Check-in #5? What happened to 1-4? This is my first WIPMarathon Check-In for the December-January marathon because I didn’t write or edit a single word for my fiction projects in all of December, but I thought I’d number it to keep up with the rest of the people involved. December was busy for me with work, and I needed a break after being disappointed with my NaNoWriMo WIP. And the holidays. The month flew by, though, and now I’m going to try to get back to writing. I don’t think I’ll be as productive as I was in August or November, though.
Things I’m Glad I did in 2013: I finished my second completed manuscript (after burning out on an unfinished one in late 2012 and barely starting another in early 2013, I wasn’t sure I could do it again). I burned out on my NaNoWriMo one (which is still unfinished), but I’m glad I at least I got 50,000+ words done in another manuscript.
And I have news I’ve been wanting to share for months now, but I haven’t been able to. But it’s good news, writing-wise, that happened in 2013!
In 2014, I’d Love To Be/Do: I’m definitely finishing one manuscript, but I’d love to finish one or two more. Maybe tackle the two 50,000+ unfinished ones and figure out what went wrong. Also, I hope to go on submission (well, if the agent likes it and I don’t have to trash it ;-;) with the manuscript I finished in the August WIPMarathon this year. Edits come first, of course.
Last Check-in Wordcount + ChapterCount (+ scene count if you’re revising): 9591 words, 3 chapters. As you can see at my intro page, I had a lot of goals for this marathon despite not doing anything for the first half of it; it’s probably a bit premature, as I’m still waiting on feedback, but I wanted to work on goal #2, diving back into a YA fantasy I started over a year and a half ago. It probably won’t need to be a finished draft as soon as I once thought, though.
Current WC + CC (or SC): 14,947 words and 5 1/2 chapters
WIP Issues this week: I kept writing in present tense! I KNOW this is an issue and I correct it as I notice it and keep telling myself not to, but I keep writing in present. Wow. I’d only written in past tense before NaNoWriMo, and for that one, I felt it would be fun to try present tense and I think it suited the tone of the manuscript. It took me a short time to get used to writing in present then. I didn’t anticipate when I went back to writing in past AFTER A MONTH-LONG BREAK from the present-tense manuscript I’d subconsciously want to write in present still. Bizarre.
What I learned this week in writing: I’m having fun discovering the new nature of one of the characters in my WIP. Since the last time I wrote for him (about a year ago in edits, but I first wrote him two years ago during a first draft), something major happened in the story that would naturally change his character. I just didn’t realize how much so until I started writing him again. Interesting to discover, and definitely better this way!
What distracted me this week while writing: Work, shoveling endless snow, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
Last 200 words: Can’t share due to spoilers.
Amy McNulty 
Yayyy glad you’re back and with 5k to boot! Can’t wait to hear the good news you’re still hiding 😀
I’m sure you’ll slip out of present tense soon enough.
Good luck with all your goals this year!
And just in 3 days this week, too! I’m happy to be back!
I can’t wait to share it! XD But it’ll be worth the wait for me.
I hope so! Thanks, you too!
Congrats on finishing your ms! And congrats on the secret news whatever it may be 🙂
I used to write in past tense, until I tried writing in present tense as an exercise and now I can’t write in anything but.
Wishing you a spectacular 2014!
Thank you! I hope to share soon!
I think I might be starting to prefer present, but my WIPs need to stick in the past. That’s so weird, I never would have preferred present until recently! But I find myself writing in past for the WIP and thinking the present tense would have been more expressive.
You too!
Yay for progress! Welcome back! ^_^
I always have tense issues. I have a lot less in present tense though, so I haven’t tried writing anything strictly in past for almost two years.
Zelda is freaking awesome! I won’t give up my old Zelda game for anything. I don’t care if I only play it once a year. 🙂 Good luck with everything! You’re off to a really good start. 🙂
Thank you! I didn’t think present tense would be as easy to write as it was. So much so, now I’m almost regretting writing in past before this! But the WIP I’m working on needs to be in past.
Zelda is one of my favorite game series ever. I was pretty good about playing all the big releases until Skyward Sword. Two years later, I still haven’t finished it. I didn’t like the way you HAVE TO use the Wiimote to swing your sword. (I played the GameCube version of Twilight Princess so I could use a classic controller.) But A Link Between Worlds was so refreshingly similar to my fave SNES one!
Lol, I understand tense-jumping – my current WIP is the first I’ve ever written in the present tense, and I know there will be some slip-ups in there somewhere!
Can’t wait to hear what your news is! 🙂
For some reason it was harder for me to go back to past from present than it was to try out present in the first place! I’m starting to really like present as both a writer and a reader (and before Hunger Games, I don’t think I’d read anything in present tense). But I still have some projects that need to be in past, so I hope I get used to past again. Hope there aren’t too many slip-ups for you!
I can’t wait to share it! 😉 I’m not sure when it’ll be, though. I’m hoping very soon!
I can definitely see myself mixing up the tenses if I ever write something in present tense. Hope your brain gets used to past tense soon!
Me too! ;-; I didn’t foresee having this problem once I switched back. I’m actually preferring how present tense sounds! But this WIP needs to be in past.