# Whatcha workin' on right now?



## Ralph Rotten

So likely each of you are busy organizing words into a pleasing sequence (writing) so I thought I'd give y'all a chance to toot your own drum and tell us all about whatever you be working on currently.

So, whatcha working on these days?


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## Ralph Rotten

I'll go first!

Right now I'm not actually writing anything!
Actually, I'm web building for a secret project, but on the side I am writing blurbs for 2 other authors.
Apparently it's a super power of mine (well, mebbe just a regular power...)
So I have 4 blurbs to write for one author at IUPH, and another blurb to write for a Twitter friend.

I'll get back to writing when I'm done with the web project.


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## seigfried007

Working on _Pinocchio_ still. Thought this story would be over a hundred thousands ago. I'm at least closer to the end than I had been, right?


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## J.T. Chris

I'm working on an entry for one of the LM Maneuvers October prompts.


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## Trollheart

Ah, you don't want to know all the stuff I'm working on now. However, if you're interested in music, TV or movies, keep an eye on the music forum, and beyond...
:teapot:


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## luckyscars

I'm working on a woman suit...

View attachment 24628

...and a novel. About time travel. 40,256 words done.


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## JesterTRT

I'm slacking. I was out of town for all of September for work. This will be the first weekend back, and _then _it's back at it. 
But still the work I have been doing has been programming instead of writing.


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## tepelus

After taking a break, I'm getting back to editing my novel, _Lake One_. I've only made it through chapter two (out of 36). It's going to take a while, since I have a day job. I have some days off coming up next week and a couple of weeks after that, so I hope to knock out quite a bit of it. This will be the final draft that I will send out to agents, if I can write a decent query letter, and if I can manage to get one to bite.


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## Ralph Rotten

Trollheart said:


> Ah, you don't want to know all the stuff I'm working on now. However, if you're interested in music, TV or movies, keep an eye on the music forum, and beyond...
> :teapot:




Sure we do...this is a writing forum, after all.
Besides, you are likely only active on one or 2 things at the present moment.
Stuff that's been in the fridge for 2 months are not current projects.


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## Ralph Rotten

Today I took the morning off.
I still got up at 0400, but I was demoralized by the web project I was working on (it was perfect until I started doing testing on assorted platforms...then it all fell apart...!)
So instead I read the news, and flew some virtual airplanes. I didn't even work on the blurbs I have queued up.
I'll get back to work tomorrow.
Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.


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## Dluuni

Final edits (Transpire), 1/2 pass. Building the emotions in spots that my editor called out. Trying to decipher their weird east coast ways in places they suggested turns of phrase I've never heard of.
Headed to a weekend retreat with the local RWA gaggle.
Met a new writing group.. Well, one person in it, because there was a schedule quirk. Went over DysKis. I'm trying to get that reworked after I get Transpire back to the editor. At some point, I get to do another draft of the outline of Radio (formerly shelved as Aardvark).


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## BornForBurning

> it was perfect until I started doing testing on assorted platforms...then it all fell apart...!


Web development in a sentence. 
I'm working on a western. It's very twisty, in the sense that the plot's got lots of sharp angles. I imagine it filmed by Sam Raimi. Lots of abrupt camera movements, awkward close-ups and comedic screaming. It's also got wendigos.


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## Sir-KP

Still polishing that one story... 

And the more I polish, the less confidence I have in it that I'm thinking I just need to move on to another story...


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## J.T. Chris

Oh, you know, just an entry for the latest flash fiction challenge.


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## Ralph Rotten

I got up this morning at 0400, and wrote 2 blurbs for another author. 
Often when I am writing blurbs I am surprised when they overlook obvious angles.
This author was a Maverick. In military terms it is a person who starts out enlisted and later becomes an officer.
So I leveraged this fact in the blurb (tis a true life story of his career.)
After all, he went from E1 to O5 in 25 years. To former military readers, that is a big deal.
Tomorrow I will review today's work, and write the remaining blurbs.


....then maybe the next day I'll go back to that web project. 
Whooda thunk an online catalog could be such a PITA.


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## Irwin

Still working on my serial killer novel. I think it needs a few more chapters. 

There's no romance in it at this point, so maybe the MC needs to go out on a few dates or something. Otherwise, people might think there's something wrong with him. Maybe I'll add a few disastrous dates just for a little humor.


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## Umree

I revised a story of mine from 2014 this morning. I'm a contributing editor for a magazine called Kind Writers and we participated in a literary festival called LitCrawl this afternoon. I read the revised story there, I think it was well received.
I'm also brainstorming ideas for another story I wrote last year. I've written several drafts, but would like to do some more editing and perhaps remapping before sending it out.

Aside from that, I've been writing about aesthetic treatments for my new copywriter position this past week.

Not terribly exciting all in all, but I'm happy to be writing at least.


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## Riptide

I'm rewriting the last few chapters of a story I wrote and finished back in 2016-17. When I'm done with that, I have to rewrite the beginning, again, then go through the whole thing once more and see if this one character is really necessary to the story. Then edit, rearrange, mesh together one last time.


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## JasoninNV

I'm writing a fictionalized "based on a true story" novel that will have two separate, but intertwined timelines.
This is my first novel and I just finished up a second chapter, though I'm not really writing the chapters in order.

Sent from my K88 using Tapatalk


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## Dluuni

Irwin said:


> Still working on my serial killer novel.
> There's no romance in it at this point, so maybe the MC needs to go out on a few dates or something. Otherwise, people might think there's something wrong with him.


...If he's a serial killer, there IS? That said, there's an entire letter of LGBTQIA that does a lot of not going on dates, for a couple of reasons, and we cringe pretty hard at that last statement. There's lots of justifications for not dating if your character doesn't want to date. He could have the tragic past... Or he could just be aromantic, and find dating uncomfortable and weird and pointless, because that's his orientation. Or he could just be too busy, you know, trying not to die. Either way, you can address it without shoehorning a romance arc if it isn't popping up naturally.


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## Irwin

No, the MC is an FBI agent--not the serial killer.


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## Ralph Rotten

So I finished the 4 blurbs, sent them off to the author.
I actually caught a break because his last blurb was actually already pretty tight and just needed a bit of tightening up.

Then I sent Lisa the link to the catalog....and that bombed.
Uggghhh. There goes 3 weeks of work, down the drain, unless I can convince her that flipbooks are totally 1992ish.
Dang. The catalog even had a separate mobile page.


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## JJBuchholz

I'm working on two writing projects right now:

1) A two-part science fiction story set in one of my series, in which I have been unable to stick the ending. It's verty frustrating.
2) My first ever memoir, and hopefully first of many. I had always wanted to do this, and now I am.


-JJB


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## Ralph Rotten

Tomorrow I am back to work on another blurb for an IUPH author. After I knock that out, I will be back at work on the catalog for IUPH. I was able to sway Lisa...but with a few tricky provisos. Most notably, she wants the desktop page to scroll horizontally like the mobile page does. This will take some coding to do...

Here is the link that I am working on. There is code in the page to automatically send you to either the desktop page, or the mobile page, depending on the device you are using. I like the mobile page better. The desktop page is still...meh.
http://indiesunitedpublishing.com


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## BornForBurning

> Here is the link that I am working on. There is code in the page to automatically send you to either the desktop page, or the mobile page, depending on the device you are using. I like the mobile page better. The desktop page is still...meh


"Indies United is a publishing cooperative that brings together Indie writers that are very serious about their craft" should really be "Indies United is a publishing cooperative bringing together Indie writers that are very serious about their craft." Maybe drop the 'very.' I'm unsure. 
By contemporary design standards, the separate scroll bars are bad. Personally, I am ambivalent. Regardless, the bottom one is very awkward, the window is so small you can't ever fully see the covers. Wherever you decide to put your catalog, it should feel front-and-center. Right now, it feels like an afterthought. A lot of web designers are moving towards a slick "mobile-style" design, even on desktop. Maybe you just have something as simple as a big button on the bottom of the homepage that says "catalog." Maybe have it when you scroll down on the homepage, the catalog pops up. Scrolling up returns you to the homepage. 
my completely unsolicited two cents


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## tepelus

Still editing. I will be for some time. I'm only to chapter 13 (out of 36) and I'm feeling overwhelmed by all of the comments left by this beta. So far this chapter is the worst, nothing but a wall of comments in the margin on nearly every page. But I think it's improving. Just gotta take it one page at a time.


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## Aquilo

tepelus said:


> Still editing. I will be for some time. I'm only to chapter 13 (out of 36) and I'm feeling overwhelmed by all of the comments left by this beta. So far this chapter is the worst, nothing but a wall of comments in the margin on nearly every page. But I think it's improving. Just gotta take it one page at a time.



It's when you know you're a writer -- being able to cry out a "hell yes" when you get that one page - just that _one_ page - that has no editor recommendations on it!


