#my goal for this month is to hit 10k on my rough draft for one project

[j-hawthorn]

:) I am writing three projects right now

I am sleepy, but HAPPY

[comfortlesshurt]

alrighty, I locked in for a couple days and now I get to reward myself by yelling into the tumblr void about the series progress

first off, there are TWO FICS over 50% done, v exciting stuff. I know they've been over 50% for a bit now, but like... let me have my motivation, okay? we are in the HARD PART of the project where it all looks overwhelming, so I'll take the wins I can

also tex fic is finished and through round 1 of editing. it still needs another major edit and i need to finish fic 1 to make sure no info conflicts between the two, but the serious work for that is done

there are a few more days left before NotNaNo, but even going in with today's word counts, focusing on fics 1 and 2 should put them pretty close to finished by the end of November unless I was super off with the word count estimate

also had a really good writing day yesterday!

ignore those date projections at the bottom because like... those assume either i write 3k every day or i write 3k twice a week and 1.2k the other 5 days, and I canNOT do that consistently. but that July 23rd date is realistic! that's me continuing to hit my average based on the past 106 days since starting this project, so there's a good chance I finish this project in a total of just over a year (in which case I will never shut up about writing 450k in a year, so watch out)

finally, fic 1 is a huge portion of that daily par number in the first row, so... unless I fall majorly away from the intended timeline, that required daily par will go down a LOT at the end of december, which will be nice. the goal is still to focus a lot on this project and only really jump over to side projects as they call to me, but it's easier to do that when your average isn't struggling to keep up with your daily par number. it simply does not feel good to be constantly working just to barely get over the par.

as far as editing, i'm starting to fear i didn't budget enough time for that in my early projections, so the timeline might be off there. those due dates listed are for the final rough draft, which doesn't get a chance to rest before immediately going into a month of editing. something just tells me now that a month isn't going to be enough to cover a content edit for each fic. it's also relying on the technical edits being done week-to-week as each chapter goes up.

also added one more tracking tool recently:

this is to look at all the projects week-to-week, and really what it's done is made it obvious that I am in fact very focused on fic 1 lmao. in my defense, that's the one that has consistently had the highest required par, so it's easy to treat it as the most important. also, up to 27-aug is rough. I started writing these fics in Word, so I didn't have day-to-day stats to go back and check. I could only find those once I switched to Reedsy, so for the record I did not write 54k between 20-aug and 27-aug. same with the tex fic--that wasn't all written in one week.

this chart still only looks at ILaD progress, so you can see where I take my break in October and it cuts down a lot... but that's excluding the 10k that went into an unrelated fic, so I don't think taking this break has actually cut down on my writing much. it's just made me have a better time with it temporarily. i took a couple days off writing completely during October but like... I didn't really enjoy that? so I don't think that's the solution I'm looking for long-term.

anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk. i will infodump again, and probably soon since all the end of the month posts are coming up in the next week.

[ahiddenpath]

Seven Years of Writing Fanfics

I’m being a little premature- I’ll celebrate seven years of writing as ahiddenpath in September- but I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I’ve learned.  Please read on if you want to hear about the writing habits I wish I had when I started in 2012, and about the habits I wish I didn’t have back then!

I’ll also be talking about my writing plans in general.  Check it out below the cut!

1.)  Make a story bible.

A story bible is a reference document for your story.  Before you post a new fic, I strongly suggest creating one.  For digimon specifically, this means making some choices before you begin:

Which version of the character names will you use?  Do you intend to remain consistent with this choice?  For example, I’ve seen a lot of writers use Japanese character names and English digimon names.  Will you use official honorifics?  Custom honorifics?  Will you use terminology from one translation of the show, or a mashup?

Make these choices upfront, create reference charts, and remain consistent.  

After that, you can also keep references for topics such as characterization details (if you say that Bob’s favorite drink is coffee in one chapter and tea twenty chapters later, be prepared for a flood of comments pointing out the inconsistency), setting details, and anything that you don’t want to forget.  Spending half an hour hunting down a silly detail instead of writing is a huge bummer.

