Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Results of 2009

This is topic Results of 2009 in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by rstegman (Member # 3233) on :

I did my stats for the year and decided to brag a little.

This is a good place to post what you did for the year.

We can then see if our writing resolutions will seem plausible

and we can come back next year and see if we did any better.

I did pretty good this year, though not as good as I hoped.
I did 368 total story ideas, three more than days of the month,
and 538 pages for a total of
387,429 words of pure drivel.
That is something to be proud of. Too bad I don't count that in my DID YOU WRITE posts as writing. It is more like doing a column every day. It is just something to do.

In my "real" writing, I also worked on some 12 stories, a couple actually finished. Actually, most of the twelve were bits and pieces of other stories we were working on, All were WAXY DRAGON stories.
They amounted to 99,991 total words and a total of 165 pages.

I hope to finish the rough draft of some of those, and write some more other stories. I do have plots for about thirty stories sitting elsewhere.

How have you done?

Posted by D2 (Member # 8930) on :

I wrote -- or at least drafted -- a novel-length piece of work, which is a big deal to me. I have (had!) always believed that I don't have the attention span to do anything longer than a short story, and proving myself wrong was a wonderful feeling.

Hopefully that's opened the flood gates.

Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :

Short stories completed: 5
Words: 20,000 or so
WotF entries: 4 (2 HMs)
Rejections: 11
Sales: 1 (my first)

Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :

Just got back into writing this year

Joined Hatrack
Made my first submission
Recieved my first rejection
Wrote my first WOTF entry (Q01)
Wrote 5 Sci-Fi Poems
Wrote 5 stories totalling 40,000 words
Purchased name for future writing website
Started local writers crit group

Posted by Meredith (Member # 8368) on :

Let's see.

I wrote first drafts of three novels--THE IGNORED PROPHECY, BLOOD WILL TELL, and DREAMER'S ROSE. Two of them I revised far enough to engage in chapter exchanges.

I submitted THE SHAMAN'S CURSE to 21 agents and was rejected 21 times. That includes agonizing over the query letter and synopsis--several times.

I wrote three actual short stories. (That's not counting a novelette that I haven't figured out what to do with, yet, and a novelette and novella that turned into/are turning into novels. They're obviously not done.) I actually submitted one of the short stories to a couple of markets--and was rejected.

All in all, a productive year. Now, for getting something accepted.

Posted by BenM (Member # 8329) on :

30,000 words over 6 stories plus a novel plot in 2009. Saw some improvement and had increasing fun as I went along, which was encouraging.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

After a brief looksee through my notes for 2009, I---

---(1) worked on and finished a story I wrote the rough draft of in 2008.

---(2) spent about ten thousand words on an open-ended story that aborted on me.

---(3) dug up another rough draft from 2008 and finished that one, too.

---(4) then came up with something new and finished a rough draft of that.

---(5) submitted (1) and (3) to markets, receiving three rejections on (1) and two on (3).

---(6) did some miscellaneous work on this-or-that idea.

Finished work: thirty thousand words.

Unfinished work: also thirty thousand words.

Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :

I wrote (start to finish) a half dozen short stories/novelettes and submitted to WotF three times. One HM, two still out and results unknown. I also submitted some stuff to other markets and am waiting to hear back on that, too.

I wrote ~200K in various novel drafts.

No way I'm going to figure out how much I read through the whole year. I do know that the count was ~500 books as of June, but most of that was for work which is a different kind of "reading". I did buy less than 50 new books this year, so that was pretty good and restrained of me on that front.

In other news, I moved six times and took over 4000 photos.

Posted by Owasm (Member # 8501) on :

70+ short stories @ approx 3,000 words each equal 210,000 words (ranging from 500 words to 13,000 words)
Two complete novel drafts approx 200,000 words
One incomplete novel draft approx 35,000

So, I'd say approximately 500,000 words in 2009 including story treatments and aborted pieces.

Accomplishments?
Started year by querying an old novel. 31 rejections with two call backs for writing samples.

