In an attempt to humiliate myself into writing, along with all of you, I post these notes to give everybody a goal to work for, to be able to say you write something the past week. I had learned long ago that I am not with who has shame, or can be humiliated, but I try anyway. Keep in mind that planning stories, world creation, or editing, even if it is on someone else's work, it is all considered writing.
I am still not on one of my "normal" computers so I have not bothered trying to write. I had a couple opportunities but did not take advantage of them. My heart was not in it.
I am keeping up with my story ideas. I wrote several that missed the mark I was after. I tend to have a specific scene or situation that seeded the idea and a specific direction, a handle, that I am aiming for. When I write it, I don't always get it right. They are all fairly good, quite useable if it catches your mind, but when I miss the mark, I am disappointed. A couple set a foundation for use in other types of work. Based on a discussion on one board I visit, I did a story about where Magic is actually a magical creature that does the magician's bidding. My story idea based on the concept was mediocre at best, but I can now use that basic concept in other story ideas if it fits.
One of the boards I frequent is having writing assignments. It has poetry assignments in one forum where you are given two words each week and have to write a poem that uses that as the title or within the poem. I was shocked to learn that we have been doing these assignments for seven weeks and I have come up with something or two for every one of them. I don't even care for poetry. The writing assignments on the writing forum is started with a picture and a few words as a prompt. You then write something using the picture. It does not have to be a completed piece, but mainly something to get you doing something different. After three weeks, I have done several examples for each, four for the last one, I think. It is a lot of fun to see what I can come up with.
I basically finished the duck bowl. I finished carving the head and now just have to put a shine on the entire piece. I am already proud of the piece. My brother and my mom suggested that I should do a turkey bowl the same way. It will take a bit more planning and a bit more preparation, but I think I can do it. I will tell you this, this duck bowl will not sell cheep, or it won't sell at all. It is a piece I am really proud of. To use this in a story, one could have a craftsman who completes a piece that proves he is a master of his craft, his masterpiece. A wealthy patron sees it and asks him to do something similar, but more complicated. Something that might actually be beyond his skills. It would be more interesting if the craftsman had decided they were never going to make another one again, then hears what is offered to make the second one. The decision has to be made to give up the money, or try to equal the first piece and work on projects more suited to the craftsman's skills.
In spite of the story ideas and the writing exercises, I am going to say officially, No I did not write.
Did you?
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
Yes, I wrote. In fact, I still have my challenge story open. I'm just giving my brain a five-minute break.
Wrote a piece on my shop blog saying farewell to the Mad Hatters Tea Party (the second-oldest annual, international tattooing competition in the USA). It's a little sentimental for me, because the first half of my career was spent trying to win something from that show--when finally I did, I broke records! It sort of set the pace for the artist I would become.
Posted by TheOnceandFutureMe on :
I didn't write nearly as much as I should have, but I did finish polishing a flash fiction piece and send it to a professor to look over. After I talk with him about it I'll post it here.
I wrote down many ideas for stories, but I'll count those as writing when I write out the full story. (That's just my thing - I'm not saying everyone has to do that)
Ben
Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :
I lost an entire story on my flash drive, long story short I believe my brother put a virus onto it somehow, hate him. So I lost my story and lost my flash drive.
I went away on a holiday for a week and took my laptop with me, I wrote roughly 12,500 words in a week where all I did was hang out with old friends and do karate. Not too bad, I suppose.
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
Yes. I wrote. I worked on a new story that I am co-writing with someone here. When I send it off to him, I need to go back and edit Falcon based on the feedback from the workshop I went to.
Posted by debhoag (Member # 5493) on :
Yes, not as much as I thought I would. I am starting a novel, and have mostly been doing research. I did write a short story, and am still collecting feedback.
Posted by KaliAngelKat (Member # 4064) on :
I did some research and wrote some prep stuff for next month.
Right now I am at a friend's house until Friday and their internet is iffy.
Posted by MrsBrown (Member # 5195) on :
No -- I've been taking an unplanned break to gobble vast quantities of fiction. I've been frozen in place by a very thorough crit of my WIP -- great feedback, but the workload is intimidating, just to record it all electronically (let alone FIXING things...). Plus she encouraged more research; she suggested Ellis Peters, a mystery author who wrote the Brother Cadfael series, set in the Middle Ages with great details on setting, tools, society, etc. It’s sitting on the bottom of the stack.
My library card is straining at the seams. The YA “Princess Academy” is lyrical, lovely, and oh-so-honest. Another YA book (poor writing, great story) had strong descriptions of dragon traits and POV (my MC is a dragon/grandmother). And I just finished "Jumper" by S. Gould last night in preparation for the sequel; ohmygosh, it was just as good as the first time! (I hope someone will someday feel the same about my WIP.) Reading is helping me see deficiencies in my own character development and pacing. Sigh, but… Yum!
Posted by Tricia V (Member # 6324) on :
I wrote a 15 minute "Epistle to the Presbyterians" the other night. I didn't think that was much time to write, but then I thought "What if that were all the time you had?" It was mostly philosophical shorthand. I wonder if it will even make sense to myself next time I look at it.
But, yeah, not so much with the WIP. I had an idea for a short screen play, but I don't know. I guess I should take a crack at it.
Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :
quote:One of the boards I frequent is having writing assignments. It has poetry assignments in one forum where you are given two words each week and have to write a poem that uses that as the title or within the poem. I was shocked to learn that we have been doing these assignments for seven weeks and I have come up with something or two for every one of them. I don't even care for poetry. The writing assignments on the writing forum is started with a picture and a few words as a prompt. You then write something using the picture. It does not have to be a completed piece, but mainly something to get you doing something different. After three weeks, I have done several examples for each, four for the last one, I think. It is a lot of fun to see what I can come up with.
What is the link to that site? I want to try responding to some prompts to get my writing jump started.
Posted by meg.stout (Member # 6193) on :
Yes. I am developing a story in collaboration with another writer. He suggested "A character is cursed (or is prophesied) that he will see his heart's desire destroyed." To me that screamed Oedipus. Following the idea of actions which lead spouses to suicide, I suggested a pair of stories that happened during WW I. Should be interesting to see where this goes.
Posted by Rommel Fenrir Wolf II (Member # 4199) on :
no i did not wright. insted i was hammered and seeing things that wernt there.
i then went and flew a Piper Arrow. that was very fun.
Rommel Fenrir Wolf II
Posted by HuntGod (Member # 2259) on :
Exchanged 20 pages of emails with my brother in law regarding specifics for how they do surveillance of a large drug exchange, what the ROE's are and SOP's for entry etc. Had several cool ideas regarding surveillance, which I found out are actually in use and was asked not to include them in the writing since they were not mainstream knowledge. Had this come up once before when I suggested an innovative method for targetting grow houses, was again asked not to write about it.
Heh, so yes I've done some writing just need to figure out some alternate detection and surveillance methods for parts of the chapter.
...
Posted by Sparrol (Member # 5734) on :
Today I wrote maybe... 3k words, give or take a few hundred, and another 3k in the week before. It was draining.
Posted by Tricia V (Member # 6324) on :
The last few weeks I come to the forum and look for this thread to be posted and if it isn't yet, I kind of mope around. I posted it myself once way back when, but I didn't know if that was a bit out of turn.