Charcoal Box - Writing Post

[heavensqueen]

Peer pressure or cheerleading?

This is the post for all of you who write better if they don't feel alone.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I'm Challenger from last year, and have been waiting with anticipation for a writing post. Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Challenger! Frofa here. Let's do this thing!

NaYuleWriMo

[(Anonymous)]

Anyone else planning on trying to combine NaNoWriMo with Yuletide? I don't think 50,000 words is a realistic goal for me (I also have a dissertation to work on..) but I do want to aim for a certain amount every day - maybe 500 words? Not all on one fic, though - my assignment plus treats.

Anyone want to join me? Suggest your own rules!

Re: NaYuleWriMo

[(Anonymous)]

I started plotting for Nano a month ago on an original thing I'm excited about. Then I signed up for Yuletide on a whim. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

(Realistically, the original thing doesn't have a deadline and I won't hesitate to leave it by the wayside in favor of presents for other people. But I'm still kind of boggling at myself for deciding to commit to all this at once even to myself.)

Someone in chat semi-seriously suggested writing a treat a day to make a nano wordcount work of fanfic, since nano requires 1666 words a day.

The 20 words thread! ^^

[(Anonymous)]

A coalie said somewhere that if you write 20 words a day you can get your fic finished by reveals.

So go on. Write twenty words of your main assignment, with fandom-identifying stuff redacted, obviously,

Re: The 20 words thread! ^^

[(Anonymous)]

She takes a deep breath.

"I think I'm going to go back," she says, and it's the future is open to her again. She is suddenly dizzy with anticipation.

Crystal coalie

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't match on not. Did you? I'll cheer your coal on.

Re: Crystal coalie

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't, either, but I was thinking about it so much that I'm going to treat it a parody to someone else. I feel like I dodged a bullet!

NaNoYuleMo

[(Anonymous)]

Alright, let's do this thing. Make your pledges here for you combo-November.

I pledge... 500 words of Yuletide fic every day in November. (Grand total of 15,000 words.) If I get really ambitious, I'll aim for 1,000 (Grand total of 30,000)


/Marshmallow

Re: NaNoYuleMo

[(Anonymous)]

I'll pledge 1,000 a day, although I'll probably need to do 1,500 a day to finish everything I've got on the drawing board. So, firm commitment for 30K but aspiring to 45K.

/LB

Procrastinators, assemble!

[(Anonymous)]

So, I love my assignment, and I'm really looking forward to writing it.

Only... I've kind of written a Madness treat for someone else instead.


What have the rest of you written that isn't your assignment? Tell me I'm not alone!

And can someone please kick me until I get back to what I'm meant to be writing, because the treat-happy plot-bunnies are running amok...

Re: Procrastinators, assemble!

[(Anonymous)]

My dentist and my actual assignment are both shit -- one used any wrong, another wants weird as fuck AUs and nothing else.

So I am writing one, rewarding myself with treating of the many letters I have seen that I adore, writing the other, and treating again. If they're too awful I will just orphan them.

It's November 1st Somewhere

[(Anonymous)]

Now cueing the NaNoYuleMo check in.

I figure we'll do this like the daily posts last year - everyone create your own subthread with your name and check in there. :D

Re: It's November 1st Somewhere - Marshmallow

[(Anonymous)]

Not actually 11/1 for me yet, but I know I'll have limited writing time tomorrow, so I'm working on my "to write" list right now while canon-reviewing for my Dentist's assignment, which is up first.

Finishing other fics first

[(Anonymous)]

I'd like to get going on my assignment and the treats I have planned, but I want to finish a couple of WIPs first. I know that if I don't get them done now, and instead put them aside till after Yuletide, then they're probably never going to be finished.

Anyone else in a similar situation? If so, maybe we could have a little group write thingy like last year to motivate us! (This here is Sparanero, BTW.)

Re: Finishing other fics first

[(Anonymous)]

I did, but then I abandoned them for Yuletide. I hope to complete them in the new year. So I can't join in on this, but I wish you the very best! *waves small flag*

Also, I found this community very helpful this year: http://wipbigbang.livejournal.com - they said they planned to run their WIP-finishing challenge next year too. Just in case!

IF

[(Anonymous)]

Anyone else writing IF this yuletide?