Growing Up with You is my worst offender of ‘problems a story bible would have fixed.’  It’s got... every issue you can imagine, lol!  For example, pairing Hikari with Gatomon (instead of Tailmon), using ‘digitama’ and ‘digimental’ interchangeably in the 02 arc, using the English terms for evolution stages while using Japanese names for other things, confusing Bakemon and Bakumon, it’s a mess.  It’s so bad that a complete, painstaking edit is the only thing that can fix it...  Which is enough to make me weep, given that the story is over 400K words long.

Organize yourself before you start.  Here’s a link to some printable Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02 references.

2.)  Avoid Longfics.

I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating.  NEVER PUBLISH A NEW STORY WITHOUT HAVING AN ENDING IN SIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.

I’m not saying you can’t write huge, epic tales.  God knows I’m unlikely to stop doing that.  But, if I could go back in time, I would separate Growing Up with You into four fics.  It would be something like this:

Growing Up with You I: Childhood

Growing Up with You II:  Digimon Adventure

Growing Up with You III:  Liminal Space

Growing Up with You IV:  Digimon Adventure 02

I’m sure some arcs would be longer than others, but this way, I’d have four stories that are roughly 100K words long.  

A lot of folks just... don’t want to read a 400K story.  It’s intimidating, man!  Although it varies by genre, the average word count for a fiction novel aimed at adults is 80K words.  That 400K fic is like FIVE NOVELS, DUDE!!!!  That’s a commitment for readers!

Shorter stories are more reader friendly, but there’s also a huge benefit to you, the writer.  Separating your longfic into multiple stories allows you more opportunities to write towards an ending.  Breaking your story into digestible chunks decreases the writing paralysis that comes with being nowhere near the ending.  It also cuts back on meandering chapters that don’t carry the narrative closer to that ending.  Furthermore, thinking of the story in arcs before you start writing forces you to plan more...  Something I never did in 2012!!!!

Best of all, once you reach the end of an arc, you can take a break before launching the next one.  It’s hard on a writer to continue endlessly producing without a break.  It’s hard on a reader to hit the final available chapter in a fic and wonder if it will ever update again.  But if you complete an arc and take a break to plan and write a few buffer chapters, the tension and impatience is gone for your audience, and you get to breathe.  It’s a win-win!

3.)  Avoid long chapters.

Back in 2012, I often posted chapters that were 10K words and longer!  Here are some benefits to posting shorter updates more frequently:

-Shorter wait times between updates.

Let’s say your planned chapter is 15K words long.  I could update my story once in the span of a month, or I could break the chapter into three parts and update three times in a month!  This keeps readers happy and interested in your work.

Over time, you’ll develop the ability to create sub arcs/movements, finding spots to break them up into separate updates.  This also creates natural moments for cliffhangers, tension, and mini resolutions.  It’s a great way to insert more moods and movement into your narrative.    

-More exposure for your story.

Every time you update your fanfic, it gets pushed to the top of the update list on fanfiction.net or AO3.  The more you update it, the more hits your story will receive, thanks to all the extra time it will spend on the first page of newly-updated fics.

-Easier editing.

I do my best editing when I’m working with 5K words or fewer at a time.  Personally, I can only focus on close editing for about 90 minutes before I start missing mistakes and forgetting details.  I could edit a 10K word update in two sittings, but then it’s possible to forget about details and moods from the previous editing session!  So, unless your story bible is really hardcore, your editing process could benefit from shorter updates.

-More feedback/support

I have a few amazing readers who leave some form of feedback/appreciation for me whenever I post a new chapter.  A supported writer is a happy, productive writer!  More updates means more chances for feedback and support from your readers, which in turn can fuel and direct your writing!  Again, everyone wins!  (Thanks, guys, I love you!).

4.)  Publish your story on both fanfiction.net and AO3.

Why reach one audience when you could potentially reach two?  There are plenty of readers who only use one platform or the other.

At this point, it would be ridiculously difficult to post my 70+ chapter fanfics to AO3...  Do yourself a favor and post to both from the start!

