One Down-- January Progress Report

Goals for this January:

• Start Writing
• Write at least 1,000 words this month

• Continue updating idea project in Scrivener.

• Start writing "Jafar"- new WIP

• Write and Publish Blog Circle Post
• Complete "I Have a Dream Challenge"

• Complete Full Moon Madness
• Minimum Month Goal- 8494
• 5k Weekend
• Shoot for the stars goal- 10,000 Made it to 8,737
  

                       Min. Goal                   Goal                 Final count

January:          8,494                        10,000                    8,737

Well, January is now "officially" over- it being February the first and all. Therefore, it is time to UPDATE the progress thread!

First the bad news- I did NOT make 10k this January. Let us have a second of silence to mourn the death of the goal. *pauses*

Second- the bright side- I DID finish my "minimum" goals for the month- one challenge and 8,494 words written. I even over shot by a few hundred on word count!

And this is in spite of dead keyboards, video card fits, head colds and my EDJ.

So. January has been conquered. Now if I can continue to win over the words in February, I'll be off to a good start 

May the words be with us all!

                                  -Jay

Martin Luther King Day Challenge

January 18-24, 2016 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15.

While MLK Day is a US holiday, that doesn't mean we all can't enjoy the message of peace and equality that it is meant to portray. It also doesn't keep us here at WriYe from using it to theme a challenge! This year, we're continuing on with the tradition of word count crawls and you have a week to complete it.

RULES

- OBEY ALL RULES

- You must take the pubs in order without skipping any.

- You don't have to post in the original thread but it's quite nice to do so!

- The only pubs that count are the ones completed between the 18th and the 24th.

- Have fun!

WRIYE CRAWL

News, Information, and Questions: You click onto Wriye, excited to begin the year. You skim through the News and Information threads with a 5 min word war.

Words Written: 113

Event Total: 113

Sign Ups and Introduction: You decide on a goal for the year and sign up. You even write a clever bit to introduce yourself! To get you started on your goal, you decide to write the first 3 digits of your Word Count Goal. (example, 250K goal, write 250 words!)

Words Written: 103

Event Total: 216

The Sofa: As you scroll down, you take a moment to look at the mysterious mod section. Just what do they get up to in there? You ponder this for a 100 word sprint.

Words Written: 138

Event Total: 354

General Writing Chatter: The only thing better than writing is talking about writing with other writers. There are many different topics in this forum, and you read through them with a 15 minute war.

Words Written: 321

Event Total: 675

Challenges: The challenges forum is so motivating, always pushing you to greater heights with your word count. Since you're here for a challenge, you decide to take on the Epic Music Hour. (there are videos on youtube, or else just put on whatever music you want and write for an hour.)

Words Written: 1147

Event Total: 1822

Progress Threads: The progress threads are the best place to toot your own horn and read about the progress of others. You catch up on the progress threads with a 1K Sprint.

Words Written:

Event Total:

What’s your Genre: Fantasy or realistic fiction, you can find your people here. An interesting thread catches your eye and you write a response with a 500 word sprint.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Planning your Novel: Whether you plan your novel before you start it or after, this place has some good resources. You pause to taste marvel at the map made out of candy with a 10 minute war.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Editing your Novel: Whether you love editing or hate it, it is a necessary process in the journey of a writer. You scan your project for any typos with a 15 minute war.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Publishing your Novel: The goal of many of us, whether it is simply on a fan site or bound in paper. The glory, the fame! While you revel in it, do a 20 minute war

Words Written:

Event Total:

WIPs: The best place to keep track of your works in progresses and works in mind. You take a moment to read through the summaries and then write 100 words for every WIP you have.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Read Me, Feed Me: This is where you share your work and chip in to help other people with their own works. In a sense of community, you do a 3 Digit Challenge.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Blather Away: Everything that isn't writing gets talked about in here. While you love writing, you can also talk on and on about the other things you love with a 30 min war.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Procrastination: You've been doing this crawl for what seems to be forever. You have a decent word count thanks to this, but you're ready for a break. But first, you'll procrastinate by warring until the end of a song.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Archives: The archives are your final stop at the board. Looking at the seven years of history preserved, you round out the crawl by sprinting to the nearest thousand.

Words Written:

Event Total:

Aand last out of the starting gate....

January

Another year, another Blog-Go-Round. The WriYe Blog Circle is a collection of us writers who also have blogs. Every month, we’ll give you a prompt, with a bonus challenge. Write about the prompt (answer the questions or don’t - up to you!) and share your link here. Try to build up a blog roll with your fellow WriYers.

