the-wip-project

[the-wip-project]

RFTS Day 29

6/15 Update for @the-wip-project’s Reach for the Stars writing challenge!

Daily goal: 100 words ★ Today’s word count: 109

Daily goal reached!

[the-wip-project]

Reach for the Stars Day XLII (42)

Daily Word Goal: 850/100

Weekly Word Goal: 850/700

WIP Worked On: Trials of the Six

@the-wip-project

[the-wip-project]

RFTS June 15th

@the-wip-project

Word Count: 331/300

Progress continues to be made on the chapter, esp since I now know what I want to have happen lol.

[the-wip-project]

hi i have been following along the reach for the stars event and im noticing some patterns in my pace (like the days i can do more or i just dont get anything done) and im very thankful with you, like it is helping me keep track with more motivation than before (i just dont post it because im very shy sorry but i sincerely thank you for the account and space you made here on tumblr with the wip project)

i wanted to ask for some tips ? with being overwhelmed by projects, like now that i have done some progress (40k words in may and it is the only month i had done some writing) what can i do to manage the stress and anxiety with big projects or pages to edit and revise ?

Hello Anon!

How "to manage the stress and anxiety with big projects"...

I feel like I'm entirely the wrong person to ask this, but I'll try my best.

Writing and project management are two different things and two different skill sets. One on the main reasons that big projects like webnovels, webcomics, epic fanfictions, and book projects quietly and sadly die at some point is, that the writer or artist fails at project management.

As a sidenote: I don't think that's all that bad. Even a WIP that stays unfinished forever has worth. It's still inspirational and we can still think how we would continue the story. It still adds to our lives as a reader.

Anyway.

So let's talk about project management.

You can find lots of business gurus and services offering to teach you the one perfect solution for all your needs. Just pay $500, and you get the webinar, the ebook, and a personal coaching session (pre-recorded)! The self-publishing sphere is full of this.

But none of this helps you or anyone because you, as an individual, have to find a way of managing your creativity, specifically. I think that methods of managing your creative output have to be much more individual than people like to say.

In the book of writing advice I'll probably never finish, I keep saying: "Work with your brain, not against it."

You don't need to buy a course for that.

You know yourself best, and you have to figure out what your brain needs to thrive. This is so very individual. You might find a strict schedule to be helpful, which can clash with real life demands, while I embrace the chaos and always run out of time.

I found the Quit books by Becca Symes to be really helpful, who focuses on what kind of things we take as given and maybe should question or even quit. What are the assumptions you make about how you work, and are they true and useful? Always a good question to ask.

Maybe you can work with lists and a giant calendar to schedule your time and post-it notes on a whiteboard. Maybe a specific creativity date once a day or once a week is how you can focus. Some people love a plan, others hate it.

The thing is: That you find managing your big project to be difficult and anxiety inducing doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong. Project management is a whole different skill set than writing. It's okay that it doesn't come easily to you. That doesn't mean that you're failing, it just means that you have to try out a few methods to make it easier for you. Not easy, just easier.

It will probably never be the favorite part about your project, and that's okay. If we were all great at project managing, we would all be in business and administration and wouldn't that be horrible.

I hope you'll find the courage and stamina to continue your project in a way that works for you and makes you happy. That is all you need to focus on.

And if you'll ever make a post about your writing (and mention this blog), I'll give you a star.

Look, here's one for you now for writing so many words:

Keep writing!

~ barbex

[the-wip-project]

Reach for the Stars

Sunday, June 15th word count. Updating once a week. My goal is 100 words per WIP per day.

@the-wip-project

I have managed my goals this week as well.

