Well, this will be short. Just an update on how many words I've written since Wednesday.
Word Count:
Saturday - 902 words
I didn't write on Thursday like I thought I would, but I still got three weekdays and one weekend in. I also finished Chapter 2 of my No-Plot-Project, so things are going pretty good.
It's a little confusing for me to update you on my word counts whenever I feel like writing an entry, so I think I'll only update you on word counts on Mondays. That way it's easier for me to keep track of my writing (hence the new title format).
Hope you are having a good writing day on this chilly (more like freezing) Monday.
Tina
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Good Rejection from OnSpec
Yesterday was a Library day. Normally a very good day, and it was in more ways than one.
First off, let's get the word count out of the way....
Word Count:
Tuesday - 497 words (not bad for being sick)
Wednesday - 1,181 words
Yesterday was a very good day for writing, however I also got a rejection letter from OnSpec in the mail (I've had quite a few of those recently).
This one, however, was very good. No they didn't say that I was a fantastic writer but regrettably they could not publish my master piece (I'm not that delusional). They did, however, give me two lines of 'to-the-point' comments that really made me think. They asked me a question that showed me one of two things. 1) I had a serious flaw in my logic, or 2) I wasn't showing my audience what was really going on and so it came across like a had a major flaw in my logic.
Either way, I will have to go back into this story and take a good hard look at it. I am very grateful that they took a few moments out of their day to tell me what they really thought of my story. I don't think I'm very thick skinned, but I know that I need these comments to grow as a writer. Thus, the more comments I get the better writer I will become.
Thanks again to the OnSpec staff who wrote that comment.
Tonight I write some more on Ice Debt. Wow, four days in a row. Do you think I can do it?
Tina
First off, let's get the word count out of the way....
Word Count:
Tuesday - 497 words (not bad for being sick)
Wednesday - 1,181 words
Yesterday was a very good day for writing, however I also got a rejection letter from OnSpec in the mail (I've had quite a few of those recently).
This one, however, was very good. No they didn't say that I was a fantastic writer but regrettably they could not publish my master piece (I'm not that delusional). They did, however, give me two lines of 'to-the-point' comments that really made me think. They asked me a question that showed me one of two things. 1) I had a serious flaw in my logic, or 2) I wasn't showing my audience what was really going on and so it came across like a had a major flaw in my logic.
Either way, I will have to go back into this story and take a good hard look at it. I am very grateful that they took a few moments out of their day to tell me what they really thought of my story. I don't think I'm very thick skinned, but I know that I need these comments to grow as a writer. Thus, the more comments I get the better writer I will become.
Thanks again to the OnSpec staff who wrote that comment.
Tonight I write some more on Ice Debt. Wow, four days in a row. Do you think I can do it?
Tina
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sick, But On Track
I think I've been keeping to my new schedule pretty good. I cheated a bit on Wednesday and Thursday, and I didn't write over the weekend (don't I get a break on my Birthday?), but I still think I'm doing good.
Word Count:
Wednesday - 25 words, then worked on layout and content for my writing website revamp
Thursday - More layout and content work
Monday - 851 words
At least I did something writing related on those days.
I'm home sick today, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Besides, my stomach hurts... stupid stomach flu.
I'll be trying to write this afternoon, but no guarantees. It's not a scheduled writing day and I'm sick, so we'll see.
Cheers,
Tina
PS: No time line yet on when the website revamp will be done, but I'll keep you posted.
Word Count:
Wednesday - 25 words, then worked on layout and content for my writing website revamp
Thursday - More layout and content work
Monday - 851 words
At least I did something writing related on those days.
I'm home sick today, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Besides, my stomach hurts... stupid stomach flu.
I'll be trying to write this afternoon, but no guarantees. It's not a scheduled writing day and I'm sick, so we'll see.
Cheers,
Tina
PS: No time line yet on when the website revamp will be done, but I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Mondays
Did I mention that I hate Mondays?
I know today is Tuesday, but I have news from yesterday.
Got home from work and there was a form rejection letter from Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, waiting for me in the mail. I guess they didn't like "Broadcasting Live" (that's the short story that was once called "Pain and Blood"). This is its second rejection so I think I will have a few of my writer friends look at it and tell me what they think. I had a few people read through it before, but maybe it needs a little more work before I send it out a third time.
