My week went well, despite kids being sick and me catching a cold. I got in about 500 words a day and I think I only missed two days of not writing. I got stuck one day and just didn't know how to write what happened next, but I powered through it. I'm going to have to revisit it, but it helped just to get it down in words since the next part flowed.

My goal for next week is to keep up the 500 words a day guideline.
 

And I'm trying to shake a nasty cold, which hasn't helped.

I did manage about 5000 words on a new story I'm playing with, sort of twisting and putting together a couple of different folktale motifs. But, on that one, I can let myself write whatever I feel like and put the pieces together later.
 

Anyway, Next Week's Goals: five pages a day new, and five pages polished on APTW. Yep. That's right. I'm going to start tweaking APTW for sending out. (Wish me luck.)

And, good luck to everyone else, too.
 

Dag bird flu!

I didn't write a lot. I think the best thing I wrote this week was the bad opening line here on hatrack.

Oh well. Thirty words adds up.

Right?

Oh and IB, if your APTW isn't published I will shocked. Electroshock therapy shocked. Dang good work.

~Sheena
 

I'm still recovering, but my writing wasn't too heavily impacted by my illness. I got 5500 words last week, hoping for a higher count this week. I've gotten through all the transition chapters, and it's all fun, intense stuff from here on out.

I'm hitting the final stretch here. Really exciting and scary.
 

thanks!
 

WELCOME to The Hatrack Novel Support Group, Omega!

Okay, as far as how it works, here are our ways:

1) Every week--usually on Friday--a member starts an NSG thread for the week from that Friday until the next Thursday. (I used to do it, but others have thankfully taken up the mantle.) The reasoning is, when most of us work a full work week, our most productive hours are on the weekends...and this is a prod to remind us of our intentions.

2) The first post in said thread is usually to report on how we did and where we yet want to go. Any problems or advice will usually be added after. We don't always make our goals, but it's nice to have someone around pushing you, or to look up to, or to trade basic chapter crits with.

3) The first time you announce your work, you usually announce what genre (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Historical, Mystery, Suspence, etc.) it is and what grade (YA, adult, mid-grade, children's, etc,) and post the first thirteen lines (fill your reply box once), so we have an idea of what it's about. This will help you gather readers that enjoy what you write, when the time comes. Also, if you dislike a particular genre, you should let us know.

4) Critiquing: At early stages of first drafts, we only really expect basic stuff like consistency, glaring plot holes, pacing or suggestion on what it's lacking. However, if you get critiqued, you're required to give critiques. (Remember, this is chapter-by-chapter, unless otherwise agreed upon.)

5) We've had a good run in which there has been no fights, we'd like to keep it that way. Since the #1 cause of fights is defensiveness, just don't do it. If you read something that fires you up, say a polite thank you and either just don't take that advice, or cool off and see how valuable that advice is. Though Kathleen and Hatrack have a pretty good basic set of rules, remember we're all adults here (I'm pretty sure), and we formed NSG as a "novel support group".

Here's the keys, feel free to bump around. Any questions, just ask, somebody is sure to answer.
 

Optional bonuses include trading crits of novel chapters with the other members, and having a supportive place for whining when you can't get anything done. (I've taken advantage of that feature on several occasions.)
 

[This message has been edited by BoredCrow (edited March 01, 2009).]
 

Somewhere in the delirium, I finished my short story for the sudden fiction contest and did some work on an old novel, if work you can call it. I had put it away to gather dust, but I brushed it off this week and couldn't stop reading it. That's either an extremely good sign or a symptom of the fever. Only time will tell.

I also started a shimiqua fan club on Facebook, if anyone wants to join. She took on the huge project of reading both my books to see if she thought they should be joined into one or not.

This week: Same old goal--I have written all the easy parts of Terra's Gate, but there are still many parts that need to be filled in. In particular, there is one subcharacter that I just can't seem to write about. All the parts with her in it just say "And right here she's supposed to...but, moving on..." I want to write a whole novel about this character someday, and yet I can't make myself even write a scene with her in it.
 

Anyways, while I'm at it, I might as well do all of the stuff that you mentioned.

So, my first project is a Sci-fi YA-Adult (might make it mid-grade? Not sure exactly what that means). Also, I'm not going to post all thirteen lines since that puts things into the middle of a paragraph and it just doesn't make sense that way. Here's the first nine.

Sitting atop his grand throne, the Emperor let himself become one with the Universe. His mind spread like tendrils of light throughout the cosmos, finding the prominent ones still waiting to be plucked from the vine. The ones whose talents would yield the sweetest juices to nurture his Empire and make it stronger. Those men and women would find themselves treated with special care when he tracked them down, and that was always just a matter of time. Fortunately, time was something that he never ran out of.

As far as my progress on this project, it's Working Title is just "Roland" after the main character. I've got 4 chapters done, 56 pages, and 15,028 words (I write long chapters it seems). So, yeah, I think that's everything.

Oh, and no need to worry about me getting angry or anything like that. I'm real good at taking criticism like that. Not much makes me mad at all really. And if anyone would like me to read over their stuff or would like to read a chapter of mine (like I said I've got 4) just let me know. I'd be more than happy to read/share !

EDIT: Oh and thanks for the warm welcomes everyone!

[This message has been edited by Omega (edited March 01, 2009).]
 

I thank you for your kindness, and your fanhood. Do you want an autograph?

Here it is.
~Sheena
 

The novel I am working on is a fantasy aimed towards an adult audience. I've been kicking the idea around in my head for a few years now but I just can't seem to get it out. I think I'm scared that I won't be able to do justice to the story I know it could be. Hopefully, with your help, I can finally get passed that and get more than a couple thousand words down.