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## Irwin

I completely outlined my novel but just can't seem to get into it, since the MCs are FBI agents and writing about them just isn't very much fun for me.

So I'm going to keep the same plot but change the MC to a neurotic, quirky reporter/columnist who is totally freaked out about what's going on. That should be more fun.


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## J.T. Chris

I'm working on a new short story right now, but the words that are coming out of me are stale and I don't think it's amounting to much, so I might abandon it and write something else.


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## Infantryman 26015

Well, I am working on a project that I've named the "Benzylite Skirmish" but so far I'm trying to see if I can change the name of it. Essentially Cold War gone hot between two rivaling factions, the Copiis Confederacy and New Munisa. Its a collaborative project that I'm working on with someone else, using video games for images of troops and equipment.


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## Rojack79

Let's see currently working on the outline for "The Sword Saint Saga". Had to do two separate rewrites just so the outline made better sense. Back up to chapter nine and counting. I might try to work on some of my spin offs and other side projects just to get some variety in there today. Other than that I'm hoping to be able to relax today.


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## JJBuchholz

Currently working on a new story in my 'Birds Of Prey' series (based in the Babylon 5 universe) that highlights the rise of an Earth Alliance president who had his predecessor assassinated to gain office. The story deals with the new laws ad organizations the president has created to bolster his influence, as well as some of the black projects he has going on in the background that he'll one day use against any and all that oppose him.

The working title for this story is 'Dark Sphere'. I am five scenes in, and proud of the way it's going, even though it's slow work.

-JJB


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## J.T. Chris

I'm getting very inspired by these Lean and Mean challenges. I'm working on a few of the prompts.


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## Ralph Rotten

For the last 3 weeks I have been getting up at my usual 0400 hrs, and surfing the internet. Sometimes I play some VR games or watch Netflix.
But I have not been writing.
Just been too demoralized over the new release.
The book I am releasing on Nov 12th is set to be my biggest flopper yet. Pre-sales are in the toilet, and that's with 2 full ad campaigns and a lotta social media.
Ming the Merciless is on course to be my worst selling book ever.

So I just have not felt like writing anything for a few weeks.
Some books sell, and some books flop like a fish.
It's just hard to write a new book while you watch the previous book spiral into the ground.


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## Dluuni

Just about ready for ARCs, trying to work out how to do them..


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## BornForBurning

> So I just have not felt like writing anything for a few weeks.
> Some books sell, and some books flop like a fish.
> It's just hard to write a new book while you watch the previous book spiral into the ground.





> Sometimes I play some VR games or watch Netflix.


This is tentative advice because you've had much more experience in this industry than I have, but I find that video games and TV tend to be a drain on my creativity. It's a self-destructive coping mechanism. If I really can't write, I find the best thing to do is to just go out and _do _things. Fix the car, lift, get the hands dirty, go to concerts, basically have an adventure and forget about writing for awhile. That always gets me rejuvenated. Creativity isn't something that can be grasped. 
Sucks about your book, regardless. Might be a sign that people are moving away from self-aware camp and moving towards unironic, dead-serious camp.


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## EthanWarwright

Not sure if this place is for everybody, but I'm working on a short story called _Trapped and Bleeding_. Currently I've written two chapters out of a planned four, and they have both been published via my wattpad account. If anyone is interested in talking about the details of the story itself or wants to have access to what I have so far, I'd be happy to talk about it in the PMs or wherever works best.


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## NeutralGoodNormie

I’m currently working on a heroic-fantasy comic (I’m the writer). It’ll be the “Japanese high-school student gets sent to a fantasy world” kind, except it won’t be all Marty-Stu-harem-wish-fulfillment like a lot of OTHER stories of that vein that you can find out there.


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## Irwin

I spent an hour or so this afternoon playing my guitar through my amp, which I haven't done in years. I'd been trying to use amp modelers, which don't have anywhere near the sweet tone of a real amp. It got me thinking about maybe writing some news songs and doing some recording.


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## EthanWarwright

I'm working on a couple of things right now, but I'm not really doing much since I'm currently occupied with other things in my life. First, I've been playing around with a concept I had for a novel-length story involving a dystopian future. I also have a concept for a shorter story involving a group of men who attempt a rob a bank. The idea was that each man had their own personal reason for wanting quick cash. Finally, I've given some thought about a story revolving around a person from the past, preferably involved in some major historical event, being frozen in time only to be thrust into the modern world.


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## Dluuni

Guest blog post about my novel, today. After that, I'll do some editing.


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## Xango

I'm working on editing my 2nd draft. It still feels very "First novel," which it is, but I want it to read like "Second novel" at least haha. For anyone who's curious, it's a YA Fantasy.


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## EthanWarwright

I have an idea for a story involving a group of people robbing a bank. Each of them has a reason for wanting a large amount of cash (massive debt, family illness, etc.)


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## Tomkat

Short Stories over short stories while struggling to get back to work on my "lengthier" project.
And what to do with all these short stories anyway?


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## Ma'am

Tomkat said:


> Short Stories over short stories while struggling to get back to work on my "lengthier" project.
> And what to do with all these short stories anyway?




Ahem... https://www.writingforums.com/threads/184091-Lean-and-Mean-Prize-Flash-Fiction-Challenge


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## Tomkat

Aye, I got some flash fiction I may try to put in there. Thanks Ma'am, I'll check that thread out!
Most of the rest goes past the 1000 words limit, I've recently started cycling them through online magazines.


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## meinyetigerhundbaerwicht

I'm working on a short story project, together with a friend. Someone gave us 10 words as topics for 10 short stories; the words are kinda obscure, like 'phobophobia', not exactly the type of word you would drop in a regular sentence. Once we're finished, we'll compare the stories. Even though I've only written two so far, I couldn't be more excited because I drew inspiration from a Deaf Havana song and was actually able to catch the vibes of the song with my stories. On top of that, the stories are all connected, like jigsaw pieces: you need every piece to understand the whole story.


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## Ralph Rotten

I have been working on web sites, helping other Indies release their books, writing book blurbs, posting reviews, and other such marketing work.

I think I might get up early tomorrow morning and write something new.
I had not written anything for the last month because I am starting to believe that books are on their way to being extinct. Seems like less people are reading books...everyone wants to watch videos or movies.

So, my next piece will be written specifically to be a script for Indie film. I have found several CG film makers who I feel make quality movies, and I will try to interest them in a regular series. 

The new storyline is based on the observation that people really enjoy shows where you put a group of interesting characters in a space ship and let them fly around and do stuff. Star Trek, The Expanse, Dark Matter...these are just a few of the shows that fit this format. 

So tomorrow I start writing very short episodes based on that format.


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## Theglasshouse

Ralph Rotten said:


> I have been working on web sites, helping other Indies release their books, writing book blurbs, posting reviews, and other such marketing work.
> 
> I think I might get up early tomorrow morning and write something new.
> I had not written anything for the last month because I am starting to believe that books are on their way to being extinct. Seems like less people are reading books...everyone wants to watch videos or movies.
> 
> So, my next piece will be written specifically to be a script for Indie film. I have found several CG film makers who I feel make quality movies, and I will try to interest them in a regular series.
> 
> The new storyline is based on the observation that people really enjoy shows where you put a group of interesting characters in a space ship and let them fly around and do stuff. Star Trek, The Expanse, Dark Matter...these are just a few of the shows that fit this format.
> 
> So tomorrow I start writing very short episodes based on that format.



Good luck with that. I am trying to learn fiction by writing movies first. Taking a class with no feedback. But I think I got my money's worth since it recommended I buy "story " by mckee. I know it is subjective opinion. The business of screenwriting is tough. They recommended me Goldman's books for that. "The screenwriting trade", "which lie did I tell?" I also might buy again Stephen king on writing it good kindle. I read it fast and books should be read slowly. It's been 3 days reading the same book. It has 465 pages ( story by mckee) That is in the syllabus. Since writing can be a solitary act. A writer needs a lot of motivation. Even bird by bird was recomended. Becoming a writer as well. I need to watch 9 films and to do that I need to buy these.


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## JJBuchholz

One of my works of fiction has stalled, so I'm working on another short story for the time being. The plot is as follows:

A man named Richard who is very much in love with his girlfriend of several years, Delilah, has resolved to do something
extra special on their anniversary of the day they first met, which is Christmas Eve. After visiting the big Christmas tree
in downtown Toronto, Canada, Richard has gone and purchased train tickets to take Delilah to see the massive Christmas
tree at the Rockefeller Centre in New York City. (Delilah LOVES Christmas trees)

Even though she trusts him completely, her curiosity is peaked when she finds out about the train tickets from her best
friend, who had run into Richard the night before at the station. Delilah eventually finds out that the tickets are for a 
trip to New York City, but doesn't know about the Christmas tree, nor the fact that Richard intends to propose to her
under the tree just in time for Christmas Day.


