Ready, Set, WRITE! - Wrap Up

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)

Last week I wanted to write 5,000 words (1,000 handwritten), and finish G is for Gabrys.  And I can say...

I did it!

Well, I didn't do the handwritten one, but that's mostly because I was working my arse off trying to finish Gabrys.  I finished the week with 9,220 words, 2,872 of them yesterday in my desperation to finish it before today.  I think I can live with not handwriting those...!

2. How I did on the summer's goal(s)

My ultimate goals were: Make discernible progress on (or, even better, finish):

• The Reconstruction of Kirill
• The Rose Queen

and finish:

• J is for Jonathan
• G is for Gabrys

And while I've done nothing on The Rose Queen, I did write a chapter on Reconstruction of Kirill (which to be honest is more than I'd done before the summer!), and I totally finished J is for Jonathan and (finally!) G is for Gabrys!

I also had: Try to make some progress on plotting out Dust & Ash, because I don't think that can go anywhere without one.  And this one didn't really work out, mostly because Camp NaNo happened and I suddenly ended up with unexpected characters and an unexpected plot!  (Not that I'd change Ais and Lirio for the world.)

And as for this one...  And, finally, finish at least one item out of the four crochet projects that're sitting behind me exuding a malevolent aura.  I did finally figure out how to stop it sitting behind me and exuding a malevolent aura...

I dumped it upstairs where it couldn't glare at me instead.  Sorry, crochet.

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

Throwing back his hood, Makary was apparently of the same mind: his sword slid effortlessly from its sheath and batted away Ardashir’s first lunge like it was nothing.  He made short work of the second and third too, but by then Ardashir seemed to have his measure.  Each thrust was parried, and in return each retaliation was deflected like it was nothing.  It was said that Līzahran was the tongue of the wind whispering sand over the dunes, but that truly was the whisper of blade drawn over blade before another clang resounded throughout the close confines of the corridor.

It was beautiful, almost balletic, and Ardashir was gradually winning.  It would only be a matter of minutes before his superior training got the better of Makary, and Rafay was still in no state to fight—

A crash filled the hall.  Ardashir staggered one step, two, then hit the ground face-first.

Just beyond, the quiet sarayi with the close-cropped black hair let the remains of a thick urn clatter from his fingers to the floor.  When he spoke, it was softly-accented Līzahran.  “I have no wish to go back to those small rooms and put up with him again.”

“It’s less problematic than killing him,” Demiah agreed, grabbing Gabrys’s hand and pulling him towards the door.  “Come on, my prince, before we’re drowning in guards.”

It didn’t escape Gabrys’s notice, from the corner of his eye, that both Makary and Rafay gave Ardashir’s senseless body a surreptitious kick.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Getting the bloody story finished.  I found writing the excerpt in particular very satisfying.  :p

5. The biggest challenge I faced this summer

Motivation, and getting over my inability to write even a sentence without feeling sick.  And I did it!  And more to the point, I've come out the other side with two new stories I never expected!

6. Something I love about my WIP(s)

I think it has to be that, even if they're troublesome, my characters still do things (generally without me) and I'm just writing to keep up.

And finally...

I don't really do manicures, but I did actually make an effort with my nails for a photo.  They're in a better state than they were when I started RSW actually, so perhaps the increase in writing has agreed with them!  (On that note, over summer I wrote 57,375 words...!)

Thank you to everyone for this summer, it's been so much fun!  To Erin, Alison, Elodie, Katy and Jaime for setting this up for us, and to everyone else for sharing in the experience!

You're all amazing!

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Twelve

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)

Last week I wanted to write 5,000 words (1,000 handwritten), and finish G is for Gabrys.  I... pretty much failed on all counts.  I wrote 4,757 words (so not too far off), of which 815 were handwritten (because my hands were starting to itch), and although they were all on Gabrys, I still haven't finished it (though the plot has advanced).

2. My goal(s) for this week

Finish G is for Gabrys.  I only have one mapped out plot-point left, then I have to figure out the ending.  It was one of my summer goals and by gods I will do it, even if it is now 11,600 words long when it was only supposed to be 300-700.

Also, write 5,000 words, of which 1,000 should be handwritten.

