Day 30

Did it:

Cami--had to cut almost a full chapter. Sigh.
Jamie - I did it, but it wasn't really working for me today. Awkward writing, for sure.
Kim

Didn't:

Elena--failed. Halloween and all. Ridiculous multi-birthday-child party for my daughter that wasn't my idea, but had to do anyway, or be the lame-o mom.
Julie

Day 29

Did it:
Cami
Elena
Laura

Didn't:
Kim--All I managed was a sorry excuse for a page of brainstorming.
Jamie
Julie

Day 28

Did:

Cami
Jamie
Kim
Elena

Didn't:

Kyle--had to go get the little one his shots
Laura --Because it's Halloween AND Matter week at school....
Julie

Day 27

Did it:

Cami
Jamie
Kim
Elena

Kyle

Didn't:
Julie

Day 26

Did it:

Jamie
Elena
Kim

Kyle

Didn't:

Cami-busy, busy day. Just an excuse, I know.
Julie

A Quote About Excuses, and a Quote About Despair

"The first enemy [of the scholar in war-time] is excitement - the tendency to think and feel about the war when we had intended to think about our work. The best defence is a recognition that in this, as in everything else, the war has not really raised up a new enemy but only aggravated an old one. There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarrrelling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conidtions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come. There are, of course, moments when the pressure of the excitement is so great that only superhuman self-control could resist it. They come both in war and peace. We must do the best we can."

"The second enemy [of the scholar in war-time] is frustration - the feeling that we shall not have time to finish. If I say to you that no one has time to finish, that the longest human life leaves a man in any branch of learning, a beginner, I shall seem to you to be saying something quite academic and theoretical. You would be surprised if you knew how soon one begins to feel this shortness of the tether, of how many things, even in middle life, we have to say "No time for that," "Too late now," and "Not for me." But Nature herself forbids you to share that experience. A more Christian attitude, which can be attained at any age, is that of leaving futurity in God's hands. We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not. Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment "as to the Lord." It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received."

- C.S. Lewis, "Learning in War-Time"

Day 25

Did it:

Jamie
Cami
Kim
Elena
Laura (FINALLY caught up - almost (I have to finish one page) it's been a long week of no time to write.)

Didn't:
Julie

How do you write?

I am thinking about starting a new novel and letting the one I am halfway through with sit for a while. The idea for the book has been stewing in my brain for a while, and I am excited about it. However, when I actually sit down to write it...nothing comes. That's because what I want to write about is IN THE MIDDLE of the story. Writing a beginning bores me. And if it bores me to write it, isn't it logical to think that it will also bore people to read it?

What do you do? Do you start at the beginning and faithfully make it from start to finish? Do you write scenes from the middle and then go back and put on the beginning and the end and anything else missing? Do you say, heck, forget the beginning...who needs a beginning?

I'd love to hear some thoughts.

Day 24

Did it:
Cami
Elena
Kim

Didn't:

Jamie - I've been reading one of my favorite books. Silly me! I need to write my favorite books, not read them!!!

I can't believe it's already been 24 days!!!!

Day 23

Did it:

Jamie
Elena
Kim
Kyle

Didn't:

Cami--I never even made it on the computer!

By The Way...

... I did put everyone on the sidebar.

If you want to put a different picture up just click on your name, delete the old picture, and add a new one.

Day 22

Did it:

Jamie - Here's my favorite line lately. Mostly because it was a surprise for me. Come on, even I thought she was dead: "Setting up camp with a bear might sound like tricky business. Still, considering I should be dead by now, I had no reason for complaint." Some characters just insist on living.
Cami
Elena- 5 more pages of self-indulgence. Now I need to get back to revising.
Kim
Kyle

Didn't:

Day Twenty-One

Did it:

Cami- more character sketching. It's been so long since I've done character profiles I forgot how fun it is.
Jamie
Laura - and totally did not write what I was intending, but this whole other idea just came pouring out...who knows?
Kim
Kyle
Elena--10 pages of really fun backstory that will never see the light of day. Pure self-indulgence.

Didn't:

Julie--I've been a major slacker, but I'm determined to send my novel to one more source that I have an "in" with before I leave on vacation in two days.