-JJB


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## Irwin

Working on some song lyrics right now, although that's purely for my own entertainment. There's no chance in hell I'll ever sell a song. At least with books, if you have something good and can get the word out, you can make a few bucks. I can write a song in a month, whereas books take eons--for me, anyway. I need to practice writing more so I can do it faster.


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## Sir-KP

The more I polished my focused WIP, the more I'm sick of it, the more the other story idea grows in detail. 

Now I'm polishing and writing the other.


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## Ralph Rotten

Sir-KP said:


> The more I polished my focused WIP, the more I'm sick of it, the more the other story idea grows in detail.
> 
> Now I'm polishing and writing the other.




I know that feeling!


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## Dan Rhys

Mainly trying to enjoy my brief break before I teach a winter session English course. I am also trying to fill in an outline for my third novel--it's a part III to my series, but thus far, only the part II has been published. I hope to get the first one out within a couple of years.


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## JJBuchholz

JJBuchholz said:


> Currently working on a new story in my 'Birds Of Prey' series (based in the Babylon 5 universe) that highlights the rise of an Earth Alliance president who had his predecessor assassinated to gain office. The story deals with the new laws ad organizations the president has created to bolster his influence, as well as some of the black projects he has going on in the background that he'll one day use against any and all that oppose him.
> 
> The working title for this story is 'Dark Sphere'. I am five scenes in, and proud of the way it's going, even though it's slow work.
> 
> -JJB



Fast foward three months, and 'Dark Sphere' is finally complete! I was on a tear this past week, writing for three days (and nights) almost non-stop in between work and such. Happy to have it done, after the project stalled a week after I started it. 

Better late than never!

Until a new story idea reveals itself to me, I'm working on another memoir.

-JJB


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## indianroads

Working my way through the second editing pass of my Deviation novel (#4 in the Extinction series).
I also have a cat in my lap who wants attention.


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## Cephus

Down to the last 2 chapters of my most recent book, first of a trilogy or quadrology, depending on which way I decide to go. I'll have it wrapped up in a day or two, then it's back to editing another book.


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## tepelus

I uploaded my MS to Google Docs the other day and used the grammar check to point out things to fix (and ignore what wasn't helpful). I need to work on my query letter; I've been thinking for weeks as to how to write it but I just don't know how to go about it. I wish I had someone who has read my MS and knows something about writing these letters to brainstorm with. I guess it's just one of those things you have to figure out on your own. About a week ago I read through many of the query letters posted and critiqued on Query Shark to give me some guidance. I should go back there and read through a few more.


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## Irwin

I had an idea for a new poem
last night while drifting off in bed.
No need to grab a pad and write it down, I thought.
I'll remember.
And that was the last I heard
from that idea.
That poem, no doubt, 
would have been my ticket out of Palookaville.
I coulda' been somebody...


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## Sir-KP

Sir-KP said:


> writing the other.



Following to this, I really focused on writing the second WIP at the end of the year. The idea poured heavily. I also noticed I did something (that was written years ago) that I never thought I did. 

I found more problems in my writings, usually about the speech tags and the flow between sentences, for example: "X [did something] and then [did something]. Not long after, X [did something].... etc."

By January, things get slowed down. Mainly because I'm at what I call as the 'joint' part. It's blank - and if it is, then there would be nothing to trigger the next events. 

Currently making way at snail pace at 24,600 words. I'm guessing (and hope) this will have more word count than the first WIP.


Oh... and I also have written down two endings for the second WIP on my scratch pad.


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## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord

I just now finished a first draft of novella; 26,000 words, happy with it for a first draft. I don't think I've ever finished anything longer than a short story so woo.


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## Taylor

ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord said:


> I just now finished a first draft of novella; 26,000 words, happy with it for a first draft. I don't think I've ever finished anything longer than a short story so woo.



Congratulations!!  How will you publish it?


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## Irwin

Developing my style for a graphic novel. I haven't drawn anything for over a decade, so I'm a little rusty. Plus, I'm going to draw on a tablet, which is somewhat challenging, although mistakes are more easily corrected.


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## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord

Taylor said:


> Congratulations!!  How will you publish it?



Well, it's just a first draft, so it needs some beta-ing and revising first! But I'm looking at speculative markets (it's adventure/horror).


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## Taylor

ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord said:


> Well, it's just a first draft, so it needs some beta-ing and revising first! But I'm looking at speculative markets (it's adventure/horror).



Wonderful...good luck!


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## indianroads

I just completed the first draft of my next novel - Destination, Extinction -5.  It came in at about 105K words - it's lean in some areas and heavy in others, so I should easily get it shaved down to ~100K. I'll take a break for a couple days, then start hitting the editing passes.

Feeling good right now.


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## JJBuchholz

THREE current WIPs right now (gah!), with one just getting finished a little while before I wrote this:

1) One of two new installments in my 'Temporal Flux' series of short stories. This one focuses on a parallel universe that is created along the prime universe after a cyborg is sent back in time to stop a war before it starts, but malfunctions and accidentally falls into the hands of the man who invented the cyborg, setting in motion a chain of events that enables the parallel universe and changes history.

(Temporal Flux is about a time-travelling agent of the Temporal Enforcement Bureau, set
in the 27th Century, when mankind has learned to harness time travel, albeit in a controlled way. The main agent fixes paradoxes and restores the time line when something takes it off-track)

2) Second of two installments in my 'Temporal Flux' series, in which the primary agent finally goes after his love interest (a staffer in the Bureau), who ends up getting thrown through time in a accident. He time shifts from period to period to find her, and when he does, informs her that only one of them can make it back to where they came from, meaning there will be a sacrifice. Love, as well as loyalty to one's work and honour will decide who lives and who dies.

3) A new installment in my 'Urban Sentinel' series that sees a reference to a terrorist organization (that retreated in a past story), that has resurfaced, and with grave implications for most of the world this time, not just Lake City. This story serves as a lead-in to a novella-sized adventure (yet to be written) that will complete the "Foundation Arc" that I have been writing into the series for the last little while. I finished this lead-in earlier.

Whew.

-JJB


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## Chris Stevenson

I'm working on marketing and submissions right now, plus a hefty dose of review pitches. I'm getting very tired of doing this, after a straight year, and I'm now considering writing a new book. I've sold five books in just the last year to independent publishers, and I'm still not out of inventory. But my agent wants to keep two of them and keep subbing those off to the larger houses. So, I guess it's time I got in the cave and buckled down. I haven't written anything new in three years.


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## indianroads

I recently finished the first draft of my next novel, so I updated my website today, and will take a day long ride on my motorcycle tomorrow.

Then... the editing begins in earnest.


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## noisebloom

I'm 20 pages into the first draft of a novel I've had in my head for ~5 years. I spend a lot of time thinking about the future; my profession (software engineering) and my thoughts about how I believe society will change are the main influence for the novel:

_I spend each day crafting and refining the world of Park - from the inside. Park is more than a mere virtualization of your day: one can feel the tickling touch of a patch of grass and smell the soothing scent of lavender. A monotonous 8 to 5 accounting job can be worked on the glittering beach of a tropical island. __Park enables reproduction within the world via automated seminal exchange; your children grow up in a world without boundaries or danger.

_The protagonist's wife starts to question the reality of Park, i.e. if their child is _real_, and this paranoia kicks off the plot of the novel.

I'm a little worried that I'm going to finish the first draft and get burned out; this happened with a novel I tried to write years ago, and I never finished it. Here's hoping for something to change!


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## RD Meyer

Finishing up some of the administrative work with publishing my newest novel, Schism.  It's about a 2nd American Civil War based on the current political climate.


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## noisebloom

In the midst of trying to make progress with my novel, I've found myself writing scripts for short graphic novel stories! I have a 5-page and 6-page in the works, collaborating with a couple of illustrators. As a long-time fan of graphic novels, I'm very excited, and it's proving to be a welcome diversion to the pile of long-term work which is my novel.


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## Lovecrafter

Ralph Rotten said:


> So likely each of you are busy organizing words into a pleasing sequence (writing) so I thought I'd give y'all a chance to toot your own drum and tell us all about whatever you be working on currently.
> 
> So, whatcha working on these days?



Currently working on The Outer Souls, my cyberpunk/biopunk/Lovecraftian space opera. 

Yes, I over complicate my life.


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## JJBuchholz

Well, I still have two outstanding WIPs that have stumped me for the time being, but in the meantime, I have dug up several manuscripts from many years ago, and have decided to edit them and bring them up to my current standards before re-releasing them.

I also plan to start yet another WIP when the above mentioned project is done. I have ideas, yo.

-JJB


----------



## Sir-KP

Recently taking a look at my first work again to polish and adding back some scenes that were trimmed or cut after months of considerations.

