Write every day! - December 2020 - Day 2

[zwei_hexen]

Last night it snowed for the first time, so we're having a white winter at least for a bit - snow isn't uncommon in our parts (South west Germany) but rare in December. It's very comfy inside right now, with the fire going, candles burning, humans having chai and spiced apple bread and the felines dozing in their preferred spaces. What is your preferred way of getting cozy when it's cold or the weather is bad? Do you find it easier to write like this, or harder, or doesn't it make a difference?

Tally:
Welcome Post

Day 1: alexcat, badly_knitted, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, lferion, luzula, nafs, phrenk, sakana17, sanguinity, shadaras, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, thevetia, yasaman, ysilme (17/17)

Day 2: china_shop,

Let us know if we missed you or if you didn't check in for a while, so we can add you. Of course joining the fun is possible at any point.

~ ~ ~

ysilme here: the aforementioned family situation got mostly resovled already yesterday, which I hadn't expected or dared to hope for, and also better than hoped. Which is a good thing something entirely new and health-related came up today with my partner's mother which is stirring things up a bit. So for day 1 all I can report is an alibi sentence (although I spend most of the day writing comments and mails about the family situation, and today I got an alibi sentence in so far, but might not do much more. I definitely wouldn't mind a less "interesting" next year. ;op

sylvanwitch here: It was a long day of trying to prep lessons for online learning and coming up against repeated, work-related interruptions. *sighs* Still, not only did I add 920 words to my novel today, but I also started a new original short story as part of a virtual meeting of the student writers club I moderate. Yay for writing exercises bearing fruit!

Comments

[luzula]

Wordcount for 2nd of December: 600
Total wordcount on poly fic: 48,600

Hands hurt, short comment! : (

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, I'm sorry your hands are bothering you, and I hope the pain abates soonest! That's a great wordcount, though, both for the day and overall!

[ysilme]

*sends soothing vibes to your hands* Awesome word count, particularly in this case!

[badly_knitted]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that question. I have no heat at present aside from a small electric fan heater, and may well be without heat until the middle of January. Sleet and possibly snow is forecast, with highs of 3 C during the day. Right now I'm writing to take my mind off being cold, and knitting in an effort to keep from freezing.

Dec 2nd - 950 words, a 50 word ficlet and two drabbles of some description, one 200 words, the other 250.

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear this!

Given circumstances, that's a positively herculean wordcount! I hope you're able to keep as warm as you can.

[ysilme]

Oh my dear, what bad luck! I totally feel with you - we once had to spend a whole November in a badly-isolated house with no source of heating, at temperatures around and a little below freezing. We bought ourselves a mobilie camping heater so we could heat up part of one room at a time during the day, but eve with that it was really hard. To have just a small electric fan - oh dear. *shudders* I've also had no heating in my first room in Paris, where I spent two winters - but it was a bit warmer there on average, and I could always nip down six flight of stairs and back up to be warm for a couple of hours. But I was having my feet on a hot water bottle all the time, and came to really appreciate wristlets which I wore under everything I was wearting, even under hand warmers or fingerless gloves; they do make a difference. (Just a two to thee fingers wide knit and purl band of sock wool which should have at least 75% real wool, and knit tight enough it doesn't pinch but sits snugly around the wrists) And I consumed a lot of spiced drinks and food - hot Thai curries and chilies, Masala chai (the kind where you boil a spice blend without any tea leaves for 10min and drink with milk)and ginger tea made from slices of fresh ginger, also boiled for about 10min and served with some honey. Have lots of warming vibes and thoughts from us! And congrats to the great word count, which is even more awesome under these circumstances!

[cassini]

[im a guy who can be found holding a hot water bottle in his jumper throughout the winter. rn i really want one on my left shoulder cos the work-n-computer time is surely giving me some sort of nerve injury. lmeow, & nbd ]

[310 words for day 2, which is cool with me ]

[sylvanwitch]

Now you've got me thinking of muff warmers (which always, ALWAYS sounds dirty to me, no matter how Victorian the context) and foot heaters in carriages, etc., and all the ways we humans have used over time to try to keep from shivering. I hope your shoulder pain eases post haste and that you keep yourself warm and cozy as you can!

Also, 310 words is a rockin' word count! No number shaming around here. No words are bad words when you're drafting. :-)

[shadaras]

The temperature doesn't matter so much as the way that it gets dark early and stays dark longer; it's harder for me to maintain focus in general when there's not as much sunshine.

I've got some words for today, mostly noodling around at fic ideas/intros. :) Maybe before I sleep I'll expand one of them into a proper beginning!

[sylvanwitch]

Ugh, SO MUCH THIS with the lack of light. I'm still at that stage of adjusting to daylight savings time that I keep thinking it's much later than it actually is. SO jarring when I look at a time display and realize I'm way off. Plus, as you say, not having as much sunshine is difficult.

Noodling is a necessary step in the creative process, I believe, and I hope yours leads you somewhere good!

[ysilme]

That's very interesting! I'm the other way 'round, I find it easer to focus on writing when it's dark and the outsides are uninviting. But sunshine also always draws me to all kind of physical activities which can be distracting.

[silveradept]

I only seem to remember every other day to check in, even though I'm writing every day. Sigh.

Anyway, checking in for Days 1 and 2, accomplishments in writing and pre-writing material for my December Days posts and otherwise trying to keep my queues topped up through this month.

As for staying warm, I have slippers, and a hockey sweater, and cats, and blankets, so it's fairly easy to stay warm. It doesn't affect the writing, mostly because I'm typing while draped in some of all of these things.

