Write Every Day, Day #9

[auroracloud]

I've been pretty tired today, so I've mostly just been lazing about my home, reading, writing, and such. Of course, in the evening I decided to start baking, and now I'm still waiting for the last batch of biscuits to come out of the oven. They were supposed to be just a quick thing to make after my bread rolls, but I forgot how much dough that recipe makes.

I still don't seem to master those biscuits which you bake by making big dough balls, flattening slightly, and then putting them into oven where they're supposed to spread into those big American-style cookies. I made some raisin blobs again. Well, nearly - then I just forced them to flatten halfway before they were done, and just made the next batch flat straight out. I'm seeing how the last ones turn out... (Very blobby so far, I must say.)

Today's Writing

This was quite an active writing day, actually! Besides some research reading, I brainstormed / wrote character notes for almost 900 words. And later I wrote 366 new words on a genprompt_bingo fic (one that's actually gen!). Besides, I wrote in my diary about yesterday's nature outing, and I'm thinking of using that for my next travel writing assignment, as we're supposed to do that soon again with my friend. So the diary writing also counts as preparation for that, as I'll probably partly base it on my diary entry, though I'll also see how to make it more travel-writing-like.

How was your writing?

Tally

Day 1: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, luzclarita, shopfront, silveradept, sylvanwitch, used_songs, ysilme

Day 2: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, sierranovembr, silveradept, sylvanwitch, ysilme

Day 3: alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, shopfront, silveradept, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, used_songs, ysilme

Day 4: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, shopfront, sylvanwitch, tinx_r, ysilme

Day 5: alexseanchai, alexcat, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, yantantether, ysilme

Day 6: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, ellieet, silveradept, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, yantantether, ysilme

Day 7: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, ellieet, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, ysilme, yantantether

Day 8: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, sierranovembr, silveradept, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, yantantether, ysilme;

Day 9: china_shop

Let me know if I missed you, or if you wrote but didn't check in yet. You can join in or drop out any time!

Comments

[alexseanchai]

I have written 500+ words articulating what all I need to keep in mind while writing the next segment in particular.

That is two or three times as long as I was hoping the segment itself would be.

Helpful cookie troubleshooter?

[auroracloud]

That's great, even if it's a lot longer than the segment should hopefully be. Sometimes writing things down helps at paring the scene down to the essentials, sometimes things just need to be longer than you thought. It's still really useful to be clear about what you're going to do, what to keep in mind etc. Good luck with writing the next segment!

Thank you! It would seem from that diagnosis that I use too much flour. I tried to keep to the recipe, but converting American measurements to deciliters etc. probably makes it easy to get the proportions a bit off. I have a handy conversation table, but I don't actually have measurement cup for, well, cups as a unit, so I always have to estimate a bit. I should probably stick to Finnish/European recipes, but sometimes I find such yummy ones online...

[alexseanchai]

Yeah, part of your problem is definitely "no appropriately sized measuring cup". I am also willing to bet that part of your problem is volume-based measurements. Like, I can't throw stones here, but serious bakers go by weight because it is surprisingly easy for two different runs through the same recipe—using the same measuring cup, even—to have two different amounts of flour because it's packed tighter one time. According to King Arthur Flour (and assuming unbleached all-purpose flour from King Arthur is close enough to the same thing you're using, which may not be a safe assumption but the chart is making my head spin), when a recipe says 1 cup flour, it means 120 grams. So fix your recipe accordingly and see what happens?

I drafted the offending scene last night. It's not done, but I don't think the PoV character has time to think or process, just observe, and I've got all the choreography on the screen. Except one thing and I shouldn't say it flat out anyway, nobody's supposed to notice that earring's missing for a while.) So I don't think I need to add anything, just smooth out what I've got.

...it's 200 words.

[shopfront]

Managed some planning and drafting for the next fic I have due. I really should be editing something else but I've stalled, and I'm feeling very meh in general so pushing through with writing isn't happening and just /o\ bah humbug etc.

Restarting habits sucks blah.

[auroracloud]

Sorry you're feeling meh both generally and with writing. And yeah, restarting habits can be tough, but it gets easier once you get it going, so hopefully that thought will help you - it won't be hard for long! Hopefully, at least. *sends virtual biscuits and fluffy spirit animals and whatnot to help you*

[cassini]

[the weather and work kicked my ass today, and with writing still playing second fiddle to art i only got 500 written. i can catch up on one of my days off, i think i got an idea to improve one of my flagging chapters. let's see what the next tomorrow brings ]

[auroracloud]

Sorry about both weather and work teaming up against you! Hope today will be / has been better. 500 words is still a very respectable amount of daily writing! And getting an idea to improve something is also important. :-)

[sylvanwitch]

I spent the day straightening up the house inside and then doing some yardwork and gardening outside. I still have SO much to do outdoors, but I just ran out of energy. I'm still under the weather, so I'm blaming my lack of energy on that. ;-)

Before I got the day's chores started, I wrote 1126 words on the H50 fic. That brings it up to just over 22.5K.

