Heatherlly's Writing Progress Thread
Since I'm finally getting back on track with my writing, I figured I should start a progress thread. Anyone with their own fanfiction subforum is can do this… authors who don't have their own subforum yet are welcome to post about their progress in this thread.
TODAY'S PROGRESS:
I signed up for Camp NaNo at the beginning of the month with a goal of 10,000 words. Happy to say I met my goal this morning, and more importantly, I've made significant progress on my chapter. This is one that should've been finished and posted back in May, so needless to say, I'm hoping to get it out ASAP. With that in mind, I'm going to keep writing until Camp NaNo is over, then try to keep the momentum going throughout August. 💚
My 2023 Writing Journey (In a Nutshell)
I started the year really strong. From January through April, I wrote nearly every day and finished/posted three chapters.
Unfortunately, I got off track in mid April. I did make some progress in July with Camp NaNo, but overall, writing has been a struggle. That's what happens when I fall out of the habit… I can't make much (or any) progress when I only do it sporadically.
Getting Back on Track
I'm planning on participating in NaNoWriMo next month, something I've done every year since 2012. For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write at least 50,000 words during the month of November.
Needless to say, this is a big challenge. 50,000 words is a lot, especially when you're out of practice and/or not used to writing that much. But it's also incredibly motivating, especially for someone like me who loves to push limits and take on challenges. NaNoWriMo is the one time each year when all my excuses and distractions go out the window. As soon as November 1 hits, I buckle down and get shit done.
It isn't easy. For the first week or so, I often struggle to meet my daily minimum. But then something magical happens. I become more and more immersed in my story, the struggle becomes a habit, and suddenly, I can write thousands of words per day with ease. By the end of it, I'm totally in the zone, to the point where I don't want to stop writing. It's an amazing creative high, bolstered by an incredible sense of accomplishment as I cross the proverbial finish line.
MY STATS
2012: 50,247
2013: 85,729
2014: 70,236
2015: 116,000
2016: 77,927
2017: 126,785
2018: 91,320
2019: 107,750
2020: 130,350
2021: 117,076
2022: 79,380
I've won NaNoWriMo 11 times in a row. Not only that, but I almost always exceed my goal. You'd think it would get old after more than a decade, but… it doesn't. I get to enjoy that same sense of accomplishment year after year, and the best part is, I always make a tremendous amount of progress on my stories.
For anyone who writes and has never done NaNoWriMo, I'd highly recommend trying it at least once. I know it seems like a lot, but again, that's the point. The first time I tried it back in 2012, I never thought I'd be able to meet that 50,000 word goal. When I did, it was such an incredible feeling… we never know what we're capable of until we're willing to take a chance.
If any of you want to give it a try, let me know and I'll do everything I can to support you. Also, keep in mind that NaNoWriMo doesn't require you to start a new project… you can use it to make progress on an existing story or even work on several projects at once. The only rule is that you have to write at least 50,000 words… the project(s) those words belong to is completely up to you!
Thank you for the recommendation. I just joined but I’m lost on in the site. Is there a page that says what quota you have to meet per day?
There is, though that won't be available until NaNoWriMo starts on November 1. I'll put together a guide when it gets closer… the site is really easy to use once you get the hang of it. 🙂
Oh my god…
While writing, I needed to look up something about the Room of Requirement and saw this:
The room was located on the seventh floor in the left corridor of the Hogwarts castle… (source)
Am I missing something? I've referenced it as the sixth floor not only in this story, but every other fucking story I've written over the past 10 years. I could've sworn that was correct, not to mention that none of my reviewers have ever brought it up.
Can someone confirm either way? I will go back and change every damn instance of it in my stories if I have to, but I really hope it doesn't come to that. 😞
ETA: I just checked HBP, and…
“Harry Potter, sir,” squeaked Dobby, his great orblike eyes shining in the firelight, “the Malfoy boy is breaking no rules that Dobby can discover, but he is still keen to avoid detection. He has been making regular visits to the seventh floor with a variety of other students, who keep watch for him while he enters —”
“The Room of Requirement!” said Harry…
Actually, you know what? Screw it. It's my fanfiction, and if no one's made an issue out of it in the last decade, it can't be that big of a deal.
If it does ever come up, I'll just say it's a creative choice. I come up with plenty of details about the castle that were never mentioned in canon… no reason I can't move things around a bit, too. 😉
And this is from OotP
“Good,” said Harry quietly, when she told him, “because we’ve found somewhere to have our first Defense meeting. Tonight, eight o’clock, seventh floor opposite that tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by those trolls. Can you tell Katie and Alicia?”
I would say, I wouldn’t have noticed this because personally I’m not nerdy enough to have memorized the exact location of a room in a fictional castle 😅
I knew it was on 7th floor but perhaps ignored it due to speed reading in your fics @heatherlly.
Whatever. I do what I want. 😉
Quote from Heatherlly on November 6, 2023, 10:34 amWhatever. I do what I want. 😉