Day Twenty

Did:

Cami
Kim

Didn't:

Elena--just got back from a three-day trip to Goblin Valley. Haven't dumped the blog. Just haven't been here to write or report. I'll get back into things Monday.
Laura - failed miserably for pretty much the entire week, so I'm trying to make up many pages today...next week will be better.
Jamie - I had to work on Friday and spent the whole day in Salt Lake. Still.... it's not like I didn't have the evening. I wish I could be productive in the evenings.
Kyle-But I did write over the weekend.
Julie

Contest

Probably some of you already follow his blog, but Nathan Bransford, a literary agent for Curtis Brown, Ltd., is having a first paragraph contest. He has over 2,000 entries so far, and it closes tonight at 4 pm pacific time. If you're interested, you can enter here. I should have passed my paragraph by you first, because after I posted it yesterday, some of my friends pointed out that it was potentially confusing. Oh, well. I wish any of you who may want to enter good luck.

New Member

Joining our group is my old roommate from college: Kyle. (Justin was always sure I was dating someone else when he first met me.) She is a new mother of a darling little boy and is also busy working from home. She says she is not an axe-murderer, but that she once lived with one. Does this mean that she thinks I am an axe-murderer? Or is she referring to that roommate of ours that wouldn't let us turn the air conditioner on in the middle of July?

Day Nineteen

Did it:

Jamie - Apparently I didn't really kill my character. Just M.I.A.
Cami-revised 2 chapters
Kim
Kyle: Day one for me. I think I started my story in the wrong place...

Didn't:
Laura - are you kidding me?
Julie

Day Eighteen

Did it:
Cami--character profiles. I'm going back and forth between revising a novel I already have written, and starting something new.
Kim

Didn't:
Laura
Jamie - I got to be sick yesterday. What fun!
Julie

Who cares what you think?

Oh wait. I do.

So, after a year and a half of not even looking at my first novel, I decided to resurrect it. I got so discouraged with the rejection letters I got for it. I saved them and pulled them out tonight. And, really, they were kind of nice. Yeah, they didn't buy it, but they also encouraged me not to give up. And when I reread the first few chapters, it's kind of entertaining. Some of my lines are actually funny! Why did I give up on this book?

I've decided not to do a huge rehaul. I did a little brushup on the first few chapters, and I am sending it back out into the world, dang it! Bland voice, my foot!

On a related note, where am I supposed to send this thing?


On another related note. Just got a rejection for the story I sent out a couple weeks ago. From the magazine that I thought would be most likely to buy it. Sigh.

Perspective

I heard a quote today that I really found applicable to my life and to writing.

I was listening to NPR and they were interviewing some baseball great (Ernie ____ ) who always played for the Cubs (apparently they always lost). Can't you tell how much I know about baseball?

Anyway, they asked him how he kept from being discouraged. He said he always said to himself:

"I care about it, but not that much."

I thought this was so fitting for those moments when you set out to either get in your own way or depress yourself. For instance, the toilets haven't been cleaned for a year, but you haven't done your writing yet. You can say to yourself:

"I care about clean toilets, but not that much."

Also, if you just haven't gotten to writing that day because of a million other things, or just because it is an off day, rather than sinking into depression you can say:

"I care about writing, but not that much."

I think it helps to put into perspective all those many tasks we have each day. We should remember to do the things that are right, to do the things that matter, to do the things that make us happy, and then to be happy with whatever it is we've actually accomplished. After all,

"I care about being perfect, but not that much."

Day Seventeen

Did It:

Jamie - not my favorite page... I need some action
Cami
Julie--Well, I edited an old novel. Still trying to decide which new novel project I want to dive in to.
Kim--still brainstorming.

Didn't:
Laura; 4 meetings later - just isn't going to happen
Elena- leaving on a trip. Did a long workout instead of writing.

This story that has come to be my task this year is constantly being inspired by the world around me (isn't that kind-of the point). But it's freaking me out a bit how much of it is coming from this blog and my classroom, and even the frustrations in writing the very story itself, so I thought I would share a quote from tonight because... it just fits.

