Monday, August 14, 2006

How YOU Doin'?

Okay, 'fess up: now's the time to detail your progress in the writing/fiction challenge. I'll start. I'm happy to report that I added about 5k words to my WIP since Tuesday. I definitely wouldn't have added anything if not for the challenge, so I'm really pleased with how things are ticking along. Even better, I've started to think about my characters and plot outside of my office, which means that things will really start kicking into gear for me. There's nothing like being at the gym or walking down the street and suddenly realizing exactly what you want to write next.

So, as Joey Tribbiani would say, "how you doin'?"

11 comments:

Sara Hantz said...

I did about 25 pages this week!! A couple and a bit chapters. No idea how many words.

Yay, on your 5k and thinking outside your office. Funny you mentioned that because I've noticed I'm doing that now with my current ms. Trouble is when I get a good idea I have to repeat it to myself so I don't forget it by the time I get back home - and that often involves saying it outloud. But hey, I love talking to myself!

xxxx said...

OK, THIS WEEK I will join in. I'm revising, so no word count for me ... but I will say I'll revise three chapters this week.

Crap. Now I've got to get my shit together :)

Anonymous said...

Working through the early exercises in Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, I set my goal to complete the exercises through Chapter 16. Although only making it to Chapter 13 -- which begins the section on Plot Development -- I hardly feel as though I lost my challenge. On the contrary, the pages of notes and writings made this past week on character development are astonishing. My novel is being built from the ground up and I'm loving every second of it.

For now through next Monday, my goal is to complete at least one set of Chapter exercises a day. And -- if I accomplish more -- you won't hear me complain. *g*

Alyssa Goodnight said...

I can't report any actual progress on my manuscript. That said, I did finish reading Writing the Breakout Novel, so that's definitely something. It has me thinking about all these things that I need to pay attention to in my writing. So...I've sort of gone back to my original idea and I'm reworking/rethinking the plot threads and the character arc, etc. SLOW going, but I'm actually feeling good about it.

I think about my WIP all the time--sometimes I feel like I'm missing life because I'm wrapped up in a book that's not even written yet.

Amie Stuart said...

Sad to say I wrote like 1500 words last week. I totally bottomed out and ended up giving myself a three day weekend. WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT??

no clue.

This week my goal is 24 pages.

thatgirl said...

Unbelievably, over the weekend, I wrote 3,341 words. Three freakin' thousand! And it's based on something I know quite a bit about, but the main character is, thankfully, NOT me. I honestly wouldn't have done it without your advice, so thank you!

Anonymous said...

Allison-

First of all, I love your site! Your answers are great and I can't wait to read your book!

You mentioned that the plot of The Department of Lost and Found was easy to write because it was based on something you had experienced in life. How did you come up with the plot for what you are working on now? Did you run the idea by your agent and ask for her advice before you started writing it? What is the process for coming up with a book? Also, when you wrote DEPARTMENT, did you outline it first or just dive right in?

PS- I personally believe I am the biggest FELICITY fan in existence, so it is always nice to know there is another one out there. :)

Allison Winn Scotch said...

I can't tell you how excited I am that this little venture is actually helping people out! Seriously - it's made my day. Congrats to EVERYONE on their progress, regardless of how little or how much you did!

And Swish - hee!

Anon - any friend of Felicity is a friend of mine. :) Glad to have you here...I'll get to your question within a few days!

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

My husband ALWAYS says, "How YOU Doin'" and it drives me nuts!

I'm not doing nuttin' but as soon as the kids are back in school (ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!) I've got to get in on this challenge!

Does Blogging count as writing?!

Jocelyn said...

Hey Allison...I've been posting as anonymous because I completely forgot I had a blogger account! So now I can really join the group and start the challenge.

Yes, I have millions of questions and any that you answer just THRILLS me.

And YES I am a HUGE Felicity fan and still feel a hint of sadness every fall when there is no new season to look forward to. Do you own the DVD's?

Best,
Jocelyn

Trish said...

I'm revising a first draft and started to completely redo the first chapter after thinking and thinking all summer. It was really dull and I need it to just sparkle. But, as I rewrote last week, I changed POVs suddenly. So now, I've got a bigger revise than I imagined, but I'm excited.

How YOU doin? Thanks for this blog, AWS! It is helping me!