5.)  Remember: writing and editing are two separate processes.

Guys guys guys guys guys.  Lemme be real here.

I used to painstakingly write a first draft, check for spelling/grammar errors on my word processor, and then post it.

Here’s what my process looks like now: word vomit a first draft, do an edit in my word processor, print the edited draft, make edits on paper, transfer edits to word processor, print new draft, make edits on paper, transfer edits to word processor, final read through, post

If my new method looks more time intensive...  In a way, it is, but in a way, it isn’t?  I bang out that first rough draft without a care in the world, where I used to agonize over every word.  Agonizing is not fun.  Word vomiting can produce some, ah, discouraging results, but it feels like creative play.  It’s fun, it’s flexible, it’s fast...  And you can fix it later through the magic of editing.  And if you’re having fun, you’ll keep writing.  If you’re agonizing, you’ll find yourself making excuses to avoid writing.

Plus, my current method produces tighter, more deliberate prose, while maintaining the freedom and energy of word vomiting...  And avoiding the angst and doubt.  This is my best defense against writing paralysis and my greatest weapon in the battle of producing words.

My method can’t be right for everyone, but I do encourage you to try it out, especially if your writing hasn’t been joyful lately.

6.)  Don’t run too many fics at one time.

I encourage writers to have one longer fic open and one shorter fic, preferably of different tones/settings/main characters.  This gives you a way to keep writing when you’re sick of one project without bogging you down.

You will likely have some readers who love everything you do (god bless), but many people have particular genre, character, and setting preferences.  If you have three fics open, then readers of any one story have to wait much longer for the next update while you alternate updating each fic.

And more importantly, having a ton of open stories just...  It feels heavy, guys.  It’s a weight, a pressure.  Trust me.  Forgive me, fanfic gods, for I have sinned.

7.)  Maintain a buffer

Okay, so my Nanowrimo project for 2018 was to write 50,000 words for After August, my current open fic.  By the end of the month, I had a roughly 80% complete first draft of the entire fic.  

Guys!  Guys!  It’s so cool to know exactly where the story is going, from start to finish.  My editing is so deliberate on this piece!  I can spot repetition and inconsistencies, since the draft is printed and sitting in front of me in a binder.  I can tweak emphasis and maintain more balance between character appearances.  It’s a whole new ballpark for me, someone who always wrote one update at a time and posted it upon completion (or worse, wrote ahead and lost the material when I changed my mind about the plot before reaching that future point).

Plus, even if my life gets extra busy or hard, I can still maintain my updating schedule.  I can print out a chapter, take it to work, and do hard edits during my lunch break (I realize that makes me antisocial, but have you ever endured coworkers telling you all of their problems while you try to eat a sandwich in peace?  The editing is much more fun.  I am antisocial, is what I’m saying.  Born into it, baby).

Regular updates are a big part of maintaining steady readership, so having a buffer both increases the quality of your work (since you know where the story is going for sure) and ensures that more people read it.  Awww yisssss.

Okay, well, my concentration is gone now, so that’s the end of my advice!  If I think of anything else, maybe I’ll add it?  

I do want to touch base with my writing plans, though.  Currently, of course, my goal is to complete After August.  If I can post one chapter per week, it will be compete in early March, but I’m going to aim for completing the story in May, to allow for any issues that might come up (for example, Kingdom Hearts III is coming out soon!).

After that, I want to complete Seeking Resonance...  Although I have no idea how long that will take?  I just know that the heavy atmosphere was really starting to weigh on me.

After that... Well, do you remember that survey I made a while back?  It looks like my next project should probably be completing Four Years.  

I might simultaneously work on one of these two stories and Tales of REM, or maybe I’ll alternate between SR and FY for a while?  To be honest, though, I would really like to wrap up SR as soon as I can.

Either way, completion is the name of the game this year.  Please look forward to it!  Let me know if you have any ideas for future fics, or if you have a favorite from my list of potential future projects!

