Pages

Pages

Monday, April 7, 2014

Last day of the Go Teen Writers Word War!

Stephanie here. It's a little hard to believe, but it's the LAST day of our word war. Wow, it's been fun to see how much progress you guys have made. We will definitely have to do this again soon.

 I'm taking Roseanna to the airport this morning, and while we've savored the time away from our normal routine to focus on doing something we love, we're both eager to see our families. Roseanna closed out the retreat with about 37,000 words written, and I finished with 30,740 which included the unexpected surprise of being able to type "The End."

We were both pretty intense yesterday as we pushed toward our goals. We worked right through lunch:



Here's Roseanna arriving at 10k with plenty of the day still ahead of her:



And I just have to show this because it's way too cute not to. Roseanna and I stayed at my parents house while they were out of town. They've moved in the last few months, and my mother was clearly worried that I wouldn't be able to find my way around the kitchen:

Sticky note labels :)

They're pretty much the best.

Can't wait to see how you guys do today! 

If you're just joining us on the word war (or if today's the first you've heard of it) here's a quick recap: 

A word war is when you and another writer (or in this case, lots of other writers!) compete to see who can write the most in a designated period of time.
This word war began Thursday and ends today. It's a come-and-go, write-when-you-can style of war, so it's not too late to join us!

The goal is to buckle down and focus on our manuscripts whenever we can, make good use of our writing time, and encourage each other as we do. Hopefully you'll be meeting new writers and deepening friendships as the weekend goes on!

Here's how you can connect with each other:

1. In the comments section of the blog. Something as simple as "Just wrote 1,000 words in the last hour!" is fine. There's strength in being able to encourage each other and in knowing that others are hard at work too.

2. On Twitter, using the hashtag #GTW or on the Go Teen Writers Facebook Group. (This is a closed group, so if you're not a member yet, apply to join and then shoot me an email telling me so that I can get you approved pronto.)

342 comments:

  1. I'm glad you could write 'The End', Stephanie. :) Are you planning to publish it sometime? What's it about? I shot you an e-mail with a question about the 1000 word contest. I'd really appreciate it if you answered soon. For some reason I didn't get feedback for it. Thanks for your time and this word war (and this blog). :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was wondering.....I love the chance you gave us a the 1000 word contest, but what does it mean if you don't get any negative feedback?

      Delete
    2. Sorry if I seem rude.

      Delete
    3. Sofia, I just re-sent your feedback. My book is a 1920s YA mystery. I intend to pursue publication with it, so we'll see what happens :)

      Delete
    4. That's not rude at all :) Sometimes there's nothing in an entry that we can't point to and say, "Fix this and it'll be better." It's kind of like with published books. You have favorite books that resonate with you for whatever reason, and then you have books you enjoy ... but just aren't your favorite. It's not that the author did something incorrect, it just didn't strike you as strongly. Make sense?

      Delete
    5. Thanks for the feedback. Haven't read it yet, being kind of scared. :)

      Delete
    6. Looking forward to seeing your book in publication!

      Delete
    7. Read it. Thanks so much. I didn't think about the action being broken up into smaller paragraphs before.
      Thanks.

      Delete
    8. 1920s YA mystery? I'd buy that!

      Delete
  2. That's great you were able to do so much! Yesterday really killed me. We went out to lunch and the whole ordeal took around three hours. My Dad had us help with a tree he chopped down. It was brutal. Hope everyone else is doing better!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's the last day. I'm depressed. It's school too.....

    ReplyDelete
  4. We have to make this last day count!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. 30,000+? *jaw drops* You guys are amazing!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so glad you were able to finish!!! I just wrapped up two drafts of my own. Did you write most of the book on the retreat? Sorry if I'm pestering you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol! My Aunt left sticky notes for my grandfather once. That's really funny!

      Delete
    2. I remember when I did that to Peter....we'd been stepping on each others toes so I stuck a bunch of random notes in Peter's binder.....lol!

      Delete
    3. I'm keeping them in my blackmail folder for when were older. *Evil smile*

      Delete
    4. Didn't you misplace it?

      Delete
    5. I had already written about 40,000 words of the book. I thought I would get close to finishing (based on how many words I wrote last year during our retreat) but the book wrapped up quicker than I thought it would... I'm a little unsettled about that, but my first drafts always come in short and it works out okay :)

      Delete
  7. School, huh? I've already been done for a while. :) The perks of living in a different time zone... Well, there's the fact that I was getting ready for school while you were still writing last evening, but let's ignore that. :) Anyone at all able to word war?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I missed the last event too. My beginning stinks though....

