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[RokofAges75]

Yes. In addition to googling my horse question, I also typed something and hit backspace several times. Sometimes it takes a day for me to notice something is off, sometimes it happens in the moment. This time it was many in the moment times.

Yes, same.  I can't not fix typos.  I changed a few words too, then thought, "Stop it!  You can edit later!"  When we did the real one on the site, I was able to go faster by focusing on the dialogue and not worrying as much about the action and description in between unless it popped into my head right away.  That's what I spend the most time thinking about when I write, but dialogue usually comes to me quickly.  So when in doubt, write the dialogue first and then go back and fill in the stuff in between.  I also did not stop look anything up the second time around!

I liked the WordSprints site; I think the competition aspect made me a little faster and more focused.  It also helped that I was in the middle of a scene; if I'd had to start a brand new chapter, I may have just sat there and stared at the screen for 15 minutes like I do normally LOL.

On a funny note, I've been listening to the Titanic soundtrack all night as my writing music.  I own the two original Titanic soundtracks, but there's a collector's anniversary edition on Amazon Prime Music that's four hours and ten minutes long and has all the music from the two original soundtracks, plus all this music from 1912 that is featured or referenced in the movie.  I was listening to "Orpheus" for most of the writing sprint, which may have made me faster.  It's the music that plays at one point when Jack, Rose, Fabrizio, and Tommy are running around on the deck as the ship is sinking, and Tommy goes, "Music to drown by. Now I know I'm in first class."  So it has that frenetic, hurry up feel to it, at least in parts:  https://youtu.be/JEEjYA_ydrY?t=415

Here it is: It's also possible his timeline is right and he rented at first while looking for the right place to buy? But that seems like a planner decision for hot mess Nick's pantser lifestyle.

I had that thought too, but the house he describes in the book is definitely the house he bought there in 2007.  I've seen pictures of it from when he had it up for sale, and it's pretty distinct.  I think he was just a confused hot mess pantser LOL.

[nicksgal]

Yeah, it looks like you can schedule a group sprint at a specific time and share the link.  I'm not sure what it looks like after that, but it would be fun to try sometime.

That was fun! Let's do it again some time! Maybe I'll beat you and not get distracted by the group word count, lol.

LOL I'm glad you did not get sucked in to learning more about camel anatomy.  I google image searched for a picture of a George Foreman grill box LOL.

I looked into it more and horse feet evolved from multiple "toes" into the one middle "toe" specifically to suit the open grassland terrain they typically live in to help them get away from predators faster. But it's harder for them to walk in the desert because of this decreased surface area. Meanwhile, camels have soft, large webbed feet that provide them the surface area to avoid sinking in the sand (as much, a little sink is unavoidable due to it being sand). I found a picture of horse hooves in sand compared to people feet and dog feet as well; the horse's feet sank the most and people the least.

This tells me that everyone who wears shoes would be relatively fine walking in a desert, but Nick who walks barefoot, and typically on the balls of his feet, would have a heck of a time doing so with any amount of speed, lol. This is not what I intended to learn from this research!

It's been a long time since I've seen one of those! Was he on the box or just the grill? Yours is less educational than mine, but it makes me laugh more as far as random google searches go.

Yes, same.  I can't not fix typos.  I changed a few words too, then thought, "Stop it!  You can edit later!"  When we did the real one on the site, I was able to go faster by focusing on the dialogue and not worrying as much about the action and description in between unless it popped into my head right away.  That's what I spend the most time thinking about when I write, but dialogue usually comes to me quickly.  So when in doubt, write the dialogue first and then go back and fill in the stuff in between.  I also did not stop look anything up the second time around!

I'd say that I can't either, but a few inevitably seep in every now and again. I just caught a "he" instead of "the" from what I copied, for instance. I definitely changed words and tried to write the scene as is, but it was still going well from our first independent one, so it wasn't too bad. It probably helped that the beginning of the scene was more dialogue focused anyway.

I also looked up nothing! Good for us!

I liked the WordSprints site; I think the competition aspect made me a little faster and more focused.  It also helped that I was in the middle of a scene; if I'd had to start a brand new chapter, I may have just sat there and stared at the screen for 15 minutes like I do normally LOL.

I liked it, every time you wrote a little more than me, I tried to speed type to catch up, but then I would inevitably typo or write something weird and backspace, lol. I did not like the loud beeping at the end, it derailed my focus in the last crucial seconds I needed to speed type and catch up. Alas.  I'd started my scene in our last independent sprint, so I don't know how it would have gone if I started from scratch while watching you add words. I did write more this time than the first time, so I say the competition is helpful in a way. But probably only as long as everybody participating is like "yes, I feel motivated enough to sprint." If any of us were in a "stare at the screen for 15 minutes" place, we'd probably feel differently about the whole thing, lol.

On a funny note, I've been listening to the Titanic soundtrack all night as my writing music.  I own the two original Titanic soundtracks, but there's a collector's anniversary edition on Amazon Prime Music that's four hours and ten minutes long and has all the music from the two original soundtracks, plus all this music from 1912 that is featured or referenced in the movie.  I was listening to "Orpheus" for most of the writing sprint, which may have made me faster.  It's the music that plays at one point when Jack, Rose, Fabrizio, and Tommy are running around on the deck as the ship is sinking, and Tommy goes, "Music to drown by. Now I know I'm in first class."  So it has that frenetic, hurry up feel to it, at least in parts:  https://youtu.be/JEEjYA_ydrY?t=415

I've been listening to nothing, which is unusual. Just sitting in silence click clacking away, lol. But when I want to have "focus days," I do try to see what I can do without anything distracting me. If it goes well in silence, I keep writing in silence.

But how many CDs would that be if it wasn't digital? lol! At least two like the old VHS, right? I think there's some truth to fast music making people do things faster. I once took a suggestion to play a clean up song that changed tempo and went with Spoonful of Sugar. The students really did start cleaning up quicker at the end, so I believe that a frenetic song would encourage you to write quicker. I do know which song you're talking about, because you mentioned that line; I always love Tommy's little quips, they make me laugh every time.

I had that thought too, but the house he describes in the book is definitely the house he bought there in 2007.  I've seen pictures of it from when he had it up for sale, and it's pretty distinct.  I think he was just a confused hot mess pantser LOL.

At least he remembered he lived there at all? Even though he was trying to get it together then, Hot Mess pantser Nick remembering timelines is probably like the extreme version of getting drunk and having Amazon packages showing up at your house three days later that you have no memory of purchasing, lol.

