Writing Check In

I just thought I would start a thread where writers on Permies (and anyone who writes is a writer by the way), could tell where they are in their journey. It does not matter if it is a novel, memoir, journal, short story, poem or any other type of writing genre.  Just an update of where you are and maybe why?

Myself, I came on Pemies because I was stuck in a novel. I had the rough draft done, but I suddenly got writers block and could not seem to get back into the novel. This week that passed, and so I have been vigorously editing my book and getting the elements chapter by chapter just right. I am excited, it is really going to be a great novel I think.

But that is me; where is everyone else in their writing?

Vigorously writing?
Beseeched with Writers Block?
Editing?
Trying to come up with a new storyline?

About to start a new book, book 4 in a series, after taking several months off. I needed the break. Though I love the revisions and edits stage, I was finding first draft a struggle and resisting writing. Time to get back into it and rediscover the joy!

Still collecting experiences for source material..

Getting ready to publish the first novel of a mystery series and also working on the sequel to that one as well as the sequel to a fantasy/magic realism novel.  Also blogging and writing short stories.

Jane Mulberry wrote:About to start a new book, book 4 in a series, after taking several months off. I needed the break. Though I love the revisions and edits stage, I was finding first draft a struggle and resisting writing. Time to get back into it and rediscover the joy!

I struggle with rough drafts too, but I am a very detailed person too. I think because of that I love the editing phase the best, but also have set up an Excel Spreadsheet to help guide me in that. It's really fun to write very specific paragraphs and increase the tension in the scene, or add personality traits to characters, or take the reader further than they expected. But I know it takes a good storyline and rough draft to get to that point I know.

One of my favorite books was working with my daughter on a book that had three teenage foster daughters. She really helped me with realism on "what would a 16 year old do in this situation". It was a lot of fun, and I think she liked the collaboration too.

Just ran across this and it reminded me of this thread:

I don’t know if this is exactly what the OP meant, but over the years I have had to learn and re-learn to write.

Growing up I was taught to write expressively, to use those colorful adjectives and turns of phrase.

I college, as a psychology major, I had to re-learn to write technically.  Technical writing shuns extraneous word usage (such as in writing instructions).  Once I learned to write expressively, writing technically was extremely difficult, having much more to say than is generally allowed.

When I was a grad student in history, I had to combine the two writing styles.  I wrote expressively so my writing was readable, but learned to tidy up my writing to prevent it from getting out of control.

I am now in grad school again and I am now being forced to write technically again—and I dead it!

I am hopeful that I can finish my time writing technically and not loose my expressive edge.

Eric

I have begun expressive journal writing again after a long break.

A few friends have encouraged me that they enjoy my writing.

Another friend recently gave me the book, The Power of Writing It Down.

A natural doctor I met with sent me information on the healing benefits of morning pages from the book, The Artist’s Way.

My daily personal goal is a blend from both philosophies (write something between 3 pages and 20 minutes, daily) and I hope to add the element of future self journaling from the Holistic Psychologist that she talks about in her book, How to Do the Work.

I’ve had book ideas, blog ideas, and research paper ideas for years that have yet to manifest. Permies has been a place of encouragement and motivation to me to write and to do projects that I’ve had in my heart and mind but haven’t carved out the time to do.

Thanks for the encouragement! The books I mentioned above echo your similar sentiments, “anyone who writes is a writer” and also we are all creative people who are artists, just in different ways.

I’m looking forward getting unblocked.

Blessings.

Eric Hanson wrote:I am hopeful that I can finish my time writing technically and not loose my expressive edge.
Eric

My professional writing career (paid writing) was dry technical stuff, in which to be even mildly expressive amounted to rude screaming.  Heaven forbid that I ever use anything as unprofessional as an exclamation point or an adjective unless my client required me be that bold.  As I was writing mostly for or about government entities and actions, in order to continue being paid I had to really watch it.  