After reading the paper mail, I checked my email. There was a lovely email from the 3 Day Novel contest, announcing the winners. I wasn't one of them. I didn't even make the short list, or get an honorable mention. Oh well. I was thinking about turning my submission "Beloved Child" into a comic book script to see what happens. Now, I can go ahead and give it a try.
I had dinner after checking my emails, and then locked myself in my office (aka the spare bedroom) to write. It was one of my new writing days, so I tried to forget all the other stuff and just wrote.
Word Count:
Monday - 1,329 words
Not bad for 1.5 hours on a Monday night. It's actually really good.
Ok, so it wasn't the best Monday in the world but at least I got a good bit of writing done and I know what I'm going to do with the rejected stories that have come home.
Tuesday should be better.
Tina
I know today is Tuesday, but I have news from yesterday.
Got home from work and there was a form rejection letter from Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, waiting for me in the mail. I guess they didn't like "Broadcasting Live" (that's the short story that was once called "Pain and Blood"). This is its second rejection so I think I will have a few of my writer friends look at it and tell me what they think. I had a few people read through it before, but maybe it needs a little more work before I send it out a third time.
After reading the paper mail, I checked my email. There was a lovely email from the 3 Day Novel contest, announcing the winners. I wasn't one of them. I didn't even make the short list, or get an honorable mention. Oh well. I was thinking about turning my submission "Beloved Child" into a comic book script to see what happens. Now, I can go ahead and give it a try.
I had dinner after checking my emails, and then locked myself in my office (aka the spare bedroom) to write. It was one of my new writing days, so I tried to forget all the other stuff and just wrote.
Word Count:
Monday - 1,329 words
Not bad for 1.5 hours on a Monday night. It's actually really good.
Ok, so it wasn't the best Monday in the world but at least I got a good bit of writing done and I know what I'm going to do with the rejected stories that have come home.
Tuesday should be better.
Tina
Monday, January 14, 2008
Schedule and Birthday
Monday! I hate Mondays!
This past week I started working on my No-Plot project. So far so good.
Word count:
Wednesday - 1,271 words
Thursday - 359 words
I didn't write on Saturday which was my intention but two out of three days isn't bad.
This week I'm aiming for the full four days; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. My new writing schedule. Here I go, wish me luck.
On a completely different (and probably irrelevant) note... my Birthday is this weekend. I'm looking forward to the dinner with family and friends, and of course the breakfast in bed. The gifts are fun and all, but I prefer the "make-me-feel-important" stuff.
Hey it only happens once a year, I deserve to enjoy it.
Cheers,
Tina
This past week I started working on my No-Plot project. So far so good.
Word count:
Wednesday - 1,271 words
Thursday - 359 words
I didn't write on Saturday which was my intention but two out of three days isn't bad.
This week I'm aiming for the full four days; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. My new writing schedule. Here I go, wish me luck.
On a completely different (and probably irrelevant) note... my Birthday is this weekend. I'm looking forward to the dinner with family and friends, and of course the breakfast in bed. The gifts are fun and all, but I prefer the "make-me-feel-important" stuff.
Hey it only happens once a year, I deserve to enjoy it.
Cheers,
Tina
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
My Experiments
OK, I just read over the last 20 entries in my blog and it looks like I'm a little obsessed with "Experiments".
Who knew? If you're concerned, don't be. If you would like me to stop calling all my little projects "Experiments"... too bad, it's not going to happen.
Experiments remind me of Jr. High Science Fairs, where no one cares if your project is a disaster so long as you have something to show to the class... and of course if it blows up in your face, you get marks on how big the explosion was! :-)
Tina
Who knew? If you're concerned, don't be. If you would like me to stop calling all my little projects "Experiments"... too bad, it's not going to happen.
Experiments remind me of Jr. High Science Fairs, where no one cares if your project is a disaster so long as you have something to show to the class... and of course if it blows up in your face, you get marks on how big the explosion was! :-)
Tina
Writing More?
Hey, I'm posting only 4 days apart. Woo-who! or should I say W00T, the word of year for 2007 (spelt with two zero's).
Things are good. I didn't write over the weekend like I was supposed to, but we took down our Christmas decorations and etc. I still have a little corner left to pack up, but that will probably happen tonight.