[RokofAges75]

That was fun! Let's do it again some time! Maybe I'll beat you and not get distracted by the group word count, lol.

I would definitely do it again!  It was helpful.  I did not write any more last night though; I ate dinner at like 11:30 p.m., watched some TV, and went to bed.  But I wrote like 1700 words altogether yesterday, which is the first time I've hit four digits all week.  So yay!  Hoping maybe I can finish my chapter today.

I looked into it more and horse feet evolved from multiple "toes" into the one middle "toe" specifically to suit the open grassland terrain they typically live in to help them get away from predators faster. But it's harder for them to walk in the desert because of this decreased surface area. Meanwhile, camels have soft, large webbed feet that provide them the surface area to avoid sinking in the sand (as much, a little sink is unavoidable due to it being sand). I found a picture of horse hooves in sand compared to people feet and dog feet as well; the horse's feet sank the most and people the least.

This tells me that everyone who wears shoes would be relatively fine walking in a desert, but Nick who walks barefoot, and typically on the balls of his feet, would have a heck of a time doing so with any amount of speed, lol. This is not what I intended to learn from this research!

Interesting!  The more you know LOL.  That makes sense though.  Walking in sand, especially deep sand, is hard!  Poor Nick would wear out quickly walking barefoot like that.  But you could always play that up for the drama if you want to, by making the journey seem especially arduous.

It's been a long time since I've seen one of those! Was he on the box or just the grill? Yours is less educational than mine, but it makes me laugh more as far as random google searches go.

LOL I know.  Yes, he is on the box, wearing an apron and grinning behind a picture of the grill.  I have one, but I've had it so long, I couldn't remember what the box it came in looked like.

I'd say that I can't either, but a few inevitably seep in every now and again. I just caught a "he" instead of "the" from what I copied, for instance. I definitely changed words and tried to write the scene as is, but it was still going well from our first independent one, so it wasn't too bad. It probably helped that the beginning of the scene was more dialogue focused anyway.

I also looked up nothing! Good for us!

I have to fix them when I see them, but I definitely miss some.  Most of my typos are from my fingers going too fast and typing letters in the wrong order or hitting the wrong key.  Those I notice right away and have to go back and fix.  It's the missing words that I don't catch because my brain automatically fills them in.  I turned on the grammar check on Google Docs, and that has been helpful in catching those kinds of mistakes.  I never liked it on Word because it would always give me suggestions that were totally wrong, but Google's seems to be better.  It's right most of the time.

Yay us for winging it without research!

But how many CDs would that be if it wasn't digital? lol! At least two like the old VHS, right? I think there's some truth to fast music making people do things faster. I once took a suggestion to play a clean up song that changed tempo and went with Spoonful of Sugar. The students really did start cleaning up quicker at the end, so I believe that a frenetic song would encourage you to write quicker. I do know which song you're talking about, because you mentioned that line; I always love Tommy's little quips, they make me laugh every time.

With the added 1912 songs, probably 3!

I think so too.  I use transition music in my classroom to encourage the kids to clear off their desks or get supplies out quickly for the next activity, and it really does seem to motivate them to hurry instead of digging around in their desks forever.  I use the Jeopardy theme or Yackety Sax for quick, 30 second transitions and Mission Impossible or the original Mario theme (including the part where it speeds up when you're almost out of time in a level) for longer, one-minute transitions.  Most of my normal writing music is slower, but I didn't want to waste any precious seconds changing the song, so I just let the old-timey music play.

LOL A true Titanic fan like me - I know that whole movie by heart.

At least he remembered he lived there at all? Even though he was trying to get it together then, Hot Mess pantser Nick remembering timelines is probably like the extreme version of getting drunk and having Amazon packages showing up at your house three days later that you have no memory of purchasing, lol.

LOL Yes!  Only instead of Amazon packages, he buys houses.  I did a bunch of research on where each of the guys lived or had homes at the beginning of 2008 while I was planning for this story a few years ago, and Nick's real estate history was all over the place.  He had a house in California that he sold after only like 9 months (when he moved to Tennessee), and he also had a house in Florida, and then there was the house in Tennessee, and then eventually he got a condo in California...  I know he has money and people to do this, but the thought of buying and selling all those places and moving around that much within the same decade stresses me out!

[nicksgal]

I would definitely do it again!  It was helpful.  I did not write any more last night though; I ate dinner at like 11:30 p.m., watched some TV, and went to bed.  But I wrote like 1700 words altogether yesterday, which is the first time I've hit four digits all week.  So yay!  Hoping maybe I can finish my chapter today.

I went to bed pretty much right after we finished. I guess those two coffees did not help me stay up until the wee hours of the morning with massive inspiration, lol. I wrote almost 3,000 altogether. I was pretty excited to put a dent into my goal and I got at least halfway to reaching it. I would be delighted if I could finish this chapter or the other one in this section today. It would be very exciting to be back up to fifteen chapters ahead of myself.  I'm just happy that I've been focused on PNecklace only. And if I get bored, I have four different places to work instead of just one. I think that's deterred me from opening up other things, to be honest. Though I do need to edit this week's chapter at some point.

Interesting!  The more you know LOL.  That makes sense though.  Walking in sand, especially deep sand, is hard!  Poor Nick would wear out quickly walking barefoot like that.  But you could always play that up for the drama if you want to, by making the journey seem especially arduous.

If these threads were busier with tons of people posting, I would we say we need a different to post interesting things we learned from research in, lol. I'm just happy to share fun facts.

You know, except he's a determinant and a bit of a martyr and would be like "Tired? Me? No way! Let's keep going!" lol You read my mind, I for sure added a desert just so it's dramatic for all of them. That, and every good mountain range needs a rain shield on one side.

LOL I know.  Yes, he is on the box, wearing an apron and grinning behind a picture of the grill.  I have one, but I've had it so long, I couldn't remember what the box it came in looked like.

We had one growing up and my mom saved the box (as is typical), but I haven't lived with her or used it in a long time, so I couldn't remember, but George in a red apron sounds right.

I have to fix them when I see them, but I definitely miss some.  Most of my typos are from my fingers going too fast and typing letters in the wrong order or hitting the wrong key.  Those I notice right away and have to go back and fix.  It's the missing words that I don't catch because my brain automatically fills them in.  I turned on the grammar check on Google Docs, and that has been helpful in catching those kinds of mistakes.  I never liked it on Word because it would always give me suggestions that were totally wrong, but Google's seems to be better.  It's right most of the time.

Yay us for winging it without research!