We’ll start off the way every New Year starts off...

Goals:

What’s your Wriye Word Count goal and why did you chose it? 

This year- 100,000. so, roughly 10k each month to give me a little wiggle room for the busy months and time to take vacations (Because those are important to my mental health!)

What are you going to be focusing on this year? 

 This year, I just want to meet my monthly goals at least half the time. Apparently "finish a story" is at this point such a large goal that I don't even want to try. Instead of more "overall" goals, I think I need to break them down further.

What are you doing differently this year compared to last year?

Working full time with two hours of commuting time a day- oh, wait, you meant with my writing.

Uh, Hopefully doing it?

Bonus:

Set your intention for this year. Share it with us!

Really, I'd like to commit to trying for 2k each week and go from there.

Also, I want to finish crocheting my blanket before the end of March.

December- 2015 over, on to 2016!

Foiled again in 2015!

But at least I managed some progress before I tripped into the creativity-destroying wasteland that is full time employment.

Regardless, new year, new Plans!

Goals for this year:

• Write at least 1,000 words a month to keep the ideas flowing
• Write the dang plots down as they come to me, especially the ideas I get at work- store a notebook at my desk for those moments
• Continue updating idea project in Scrivener.
• Write something to post on AO3?
• Finish Kings Shadow - because I still haven't
• Post on blog at least once every month - because I failed at it last year. Terribly.

October 2015 - Planning vs. Pantsing

October 2014

Just one month left before NaNoWriMo! So our next topic is pretty obvious...

NaNo Planning vs. NaNo Pantsing
Which is better for you? 
     By this, you assume that something actually works. I usually start by pantsing. Plot bunny appears, I write a chapter or so, then I sit and plan, and re-plan, and never finish anything.
Which one always fails?
     Straight pantsing. If I can't find a coherent plot in my writing, I end up either frustrated or bored, depending on the story. My writing time is generally very ruched during November. I didn't participate in Nano before I started college, so November was always exam season. I then started working full time and 'not having time' is the norm. So I have to make time, and if I'm not motivated to do so I can easily go months without writing.
Or can you do either or?

Bonus: Show us your NaNo planning - handwritten or computer screen!

September 2015- Distractions

September 2015

School days... Starting up again. So let’s get in as much writing as we can before the books hit!

Distractions
What is your worst distraction? Hopefully not blogging!
     Reading.
Are they self-chosen (TV, Reading, etc.) or more of a necessity (school, work, etc.)?

Um-  definitely both categories. Anything I can come up with. World class procrastinator, here.

Really though, I usually choose reading, in addition to my [mandatory] 40 our work week + ten hours of commuting which eat the majority of my time and energy. Reading is the great escape, where I can ignore what I'm not doing and  enjoy watching someone else's life.
Other 'distractions'- crochet, cosplay, manga, drawing, latch hook, cross stitch,
 needlepoint, quilting, chainmail jewelry, beading, cleaning/organizing, 
scrap booking, PC gaming, knitting, Dungeons and Dragons.... cooking/baking, 
and when I am truly desperate doing the dishes.

If you could get rid of ONE distraction, what would it be?

Why would I want to get rid of my distractions? I would be terribly bored.

Bonus: Try to forego one of your distractions this month and see how much higher your WC is! But not that school, work, necessary stuff. We need you happy, healthy and not in trouble for truancy.

August 2015- Short Stories

August 2015

Let’s talk a bit about...

Writing Short Stories

For those who write them often, give us some advice! 

For those who are new to the technique, what was the hardest thing to learn?

As I am neither, I'm not sure what to write about here. I'm not a big 'short story' person. By this, I mean that I don't write them and generally avoid reading them unless they are a part of an ongoing series, usually extra backstory that the author could not work into the overall tale but decided to publish later as a collection. 

If I were going to attempt a short story, the first thing I would focus on would be nailing down the main purpose of what I was writing. With so much less space on my virtual page to work with, I would want to make every bit of it count. Am I just trying to write the back round to a particular character I've already worked with in another piece? What instances am I going to cover, what shaped him or her into the person they became? Who did they interact with? What did they hate?

I would like to have an entire time line and know where I was going to end the story before I started, unlike my usual writing style.

Bonus: Who is your favorite short story writer? If you don’t have one, tell us about one you’re going to try and hunt down.

J.R.R. Tolkien- no surprises there. I especially enjoyed "Leaf, by Niggle" and Roverandom.