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

There was something so sad in the words, so helpless in his face; Gabrys found himself leaning forward, desperate to do something, anything, that might remove it.  He was only aware of his intentions himself when his lips brushed over Demiah’s, feeling their soft warmth and sweetness.

It would have been fully deserved if the sarayi slapped him for his forwardness.  Instead Gabrys felt a sharp intake of breath, then the kiss was returned.  Only briefly, but enough that he could feel everything in it that was so lacking from every moment Ardashir touched him.

When they parted, the faint smile was back on Demiah’s lips, and Gabrys fancied it looked slightly happier this time.  “That was... unexpected, my prince.”

“I’m sorry.  I—If you want me to never do anything of the sort again, I just—”

The warmth of Demiah’s palm caressing his cheek startled him into silence.  “I didn’t say that, my prince.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Summoning the willpower to write.  Turns out handwriting keeps me away from the perils of the internet, to which I turn every time I run out of steam in a sentence or paragraph...

5. Something I love about my WIP

That it went from something that was supposed to be small, into... well, this.  I have no idea where this plot came from.  Also, that it finally taught me the word for someone in a harem (which I then promptly disregarded for most of the story).

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Eleven

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)

Last week I'd intended to write 5,000 words, 1,000 of which were to be handwritten, and I'd wanted to finish G is for Gabrys.  I actually wrote 6,880 words, of which 5,340 were handwritten and 1,540 were on Gabrys.  Needless to say... I didn't finish Gabrys.

2. My goal(s) for this week

Finish G is for Gabrys.  And maybe write a little on the Camp NaNo project...  In short, the same as last week: write 5,000 words, 1,000 of which should be handwritten, finish that damn story.

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

His stomach clenched.  He’d been too shocked, too upset, to realise before.  But he’d be damned if this didn’t make him sound—oh shit—like the most likely culprit.  From the tenseness behind him, he wasn’t the only one arriving at this conclusion.  And how could he blame Ais for it when he’d stabbed him, no matter how lightly, just for saying he loved him.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

My birthday was on Saturday, but since it's not really a birthday if you don't get time off from work (and I was maybe a little resentful it fell on my one day off a week!) I had Friday off too and we went out.  I didn't get much done either day, but they were fun.

EDIT: Also, unexpected sequelitis.  I heard ADHDS's The Informant and suddenly realised what Lirio and Ais were doing after the end of the story.  It's frustrating, I don't/didn't want to write a sequel!

5. Something I love about my WIP

That Lirio has just spent almost all of this section completely naked.  Ridiculous, but it amuses me nonetheless.  And also that his mental anguish turns out to be remarkably good for word count.

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Ten

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)

Last week's goals were to write at least 4,000 words (1,000 of which should be handwritten) and finish G is for Gabrys.  I actually wrote 6,419 words (4,840 handwritten), but am now only around halfway through my mental plan for Gabrys; so two hits and one miss.

Oh, and my goal from week four, to finish Chris Wooding's Ace of Skulls?  FINALLY done it!  In the end I polished off most of the book in a couple of days, and read Natasha Pulley's The Watchmaker of Filigree Street too, which was a brilliant, brilliant book.

2. My goal(s) for this week

I'm starting to get frustrated by all these projects hanging over my head, so this week I'm going to try to write at least 5,000 (at least 1,000 handwritten) words and actually finish this not-so-short story that should've been done in April!

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

Ais thought about thinking about it, then opened the door instead.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Keeping focused.  I'd sit down for a while at the keyboard, write a few words, then get up and wander off to sit with my notebook instead.

5. Something I love about my WIP

For the Camp NaNo project: things I only wrote because I saw them in my mind are now starting to connect to other things I only wrote because I 'saw' them, which is both a relief and slightly disconcerting.  For Gabrys: ...that I'm about now halfway through it. *grins*

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Nine

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)

They were two pretty simple goals: write 4,000 words and reach 20,000 words for Camp NaNo.  Happy to say I actually managed both!  I finished Camp NaNo with 20,598 words and wrote a total of 4,756 words for the week.

2. My goal(s) for this week

Try to write at least 4,000 words again, and actually make an effort on finishing that bloody G is for Gabrys thing I've been ignoring all month!  And try to make sure that at least 1,000 words of what I write is handwritten on my Camp NaNo project, since it turns out I really quite enjoy handwriting--and I don't think Lirio and Ais would be happy if I left them now.

