Accountability and Inspiration - Lets finish a book together *new questions 9/2*

I’m okayish. Mostly disappointed in myself. I’m not where I want to be at in my story and I feel like I was really bad about putting off working on my story this week.

I got two of my characters on the enemy ship like I wanted, but I have yet to figure out or write out their escape. Still, progress is progress. I just gotta keep going until I arrive at the answer!

I want to write more words and more often. This week I sort of lazed around and only manage to write out a little over 1,000 words (because I kept losing my drive to do over 30 minute sessions); when really I should be aiming for that 1,000 each session and spending at least an hour writing when I can.

(I’m not saying it’s bad for people to write under 1,000. But I am saying that it is bad for me to not even get close to it each session)

My favorite thing was a little scene I wrote last night. One of the protagonist’s friends (Domino) needed to contact their allies to let them know that they are okay and to try to strategize a way off the enemy ship.

They find a bathroom on board the ship so that Domino won’t have to worry as much about having her cover blown while she contacts her allies with her wrist communicator. However, they both can’t help noting how weird it is that the bathroom is for a single occupant rather than multiple (it’s a military ship).

Since it’d be a tight fit for the two of them, the protagonist waits outside while Domino tries to make the call.

An enemy trooper approaches Patrick (the protagonist) while he’s waiting next to the bathroom door in disguise and asks if he’s on duty to guard the bathroom for the Captain while he’s using it.

It’s then that the protagonist has the horrible realization that Domino is in the Captain’s personal bathroom (a big no-no) and is hoping against all hopes that no one else sees her come out.

Writing the scene where they evacuate onto the enemy ship while in disguise. It took at lot of setup to make that work and there were many different ways that I could have approached that scene.

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Any progress is still good progress! Good luck next week! Man, imagine having a personal bathroom guard. That captain is living the life lol.

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Yeah, essentially that is the difference between them. You worded that well. And you’ll get there eventually, just keep writing. :heart:

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So, I am taking it easy and practicing what I preach and trying an experiment to see if it works.

I am gonna see how far my “TV show novel” gets with episodes as the stucture.

@Qualeshia12 @DoomVroom @EmiliaFrost and everyone else.

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Damn, this chapter was good, I almost cried! I finished chapter 14 and oh my gosh it was amazing!

So, much drama and tension! chefs kiss I fucking love it!

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I’m currently trying something similar. I’m not sure what exactly you’d call them. I guess the subcategories in the 3-act story structure. Just worried about getting this one big scene where I want it for now. I don’t feel like I’m willing to pour myself into the rest of it until I get this figured out. And honestly way too daunting to think about it as a whole thing.
The scene i’m working on is one of the most important parts in the novels progression and contains all of the characters. I feel like if i can develop that, that i’d have a clear reference for the rest of the story. Get the vibe there so I have something to base the rest off of. Hopefully that works to make me feel better. Instead of taking half the story to figure out what’s up.

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Yeah, like a beginning middle and end but the 7 points? I know what you mean I think. You know what? That’s a good idea. You can work around the scene then if you do it out of order. But yeah, thinking about it as a whole is daunting. Yes, you will be able to develop it, and and work around it as a reference. How’s it going today btw? Have you got some of it written?


Also I wrote this, honest opinion on it? I am thinking of sticking to this story, I got an actual plot idea in mind.

01

It was a typical Friday afternoon inside the Warehouse Gym.

There were tired, sweaty bodies everywhere, panting for air and sticking to the gym equipment.

The terribly loud dance music was pumping throughout the building, and groups were gathered around the water machine by the locker room to discuss how their session went.

Will was about to finish working out on the chest press, and was ready to hit the dumbbells when he saw someone approach him.

Pumped up on adrenaline (and an extra strong espresso he’d drunk before he’d gone there), he slammed the weight down onto the pile and stared him right in his face.

It was Jax Arnold. He was the kinda guy that you wouldn’t take to see your mother because he’d end up calling her a beached whale with a blind man’s fashion sense. Or end up hitting on her, and kissing her in front of you at the dinner table.

His bleached blonde hair covered his forehead as he leaned down to face a sitting Will, who was trying his hardest not to react.

"So, Will, what’s your cup size? C, D, E, F?” Jax asked Will with a smirk etched across his face.

