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Sanderson's "Write About Dragons" Creative Writing Course


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@WriteNowDave it's up to you where you put your writing. The folder I set up allows you to create a document and you can place the words you want critiqued there in that document. But it doesn't have to be everything you've written. 

 

@Robinski oh just a little fair that dates back...hundreds of years. Sounds cool, hope it's fun. Maximize the day off and enjoy it! 

 

Do you guys, as a group, want to track our word count over the next few weeks? Just so we can see if we write more because of this course? It could be an interesting statistic to have access to.

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From my NaNo experience, counting word count has it's plusses and minusses. A comparison makes me write more, because I'm a competitive 'person', but does it make me write better? Who knows.

 

I've come down firmly on the fence (ouch!).

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@WriteNowDave it's up to you where you put your writing. The folder I set up allows you to create a document and you can place the words you want critiqued there in that document. But it doesn't have to be everything you've written. 

 

@Robinski oh just a little fair that dates back...hundreds of years. Sounds cool, hope it's fun. Maximize the day off and enjoy it! 

 

Do you guys, as a group, want to track our word count over the next few weeks? Just so we can see if we write more because of this course? It could be an interesting statistic to have access to.

 

My job blocks google gmail (but not docs????) so I can't access gmail to get the link. Would you mind posting it here again so I can click on it to open up the shared location

 

Word count? I'm blah about it. When I can scrounge the time I can write but the hard part is finding the time.

(Daddy Daddy! can you play with me?)

Sure thing... just a minute.

(Honey can you go to the store real quick and get me something completely random?)

Sure thing, let me just-

(Daddy! The cat is barfing on the bed cover again!)

Time to head out to the laundromat again :/

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I can't post the link to the public forum. If you get me another email, I can send it through there. Our work shouldn't be available for anyone to find & read unless we authorize it, so I have to keep it private.

As for word count, I found it extremely helpful for my growth as a writer in 2013. And it has only grown more this year. I'll go with the group as a whole, but I would like to do it.

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I'm about halfway through the first set of videos.  Good info on how to critique!

 

Started writing tonight...500+ words.  Thought I should write some more.  Checked again....900.  Got excited over the section I was writing...stopping at 1300 words for tonight.  Going to watch some more videos!

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Just finished video #6. On to writing, I'll include my count when I get there.

 

By the way, I agree, great thoughts on critiquing and the idea that writers write. We have a skill set we're perfecting, it doesn't matter what story we're telling.

 

--edit--

 

1200 words written. I'm feeling like most of this beginning will need some serious refinement. But it was good to get words on the page and get the ball rolling. 

 

Can't wait to hear more about how it's going!

Edited by Endurant Archivist
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Ah, this is great. October is a long way away, but certainly buzzing at the moment. The lectures are good, I like the bite-sized junks, shorter than Writing Excuses cast, nice and easy to fit one in when I have a spair moment from whatever.

 

2,148 words so far, got a good start yesterday with being on holiday - back to the 'grind' today. I have a meeting in the City at 10 which I'm all prepped for, so I will go to one of my Robinski-approved cafes and put some more words down, hopefully.

 

I've got no objection to scanning over things in the interim, but I think I'm right in saying that next Monday will be our first submission date?

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@WriteNowDave Write as much as you want, but for review, we're capping at 2000. I'd like to see us stay close to that for the beginning weeks.

 

Also, hand slapping is difficult over the interwebs. However–if necessary–I will issue hand slap emoticons to all involved, to be used as deemed needed. 

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Hey guys!

 

I've been invited by Endurant Archivist to join you (that happened a few days ago), and I've been toying with the idea since then. I finally decided that I cannot commit to it, because English is not my primary language, that would be Spanish for me. I can read or listen in english perfectly, I do read Sanderson's books in english, Terry Pratchet's and Patrick Rothfuss's too, and I've been re-reading most of the other books that I did read translated, but in the original language (if it happens to be English) because I can now understand it almost perfectly.

 

But, I cannot really express myself properly in English. Not yet. This mail cost me a ton of time to write. Words just don't come to me. So I'm gonna do what you do guys, but I'm gonna do it in Spanish, because that's a language that I can manage to write in a proper way. It would be great to take the classes with you, because having other people expecting your submission and growing at the same time that you do really helps, but for the moment language would be a barrier for me.