Now that there's an unofficial opt-in and everything, I'm taking a crack at it for a treat.

Re: IF

[(Anonymous)]

I kind of want to try, but I also don't know how to come up with an idea that has multiple paths that IF would work for.

November 2 check in!

[(Anonymous)]

How's it going, fellow Yuletiders? Did you words today?

(Sorry for jumping in, Marshmallow!)

Re: November 2 check in! - G

[(Anonymous)]

I struggled mightily, but managed to words across three different fics.

Pledged: 300/day
Wrote today: 400
Total to date: 800

November 3rd!

[(Anonymous)]

How's it going for everyone?

Re: November 3rd! - Saaski

[(Anonymous)]

Pledged 200/day.

I'm currently 400 words into expanding and fixing up what I did yesterday, and still going ^_^

(And I have over 3500 words total between the three treats I've started and my assignment! Some of that was started in October. I keep skipping around. I'm not very good at sticking to one thing at a time.)

/Saaski

November 4 - get your check in here!

[(Anonymous)]

Still churning out words, coalies?

Re: November 4 - get your check in here!

[(Anonymous)]

Pledged: 300/day
Wrote: 660
Total: 1460


Had to make up for not writing anything yesterday. :-( But still on track, so no worries! :-)

Remember, remember the 5th of November check in!

[(Anonymous)]

Authors shouldn't be afraid of their words. Words should be afraid of their authors.

Re: Remember, remember the 5th of November check in! - 500drabbles

[(Anonymous)]

73/500. Well, 72, plus one that ended up at 140 words due to other restrictions of form.

Non-YuleMo reporting in

[(Anonymous)]

178 words in!

Re: Non-YuleMo reporting in

[(Anonymous)]

4600 words... of treats.
0 on assignement, but I'm almost done with the canon review. And still no plot ideas, and a letter that wants post-canon with no further details. Eeeep

November 6 - really really rough draft edition

[(Anonymous)]

[Insert witty dialogue here.]

Re: November 6 - really really rough draft edition - G

[(Anonymous)]

Pledged: 300

Wrote: 312 words today, that were really hard to come by

Total: 2172 across 3 fics

Last sentence you wrote.

[(Anonymous)]

What it says on the tin. Put the last sentence you wrote in the thread, with any identifying details removed.

Re: Last sentence you wrote.

[(Anonymous)]

“In! In! It wants flesh!”

Midnight Oil, checking in!

[(Anonymous)]

Hihi, everyone!

So glad to see the return of the writing post. C: My canon review this year was simple, as it's my first year to be matched on a movie! A very different experience than having to speed-read and speed-notetake multiple hard copy volumes.

I've been to two write-ins so far, including one this afternoon. I'm in the rough outlining stage, and reached 1,500 works! I'm about 2/3rds of the way through the fic, I think. 2k projected total for the outline, and the expanding and fleshing out of the fic more than doubles the length. I estimate the final version will be about 6k. Shorter than I though it would be! We'll see how it goes. :D

And I still plan to write that one treat this year! A shorter (for me) assignment fic would definitely help me accomplish that.

Re: Midnight Oil, checking in!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Midnight Oil!

You sound amazingly productive. Keep going!

I'm in the rough outlining stage, and reached 1,500 works!

I know what you mean, obviously, but it still amuses me to imagine you disqualifying something for Yuletide (and a half) all in one go...

Good luck!

-frofa, who is so very behind, ahgh.

NaNoYuleMo Nov 8 check in

[(Anonymous)]

Here!

Re: NaNoYuleMo Nov 8 check in - Mels

[(Anonymous)]

Pledged: 300/day
Written: 800
Total: 2700 across 2 fics

I didn't get anything done yesterday but I've made up for it today. I'm pleased with how this is going.

First Lines?

[(Anonymous)]

Your first sentence is your first impression! Pick a project you're working on, YT or not, and post the first line of it in this thread. (If it's YT, feel free to leave out identifying fandom information.) You can tell us what project it's for too, if you like, and then wallow in warm feelings while people admire your opening line. :D

Re: First Lines?