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

“Why are we here?”  He managed to ask through his breathlessness and the dust cloud.  “Where is here?”

“My brother’s new house,” Ais said, caressing Lirio’s cheek so tenderly he barely felt the sting of his bruise at all.  “I said we’d dust it for them.”

“That’s what you call this?”  Lirio felt himself grin.

“I was planning on dusting with your back.  Or mine, depending on who’s on top.”  He kissed him again.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Keeping going, as ever.  Summoning the energy to make comment rounds, which was incredibly bad of me.  And Saturday, which was spent in the city with friends.

5. Something I love about my WIP

That I'm still writing it, to be honest.  Normally when NaNo or similar ends I'm so relieved that I put down the story and don't pick it up again, but I've actually written something the last two days as well.

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Eight

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)

I'd wanted to write at least 4,000.  Unfortunately, the more time = less writing thing happened and I only ended up writing 3,262 words.  If I'd written anything yesterday I might have made it, but unfortunately work got in the way and by the time I'd finished my brain was just not interested any more.

2. My goal(s) for this week

Having missed it last week, I think setting another goal of 4,000 words this week is for the best.

And while I doubt very much I'll get to 30,000 words between now and the 31st, I'm going to at least try for 20,000 (which technically is 2,675 words away, but you never know...).

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

Lirio let out a shaky laugh.  “I don’t know.  In some ways we did make it easier for them, whoever they are.”  He gently pressed his finger into the grey powder, leaving a clean mark beside the perpetually-empty vase—and its barely noticeable crescent where it had been replaced not-quite-perfectly.  “Think the florists have formed a militant guild targeting empty vases across the city?”

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Game of Thrones.  We started rewatching it from the beginning, so that's at least three hours of every evening taken up--if we're restraining ourselves.

Also, finding motivation to write.  Something seems to have been sapping it just lately.  Oh wait, that's work and the weather.  Come back heatwave, all is forgiven (mostly).

5. Something I love about my WIP

The fact my characters are still talking at me, even if it means getting lectured by a not-quite-antagonist on how I've misjudged him and how I ended up rendering a picture of the goddess of murder, on Lirio's request.  (I didn't even know one existed until he mentioned it, and now she needs a name.)

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Seven

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)

Again, much better than expected.  ...Sort of.  Although I'm not quite sure how it happened, I managed to finish off the week having written a grand total of 6,873 words--which is great, although I still don't know how handwriting it makes me write more than typing does--but I still have absolutely no idea whatsoever about the plot.

Considering I'm now at 13,849 words into it... might need one soon!

(Week seven??  Already??)

2. My goal(s) for this week

Plot.  Please?

Also, I'm going to try sneaking up on it again.  Last week's goal was 3,000 words or more, so this week's goal is 4,000 or more.  (Still working on the "more time = less writing" scenario.)

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

For a moment Lirio kissed back just as fiercely, then bit hard on Ais’ lower lip.  “Why are you here?”

“Mounting a dramatic and daring rescue, of course.”  It was a good thing he was already used to the sting from his split lip.

Lirio’s smile lacked any actual humour.  “Of course.”  He nodded first to Siwen, then in the general direction of the figure Ais had clocked earlier.  “And you were planning on doing that how?”

“Oh you know, the usual.  Charm and wit, that sort of thing.”

“Great,” Lirio said, his smile widening.  “I’m doomed.”

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

The heat.  It's not so bad anywhere except where I write.  Oh, and the cat--the one whose chair I fell asleep in?  He's been getting his revenge by leaping onto my notebook and scooting across the table on it.  It's also a prime sitting or sleeping spot... while I'm writing.

5. Something I love about my WIP

Against all the odds I actually like the dorky idiots that are Ais and Lirio.  I really didn't expect that when I started writing.

I also love that I'm finally getting a lot more use out of my fountain pen and ink collections!

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Six

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)

I had one simple goal (and one not so simple one): handwrite 2,000 words or more, and discover the plot.  Considering how I failed before and how last week had more work hours than the one before it... I was pretty surprised to find last night I've written 5,681 words this week.

Still not discovered the plot, though I do know a bit of backstory now, so that's something.

2. My goal(s) for this week

My working week is considerably freer than last week, which probably means I'll end up doing less writing.  (It usually does.)  So I'm going to set a slightly higher goal that matches the last few weeks: 3,000 words.

