z

Young Writers Society


How was your writing in January 2016?



User avatar
425 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 11417
Reviews: 425
Mon Feb 01, 2016 3:25 pm
Nate says...



Man, January flew by! Can you believe it's 2016? When I was younger, I thought we'd have jetpacks by now, but instead all we got is Twitter. Oh well.

So, how did your writing go in January 2016? Feel free to answer any or none of the below questions:

1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?

2. Did you finish any writing projects? Yes, research papers and essays count.

3. Did you learn anything new in January?

4. What are your writing plans for February?

5. Anything else you'd like to add?
  





User avatar
44 Reviews



Gender: Nonbinary
Points: 115
Reviews: 44
Mon Feb 01, 2016 4:45 pm
SkyeWalker says...



I wish we had jetpacks XD That would be amazing, I would be having a lot of fun right now... Oh well...

1. Ooh. I think I wrote about 5000-6000 words? Maybe even closer to 10,000? I don't really keep track of my total... >_>

2. I finished a short story that I started... Also, another short story for school. Er. That's all I actually finished. XD

3. I learned more about myself and my writing style, actually, which is a plus. It will hopefully lead to me to improving my writing, too! :D

4. I'm working on redoing an intro for my novel, eventually series. I have a ton of short stories in the works, some of them are really mediocre though. eek. I'm also working on plans for the fourth book of my series (I'm quite ahead of myself, I know XD) But that's supposed to be the most exciting one so far, with a major character's "death" and not death at the same time. The fifth book, though, will have a lot of drama aside of the main plot, so I guess I'm really ahead of myself. I probably shouldn't rant about my story here though. (Spoilers! ;) )

5. Nope, not really! Other than the fact that I hope to write a lot more this month! XD
My pronouns are they/them.

Formerly Zhia and Reneia
  





User avatar
1274 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: Female
Points: 35724
Reviews: 1274
Mon Feb 01, 2016 5:44 pm
niteowl says...



Not my peak of writing-awesomeness, but definitely improving now that I don't have to freak out about a Master's thesis and only have to freak out about getting a real job eventually.

I posted two poems, both of which made the Spotlight, which is cool.

I've also gotten back into the Writing Tounaments club, which I love for pushing my creativity. I wrote a love story for the Tournament of Color based on the color orange, which I didn't post to the main site because I didn't think it was that good. Evidently the voters thought otherwise because I made it to the next round.

I also wrote a draft last night (at the end of January) for the Across Time tournament, which I have a few days to reshape. I won't say much about it here except that it's another love story based on something I had to write an essay about in high school. I'll probably end up posting it on the main site since the tournament entries get deleted and I regret not posting my entries from past tournaments.
"You do ill if you praise, but worse if you censure, what you do not understand." Leonardo Da Vinci

<YWS><R1>
  





User avatar
279 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: Female
Points: 25891
Reviews: 279
Mon Feb 01, 2016 6:16 pm
Steggy says...



I think my writing has improved greatly from when I first joined. Before, I wouldn't write as much- only on my free-time (which was limited). I would often try to write in class, trying to write down some story ideas/dialogue on a homework assignment. That's how I got into writing.

I've drifted from Wattpad (which honestly my writing on there is horrible) until I finally decided staying here for sometime. From there, I improved writing by writing different amount of post in many unique storybooks.

Another thing is my novels have been a big hit. When I first started writing novels, I wouldn't pay attention to the different things needed to make it worth reading like describing the room the character was in or how to write a climax. Within a year or so, I started to understand some of that.

As of now, I don't know where my writing might take me. This week was cramped with writing for the Across Time tournament for the Writing Tournaments club. This story I'm writing for it might be my best one yet- I just need to finish it to find out.
You are like a blacksmith's hammer, you always forge people's happiness until the coal heating up the forge turns to ash. Then you just refuel it and start over. -Persistence (2015)

You have so much potential and love bursting in you. -Omnom
  





User avatar
878 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: Female
Points: 35199
Reviews: 878
Mon Feb 01, 2016 6:43 pm
View Likes
Demeter says...



Omg, the perfect thread for me! Considering my newly resurrected writing.


1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?

I've been working on my novel for the whole of January, and I wrote on all but two days of the month. My goal is and will be 165 words per day, as it usually isn't a big effort to make, but will still keep me going. I have probably written somewhat close to 10,000 words this month.

2. Did you finish any writing projects? Yes, research papers and essays count.
Not really, not yet!

3. Did you learn anything new in January?
I learnt that I can write every day, when I set realistic goals to myself. Also, with the goal so low, on most days I end up feeling really awesome because I've written more. ;)

4. What are your writing plans for February?
Keep writing for as many days as I possibly can (I already know that I will miss a whole week though due to a holiday, but that's acceptable).

5. Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm proud of myself!
"Your jokes are scarier than your earrings." -Twit

"14. Pretend like you would want him even if he wasn't a prince. (Yeah, right.)" -How to Make a Guy Like You - Disney Princess Style

Got YWS?
  





User avatar
93 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 3819
Reviews: 93
Mon Feb 01, 2016 6:49 pm
Lefty says...



1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?
I wrote about 7k in storybook posts this month, which is really most of the writing I did in January. I've been focusing a lot more on editing stories rather than writing new ones.

What are my goals for the rest of the year? It kind of depends on how it goes... But I definitely want to finish editing my The Fighter of Aldea trilogy and get more feedback on it.

2. Did you finish any writing projects?
Yes, I did actually! I finished the first-ish draft of The Warlord of Yorkshire on New Years, which is the third and final book of the trilogy I've been working on for the past 2 1/2 years. I started out the year feeling really accomplished because of it, which was really nice. Something I kind of needed, I think. It was a really nice way to bring in the New Year.

3. Did you learn anything new in January?
Mmm... not really. lol - I really didn't do too much. I'm sure there was a small epiphany here or there, but nothing that immediately comes to mind.

4. What are your writing plans for February?
More storybooking and a lot more story editing!

5. Anything else you'd like to add?
I think this year will prove to be a very interesting, potentially very good year. I'm looking forward to seeing where my writing takes me and what I can accomplish with it. Onward, to February!
Hear me out, there's so much more to life than what you're feeling now. Someday you'll look back on all these days, and all this pain is gonna be invisible. - Hunter Hayes
  





User avatar
1272 Reviews



Gender: Other
Points: 89625
Reviews: 1272
Mon Feb 01, 2016 8:05 pm
Rosendorn says...



1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?

I probably didn't write all that much. Right now, I write a sentence or two a day, sometimes more when I'm on a roll. Compared to summer when I wrote 30k~ in a week, this feels low xD But I have been writing more of my own projects.

I'd just like to keep writing every day. Small, preferably prose, and something that I want to work on creatively.

2. Did you finish any writing projects? Yes, research papers and essays count.

A fanfic short story.

3. Did you learn anything new in January?

Sort... of. I think I mostly just learned how talking out writing issues is extremely useful and needs to be done more often.

4. What are your writing plans for February?

More of the same. I'd like to get back into Cat Steps, after a really long break. I've started, but it's only what I'm working on about once a week.

5. Anything else you'd like to add?

Never be afraid of setting small goals. Small goals are what get you started.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





User avatar
260 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 15020
Reviews: 260
Mon Feb 01, 2016 9:47 pm
TriSARAHtops says...



Oh, January was a bit of a shocker for me in terms of writing. The words just were not working. I've got a few ideas floating around my head, but getting them down hasn't really happened.

1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?
Aside from keeping up my blog, which to be fair took a bit of writing, I think I'd have been lucky to have hit 1k, and a fair bit of that was done yesterday rewriting something I'd written a couple of years ago that I'm having another shot at.

Basically my goals are going to be to try to get some kind of routine going with my writing. I've also begun the process of rewriting Hayden, mostly just making notes at this stage, so I'd like to get the ball rolling with that one.

2. Did you finish any writing projects?
Only posts and reviews on my blog.*shamelessly advertises*

3. Did you learn anything new in January?
More understanding of the extent of my ability to procrastinate? I guess I learnt how hard it is to get back into the habit of writing when you haven't been writing for a signicant length of time.

4. What are your writing plans for February?
To write more! I'd like to have something to post here, because it's been way too long. Find a project that I'll stick with. Hayden rewrites. Basically not repeating January.
if we wait until we're ready
we'll be waiting
for the rest of our lives
  





User avatar
1162 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 32055
Reviews: 1162
Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:08 pm
View Likes
Carlito says...



1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?
I don't know specifically how many words I wrote but it was several thousand.
My two major writing goals of the year are to finished another draft of Captive and another draft of Release so I feel comfortable with people finally reading Release.

2. Did you finish any writing projects? Yes, research papers and essays count.
I've written a couple of essays and things for school....
BUT I ALSO FINISHED MY FIFTH NOVEL!! (January 27th at 10:49pm). It's a YA contemporary romance called Liz + Zac and I.love it.

3. Did you learn anything new in January?
What Alderian therapy is. (#gradschool :p)

4. What are your writing plans for February?
I need to get back into Captive and continue my work on that. I've gotten so many amazing critiques of it and it's time to put those to good use!

5. Anything else you'd like to add?
The weather right now is uh-mazing (for February). (And I'm here because I am 100% procrastinating adulting right now :D)
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

Ask a Therapist!
I want to beta read your novel!


