Ready, Set, WRITE! is a summer writing challenge hosted by Erin L. Funk, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, Jaime Morrow and Elodie Nowodazkij as a way to encourage participants to get going on their projects and to help keep us accountable. We share brief updates every Monday so as not to interrupt writing time with blogging. You can find out more here or check out others' updates over at the hosts' blogs.
1. How I did on last week’s goal(s)
Considering I only had two goals, it was a mixed bag. On one hand I did finish J is for Jonathan, but I missed my goal to write at least 3,000 words (ideally 5,000) by a mile - in the end I only wrote 1,870 in total.
2. My goal(s) for this week
I'm going to stick with the ideal of writing at least 3,000 words (ideally 5,000), to use as a benchmark against last week.
I'd also like to finish G is for Gabrys and get that out the way.
I'd also like to finally finish Chapter 6 of The Reconstruction of Kirill because it's just irritating me now.
3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised
"Humans didn’t like it when seven-foot alfa punched them, but this time Jonathan thought it would be entirely justified."
4. The biggest challenge I faced this week
Procrastination; when the going gets tough I... apparently head straight for the nearest computer game.
And Saturdays in general: the first half of the last one was spent hunting down a fixing for a 25-year-old toilet and then installing it, and the second half therefore lacked any actual urge to write. I need to build a buffer during the week to deal with Saturdays, I think.
5. Something I love about my WIP
I enjoyed finally writing Jonathan and Milos's first post-experimentation meeting, but I guess that's no longer a WIP now it's finished. Beyond that... uh, it's probably listening to Johnny Flynn while failing to work on RoK, particularly the song Barnacled Warship as it contains the line that inspired the scene that then inspired the story in the first place.
Beyond that... ask me in about a week, when I might have actually started liking the damn thing again. :p
Good luck to everyone this week!
I think having a benchmark is a great idea! And you're still adding words, so a definite yay! Cheering you on for next week :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm hoping that even if I don't meet my goals this week (and I really hope I do!), then seeing where I got last week vs. my target will help inspire (or motivate) me... It's hard to remember that any words are better than none. Good luck to you this week!
DeleteThe internet and cleaning are my procrastinations. So hard to temper that! But sounds like you did awesome - adding words is always a plus! Good luck this next week!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I definitely need to try to remember that ANY words are better than none. ;) The internet is definitely my downfall, there's just so much of it, isn't there? And so much research we can do instead of writing...
DeleteGood luck to you as well! :)
You can do it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'll definitely try! :) Good luck to you this week too! :)
DeleteI face the same issue with having the urge to write but not actually writing and instead doing something else. At lease you are trying. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteAt least we have the urge to write, right? That's a step in the right direction, and I'm sure that this week we'll get our motivation going and we'll both make big progress. ;) :) Good luck!
DeleteAh, procrastination, my old friend. I hope you win the war with him (her?) this week! :)
ReplyDeleteIt needs a good kicking, that's for sure - and I'm equally sure it'll give me a good pummelling in return. :p Might end up bruised, but hopefully I'll also end up victorious! Thank you for the encouragement. :)
DeleteAnother distracted writer here too! I find I have to do stupid stuff on the internet to even get in the mood to write, even for a few minutes, and that's just a bad routine. GL this week!
ReplyDeleteIt's awful, isn't it? I'm sure with practice we can crack down on it and get it under control, but it's just so difficult... Still, we can do it, right? Good luck to you too! :)
DeleteUgh! Computer games are a necessary evil. I need to have something that will save and turn off a game after a 10 minute break, though, so I can go back to writing. Is there such a thing?!
ReplyDeleteI wish there was, I'd be next in line to buy it! Though I can imagine the air turning pretty blue after it saves and closes right in the middle of a crucial moment, haha... I guess until it's invented we'll have to try this 'willpower' thing I've heard so much about (though I doubt it'll ever catch on ;) ).
DeleteProcrastination, my old foe. I totally get it. But you did get in 1,800 words and that's better than nothing, in fact I think it's great! Good luck this week!
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you! You're right, it is better than nothing, it's just sometimes a little hard to remember... Good luck to you as well! :)
DeleteSaturdays are so tough. I always expect them to be fun and relaxing but instead that are filled with chores and I end up exhausted. They are sneaky that way. Good plan to build up a buffer :) Best of luck for this week!
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely sneaky! And thank you, I think I'll need all the luck I can get at this rate. :) Good luck to you too!
DeleteI lose a lot of writing time on Saturdays myself, since I'm not on the computer until the Sabbath ends (and it's quite late this time of year!). The most important thing is making up that lost time, and doing at least a little work. Slow and steady progress is still progress.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's the downside to summer, isn't it? The Sabbath ends up starting very early and finishing very late... great for some things and rather less so for others. :) You're right about the progress though, I need to write that down somewhere where I can see it and remind myself. Thank you!
DeleteBenchmarks (Kait Nolan calls them Test Miles, but the idea's the same) are a really good idea when you're fighting yourself to get a project finished, I should probably use them more too, so... yeah, definite kudos! I'm glad you got your J for Jonathan done too. I know you've been working on working on that for a while now.
ReplyDeleteThat story was supposed to be done on the 11th April, haha. It was a tiny bit overdue. *grins* I'm not doing so well on the benchmark right now, but I really hope knowing where I'm failing will get me off my backside this week... I hope your week's going well so far! :)
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