Write Every Day: Welcome and Day #1

[auroracloud]

This month, we're doing Write Every Day over here at my journal. Welcome all who want to join for this month, old and possible new participants alike!

What it's about

Some people have been doing this challenge for nearly two years; I joined in August when I started using LJ, and have found it very helpful for my writing, and am happy to host it this month. The basic idea is, well, what it says: the goal is to write something every day. I make a post for each day, and keep a tally of everyone who's written each day. No minimum word count, no quality requirements, no competition. Even if all you write is one sentence, you've written. Fanfic, original fiction, nonfiction, all is good. In comments we can talk about what we've been writing, how it's going, chat/vent/cheer/whatever.

I've found this super-helpful, because even on a day when I seem to have no time or energy or ideas, it gets me to write at least that one sentence, and usually it turns to more than that. Even when it's just that one sentence, it keeps the writing for me and makes it easier to write more on other days. I used to do the same thing on my own a few years back, and it was the best writing time I'd had, but it works even better when you're doing it together with others.

There are regulars who've been doing this for quite some time, most longer than I have, but anyone who wants to try it can join any time. Just let me know and start commenting! You can drop out any time, too. If you don't manage to check in every day, I can add you to the tally afterwards. For more of an idea of how it has worked in the past, you can see this overview post that navaan has made of each month's first and last posts.

Since this is my first time hosting: if you people notice I'm doing something differently than I should, just let me know. The basic idea is quite simple, but just saying this in the case I miss something!

So, let's get started!

Today's writing:

So far, I did a little bit of planning for the novel idea I'm working on, and a couple of sentences of my Yuletide fic. I hope to do some more fic later, I really want to get the first draft into a shape soon. EDIT: I added a few more sentences; altogether a little over 100 words today. I really need to get more productive writing-wise over the next days. I don't know what happened to today. But still, progress.

What about the rest of you?

Comments

[miss-morland.livejournal.com]

A little under 400 words on my YT fic, which refuses to be done. *sob*

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

I can share your anguish over YT fic refusing to be done. *pats* I'm sure you'll get there!

[ysilme]

Hi, new participant (I hope) here! I'm a flistie of Miss Morland's and have joined her hosting this two years ago or so during NaNo. Measuring my writing progress in whatever way is really helpful for me, too, so seeing Miss Morland's daily posts about the challenge motivated me to join you all and see how it works for me.
I'm mainly involved in the Tolkien (Silmarillion) fandom and have just finished my fourth NaNo. I also rebelled for the first time, editing a former NaNo story which is a Tolkien fanfic I hope to finish during the next months - I'm horribly slow with anything that's not an exchange or challenge story... I'm still winding down from the NaNo craze and of having been away for a week of holidays, so a bit over 300 token words are all I've got to show for today.

[avon.livejournal.com]

Welcome! I joined this little crew of writers from Miss M's flist a couple of years ago! It's a great group of supportive people,

[ysilme]

Thanks! :D

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

Hello and welcome! Nice to meet you, and great that you decided to join us. Hopefully it will be as useful for you as it has been for me. :-) And 300 words sounds good already, especially since NaNo can really be a bit exhausting. :-)

[ysilme]

Thank you for the welcome!
I don't even attempt to write much at the moment, since I don't have any deadlines looming, but rather to not lose the habit of writing daily, or at least working at writing. In the last years, this always happened after NaNo when I took a break from the intense writing, and I want to try to avoid it this time. ;o)

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean! Whenever I lose the habit of daily writing, it gets a lot harder it pick it up regularly at all, and it gets difficult to pick it up. In the early part of the year my writing was very haphazard because I had let go of a big long-time project, didn't have much time, and didn't have anything making me write regularly. I still wrote some, but after I started this thing to make sure I wrote at least that one sentence a day, it's been a lot better. It's clearly something that works for me, and the little support group here helps stick to it. :-)

[esteliel.livejournal.com]

An entire chapter of my slavefic edited and posted, phew. This was... a very iddy chapter, which showed in the amount of work editing took. (I know I have my favourite words, but no one needs to sob 5 times in two paragraphs... /o\)

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

Yay, it's always a relief to get something edited and posted! And oh, that sounds so familiar about favourite words. I had a manuscript once where my romantic leads were constantly shivering (and quivering, shaking etc.) so much it seemed like they were perpetually cold or had a neurological condition. *g*

[avon.livejournal.com]

I really want to finish my first draft of NaNo by the end of the year, so I wrote like 600 words on that (and a bunch of words for work). Tomorrow - more spero or edit Yuletide? Questions questions. :)

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

Yay for continuing with NaNo! Those decisions can be hard - I keep switching between Yuletide, novel planning, and fics that might become treats or something.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

I added 108 words to my novel Blood Red Roulette while editing it and got 150 words of a new Steampunk story. I did more editing than writing today.

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

Editing is important, too! And good for managing to work on two different stories. :-)

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Yes, indeed, my publisher likes it when I do my editing...even if I hate the process (in spite of knowing how important it is and how much better the story will be)

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I bet publishers like getting a story that's already gone through editing. I don't know it's weird, but I actually love editing - a bit too much, really, as I have trouble letting go of stories. :-D Well, I don't love the final part where I just have to catch tiny errors and decide if a word is necessary or not etc. but I enjoy it otherwise.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

They do (and definitely like it when you make the changes they ask you to!) I wish I did like it as you do. I've tried but I haven't found the way. I do it though because it must be done.

[auroracloud.livejournal.com]

Well, the downside to my way is that I can take ages tinkering on a story, sometimes not knowing how to stop. I'm trying to learn how to stop doing it by participating in fanfic challenges which have a deadline. :-) But it is useful to enjoy editing, yeah, since most of us don't write amazing first drafts and therefore most stories get better with editing. Good luck at figuring out your way!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

It's a common problem (basically why NanoWriMo was invented) but yeah nothing like a deadline to slap you into shape regardless of which way you approach editing.

You are so right about most of us not writing amazing first drafts, not even the bestsellers out there. Thanks