[(Anonymous)]

SA

I don't mind going first. :) This is a YT treat I'm working on (the first line for my main assignment is just one big fandom identifier, haha) and I'm pretty pleased with how it's going so far:

The wind blows sleet in with him, and the patrons all give him the same dark glare as he slams the door shut as fast as he can, shaking the ice off his coat and out of his hair.

NaNoYuleMo Nov 10 check in

[(Anonymous)]

It's November 10th. Do you know where your fic is?

Re: NaNoYuleMo Nov 10 check in -- LB

[(Anonymous)]

My fic is hiding behind a bush like a timid forest creature. I'm juggling the exact details about what happens next. The characters know what they want to do but are hashing out how to go about it.

pledge: 1000 words/day
wrote: 1166 words
cumulative: 13,077

Which isn't too bad, but if I don't pick up the pace, I'll still be writing Yulefic on Christmas Eve...

NaNoYuleMo Nov 11 check in

[(Anonymous)]

11/11, did you have good luck with your fic?

Re: NaNoYuleMo Nov 11 check in - avita

[(Anonymous)]

Pledged: 500/day
Wrote: 258 words
Total: 7132

After a zero day yesterday (I worked on another creative project instead), I didn't get a lot done today. The time kind of crept away from me. But those are 258 words on my Yuletide fic, which has now crept past 1000 words, with at least three or four more substantial scenes to write. I'm estimating I'm going to hit about 3k. I want to be done so I can write treats without feeling bad! I will totally try to hit my pledge tomorrow.

Coalie writing playlist thread - adventure, strategy and friendship

[(Anonymous)]

Somehow I don't think singer-songwriter folk rock will cut the mustard.
Anyone got any recs?

Get your _coal writing mixes here, fresh from the fireplace!

Re: Coalie writing playlist thread - adventure, strategy and friendship

[(Anonymous)]

I didn't make these, but for those of you writing femslash, here are a bunch of lesbian playlists: http://8tracks.com/summerhoe/collections/queer-shit

NaNoYuleMo Nov 12 check in

[(Anonymous)]

Check in, stay accountable, encourage others!

Re: NaNoYuleMo Nov 12 check in - Challenger

[(Anonymous)]

I pledged 20k in November. Among other medical goings-on in my family, two weeks ago, I moved in with my ailing father, a move for both of us, and it's been an absolute nightmare, including lots of confusion on his part and my only possessions here a few days' worth of clothes so far. Today's the first day I've managed to write on Yuletide things this month. (First day I feel like I can even breathe.) I can barely believe 11 days have passed. *sigh*

I already had 1,400 words on one treat and 350 on another. Instead of working on those, I've decided to finish at least one assignment first (I have 3, because that's how many personalities are in here, I guess.)

I consider them assignments A, B, and C, in order of excitement.

Today, so far, I've done 1,600 words on A. \o/ Some progress! I was starting to fear that defaulting might be best, but I enjoy this so much I can't give it up.

I'm hoping to double that by bedtime, and maybe grind out a few hundred words on assignment C. I figure working on my least exciting assignment along with the rest will help me finish faster. Not writing coal, no never! But it's a really uninspired request, and what will apparently please the recipient bores the tar out of me.

The other is casefic, which I love, but which is harder for me to write than pure relationship stuff.

Hope everyone's cranking along and pleased with their progress!

/Challenger

NaNoYuleMo Nov 13 check in

[(Anonymous)]

275 words on the same assignment. Disappointing after a 4k+ day, but still another day I managed to write something. I'll take it!

/Challenger

Re: NaNoYuleMo Nov 13 check in

[(Anonymous)]

A good day yesterday. Finished one thing and am about to start another, so I expect to get little or nothing done today. If my estimates are correct, I've only got about 20K left to write before Yuletide. Unless I get another idea...

pledge: 1000 words
wrote: 3125
cumulative total: 20,179

NaNoYuleMo Nov 14 check in

[(Anonymous)]

"Writing is its own reward." - Henry Miller

Re: NaNoYuleMo Nov 14 check in -- LB

[(Anonymous)]

A better day than expected. I'd thought getting this fic off the ground would be like pulling teeth, but it's been much smoother than I thought. Dentistry tomorrow, no doubt.

pledge: 1000 words
wrote: 1681 words
goal: 30K
ambitious goal: 45K
cumulative total: 21,860