Writing Update - March

Melissa:

Well, I had a goal of 20,000 words for the month. That seems to be my normal goal these days. The month started off slow for me. I didn't get to really sit down and write until Saturday 15th. And when I did I started off with over 5,000 words. Then Sunday I added another 1,700 words. The weekend was just shy of 7,000 words by 72. Shame. I should have sat down to get those 72 words. But that got me on a roll as I'm coming down the pike to the end of Christmas Spirit.

It's like an adrenaline rush when you are coming down those last words, even if it is about 22k. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it feels damn proud to be approaching it. All that work, hell ya! I'm sprinting toward it. I want to see those two little words typed on the page. The End.

The month closed with me totaling out words at.... 20,001!
Yes, I broke the 20k I wanted, barely. lol. The sweet thing, I got to write The End. However, the bad news, it was about 5k short of the 70k I wanted. It's okay. I know. It'll add up when I get to re-writes, but I was sort of hoping, and looking forward too, seeing 70k. But, it's done and shelved. I'll go back to it later and see how I feel about it.

I picked up Jayda's story. Ga! Is that a mess. I didn't realize how bad it was until now. But, started tearing it apart. I'm re-writing things to different areas. Important to remember, SHOW, not Tell. And I'm trying to fix that now.

Total words for March:  20,001
   Christmas Spirit:  17,871
   Jayda's story:  2,130


Jackie:

For me, March was about wrapping up my Creative Writing course and finally doing the re-writes as suggested by the teacher. I had gotten decent grades throughout the term, so I didn't want to mess with them too much. The last assignment was a portfolio to be handed in, worth 40% of my final mark but a second copy was needed to apply for entrance into the Creative Writing major or minor program. I've applied to add the CW minor to my degree but won't find out until late May/ early June if I'm accepted. Either way, I'm glad I actually applied. It forced another big step in the process of showing my work to others. All applicants are assessed by the members of the CW department, so it means more people seeing what I wrote and determining its worth. I have to admit, that's kind of scary. Whatever happens, at least I tried, right?

In pulling the portfolio together, it meant looking for any possible themes in my work or perhaps a recurring tone, etc. This was a bit eye opening for me because I mostly enjoy writing with a bit of humour but noticed that my school work tended to hit on human emotions and experiences. In fact, I think it all was a bit sad in the end though I believe the work wasn't totally without hope either. Still, I felt it wasn't a true reflection of what I'm capable of, particularly in light of my larger NaNo drafts, so I did manage to add in a couple of pieces that lightened the overall mood of my portfolio and added the levity I prefer to write with. It will be interesting to see what comments I receive back on these works and the portfolio as a whole, but I have to wait until the and of April. Cue the nail biting...

Now, it's time for me to get back to those first drafts I have and see if all that I've learned can make them into finished works worth sending out for query. That's my plan, at least where to start, going into April. Hopefully I can join Melissa in a word count celebration by the end of next month :)