When I went back to fiction I had a tough time of it.  I find writing expressively ito be more challenging than technical writing, which is just a matter of channelling my inner robotic-federal-agency-language-using-self that's been drummed into me.  With fiction I'm free to express whatever I want in any way I want!  Consequently it has taken a professional editor a few rounds of editing to rein in my tendency to go overboard when writing expressively without squashing that expressiveness.

I'm  hopeful you can maintain both your skills.  It's a challenge, I know -- but it's worth it.

I gotta say, I am struggling with making two children characters in my fictional novel stand out in any meaningful way. I semi-have the 13 year old boy fleshed out pretty well, but the six old sister, not so well. I got some other character deficiencies as well, but it all stems from one problem; I don't really know them so I can't write about them.

I got some character building questionnaires, I just can't seem to think of what to put down.

But I'll get there, it's just been a struggle lately.

I have published in some professional journals and a couple of chapters in college text books.  I have not done anything in recent years that has been published.


I am working on a short story about a homeless person in a small town.

Still collecting material for my book.. working title of “Life and Death in the Oasis Valley”. It will be a fictionalized autobiographical history true crime tragicomedy.

Steve Zoma wrote:I gotta say, I am struggling with making two children characters in my fictional novel stand out in any meaningful way. I semi-have the 13 year old boy fleshed out pretty well, but the six old sister, not so well. I got some other character deficiencies as well, but it all stems from one problem; I don't really know them so I can't write about them.

I got some character building questionnaires, I just can't seem to think of what to put down.

But I'll get there, it's just been a struggle lately.

I hope you've made progress since you posted the above.  If not, my first question about your situation is: do the children have any real importance in the plot or are they just filler?  

If they're just filler, they don't need to stand out.  If they are important to the plot, then as the story progresses and you weave them into it, you will need to be specific about how they act and react.

But you say you don't really know them, which leads to my next question: do you know any real-life 13 year old boys or six year old girls?  Do you know any kids of those ages who happen to be siblings? If so, write about them!  Use them as your models for your characters, changing their actions/reactions as needed for the story.  Characters stand out when the details are provided. Mention a nervous eye twitch for a kid who's insecure.  Or twirling a lock of hair, or an irritating habit of staring off into the distance as if listening to a fairy godmother's advice. Study real-life kids in situations that match what's in your story. Don't be a stalker, though - get parental permission! Tell your friends what you need - they'll probably be glad to share their kids' quirks, their maddening behavior, as well as their sweetness.  

Real life is the absolute best resource for fiction!  If you don't already have what you need in your head, it's out there in the real world somewhere.

Ted Abbey wrote: It will be a fictionalized autobiographical history true crime tragicomedy.

I want to read that one!

My latest novel Dark Green was published a month ago. Now it's all about promo while thinking about the sequel.  
I gotta say, all the work that went into it was worth it to get a review like this from an author who's published many more books than I have.

Of wolves, people, and the land.
Talk about a volatile mix – the flawed, emotionally driven, and ultimately corrupt reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest and evangelical “green” environmentalists. Blood was bound to flow and it certainly does in Lif Strand’s topical suspense novel, “Dark Green”. The main protagonist, Special Deputy Jessie Torres, is an Apache woman with a background in the white man’s world as a veterinarian student at the UC Davis and as a Berkeley, CA police officer. Now back in her native New Mexico she investigates wolf conflicts with humans and domestic animals for the local sheriff’s department. As with William Faulkner’s mythical and “apocryphal” county, Yoknapatawpha, Mississippi, the action here takes place in the imaginary location of Mangas County, a setting as important as the human characters. Since I have trapped problem Mexican gray wolves, done necropsies on predator-killed domestic livestock, and been an undercover journalist in the Mexican wolf inner sanctum, it was refreshing to see of some of the shenanigans come to light in novel form. By the end of the story Jessie Torres has earned the appellation given to her by her curandera grandmother: Dahteste, western Apache for a warrior woman, translator, messenger, and mediator (as opposed to the name given to me by the San Carlos Reservation Apaches after a bear tried to kill me – Ndah shash bedán, the white guy who is bear food). Well done, Lif Strand.
~Dexter Oliver  5.0 out of 5 stars

Lif Strand wrote:

Ted Abbey wrote: It will be a fictionalized autobiographical history true crime tragicomedy.