And I'd still like to discover the plot, or at least find out what the thing is and why it's needed.

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

“You really don’t listen, do you?”  Ais had heard about voices cutting through things like knives, but this was the first time he’d experienced it.  “Are you incapable of doing what you’re told?”

“Yes.”  Wait, this time, honesty was as likely to get him into trouble as dishonesty had with Lirio.  “I mean, no, but I’m just trying to put right my mistake.  You can’t blame me for it, can you?”

The boss rubbed his temples between thumb and forefinger in a way that uncomfortably reminded Ais of Lirio.  “No.  I can’t blame you for it.  I can, however, blame you for being stubborn and stupid, but perhaps that’s a side effect of the company you keep.”

Ais glanced over his shoulder again, but instead of seeming angry even if he was masking it, Lirio seemed totally unfussed, like being called stupid was an everyday occurrence for him.

Ais suddenly decided he didn’t much like the boss.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Work, as ever.  And the fact that the further through the week I got, the more tired I was, until I accidentally lost precious writing time on Friday by falling asleep in a chair in the conservatory...

The cat wasn't impressed: it was 'his' chair I fell asleep in.

5. Something I love about my WIP

Ais is a big dumb puppy and Lirio is a spiky little cat, and I didn't know that about either of them until I just sat down and started writing.

Oh, and I've been writing every day in different colour ink, so I've blocks of text in orange, blue, red, navy, green...  It's the most cheerfully-coloured story I've ever written.

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Five

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)

Dear gods.  That's... really all I can say.  I failed on every single target: instead of at least 3k, I managed 1,437—I know it's 1,437 I didn't have before, but I'm still disappointed in myself—I still haven't finished G is for Gabrys, I've not touched RoK at all and, insult to injury, I'm only on page 136 of Ace of Skulls.

So that's a total fail.

2. My goal(s) for this week

Well...  I'd actually forgotten until it was on me that I'd decided to do Camp NaNo and, worse, I was going to handwrite it.  There's three of us doing it so it's not just me who's taken leave of their senses, but you'd have thought I'd remember, right?

So my goal is to basically manage at least 2,000 words, all handwritten, on this new project.  I'd also ideally like to discover the plot.

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

“Where’s the thing?”

“What thing?”

If Ais thought he couldn’t see through his false innocence, he really didn’t know Lirio at all. “The thing,” he said drily, “that got you half beaten to a pulp.  That thing.”

“That’s the, er, thing.  As I was trying to explain to those nice gentlemen just now, I don’t have the thing.  I am distinctly without thing.”

“You’re distinctly without something, that’s for sure.”  Lirio pressed his thumb and forefinger to his temples and failed to suppress a sigh.  “Apparently that thing is a sense of preservation.”

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Shortly before the start of last week, my work schedule suddenly had a bunch more hours on it and several shifts rearranged.  The upshot was that I finished up with 40 hours, starting at 6:30am most mornings, and some very unpleasant shifts too (that aren't the 6:30 ones, which I do actually enjoy aside from the 6:30 thing).  What time I've had left for writing has been mostly spent trying not to think about work, and Saturday was spent in the city with friends.

5. Something I love about my WIP

There appears to be a sense of humour in this new project.  I'm not sure where it came from, or why once I start handwriting people become more sarcastic, but it's amusing me...

Also, I seem to keep ending up writing "Ais' face" or variations thereon without realising it, which probably shouldn't be as funny as I'm finding it.

Ready, Set, WRITE! - Week Four

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)

More misses than hits, to sum up.  I succeeded in writing over 3,000 words (3,142), but it's still nowhere near my upper target of 5k.  I haven't finished G for Gabrys yet because the story has decided to grow.  And I am not halfway through chapter 7 of RoK because Gabrys's story decided to grow (but I am maybe a third of the way through it).

2. My goal(s) for this week

Continue (still) to aim for between 3,000 and 5,000 words.  Actually make a concerted effort to finish G for Gabrys (which should make things interesting).  And work a little on chapter 7 of RoK while I'm at it.

Fun thing to throw into the mix: try to finish The Ace of Skulls by Chris Wooding, because I've been putting off reading it for ages—it's the last book in a series I don't want to end!