On Sunday, I spent a couple of hours in a major book store chain (I'm sure you know the one). I walked out with three books on writing as a career. Writing for the Internet, writing as a freelancer, and writing with no-plot (which I thought was the most appropriate considering the recent project I've assigned myself). I'm reading the no-plot book first since I want to get started on my "lets-see-what-happens-when-I-have-no-idea-what-my-story-is-but-I'm-going-to-write-it-anyway" project. I think it will be fun... mostly because I have little-to-no expectations (the ones I do have expect it to suck). So I have licence to waste my time writing something that is junk because it is just an experiment, and no one ever has to read it.
On a different note, I've been thinking about increasing my scheduled writing days. I've been writing every Wednesday since last year (it was a 2007 new year's resolution that I kept) which has helped me a lot. However, I think I need more. I'm going to try for one & a half hours of writing on 3 weekdays and maybe 3 hours on a weekend day. We'll see if that works for me. It's still only 7 and a half hours a week, but it's better than the 2 I'm putting in now.
Well that's all the update I have for you on this lovely Tuesday afternoon. I have a writing day set for tomorrow so we'll see if something new happens so I can update you again.
Cheers,
Tina
Things are good. I didn't write over the weekend like I was supposed to, but we took down our Christmas decorations and etc. I still have a little corner left to pack up, but that will probably happen tonight.
On Sunday, I spent a couple of hours in a major book store chain (I'm sure you know the one). I walked out with three books on writing as a career. Writing for the Internet, writing as a freelancer, and writing with no-plot (which I thought was the most appropriate considering the recent project I've assigned myself). I'm reading the no-plot book first since I want to get started on my "lets-see-what-happens-when-I-have-no-idea-what-my-story-is-but-I'm-going-to-write-it-anyway" project. I think it will be fun... mostly because I have little-to-no expectations (the ones I do have expect it to suck). So I have licence to waste my time writing something that is junk because it is just an experiment, and no one ever has to read it.
On a different note, I've been thinking about increasing my scheduled writing days. I've been writing every Wednesday since last year (it was a 2007 new year's resolution that I kept) which has helped me a lot. However, I think I need more. I'm going to try for one & a half hours of writing on 3 weekdays and maybe 3 hours on a weekend day. We'll see if that works for me. It's still only 7 and a half hours a week, but it's better than the 2 I'm putting in now.
Well that's all the update I have for you on this lovely Tuesday afternoon. I have a writing day set for tomorrow so we'll see if something new happens so I can update you again.
Cheers,
Tina
Friday, January 04, 2008
New Year, New Way of Thinking
I haven't written since October 2nd. Sorry to leave you all hanging.
The PureSpec conference was fun. Got to meet up with a publisher friend from Calgary again, and got to see a whole new side of the writing world. Comic books have made an impression on me.
I've basically stopped writing since the conference.... so that means I'm still only halfway through chapter two of my novel. I have still been meeting up with my friend Rox at the library to write, but I haven't been producing very much. Mostly, the reason has been stress at work. I had a break down in November and had to go home that day because I was so upset. The stress and political pressure got to me.
I never did contact my tutor about the change in direction. I will have to call and thank them all for helping me out for the last year. I bought the course three years ago and my 3 year extension runs out at the end of this month. I don't think getting my novel done in less than 30 days is going to work, and I'm done trying to force myself to do something. It has to come naturally.
December my support group held our 3rd annual Christmas dinner and didn't stop talking about books and writing until 1:30am. Our Publisher friend from Calgary came up to celebrate with us, and seemed to enjoy himself. It was a great night, but I don't know many people who could handle talking about writing all night long.
The Christmas season was busy, and now that it's the new year it's time to clean up the apartment and re-assess my life.
My job has gotten better since the break down. Some of the pressure has been taking off. I do like being able to say that I make a difference doing my job, but the stress level is something I will be monitoring closely. Also, my course is over. Even though I have a month left, there is no way I will be able to get anything done in time. I think it's time to say thank you and goodbye.
And what of my writing? Well, like I mentioned before comic books have made an impression on me, and I've had a couple people tell me that my writing would translate well into the form. I already have a completed story that I am converting into a graphic novel (non-serial comic book) script and I'm looking for an artist to help me make it real. I still don't know a lot about the industry but I've got my fingers crossed.