Will clenched his teeth as he hissed back. “A for Asshole, f—k off.”

“Aw, come on. Why are you so grumpy? I hear that there’s a sale on at Bravissimo. Two for one.”

Before Will could get up and swing a punch at him, Jax had walked off over to another machine.

He wasn’t pleased, but he’d gotten used to the reactions of him having ‘moobs’. Most of the people in the gym had gotten over his mishap, but some still stared.

Others spoke behind his back, and the odd idiot like Jax decided to take things further and it joke about it to his face.

The truth of the matter was that he couldn’t do anything about it currently. His last surgery had botched them, and he didn’t have enough money to fix them up again with a more professional surgeon.

Every time he stared at his chest, he regretted ever starting steroids. Yes, the rush was amazing, and his body used to be perfectly muscular but since the heart attack had stopped them all, his chest had went downhill, along with his tolerance for people and his self esteem (though he didn’t like to admit that last part).

The rest of his body looked defined; he had muscular legs, a strong back and arms, good, sturdy abs and was a healthy weight. He had a handsome face too (for someone who was on the hard stuff for almost half of his life).

Climbing up the middle aged hill had begun to tire him out too. Tiredness and back pain began creeping into his body, the more he lifted. Working at the warehouse didn’t help matters, especially in the summer when he sweat through his compression vests.

Everything was visible.

Wet lumps of droopy, uneven flesh outlined the fabric.

He’d tried wearing looser shirts, but it was uncomfortable. Sticky, floppy, cock eyed nipples weren’t a sight to behold in the workplace.

Despite his best efforts, he was a source of conversion everywhere, even from the darkest corners of the gym:

“Is he transgender?”

“Does he have a hormone problem?”

“Are those breast implants for a bet?”

The extra attention made him squirm.

He wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. Hiding seemed better than the constant barrage of humiliation surrounding him.

“Have a nice day, Meatloaf,” Jax added with a smirk as Will slammed the door behind him as he left.

He made a swift exit onto the Main Street before jumping into his truck and riding home.

Trees lined the dried up sidewalks, and the sun was splitting through the clouds in the blue sky. People were crossing the street, and kids were playing ball in a garden.

He let out a smile, then turned the CD player on. The thudding of the bass line and drums made him smile. Then, the guitars and rapping kicked in.

Perreo y sandungueo,

Toma esto eehhh oh

Ruby had left an album in there. Something about partying and getting laid. The song was catchy, no denying it, even if he didn’t understand half of it.

Five minutes later, the truck turned into the driveway. He walked inside the house and started up the coffee machine, then got out two cups.

One for decaf, the other for ordinary coffee.

“Ruby, you there?” he asked.

He looked around the kitchen, study, gym room, and finally the lounge before deciding to walk into the back yard.

There he was, in all his glory chopping up wood with an axe. All five foot nine of him, glistening in the sun with a dripping wet tank top and khaki shorts clinging to his bulky body.

His strong arms obliterated the pieces as Will watched in amazement. “Ruby?”

He turned around and smiled at him. “Yes, Dear?”

“I made us some coffee–oh you shaved your face.”

Ruby scoffed and rubbed his hands across his stubble. “It was getting too warm for a goatee, so I cut it off.”

Will nodded. “The goatee was epic, though.”

Ruby ran his fingers through his dark, spiky hair. “Yeah, I know but change is good sometimes. We’ve been happier since we’ve moved out here, right?”

Will sighed. “Well, yeah mostly. Kinda.”

Ruby leaned in and kissed Will. “What’s up?”

“This dude in the gym, he wants to get me kicked out. He always pisses me off. We almost fought today.”

“Just try and ignore him. Don’t give him the reaction, and he won’t go on.”

“I know, Babe. He gets under my skin so much. I try my best to ignore him, but it’s never enough.”

Ruby began to walk inside with Will. “Is it possible to go at a different time?”

Will shrugged, and finished making the first coffee. “I like the time I go at. It’s absolutely perfect. It’s not too busy, and it’s not too quiet. It’s just this asshole wants to ruin it for me.”

“Do you have music you can play?”

“Nope, I broke my headphones last week, and I haven’t bought any ‘cause I’m waiting for my pay check to come.” He set it down on the kitchen table and Ruby took it. “Let me know if it’s good.”