In the meantime, the second story is put to rest. There are still a lot to write and it's very interesting to compare with the first one. My second story is at 30k-something words and still in the beginning part, while the first one packed 43k and a few hundred words for full story. Too many things shaved.


----------



## thethreetearedeye

Right now, I'm working on a not too serious horror book about predatory storm clouds. Other than that I've been outlining the next seven books (8-14) in a series I've been working on. And on top of that, I've been working on the beginning of a final book in a trilogy. Its a lot, and it was a lot easier to work on all this when my day job was lax on quarantine stuff. It sucks that the district I work in has decided I'm now essential.


----------



## Twisted Head

Outlining my current story which is a female heroine butt kicker... she just doesn't know it right now.


----------



## Ralph Rotten

I have been goofing off, playing video games, smoking weed, rubbin' one out...
Everything but writing.
I have taken hiatus before. 
I like to set aside my writing for a while and just observe the world anew.
Re-calibrating the sensors.

But the last thing I was working on was about an asshole who invents a time machine and causes problems.
I set it aside because the character was just too tame.
I caught myself writing an inoffensive character. Uggghhh.
I need a WTF kind of character, I need Ash meets Sasha Baron Cohen.
It'll come to me. Sometimes a project just needs additional processing time.


----------



## luckyscars

Biro said:


> Ralph I am not in America and 'Rubbin one out' may have an interesting meaning where I am.................What does it mean in America?:concern:



In the US, it means wanking.

In the UK, it means using an eraser or other instrument to remove pencil from paper, or wiping a dry-erase board maybe.


----------



## Joker

I'm writing a novel about a witch clone who works as a bounty hunter of monsters in a cyberpunk science fantasy world and gets roped into fighting the corporation that created her by a funny hacker. Oh and her "mom" was the project leader and the one who hired the mercenaries who killed the hacker's dad for finding out about it.

Yeah, it's weird.


----------



## Turnbull

I'm working on so many things...mainly trying to sell a couple of short stories in the hopes of publishing something this year.


----------



## Ladywriter

I'm working on a young adult Christian novel.


----------



## Ralph Rotten

Ladywriter: I'm interested what goes into a YA Christian novel. Never having read one, I've no idea how they are laid out. Are they like a Harlequin with all the dirty scenes cut out, do they follow a biblical progression, what are they all about? What makes a book a Christian book?


----------



## Joker

Ralph Rotten said:


> Ladywriter: I'm interested what goes into a YA Christian novel. Never having read one, I've no idea how they are laid out. Are they like a Harlequin with all the dirty scenes cut out, do they follow a biblical progression, what are they all about? What makes a book a Christian book?



Speaking as an anti-religious agnostic myself,

I don't think Christian fiction necessarily has to have an overt Christian message. For example, one of my favorite bands, Evanescence, was confused for a Christian band early on because the themes of many of the songs dealt with typical Christian subject matter: fear of damnation, forgiveness, redemption, that sort of stuff. It didn't help that two of the band members met in a Christian youth camp. They later clarified that they weren't a Christian band per se, but the influence is still there and you could still kinda label them one, in a roundabout way.

I'd argue that certain works like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Exorcist are Christian fiction, even if not explicitly so. I also don't think you need to be a Christian to enjoy these pseudo-Christian works. Hell, even Superman has a lot of Christian symbolism, and he's an alien!


----------



## Taylor

Joker said:


> I'm writing a novel about a witch clone who works as a bounty hunter of monsters in a cyberpunk science fantasy world and gets roped into fighting the corporation that created her by a funny hacker. Oh and her "mom" was the project leader and the one who hired the mercenaries who killed the hacker's dad for finding out about it.
> 
> Yeah, it's weird.



What an intriguing plot!  I love the twist about the hacker turning her against her maker.  But why would her mom hire mercenaries to kill the hackers dad for finding out about it?    She wanted the hacker to continue his work?


----------



## Joker

Taylor said:


> What an intriguing plot!  I love the twist about the hacker turning her against her maker.  But why would her mom hire mercenaries to kill the hackers dad for finding out about it?    She wanted the hacker to continue his work?



Well, she doesn't exactly need any turning. She already despised her mother for treating her like a piece of lab equipment. But he does convince her to seek revenge.

Also, the merc company, Bloodhound, is on retainer for ExoGen, the evil genetics company.


----------



## Taylor

Joker said:


> Well, she doesn't exactly need any turning. She already despised her mother for treating her like a piece of lab equipment. But he does convince her to seek revenge.
> 
> Also, the merc company, Bloodhound, is on retainer for ExoGen, the evil genetics company.



Ah, now I know what you mean by the "project leader".   Sounds like a high tech thriller.    I love complex plots with industry and emotional trauma woven together...


----------



## Joker

Taylor said:


> Ah, now I know what you mean by the "project leader".   Sounds like a high tech thriller.    I love complex plots with industry and emotional trauma woven together...



It's fantasy meets cyberpunk. I hope it's a unique setting because almost all science fantasy is just Earth in the future.


----------



## Chris Stevenson

Working on the very last proof of my trad book. This is the ARC copy and it isn't too bad so far. After four editing passes, it's been cleaned up quite a bit from the original.


----------



## Taylor

Joker said:


> It's fantasy meets cyberpunk. I hope it's a unique setting because almost all science fantasy is just Earth in the future.



Ok that's interesting.  I had never heard the word "cyberpunk" before.  I was just reading the definition on Wikipedia.  Sounds like dystopia is a must to get that frightening feeling by which the characters navigate through life as part of or using advanced technology. 

They do site Blade Runner as an early adopter.  It takes place in space and LA in 2019.  How funny that we are already past that now!   

It must be very creative as a writer to be able to mold your own unique world.   One of the things I struggle with is trying to make my dialogue, jargon and settings realistic.  I wonder if fantasy/cyberpunk writers have these challanges as well with certain expectation of the genre.


----------



## Joker

Taylor said:


> Ok that's interesting.  I had never heard the word "cyberpunk" before.  I was just reading the definition on Wikipedia.  Sounds like dystopia is a must to get that frightening feeling by which the characters navigate through life as part of or using advanced technology.
> 
> They do site Blade Runner as an early adopter.  It takes place in space and LA in 2019.  How funny that we are already past that now!
> 
> It must be very creative as a writer to be able to mold your own unique world.   One of the things I struggle with is trying to make my dialogue, jargon and settings realistic.  I wonder if fantasy/cyberpunk writers have these challanges as well with certain expectation of the genre.



With the exception of Star Wars, I can't really think of any other science fantasy stories that aren't set on an alternate Earth. Star Wars is a pretty big influence of mine, but it isn't dark enough to be cyberpunk. As far I know, I'm alone in mixing cyberpunk and fantasy and not having it be Earth. I'm sure someone else has done it at some point, but I don't know of it.

Well, I kinda just pick slang from a bunch of different things and mash it together. As for setting, I just mix real world cultures as I see fit. There's no elves or dwarves, just humans, so that makes it easier.


----------



## Taylor

Joker said:


> With the exception of Star Wars, I can't really think of any other science fantasy stories that aren't set on an alternate Earth. Star Wars is a pretty big influence of mine, but it isn't dark enough to be cyberpunk. As far I know, I'm alone in mixing cyberpunk and fantasy and not having it be Earth. I'm sure someone else has done it at some point, but I don't know of it.
> 
> Well, I kinda just pick slang from a bunch of different things and mash it together. As for setting, I just mix real world cultures as I see fit. There's no elves or dwarves, just humans, so that makes it easier.



That's great that you are unique in your setting.  And I like your title!


----------



## Joker

Taylor said:


> That's great that you are unique in your setting.  And I like your title!



Haha thanks. I just aped The Witcher. I might change it at some point.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Wrote 2000 words of ideas. This is a small character bio of my big brother. I have a plot situation that raises questions. Going to start it tomorrow. I was taking a free writing course. I also read one craft book I already owned that is helping with ideas I need for the conflict. I am not going to ruin what the story is about. This is my next project. I am in a free class by a teacher called ninjawriter. That was the prewriting. The real writing starts as I said tomorrow.


----------



## seigfried007

Been stuck in Hell since December. POV's still stuck in a super literary nightmare version of his childhood. Would like to get him out of there by the time NaNoWriMo rolls around.


----------



## EternalGreen

A better question is what SHOULD I be working on right now?


----------



## Cephus

Just crossed 35k in the third book of my current trilogy and I'm really starting to think that this thing needs to go 4 books. The last book ran 122k and I'd like this to be about the same, but the story just feels too big to finish at that word count.


----------



## ehbowen

Just finished a completed draft of a speculative theological romantic fantasy crime fiction novel, tentatively entitled _Guardian Angel_.

Also about 80% of the way through a screenplay trilogy (1st part essentially complete, 2nd part about 50%, finale about 75%) entitled _Incarnation_, about an actual angel born into a human family and the boyfriend she meets in high school. May (probably will) flesh the stories out into novels once I get them whipped into shape as screenplays.