Two WofF HMs in two submissions (I submitted four quarters but only two results are in)

Placed a short story and a poem. The poem was picked up for an anthology by the same market. Both were nomimal paying markets

Completed NaNo with a full length novel (105,000 words).

I consider I went from a rank novice to a seasoned beginner from the middle of February when I started writing in 2009 and joined Hatrack to the end of 2009.

Hatrack has been a significant part of my writing thus far and will continue to be in 2010.

[This message has been edited by Owasm (edited January 02, 2010).]

Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :

I wrote about 30,000 words (possibly more) in 2009--my Dad died which stopped me for a while.

I submitted a few stories during the year probably less than twenty stories submitted.

I had four acceptances.

I was nominated for the British Science Fiction Association Best Short Fiction Award for 2008 (published in) in their long list.

I won the third quarter of Writers of the Future, coming in as second place winner.

Posted by sholar (Member # 3280) on :

I wrote my master's thesis, though that was all sciency. I started writing fiction again in November- jumping right in with nano. I finished a rough draft of a novel, at a little over 70k words.

My goal for next year is to edit my novel and send out at least one query. I am also planning on doing nano again in 2010.

Posted by genevive42 (Member # 8714) on :

I finished my novel and gave it to some friends to read. Found out who not to give something like that to. But also learned how short it fell by lack of response. This coming year I will be completely replotting and world building on the bones of the first.

I wrote six short stories, one of which was accepted. My first acceptance.

I did NaNo and discovered that while I can accomplish the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days it deprives me of truly getting into my characters' heads as I write. I don't know if I will do it again. I did learn a great deal about outlining, character development and plotting.

I joined Hatrack and have learned oodles and oodles.

I've learned a lot about what I do well and where I need to improve.

I continued submitting my older stuff though I see now how some of it may need some work.

Edited to correct the number of short stories once I thought back.

[This message has been edited by genevive42 (edited January 02, 2010).]

Posted by dee_boncci (Member # 2733) on :

I kept my teenage daughter alive for all 365 days (although a look at some of her report cards would lead one to a different conclusion).

Wrote three short stories, and about 75 poems.

Not a great year for writing output

Posted by shimiqua (Member # 7760) on :

In 2009:
I wrote five completed short stories,
+ four abandoned halfway.
I completed one novel,
30,000 words on another
7,000 words false start,
and I participated in nearly all the writing challenges.
I received two rejection letters.
And made 1000+ peanut butter sandwiches.

~Sheena

Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :

Most importantly I made seven hundred odd posts on Hatrack (roughly)--that's a novel's worth.

Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :

I did nothing really of note--managed to publish one story, and worked my @rse off on my recent WotF.

Posted by Crank (Member # 7354) on :

An overview of my 2009 accomplishments:

- completed one novel
- made it to the halfway-ish point of two other novels
- completed two short stories
- started two other short stories
- made significan progress on two previously forgotten short stories
- studied many technical, scientific, and writing-related topics
- (Here's the one I'm most proud of and most excited about) Exited 2009 believing I'm a much better writer than when I entered.

S!
S!

Posted by dougsguitar on :

2009 - While I was waiting for '09 to start... it passed me by!
I completed the behometh novel, including a full-pass editing job, cut 50k words + from the manuscript. I still have two complete books in there somewhere... intend to separate them soon.
My reading fell way off normal, possibly the cause of all the whistling wind I hear in my head now, kinda like what you might hear in an empty building.
Seeing that '09 slipped by unnoticed has caused all kinds of introspection in regards to '10. I had originally wanted to be published by 50, but that comes to me in May. The possibility still exists, but the likelyhood is low. 'Sokay though, I'm most interested in cultivating the artistic fire in me, beit writing, music, songwriting, poetry, singing... whatever. I did not miss too many goals in '09... I had a few, but nothing newsworthy.
I did manage to close '09 with a great attitude and a tremendous amount of resolve to succeed at everything I set out to do.