30,000
Robert Fludd, Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minorishistoria, tomus II (1619), tractatus I, sectio I, liber X, De triplici animae in corpore visione
Commons Wikipedia
I’m setting a goal for August of 30,000 words. While I’m laid up recuperating I thought I would try and get 1000 words a day down on the mystical white screen. I know NaNo is doing a 50,000 August challenge but I thought that might be too many for my recovering brain. 30,000 might be doable.
I’ve finished the epic book and have put it away for a few months to stew before I go back and begin the arduous first edit. I have read many of your editing dark stories and am a bit terrified to say the least. I thought I would try my hand at writing something lighter. Maybe a bit funny.
What are you doing with your writing in August?
Posted on July 31, 2012, in Writing and tagged 000 words, 30. Bookmark the permalink. 56 Comments.
I'm a single mum to a beautiful little boy and we live in Sydney, Australia, where the water laps at our feet. I'm a physician, a would be writer, and I'm in love with my best friend.
Me, I’ve got a goal of pounding out 30 pages of a movie script to present to the Virginia Screenwriters Forum reading committee so I can officially rejoin this fall… I’ve got a pretty good idea (horror!), plot points sketched out, about 5 pages written and quite a few scenes in my head… so fingers crossed we will both meet our goals
That’s exciting Ben, let me know how you go with it. I love horror plots. What’s the premise?
The pitch would be The Notebook meets Bram’s Stoker’s Dracula
I love the sound of that.
When I get the 30 pages written maybe I’ll put it up on my horror writing blog, and I’ll give you a heads up to check it out and give me your thoughts
Yes please. I would love that.
30k sounds like a lot. I have no idea how many words a day I write. My first book took 10 years, the next ones 2-3 years. I need to pick up the pace!
Last month I did 20,000 so I think while I am doing not much at all I can kick it up to 30,000 but even if I don’t I’ll have more words.
still coming up with a plan – good luck with your plan — and recover well
Thanks. Let me know when your plan is in place.
hope you are patient
Hey Kate. This is totally off topic, but are you on Twitter?
No Gina, but I have FB. I think I would drown in information if I go one more thing.
Wow you sound so fantastically inspiring! You can gain your goal! I haven’t done much becauyse of work, work and more work (booo-ring).
too tired and no lunch break makes me a dull girl. 
I can’t wait to read your updates on your progress.
I hope I can
I though while I have this time at home I would take advantage of it.
Good for you, Kate! You can definitely do 1000 words a day! Plot or plan first so you know where going and then you’ll be on fire! I’m rewriting a novella I had finished because it got lost when my stepson reformatted my laptop.
But it’s moving along and I’m hoping to finish by the end of August. Have a great writing month!
Good idea Marcia. Today I am doing a plot so that I don’t lose my way. Something basic but a map of sorts.
Oh no, that’s horrible news. Did you have a backup at all?
My stepson(the software engineer–trustworthy, right?) was supposed to back up everything including program files (of which i lost everything) before he installed new programs and reformatted. Now I backup daily myself, so i know it’s done. Horrible feeling–I threw a major tantrum.
Oh no. I understand the knot in your stomach and the absolute frustration. I lost a great deal of work about a year ago and wow did I get angry. I hope you’re working your way back towards it now.
I’m trying to finish up some revisions and replacement scenes for one of the WIPs so it can go back to a beta reader for another review. I want to wrap those up by the middle of the month. We’ll see what comes to mind demanding the most attention when I ship it out.
I’m looking forward to getting to where you are JM after it sits and stews for awhile. It’s like a hot pot. Have it give it time. I’ll check back on your progress.
Today I ran away from home. I drove across the border into Wisconsin and went to George Williams College where I wrote — uninterrupted — from 9am to 3pm. A girl’s gotta do, what a girl’s gotta do…
YAY, I love that. I shall run away from home a few times this month I think. I am really getting out in the world and enjoying it. The old hermit has cast off her shell.
My August is still a bit up in the air (yeah, I know, talk about cutting it close). I was planning on doing Camp NaNo, but I’m not done my editing pass on my current WIP, and the outline I put together for the August book isn’t right, so I need to work on that. Plus I have other books I need to take another round at. Also, I’d really like to get Bound actually published by the end of August (unlikely, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to). I may just start late on Camp NaNo, or I may put it off and do an unofficial one in September. We’ll see how it goes.
I like that you’re keeping your goal reasonable, and there’s nothing stopping you from going over on any day you feel it all coming together and want to keep going.
Whatever I end up doing with my own writing, I’ll be cheering you on the whole way.
You are the editing queen. You’re amazing and ploughing through your work.
I look forward to the cheering. We can push each other along to the end.
I’ve started reviewing all the music in my iTunes collection. I haven’t listened to enough music and want something new, so I’m reviewing all the albums I’ve ever listened to. Some are good, some are crap—but afterwards I’ll have both a reason to delete the crap and a need to get more music—to blog about!