[sylvanwitch]

I heartily approve of cats as supplemental heating sources. :-)

You are, as always, plugging along and making the words. I hope this month treats you well and that the words come easily for you.

[ysilme]

Welcome back to zwei_hexen, and good luck with your goals this month! Heh, cats are a good source of warmth indeed! We have four, but the boys prefer to lounge on the spouse (admittedly, the way I sit there's not much space left, with notebook on my lap and no comfortable armrests on my Poäng recliner) and the girls prefer their private space. *g*

[china_shop]

Still, not only did I add 920 words to my novel today, but I also started a new original short story as part of a virtual meeting of the student writers club I moderate.

Wow, that's awesome! *\o/*

the aforementioned family situation got mostly resovled already yesterday, which I hadn't expected or dared to hope for, and also better than hoped.

That's such good news! I hope you enjoy the cosiness of being inside during the snow. <3

3rd: Finished my update post, and added 476 words to my story file, though I'm not sure how much sense any of them make. And I sent a plea for plot help to a friend. *crosses fingers*

I meant to go and sit in a cafe and bang my head against the story where there are fewer distractions, but I ran out of time. Maybe tomorrow.

[sylvanwitch]

It was awesome--the meeting in particular was just a feel-good experience. We were only supposed to meet for 30 minutes, but the students were so into it that we ended up going for over an hour and fifteen! Creative writing for the win! *\o/*

Good luck with your ongoing word struggle. I hope your friend is able to offer some good nudges! :-)

[thevetia]

Dec 2: 2785 re-edited words, bringing two scenes to draft level coherency.

I always think it will be easier to write when it's light out, but now I'm finding I do better when it gets dark. Maybe because there's nothing to see outside the windows so less distractions? That alone makes for some kind of cosy, even though it's not really cold enough here for classic cosyness.

[sylvanwitch]

Fantastic progress! Seriously, I know editing is necessary, but it can be SUCH a drag, right? So, GO YOU! Yay!

When it's light out, I always feel like I'm missing out, like I should be able to go outside and play, so I think it's easier for me to write after dark, typically. And you're absolutely right--the dark adds to the coziness/cocoon factor, for sure!

[alexcat]

I did 934 today - a bit of Stony and a bit of Yuletide.

[sylvanwitch]

As always, a steady work ethic and solid progress for you. YAY!

[nafs]

I had a brainstorm during work (I wrote "at" work but these days that's my living room) which resulted in me sending myself a few notes about an idea that might keep me from losing a character I have been back and forth and back and forth and back and forth over whether he actually needs to be there (he still might not need to be there tbh), gives a little more depth to a side character and might give me some better options on how the story ends. Will it make the story longer and more complicated? Oh, probably.

Didn't result in more actual words but I got down another page of notes after work and I know what scene I need to tinker with next. Also, I remembered it was the beginning of a new month and backed everything up to my external hard drive.

[sylvanwitch]

YAY for remembering to back up! YOU ARE A HERO! (Seriously, I pay a service that does it automatically because if I didn't, I'd totally forget. All. the. time.)

Also, yay for brainstorms and for complications of the best kind (if it means keeping a character you might not need but whom you enjoy writing).

Good luck going forward with your notes!

[yasaman]

Day 2: 1,032 words on my main WIP today, and had a bit of a breakthrough with it, so that's nice.

[sylvanwitch]

Oh, that's awesome! I love breakthroughs--that sort of swimmy-in-the-middle, floaty moment of euphoric relief? I wish we could bottle that. Anyway, that's a fantastic word count. Go, you! :-)

[sanguinity]

ysilme: hooray, I'm glad family stuff resolved well. Hurrah for alibi sentences!

sylvanwitch: oo, nice job on the word count, and a new story started!


Staying warm: hot tea, a hoodie, and wool socks. I've been wearing a hat inside more, too, especially if I've gotten good and chilled while outside -- and there's been more of that, because the only way we see friends is by sitting around outside in the chill. Also, we eat our lunch outside, whatever the weather, just for a change of scenery from the inside of our house.

Check-in: half a page of longhand on the new story. No time for anything else, while I'm trying to finish organising this round of holmestice. (Which, hooray, I finished all my Holmestice chores!)

[sylvanwitch]

Thank you so much!

I am LOVING the idea of picnicking no matter what the weather and now we're going to have to try that too!

Oof, the run-down you offered of what you're juggling this month gave me vicarious anxiety chills! Lol! Seriously, you are a champion. Stay warm and sane and safe, my friend!

[cornerofmadness]

I like the cold. I tend to write more then. I love tea and soup on the cold days.

I got 1109 words on the Buffy story + 2259 words on the dark fic

[sylvanwitch]

Mmmmm, soup and tea and all the warm stuff. SO GOOD. (I hate the sodium in soup, but I can't help having it on cold days. SO necessary.)

Once again you've made massive wordcounts! Go, you!

[lferion]

Dec 2 - 100 words, a couple sentences on a slowly growing story, and a short poem that will hopefully work for the current Fan Flashworks prompt.

[sylvanwitch]

You are the epitome of slow and steady winning the race. I'm so impressed by your dedication to making the words.

[sakana17]

Day 2: 1370 words (meta, but still words!).

[sylvanwitch]

Meta 100% counts--and is AWESOME! Great word count! GO, you!

[satoyan]

Day 2: 1,104 nano words. I went in for an alibi sentence and things happened. :D

[sylvanwitch]

Lol! Awesome! I love when that happens. Fantastic word count--the best sort of surprise, I think!