      Delete
    2. I am if you see this, but it's going to have to be really soon. I'm actually at school right now, but homeroom hasn't started yet. Maybe for five minutes?

      Delete
    3. I can! I would like it to be less than 20 minutes if you wouldn't mind.

      Delete
    4. Five is fine! short and sweet! Let's just go five minutes and come back with results!

      Delete
    5. I got 218 words. How did you do?

      Delete
    6. And now I have to go to homeroom. Thanks for being my word war partner!

      Delete
    7. 94 words. Hope you have a good day at school, Belle.

      Delete
    8. Great job! And thank you!

      Delete
  8. I could. I've just switched projects, but I need to get a move on anyway. You live in a different time zone? That's neat! I'm homeschooled so it's easier to find the time to type.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah....my brother always watches TV at lunch so I sneak away and type for around an entire hour! Lol!

      Delete
  9. Congrats on your 30K! We've heard very little about your WIP, and I'm curios and excited to see what it's about! I rolled into 10K total last night. I'm still going to try for 15K, but with school today I'm not sure that's possible. (Plus, the most I've written in one day is 4,700 words and I'm not sure my brain is capable of much more than that.)
    Good luck, everyone! I hope we make these word wars a two or three times a year thing.
    ~Sarah Faulkner

    inklinedwriters.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck to you too! And I hope we make these word wars a once-every-other-month kind of thing.

      Delete
    2. Peter Pan and Robin HoodApril 7, 2014 at 7:25 AM

      Me and Peter agree that would rock!!!!

      Delete
    3. Hey! Even though its too late to do much I'm starting today! Everyone has done a lot!

      Delete
    4. I write as well Peter!

      Delete
    5. It would be awesome if this was monthly!

      Delete
    6. I didn't know anyone else used fairy tale nicknames! Lol!

      Delete
    7. That is an amazing amount of words, Sarah, especially considering that you had a road trip. I've written 4k since Saturday, which is the most I've ever done in the space of two days.

      Delete
    8. You're right! All we need is Nottingham, the three bears, and captain Hook! Lol!

      Delete
    9. That's a lot of words! What we writer's do!

      Delete
    10. Once a month or every other one would be cool. Every other would be more realistic, but if you missed one you'd have to wait a while for the next. I'm voting for every month. :)

      Delete
    11. It would, but every month would be so epic....

      Delete
    12. Peter Pan and Robin HoodApril 7, 2014 at 7:35 AM

      Agreed!

      Delete
    13. I vote once a month!!! PLEASE!

      Delete
    14. Way to go, Sarah! And yes, I've been rather quiet about this manuscript. No contract or anything so I'm trying to write with my door closed, so to speak.

      Sounds like you've done an AMAZING job. Way to go!

      Glad everyone is enjoying the word war! Hosting them is pretty easy as far as events go, so we can definitely have them more frequently.

      Delete
    15. Yes, congratulations on all you were able to write during the retreat, Mrs. Morrill! That's awesome and totally amazing you got in over 30K! Thank you so much for hosting this Word War, and for all the pictures! It was neat seeing a glimpse of your retreat. :) :)

      Aw, how exciting about more frequent Word Wars! Thank you!!!

      -Patience

      Delete
  10. Anyone up for a fifteen minute one in :35?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never mind. I have other things to do too. Anyone up for fifteen minutes in the next hour? Hope everyone has a great day!

      Delete
    2. I can do a 15 minute WW starting anytime in the next 30 minutes. :)

      Delete
    3. I'm probably not going to do it, having other things on my "to-do" list. Hope you find someone.

      Delete
    4. Yay for commenting on your other comment and not seeing the next one. :)

      Delete
  11. Anyone want to word war at :50 for 10 minutes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got 364 words. :)

      Delete
    2. 162 give or take a couple words. Great job! How do you guys do that?

      Delete
  12. I got more than 1000 words in today!!!!!!!!! 1114 and that is absolutely and by far my record. Yay!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay!!! :D That must be really exciting! :)

      Delete
    2. It is! I probably won't write more today, because I have a lot to do, but it was GREAT.

      Delete
  13. Can anyone do the a WW starting :05 for 10 minutes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can do a WW in the next 20 minutes. :)

      Delete
    2. How about a 10 minute one starting at :17?

