Monday, September 15, 2008

Monday Morning WIP Open Thread

Good morning, campers!

What's everybody working on? It can be writing related, not writing related, whatever. If you've got something that needs doing, feel free to chime in.

I'm working on Eye of Horus and, if weather allows, house painting.

On Eye of Horus I'm preparing to board one of the u-boats that defected to Britain when the fey wiped out the German high command, most of the German army, and large portions of the civilian population. We're on our way to a midnight rendezvous with the French resistance and a team of Russian commandos. This is the stuff I've been really looking forward to since I outlined this book a year-and-a-half ago. So I'm excited to get to work on it. Oh, and because of deadline pressure on another project (sekrit till the ink is dry) I've got forty days to write the forty thousand words that will carry me through to the end of this book.

The house stuff I'm less excited about--it's mostly second story trim work--but it really needs doing and I finally got a hold of a long enough ladder to manage it.* So, if it's warm and dry enough I'll be spending an hour or two twenty-five feet up with a scraper, brush, and paint. I like climbing and I like the way the new paint job looks on the parts of the house that are finished, it's just the scraping and actual brush work I don't really look forward to.

That's my day. What's yours look like?

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*Thanks to Ben & Steph for a timely ladder loan.

13 comments:

Loves Pickles said...

Wow, forty thousand words in 40 days??? I don't write novels, but I do write other things, and that sounds like pure madness to me. To you, though, probably a walk in the park.

Good luck, mate!

tate hallaway said...

I have to pick up a toliet from Home Depot that we special ordered for our downstairs bathroom project. Before that I'm having a breakfast date with my friend Ember.

At some point today, I hope to get some writing done. I've got a lot on my plate. I'm about 50 pages into RESURRECTION CODE the Mouse/AngeLINK prequel, and I started BETTER DEAD THAN WED the next Tate book... plus, I've got a short story promised to an anthology I haven't even started yet as well as a book proposal chapter that's due by October.

It's Monday, all right.

Kelly McCullough said...

Pickles, no, not a walk in the park. Completely doable but I'm going to have to stretch to manage it.

Tate, oy, Monday indeed.

Anonymous said...

Monday Huh?

Work: I've got a section 42(m) application package to get together. Of course, if the financial markets meltdown, It won't matter, 'cause this affordable housing financing deal I've been working on for three and a half years might implode just a few weeks short of closing.

Home: We're going to rebuild the back end of our house (failed foundation under a porch and water damage) so as soon as we get the plans approved, I'll be soliciting bids from general contractors. We'll do all the finish work ourselves.

Writing: I've finished a 92,500 word sailing-ship fantasy adventure novel and need to polish the final draft, write a proposal, and query agents. I finished a new first chapter over the weekend, but the synopsis is kicking my ass.

I'm trying the blogging thing as well, though I don't know how ya'll can stick with it and get anything else done.

Anonymous said...

Today I'm going to make a concerted effort to hang my pictures on the walls. It's so bare in here!

I have been writing off and on - yesterday I managed to squeak in 750 words. Not a lot, but more than I had been getting in the last week.

Still have the office closet to sort through and organize. After that, I can come through and say, "I now declare this a house!" ;)

Good luck, Kelly, with those 40k!

Douglas Hulick said...

Kids are both in school today, so:

I'm fixing some earlier bits of exposition and the like in Hawthorn Queen, then trying to push forward into new territory. I should also do a bit more outlining to keep ahead of the game.

I need to make time to write the synopsis for Dust and Steel and get it out the door. Like David, teh synopsis iz currently kicking mah ass.

I really need to update my blog, but, eh. Maybe tonight?

Oh, and I have to clean at least one room in the house and do some laundry. Dinner needs to be figured out as well.

Have to call Mom in the hospital, too.

Right, off to fry an egg and get to work! (still hungry :)

Anonymous said...

Do what I've been doing: some more scenes should set up the glorious finale of Necessary Lies. Which is nice because I've worked on this book for freaking ever.

There's also the bloody Perl and MySql which is frustrating to download, not to mention working on it. <_>

Sarah said...

Writing: Lots of find and replace in Ian. Also redo a death scene of a character I killed off and then found a use for and saved, but no, he really had to die. (I'm an idiot).
Work:Philosophical conversations with three year olds.
Kids:Pick apart 80 braids.

Anonymous said...

What? It's Monday again? Frak.

Got spreadsheet jockying to do at work, and coming up with a suitable title for the next project. Plus more November-groundwork laying. I suspect Indesign and I are going to become good friends later tonight...

-kat

Kelly Swails said...

While the WIP is out with readers I'm visiting synopsis land, too.

Kelly McCullough said...

Progress reports, 1,500 words, a little bit of painting and a half the scraping I need to get done, so yay.

Dave, I hope your deal didn't explode today. Also, synopses suck, I feel for you.

Oh, and on synopsis suck front, my I also extend my sympathies to Doug and Kelly X.

Mari, congrats on getting back to writing. I hope you got your walls adorned as well.

Ryan, sounds like you're getting close. Yay!

Sarah, does that mean there's a beta copy in the works soon?

Katster, titles? Bleah. Not as bad as synopses but all too often not much fun. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

I only got one picture hung. But I did get some writing in (don't know how much yet), the curtains hung in the office and the office a bit more organized. It's coming together piece by piece.

Preston and I opted to take the day off and spent the afternoon in the clubhouse shooting pool.

Bill Henry said...

Vixens, sirens, y'know, the usual.