Writing Goal for the Day?

[PennLady]

I did it. Finished revising one story, added a fair bit to another, and a little bit to a third -- but every little bit counts. Right?

[sr71plt]

Originally Posted by PennLady

I did it. Finished revising one story, added a fair bit to another, and a little bit to a third -- but every little bit counts. Right?

I'm still chugging away on mine. I won't make the 1st, but I'm determined to get it off before I go to bed.

[MistressLynn]

Originally Posted by sr71plt

I'm still chugging away on mine. I won't make the 1st, but I'm determined to get it off before I go to bed.

I so took this in another direction.

[jdnunyer]

Originally Posted by PennLady

I did it. Finished revising one story, added a fair bit to another, and a little bit to a third -- but every little bit counts. Right?

Right! Congrats.

[jdnunyer]

Originally Posted by sr71plt

I'm still chugging away on mine. I won't make the 1st, but I'm determined to get it off before I go to bed.

You can do it!

[jdnunyer]

Originally Posted by jdnunyer

My goal for tonight is to re-revise what I revised last night.

Done with that. Will try to do a little of what would have been tomorrow night's goal before calling it quits.

[sadangel]

No writing for me right now. I'm editing a F/f and a N.F. Then I'll probably submit the F/f to one of the digital publishers, or maybe self pub. Haven't decided yet. Not going to worry about writing at this time. I leave to go to Canada in 14 days so don't want to get into anything just now. While I'm there, I'll start working on my original N.F. Had to take some time away as it brings up bad memories. I'll work on it while with my husband. Then, hopefully, when I get back to the States, I can work on editing it.

I like this thread. Good luck to everyone with your goals for writing or revising or editing.

[sr71plt]

Originally Posted by jdnunyer

You can do it!

Done, thanks. That was 87,000 words written and off to publishers in July.

[jdnunyer]

Originally Posted by sr71plt

Done, thanks. That was 87,000 words written and off to publishers in July.

Good for you!

[PennLady]

So... Tuesday... I guess the goals remain mostly the same. Continue on two stories. Await a beta read on the third. Work on a cover for the third as well, which is, frankly, annoying, but oh well.

[sr71plt]

Originally Posted by PennLady

So... Tuesday... I guess the goals remain mostly the same. Continue on two stories. Await a beta read on the third. Work on a cover for the third as well, which is, frankly, annoying, but oh well.

Nope, not for me. Today I paint Christmas cards. No, really.

[litfan10]

Happy Tuesday all! Good luck to everyone and their goals. So Pilot, do you have a number of cards goal in mind? Good luck and sounds like fun.

Today I'm going to bang out 1,000 words on the book, and dialogue more with slave_ about the summer lovin' contest entry.

[sr71plt]

Originally Posted by litfan10

Happy Tuesday all! Good luck to everyone and their goals. So Pilot, do you have a number of cards goal in mind? Good luck and sounds like fun.

I've painted my own Christmas cards--individually--for 36 years now. When I started, I painted 150 (which is why I start early--it's about a half hour per card, because I cut the paper for them and print them myself too). I'm down to needing only 120/year. We're retired, so fewer are needed for the career colleagues--and people are dying off. (I hope not from the gagging over the cards when they receive them).

[GinaTina]

I've managed to type about 4k words today. My eyes hurt.

[litfan10]

Originally Posted by GinaTina

I've managed to type about 4k words today. My eyes hurt.

Great job! Very impressive. Eyes hurting? What about your fingers?

[jdnunyer]

Originally Posted by GinaTina

I've managed to type about 4k words today. My eyes hurt.

Awesome! Good for you.

[jdnunyer]

My goal is to revise at least 5-6k words. Hopefully that doesn't involve too much new material, but I have a feeling it might.

[litfan10]

Originally Posted by jdnunyer

My goal is to revise at least 5-6k words. Hopefully that doesn't involve too much new material, but I have a feeling it might.

very good goal!

[litfan10]

Originally Posted by jdnunyer

My goal is to revise at least 5-6k words. Hopefully that doesn't involve too much new material, but I have a feeling it might.