[brynwrites]

Hey Bryn! Sorry to bother, but I really need help. Like, I see people on tumblr that can write 100K words a month, and I barely can make out 25K. Does this mean I’m a bad writer? It really bothers me that I suffer so much to up my word count when everyone around me seem to be all like “yeah, I wrote 10K on two hours :))))”

Different writers write differently.

First off, you should know I’ve never written 10k words in two hours. I’ve never written 10k words in two days. Hell, I can’t even write 10k words in a week if I have literally any real life plans going on. 

Tolkien’s average daily word count was 250 words a day. That’s less than 2k words a week. A lot of professional (and famous) writers have similar writing speeds. It’s okay. It doesn’t mean you have any less potential or the words you write are any worse off or your ideas are any less creative.

And lets be honest here shall we. Most of the writers I know who write a ton of words per day are either:

Pansters, who don’t know what their story will be while they write it and then have to go back through and rewrite everything again once they finish in order to work through a stable plot.

Vast over writers, who end up with 50k extra words at the end of their first draft and have to spend two months cutting all those words out if they want the manuscript to be publishable.

Inspiration junkies, who slam out a ton of words over a short period of time while the inspiration is there and then can’t write another word until the inspirations hits them again, maybe a week or a month or a year later.

People who are at a glorious point in their lives where they’re both swimming in free time and void of any mental illnesses. 

(And it’s neither good nor bad to be the first two writers, it’s just a style of writing which works really well for some people but accomplishes the end result as the same speed as most other styles. If you’re the fourth writer then by all means take advantage of where you are in life. Writing like the third bullet point doesn’t support a professional writing career but if you enjoy it, then there’s no reason not to continue enjoying it.)

There’s also one more category of writer who writes a ton of words per day. It’s the category I’m trying very hard to someday accomplish…

Writers who can write many functional words per day, words which won’t be cut or rewritten, because they built up to that over a period of years, probably ten or more, by slowly increasing their writing goals to challenge themselves in a way that’s right for them.

Especially in places like writeblr where you don’t always have an indication of how long someone's been working daily to improve their craft, it’s really easy to compare yourself to a writer who’s been doing it much longer than you. Learning a profession takes time. You’ll get better at it the longer you persist, and pretty soon some less experiences writer will be wondering how you do it so well.

Tl;dr The only wrong amount of words to write is to never write any words at all.

Rough drafts are only the first stage in an extensive process, and your first few novels are only the beginning of a very long journey of artistic growth.

[aschenink]

Project Updates | May ‘18

↢ April ‘18 update

I’m going to start posting these monthly! Unfortunately the past month has been pretty rough for my writing, as the writer’s block I was staving off hit hard.  Personally though, this month is really exciting in that I’m coming up on finals to round out my fourth year of college and--I’m moving!! So while I may not get as much writing done this month, I’m hoping to make up for it this summer when I have a nicer place to work. 

Projects are listed in order of priority.  Warning for a very long post under the cut.

EOSOPHOBIA

novel | goal: 110K-130K | current: 20K | about

I haven’t mentioned this much, but Eos is intended to be four separate stories that are woven together to create a dynamic, deep novel. This translates to me writing a short novel (Jackal’s PoV), two novellas (Magenta’s PoV; Oswald’s PoV) and a novelette (Onyx’s PoV) while trying very, very hard to keep them intertwined in surprising ways--the end effect is that each of them is the antagonist of another’s story.  It’s super fucking cool, but also a total headache. 

Not much drafting has occurred since the last update, but there have been some significant changes to the plot.  

Now trying to save as many of my characters’ lives as I can (proving difficult) and am making their lives that much worse in return.  

At least three major character deaths (out of a 10 major character cast) are confirmed to die. Two minor characters confirmed to die as well.

Onyx has a much improved character arc that features something resembling a personality and not just a steep decline into psychosis. 

Amaryllis’s arc is much more shocking, sudden, and emotional.  

Onyx/Amaryllis (Amarynx) is confirmed to be the second romantic relationship, joining Iris/Magenta.  Amarynx is now a much healthier relationship thanks to changes in Onyx’s arc.  