Ruby nodded and took a sip. “It tastes great. You remembered the cream.” He looked over at Will. “I can lend you my iPod if you want.”

“You sure?”

Ruby chuckled and nodded. “I’d do anything for you. You don’t need to ask. What’s mine is yours.”

Will smiled and sat down beside him with his cup of decaf. He put his hairy hand on top of Ruby’s. “Thanks.”

Ruby looked into his blue eyes. “Are you good?”

He glanced down at his chest. “Apart from Jax? Yeah. My vest’s dried out and my tits don’t look as obvious.”

“Hey, don’t let it get to you. You’re gonna get your surgery and everything’s gonna be fixed soon. Keep your head held high.”

“I’m trying. I appreciate you giving me some money to start my fund, but you don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

Ruby frowned slightly. “I wanna see you happy. Happiness is important, you know?”

Will nodded. “I understand, but this is my own battle to fight. I don’t wanna drag you into this like that.”

“Babe, I’m always here. I will fight for you. I don’t care if that’s the boxer in me talking, but I care too much to see you depressed like this.”

“I know, Ruby, but I have to do whatever it takes to fix my own problem without hurting you.”

This is for anyone to comment on also. If they want to.

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This week, yes I know it’s only Tuesday, has been absolute hell at work. So, not much left in me to work on stuff. Though, I’m going back through what I have wrote and doing some editing and it seems to be going okay. I can’t even bring myself to finish this scene with how it is right now. It’s not what I want, and I just can’t.

I’ll check out what you wrote when I get a little more time.

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Trying to end a crappy day on a positive note. I have successfully made writing daily a habit as well as reading. Have actually gotten into audiobooks while at work, which makes work better and actually gives me a chance to see other authors writing in a different format. And things are starting to sound tolerable in my own writing so I’m improving slowly. Made a writing friend at work to share feedback with and he plans to give me some credit for the help I’ve given him so far. I’m definitely making progress. Maybe not in the way I had hoped to. But a win is a win.

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I didn’t write at all today because of distractions and my mind focuses on a million different things all the time that never matter in the grand scheme of things.

So, either tomorrow I will write or Thursday! I am not on any deadline of any sort.

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I solve the mystery behind the Succession Trials and the history of the splitting up between the Thornwood Dynasty while I was sleeping no less.

:sweat_smile:

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I wrote another banger of a chapter that left me tearing up.

I have completed chapter fifteen of Project Succession. So much has gone on and there’s so much to explore. I am very proud and impressed at the potential I am building with this story.

I am getting a bit better at emotional scenes, because the moment Stephanie and Hyde had was sweet and touching.

I am an only child, but I think I did alright with the touching scene between a brother and sister who both went through some serious hardships.

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I’ve been away from home for 3 days, so I definitely haven’t gotten any writing done for half the week :smiling_face_with_tear:

I’m hoping to make some of that up tonight, but erf, the week is ruined in terms of writing output for me.

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No writing today, just distraction via YouTube.

Also, if I eliminate YouTube, something HAS to replace it. Don’t know what that is.

I am excited to at least get the printed copies of my Project Succession, in regard to the chapters I’ve completed.

:grin:

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I’m watching YouTube as I read this :eyes:

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:rofl:

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After having my mom print out the copies of Project Succession from chapters 1 to 15, she printed out two copies, one double-sided and one not double sided. She gave me a suggestion on what to do with the copies, which makes sense.

The non-double-sided copy can be used for jotting down notes and making annotations, while I can use the double-sided copy to go through things for editing, revising, and annotations by reading for the other copy.

Though an option I had was something along those lines, but with the document still on Google and I can use that for reading over to do some editing and more.

Though staring at the screen, even with it in dark mode, will hurt me…visually. :sweat_smile:

I really need the right head-space to start this and very soon to gather information.

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that’s what i’ve done that last few nights instead of writing lol. I get tired and stressed and doom scrolling shorts is an addiction for me.

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I have a new idea that I am hoping to stick to because I have a rough idea of it, and am enjoying writing it. I need people to keep me motivated (@Qualeshia12 @EmiliaFrost @DoomVroom @Xelyn_Craft @lunar.eclipse @NatureLover40 and everyone else).

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You got dis! Make sure to have fun with it!

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