Write Every Day - August Day One
Aug. 1st, 2017 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
auroracloudWelcome to Write Every Day! This month we're doing it in my journal again. I hosted in December, and now we're back at my place, this time both on LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, so you can pick whichever site you prefer!
What's this about?
What it says on the title, basically. It's a challenge to write something every day, no matter how little or how much. It can even be just a sentence, or half of one. (We call it 'alibi sentence' when we write a sentence just to have written that way, and they're really helpful even if it doesn't seem like much at the moment.)
Each month, someone hosts by making a post every day where others can check in and say if they wrote, say what they wrote and how much if they want (not necessary), and discuss writing and such if they like. The host will cheerlead on and keep a tally of who checked in to write. It's possible to join the challenge at any point, and leave it at any point. There are no requirements, no sanctions, no competition - the purpose is to help each other at writing by helping make it a regular thing and to connect with others with a similar goal.
I've joined this challenge almost exactly a year ago, and I've been happy to never miss a day (though no matter if you miss a day, a week, a month or however long - you can come back any time you feel like!). It's helped me a lot with my writing to keep it a regular thing - even if on some days all I write is a sentence or a few, or a tiny bit of editing, it's still writing, and the habit keeps the stories fresher in my mind, and makes it easier to write on the days when writing is coming more easily. Also, very often I've set out to write just a sentence or two, and ended up with a few paragraphs or even more. Many times it's just about getting started, and the idea that you just need to write, no matter how little, can be helpful. It's also really nice to have a little community of writers and to share some of the both difficulties and joys of writing.
It's entirely up to you which kind of writing you count for this. For myself, I count any fiction writing (including planning and definitely including editing) as well as anything approaching nature and travel writing, because those are what I want to work on. Some write fanfic, some write original fic, some both. Some count non-fiction, writing for work or study, journalling, comments, beta-reading, reviews or whatever else they prefer. Anything you decide to count as writing you want to encourage yourself to do, you'll count, and just tell me you wrote!
If you've never participated but are curious and want to see how it works,esteliel hosted it in July and navaan in June, so you can head to their journals, to see examples of how it happens.
I'll be making the same check-in post in LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, so you can comment at either place, whichever you prefer. Oh, and I'm still kind of new to using DW regularly and to crossposting, so if I mess up my tags and don't notice, feel free to point it out to me so I can learn and fix it!
I think that's it? If I've forgotten anything important, just ask!
And welcome to people who I haven't known previously but who've started following me because of this fest!
August
Just thought I'd ask to kick off this month: Anyone have any particular writing goals this month? My main goals are to finish some fest fics - I've got a Torchwood Fest just needing to do the final edits, and a Rare Pair Fest fic first draft pretty far along. But I'd also love to finally pick which one of my original ideas I'm going to start to work more earnestly on, and maybe even do that. I've been shifting between a few (lately mostly two), writing random scenes and character studies as they occur to me, but I worry that if I don't pick one and stick to writing it for a while, I'll be endlessly hopping onto new ideas rather than finishing one. And I'd really like to have an original novel draft to work on, it's been a while.
Alternatively or in addition, I would love to finish even one fic that isn't for a fest/challenge. Or one that was supposed to be but didn't get finished for the deadline. Let's see what happens...
Today's Writing
Today, my brain's been pretty low on energy, but I still managed to write. I returned from a mini-holiday in the countryside, and before leaving from there, I wrote some notes/descriptions on the place where I was staying. It counts both as travel writing and as possible notes for one of my original projects. And now in the evening I worked some more on my![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
rarepairfest fic, getting about 350 words.
How about you all?
What's this about?
What it says on the title, basically. It's a challenge to write something every day, no matter how little or how much. It can even be just a sentence, or half of one. (We call it 'alibi sentence' when we write a sentence just to have written that way, and they're really helpful even if it doesn't seem like much at the moment.)
Each month, someone hosts by making a post every day where others can check in and say if they wrote, say what they wrote and how much if they want (not necessary), and discuss writing and such if they like. The host will cheerlead on and keep a tally of who checked in to write. It's possible to join the challenge at any point, and leave it at any point. There are no requirements, no sanctions, no competition - the purpose is to help each other at writing by helping make it a regular thing and to connect with others with a similar goal.