      HP

      Delete
    3. I'm up for it! :)

      Delete
  14. LOL, my sister said she wanted to do it and just write, 'In and out in and out in and out in and out' over and over and over. I was like, "Uh, no." :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. Or how about just writing "I I I I I I" That's even more. :)

      Delete
    2. LOL! Now that's just scary. ;)

      Delete
  15. Rather quiet in here . . . :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anyone want to do 10 minute word war?

    HP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, how about :20? Or we can just write for ten minutes and come back with the scores.

      Delete
  17. Would anyone like to have a ten minute word war? I'm in school right now, but this is my break so I'll have to do it soon. Maybe at :20 for 10 minutes or :25 or 5 minutes?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Getting into the zone now!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Who's up for a 10 minute word war?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anyone want to do a 10 minute word war? :)

    HP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry I took so long in answering, I had to leave the computer for a minute. When do you want to do it?

      HP

      Delete
    2. His Princess, I love your blog!!! So cutely done. :) :) And your writing is awesome! So excited to see you're a Christian as well, and all the hobbies you're into. :) :)

      -Patience

      Delete
    3. Aww, thank you Patience, you just made my day! :)

      HP

      Delete
    4. Aww, you're too sweet. :) Glad it came as a little ray of sunshine! What genre do you write?

      Blessings,
      Patience

      Delete
    5. :) I write romance and mysteries. My current WIP is a historical romance set in the Yukon Gold Rush era. How about you?

      HP

      Delete
    6. Ooh! Very nice! :) I write Christian historical fiction, but the book I'm currently writing (set in 1908)does have - ahem ;) - some romance in it. :)

      How many years have you been writing?

      Blessings,
      Patience

      Delete
    7. Ohh yay! Someone that writes my genre! I love Christian romance. :)

      I have only been writing earnestly for about a year now but i have been scribbling since I was little. How long have you been writing?

      HP

      Delete
    8. :D You know, I was tempted to lean the other direction in romance, because of what I saw around me. But I read this article, and agreed with everything: http://www.literarylane.com/2014/03/sweeter-than-wine.html . Isn't that awesome? So very true!

      That's awesome! I've been writing for several years now - around six years, and played around with writing before that. :)

      It's been fun writing you! Would you like to do a Word War together? :)

      -Patience

      Delete
    9. Very awesome, indeed. It makes you stop and think too.

      Six years? Thats wonderful!

      If you are still on here then I would love to have a word war with you! :) At, say, :25?

      HP

      Delete
    10. Agreed - it kept me thinking for awhile. :) Isn't historical lots of fun? Do you like history? :)

      Thank you!

      That'd be wonderful! :D I'd greatly enjoy that. :) Sure, let's do the :25. :)

      -Patience

      Delete
    11. How long are we going for? 10 minutes?

      HP

      Delete
    12. Sure! :) I started at :25, and was like, "Okay, how long?" ;)

      Delete
    13. LOL. I had to leave for a bit during it but I got 143. How about you?

      HP

      Delete
    14. Only made out with 232. :) How did you do? :)

      Delete
    15. I do enjoy history but I think that the Victorian era through the 1950s is my favorite period.

      HP

      Delete
    16. And we posted at the exact time, so I didn't see your comment before I did mine. ;) Yes, I laughed at it, too. :) That's fine! Oh, you did very well, especially for taking a break in it! :D

      Delete
    17. You love the Victorian era, too?! :D

      Delete
    18. Thank you you did very good too.

      Yes, I do love the Victorian Era. Aren't the dresses simply splendid?

      HP

      Delete
    19. Thank you. :)

      Yes, the dresses are very beautiful! I think it's a wonderful time period. :) My book's set in the Edwardian era, but not too far away from the Victorian. :)

      Delete
    20. I guess my book just barely squeezed into the last part of the Victorian era. :) My book starts in 1897.

      HP

      Delete
    21. It surely did! :) Ooh, 1897. :D Why, your characters are still alive when mine are. ;) LOL!

      Would you mind sharing the title of your novel?

      Here's my Camp NaNo page, if you're interested in taking a peek at it :): http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/thededicatedpen

      Blessings!
      -Patience

      Delete
    22. Patience, I saw your profile and I loved your novel excerpt! Your writing is amazing and your characters are so believable.

      Delete
    23. My book is about a 16 year old girl named Gladiola Bloom so I was thinking of something like Bloom, Gladiola Bloom.

      Very cool NaNo page. I love goats too (we raise them on our farm). :) You are so pretty!