Progress chart:

Word achieved this week:

Cat's in the Cradle: 1118

The Oracle of Roane County: 1678

Zeno's Paradox: 1496

Crown of Thorns: 1279

[the-wip-project]

Reach for the Stars Week 6

Goal: 1000 words a day/7000 for the week

[Bold projects are finished chapters/fics; Italicized projects are original fiction]

Sunday: 566 for FWF #7 + 166 for VAMPS Project + 656 for Word of Mouth Main fic + 408 for FBB = 1796 total

Monday: 587 for FBB + 281 for Word of Mouth Main + 1123 for Project SS = 1991 total

Tuesday: 274 for Secret Project + 750 for Surprise Fic + xxx for Word of Mouth+ xxx for FBB = 2220 total

Wednesday: 0. I believe I am burned out.

Thursday: 0. I'm resting.

Friday: 1847 for Project SS = 1847 total

Saturday: 0. I'm resting.

Weekly Goal: 7000

Weekly Total: 7854

Weekly Notes: I finished my mini writing project. I also realized I'm a bit burned out on writing. So I will be bumping myself down for the last few weeks.

@the-wip-project

[the-wip-project]

Reach for the Stars: Day 43

267 words today. I could have easily kept going, but I really, really want to take a nap. I'm off all day tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. I might try and get 1,000 words in. If things keep flowing like they have been, it shouldn't take me long to hit that.

I'm already trying to figure out what I want to focus on starting in July. I definitely have enough WIPs to add a little something every day, but I have a couple of more major stories I really want to finish and get posted.

@the-wip-project

[the-wip-project]

Reach for the Stars - Week 1

My first weekly accountability post for @the-wip-project 's Reach for the Stars! I said I was aiming for 1400 words a week on my main project, and that I would count editing and restructuring towards that goal. I did it! 1528 words towards my main project, 272 on a side project, and about an hour's worth of editing and cutting over the course of the week. I also like the chapter I've been working on much more than I did a week ago - which is an achievement that can't be measured in minutes or wordcount, but perhaps matters more than either. Daily totals below the cut for my own records.

Monday 5th May

Call for Portia - 440 words Halfway Out of the Dark - 272

Tuesday 6th May

Call for Portia - 170 words

Wednesday 7th May

No writing (but I did go to the dentist, where I was a very brave little soldier and had two fillings without crying, so I still count this as a successful evening)

Thursday 8th May

Call for Portia - 373 words

Friday 9th May

Call for Portia - 231 words (plus about forty minutes of editing, including a restructure of a chapter that wasn't working. Also, I finally managed to name the next chapter! Overall, a very productive evening).

Saturday 10th May

Call for Portia - 314 words

[the-wip-project]

Accountability post June 15th - 21st

Goal of the week 5500 words

I have a full week of sweet freedom but I wanna take it slow, so small goal, especially after the damn mental shutdown last week.

Today's word count 1878 words

Fave lines

Elys wrapped an arm around his shoulder as she always did when they were younger and pulled him closer. “Dec, burning blood is magic, ancient magic, even if it wouldn’t end us like it might do with your cute fae girl, it is still nothing to temper with. All we are saying is: Go for it, sweetie, everyone deserves to be happy and it is easy to see you are happy around her.” He leaned into his sister with a sigh, feeling his cousins head on his shoulder and his arm around his waist. “If you don’t take the chance, I might”, Lowell joked. “Hey!”, Decan protested. “See.” The laughter of his cousin vibrated in his chest as well, but Decan understood what he wanted to say. See, you are jealous of me. See, you already love her.

@dreaming-goblin @the-wip-project

[the-wip-project]

June 15

Hello writerly friends!

Summer is here (in the northern hemisphere). The heat has hit me over the head like a hammer and I can say from experience, drunk writing and summer heat do not result in many words. 

Somehow, there seems to be less time in the summer. Even though the days are longer, they also seem to be more busy. But instead of being annoyed by the distractions, I decided to take these long days and nights as a way of refilling the well. We all need to refill our creativity to keep drawing from it.

That woman behind us at the open air show, who talked about needing Botox, now that she's over 30, that's a character I could never have made up myself. I just don't think that way. The decorations in the outdoors restaurant were so unique, I want to include them in some description some day. There's inspiration everywhere.