I looked around the room, staring at their speeding pencils, wondering where they found the words. While their minds were buzzing with excitement, my hummed with empty thoughts, and fear of never finding a single word to write down. My breathe started to pick up as I noticed that as their pencils clicked away at words, so did the clock with passing minutes. I knew that eventually she would call time, and I would have to close my notebook without a single word written. The very thought brought tears into my eyes. Although I had spent my life dreading this task, it had never been so daunting that I just couldn’t do it.

(I shouldn't reread what I paste in, it makes me very self conscious and judgmental of every word. Remember, it's a very sloppy copy, and we're supposed to just keep writing...)

Day Sixteen

Did it:

Elena--up to page 74 on my revisions.
Jamie - I am going to be so much better this week!!! That is positive thinking for you.
Laura - When I should have been writing mid-term comments instead.
Julie--Wrote a lame blog post, but I'm counting it because I only did it to put my name under the good people column on this blog.
Kim--barely

Didn't:
Cami-- I did some research but no actual writing. I didn't even get on my computer to post. Sorry.

So...

... part of the reason I started this whole thing is because I don't have the ooomph to write for long periods every day. Especially since I have to repeatedly feed/clothe and settle three other human beings before my free moment even comes. The result has been that my writing is extraordinarily sparse. I don't mean as a whole, I mean specifically. As in, my sentences are almost fragments. I think this is the way I think right now. And I'm not really sure it works. I'm not sure it will create enough story. But maybe that's because I'm so used to droning on for years without ends. Usually my writing is more similar to L.M. Montgomery. Way too much of way too much. I am not sure. I am in a quandary. Is this real writing? I think either way it's good for me to get used to saying less. I think I am much too long-winded.

Day Fifteen

Did It:

Jamie
Cami--hand written because I find it too hard to fight with my children for computer time.
Kim
Elena
Didn't:

Julie

Day Fourteen

Did It:
Laura
Kim
Cami--I didn't write a full page, but I'm counting it because I wouldn't have worked on it at all if not for this commitment.

Didn't:

Elena
Jamie -A thousand lashes due!!! Justin had no school yesterday. But I should really still stop being a slacker. I will catch up on my pages today so that I still have 15!!!!!!!!!!!
Julie--But I met with my brand new writing group!

A Quote... edited for your reading pleasure...

On one of my summer trips I was reading in the New Yorker about writer Nora Roberts. While her style of writing (and topic) are slightly different than mine, it was a very intriguing article. I would recommend it to all of you. Anyway, they asked Nora's advice on writing (she produces amazing amounts of writing every year... no ghost writers). It was as follows.... slightly edited :)

"A** in chair."

And that was it. But obviously, looking at my record this week, I need to work on that one myself.

Hopefully none of you are offended by my choice in quote :)

Day Thirteen

Did It:
Cami
Kim
Jamie

Didn't:
Laura- I didn't want Jamie to feel left out...(I feel so much better..jw)
Elena- Having a bad week, obviously.
Julie

Day Twelve...

Did:
Laura
Julie--Not actual writing, but I revised a story and submitted it (I guess I wrote the cover letter). That's a total of two stories out to seven publishers. By the way, did people get confused on the day, from yesterday's post?
Kim--more brainstorming. My kids are home for potato harvest break so I'm having a hard time focusing. Hopefully I can have a new plot plan by next week when they go back to school.
Cami--I'm having the same trouble as Kim.


Didn't:
(Guests are an acceptable excuse, you'll just have to make up those pages when they leave, with interest.)
Jamie - still had guests, and had to teach the Company class at Ballet so that was an hour and a half lesson planning chunk in the middle of the day. I am such a rationalizer!!! Is that a word? I will be repentant on Wednesday!!!
Elena--critiqued a story for a friend all day and it took way longer than I thought.

Day Eleven

Did It:
Kim--sort of. Several pages of brainstorming, getting ready to start over again.
Laura - like 8-10 pages, but only one was the actual novel
Elena--forgot to post yesterday, but I did it. No new pages, but several pages of revisions.
Cami-I didn't post yesterday either. My internet server is down. I'm posting this from the library. I did my page yesterday though, plus some revisions. Done today as well.
Didn't:

Jamie - We have guests in the house. I can't write with guests in the house. I feel like people are watching me. And since I usually talk out loud when I write, I also feel insane. Perhaps I am insane. But maybe I don't want to share it. Except for here. Where I obviously feel fine admitting that I am insane.
Julie--Uh, no.