Yes! I hate when my fingers do that too! Because clearly I know how to spell and know what I intended to right, but it's our brain not working correctly with our muscles. It's very common. I was reading an article about typing the other day and it was saying how typos would be less common if we just dictated what we wanted to write instead of typing it.

I have a love/hate relationship with grammar check in google docs. Sometimes it's helpful and sometimes the suggestions are wrong. I'm just glad I turned off predictive typing because it was never what I actually wanted to type.

I think I lucked out since the part I was typing didn't really need research except for that small line about horses in the desert, lol. There were a couple of times where I wanted to look back at something I had written before to double check continuity, but I stopped myself and decided to fix it later if I messed up.

With the added 1912 songs, probably 3!

I think so too.  I use transition music in my classroom to encourage the kids to clear off their desks or get supplies out quickly for the next activity, and it really does seem to motivate them to hurry instead of digging around in their desks forever.  I use the Jeopardy theme or Yackety Sax for quick, 30 second transitions and Mission Impossible or the original Mario theme (including the part where it speeds up when you're almost out of time in a level) for longer, one-minute transitions.  Most of my normal writing music is slower, but I didn't want to waste any precious seconds changing the song, so I just let the old-timey music play.

LOL A true Titanic fan like me - I know that whole movie by heart.

That's a lot of CDs for one soundtrack! Glad it's digital and a million songs long instead.

I like that you have different ones for short transitions, and then even shorter transitions. Those precious second could have been a 20 word difference in your word count, so it's a good thing you just let it play.

I know most of it by heart, but could definitely describe it scene-by-scene to anyone who cared to listen.

LOL Yes!  Only instead of Amazon packages, he buys houses.  I did a bunch of research on where each of the guys lived or had homes at the beginning of 2008 while I was planning for this story a few years ago, and Nick's real estate history was all over the place.  He had a house in California that he sold after only like 9 months (when he moved to Tennessee), and he also had a house in Florida, and then there was the house in Tennessee, and then eventually he got a condo in California...  I know he has money and people to do this, but the thought of buying and selling all those places and moving around that much within the same decade stresses me out!

Nick glanced at his phone and noticed his realtor's number. "Where did I buy a house this time? Okay, cool, I needed a change of scenery anyway. Thanks for not talking me out of it! I'll move and you can sell this one next week Okay, bye." lol

I hate moving. I moved four times in the 2010s and it was just awful, and none of them were bought and sold, but renting is just as bad. I've lived in the same place with the hubs for almost six years now and I am dreading when we eventually decide to move into something bigger and have to move again. That was a lot of the inspiration for my Konmari organizing last year, less stuff to worry about moving.

I figure if you need a change of pace and have to get away from somewhere, it's probably easier to move and be done with it. Does he still have a place in Florida? I feel like getting out of Florida was his best decision resident-wise, followed by getting out of LA. Vegas can be crazy, but the further away you get from the Strip, it tones down a lot and is still close to entertainment industry stuff. Plus he could be physically present when Odin was very little, which is great.

[RokofAges75]

I went to bed pretty much right after we finished. I guess those two coffees did not help me stay up until the wee hours of the morning with massive inspiration, lol. I wrote almost 3,000 altogether. I was pretty excited to put a dent into my goal and I got at least halfway to reaching it. I would be delighted if I could finish this chapter or the other one in this section today. It would be very exciting to be back up to fifteen chapters ahead of myself.   I'm just happy that I've been focused on PNecklace only. And if I get bored, I have four different places to work instead of just one. I think that's deterred me from opening up other things, to be honest. Though I do need to edit this week's chapter at some point.

Yay, I'm glad you've been able to focus just on PNecklace!  It's nice to have options for different places to write within that story so you can still jump around if you want to.  If you can stay focused and resist the temptation to open up other things, do!

If these threads were busier with tons of people posting, I would we say we need a different to post interesting things we learned from research in, lol. I'm just happy to share fun facts.

That's a good idea.  All I have researched today is cuts of steak LOL.  I guess that means I have been pretty focused on actually writing and not just googling.

We had one growing up and my mom saved the box (as is typical), but I haven't lived with her or used it in a long time, so I couldn't remember, but George in a red apron sounds right.

That is totally right, red apron and all!

Yes! I hate when my fingers do that too! Because clearly I know how to spell and know what I intended to right, but it's our brain not working correctly with our muscles. It's very common. I was reading an article about typing the other day and it was saying how typos would be less common if we just dictated what we wanted to write instead of typing it.

I have a love/hate relationship with grammar check in google docs. Sometimes it's helpful and sometimes the suggestions are wrong. I'm just glad I turned off predictive typing because it was never what I actually wanted to type.

Google's voice typing feature is actually pretty decent!  I use it from time to time when I'm multitasking, trying to write while doing hair or makeup usually.  I once tried to use it while I was in the shower; I had my Chromebook sitting on the toilet seat next to the tub with the voice typing feature on, and I was dictating this whole dramatic speech Brian gives in the last chapter of AHTIM, practically shouting so my voice could be heard over the sound of the water.  It worked okay at first, but I must have been quiet for too long thinking of what to say next because the thing turned off in the middle.  I got out of the shower to find it only captured part of my glorious speech.  Then I had to hurriedly type as much as I could remember before I forgot the rest LOL.

I don't use predictive typing either.  That would drive me nuts!

Nick glanced at his phone and noticed his realtor's number. "Where did I buy a house this time? Okay, cool, I needed a change of scenery anyway. Thanks for not talking me out of it! I'll move and you can sell this one next week Okay, bye." lol

I hate moving. I moved four times in the 2010s and it was just awful, and none of them were bought and sold, but renting is just as bad. I've lived in the same place with the hubs for almost six years now and I am dreading when we eventually decide to move into something bigger and have to move again. That was a lot of the inspiration for my Konmari organizing last year, less stuff to worry about moving.

I figure if you need a change of pace and have to get away from somewhere, it's probably easier to move and be done with it. Does he still have a place in Florida? I feel like getting out of Florida was his best decision resident-wise, followed by getting out of LA. Vegas can be crazy, but the further away you get from the Strip, it tones down a lot and is still close to entertainment industry stuff. Plus he could be physically present when Odin was very little, which is great.

I hate moving too!  I bought a house in 2014, and I may just live here until I die so I never have to worry about selling it and moving again LOL.

I don't think Nick has a place in Florida anymore.  I think he's down to just the house in Vegas, which he seems to love.  I'm glad he's finally settled and happy.  It does seem like a better place to raise his family than LA.

[nicksgal]

Yay, I'm glad you've been able to focus just on PNecklace!  It's nice to have options for different places to write within that story so you can still jump around if you want to.  If you can stay focused and resist the temptation to open up other things, do!