Let's use the time we are away from our writing to notice things. Notice nature, notice people, notice how life happens everywhere around us. I think it's one of the most important things to remember as we all get older: Keep your curiosity alive! Keep noticing, keep seeing things. 

And remember: Every book, every story in the world, can be written by writing 15 minutes almost every day.

That's all we need. We may have little time but we have a super power. We can imagine whole new worlds in our head and write them down. It may take a long time, but we can do it, we can finish those stories. 

Onwards, my friends!

~ barbex

taglist under the cut

@projecthypocrisy @bebewrites @panticwritten @friendly-neighborhood-goober @narastories @daisywords @leia-organa-fics @tryingtimi @author-a-holmes @did-i-do-this-write @xforeveralonerxx @murphysscribe @friendofozma @faejilly @tales-from-nocturnaliss @spacemomnephmoreau @cedence @illegalcerebral @ltleflrt @ilightmytorch @bad-at-names-and-faces @ink-and-spite @eriquin @fractoluminescence @companionwolf @soldiermom1973 @t-lane-writes @rhoxxia @incognitajones @wayhavenots @marshvlovestv @suzteel @talesfromaurea @cozy-fish-crow @heroofshield @stray-crow @kapandherscratchpad @transannabeth @sarasa-cat @serial-chillr @remexailferous @eiluned @lazyscience @ravenpuffheadcanons @cirianne @sidekick-hero @eternal-sunflowers @cee-grice @after-the-end-times @matchingbatbites @sophellkopter @dilly-dahlying @inhurtandincomfort @avidink @violets-in-her-arms-writes @nikknamed-ink

@aleheartilly @midnightswaltz @mareebrittenford @transman-badass @austinpetrini @finchwrites @caitlin-elias @vespaer77 @flowerprose @tryingtimi @bebewrites @daisywords @wilde-writing @narastories @fontainebleau22 @houndsofcorduff @forthesanityofstorytellers @incognitajones @arcanefeelings @ilightmytorch @soldiermom1973 @ten-cent-sleuth @quilleth @samabigailalan @meekhayl-reblog @icannotreadcursive @austinpetrini @ooooshinythings @prudereality @eye-of-the-silver-dragon @squarelyblue @cheerfulmelancholies @heniareth @akaluan @flowerprose @wildswrites @bluejay-in-write @pheita @astorythatwritesitself @tildeathiwillwrite @rhikasa @darthnell @climbinupuraorta @eclectic-like-furniture @burger-the-ham @bardic-tales @battyaboutbooksreviews @bilightningwriter-writing @tramstrams

[the-wip-project]

Kay's Progress Report- Days 41-42

Continuing my participation in @the-wip-project's Reach for the Stars event [see this post for context]

Another week down! Event's almost over, but I'm thinking of continuing past it. Making these reports, that is. They help me stay accountable, even if I'm mostly doing it for myself.

Anyway, busy today and yesterday, but I did manage to carve out time for writing! It's still hard to do anything before work and often I'm tired after. But I do think I'm going to try and do it more. It's probably something that'll get easier with time, though I'm still not going to push myself and take it easy like I did the last couple days. Words flow better when it's not being forced.

Day 41 word count: 150 Day 42 word count: 150

So, for the week updates:

Planned weekly goal- 2,000 Week 1- 4,458 Week 2- 5,654 Week 3- 3,369 Week 4- 7,306 Week 5- 4,882 Week 6- 3,258

Least I've written in a week so far, but then again, last time I did that, I ended up writing a whole ton in the next week, lol. Which I think is how it's going to follow again since I'm in my favorite writing spot at work the next couple days and, fingers crossed, they're not busy days. So I should be able to get more writing done! I hope anyway, lol.

[the-wip-project]

Actually managed to write two days in a ROW this week for @the-wip-project's Reach For The Stars, wao. Improvement!