Many other ideas, but mostly undeveloped save for a paragraph here or chapter there.


----------



## JJBuchholz

After a few weeks of my writing brain having turned itself off (without my consent!), I am back to working on the multiple WIPs I have open right now. It was very frustrating to not be able to write for an extended period of time, but I am happy I can continue.

With luck, I'll have two out of three sci-fi WIPs complete by the end of the week.

-JJB


----------



## Olly Buckle

I have never tried to publish or anything, but my recently qualified daughter is looking for a job and short of money. I know she is not going to take money from Dad for nothing, but I have just finished a short novel, so I have offered her a job entering me for competitions so I can get some credits (hopefully). I have been editing a bunch of old short stories and now I am moving on to poetry. I am thinking submissions to agents and publishers might also be a good idea, meanwhile she seems to be enjoying reading through everything.


----------



## Cave Troll

Main: A Sci-fi that takes place on an orbital ring around a planet just outside known navigated space. 
2nd: A dark Gothic style WH40k Lore inspired action adventure. 
3rd: A collection of (Adult) oriented fiction shorts, that ranges from modern day to Sci-fi.


----------



## Lee Messer

*Title: Moonchilde genre: Sci-fi/Horror. 2 novels 90k each. Working on 5 other books.*

I'm new here, maybe an hour old now. Looking for opinions on my work. I write Sci-fi/Horror, and Fantasy Horror genres. Two novels written, but I guess this is a good step to try before getting it sold. This is to be my last career. I have eight peer readers now, but they're slow to respond, and I write much faster than they read. I suppose that's why I'm here. It's good work as I'm told, but I need to be sure before I move on to the next book, or do any more submissions to agents.

My style is to create a dream-state immersion by pinpointing specific items in the settings to create perspective, but I leave character appearances purposely ambiguous until later. I deny the reader the ability to self-identify before putting them in the cockpit. I do this in order to force a relationship between the reader and the characters. The initial descriptions of the characters' appearances are secondary to the environment. This way when the horror plot comes, they cant get out of the cockpit to avoid the horror plot.


----------



## JJBuchholz

I have just started plotting a brand new story that has taken well over a year in revealing itself to me. Since last fall, I have repeatedly seen the image of a raven flash before my eyes, and in my mind. Only today after an evening walk (where I again saw the image of the raven in my mind) did it all come together. I also came up with a random name in my head a couple weeks ago - 'Fyers' - and didn't know what it meant.

Tomorrow, I will start my new story (and hopefully it's going to be big enough to be a novella) which is called 'Raven'.

It tells the tale, set in the modern-day, of a lone scientist who experiments with telepathy and telekinesis in his lab, shunned by his colleagues. In the process of an experiment, a local raven flies in through an open window and becomes part of the experiment. When all is said and done, Dr. Fyers ends up having the ability to telepathically communicate with the raven as well as look through the raven's eyes for short periods of time, while the raven itself (who takes the name 'Midnight') gains full sentience and intelligence, and can also communicate with Fyers telepathically.

They can also both use limited telekinesis between each other, and have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship, and what I guess could be called a 'combined consciousness'.

I am very excited at this new story and idea!

-JJB


----------



## Lee Messer

JJBuchholz said:


> I have just started plotting a brand new story that has taken well over a year in revealing itself to me. Since last fall, I have repeatedly seen the image of a raven flash before my eyes, and in my mind. Only today after an evening walk (where I again saw the image of the raven in my mind) did it all come together. I also came up with a random name in my head a couple weeks ago - 'Fyers' - and didn't know what it meant.
> 
> Tomorrow, I will start my new story (and hopefully it's going to be big enough to be a novella) which is called 'Raven'.
> 
> It tells the tale, set in the modern-day, of a lone scientist who experiments with telepathy and telekinesis in his lab, shunned by his colleagues. In the process of an experiment, a local raven flies in through an open window and becomes part of the experiment. When all is said and done, Dr. Fyers ends up having the ability to telepathically communicate with the raven as well as look through the raven's eyes for short periods of time, while the raven itself (who takes the name 'Midnight') gains full sentience and intelligence, and can also communicate with Fyers telepathically.
> 
> They can also both use limited telekinesis between each other, and have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship, and what I guess could be called a 'combined consciousness'.
> 
> I am very excited at this new story and idea!
> 
> -JJB



I can help you with this one. My book has telepathy as well. I explain it as nerve cluster within the frontal lobe. It's kind of like a brain tumor only benign. My term is called "Collective Subconscious". The part of the brain that does this is like a second thalamus that bridges the two hemispheres of the brain, but in the area that separates humans from animals. It also allows perception of probability within time. They get to have more insights into the consequence of actions, but more importantly, complex decisions. We should talk.


----------



## Joker

Still hammering out the nation-states of Veros.

God help me.


----------



## EternalGreen

I’m working on a new historical story about evil ghouls.

It’s set up North, in the tundra. Late Eighteenth century.


----------



## bdcharles

Rewriting key parts of my WIP1 (thanks BfB!  ), revisiting/adding to WIP2, and in general avoiding editorial duties for my paying clients.


----------



## EternalGreen

bdcharles said:


> Rewriting key parts of my WIP1 (thanks BfB!  ), revisiting/adding to WIP2, and in general avoiding editorial duties for my paying clients.



Paying clients, huh? How much do they pay you?


----------



## bdcharles

EternalGreen said:


> Paying clients, huh? How much do they pay you?



Umm, something like 0.003 US cents per word.


----------



## TheManx

I’m writing a white paper about hospital-acquired infections. Yeeee haw! 

It’s the kind of thing I would have sourced out before the pandemic, so I feel like I'm depriving someone. I'm not happy about it, but since things are so uncertain, I feel like I need to keep as much money as possible. Mouths to feed etc. etc. Oh well.


----------



## indianroads

3rd edit of WIP.


----------



## Tiamat

An ongoing, ever-changing process document related to wire transfers. Turns out, it's hard to write a good process doc when the people in charge keep changing the friggin' process.

Also a short story that I hope manages to be both literary and sci-fi, but right now every word of that story is like trying to pop a pimple that isn't ready yet.

Writing is _hard_, y'all.


----------



## Theglasshouse

A sad story which is based on real events that I eavesdropped from my family gossiping. I think it will generate interest. It's not a common plot or one I see often. It's an ongoing struggle that hasn't been solved which makes it good material. I just have to wait until I buy this book to make sure I get the sentence structure correct. Then I can use my science research to make it a science fiction story. I think I should talk to my grandmother more often about these things. It's golden material for stories by talking about these things that happen in the city. It's a small city so they know "almost" everyone (it's really a town, and they know the last names of lots of families).


----------



## lisamarie

hi iam a new member and im working on trying to express through writing!
just pen to paper and the ink flows from alot of inner experiances ive been through and what a wonderful inner sence of healing i feel from this!
i found myself on this forum something ive never gave a thought in the past but i feel this is benificial as its wonderful to see so much expression throught this forum! so if this is whats deemed as something iam working on then yes in a sence im working on learnign how to express regardless of my grammer punctuation ans spelling errors!


----------



## Bevo

I am working on improving my process trying different free writing apps. Previously, I wrote in word then transferred to grammerly to edit, took forever!
The program I use now is not an online app so very fast, it allows me to structure my E book from word one. As I go I am also editing. Now each chapter I finish is 90% the final product, from completion to Kindle in days now not months.

My new book is a continuation of my last, the same flow is there and I am enjoying it, 2-3000 words per day.

Cheers!


----------



## seigfried007

seigfried007 said:


> Been stuck in Hell since December. POV's still stuck in a super literary nightmare version of his childhood. Would like to get him out of there by the time NaNoWriMo rolls around.



Still here. Stuck in the exact same place, actually. Wasn't able to get any new writing done at all last month. Hopefully health issues and whatnot are fixed enough that I'll be able to get writing again. I'm a wee bit stuck on transitioning into the next scene though, and that's not helping at all. Also, subject matter goes from surreal and nightmarish to other flavors of surreal and nightmarish. Pretty severe gear switching, actually. Many hues and shades of heresy and blasphemy as it switches from a nightmare baptismal service to a strange afterlife of sorts and... eventually into a scene where my MC's gonna have a neat discussion on theodicy with a remarkably Satan-like alter personality. And confront the issue of his father not actually being God while still being a remarkably good figure to base a ton of religious allegory on.


----------



## Davi Mai

Finally finished my latest short story, "Ravenous". Just waiting on the cover designer to come back with revised cover, and then I will self-publish it into the universal cesspool, where it will join the others and sell about 1 copy per month. Lol.