I do like my options. My current routine is starting from the one where I think I'll have some inspiration to keep writing, then if that doesn't work, I move on to the next one and so on until one sticks. I usually reread a little of the last stuff I wrote in the scene before I commit to continuing on it or not. I did edit up what I wrote during our word sprints yesterday to flow a little better and am back into it, but had to eat something, haha.

I even closed all my OF PBox tabs for the time being, so I think this will all stick for a bit. I still have five PNecklace tabs open, but five is better than however many I had open before and I'm almost to the point where nothing in my "scenes written ahead" document is a PNecklace scene! I already moved the later ones into the two little divergent path documents I created since I still haven't decided what order to put them in yet. I'm very excited to close that one soon as well! Maybe not having it will curb some temptation to write that far ahead, lol.

How's your chapter finishing plan going?

That's a good idea.  All I have researched today is cuts of steak LOL.  I guess that means I have been pretty focused on actually writing and not just googling.

I haven't researched anything at all! At least not yet. I don't think these parts I'm at will require any research that I don't already have, but I also didn't think I'd be researching camels on accident due to a quick horse question yesterday, so...

Google's voice typing feature is actually pretty decent!  I use it from time to time when I'm multitasking, trying to write while doing hair or makeup usually.  I once tried to use it while I was in the shower; I had my Chromebook sitting on the toilet seat next to the tub with the voice typing feature on, and I was dictating this whole dramatic speech Brian gives in the last chapter of AHTIM, practically shouting so my voice could be heard over the sound of the water.  It worked okay at first, but I must have been quiet for too long thinking of what to say next because the thing turned off in the middle.  I got out of the shower to find it only captured part of my glorious speech.  Then I had to hurriedly type as much as I could remember before I forgot the rest LOL.

I don't use predictive typing either.  That would drive me nuts!

Oh no!!!! That's dedication to your craft, but that really sucks that it cut off because you were quiet! I wonder if that's a setting you could change so it doesn't happen the next time. I always hate when I have those moments of "I know exactly what to type" and then can't type right then or have something come up in the middle, only to hurriedly type as much as I can later and it's never quite the same.

But I do love that you were shout dictating while showering, lol.

I hate moving too!  I bought a house in 2014, and I may just live here until I die so I never have to worry about selling it and moving again LOL.

I don't think Nick has a place in Florida anymore.  I think he's down to just the house in Vegas, which he seems to love.  I'm glad he's finally settled and happy.  It does seem like a better place to raise his family than LA.

We've discussed that for the same reason, but it's just a little too small for the hoards of children hubs is planning on () and lacks the true yard he is adamant about having. We've talked about just renting it out, though, so that we could quickly downsize if we wanted to down the road. Or buying a boat and living in Florida half the year. Whatever seems more reasonable, lol.

I'm glad he's settled and happy too! I don't think LA is all bad, but the suburbs would be better places to raise kids than the actual city, like Orange Country somewhere.

[RokofAges75]

I do like my options. My current routine is starting from the one where I think I'll have some inspiration to keep writing, then if that doesn't work, I move on to the next one and so on until one sticks. I usually reread a little of the last stuff I wrote in the scene before I commit to continuing on it or not. I did edit up what I wrote during our word sprints yesterday to flow a little better and am back into it, but had to eat something, haha.

I even closed all my OF PBox tabs for the time being, so I think this will all stick for a bit. I still have five PNecklace tabs open, but five is better than however many I had open before and I'm almost to the point where nothing in my "scenes written ahead" document is a PNecklace scene! I already moved the later ones into the two little divergent path documents I created since I still haven't decided what order to put them in yet. I'm very excited to close that one soon as well! Maybe not having it will curb some temptation to write that far ahead, lol.

How's your chapter finishing plan going?

That sounds like a good plan, although the thought of having that many tabs open at the same time makes me twitch LOL.  I'm kidding; I have been there before too, though mine is usually because of researching and not having different parts of the same story open.

I've made pretty good progress on my chapter today.  I started by revising what I wrote during the sprint last night and then went from there.  It's long enough to be a whole chapter, but I'm not done with the scene yet, so on I go.  I probably won't finish tonight unless I'm super focused and productive in the next two hours or write during the Oscars.  We'll see!  I always want to finish chapters over the weekend, but it usually works out better for weeknight writing if I have an in-progress chapter to finish instead of a new chapter to start.  So if I don't finish it tonight, it's fine.

Oh no!!!! That's dedication to your craft, but that really sucks that it cut off because you were quiet! I wonder if that's a setting you could change so it doesn't happen the next time. I always hate when I have those moments of "I know exactly what to type" and then can't type right then or have something come up in the middle, only to hurriedly type as much as I can later and it's never quite the same.

That was during my end-of-story streak for AHTIM when I was super inspired all the time and started writing before school, after school, whenever I could, just trying to finish that story.  It was a fun experiment, but I will not try shout-dictating during a shower again unless I figure out how to change that setting so it won't shut off on me in the middle.  Next time I'll just use my shower crayons instead LOL.

[nicksgal]

That sounds like a good plan, although the thought of having that many tabs open at the same time makes me twitch LOL.  I'm kidding; I have been there before too, though mine is usually because of researching and not having different parts of the same story open.

It's not that bad. Just five little tabs, lol. I usually research on my phone and not the computer. I don't know why.

I thought I was making awesome progress, then I reached a little stopping point in my scene and checked my word count out of curiosity. I only wrote 400 words! I thought it was so much more than that! When you thought that about MBK the other day, was yours also a really dramatic and awe-inspiring moment? If so, I wonder if the gravity of whatever we're writing makes us think we've written more than we actually have.

I'm still happy with it and it's still really cool and dramatic, but I really thought I'd written more, lol.

I've made pretty good progress on my chapter today.  I started by revising what I wrote during the sprint last night and then went from there.  It's long enough to be a whole chapter, but I'm not done with the scene yet, so on I go.  I probably won't finish tonight unless I'm super focused and productive in the next two hours or write during the Oscars.  We'll see!  I always want to finish chapters over the weekend, but it usually works out better for weeknight writing if I have an in-progress chapter to finish instead of a new chapter to start.  So if I don't finish it tonight, it's fine.

I like that we both decided revising our sprint was a good first step today, lol. I think a sprint is really good for forcing ourselves to get the words on paper without worrying about what exactly the words are. Glad you're close to finishing the chapter when the ending is right, even if that's later this week! We only have five more days after today to keep the streak alive! You've got this!

