Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

Less than 7k to go. Something like 6.8k or whatnot, which is about how many words it’ll take me to finish this story. I couldn’t have planned that better if I’d tried (and I do generally plan my stories. I don’t write to hit word counts, I write to hit scenes).

Went to a write-in last night, where there was merriment and only a slight trace of desperation. You can tell that the lack of sleep is getting to people, thanks to caffeine jitters in the hands and the dark circles under the eyes. I finished a chapter, and it occurred to me that this story is a bit like a video game where the objectives are for Natasha to befriend the other Avengers. Achievement level Tony unlocked!

(I figure by this point, it’s going to be super-obvious which Secret Santa gift is mine, so I’m not bothering to hide)

Mom called me and asked me to do research into procuring Tran-Siberian Orchestra tickets for Chelsea and Bro-IL-to-be, and I pouted at her that she’d stolen my Christmas gift idea for Van. Then she really did steal my gift idea by buying Van’s ticket herself. Oh, Mom.

That’s okay. I’ll buy him some nice comic book markers or something.

One of my wonderful readers rec’d The Abbey on het_reccersyesterday. It led to me getting a few AO3 comments, a bunch of hits, and more people wanting a sequel. What a heartwarming thing for a Tuesday.

Less than 7k and then I can read Cold Days. Time to buckle down and write a few battles!

Word Count: 43,120 words
Current Project: Secret Santa Chapter 10
Project on Deck: Secret Santa Chapter 11

Took a wee bit of a vacation, but finally started writing again. I think it helped to have a chapter to post and say, Hey, I’ve done something, here you can read it now. Did some word-sprints with some awesome people sorta in the Downton Abbey fandom, wrote more of The Abbey, and now am close to done on the entire story, which is a relief. Should have finished it while the iron was hot, I suppose, but that’s life.

Word Count: 15,956 words
Current Project: The Abbey 08
Project on Deck: Secret Santa Chapter 2
Projects Left: That Which is Greater / Guide Us Home / One-Shot

I hit word count yesterday and finally broke through on The Abbey 08. However, the chapter is kicking my ass so much that I'm going to switch my priorities and work on a chapter from my be_compromised Secret Santa project when I'm finished. I need to write something I actually like and the chapter I'll be writing has an epic fight between Natasha and [character name redacted but you can bet your last Knut she's awesome]. With [weapon redacted but you can bet your other last Knut it's also awesome].

That sound you hear is Maximus laughing as he figures out this adds an entire new chapter to this saga.

But anyway, caught up on word count, The Abbey 08 is a little over halfway done, and hopefully I can push through and finish it today, though I'm not holding my breath.

Word Count: 11,685 words
Current Project: The Abbey 08
Project on Deck: Secret Santa Gift Chapter 2

True to form, I got three days into the month and forgot to write a Nano update. I’m surprised I made it past the first day. I am flaky about all things but the need to write. I’d say I’m not flaky about eating, but everybody in my life would laugh at me and point to the hundreds of stories they have about that time I accidentally nuked the same meal five times because I kept forgetting it was by my hand while I was either writing or editing video. Anyway, I’m using the excuse that it’s a weekend and I didn’t realize a birthday dinner with my sister was going to turn into a full night out of seeing Brave with my other sister and so on and so forth. I also went to a comic book store and learned how to shop for comics.

But anyway, writing. Right. Yesterday I woke up feeling kind of crappy, but at least that inspired me to take my cold medicine before four or five hours had passed. I sat on the couch (we have a dual reclining couch that we bought for five bucks at a yard sale) with a netbook and pounded away until I finished the seventh chapter of The Abbey, which is such a massive relief to have done.

That said, I tried starting the eighth chapter today and while I like what I have, my writing senses are telling me it’s about to back me into another corner, so I’m going to end up scrapping all 800 words or so. This isn’t a big deal (I’m grateful I caught it so quickly, actually). I know there are people who are just *gasping* at me because 800 words, no, that’s half a day’s word count and editing is for December and don’t delete, never delete!, but rules like that are dangerous.

Here’s the thing: If you need to delete, delete for crying out loud. Rules becoming absolute, nine times out of ten, will damage a writing career more than they will aid it. You have to do what’s right by you when you’re writing, which is why I can sometimes find Nanowrimo to be a major pain in the ass. I have to remind myself that everybody has a fair chance to be a writer and to play nice when sometimes it feels like people who only write for 30 days out of the year are shouting writing advice at me when I write pretty consistently year-round. And that’s also a dangerous attitude to have, but I’m trying to be better about it.

Went to the library today and walked out with an arm full of science fiction and fairy tales. I meant to do research on the 18th century. Whoops.

And now it’s back to writing because this fic isn’t going to write itself, no matter how awesome that would be.

- Frea

Word Count: 7451 words
Current Project: The Abbey 08
Project on Deck: Greater 11

Title: Downton Abbey, A Ghost Story
Rating: PG
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Pairings: William Mason/Lavinia Swire
Warnings: Supernatural, Deals with Death
Summary: Life does not stop with a heartbeat. William Mason and his life after Downton Abbey, and in Downton Abbey.

( But what is Downton? )