Good luck! I know very well that feeling.
I love and learned a lot from Robert Heinlein's "Five Rules for Writers." The second rule states "a writer must finish what s/he writes." In interviews, Heinlein clarified and explained this as addressing the traits that prevent most potential writers from being writers - the inability to finish or, even more importantly, to leave the words alone.
I find that often when revising I tinker or second guess myself way too much, and when I am prepping a piece for publication I again mess with the words ad nauseum. Then I hear a voice in my head - "finish what you write. LEAVE the words alone."

[jdnunyer]

Originally Posted by litfan10

Good luck! I know very well that feeling.
I love and learned a lot from Robert Heinlein's "Five Rules for Writers." The second rule states "a writer must finish what s/he writes." In interviews, Heinlein clarified and explained this as addressing the traits that prevent most potential writers from being writers - the inability to finish or, even more importantly, to leave the words alone.
I find that often when revising I tinker or second guess myself way too much, and when I am prepping a piece for publication I again mess with the words ad nauseum. Then I hear a voice in my head - "finish what you write. LEAVE the words alone."

That's good advice, litfan. Thanks for sharing it.

Unfortunately, I'm not just tinkering with wording. The actual substance of the story is being revised. Once I'm pleased with that, I usually stop tinkering, even though I still know that some of the sentences are poorly constructed.

I will try to keep this in mind though.

[GinaTina]

Originally Posted by litfan10

Great job! Very impressive. Eyes hurting? What about your fingers?

Naw, fingers are good. :3


Still going, though. Regardless of eye sting. About 70,000 words in to my current work. Yowza.

[PennLady]

Originally Posted by litfan10

Good luck! I know very well that feeling.
I love and learned a lot from Robert Heinlein's "Five Rules for Writers." The second rule states "a writer must finish what s/he writes." In interviews, Heinlein clarified and explained this as addressing the traits that prevent most potential writers from being writers - the inability to finish or, even more importantly, to leave the words alone.
I find that often when revising I tinker or second guess myself way too much, and when I am prepping a piece for publication I again mess with the words ad nauseum. Then I hear a voice in my head - "finish what you write. LEAVE the words alone."

I haven't read the five rules, but I can say that when I finished the first story I posted (Make a Wish), that felt a like a huge breakthrough. I knew I could finish a story, and so that made it easier in turn to finish future stories.

[litfan10]

Originally Posted by PennLady

I haven't read the five rules, but I can say that when I finished the first story I posted (Make a Wish), that felt a like a huge breakthrough. I knew I could finish a story, and so that made it easier in turn to finish future stories.

Heinlein's five rules for writers. (These were published in the book On Speculative Fiction.

(1.) You must write.
(2.) You must finish what you write
(3.) You must not revise unless to editorial order/request.
(4.) You must put your work out in the market.
(5.) You must keep resubmitting until the work sells.

For the longest time during college and after graduating when I was publishing most frequently, I had a poster of these rules above my desk for motivation.

[estragon]

Originally Posted by JAMESBJOHNSON

My goals for the present are reading books recommended by my favorite writers. Just finished APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA by John O'Hara.

O'Hara is worth reading for a couple or three reasons: His dialogue is sublime and he's maybe the best ever at revealing character thru dialogue. He was a screenwriter who knew how to write a coherent/cohesive scene. And he was good at making readers care about the characters, even if the characters were brats.

One critic called O'Hara, THE REAL F. SCOTT FITZGERALD.

I'll be a swine's grandfather, I actually agree with JBJ. O'Hara was a fantastic writer, until he got crazy in his old age. His short stories are even better than his novels.

[estragon]

Originally Posted by litfan10

Heinlein's five rules for writers. (These were published in the book On Speculative Fiction.

(1.) You must write.
(2.) You must finish what you write
(3.) You must not revise unless to editorial order/request.
(4.) You must put your work out in the market.
(5.) You must keep resubmitting until the work sells.

For the longest time during college and after graduating when I was publishing most frequently, I had a poster of these rules above my desk for motivation.

Lit, agree with all but no. 3: every first draft is what Hemingway said it is. The key is knowing when to stop revising. As they say, "Ya gotta throw the football or eat the football."