I have not paid attention to any movies this year, so I am totally fine skipping the Oscars. Maybe you'll have a writing during commercials desire like on Wednesday.

That was during my end-of-story streak for AHTIM when I was super inspired all the time and started writing before school, after school, whenever I could, just trying to finish that story.  It was a fun experiment, but I will not try shout-dictating during a shower again unless I figure out how to change that setting so it won't shut off on me in the middle.  Next time I'll just use my shower crayons instead LOL.

About how far into the story did that end-of-story-streak of inspiration hit? Does that happen for all your stories or was AHTIM a special case?

I feel like your hand would cramp up if you were handwriting a dramatic Brian speech with shower crayons, lol.

[RokofAges75]

It's not that bad. Just five little tabs, lol. I usually research on my phone and not the computer. I don't know why.

I thought I was making awesome progress, then I reached a little stopping point in my scene and checked my word count out of curiosity. I only wrote 400 words! I thought it was so much more than that! When you thought that about MBK the other day, was yours also a really dramatic and awe-inspiring moment? If so, I wonder if the gravity of whatever we're writing makes us think we've written more than we actually have.

I'm still happy with it and it's still really cool and dramatic, but I really thought I'd written more, lol.

I very rarely research on my phone... only if I need to look up something quickly when I'm not on my computer and have my phone handy.  I don't want it showing up in my search history on my phone or influencing my Facebook ads.

I hate when that happens with the word count!  I felt like I had a decent writing day again today, but I was under 1000 words.  The chapter I'm writing is not dramatic or awe-inspiring, but I finally got to a point this weekend where I at least felt like it was flowing well.  But I could see that happening with big, important moments, where the gravity makes them feel longer than they actually are.  Just remember, quality over quantity.  If we're happy with the writing, it means the quality is there, even if the quantity is not.

I like that we both decided revising our sprint was a good first step today, lol. I think a sprint is really good for forcing ourselves to get the words on paper without worrying about what exactly the words are. Glad you're close to finishing the chapter when the ending is right, even if that's later this week! We only have five more days after today to keep the streak alive! You've got this!

I have not paid attention to any movies this year, so I am totally fine skipping the Oscars. Maybe you'll have a writing during commercials desire like on Wednesday.

Definitely!  I knew mine needed revising because it was pretty bare bones, mostly dialogue without as much description as I usually include.  I went back and added all that in between the dialogue I wrote last night.  But I agree - the sprint forces you to do a true first draft, where you're not focusing on much except getting words on the page.  I typically edit as I go, so I never really follow the process of writing a first draft, then a second draft.  The changes I make when I go back and reread my first draft are usually pretty minimal, but that's because I put so much time and thought into the first draft.

I think the longer a streak goes, the easier it is to keep it going.  I was already at 20 days on April 1, so I'm at 44 days now.  I should get to 50 days on May 1.  It's become a routine now; I write at least a sentence every morning while I'm getting ready for work and then at least open the story and look at it at some point when I get home from work.  Even if I don't write much more in the evening, at least I can say I wrote something that day.  But I need to write like 3000 more words between now and Friday to make my Camp Nano goal, which seems unlikely.  If only I had the week off LOL.

I did not write during the Oscars and should have because they were extra boring and weird this year.  I haven't seen any of the movies either, but I usually still enjoy watching the awards shows.  This year there was no sense of humor or fun whatsoever; it was very serious.  I probably could have finished my chapter instead LOL.

About how far into the story did that end-of-story-streak of inspiration hit? Does that happen for all your stories or was AHTIM a special case?

I feel like your hand would cramp up if you were handwriting a dramatic Brian speech with shower crayons, lol.

I think the end-of-story streak started extra early for AHTIM.  I was originally planning for it to be 40 chapters, and what I thought was my end-of-story streak started around Chapter 30.  Then it ended up being 50 chapters long.  So I was on an "end-of-story streak" for the last 20 chapters and probably like four months LOL.  I always have a streak like that on the final stretch of a story, but it doesn't always start that early or last that long.  AHTIM was the kind of story that, once I got going on it, I was inspired the whole way through.  I love when that happens.

Yes, my hand would have cramped up, and the words would have started to run so much, I wouldn't have been able to decipher them all by the end of my shower anyway LOL.  But sometimes just writing it down helps me remember it better later, and I think saying it out loud worked the same way.

[nicksgal]

I very rarely research on my phone... only if I need to look up something quickly when I'm not on my computer and have my phone handy.  I don't want it showing up in my search history on my phone or influencing my Facebook ads.

I honestly don't know if I get weird social media ads because I don't check mine often enough to notice, but you're right, looking up medical stuff would probably give you some pretty weird facebook ads, lol. I hope I have facebook ads about camels. I would actually love that, lol.

I hate when that happens with the word count!  I felt like I had a decent writing day again today, but I was under 1000 words.  The chapter I'm writing is not dramatic or awe-inspiring, but I finally got to a point this weekend where I at least felt like it was flowing well.  But I could see that happening with big, important moments, where the gravity makes them feel longer than they actually are.  Just remember, quality over quantity.  If we're happy with the writing, it means the quality is there, even if the quantity is not.

I agree with you, quality over quantity for sure. I was still super happy with it all and ended up eventually finishing the chapter (and getting more of the word count I was expecting for the work, lol) and starting the next one. I'm glad you've gotten into a good flowing place. Have you hit the montage yet or is this all still pre-montage stuff?

Definitely!  I knew mine needed revising because it was pretty bare bones, mostly dialogue without as much description as I usually include.  I went back and added all that in between the dialogue I wrote last night.  But I agree - the sprint forces you to do a true first draft, where you're not focusing on much except getting words on the page.  I typically edit as I go, so I never really follow the process of writing a first draft, then a second draft.  The changes I make when I go back and reread my first draft are usually pretty minimal, but that's because I put so much time and thought into the first draft.

I knew mine needed revising because one of the lines I wrote in the sprint was "what about x?" and I went huh... what about x? And it didn't make sense that x would be an after the fact thing that needed to be mentioned, so I went back and put it into description where it made more sense and didn't need to be asked about.

It's definitely easier to sprint dialogue than description, so I can see why you would want to go back and fix that.

I'm kind of a mixed bag. Sometimes I edit as I go. Sometimes I finish a scene and then reread over it and edit it. Sometimes I call it good and let it sit until I'm getting ready to post and then edit it. Sometimes when it takes me several days to write one chapter, I'll reread it several times and edit it each time. Regardless, I always let them percolate and edit before I post. I don't know if this is having a first draft or not, lol.