I want to read that one!

I was on my way to write another book, “Land For Sale- New Mexico” when I fell into my current situation, which has proven to be another tale worthy experience. I hope to actually write it all out someday.. if I survive!

Lif Strand wrote:My latest novel Dark Green was published a month ago. Now it's all about promo while thinking about the sequel.  
I gotta say, all the work that went into it was worth it to get a review like this from an author who's published many more books than I have.

Of wolves, people, and the land.
Talk about a volatile mix – the flawed, emotionally driven, and ultimately corrupt reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest and evangelical “green” environmentalists. Blood was bound to flow and it certainly does in Lif Strand’s topical suspense novel, “Dark Green”. The main protagonist, Special Deputy Jessie Torres, is an Apache woman with a background in the white man’s world as a veterinarian student at the UC Davis and as a Berkeley, CA police officer. Now back in her native New Mexico she investigates wolf conflicts with humans and domestic animals for the local sheriff’s department. As with William Faulkner’s mythical and “apocryphal” county, Yoknapatawpha, Mississippi, the action here takes place in the imaginary location of Mangas County, a setting as important as the human characters. Since I have trapped problem Mexican gray wolves, done necropsies on predator-killed domestic livestock, and been an undercover journalist in the Mexican wolf inner sanctum, it was refreshing to see of some of the shenanigans come to light in novel form. By the end of the story Jessie Torres has earned the appellation given to her by her curandera grandmother: Dahteste, western Apache for a warrior woman, translator, messenger, and mediator (as opposed to the name given to me by the San Carlos Reservation Apaches after a bear tried to kill me – Ndah shash bedán, the white guy who is bear food). Well done, Lif Strand.
~Dexter Oliver  5.0 out of 5 stars

Sounds like a good read, and what a great review.. I’m a Tony Hillerman fan.

Nice on the great book review. It’s one thing to Buffalo the fans but quite another to Buffalo the players!

Myself, I forgot about this thread but did manage to get my last novel in print though it took five months to do!

I finished a children’s book and now am slogging through the illustrations within it. Tiresome but nice to do a different creative art for awhile.

As for the snakes: no thank you! I will climb 2000 feet in the air, cram myself into the tightest spots, and think nothing of rebuilding an oil operated 35,000 volt circuit breaker, but I don’t do snakes! Fortunately this is Maine, the only state in the nation that does not have poisonous ones!

Steve Zoma wrote:

As for the snakes: no thank you! I will climb 2000 feet in the air, cram myself into the tightest spots, and think nothing of rebuilding an oil operated 35,000 volt circuit breaker, but I don’t do snakes! Fortunately this is Maine, the only state in the nation that does not have poisonous ones!

Hawaii has no poisonous snakes either.. but I don’t have a problem with snakes or any other wild critters. It’s the two legged, drug addicted criminals, and the greed head power mongers whose dirty work they perform, that keep my head on a swivel. I had an armed confrontation with two thieves on my 89 year old neighbors ranch a few weeks back. I didn’t hurt them, because one was a female. This led to me confronting a few other never-do-wells around town, and publicly announcing the formation of a civilian vigilance committee.. much to the chagrin of certain folks on both sides of the law. For all the trappings of modernity, this is still the Wild West.. and to me, the “law” is to do the right thing always, no matter what!

I just got involved in putting together an anthology of stories and poems yesterday!