      HP

      Delete
    24. Oh yes! That's the perfect title!

      Delete
    25. Awww, you girls made my day! Thank you so very much!!! That is so sweet of you both!!! Thank you, Belle, for your kind words on my writing. :) :) And thank you, His Princess! :) You raise goats as well? :)

      Ooh, that's awesome about your novel! Totally agree - perfect title! :D

      Hey girls, my email address is dedicatedpen AT calicoacres DOT com if you're interested. :D

      Lovely chatting with you both!

      Delete
    26. What genre do you write, Belle? :D How long are you aiming for your novel to be, His Princess? :D

      Again, thank you for your kind words!!

      Delete
    27. Thank you Patience and Belle!

      I plan on my book being a series of at least two-maybe three- books. Is that what you meant Patience? As for how many words I'm not entirely sure. I think the 50k-100k range.

      HP

      Delete
  21. I really need to get my word count up. I've never done one before, but would anyone like to do a ten or fifteen minute word war?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll do one with you. :) I'm trying to write 2K today. :) When would you like to start?

      Delete
    2. I know you posted this a while ago... but I can!

      Delete
    3. Cool, thanks! How about at :00? And for maybe ten minutes to start with?

      Delete
    4. Sorry... I was on my author page... but my pen name is Patricia Rane.

      Delete
    5. Sounds good to me! :)

      Delete
    6. I got 198. Not bad for a first go. I think anyway. What did you guys get?

      Delete
    7. I got 280. What did you guys get?

      Delete
    8. Nice job, Kati! I was on a roll, lol. :D

      Delete
    9. Wow! Good job. You write fast.

      Delete
    10. Do you want to do another word war?

      Delete
    11. Sure, I'd love to! Maybe at :20?

      Delete
    12. I got 253. :) Great job, guys!! :D

      Delete
  22. Everyone's been busy this morning... Anyone up for a ten minute Word War?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Awww, you girls made my day! Thank you so very much!!! That is so sweet of you both!!! Thank you, Belle, for your kind words on my writing. :) :) And thank you, His Princess! :) You raise goats as well? :)

    Ooh, that's awesome about your novel! Totally agree - perfect title! :D

    Hey girls, my email address is dedicatedpen AT calicoacres DOT com if you're interested. :D

    Lovely chatting with you both!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally ignore that - my laptop messed something up with the order of comments. :/ Sorry about that!

      Delete
  24. Replies
    1. I'd love to do one in about ten minutes. Would you be up for a longer one? Maybe half an hour?

      Delete
    2. I'll do one. These are awesome. How long and what time?

      Delete
    3. It has to be a short one for right now, but I could probably do a long one after four :)

      Delete
    4. Okay, why don't you guys do a short one then, while I work on something else?

      Delete
    5. How about a fifteen minute one at :45?

      Delete
    6. Lol, I think y'all are hard at work! I'll just do a 10 minute one against myself, for now :D.

      Delete
    7. If the offer's still good, I'll do one.

      Delete
  25. Yo! Is anyone up for a word war in maybe five/ten minutes??

    TW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And yo to you too! I can do one. How long?

      Delete
    2. I'm joining one minute late! Hope that's ok!

      Delete
    3. I got 498. Good job, TW Wright! Petra, how did you do?

      Delete
    4. It's fine, Petra, just saw this! =)

      Delete
    5. Good job, Athelas! That's a whole lotta' words!

      Delete
    6. I got 300... not very good for 15 min. Oh well. I hit a couple of blank moments :P. Great job, guys! Anybody up for another?

      Delete
    7. Good job, Petra! 300 isn't bad at all. I could do another. For ten minutes?

      Delete
    8. Good job, Petra! =)

      I'm up for another! =)

      Delete
    9. I'd love to do another, but I need a couple minutes to do something...

      Delete
    10. Good job you guys!

      Is anyone up for another. ;)

      Delete
  26. Wonderful writing everyone!!!!!!!! I've been reading through the comments, and it amazes me how much you all have written! I'm almost at 4,000 words on a new project, but I sadly haven't had a lot of time for hard-core writing this weekend. :( I love hearing about how much you all are writing! It is truly inspiring! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congrats on making headway on your new project, Emily! That's always exciting! I agree. It's been harder to squander the time. Surprisingly, today has been the most productive :P. And to think... it's Monday XD

      Delete
  27. Anyone up for a ten minute word war?

    ReplyDelete

Home