I also have to figure out how I write best. Thus far I've always planned out my stories in such detail that it should take nothing to finish them. Yet, I'm finding that the more the story is planned out, the more I get bored with it and it ends up getting pushed aside. My latest assignment for myself is to try and write something I only have a general idea of and see what happens. I don't know if this little project is a short story, novella, or a novel but I guess that's part of it, right?
I just really want to write again. I'm tired of having life get in the way of what I want to do. I told D last night that I was planning on writing on Saturday (something I haven't done in months) and he almost started clapping saying "Good, it's about time".
And it is about time. Time that I start believing in myself. Not that I'll get published or get famous because, while it would be great, that's not success for me. Success is have a story finished so that other people can read it, whatever the form. I just want to tell my stories. To get them out of my head, and maybe make people think about things a little different. Success is me being happy.
One last thing. It has been discussed, thought about and finally decided that C. M. Hunt is an old pen name that needs to be retired. So, I will be writing under my real name from now on. No more hiding behind a pen name. I write dark stories. I'm ok with that. It just means that I have a really interesting imagination, and I'm not ashamed to write under my own name anymore. I'll be changing my website soon to reflect the name change to Tina Hunter.
So.... Here's to 2008! Hopefully a year of Success!
Tina
The PureSpec conference was fun. Got to meet up with a publisher friend from Calgary again, and got to see a whole new side of the writing world. Comic books have made an impression on me.
I've basically stopped writing since the conference.... so that means I'm still only halfway through chapter two of my novel. I have still been meeting up with my friend Rox at the library to write, but I haven't been producing very much. Mostly, the reason has been stress at work. I had a break down in November and had to go home that day because I was so upset. The stress and political pressure got to me.
I never did contact my tutor about the change in direction. I will have to call and thank them all for helping me out for the last year. I bought the course three years ago and my 3 year extension runs out at the end of this month. I don't think getting my novel done in less than 30 days is going to work, and I'm done trying to force myself to do something. It has to come naturally.
December my support group held our 3rd annual Christmas dinner and didn't stop talking about books and writing until 1:30am. Our Publisher friend from Calgary came up to celebrate with us, and seemed to enjoy himself. It was a great night, but I don't know many people who could handle talking about writing all night long.
The Christmas season was busy, and now that it's the new year it's time to clean up the apartment and re-assess my life.
My job has gotten better since the break down. Some of the pressure has been taking off. I do like being able to say that I make a difference doing my job, but the stress level is something I will be monitoring closely. Also, my course is over. Even though I have a month left, there is no way I will be able to get anything done in time. I think it's time to say thank you and goodbye.
And what of my writing? Well, like I mentioned before comic books have made an impression on me, and I've had a couple people tell me that my writing would translate well into the form. I already have a completed story that I am converting into a graphic novel (non-serial comic book) script and I'm looking for an artist to help me make it real. I still don't know a lot about the industry but I've got my fingers crossed.
I also have to figure out how I write best. Thus far I've always planned out my stories in such detail that it should take nothing to finish them. Yet, I'm finding that the more the story is planned out, the more I get bored with it and it ends up getting pushed aside. My latest assignment for myself is to try and write something I only have a general idea of and see what happens. I don't know if this little project is a short story, novella, or a novel but I guess that's part of it, right?
I just really want to write again. I'm tired of having life get in the way of what I want to do. I told D last night that I was planning on writing on Saturday (something I haven't done in months) and he almost started clapping saying "Good, it's about time".
And it is about time. Time that I start believing in myself. Not that I'll get published or get famous because, while it would be great, that's not success for me. Success is have a story finished so that other people can read it, whatever the form. I just want to tell my stories. To get them out of my head, and maybe make people think about things a little different. Success is me being happy.
One last thing. It has been discussed, thought about and finally decided that C. M. Hunt is an old pen name that needs to be retired. So, I will be writing under my real name from now on. No more hiding behind a pen name. I write dark stories. I'm ok with that. It just means that I have a really interesting imagination, and I'm not ashamed to write under my own name anymore. I'll be changing my website soon to reflect the name change to Tina Hunter.
So.... Here's to 2008! Hopefully a year of Success!
Tina
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