Return of word counts

[feuervogel]

Yesterday & today: about 1500 total
Total word count: 37961

Revisionating some of the things I wrote before vacation to make them more interesting. I think I'll make some more revisions over time, to make it still more interesting. But I want to get the plot down still, before I go back and find where I need to add things and edit some others.

My goal was to have the rough draft finished by the end of January. Unless I focus like a microscope, I'm not sure that'll happen. But since I moved my language school dates into May (instead of April), I think I can safely finish by February, set it aside for March, then give it a once over in April and have it to betas while I'm in Europe for 6 weeks.

However, if I want to apply to VP for this fall, I'll need to have the application in by ... sometime in June. I forget if it's the beginning or the end. But they only want 8000 words, including your synopsis, which might be more manageable.

I'm not sure I can hack VP, though. I don't do well on low sleep, and I hate cold weather, and the idea of going for a walk first thing in the morning in Massachusetts in October sounds Horrid. *If* they accepted me, which I doubt they would, since I'm not "ready to go pro" level, or whatever it is they want.

Also, I'm not smart enough to hang with half the teachers.

Comments

[margaretdriscoll]

What's VP? I love Massachusetts in October =D but I grew up there and in the Chicago area, so I guess it's what I know. I can't handle heat.

I'm very jealous of your word counts, but happy for you as well! That must feel great, working steadily and feeling yourself getting closer to your goal--and better at expressing yourself with all of that practice. I've been so slovenly that I'm afraid to sit down and try again. I've outlined, planned, and written tons of background but it's been weeks since I've actually "written" ^^;

Having a rough draft out to test readers while you spend 6 weeks in Europe sounds like a wonderful plan =D

[feuervogel]

Viable Paradise. I have, uh, issues with authority and people telling me what to do (and not letting me go to bed when I need to. I get migraines, and lack of sleep is a huge trigger.)

I'm very much a southern girl. I hate being cold, and if I had my druthers, I'd keep the thermostat around 78 all year. Unfortunately, the gas bill would be frightening, so we keep the heat at 68 and I suffer.

Planning ought to count as writing! I don't do it, myself, but there's something to be said for having all the details worked out in advance, so you just have to type it up and flesh it out.

I'm currently approximately unemployed, so I don't have any excuses for not getting my words in.

[margaretdriscoll]

@___@

Martha's Vineyard? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR????? Ohhhhhhhhhh...want, want, want..... I don't write Science fiction, I have no money, and I'd humiliate myself with my out-of-practice writing abilities, but I WANT TO GO!

I think of southern Illinois as southern. I think of Tulsa as really southern- like, surface-of-the-sun hot in the summer. If spent an afternoon with you in the middle of August I might keel over and die. I suppose our bodies just get acclimated to wherever we grow up. I remember a family from someplace down south moved here over the winter, then came to a play group thing at a park in April. The mom and her daughter sat, shivering in their winter coats, in the covered picnic area while the rest of us ran around enjoyed the warm spell.

I plan as little as a I need to, then crash around creatively until I need to pause and plan a little more. Mysteries need a timeline for the actual crime, several red herring trails with varying degrees of plausibility, and a cast of characters who all hated the victim for different reasons. There's no choice but to plan a bit, which is one reason I forced myself to try a mystery. I was getting sick of hitting saggy middles in other projects, getting distracted by something else, and started new- over and over again!

Abridged version of this comment= Go to Martha's Vineyard! Take pictures!

[feuervogel]

Fear, mostly. Self-doubt. I'm not good enough™. All that rot. What if I apply this year and they reject me, and I work more at it, and apply again, and they say, "didn't we reject her last year? wft."

I grew up just north of DC, and I was always cold there. Of course, my mom keeps her thermostat at 65 in winter. *dies*

I have a friend who lives up in Edmonton, and I laugh at her "oh it's so hot!" when it's like 70 degrees out. She'd melt if she came here in summer.

Also, damn, I have no focus today. I guess that means I need to spend more time planning this part, because that would give me an idea to start from.

[tiurin.livejournal.com]

VP?

[feuervogel]

Viable Paradise.

[tiurin.livejournal.com]

Now as long as the teachers don't start talking about race and SF.

[feuervogel]

There is that issue as well, yes... and considering that the novel I'm working on is all about brown people who are Muslims, that's just one giant landmine.