 

Why the hell do I tell you that? Because I have been invited and I thought that you deserve a proper explanation of why I want but can't join you, that's all :P Sorry if it's too long.

 

 

 

That being said, I also started the classes and I did obey Sanderson... I left the story that's been nagging me for ages aside and picked up a new one, somewhat related but just tangentially. I know what the story is about and I know some of the characters. I have not started to write it up yet but I do have 3 pages full of worldbuilding and character creation, that helped me to see that the character I wanted to be the protagonist is better suited as a secondary character, and one of the secondary characters was the actual protagonist of the story... So I'm adjusting to it.

 

The story is about the survivors of a world that was much like ours, but ten years ago changed drastically overnight, to the point where it seemed another planet altogether. People died of weird new diseases and only a handful remain, avoiding the new fauna and flora, trying to adapt to the new world, or find a way to make it roll back to what it was.

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Hey Helwar,

 

Totally understand what you're saying, that's too bad. For what it's worth, you're email is very clear (I've read less clear submissions on this site before over the year I've been a member) - but the investment of time is an understandable drawback.

 

I for one would be happy to exchange ideas and comments if you keep posting on this thread - if you're going through the course at the same time as the rest of us.

 

I like the sound of your story, it's intriguing. I'm a fan of post apocalytpic stuff, and I'm already interested to find out what effect could have brought such a change about and how your characters will cope with it.

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@Helwar I don't want to see you go, though I can understand why. Stay in touch at least with the group to let us know how your writing/learning is going

 

--edit--

 

533 words written and the lectures done for this week. 1200 words to go. Still figuring out the plot/character/setting mix. Took some time this evening to lay out other possible settings and characters, while leaving my overall plot the same. 

 

So...tired...need sleep...zzzzzzz

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Definitely not too late! Sent you the information you need, also, I updated the submission guidelines for some uniformity, go ahead and check those out.

 

Can't wait to start reading, I just got more writing done this evening. And my outline is complete.

 

This upcoming week, I think I'll try just discovery writing (DW) for as long as I can, to see how it goes. I've got a bare outline, so I'd like to just mess around with the concept of DW, which I've not tried super successfully. Anyone else a big DWer?

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Week 2, finally here. Almost everyone has their submissions up, so start reviewing and giving constructive feedback.

 

These lectures were excellent so far (3/4 done), some great advice on early writer mistakes. How BORING happens in writing. I'm especially excited by the strategies of showing not telling. Great stuff there, particularly describing through character's len's. 

 

Anyway, 2200 words written, chapter one officially started. Can't wait to start getting feedback. And I'm looking forward to reading all the stories you guys are coming up with!

 

Full steam ahead folks!  :)

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Hey i am surf fella's mate, although i just call him Kev. We are both pretty hopeless at technology and stuff. He has tried to up load my story… think it worked… anyway he told me i may need an account so as i stop living vicariously through his, in terms of this writing thing… so its 2000 and a bit words, i look forward to feed back.

 

Cheers 

 

Bob

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I'm at 4865 words at the end of what I consider the first chapter of my novella!

 

This is great, having this kind of "group" expecting you to grow and work with them is encouraging. I always thought about writing something serious, but never ended up doing it.

 

I was quite "blocked" at the start, and I would've surrendered long ago if not for the commitment of having three thousand words for today. But in the end I kept trying until the words started flowing by themselves, and then I couldn't stop at 3.000 ^^

Edited by Helwar
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I'm up to 8300 words total, so far.  I'll most likely be up to 10 or 11k by the end of this week.  Which just means I have to decide which part I want to submit and which to leave out.

...Or I can do like Robinski and submit almost 3000 words... ;)

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...Or I can do like Robinski and submit almost 3000 words... ;)

 

Ah, now, it's only 2,391 if you don't count the section that you've read already, which seems reasonable to me - and anyway, Erika only submitted 719, so I'm just using a little of her surplus..., and another thing, what about (mumble, mumble, mumble)..., hey, what's that out of the window?

 

<hurried exit.... stage left>

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To @Robinski as he points. "What? I don't see anything...Hey! That was 300 of my words!" 

 

Extra word count thievery from the surplus pile is allowed in moderation. I should clarify though, I've written about 8500 words total so far, so you may not steal from my surplus. Ha! Take that :)

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