----------



## JJBuchholz

JJBuchholz said:


> I have just started plotting a brand new story that has taken well over a year in revealing itself to me. Since last fall, I have repeatedly seen the image of a raven flash before my eyes, and in my mind. Only today after an evening walk (where I again saw the image of the raven in my mind) did it all come together. I also came up with a random name in my head a couple weeks ago - 'Fyers' - and didn't know what it meant.
> 
> Tomorrow, I will start my new story (and hopefully it's going to be big enough to be a novella) which is called 'Raven'.
> 
> It tells the tale, set in the modern-day, of a lone scientist who experiments with telepathy and telekinesis in his lab, shunned by his colleagues. In the process of an experiment, a local raven flies in through an open window and becomes part of the experiment. When all is said and done, Dr. Fyers ends up having the ability to telepathically communicate with the raven as well as look through the raven's eyes for short periods of time, while the raven itself (who takes the name 'Midnight') gains full sentience and intelligence, and can also communicate with Fyers telepathically.
> 
> They can also both use limited telekinesis between each other, and have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship, and what I guess could be called a 'combined consciousness'.
> 
> I am very excited at this new story and idea!
> 
> -JJB



I had a breakthrough today!!! I can finally see the bulk of the story in my head and on which direction it needs to go! 

1) Dr. Fyers is out. The main character with the alter-ego (The Raven) now has a name: Brandon Fyers.
2) Instead of having a supproting character that is human (originally Doctor Fyers), it is now a bird, more specifically a raven.
3) The MC's back story will explain how he came across a wounded raven while distraught after the untimely death of his then-fiancee (also the catalyst of him becoming a vigilante), and bonded with it.
4) The MC and the raven have the uncanny ability to sense each other's presence and act as one when the need arises.

Those are the main changes that I have come up with, as I am now back into writing said story and finally happy with the plot now. It might end up being the first in a mini-series, I'm not too sure yet.

-JJB


----------



## gwynth

Hello, I am working with my first finished story. I am translating it to a language required by a novel app. So far, I've been thinking of writing a story that can change the society standard towards gender roles; positively. I hope that I will finish it in no time.


----------



## Foxee

I am working on a flash fic for this month's Literary Maneuvers. After starting out with a draft that I liked, I'm steadily reducing it to glop. Hopefully it gets turned around in time.


----------



## VRanger

Last night I hit the end of a major scene in Chapter 12. It's a good ending point for a scene, but not the "raise the eyebrows" material I like for the end of a chapter. I look at the stat and I'm on 4300 words. I typically don't like to end a chapter with fewer than 5000 words. My general budget is 5000 words times 20 chapters is 100K words. Obviously that's a framework, not a mandate, but 100K words have to happen somewhere. If I start cheaping out on chapters, thinking I'll "make it up" on the next one, what if I don't?

So I'm looking at 4300, and I know my next major activity is much longer than several hundred words. So last night I thought up a bit of business that should cover 700-1500 words and move me along. Now I have to decide exactly how I want to handle it, but I'll wrap it tonight and move on to the next major action in the story.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

I have three projects going today (several others playing in the background). Oops, now four projects going (explanation below). 

I’m searching for markets, material for me and for my monthly FlashFictionFlash newsletter.

I’m working up a rough draft prompt or exercise idea (for a book I’m working on).

I’m working on an essay I began two years ago. It involves tons of research on my part and I have some good material that will likely be appreciated by those who follow writing histories. It’s important that I get this project finished soon (I've offered it to an editor and he wants it) but the trouble with any relatively “new” material it’s difficult to communicate the importance of the findings to a group of readers. I’m almost there, but not quite. Maybe another month or two to go on this one. 

As a result of this thread question, I checked something in one of my folders for some info and discovered a good essay I'd written a couple of years ago that's almost ready to go. So now I have four projects going today. I had to stop what I was doing to ask an editor I've worked with a lot if he might be interested in my latest essay find.


----------



## Tiamat

I'm struggling my way through a literary sci-fi piece about a human boy in a post apocalyptic world who is trying to save his robot father. And when I say "struggling," I mean I'm actually on WF right now to avoid working on it after I got bored with Facebook.


----------



## Foxee

Tiamat said:


> I'm struggling my way through a literary sci-fi piece about a human boy in a post apocalyptic world who is trying to save his robot father. And when I say "struggling," I mean I'm actually on WF right now to avoid working on it after I got bored with Facebook.


That sounds like something that could be a DUST short film. On You Tube. Don't look them up or you'll never get that thing written!


----------



## Bloggsworth

My spellin'


----------



## SueC

I'm working on the second book of a trilogy, based in Chicago, where I was born and lived until I was married at 18. Why I decided on a trilogy I'll never know, but I'm doing the best I can. Those who liked the first one said they can't wait for number 2. I am trying to introduce a villain, which I was told was sorely lacking in the first one, _There Came a Day. _Not an easy task, but I'm sort of in a blue funk right now, which lends itself to creating villainy. I hope anyway.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Working on a Sweetelle


----------



## luckyscars

Gothic romance / psychological suspense / bit of paranormal. Wuthering Heights meets Dracula type stuff. Lot of steamy corset ripping.


----------



## EternalGreen

A project that refuses to work. A post-revolutionary literary story about Mother Anarchy.


----------



## JJBuchholz

Currently working on a memoir about 2020.

-JJB


----------



## timothylgrills

Just working on working--I don't really know what I'm doing just yet.


----------



## VRanger

SueC said:


> I'm working on the second book of a trilogy, based in Chicago, where I was born and lived until I was married at 18. Why I decided on a trilogy I'll never know, but I'm doing the best I can. Those who liked the first one said they can't wait for number 2. I am trying to introduce a villain, which I was told was sorely lacking in the first one, _There Came a Day. _Not an easy task, but I'm sort of in a blue funk right now, which lends itself to creating villainy. I hope anyway.



Don't get talked into adding a villain unless that is _your _idea for the story.  This is a subject I've considered over the years, and coincidentally thought about just yesterday. I think we need more novels which are simply positive entertaining reads. I wish I felt up to that task.

I wrote a longer response, but I've decided to start a thread with it, where it might get wider discussion than it will here.


----------



## indianroads

What am I working on?

Just finished snow blowing the driveway.

Arguing with daughter #1 - I bought her son (my grandson of course) a free standing heavy bag to work out on. I taught him some kickboxing and self defense skills last summer, and he needs to practice... AND my daughter complains that because she works from home and her kids are doing the zooming school thing, that her boy is bouncing off the walls and driving her crazy. I thought the punching bag would help with his excess energy (he's 10). But noooo... that's violence and his father wants him to play soccer instead (but the team training is on hiatus and his dad is too tired after work to take him out). Sorry darlin' we live in a dangerous world and the boy needs to learn how to take care of himself... and chasing a bag of air around a field won't help him much.

Oh - and I'm working on the first draft of my next novel. I'm about a quarter way through, and it's going well.


----------



## BornForBurning

> that's violence and his father wants him to play soccer instead (but the team training is on hiatus and his dad is too tired after work to take him out)


This whole sentence just makes me angry. Let the kid wail on something. Me and my siblings used to beat on each other with 3-foot 1x1s (aka lightsabres) and we had the time of our lives.


----------



## Cephus

vranger said:


> Don't get talked into adding a villain unless that is _your _idea for the story.  This is a subject I've considered over the years, and coincidentally thought about just yesterday. I think we need more novels which are simply positive entertaining reads. I wish I felt up to that task.
> 
> I wrote a longer response, but I've decided to start a thread with it, where it might get wider discussion than it will here.




There is always a "villain", although it doesn't have to be an individual. All stories require conflict. Man against man, man against nature, man against self.


----------



## VRanger

Cephus said:


> There is always a "villain", although it doesn't have to be an individual. All stories require conflict. Man against man, man against nature, man against self.



We're also on about this in the thread I started because of this comment.  I don't want to be argumentative, but you're simply dead wrong. I've read plenty of stories with no "villain", even symbolic ones. I gave a couple of examples in recent comments in that thread. I wouldn't consider it worth the debate, except I'd hate someone to take a comment like that at face value and limit their imagination.


----------



## indianroads

In my WIP both main characters could be considered villains. One is an assassin - he kills people for money. The other is the director of the secret police that maintains government control over the people in the city - she can have them jailed or taken to a reeducation camp. 

Both believe they are doing the right thing. The assassin kills bad people. The director punishes people that jeopardize public safety.

What's a villain other than a person that works in opposition to another's goals? IMO we shouldn't be writing Snidely Whiplash cartoons, life is much more complex than that.


----------



## WailingDusk

Because I'm procrastinating on the final draft of my novel before it goes to the editor, I started a WIP last week to practice fantasy world building and expand on character voice for the next book in the series. Well, what started as a plan for a short story turned into a novel that I'm already 43000 words into... 

It was an unexpected surprise. The "voicyness" of the story got me hooked, and now I've fallen in love with these characters. Not only that, the plot just gets more interesting the more I write. 