Jackal now has a much deeper character motivation but is causing unreliable narration difficulties.  Jackal is arguably even more of an asshole now, but with much better intentions. 

Viktor is changing his physique and thus his faceclaim is no longer Jason Momoa.  Due to a strong likeness to a preexisting character, Viktor is now paler, has lost a slight bit of musculature, has darker hair, and is also somehow more of an asshole (?? I blame Jackal for this development)

Started writing a modern casino AU bc I like to procrastinate, but didn’t get very far.  Made a moodboard for it, though. 

CONSIDERING: changing Jackal’s PoV to Viktor’s PoV due to problems with unreliable narration; changing Oswald’s PoV to Peni’s PoV due to not knowing how to write Death’s PoV; may be dropping focus on four horsemen subplots; may be increasing the age of both Jackal and Viktor. 

NEXT FOCUS: developing outlines for all four PoV’s; resuming drafting.

GONE ARE THE GODS: A COLLECTION

story collection  |  goal: 80-90K  |  current: 10K  |  about Infra.Red

My collection of Greco-Roman mythology retellings with a dystopic/cyberpunk twist.  I’ve been really loving this collection, even though it is experimental for me.  I’m currently planning to self publish this collection when it’s ready, but that’s subject to change. 

Currently in collection, in order: 

Viral (short story) | Medusa retelling of a technological apocalypse

When Love Crumbled (poem) | Orpheus retelling

Where the Gods Don’t Venture (flash fiction) | Nymph-based 

Infra.Red (novella) | Hades + Persephone retelling in an urban dystopia

Updates:

Collection is organized by chronological order--Viral is the opening story as it tells the story of society’s dissolution into dystopia, and Infra.Red is the feature story at the end in which the dystopia is dissolved. 

When Love Crumbled is added to the collection, which is a piece related to the flash fiction piece Where The Gods Don’t Venture

I’ve really enjoyed working on Viral, as even though it’s a cyberpunk piece it allows me to weasel in some biological metaphors and that makes me really ridiculously fucking happy (I’m a biology major, so)

NEXT FOCUS: plot/outline Infra.red; edit When Love Crumbled; continue developing stories to add to collection

ASSORTED WORKS

I literally can’t sit down and focus on just one thing, so lately I’ve been bouncing around with a lot of short stories etc... I just need to prove to myself that I can actually finish a story and still enjoy it, and I’d like to publish a few short works while I’m at it!  

Currently working on:

The Rotted Rose  |  short story  | fantasy/romance |  currently drafting

Female Robbery  |  prose poem | contemporary fiction |  currently editing

Invisible Stitching  |  flash fiction | fantasy/magical realism | currently drafting

A Shotgun Named Love  |  short story | fantasy/literary | currently drafting

Pendulum Heart  |  short story | fantasy/clockpunk(?) | currently drafting

Clementine  |  flash fiction | scifi/lunarpunk |  currently drafting

Updates:

Organized WIP flash fiction and short stories

Plotted, developed 6 short WIPs

Female Robbery finished drafting, currently taking a break before editing it.  Not sure what I’m gonna do with it when it’s done, since I don’t really like it. 

Spent a lot of time hovering over the SFWA qualifying markets page and daydreaming about publishing.  Not productive but it was fun, 10/10 would recommend.

ALIGHT IN ASHES / THE MORTAL CONSTELLATION TRILOGY

novel  |  goal: 80-100K  |  current: outlining  |  about

Still working on redoing the characters and possibly adding more PoV characters, though not to the extent of Eosophobia’s bullshit.  No update.

EVEN GOD IS ENTERTAINED BY MY SINS

novel  |  goal: 60-70K  |  current: 30K  |  about?

Starting to edit sections of the first draft whenever the mood strikes me. No update.