I blogged about books for the same reason: I hadn’t read enough books. So I reviewed all the books I’d ever read and was then forced to get more in order to keep up my reviews. Same idea with music this time.
P.s. I am looking forward to reading your book, Kate, whenever it’s published.
I love your optimise, James and appreciate it. I would love to see it published some day.
I have so many songs on my iPod I never listen to. I must do the same thing.
Plugging away, day by day, trying to tap the inner fund of creativity brought forth by repeatedly pushing my limits on the screen; I’m averaging 1000 plus words a day, for over 400 posts, so I am content…. I was offline for a time, with technical issues preventing me from getting to other’s sites…. so, it’s nice to hear your medical issues are progressing so well…. take care of yourself, get strong(er)…and Blessed Be….
Fantastic progress Gigiod. That’s inspiriting.
I shall take very good care.
A lofty goal! Go for it Gal! Don’t overdo it. Your health is the most important thing.
I’m doing some study for medical exams too so I will do as much as I can and then rest. My brain is full of things right now, really exciting things.
I set that goal for myself a couple of months ago, made it too! Now I’m waiting for the weather to warm up so I can take myself for a 4 day weekend at the coast to do the third draft. What’s the novel about, Kate?
That is a great idea. 4 days is perfect to settling by yourself.
This is a real departure for me from the more grim gothic elements. It’s a bit of a comedy actually, about a women and a man who have nothing in common other than their attraction and the ridiculous things that happen to them along the way.
For now I’m continuing with about 1000 words per day (sometimes more sometimes less). I usually go for a certain amount of writing time per day rather than word count . . . but that could change as I get closer to my deadline!
Glad to hear your surgery went well.
Thanks very much, it did go well. I find if I set an amount of time rather than words, I can day dream too much and the time gets by me. This way I have to sit until the words are down, good or bad.
Taking the rough draft of WIP #1 out of the drawer and re-plotting. Also, I’m going to be finishing up character building for a second WIP that I recently finished plotting.
Hope you have fun!
That’s exciting Daphne. What do you think of it now it’s had time to stew in your draw? ( that could sound very naughty LOL )
It could! *wriggles eyebrows up and down*
I have discovered it needs a better plot. The rough draft let me discover A LOT about my characters and where they’re going. I’ve begun re-plotting and I absolutely love where its going this time around!
I now understand why some authors say their final draft isn’t recognizable compared to their rough draft.
30,000 words does sound like a lot, but I believe you can do it.
I hadn’t made any plans for August writing, only to see what comes. And in the brief time between this sentence and the last I still haven’t figured out a plan.
Good luck with the august writing.
LOL I’m surprised you didn’t plot a new novel in that time. Get to it.
I do roughly 500 a day. I let myself off after 500. Sometimes you feel like you just can’t stop and sometimes well – the netbook is in one piece – just. I think you can do it. Go get em girl.
It’s my first day today. I’m excited to start something new.
30,00 sounds like a good goal. I’m doing August NaNo so hopefully going to hit the 50k mark. That’s the optimistic goal at the start of the month. It will probably evaporate by the end of the first week, but I can dream.
Good luck in NaNo Pete. I’ve seen a few people around doing that. Let me know how you go with it.
I’m preparing to…gulp…query my novel. I have finished the query letter and the synopsis. I would like to start another story that has been burning in the wings of my brain, so we’ll see if I can do that alongside the querying.
Your goal of 30,000 words sounds wonderful! Good luck.
That’s fantastic. I have my fingers crossed for you when I’m not using them. I can’t imagine the panic in sending it off but I hope to know that feeling soon.
I’m really excited to begin something new in about three minutes
Two friends of mine had no trouble doing NaNo last year, and one of them published her book after the editing phase. It is certainly doable, though with a full time job, not something for me. I have set up a better workspace and am editing an older book I wrote a while back, still slowly working on the newer one, and laying out the structure of the non-fiction work that may define my contribution to education.
You are doing very good things, in particular your non fiction. That is important.
Which older book?
Great to hear that you’ve finished your book. Remember: No peeking! I mean, while it’s supposed to be hidden away.
Just a tiny peek, it couldn’t hurt.
I just learnt about Robert Fludd, who took me to the weapon-salve controversy, which in turn took me to Umberto Eco’s The Island of the Day Before which I now might read. Thank you. Good luck with your 30K.
Don’t you love the way one thing can take you to another and yet another. One of my favourite things.
I KNOW I’m not doing 30K this month but more power to YOU.
OH come on. I know you can
All these plans . . . (wry grin). I did the Nano thing (why do I think Robin Williams whenever I say that? As in the alien . . . “nano-nano”, lol’ing).
Here’s my take on plans:
When it comes to the plans of mice and men, the mice are winning.
Sometimes it pays to keep things simple. Like digging a hole and harvesting grain. LOL!
Always a good thing to keep hopes and dreaming
and making the plans of men.
I always say it in a Robin Williams voice. It’s the only way.