After I'm done with this, I've GOT to get back on my other novel lol. It's been a writing year, that's for sure.


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## VRanger

I finished the chapter from my previous post on schedule and on budget (words). Today I got a start on the next chapter, the focus of which I hinted at to end Chapter 12. Now I'm at the step of Asimov's "I think and I think and I think", because I know in general what I want to happen, I need specifics. I'm about to introduce someone my characters hope will help them, but in reality not only holds a grudge against them, but has a tenuous grip on sanity. The simple plot is to have the "someone" pull them into a trap, but I want more than that. I want the "someone" to be a continuing source of grief for quite a while, so I have to go beyond the trap idea and think up more sneaky things that could happen. My problem is that logically for the set up, the trap needs to happen first, yet without warning my characters off from trying to further access the aid the "someone" could give them.

So right now I'm leaning back with a finger of scotch and pondering.


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## Olly Buckle

Getting my shortest stories recorded for my YouTube channel, I really hadn't realised how many I have, loads to go still.


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## JackSlater28

Trying to get beta readers for my finished science fiction story. Finding out why I'm failing so hard on getting any feedback on my queries to lit agents and publishers. Thinking of starting up a short story.


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## VRanger

JackSlater28 said:


> Trying to get beta readers for my finished science fiction story. Finding out why I'm failing so hard on getting any feedback on my queries to lit agents and publishers. Thinking of starting up a short story.



Getting agents and publishers to pay attention to new material is numerically better odds than hitting the lottery, but in practical terms, it's the same thing.


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## JackSlater28

vranger said:


> Getting agents and publishers to pay attention to new material is numerically better odds than hitting the lottery, but in practical terms, it's the same thing.



Yeah. You're probably right. It's still a lot cheaper though than paying for all those lottery tickets. Unless you factor in the cost of submitting your work via snail mail I guess.


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## Jan

I've started to work on a new story, It's been a long time since last I wrote something but I really felt like starting up again. In short, it's a fiction/fantasy story written in 3rd person. I have no idea if it's going to be a long or short, good or bad story but it's fun and I'm working on something again so it's ok.


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## Olly Buckle

Jan said:


> I've started to work on a new story, It's been a long time since last I wrote something but I really felt like starting up again. In short, it's a fiction/fantasy story written in 3rd person. I have no idea if it's going to be a long or short, good or bad story but it's fun and I'm working on something again so it's ok.



That sounds more like my way of writing, I have an ides of what it's about, but until I have written it ...  I find it hard to understand these people who say they have outlined the chapters and fleshed out the characters, and now they are writing it, only 55,496 words to go.  What the ????


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## Pamelyn Casto

Today I began a new essay/ article and it's a review and a recommendations list of various outstanding "how- to- write" books. Some of them are fascinating reading material in themselves. 

Today I was also asked if I would serve as editor for a new anthology and I'm likely going to say "yes" on that project. Right now I'm scrambling to see how much of my time I can free up . . .  quickly.


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## VRanger

I just wrote the line:
"It sucks to go into an encounter when your opposition is prepared by a clairvoyant."

Now I have to live up to it.


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## Taylor

vranger said:


> I just wrote the line:
> "It sucks to go into an encounter when your opposition is prepared by a clairvoyant."
> 
> Now I have to live up to it.



What does it mean?


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## Terra

My homegroup has invited Bruce Rice to our first meeting in January to talk about 'word choice', and we are to send him a sample of anything we've written so he can comment. The WIP I began at the beginning of 2020 has been resting since September, so I have pulled out the first chapter to review and tweak, and then forward to Mr. Rice. This is the next step for my words to become a book reality -- actually doing something with what I've written.


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## VRanger

Taylor said:


> What does it mean?



The clairvoyant can see the future, and will have warned the opposition of what my hero will do. So the "living up to it" part is figuring out how that's going to upset the hero's plans, and how he can overcome anyway. Any changes he makes to his plans should have already been foretold. It's a puzzle.


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## Taylor

vranger said:


> The clairvoyant can see the future, and will have warned the opposition of what my hero will do. So the "living up to it" part is figuring out how that's going to upset the hero's plans, and how he can overcome anyway. Any changes he makes to his plans should have already been foretold. It's a puzzle.



You have set yourself up with a challenge!  Enjoy...


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## VRanger

Taylor said:


> You have set yourself up with a challenge!  Enjoy...



If I don't come up with anything else, I do have an out. The clairvoyant in question cannot be relied upon by either side, so she could have lied. ;-) That's my last resort, though. I'm spinning the neurons in the meantime.


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## Taylor

vranger said:


> If I don't come up with anything else, I do have an out. The clairvoyant in question cannot be relied upon by either side, so she could have lied. ;-) That's my last resort, though. I'm spinning the neurons in the meantime.



That does add a new dimension, since your purpose for introducing a clairvoyant was for the future predictions.  Now you will need to create a pretty robust motivation for lying....hmmm...I'm intrigued.  It's an interesting twist and an original idea.


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## Pamelyn Casto

It could be fun for you to look into Cassandra, vranger. If you're not familiar with her, here's a speck of her story. She refused Apollo's advances and to get back at her he then "blessed" her with the ability to tell the future-- but no one would believe her about what she saw in the future. Spin those neurons!


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## VRanger

Taylor said:


> That does add a new dimension, since your purpose for introducing a clairvoyant was for the future predictions.  Now you will need to create a pretty robust motivation for lying....hmmm...I'm intrigued.  It's an interesting twist and an original idea.





Pamelyn Casto said:


> It could be fun for you to look into Cassandra, vranger. If you're not familiar with her, here's a speck of her story. She refused Apollo's advances and to get back at her he then "blessed" her with the ability to tell the future-- but no one would believe her about what she saw in the future. Spin those neurons!



That's a good one, Pamelyn.  I'm working with the Cumaean Sibyl, a priestess at the Oracle of Cumae. Apollo fell in love with her and offered her immortality. Not believing he would be faithful for long, she refused. He gave her immortality anyway, but not eternal youth. She eventually disintegrated into a handful of dust kept in a jar, with the whisper of a voice. 

So I can assume she would hold a grudge against Olympians. The story concerns a handful of surviving Olympians in modern times. I picked Sibyl because, as long as her jar hasn't been lost, she should still exist. I have her being possessed throughout history by a series of would-be moguls, whom she helps become mega-wealthy, then turns on and ruins. It's her game. All of that was established before I wrote the line above. I'm also assuming if she's existed for centuries as dust in a jar, her sanity is in question. So I have reasons for her to sabotage both sides of the disagreement.


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## Pamelyn Casto

Turns out we likely share a strong love of old myth, vranger. The Cumaean Sybil? A few years ago I read a brilliant novel on her  . . . who was it by . . . oh, it just came to me. It was written by Par Lagerkvist. You'd probably love that one if you've not explored it already. I'm also working on a poetry collection for myself where I write a poem to highlight each of the many gods in my two large curios. I've been collecting for years, they come from all over the world, and my curio cabinets get pretty noisy sometimes when they get to scrapping with each other.:-D  Get that novel written and I'll be first in line to get a copy! This is exciting to meet a writer who writes the kind of things I particularly like to read.


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## VRanger

Pamelyn Casto said:


> Turns out we likely share a strong love of old myth, vranger. The Cumaean Sybil? A few years ago I read a brilliant novel on her  . . . who was it by . . . oh, it just came to me. It was written by Par Lagerkvist. You'd probably love that one if you've not explored it already. I'm also working on a poetry collection for myself where I write a poem to highlight each of the many gods in my two large curios. I've been collecting for years, they come from all over the world, and my curio cabinets get pretty noisy sometimes when they get to scrapping with each other.:-D  Get that novel written and I'll be first in line to get a copy! This is exciting to meet a writer who writes the kind of things I particularly like to read.



The Sibyl. I just picked it up, and thank you for the recommendation.

Mythology is an interest for me, particularly Greek ... although in this novel I'm also pulling from more ancient mythologies. It's where I'm getting my bad guys from. I'll trade you an ARC of this book for your poems.  I just hit 65K words, so it's moving along. Barring life events and too much business getting in the way, I hope to wrap it up late January to February. Then it normally takes me about three weeks to revise and proof.


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## VRanger

I figured out two solutions to my puzzle. I started one as a false lead, then let the MC use the second for his solution. The first was a bit more nebulous, which is why I didn't use it to resolve the problem. The second one, as is the nature of puzzle solutions, seemed very obvious once I finally thought of it. LOL


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## Pamelyn Casto

They say whatever we do on January 1, is what we'll be doing the rest of the year. Who knows? 

Today I'm working on my Flash Fiction Flash newsletter. I usually send it out each 1st of the month (via email). I hope I'll get it out today (I likely will). The newsletter is a lot of work because it's not easy finding markets and contests and news about flash literature. But I manage to find good information. 