I think the longer a streak goes, the easier it is to keep it going.  I was already at 20 days on April 1, so I'm at 44 days now.  I should get to 50 days on May 1.  It's become a routine now; I write at least a sentence every morning while I'm getting ready for work and then at least open the story and look at it at some point when I get home from work.  Even if I don't write much more in the evening, at least I can say I wrote something that day.  But I need to write like 3000 more words between now and Friday to make my Camp Nano goal, which seems unlikely.  If only I had the week off LOL.

That's so true! Congrats on day 44! I apparently skipped two days in March and wrote two words on one day to not skip a third, so I was at 19 days on April 1st and 43 today. I might add a May goal to my Nano project to encourage me to add words each day and finish this story up.

I've given up on reaching 60,000, especially because not all of my words are new PNecklace chapter words anyway (and there's no way I could finish 16 chapters in five days unless I had a week off, and probably not even then, lol). I decided my new goal for the next five days is to finish the last two chapters I have before the divergent bit, which is about 4500 words (give or take) and would put me around 40,000 words for the month. I think I can do that, though I think it will be easier in this chapter I started today since I want to give each Boy a scene and it's pretty easy to have a quick goal of "once I write about 500 words for you, your scene can be finished if it's ready to be finished." The other chapter I'm a little stuck on, so we'll see what happens, lol.

If only the last day of April was a Saturday or Sunday. Then I think we'd be able to get in one last really solid writing day. But, I believe in you!

I did not write during the Oscars and should have because they were extra boring and weird this year.  I haven't seen any of the movies either, but I usually still enjoy watching the awards shows.  This year there was no sense of humor or fun whatsoever; it was very serious.  I probably could have finished my chapter instead LOL.

They all just seemed like they would be weird this year, so I didn't bother with any of them. Sorry it was boring and serious, but at least you don't have to start an entire new chapter tomorrow to keep the streak alive!

I think the end-of-story streak started extra early for AHTIM.  I was originally planning for it to be 40 chapters, and what I thought was my end-of-story streak started around Chapter 30.  Then it ended up being 50 chapters long.  So I was on an "end-of-story streak" for the last 20 chapters and probably like four months LOL.  I always have a streak like that on the final stretch of a story, but it doesn't always start that early or last that long.  AHTIM was the kind of story that, once I got going on it, I was inspired the whole way through.  I love when that happens.

I feel you. Remember last month when I was like "I feel like this is the end!"? This is when that record scratch sound effect happens and a voice over says "But it wasn't the end. Oh no, it wasn't the end at all." lol

At least you were super inspired for four months though and didn't get derailed when your ten chapters to go turned into twenty chapters to go. I say that's a good run of inspiration! Hopefully MBK ends up that way too.

Yes, my hand would have cramped up, and the words would have started to run so much, I wouldn't have been able to decipher them all by the end of my shower anyway LOL.  But sometimes just writing it down helps me remember it better later, and I think saying it out loud worked the same way.

Apparently Brian's dramatic speech was "Nivekllik" running dramatically down the shower wall, lol. Remember that? I agree, if I need to remember something that I feel like I can be inspired on later I may write myself a tiny note on a sticky note. It makes it feel important.

I originally came on to see what time I started writing to update my NaNo for the day, then saw you were quoting and waited, lol. I think I will go to bed now. Happy last week of Camp NaNo! We've got our 3,000-5,000 words! I believe!

[RokofAges75]

I honestly don't know if I get weird social media ads because I don't check mine often enough to notice, but you're right, looking up medical stuff would probably give you some pretty weird facebook ads, lol. I hope I have facebook ads about camels. I would actually love that, lol.

LOL I would love ads about camels, too!  I looked something up on my phone once a couple years ago and started getting Facebook ads for nurse t-shirts, and I was like, "Nope."  I'm pretty sure Google assumes I'm either a healthcare worker, a hypochondriac, or the unhealthiest/unluckiest person ever LOL.

I agree with you, quality over quantity for sure. I was still super happy with it all and ended up eventually finishing the chapter (and getting more of the word count I was expecting for the work, lol) and starting the next one. I'm glad you've gotten into a good flowing place. Have you hit the montage yet or is this all still pre-montage stuff?

Yay for finishing your chapter and starting the next one!  You're on a roll!

I'm at the start of the montage section.  I don't really have specific scenes planned for the next few chapters, more just, "I should mention this and that and find a way to skip through the next two months in story time..." LOL.

I'm kind of a mixed bag. Sometimes I edit as I go. Sometimes I finish a scene and then reread over it and edit it. Sometimes I call it good and let it sit until I'm getting ready to post and then edit it. Sometimes when it takes me several days to write one chapter, I'll reread it several times and edit it each time. Regardless, I always let them percolate and edit before I post. I don't know if this is having a first draft or not, lol.

I am the same way as far as letting it sit and then coming back to it for a final read-through and edit before I post.  Since I've started hoarding chapters, I tend to read each one through more times in between drafting and posting than I used to.  I change little things here and there almost every time, but I'm not sure if that counts as writing a second draft, or if that's just editing.

That's so true! Congrats on day 44! I apparently skipped two days in March and wrote two words on one day to not skip a third, so I was at 19 days on April 1st and 43 today. I might add a May goal to my Nano project to encourage me to add words each day and finish this story up.

I've given up on reaching 60,000, especially because not all of my words are new PNecklace chapter words anyway (and there's no way I could finish 16 chapters in five days unless I had a week off, and probably not even then, lol). I decided my new goal for the next five days is to finish the last two chapters I have before the divergent bit, which is about 4500 words (give or take) and would put me around 40,000 words for the month. I think I can do that, though I think it will be easier in this chapter I started today since I want to give each Boy a scene and it's pretty easy to have a quick goal of "once I write about 500 words for you, your scene can be finished if it's ready to be finished." The other chapter I'm a little stuck on, so we'll see what happens, lol.

If only the last day of April was a Saturday or Sunday. Then I think we'd be able to get in one last really solid writing day. But, I believe in you!

Wow, we are within a day of each other!  Go us!

That's a good idea about adding another goal for May.  I may do the same.  I've come to look forward to updating my word count every day; it's motivating and fun to keep track of my progress that way.

Ugh, I know - if I had one more weekend, I could definitely make it.  We'll see how productive I can be after school this week.  I wrote 150 words this morning, so that was a good start!  Have not opened the story yet this evening, but I also haven't taken a nap yet, so I'm already doing better than last week LOL.

Good luck finishing your last two chapters!  I hope the next five days are productive for us both!