Daily: 335/200

Weekly: 1467/1200

yaaay I did it.

Started in on the second chapter of the building senkaimon side story, which is.. already a bunch of new words that didn't previously exist, so hey, i guess look forward to that?

quote!

“Morning, sleeping beauty!” Urahara said far too cheerfully for Kaito’s tastes. His hand smoothed through Kaito’s hair once more before lifting away, then he leaned back and grinned down at Kaito like he was having the best day ever. “Sleep well?” Kaito stared up at his father, trying to process the chipper greeting only for his attention to catch on the faint dark circles under the man’s eyes. Between the angle he was at and his father’s current lack of a hat to shade his face, the smudges were glaringly obvious in Kaito’s opinion, but it… didn’t entirely make sense.

[the-wip-project]

RFTS June 14th

@the-wip-project

Word Count: 339/300

had to do more math because I edited parts of the section that I wrote yesterday, but it was fine.

[the-wip-project]

RFTS Day 28

6/14 Update for @the-wip-project’s Reach for the Stars writing challenge!

Daily goal: 100 words ★ Today’s word count: 122

Daily goal reached!

[the-wip-project]

Reach for the Stars: Day 42

199 words today. I went back to the dialogue - it might be boring to write, but the flow makes hitting my daily goal super easy.

On another completely related note, I've been wondering how I can take this activity and turn it into a habit. I hoped things would just click for me in that regard, but I'm not really a 'habit' kind of person in the traditional sense. But I've made so much progress on quite a few different stories and I don't want to lose that momentum. That was when I had my epiphany...

I realized that I have a thing about having a streak - doing something x number of times in a row. For instance, I successfully did NaNo for 14 years. Even when I didn't want to write - it was a huge deal and I was immensely proud of myself every time I finished (and I usually finished before the end of November). But having a writing streak doesn't mean beans if I don't hold myself accountable somehow. When I did NaNo, I posted (irregular) updates on my progress, kind of like how I'm doing for RFTS.

So, I'm going to continue doing that - I'm going to do something writing-related every day and make a post about it. I might write or I might edit. If I write, my word goal will be small - probably just 100 words. If I edit, it'll be 15 minutes. And then I'm going to post about it with the date so I can keep track. RFTS ends on the 29th, so I'll probably take the 30th off and start on July 1. And I might miss a day in August because my oldest is getting married, but I can take my laptop and do something in the hotel before the ceremony or something.

Anyhoo - that's it. I made my goal for today and I have a plan for when RFTS is over. I feel really good about it, too.

@the-wip-project

[the-wip-project]

Reach for the Stars Day XLI (41)

(wtf it's been that long??? Since May 4th so I guess it has *gasp*)

Daily Word Goal: 550/100

Weekly Word Goal: 2560/700

WIP Worked On: Trials of the Six

@the-wip-project

[the-wip-project]

Actually managed to write TWO DAYS so far this week for @the-wip-project's Reach For The Stars. Not quite a new record but we'll take it.

Words: 266/200

Weekly Words: 1,132/1200 aaaaalmost there

In GOOD NEWS I finally finished the first chapter of the Building Senkaimon edits. In.. good news for Everyone Not Me, I have essentially Cut the original first chapter in half while adding like 2k words to it in the process, so there will potentially be three chapters instead of two. Depends on how I want to organize things, ig. And how many nights Kisuke's working on the senkaimon, becuase i fucking forget and also it is currently 1am I am not looking that shit up rn.

Anyway, quote time!

A comfortable quiet settled over them, the only sound the gentle motion of Urahara’s brush gliding across the paper and the quiet rustle as Urahara set each completed seal aside one after the other. Kaito let the peace sink into him, let himself just watch the almost hypnotic motions without any other purpose than to watch. (He didn’t need to memorize anything, didn’t need to reproduce anything, didn’t even need to understand what Urahara was doing.) (He could just… watch.)