It sprang up from a short conversation inside an online writing group, and the woman in charge of the group is just... taking off with it! It's going to be exciting and interesting to see how this develops.
She/we're looking for poetry, flash fiction and short stories, nonfiction as well,  (up to 5000 words) from Canadian writers only, responding in any way they wish to wildfires and or the prompt "red eyes and tired lungs;" with preference to those writing from or about British Columbia, because that's where the writing group is based. We have a soft deadline of Sept. 15th, depending somewhat on how many submissions we get by that time, and we're hoping to get something out into the world by the end of the year.
And we're working out payment details but have already established there will be a token payment for any poem/story selected for inclusion.
You can read more about it here - https://ajgoodwinca.wordpress.com/2023/07/12/call-for-submissions-red-eyes-and-tired-lungs/

Permaculture ideas/principles expressed through the writing within great stories are welcome!



I am also reading "slush" for a literary magazine, and trying to write a poem a day this month. I have several short story ideas and also a novel that I wanted to work on this summer, but so far this summer has been busier than expected with other fun things. Mostly, I write speculative and historical fiction, sometimes it's criminal/mysterious, sometimes it's a bit funny, sometimes it's just plain weird. On my blog, I review a western genre novel every month, and I am also working on a cookbook project matching episodes of a mid-century mystery radio show to recipes. I bought pineapples for testing a recipe today.

You now have until the end of the month to send something in to the anthology ;)

I decided on my birthday that I would try writing a poem every day until my next birthday. I didn't/don't expect to actually do that, but I am hoping that I'll have about 200 poems by the time I get there - and maybe 40 or 50 that will be half-way decent. (And if I'm really lucky, two or three that are good!)  So far, the results have been somewhat mediocre, but I hope that I'm establishing a rhythm that will serve me well later in the year.

I am here as a refugee from the Nanowrimo meltdown, looking for somewhere to check in daily that isn't having a massive big mess.

I'll be back tomorrow to say more about myself, and I'll be inviting others of the committed writers that I've known for a long time and have confidence in as good community oriented folks.

Welcome nanowrimo refugees!

I've been continuing on my work to write a poem for each day. I'm three poems short at the moment. One of the things that i find sometimes happening is I'll sit down with an idea and instead of a poem I'll end up with a short story - or, as the case was a few days ago, with a creative non-fiction/essay scrawled out. I count these diversions into not-poems as poems, even if they're not really poems!

I have been making very minimal no progress on my cookbook project this past month - I need to set aside time to review it and determine what I'm doing with it, I just haven't gotten to doing that yet. I think I need some sort of public deadline for it - I seem to do better at getting stuff done when i know there are people watching!

Hi! I'm ValB. Another refugee from the NaNopocalypse. I completed my NaNo word count this month and am now trying to finish my poem-a-day challenge for this month. Two to go! So many interesting boards here. I could get lost for a long time.

Hi all.  I am Heidi, another NaNo refugee.  I finished my novel and am now simply writing short stories with the characters for the Par Badge they have there (which is just a fun thing for your profile if you manage to write 1667 words on your novel each day).

There is so much to see and learn here, but it's always good to meet new friends (I'm an introvert so, I have to convince myself that this is a good thing).

Hello Becky Goodman another nanao refugee  working on  my long Scooby doo fanfic. I won Nano ad thought check thi out ince nano forums are shutdown

It's feeling great to find folks here! Thank you for the welcome, Vera!

I wrote about 1000 words today, in two 500 word scenes. Both of them had dialog that I'm actually kind of pleased with, so often my dialog efforts just make me roll my eyes at myself...

I've gotten one practical item knocked off my list for the day, I am keeping the list short, now I aiming myself at the next one.

Judy

I have some nonfiction stuff ( a book on keeping small livestock and some plans for various homesteading tools) published on Amazon now.  I've been working on a Mail Order Bride series.  The first book is drafted and I'm working on edits.  The second book is outlined and has a few chapters written.  I find editing takes me much longer than the actual drafting!