I feel you. Remember last month when I was like "I feel like this is the end!"? This is when that record scratch sound effect happens and a voice over says "But it wasn't the end. Oh no, it wasn't the end at all." lol

At least you were super inspired for four months though and didn't get derailed when your ten chapters to go turned into twenty chapters to go. I say that's a good run of inspiration! Hopefully MBK ends up that way too.

LOL That is so true.  That's exactly what happened to me too.  I didn't mind it going an extra ten chapters because I was so inspired, and 50 is a better number than 40 anyway.  Now that I've gotten into a groove with MBK, it definitely has those AHTIM/Curtain Call/Broken inspiration vibes.  I'm enjoying it.

Apparently Brian's dramatic speech was "Nivekllik" running dramatically down the shower wall, lol. Remember that? I agree, if I need to remember something that I feel like I can be inspired on later I may write myself a tiny note on a sticky note. It makes it feel important.

I originally came on to see what time I started writing to update my NaNo for the day, then saw you were quoting and waited, lol. I think I will go to bed now. Happy last week of Camp NaNo! We've got our 3,000-5,000 words! I believe!

LMAO!  REDRUM!

Yeah, I stayed up too late writing that last post as usual and then made myself go to bed.  At least I have been sleeping better the last week or so.

Happy last week to you as well!  We've got this!

[nicksgal]

LOL I would love ads about camels, too!  I looked something up on my phone once a couple years ago and started getting Facebook ads for nurse t-shirts, and I was like, "Nope."  I'm pretty sure Google assumes I'm either a healthcare worker, a hypochondriac, or the unhealthiest/unluckiest person ever LOL.

I skimmed because curiosity got the better of me and Nick and I are facebook friends? Or his official fan page or something, not sure when I did that, but that was a fun surprise seeing his tweets on my facebook feed as facebook news. Otherwise, my ads are for fancy cups and soda streams. Nothing too weird. It might be that facebook sees my weird googling and goes "I don't know how to turn this into an ad and you're never here anyway," lol.

lol! At least it was sending you ads for nurse shirts and not black market organs or something. That's what I thought you were getting when you said the ads were weird, lol. Google probably makes a lot of weird assumptions about us, and also keeps track of us writing, so it might not think it's that weird. Or it has us on a list of "potential future serial killers," lol.

Yay for finishing your chapter and starting the next one!  You're on a roll!

I'm at the start of the montage section.  I don't really have specific scenes planned for the next few chapters, more just, "I should mention this and that and find a way to skip through the next two months in story time..." LOL.

And another 800 words so far! I might finish this one today! My first scene went longer than expected, so now I'm down to ~300 word check-ins with all the Boys. If only the other one I want to finish goes this well.

I hear that "September. October. November." is still a possibility, lol. What about a to-do list chapter?

• read Kevin's book
• Don't go to LA Don't go to LA Stay in Tennessee DAMNIT
• Buy pants
• Take up knitting
• call Kevin
• call Kevin
• Stop avoiding this, call Kevin

I don't know what your things to mention are, so I just made up things that made me laugh.

I am the same way as far as letting it sit and then coming back to it for a final read-through and edit before I post.  Since I've started hoarding chapters, I tend to read each one through more times in between drafting and posting than I used to.  I change little things here and there almost every time, but I'm not sure if that counts as writing a second draft, or if that's just editing.

I think it's semantics? If it's different from the first version, then it's a second version. So up to you if you consider it a second draft or just editing. If it's a one word change, I don't know that I would call that an entire new draft, but if a few lines change, you could reasonably call that a new draft.

Wow, we are within a day of each other!  Go us!

That's a good idea about adding another goal for May.  I may do the same.  I've come to look forward to updating my word count every day; it's motivating and fun to keep track of my progress that way.

Ugh, I know - if I had one more weekend, I could definitely make it.  We'll see how productive I can be after school this week.  I wrote 150 words this morning, so that was a good start!  Have not opened the story yet this evening, but I also haven't taken a nap yet, so I'm already doing better than last week LOL.

Good luck finishing your last two chapters!  I hope the next five days are productive for us both!

It's fun keeping track of the word count; I like have a written documentation of my words day-to-day instead of just a vague idea of chunks of work.

I believe in you! Open MBK! Write write write write write! These replies are basically just us cheering each other on from different sections, lol.

LOL That is so true.  That's exactly what happened to me too.  I didn't mind it going an extra ten chapters because I was so inspired, and 50 is a better number than 40 anyway.  Now that I've gotten into a groove with MBK, it definitely has those AHTIM/Curtain Call/Broken inspiration vibes.  I'm enjoying it.

I agree. Fifty has a nice ring to it. I'm glad it's got inspiration vibes going already.

LMAO!  REDRUM!

Yeah, I stayed up too late writing that last post as usual and then made myself go to bed.  At least I have been sleeping better the last week or so.

Happy last week to you as well!  We've got this!

We gotta start going to bed at a reasonable time. I've been sleeping better as well, I think it's the weather being less weird.

[RokofAges75]

I skimmed because curiosity got the better of me and Nick and I are facebook friends? Or his official fan page or something, not sure when I did that, but that was a fun surprise seeing his tweets on my facebook feed as facebook news. Otherwise, my ads are for fancy cups and soda streams. Nothing too weird. It might be that facebook sees my weird googling and goes "I don't know how to turn this into an ad and you're never here anyway," lol.

lol! At least it was sending you ads for nurse shirts and not black market organs or something. That's what I thought you were getting when you said the ads were weird, lol. Google probably makes a lot of weird assumptions about us, and also keeps track of us writing, so it might not think it's that weird. Or it has us on a list of "potential future serial killers," lol.

LOL I probably would get ads for black market organs or medical equipment if I did the bulk of my research on my phone.  Nurse shirts aren't bad.  If Google can connect our writing content to our searches, it would all make so much more sense.  As long as the cops have no reason to confiscate my computer, I'm good.

And another 800 words so far! I might finish this one today! My first scene went longer than expected, so now I'm down to ~300 word check-ins with all the Boys. If only the other one I want to finish goes this well.

I hear that "September. October. November." is still a possibility, lol. What about a to-do list chapter?

• read Kevin's book
• Don't go to LA Don't go to LA Stay in Tennessee DAMNIT
• Buy pants
• Take up knitting
• call Kevin
• call Kevin
• Stop avoiding this, call Kevin

I don't know what your things to mention are, so I just made up things that made me laugh.

Yay for your 800 words!!