I have two wishes for this year. 

One wish is that magazines/ journal submission guidelines be kept short. Some take what seems like forever to get through. 

My second wish is that those who charge reading or entry fees would state that info up front. (I too often have to search out that info.) 

Will my wishes be granted? Likely not. But what's a new year for if not for wishing . . .


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## indianroads

Jan. 1, 2021 - working on the first draft of my 8th novel - chapter 16 of 28; it's going well.


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## BrandonTheWriter

Hey everyone.

I'm currently trying to work on some pieces of a Horror short I hope to start writing soon. At the moment I'm thinking of the characters & setting, jotting down ideas I have, then I'm going to have a shot at writing the first chapter. Just waiting for ideas to come to me rather than rush the process.

I haven't written anything in a very long time. With Working, and spending time doing mindless things like watching Netflix & Video Games, I have found myself not being as creative as I once was. I want to change that. I cancelled my Netflix yesterday to really motivate me to find new things to do!


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## Hector

I've wanted to write a lesbian romance for quite some time now, but I don't think I have watched enough relevant material on XVideos yet.


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## VRanger

Hector said:


> I've wanted to write a lesbian romance for quite some time now, but I don't think I have watched enough relevant material on XVideos yet.



The writer's curse of demanding the discipline of extensive research. I feel you, brother.

Twenty some odd years ago I read a proposition: "There is no movie that couldn't be improved by the addition of a lesbian sex scene." I considered this wisdom carefully, and decided I identified the exception to prove the rule.

"Patton".

Some might disagree. When he gave the speech in the UK, it might have been enlightening to follow a couple (or more) of the women in attendance home to illustrate them comforting each other in times of tribulation (or stimulation). Very 'touching'.

* * *

To change back to the subject at hand, I just scratched up to 2000+ words in Chapter 15 of my WIP. I started the evening at about 650, and the new material finished the scene. I even figured out another puzzle I set for my characters (ne ... myself). That's something I do a lot. I bring my characters up to a tricky decision and force myself to solve it.


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## Paularo

Building my blog in 2021. Working on link building


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## BrandonTheWriter

Some good news!

I have finished the first couple of Chapters of my Horror story. I honestly just felt super motivated on Saturday night and I am really happy that I've made a start. The beginning is the hardest part for me. I'm just currently trying to think of more ideas, and taking a bit of a breather before I go back to it again.

I can't wait to hopefully share it on here, but I won't lie I'm nervous to share my work. It has been at least 5 or so years since I seriously tried to write a story.


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## JJBuchholz

Finished another memoir yesterday, and am now trying to finish a short story that I started a couple months back. I got about 3/4 of
the way through, and got frazzled. I'll hopefully have it done sooner rather than later, so I can move onto the next project.

-JJB


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## Phil Istine

I'm currently working on a poem, though I have got stuck for the moment.


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## VRanger

Wrapped up Chapter 15 last night. 75% through this novel.


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## BrandonTheWriter

Never thought I'd say it, but I have a finished story on display in the Fiction Workshop & Showcase! Over 11,500 words apparently. Wow. I never expected so much to pour out of me.

I honestly feel very nervous with it out in the wild, but if there is just one person that enjoys it, I am pleased with that. I had an absolute blast writing it. A lot of late nights pounding away at the keyboard, and getting lost in my main character. I loved it. Really enjoyable. :victorious:

Now taking a well deserved break. Hope to write again soon when more free time comes my way.


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## Olly Buckle

Been investigating LibriVox, a forum that provides free audio books. I am signing up, about time I spread my wings a bit and visited another forum, I just come here, look things up from time to time and buy the odd present on Amazon, otherwise I might as well not have the internet   Foxee was here when I joined, but not many other regulars.


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## Kent_Jacobs

I'm working on a short horror story but progress is slow. I've decided to change it from 1st person to 3rd person to see how that changes my view of it.


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## The Cynical Philosopher

Just like with reading, I often have multiple things I'm working on as far as writing. (takes a deep breath)

The fourth installation of my _Incarnate _scifi series

Two standalone(ish) books taking place in the same universe as my Incarnate series (both taking places in different territories of the disunited states of America)

A standalone hard scifi about first contact with aliens

A non-fiction philosophy/science book about a theory of consciousness I have (a variation of, and extension to, the integrated information theory of consciousness a la Giulio Tononi)

Querying a finished manuscript about a multi-generational spaceship nearing its destination planet

Making Youtube videos; I have one playlist I'm making explaining the biochemistry of nutrition and metabolism and another playlist about quantum mechanics


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## BrandonTheWriter

Not working on a story right now.

Been jotting down some ideas and watching videos and such to get some inspiration. I don't want to force it as I have finished two stories recently. Burn out is a very real thing I have experienced in writing, I don't want it again.


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## JJBuchholz

Just finished a short story I had been working on for the past week. My next project that I will be starting soon is very ambitious. It's going
to cross over two of my series and their main protagonists, as well as use a few characters that belong to friends of mine (who have agreed
to let me use them for this story and tweak them slightly).

I've been wanting to do a crossover between my own series for quite some time, but didn't know how to make it work until now. Add in the
bonus characters, and this is going to be a lot of fun (and a lot of work).

-JJB


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## VRanger

Finished WIP Chapter 16 early this morning. I was determined to get it done, and it took me just about all night to grind out 1300 words. Sheesh.

I'm realizing there is a subplot I haven't developed enough. Luckily, I think I can go back, add a reference here, a few paragraphs there, and graft it on to what I've got. I may go ahead and do that before I tackle Chapter 17. I write toward 20 chapters, and the way some of my story elements have gone (like three chapters on something I thought might be a half chapter), I might be running long. We'll see.


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## Kent_Jacobs

I'm working on a short story at the moment called 'The Broken Tulip' or 'The Glass Tulip' or 'The Cracked Tulip' (haven't decided yet), although those three choices may change after I've finished. It's slow going at the moment. On some days I'm only finishing a paragraph. I'm concentrating on imagery to reflect the protagonist's worldview whilst also 'attempting' to weave in some subtext. If it doesn't flow right, it won't impact the reader as I want, so I'm painstakingly reading and re-reading it out loud from start to finish each sitting, using the tone of my voice to 'feel' my way through it, without inadvertently attributing with tone, something that isn't there. Between writing, I'm listening to 'The Books Of Blood' on Youtube and visiting here to read through the latest comments, contributions and new comers.


----------



## indianroads

Passed the 3/4 mark of my first draft of my eighth novel yesterday.


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## JJBuchholz

Turned my published story 'Spy' into a small series called 'The Operative' that is based on a government spy and the woman he
loves, not one to have a 'shag of the week' like James Bond might. These stories are much shorter than I usually write (they are
1200 words or less, compared to my normal stories which are 4500 words or more), and highlight the different situations that
a spy would experience while doing his job.

The idea to turn it into a series hit me the other day, and it's gone quite well thus far.

-JJB


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## druid12000

Currently writing a fantasy/humor story for my youngest niece, with her as the star. It's a lot of fun and I'm having a blast skewering some fantasy tropes along the journey. It's not something I intend to try publishing so I can experiment a bit.

I'm also cleaning up a couple of short stories, one of which I will be posting soon to get some feedback. It's sort of genre-neutral, doesn't really fit in any one but could be several.


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## Kent_Jacobs

The Glass Flippin' Tulip.


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## JBF

Sorting out characters for an eventual three-book slog.  In the meantime, a series of short stories and one-offs that establishes who they are, how they work, and why they do the things they do.  

Something of a self-inflicted developmental experiment, I guess.


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## Terra

I tend to squirrel from one writing project to another. I finally prioritized the projects and have been focusing on completing an erotic novella which I started in the spring after I bought me a real 'old fashioned' typewriter ... well, it's electric, so it's not That old fashioned. The story of Lillith is at chapter 3 on the typewriter, then will edit as I transfer into the computer. There are also two flash projects that I flip back and forth on so the squirrel is fed


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## bdcharles

Researching some ... ugh, I can't say it ... yet somehow I must ... I'm researching some marketing strategies.

Then I'm off to church to get frickin' _baptizd._


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## River Rose

bdcharles said:


> Researching some ... ugh, I can't say it ... yet somehow I must ... I'm researching some marketing strategies.
> 
> Then I'm off to church to get frickin' _baptizd._



Now that’s an interesting combination...


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## Monaque

bdcharles said:


> Researching some ... ugh, I can't say it ... yet somehow I must ... I'm researching some marketing strategies.
> 
> Then I'm off to church to get frickin' _baptizd._


I hope that goes well for you.


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## Foxee

bdcharles said:


> Then I'm off to church to get frickin' _baptizd._


I'm pretty sure that with all the restrictions this will be a quick blast from a super-soaker and you're good.


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