I've joined this challenge almost exactly a year ago, and I've been happy to never miss a day (though no matter if you miss a day, a week, a month or however long - you can come back any time you feel like!). It's helped me a lot with my writing to keep it a regular thing - even if on some days all I write is a sentence or a few, or a tiny bit of editing, it's still writing, and the habit keeps the stories fresher in my mind, and makes it easier to write on the days when writing is coming more easily. Also, very often I've set out to write just a sentence or two, and ended up with a few paragraphs or even more. Many times it's just about getting started, and the idea that you just need to write, no matter how little, can be helpful. It's also really nice to have a little community of writers and to share some of the both difficulties and joys of writing.
It's entirely up to you which kind of writing you count for this. For myself, I count any fiction writing (including planning and definitely including editing) as well as anything approaching nature and travel writing, because those are what I want to work on. Some write fanfic, some write original fic, some both. Some count non-fiction, writing for work or study, journalling, comments, beta-reading, reviews or whatever else they prefer. Anything you decide to count as writing you want to encourage yourself to do, you'll count, and just tell me you wrote!
If you've never participated but are curious and want to see how it works,
esteliel hosted it in July and navaan in June, so you can head to their journals, to see examples of how it happens.I'll be making the same check-in post in LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, so you can comment at either place, whichever you prefer. Oh, and I'm still kind of new to using DW regularly and to crossposting, so if I mess up my tags and don't notice, feel free to point it out to me so I can learn and fix it!
I think that's it? If I've forgotten anything important, just ask!
And welcome to people who I haven't known previously but who've started following me because of this fest!
August
Just thought I'd ask to kick off this month: Anyone have any particular writing goals this month? My main goals are to finish some fest fics - I've got a Torchwood Fest just needing to do the final edits, and a Rare Pair Fest fic first draft pretty far along. But I'd also love to finally pick which one of my original ideas I'm going to start to work more earnestly on, and maybe even do that. I've been shifting between a few (lately mostly two), writing random scenes and character studies as they occur to me, but I worry that if I don't pick one and stick to writing it for a while, I'll be endlessly hopping onto new ideas rather than finishing one. And I'd really like to have an original novel draft to work on, it's been a while.
Alternatively or in addition, I would love to finish even one fic that isn't for a fest/challenge. Or one that was supposed to be but didn't get finished for the deadline. Let's see what happens...
Today's Writing
Today, my brain's been pretty low on energy, but I still managed to write. I returned from a mini-holiday in the countryside, and before leaving from there, I wrote some notes/descriptions on the place where I was staying. It counts both as travel writing and as possible notes for one of my original projects. And now in the evening I worked some more on my
rarepairfest fic, getting about 350 words.How about you all?
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:43 am (UTC)I am not currently working on any long-term or short-term writing projects. We're moving this month, so things are pretty hectic. I do have two original short stories that I'd love to find the time to beat into shape this month, but I make no guarantees.
In the meantime, however, I'm making it a point to write something every day, just to keep in the good habit that this challenge has instilled in me since I joined you in April. Today, that means I wrote a 134 Tony/Steve fragment for an Avengers/Captain American idea that's been floating through my brain. I will probably NOT write it this month, but you never know.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:03 pm (UTC)Oh! I hope you get to it at some point though! :D
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 06:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:01 pm (UTC)That is actually a good goal to have. I feel like I've become to dependent on deadlines to get things done. :P
My goal is to not fail the Anthology collaboration, to get at least one of the Big Bangs done and start on my Stony Trumps Hate auction debts. So a busy month... ^^;
I had so much modding to do and was already low on energy so I generated a whole bunch of Bingo cards and then wrote an Alibi sentence. Not the best start, but a start.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 06:43 pm (UTC)Sounds like a busy month indeed! Good luck! And some days just are alibi sentence days. Looks like today will be one for me...
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 01:55 pm (UTC)My plan for the month is another 4 chapters of my neverending Valvert slavefic WIP, and hopefully a good start on another origfic project.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-02 06:49 pm (UTC)Ah, Valvert is what they call it nowadays? *g* I'm somehow endlessly amused by ship names, probably because somehow none of my ships ever end up with one of those names. (Well, Janto is well established for Jack/Ianto, but I don't think it's a good ship name because it's almost fully just one character's name. Easy to mix up.) Anyway, good luck with both the WIP and the origfic project!
no subject
Date: 2017-08-03 04:45 am (UTC)I didn't write on the first, but I did today.
no subject
Date: 2017-08-03 06:41 am (UTC)And great, I'll add you on the tally for the 2nd when I write up the next post! Well done!
no subject
Date: 2017-08-03 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-03 07:58 pm (UTC)