LOL I wish I could just make Kevin's chapter say "February" and Nick's chapter say "March" and call it good, but I will not be Stephenie Meyer.   I do need to show some of what happened during those months, which is basically a tour and rehab.  But I don't like writing concert scenes and don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to writing therapy scenes, so I'm not looking forward to the next few chapters.  I love your to-do list! LOL  Maybe I should just have Nick take up knitting instead.  But I also don't know how to knit LOL.

I think it's semantics? If it's different from the first version, then it's a second version. So up to you if you consider it a second draft or just editing. If it's a one word change, I don't know that I would call that an entire new draft, but if a few lines change, you could reasonably call that a new draft.

I think you're right.  I guess I just compare my process to the serious writers I see talking about writing second and third drafts as if they throw the first draft in the trash and start over from scratch every time, and that is definitely not what I do.  But I'm also just writing fanfic and not trying to get a manuscript published, so there's a difference.

I believe in you! Open MBK! Write write write write write! These replies are basically just us cheering each other on from different sections, lol.

It's open!  I wrote a paragraph!  Hopefully more will follow.  Thanks for the encouragement!

We gotta start going to bed at a reasonable time. I've been sleeping better as well, I think it's the weather being less weird.

Ugh, I know.  But I'm only tired between the hours of 5 am and 6 pm, and even if I try to go to bed in that time frame, I will inevitably wake up at 8 pm with my second wind.  I wish I could teach vampire children at night.

[nicksgal]

LOL I probably would get ads for black market organs or medical equipment if I did the bulk of my research on my phone.  Nurse shirts aren't bad.  If Google can connect our writing content to our searches, it would all make so much more sense.  As long as the cops have no reason to confiscate my computer, I'm good.

Well what kinds of ads do you get on your computer? Unless computer ad-tracking is slightly less intuitive than phone ad-tracking, I imagine it would reflect your google searches in some manner. Maybe do your black market organ shopping in incognito mode just to be safe, lol.

LOL I wish I could just make Kevin's chapter say "February" and Nick's chapter say "March" and call it good, but I will not be Stephenie Meyer.   I do need to show some of what happened during those months, which is basically a tour and rehab.  But I don't like writing concert scenes and don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to writing therapy scenes, so I'm not looking forward to the next few chapters.  I love your to-do list! LOL  Maybe I should just have Nick take up knitting instead.  But I also don't know how to knit LOL.

Obviously it's "February-Kevin is not on tour," lol.

I tried to do a "quick" search on the NaNo forums (hence why I've been writing this for half an hour), but wasn't quite sure what perspective you wanted in your therapy session or how specific. Most of the stuff I found was more about how characters would behave with certain mental health issues rather than the nitty gritty of how therapy goes, but could be helpful to peruse with an more exact query? I do have a friend with experience with therapy as a patient (not for substance abuse though) that I could reach out to with specific questions if you'd like, though I'd give them the "you can say no" caveat right off the bar, since it can be a pretty personal thing.

https://forums.nanowrimo.org/

I hear Mare was crocheting, so... similar idea and a person to ask? lol

I think you're right.  I guess I just compare my process to the serious writers I see talking about writing second and third drafts as if they throw the first draft in the trash and start over from scratch every time, and that is definitely not what I do.  But I'm also just writing fanfic and not trying to get a manuscript published, so there's a difference.

I think there's a certain level of hack and slash necessary sometimes, but I've never thrown away a whole chapter either, even if I ended up hacking and slashing a lot. Your process is what works for you the way you want to publish your work. If it's being read and people enjoy it, then you clearly don't need to throw your first draft away. Unless you hate it. Then feel free to throw it away immediately.

It's open!  I wrote a paragraph!  Hopefully more will follow.  Thanks for the encouragement!

Woooo!!!! Now write another paragraph!

Ugh, I know.  But I'm only tired between the hours of 5 am and 6 pm, and even if I try to go to bed in that time frame, I will inevitably wake up at 8 pm with my second wind.  I wish I could teach vampire children at night.

What sort of job board do you think you could find open positions for the education of vampire children on? Would you need different specialization s that you have already? Do the same children stay in your class based on "age" or do they have vampire college? I have so many questions, lol.

[RokofAges75]

Well what kinds of ads do you get on your computer? Unless computer ad-tracking is slightly less intuitive than phone ad-tracking, I imagine it would reflect your google searches in some manner. Maybe do your black market organ shopping in incognito mode just to be safe, lol.

I have an ad blocker on my computer, so none usually LOL.  I also don't use Facebook often on my computer anymore, and I use different Google accounts on my phone vs. computer.  I notice it more on the computer with the recommended videos that pop up on YouTube after I've been using it to research LOL.

Obviously it's "February-Kevin is not on tour," lol.

I tried to do a "quick" search on the NaNo forums (hence why I've been writing this for half an hour), but wasn't quite sure what perspective you wanted in your therapy session or how specific. Most of the stuff I found was more about how characters would behave with certain mental health issues rather than the nitty gritty of how therapy goes, but could be helpful to peruse with an more exact query? I do have a friend with experience with therapy as a patient (not for substance abuse though) that I could reach out to with specific questions if you'd like, though I'd give them the "you can say no" caveat right off the bar, since it can be a pretty personal thing.

https://forums.nanowrimo.org/

I hear Mare was crocheting, so... similar idea and a person to ask? lol

Thanks!  I haven't checked out the Nano forums before, but that sounds like a great resource.

I think there's a certain level of hack and slash necessary sometimes, but I've never thrown away a whole chapter either, even if I ended up hacking and slashing a lot. Your process is what works for you the way you want to publish your work. If it's being read and people enjoy it, then you clearly don't need to throw your first draft away. Unless you hate it. Then feel free to throw it away immediately.

Very true!  And yes, I have hacked and slashed and even deleted first drafts on occasion, but that's not how I normally operate.  The beauty of publishing it for free on the internet is that as long as I like it, it's fine... and hopefully someone else out there will like it, too.

Woooo!!!! Now write another paragraph!

I did!  Still didn't finish my chapter, but I wrote like 500 words today, which is not bad for a weeknight and is close to what I'm supposed to be writing each day to make my goal.

What sort of job board do you think you could find open positions for the education of vampire children on? Would you need different specialization s that you have already? Do the same children stay in your class based on "age" or do they have vampire college? I have so many questions, lol.

Hm... maybe somewhere in Transylvania or Forks, WA?  But yes, I could see that being problematic if the vampire children never age.  Would they just keep repeating the same classes for eternity, like Edward Cullen?  That would get boring.  Why even go to school?  This was not a very well thought out career change.