Here is the first thirteen. My goal is to actually finish the first chapter. I'm hoping that if I can get passed that hurdle, the rest won't seem so daunting.

quote:

---

The great lie of happiness is that it can last forever. Jirand shook his head at the thought and slowly emptied his shovelful of dirt into the hole. The cascading earth pattered atop the wooden box below.
“We’re all the same in the end, ain’t we?” a wry smile touched his lips as Jirand laughed, speaking aloud to the half buried casket. As he filled the shovel for another load, an arrow thunked into the ground a hairsbreadth from his foot. He spun round, dirt spraying in an arc around him as he brought the shovel to bear like a stave.
The tall figure a few yards back held a bow in a large hand and stood next to a handcart. He wore the red tabard of the city Watch, the golden falcon of Tarsid emblazoned on the chest.

---

[This message has been edited by Bycin (edited March 03, 2009).]
 

In the mean time, you should power through that chapter and the rest will be easier! I'm in a similar boat even though I'm 5 chapters into my novel. There's always one chapter in a book that proves hard to write and then the rest seem to flow really freely. I'm probably just going to blow through this chapter and fix it later. There's a lot wrong with it I'm sure but I can always apply polish later ;D
 

My current novel is a total oddity in that I'm writing it sequentially. So whatever works best! Do you guys all write sequentially, or do you jump around?
 

If I could just start with chapter four, I'd be well into Book Three by now. It's the need to get that foundation of the first couple of chapters that's holding me back. I did actually write a paragraph on it, yesterday. A whole paragraph.
 

I'm happily in Dragon Fate land now, and moving through briskly.
~Sheena
 

I realized that I keep procrastinating with short stories. I think it is my literary way of cleaning the house instead of getting sitting down and getting the job done. Ah well, at least it is writing.
 

Yay Shimiqua, do we get to read another Dragon chapter soon then?
 

It's Science Fiction (I don't live anywhere else) and mostly likely adult. It'll end up there eventually.

I've got 32 chapters finished but recently dicovered what that nagging thought in the back of my head was so now I have an additional five chapters to add on to the begining that are going to be---it's compicated. Anyhoo...It's mostly finished, very detailed outline on my bedroom wall too...

It's about...well...the balance of magic. I know, sounds dumb but the way it's brought to the reader is this: Ainslie Wentworth thinks she's crazy. She's been halicinating and a mountain of other things since her parent's death when she was 12. She's now a charge of her "Uncle's" and he's a badguy that's a doc. and keeps her doped up on meds. Things fall into place, Ainslie stops taking her meds cold turkey and everything falls to hell in a hand basket. The next thing she knows is she wakes up a million miles from home, with a Gargoyle and a Knight that are risking their lives to protect her.

This is a weird way of describing it....makes more sense when you read it....
 

Let's see... for the next step, you could:
1)Post your first thirteen
2)Ask for people willing to swap chapters, if you're at the stage when you need crits*
3)Ask us all a question on a plot point/character trouble/etc to get opinions
4)Whine
5)State your accomplishments
6)Give everyone cookies

So as you can see, we're pretty relaxed here.
(*if you are, I'll swap with you)
 

The Guardians Of Gravenhurst
Book V
Grace

Part 1: Four Grey Walls and Four Grey Towers

It wasn’t the first time I woke from a nightmare frightened to the point where I was running out my front door from the red-eyed shadow that was trying to kill me in my bed room. It wasn’t the first time I’d fallen along the slick sidewalk behind Market Square and cut up my legs. It wasn’t even the first time I’d come to an abrupt stop in front of the house with the two doors, suddenly forgetting what I was running from in the first place. All I knew was that I needed to come here, to be safe…

 

[This message has been edited by TC Ashley (edited March 04, 2009).]
 

My novel is SF, and this is my first time writing fiction.
It's probably Adult or YA, though I never really thought about it.

Working Title: Atlantis Rising

Plot basics, (skipping a lot of details): The people of Atlantis are still around, but an old enemy is returning to destroy them (well actually Earth) and now the Atlanteans who have been concealing their presence all this time must make their presence known as they prepare to defend Earth.

first thirteen:

Two young fugitives frantically climb the steep rocky slope riddled with sagebrush and wildflowers. They're driven onward by both the fear of capture and the hope of escape, while trying to ignore the throbbing ache in their legs, sides, and chests. It seems as though they have been running forever.

A black helicopter hovers above them like an angry hornet against the bluebonnet sky. The rapid thump thump thump of its rotors reverberates around them like an amplified echo from their pounding hearts. Below them on the gravel road, a growling black Ford Galaxy leads an army of yellow dust.

Aria looks back in time to see the black Ford swallowed by the dust as it skids to a halt. “They’re coming…, we’re… not going… to make it!” She yells breathlessly to the boy leading

By the way, being new, I have'nt got a lot of experience with critiquing, so if I screw up, please let me know and bear with me.
Thanks
TL

[This message has been edited by TLBailey (edited March 05, 2009).]
 

I think I have most of the first chapter done, and a fair portion of the second, however for the last week or so I've really been working on what I'm calling a background document. In it I'm listing characters, and their attributes, as well as a general event list and "what if" list which is helping me see the path this story follows. I'm also including key background elements.

I start this after finding this site and learning a great deal about writing SF. Before all this was fogy clutter in my already cluttered brain. Now it's becoming much clearer and I'm excited to really get going.

 

Just thought I'd share.
~Sheena
 

You're top dog this week. Congratulations!!!