Ask me anything. Talk to me about anything. Seriously. My PM box is always open <3
  





User avatar
1085 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 90000
Reviews: 1085
Mon Feb 01, 2016 10:13 pm
Mea says...



1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?
I've pretty much just written the required 800 words a week for LMS. I think overall I've written about 4000 words this month, which is less than I'd like but still an okay amount. So yeah, just Shaping Faith and a new poem I actually posted on here last week.

2. Did you finish any writing projects? Yes, research papers and essays count.

I wrote a movie review of the 1982 Scarlet Pimpernel (great movie, highly recommend) for English, and then I wrote my poem, In Memory, but other than that I didn't finish anything.

3. Did you learn anything new in January?
Nothing immediately springs to mind, except that spending all day either writing reviews for Review Day or finishing that week's chapter is really tiring. I also learned that it's ridiculously easy to get out of the habit of writing every day.

4. What are your writing plans for February?
Pretty much continue Shaping Faith, hopefully at a slightly faster pace. I also want to review more this month - I think I might try for the Team Tortoise thing.

5. Anything else you'd like to add?
Nah, except that I'm hoping to have the first draft of Shaping Faith done by like the end of June at the latest.
We're all stories in the end.

I think of you as a fairy with a green dress and a flower crown and stuff.
-EternalRain

I think you, @Deanie and I are like the Three Book Nerd Musketeers of YWS.
-bluewaterlily
  





User avatar
1735 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: None specified
Points: 91980
Reviews: 1735
Tue Feb 02, 2016 6:40 pm
View Likes
BluesClues says...



I stuck to my 100-word/day minimum, so I wrote at least 3100 words. Probably more, but I wasn't keeping track beyond making sure I was doing 100 words. Some of that was Book Man revisions, some was Squills articles, some was blog entries, and some was writing exercises and scene-writing for an online character creation class I'm taking.

Sadly, I have not finished Book Man yet, and my class still has six weeks left before that's done. I'm trying to prioritize Book Man this month (but we'll see how that goes). My blog entries and Squills articles got done, though...

I got a great new writing prompt from my class. "Emma said that..." You basically start with a character's name and "said that" and let it propel you into, well, whatever the character said. Then you cut the "character said that" and see what you're left with. In my case it was this.

Old signs are artifacts, a glimpse of the past. That's why Ida photographs them.


I'm usually a past-tense user, but this character and story just keep ending up in present tense, so I just went with it.
  





User avatar
522 Reviews

Supporter


Gender: Female
Points: 18486
Reviews: 522
Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:01 pm
View Likes
Lavvie says...



1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?

I wrote quite a bit this month - the most I've written in the month of January in three years. I wrote a short story for Saturn (shameless plug: see my signature) which is 1128 words and then I also began seriously journalling. There's also Squills and French papers for art history. I also do lots of writing for another website. In total, I've probably written somewhere between 10 000 and 15 000 words.

2. Did you finish any writing projects? Yes, research papers and essays count.

I've written four art history analyses and I've generally kept on top of my Squills articles. I've also kept on top of my responsibilities for another website.

3. Did you learn anything new in January?

I learned that seriously tapping into my nostalgic ideas brings out the most intense, purple descriptions when it comes to writing. I need to harness this a bit so I'm not overwhelming people. However, I think I've really learned to be guided by my most dominant emotions when writing and this motivates me a lot.

4. What are your writing plans for February?

I'd like to keep up with Squills and my journalling. I would also like to write at least one short story for Saturn and perfect my French essaying skills.

5. Anything else you'd like to add?

Over the past few months, I have been battling a terrible writer's block that has endured since before I took my years-long break from YWS. At last, it has been overcome and I've done nothing but write, write, write. I'm really pleased with how much I've written this month and I look forward to seeing how I will perform in the coming month!


What is to give light must endure burning. – Viktor Frankl
  





User avatar
44 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 897
Reviews: 44
Mon Feb 15, 2016 10:27 pm
EmmVeePi says...



1. How much / what did you write in January, and what are your goals for the rest of the year?I dont know the exact amount. Maybe 25000 words(?)

2. Did you finish any writing projects? Yes, research papers and essays count. Yes I finished part one of my Norse Epic "Children of Dread"

3. Did you learn anything new in January? I wish

4. What are your writing plans for February? Keep working hard on the second book in my series.

5. Anything else you'd like to add? I am really enjoying the process of writing right now more than I used to(it used to be more about the destination than the journey to me) so that is really nice not to have to achieve or finish something to derive pleasure from it.
  








To have more, you have to become more. Don't wish it was easier - wish you were better. For things to change, you have to change, and for things to get better, you have to get better.
— Jim Rohn