Sunday, March 1, 2015

Writing in Public - Year 1, Month 3, Days 23-28

Michael Salsbury
My adoption of Dean Wesley Smith's Writing in Public challenge continues.

Monday I wrote a post for How to Write Fiction on unreliable narrators (798 words), a journal entry (982 words), and a list of possible events that could happen in ASL story "The Ark" that I've been brainstorming (581 words).  That worked out to 2,361 words for the day.  While waiting on Windows 10 to install, I wrote  6 opening lines, 4 of which turned into paragraphs (238 words).

Tuesday I wrote in the journal (1,337 words).  I did something that's supposed to be good for you, and supposedly has science behind it.  That's to describe what your "best self" and "best future" look like.  You're to imagine it's 5-10 years out and you are looking at the person you've become and what that person's life is like.  After that, I wrote a post on Free-form Brainstorming for Novelists (1,283 words).  That post gave me material for the ASL Series blog so I wrote a post for it also (1,177 words).  I got 8 opening lines and 4 opening paragraphs in (202 words).

Wednesday I wrote 4 opening lines (73 words), a journal entry (840 words), and two posts for the Windows Desktop Administration Site (162 words and 528 words).  Updated my list of Software for Writers on How to Write Fiction.

Thursday I didn't manage to write much, just a journal entry (413 words) and an opening paragraph (73 words).

Friday I wrote a journal entry 638 words) I also made a list of all the assumptions I could think of that a reader might have about the ASL story "The Ark" based on other science fiction universes and stories, humans and aliens, etc. This generated a longer list than I expected (596 words), but will give me food for thought. I get to go over the list and decide which of the assumptions I'll deliver on and which ones I'll try to surprise the reader with.

Saturday I wrote a journal entry (398 words) and this post (754 words).  

Here are my notes from this week:
  • Things I Accomplished This Week That I'm Proud of:
    • Built and activated some tools to detect ransomware, should it infect computers where I work.
  • Major Lessons Learned This Week: 
    • When connecting a personal machine to the company LAN or WiFi, be careful about how much bandwidth your cloud storage, backup, and update/patch/upgrade processes might be consuming or you can receive the wrong kind of attention.
  • Meaningful Quotes: 
    • "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" - Leonard Nimoy, February 23, 2015
  • Inspirations:
    • A conversation with a coworker sparked an idea for a story about internet surveillance becoming an accepted thing for everyone.
  • People I'd Like to Meet: 
    • Leonard Nimoy - but after this week that will never happen.  He always seemed like a very nice, humble, and thoughtful person.
  • Inspiring People I Did Meet: 
    • Sara and Liz at the Winking Lizard in Grandview. They are always nice, welcoming, and fun to be around.
  • What Didn't Happen and What I Can Improve for Next Week:
    • Create character sketches for the boarding party members for The Ark, including the alien AI, and whoever's left in charge of the Prospect while the captain's away
    • Finish the basic plot for the ASL story with the working title "The Ark"
    • At least 1 post for Begin Brewing
    • At least 2 posts for Columbus Beer Scene
  • Biggest Outcomes I Wanted for This Week:
    • Write 10 opening lines, 1 paragraph, and 1 page - Partially Done (18, 8, and 0)
    • At least 1 content post for this blog not related to Writing in Public - Done
    • At least 2 posts for the ASL Series Blog - Partially Done (1/2)
    • At least 1 post for Windows Desktop Administration Site - Done (+1)
  • Biggest Outcomes I Want for NEXT Week:
    • Create character sketches for the boarding party members for The Ark, including the alien AI, and whoever's left in charge of the Prospect while the captain's away
    • Finish the basic plot for the ASL story with the working title "The Ark"
    • At least 2 ASL Series blog posts
    • At least 1 content post for this blog
    • At least 1 review on Columbus Beer Scene
    • At least 1 Windows Desktop Admin blog post
    • At least 1 Application Repackaging post
Below is how all the above activity turned into word count.

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THIS WEEK'S WORD COUNTS
  • Journal: 4,608 words
  • How To Write Fiction:  2,081 words
  • This Blog: 754 words
  • ASL Story - The Ark: 1,177 words
  • Opening Lines Written:  18 lines, 8 paragraphs, 513 words
  • Windows Desktop Admin blog: 690 words
TOTAL WORDS FOR THIS PERIOD: 9,823 words (avg. 1,637 per day)

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FEBRUARY 2015 WORD COUNTS

Novels:
  • Fully Invested: 0 words (notes and backstory)
  • The Alliance (series): 0 words
  • ASL - The Ark: 4,705 words
  • Alien Love Story: 0 words
  • Driven To Kill: 0 words
  • Local Gods: 0 words
  • The Black Eagles: 0 words
  • The Old Hotel: 0 words
  • Thief of Police: 0 words
Short Stories:
  • The Mimas Object (a story in the Alliance universe): 0 words
Non-Fiction:
  • Introduction to Application Repackaging: 0 words
  • Troubleshooting Windows Applications: 0 words
  • Amazon Product Reviews:  0 words
Blogging:
  • Alliance for Sentient Lifeforms (ASL): 3,993 words
  • Begin Brewing: 6,209 words
  • Columbus Beer Scene:  2,172 words
  • How to Write Fiction: 7,403 words
  • Introduction to Application Repackaging: 3,899 words
  • Windows Desktop Administration: 690 words
  • This Blog: 4,090 words
  • Guest Posts for Other Blogs: 0 words
  • Comments on Other Blogs: 623 words
  • Journaling:  12,726 words
Opening Lines, Paragraphs, Pages:
  • Opening Lines Written: 36 lines (1,150 words)
  • Opening Paragraphs Written: 15
  • Opening Pages Written: 0

FEBRUARY 2015 - TOTAL WORDS: 47,660 (avg. 1,702 per day)

YEAR TO DATE PROGRESS
  • Month 1 (December 2014): 20,754 words (669/day)
  • Month 2 (January 2015): 16,018 words (517/day)
  • Month 3 (February 2015): 47,660 words (1,702/day)
  • TOTAL WORDS WRITTEN: 84,432 words (938/day)

    About the Author

    Michael Salsbury / Author & Editor

    In his day job, Michael Salsbury helps administer over 1,800 Windows desktop computers for a Central Ohio non-profit. When he's not working, he's writing, blogging, podcasting, home brewing, or playing "warm furniture" to his two Bengal cats.

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