[almaasi]

Hello! I'm an amateur writer and a lover of your fanfics! (THEY ARE PERFECTION!) I was wondering how long it normally take for you to write your stories? Sometimes I've been writing for an entire afternoon and then realize I've only written 500 words. It can be frustrating, especially, when it's only a rough draft.

hi there~ (replying 4 days late?? sorry) (also thank you!!! glad you like my stories~)

writing for hours and realising you’ve written almost nothing is something that happens to all writers, i think. it definitely happens to me. (also 500 words ain’t bad?? i think that’s maybe a standard day’s writing for writers who aren’t fic writers)

so. basing this solely on my currently published+completed works: from the point of writing the first word, to the point where i hit publish on ao3, my fics can take me anywhere from 1.5 hours (What's a Hickey?) to 8 months (Angelhawke - although almost all of that was written in a 2.5 month block, the rest was procrastinating and editing). and an average of 4 months isn’t even correct, given the massive expanses of time between some fics.

when i actually get to typing, and the world disappears and i become one with the keyboard, i type about 1,000 words per hour. more if it’s largely dialogue or a sex scene, because for some reason that goes faster. less, if i’m tired or i’m writing a block of narrative text. (again, 500 words is perfectly reasonable, anon. you crafted those 500 words with great effort. therefore they are worthy words.)

when I was writing Angelhawke I was writing 8 to 10k per night. it was the most bizarre, intense, and mentally freeing part of my life, hands down. i did nothing except write, eat, and sleep. but you know what? that was perfect. because for two years prior, all i’d done was eat and sleep. writing Angelhawke filled a void in my soul that has never become fully empty since, even at my worst times. (is this relevant? i dunno. but 8 to 10k is a HELL OF A LOT, even for me. one night i even did 12k and i have no idea how, i think i typed for 14 hours straight. nowadays i count 5k as impressive, 4k as a good point to stop if i’m tired.)

fff i wish i could just answer “lol a long time” but I’M REALLY BAD AT SHORT ANSWERS. the answer varies so much as well!!! you deserve an accurate answer dammit, and besides that i’m kinda interested too

also i should note that i’m not really sure what the concept of a “rough draft” involves, since i’ve never worked like that. i just put the whole thing down and tweak until i’m happy. (i lost marks in school for this. teachers want complete rewrites and AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT, especially now when my work is often novel-length.) sometimes i’ll scrap a scene if i’m stuck and take the story a little way in another direction, but i’ll never write the same scene a second time. i mean, if it didn’t work the first time, i’m not doing it again. i don’t even understand how rewriting is meant to help. (wouldn’t you just end up with the same words again?? if the same thing happens???) (in case it’s not obvious, i failed all my classes at school. i’m good at writing, i’m not good at knowing how to do things the way teachers like)

in comparison:

Try-Something Tuesday (42k) took me five days, while Drop Anchor (also 42k) took me about 2.5 months.

Welcome All Winchesters (60k) took me 2 months + about a week, and i deleted a third of what i wrote. Held in Your Tender Hands (59.8k) took me 4 months almost to the day, including a month’s break.

Shadows Across the Camera Lens (13.7k) took me two days, each day being six months apart, and then a couple days of editing. Roost (12k) took me exactly a month, writing for only 6 of those days. (which is weird, ‘cause i remember it taking two days right next to each other. i must’ve enjoyed it so much it made time fly.)

the time a fic takes is so completely relevant to my health at the time. if i were healthy i’d probably write more consistently. i honestly have no idea how long it takes anyone else to write, but i’m trying really hard not to compare, because the only person whose record i need to beat is my own. and even then, i gotta learn to go easy on myself, because if i don’t meet my own ridiculously high standards all the time, i’m just going to be miserable. to all writers, especially struggling or chronically ill writers, i recommend being gentle with yourself, and making your goals relative to your current ability, not anyone else’s, and not your previous self’s.

tl;dr -- at a guess, excluding outliers, the average fic probably takes me about a week. maybe. that’s probably wrong. i’m always probably wrong. spoiler alert, i am not a credible source for my own information. and i’m really bad at answering messages, both concisely and on time.

ALSO I HIT 1400 AO3 SUBSCRIBERS WHILE TYPING THIS AND GOING TO MY STATS PAGE FOR LINKS THANK YOU THAT WAS FUN TO SEE