pages for the day. I still have 25 more pages I could read, but I'm not sure if I'll do those tonight or leave them till tomorrow...
 
Last edited:

CoffeeBeans

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,499
Reaction score
433
Hope everyone has a great Camp session!

My goals for the month:
- complete my doc edit for Soap
- send Soap out to beta (OMG.)
- complete Soap query
- finish two lessons in my series-building course.

I'm so excited to start thinking about writing instead of editing again. If I could only get that damn query letter out of the way...
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,883
Reaction score
7,171
Location
Virginia
I had a crummy writing April and am hoping to turn things around, although I'm not anticipating having a whole lot more time in May. Therefore I've given myself an easy goal of 1,000 words a week. I got about 450 written today.
 

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Read another 25 pages for research methods, which means I've done all of next week's readings for all my classes now - except one reading only available in the library, which I'll do on Tuesday I think.

I'd like to get more done today (ie. actually work on assignments, now that the readings have been done!) but I'm going out in about an hour, and still need to get ready/take the garbage out. So no more for today, I guess.

But I have no classes tomorrow, so I can get assignments worked on then. :)
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,883
Reaction score
7,171
Location
Virginia
About 325 words this afternoon, in the hour and a half I had available. I actually feel pretty good about that.
 

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Critiqued a story for tomorrow's workshop, and just now I've looked into what assignments I need to work on. Egads! There's a small paper worth 10% of the grade that looks sooooooo complicated for research methods! *faints* Or else I can work on my literature review (at least I know where I stand with that!). Or else work on the essay for social theory... Which I won't today, because I just looked at the selection of questions I could choose, and we've only been taught the relevant material for one of them. (I've done the readings for the second question, but we haven't had the lecture on it yet.) So unless I wanted to do Q1 by default, I need to wait a bit before starting on that.

So those are my current options... Bang my head against the wall with the small assignment that's already confusing; work on a tedious literature review; dive into the essay. Not looking good so far!

ETA: Decided to work on the complicated assignment, as it's due in 8 days. Eep! The main article wasn't that confusing, actually, so hopefully the worst part is that the questions are a little vague. Feeling a bit more confident about it now. Woo!

ETA2: So, with the 22 pages read for that assignment article, plus having just read 28 pages of 2 articles for my literature review, that makes a solid 50 pages for the day. Woo! Dinner now, but I think I'll call it a night anyway. I have a DVD calling my name!
 
Last edited:

CoffeeBeans

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,499
Reaction score
433
My goals for the month:
- complete my doc edit for Soap
- send Soap out to beta (OMG.) OMG
- complete Soap query
- finish two lessons in my series-building course.

I finished my edit. Wow, that's a relief. Hopefully, any of the beta offers I had still stand. Also, the idea of sending the MS to a beta is scary... but it'll be good for both me AND the MS...

For the time being at least, I party!

:partyguy:
 

VP_Benni

likes a colorful font
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Messages
5,337
Reaction score
242
Location
Probably the library.
I had a kick ass weekend. :D I got nearly all of my homework done for this week on top of an eight page essay. AND I got through two of my DayZero goals! :) I finished organizing my bookshelves (which was stalled for about a week because I ran out of shelf space... Surprise surprise...), and now I know how to solve a Rubik's cube! :tongue I was trying really really hard to learn how to solve it on Saturday evening with no success, but I woke up on Sunday morning and suddenly I knew how to do it. 0.o It was kind of weird, but if it works it works.

I am currently sitting around waiting for a lecture to start. Maxine Hong Kingston, who wrote The Woman Warrior among other things, is doing a public reading and book signing on campus tonight. I'm excited. We read some of her work in a class I took last year and I really enjoyed it.

Oh, also, the English department is hosting a trip to Oregon Shakespeare Festival to see a production of The Tempest and I get to go! It's even better because tickets cost AT MINIMUM $25, and that's not even counting transportation costs, but the department is taking care of ALL the expenses so I get to go for free. :D Yay for free fun stuff!

~Amber~
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,883
Reaction score
7,171
Location
Virginia
Oooh, Maxine Hong Kingston! I love her work. I took an acting class from her husband Earll decades ago, when he taught at the University of Hawai'i and her writing career was just taking off with the publication of The Woman Warrior.
 

Ramshackle

*scribbles*
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 31, 2013
Messages
680
Reaction score
148
Website
www.badmenagerie.com
1k - 2k every day so far. Have passed the midpoint of the WIP. :D

Plus have managed to dig out the solution to a plot quandary that's been bugging me for some time on a halted WIP. I'm still getting a little befuddled with the science in said plot (whilst it's definitely more science fantasy territory, there are some aspects I want to ensure are plausible), but I think I can comfortably move forward with it now. I'm such a science dunce I just know it's going to be ripped apart in that department when it comes to beta time.
 

VP_Benni

likes a colorful font
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Messages
5,337
Reaction score
242
Location
Probably the library.
Oooh, Maxine Hong Kingston! I love her work. I took an acting class from her husband Earll decades ago, when he taught at the University of Hawai'i and her writing career was just taking off with the publication of The Woman Warrior.

My copy of The Woman Warrior is now signed. :D The lecture was a lot of fun. Apparently two and a half years ago she decided to start writing posthumously (she's 73 1/2 now), and she sent a will to her agent to have the stuff she's writing now published 100 years after her death. She said she has like 2,000 pages of that written right now 0.o

~Amber~
 

measure_in_love

escaping the evil queen's curse
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 20, 2012
Messages
278
Reaction score
14
Location
Storybrooke, Maine
My goals are simple:

1.) Finish the novel I stared last month.

I have around 15k more to go. :)

1) Finish the first draft of WIP (maybe 20k to go).
2) Get to at least 5k of the other WIP.
3) Get some plans down for the middle meat of the third.

Eep!


You guys are rockstars! 15/20k left? LUCKY!!

So last month's camping was a no go for me. I was really really stuck, and had zero inspiration/motivation to write. BUT after a bit of a break (which I think I needed after 5 straight months of hard writing), I'm back to my WIP. I'm on my final rewrite which starts with a brand new opening that I'm excited about, (which you can find/review on SYW here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288150) and I just need to finish with my new tone. I currently have 3,581 words. Longgggg way to go! Hopefully I'm done by the fall?

My goal is to get to 6,000 or 7,000 words this week.
 
Last edited:

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Didn't do anything much yesterday, and today was looking to head in the same direction. But I did manage to force myself to work on my short assignment. So I got 300-ish words written for part 1A (needed to be 200-ish, but I can cut stuff later), brief notes made for part 1B, and then bashed my head against a wall for part 2, but managed to figure out a few details that will be enough to answer this part. :)

So yes. It's basically all there already, and just needs to be turned from notes into actual text, then polished and referenced and such. Not bad, not bad. Going to take a break now, but I might try turning these notes into Draft 1 after I watch an episode of How I Met Your Mother. :)

ETA: Draft 1 written at 620 words. It's meant to be 500, but eh, I always seem to overwrite the first draft.
 
Last edited:

CoffeeBeans

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 5, 2013
Messages
1,499
Reaction score
433
My goals for the month:
- complete my doc edit for Soap
- send Soap out to beta (OMG.)
- complete Soap query
- finish two lessons in my series-building course.

So... I sent off my MS to the betas. My stomach is all in knots. I am half-hoping everyone everyone just says it's not any good and I should abandon it, because that would be a lot less scary than to hear it's part good/part bad.

The query is next :Shrug: I don't know how this is going to go...