In this second incarnation of writing, I've found some great tools to help me write and create my covers.

Hello everyone!

Firstly, love the phrase, anyone who writes is a writer. A lovely reminder in the face of impending imposter syndrome. Also very nice to see everyone's progress and ideas for moving forward.

I have been working on several science fiction short stories in my spare time. Four of them are complete and I have the ideas for about nine more fully fleshed out. At some point, I hope to be able to publish a collection of them but I have not had the time nor the creative energy to work on them for the past few months.

Where I am in my writing journey:

Last spring I self-published a mystery novel, DARK GREEN with the intention of getting the sequel published next spring. I'm on track for that plan so far. My editor has the first draft to assess the plot (i.e. editorial editing or editing for the Big Picture). I will get the manuscript plus the editor's comments back before Christmas, and will take the whole month of January to whip the plot into shape.

Meanwhile, I'm working on what might be a memoir or might end up a children's book. Normally all my writing is done on a computer, but this one I'm hand-writing. It gives me more time to think, but it means going a lot slower.

DARK GREEN Book 1 of the Mangas County Mysteries series, by Lif Strand

With an almost-degree in veterinary medicine and a few years of street cop duty in California, Special Deputy Jessie Torres is the next best thing to a forensic veterinarian that the Mangas County Sheriff can get. Her job is much like that of a medical examiner, except she investigates livestock deaths in the rugged high country of western New Mexico. It can be ugly work but it means Jessie spends her days in a vast National Forest that hasn’t changed much since her Apache ancestors lived and hunted there.

This year’s Independence Day celebrations are going to bring changes to Mangas County, though. A greater than usual influx of outsiders into the low population rural county is a huge problem for the tiny sheriff department, but threats to Jessie’s family and to the community are personal. The trails of evidence Jessie must now follow lead to killers much more dangerous than wolves.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1JD31KP

Writing this morning -- a couple scenes, some collaborative haiku, some shared smiles -- all good!

Now I've just been untangling stuff in my barn, a bit. It's a small barn, fortunately, with a good roof.

Getting continue my scooby fic today

Hi Becky!

Me too, I'm working on my story.  It's great to have your company over here.

I was called "readwrite" over on the other place, but now I'm using my own name,  Judy Hawkins

This place has been around a really long time, and they have really good folks to keep out the unpleasant types.

I like that, and I feel safe here.

Judy

Eric Silveira wrote:Hello everyone!

I have been working on several science fiction short stories in my spare time. Four of them are complete and I have the ideas for about nine more fully fleshed out.  

I'm a spare time writer too, I've got lots of projects. Glad to hear you're aiming for publication, that's always exciting.

My project is a big old messy novel thing, that I'm writing as much for the fun of exploring the story and the background of it as anything else. It's set in the Bronze age, and I'm a hopeless technology buff, so I like using the things I've learned about B.A. technology as part of my story.

I am here at my usual time in the morning, with some story I was writing before the alarm didn't wake me up because I was already up, so I'm going to go back to the writing thing because that's what I do this time of the morning every morning.

Or, at least, every morning there's words and story... otherwise I just go stare at my Outline which, after this November's wild ride, is in disarray and probably I just need to start from the beginning of it and do a bit of old fashioned software engineer refactoring.

(removes old software engineer hat and returns to the Bronze age, where some people got into a muddy spot of trouble with the donkeys.)

Hey readwrite and thanks for the  invite

Good morning. I am working on a poem a day for December. Seems easier to fit in than continuing with the novel during this busy month. I've gotten in my writing session for this morning and am going to grab breakfast before heading out to the farmer's market. Raining now but supposed to clear soon.

Letting folks know about my new topic I just started, Haiku chain

https://permies.com/t/235091/permaculture-writing/art/Haiku-chain

Hello! I'm very new to this site, popping over from NaNoWriMo, and it is quite confusing trying to figure it all out lol