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

Ardashir dismissed his concerns with a simple gesture.  “Nonsense.  If I cannot show I can provide for you before our wedding, how could you have any faith I would after it?”

It was a reasonable concern, but it did nothing for the gnawing twisting of Gabrys’s stomach.  It was a very beautiful suite, there was no denying it, littered with thick rugs and low tables on which sat bowls of ripe fruits, with fine curtains separating each room and more than enough gilding on every available surface to make Gabrys’s head spin.  From this suite alone, it looked as though Ardashir was not just capable of providing for him, but for the subjects of both their countries combined.

That was the whole point, Gabrys supposed.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Keeping myself on track.  I began to struggle on Wednesday and got nothing written at all on Thursday which I'm really not happy with.  I've also struggled with procrastination, particularly the bad habit of browsing when I should be writing or aimlessly checking for nonexistent emails, but I splashed out on the promo (pro) bundle of Cold Turkey which lets me block apps as well as websites and that's been working quite well so far.

5. Something I love about my WIP

That it keeps growing, mostly without me.  It was supposed to be a 500 nothing-thing for the A-Z Challenge but it seems to have developed itself when I wasn't looking.

Ready, Set, WRITE! 2015 - Week Three

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)

It was E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) last week, so with the games announcements and conferences I missed a whole day's writing on Monday and didn't get much done on Tuesday, but (drumroll please) I did finally finish chapter 6 — twice, actually, since I thought I'd done and then realised I missed something — and I did finally write 3k (3,078, in fact), but I still haven't finished Gabrys's story because most of my efforts were focused on getting back into RoK.

2. My goal(s) for this week

Continue to try to write at least 3,000 words and preferably 5,000 words — if I managed to improve based on last week, then surely I can do it again without E3 to distract me!

I'd also like to finally finish G for Gabrys, considering it should've been done in April.

Lastly, chapter 7 calls (though a little less urgently than 6 did), so I'd like to be around halfway through it.

3. A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised

“Good morning, slave.  I hope you’re looking forwards to your daily stabbing.”

I swear that actually says "first"

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week

Weirdly, a sex scene.  Just couldn't get into writing it, which is probably why chapter 6 stalled in the first place.  Also, my own handwriting: RoK's plot notes are handwritten so I occasionally find words and go "...what?"

And, of course, procrastination, my old friend.

5. Something I love about my WIP

Haha ... ask me again in a week?  I might have finally rediscovered it by then... though Kirill's developing a backbone a little quicker than expected/intended, so maybe there's that...


Thank you everyone for your lovely comments, they were incredibly motivating!  Good luck to everyone this week too!

Ready, Set, WRITE! 2015 - Week Two

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!

Ready, Set, WRITE! 2015 - Week One

With my ear never to the ground as usual, I didn't know about this until today when Carrie-Anne Brownian posted about it on her blog.

It looks like a good idea, and I think it's been quite apparent over the last few months that motivation is something that I have been in distinctly short supply of, so with my fingers firmly crossed and a new entry on my HabitRPG dailies, here we go...

If you're curious about Ready, Set, Write!, it's a summer challenge set up by Katy Upperman, Erin Funk, Jaime Morrow, Elodie Nowodazkij and Alison Miller to encourage us to meet our goals and hold ourselves accountable (*gulp*).  You can sign up at the link over at the host blogs if you're feeling the call.  Every Monday we'll update with short sentences on the following topics:

• How I did on last week’s goal(s)
• My goal(s) for this week
• A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised
• The biggest challenge I faced this week
• Something I love about my WIP

But for this kick-off week, that obviously won't work so well, soooo...

My Goals For This Week

This week, I'd love to accomplish a total of around 5,000 words, though considering the previous few months I think even 3,000 would be pretty damn wonderful.

Ideally this week I'd like to finish J is for Jonathan, because it was only supposed to be short and it's taking far too long now.

My Ultimate Goals For The Summer

Make discernible progress on (or, even better, finish):

• The Reconstruction of Kirill
• The Rose Queen

and finish:

• J is for Jonathan
• G is for Gabrys

Try to make some progress on plotting out Dust & Ash, because I don't think that can go anywhere without one.

And, finally, finish at least one item out of the four crochet projects that're sitting behind me exuding a malevolent aura.

...Wish me luck, because I think I'm going to need it.