Introductions

Not to be too big about it, but I thought I'd slightly introduce you to each other. If you'd like to introduce yourself more... go right ahead.

So, here goes:

Laura is my cousin. When we were little we used to play school together. We usually had two subjects: art and writing. Now Laura does all three for real: she is a teacher, she is amazingly creative, and she's writing. What does that leave for me? I am not so sure.

Julie, Elena, and Kim are all friends I met at a writing conference three years ago. Was it three years ago? I am not much good at counting. Julie has had a story published in the "Friend," Elena has an agent and a novel that she says she can't talk about "Yet" (that's an actual quote from her blog... quite the teaser), and Kim has the writing gumption to travel all the way to us every once in a while so that we can talk about words, not to mention staying at it with all those little ones.

Annalisa is my roommate from college. She used to write us romance stories to put us to sleep at night. She is a single mom of four..... no, no, no.... it's just that her husband's doing his residency right now. As such she is my hero. Especially when she goes to WalMart.

Cami is a stranger to me, but a friend to Kim. I know nothing about her, but she says she is not an axe-murderer because she feels bad when her cats scratch at the door to come inside. But she does not let them inside. As an allergy-prone person, I approve of this action.

And I am Jamie. Right now I am in the midst of an existential questioning so I am not sure who I am. But I am sure I will find out someday.

Also, I am putting the pictures on the side in alphabetical order for two reasons: 1) I am slightly OCD. I blame this on my Aunt Penny. 2) I have dreams of not always being the person pictured first.

By the way, I looked "contributor/er" up in the dictionary and you can spell it both ways. So, on that note... which one is right?

Rough Drafting

I'm starting almost from scratch on a fourth draft of a manuscript I've been working on for a few years now, just trying to figure out how to get from an idea to an actual novel that works. I'm trying to learn to write this new rough draft as fast as I can and just let it be really bad without stopping to rewrite and make it better or tinker with every sentence for half an hour to try and figure out the best way to say it. More than ever, I'm letting myself use cliches and telling when I should be showing just to get the ideas down.

And I am driving myself crazy.

Not that my writing has ever been as beautiful and fun to read as yours, but it's just so bad, and my writing is boring me to tears. I'm having a hard time believing I can salvage this trash to look like anything anyone would ever want to read. I'm not ready to give up on the manuscript yet, but I feel like I need to recharge with working on something fresh on the side.

Have any of you been through something like this with rough drafting or redrafting or wanting to work on more than one project at once? Do I need to slow down to take the time to make the rough draft more worth reading? How bad is it okay for a garbage draft to be before it's a waste of time?

Day Ten...

Did:
Laura - barely, one really hard page...
Kim
Julie--I did some writing-related work on submissions
Jamie
Elena--I don't know how to count my pages since I stopped prewriting and just revised today, but I was productive. I spent four hours chopping up and murdering my darlings (at least two pages), and wrote two or three new pages, maybe more, but how can I tell?
Cami

Didn't:

stupid

So, I spent my morning printing out cover letters and addressing SASEs. I stuffed three envelopes, then realized my word count was too long for a couple of the other magazines I wanted to submit to. So I went through and cut words, and I liked the story so much better. And I wished I'd done that before I printed everything out and stuffed the envelopes. But I'm too lazy to do it all again, so some magazines will simply get the longer, not-as-good version. Oh well.

Day Nine

Did it:

Kim
Cami-This is my first post. I'm working on revising a novel that I've already written so I'm not sure how to count the pages. I revised an entire chapter today.
Elena-Cami, I'm in the same boat, revising a novel instead of writing new fiction, so when I'm done with writing a million plus pages of world-building and character notes, I'll have to figure out a way to count revised pages. Maybe I'll just say if I made significant progress or not. If you figure out a good revising goal, let me know.
Julie
Laura - I wrote a lot of pages today, just not really in the progression of the novel...

Didn't:

Jamie -Today I went to WalMart. And then I died. Maybe it was my character getting back at me.