[auroracloud]

Cleaning up and yardwork/gardening are tough work, so no wonder you ran out of energy for that. Hope you feel better soon! But that's a fabulous amount of writing especially for a day when you also were otherwise active. (Heh, I feel so lazy in comparison. :-D) And look, you're writing a novella again! Novellas are great. :-)

[china_shop]

10th: Made beta edits and a some other tweaks to a 5000-word bodyswap flashfic and posted it, yay! (Still to go: beta edits and read-through of the other ficlet.)

[auroracloud]

Congrats for editing and posting!

[alexcat]

Did a little drabble for 200 words.

[auroracloud]

Sounds good! :-)

[cornerofmadness]

Managed to get 1071 words on Mischief Christmas. Almost done

[auroracloud]

Yay for productivity and being almost done!

[cornerofmadness]

thanks

[yantantether]

Those biscuits sound great, no matter what shape they turn out!

About 650 words for me - I feel like this fic is coming slowly, but luckily it's only going to be a short one anyway

[auroracloud]

They definitely taste good!

650 words in a day is plenty of writing! And some stories take their time. :-)

[sierranovembr]

I wrote a handful of sentences just before bedtime, just so I could check in here. It was decent set up for the next time I get to work on that fic though. :)

[auroracloud]

This is how the challenge helps you write! :-D Among other things. And being set up for what comes next is a good thing, even if you don't write more that day. :-)

[silveradept]

I got some words in, and I think that means I've finished phase one of this Very Definitely Final Boss fight and am now on to phase two.

There's still a missing chapter in there that I have to backtrack for.

[alexseanchai]

\o/

[auroracloud]

Congrats, Very Definitely Final Boss Fight Phase Two sounds good!

[carenejeans]

I was even busier today than I was yesterday! Along with lots of errands, I went to a neighborhood BBQ party, where I spent almost five hours, getting home after 8:00. And it was hot, though the host had an amazing network of umbrellas and awnings. I crashed as soon as I got home, then woke up two hours later and wrote. I'm hoping this isn't going to turn into a habit!

Anyway, I wrote 660 words on a book review.

[auroracloud]

Sounds very tiring indeed, no wonder you crashed when you got home! Hope things cool down and calm down soon. Congrats for getting any writing done on such a day! I haven't properly written about books in a while.

[ysilme]

They were supposed to be just a quick thing
Heh, don't I know that so well! Sometimes I have still a batch of jam or canning to make, postpone it during the day because I'm too tired (while planning to go to bed earlier) and then start so late with it that I'm working or waiting for something to be done well into the small hours... two days ago, I made soy milk at one in the morning because the beans had already been soaking longer than they were supposed to... *ahem*
Congrats for being so productive, food- and word-wise! *\O/*
I finally managed to get some urgent gardening down, despite my cough still being bad - but it's already more than late to plant the tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes out we bought already four weeks ago, and for various reasons it didn't happen before. But now they're all in their nice, new, homes, or at least bigger pots, and can continue to thrive. There's already one tiny tomato at one "bucket" variety I haven't tried before. Thankfully I managed to get some writing done before that, for I spent the evening dead on the sofa after the gardening! *g* 774 new words, some for the crazy crossover, some for a longish blog entry, and another hour or so of editing the joint story project. I'm quite satisfied with the day!

[auroracloud]

Hope your cough calms down soon and you aren't too tired from the gardening. Nice that you managed to get in some writing as well as the gardening. :-) Don't exhaust yourself too much after the cold, though!

[st_aurafina]

I got another 300 words of tentacle porn - as inevitably happens when I write porn, I'm getting all caught up in the plot.

I'm sorry your biscuits didn't turn out the way you wanted? I hope they were tasty anyway.

[auroracloud]

Ah, all that pesky plot, getting in the way of porn! *g* (Well, I like plot, really!)

The biscuits are tasty, no matter what they look like! Some day I'll get the hang of it. :-)

[talkingtothesky]

800 words brainstorming on a different new fic idea.

[auroracloud]

Brainstorming is good!