My goal is to write every day, even if that's only a sentence or so. I don't think too far into the future 😉 #pretendpanel

#PretendPanel 11/7 it's a double-edge sword. on the one hand, driving to hit a target can be good to help keep you motivated, on track. On the other hand, when you aren't motivated it can just be stress you don't need #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#PretendPanel Yes! It's called Shadows & Sorcery and it has taken over my life🙏 Three stories a week, one serial chapter a month, and I've more or less done that for four years on the trot, with a handful of breaks here and there. Shan't lie, it is sometimes a curse, but I'm proud of it.

#AwesomeCharacters oh no DO NOT let 12yo time travellers Emcee and Peregrine Pax house-sit unless you want to come back to find your house on time-fire or something It would go like this: Emcee does something reckless and breaks something > convinces Peregrine to take them back before the 1/2

#Bookvember There's a bunch of people/books I could repeat from what others have already said, but searching thru my recently read logs, I can say that Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For has been a big influence on me of late. Complex and flawed women, portrayed with empathy and humour: 👩‍🍳💋

If I have an actual deadline then I will set myself some goals. If I'm just writing for myself then it'll just take as long as it takes.

Outside of current writeathon challenge, my goal is to write something every day so I don’t combust into a storm of emotion. I write for sanity more than anything else. #pretendpanel

#pretendpanel 8: Nope, I just write when I have inspiration.

My last book was very much chapter by chapter, rather than working towards specific word counts. The vomit draft took about seven months. Hopefully the next effort will be quicker as I won't be editing as I write. #pretendpanel #writingcommunity #authors #thrillerauthors #writers #revspirations

#WritingCommunity #pretendpanel Feeling low energy since getting hit with bad political news today, and more people with SNAP are going to starve, I'm afraid I'll be next. Outside of November, I try to write as much as I can in a few minutes-an hour at best. If I don't, like today, it's ok for now.

I really worked on my mental health, especially ptsd, the last 18 months and recovery has to still be my focus, so I'm careful with setting big goals I might have to deprioritize later. But on writing days I start with a little entry in my writing log what I'd like to achieve during the actual day.

#PretendPanel Yes, actually. I have a work timer I use, and I log it in a sheet. I usually track hour count instead of word count, but I have both this month for a challenge. I try to write 3 hours a day but I don't always hit it. I'm a visual person, so this is set up in such a way that (1/2)

#PretendPanel My personal goals tend to be milestones, not word counts; however, I have a knack for missing these. Target dates turn out to be a moveable feast and time is elastic. I prioritise and meet deadlines set by others better than self-imposed ones. #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors

#pretendpanel November 8th: (outside of November challenges) do you have a daily goal most of the time? Nah. Being a plantser, writing roles change daily. My goal is consistent morning hours not words. Saying that, hitting 2-3k gives me the feels #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#pretendpanel Yeah so, I do that 500 words a day I mentioned yesterday, every day of the year. I use 4thewords, cos I enjoy the silly game side of things. It's what works for me.

#pretendpanel heyyyyy it's me, even though I may look different (still need to change the graphic to have my new handle lol) November 8th: (outside of November challenges, if you partake) do you have a daily/weekly/monthly goal most of the time? #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#pretendpanel 7: Meh. I've done 'em. I even hit 50,000 words twice in November (usually it petered out before then). Both times, the tail end of that devolved into weird alternate timelines that had little to do with the original story and did not move it forward at all. So no, not really.

#WritingCommunity #pretendpanel I'm a neurodivergent and disabled writer, so the X number of words quota to meet doesn't matter anymore, as long as I write SOMETHING. I'm not a fan of this approach because my migraines and mental illness issues can strike anytime, it's unpredictable.

I am not. I work full time. I also have family and other gaming interests, so I don't/can't write every day.

100%, in limited stretches, like 1 month. It also makes it easy to make up ground on good days, so the bad days don't feel so bad.

This only works for me if the number is 0. If I don't write I meet my target, if I do write a single word I exceed it. "Only a fool can outsmart themselves" if this isn't a quote already, it is now. #WritingCommunity #Writers

i simply think if people have favourite characters that you personally don't like you shouldn't be rude to them about it. it's so easy to not be an asshole.

Hello #AwesomeCharacters! My 12yo time travellers Emcee and Peregrine Pax would have an absolutely wild time at a fancy dress party. That's basically how they treat their adventures thru time and space anyway 😆

I'm glad it works for others, but the idea of doing it myself is ... almost rage inducing. Setting goals like that is just added pressure which stifles my creativity. #Pretendpanel #writesky #writingcommunity #romantasy

#Bookvember Pizza Hut was the only one monitoring my reading. I spent a lot of time at the library or reading in my room so no one else had any idea what I was reading. I did enjoy the freedom it gave me, though. 🩷

My mom phrased it thus: maybe it’s not time for you to read this book yet. I believe that gave me a very healthy outlook towards reading, because I knew I could read it some day. Nothing seemed totally off-limits. Doesn’t mean I didn’t sneak at times though. #bookvember #writesky #booksky

#Bookvember 7 lmao no. It had a benefit to where I was reading increasingly difficult books earlier than expected, but that also meant I got my hands on the few early smutty books my mom had. 😂 I can't say it scarred me but it probably contributed to me being weird and less relatable to peers.

My reading wasn’t monitored by adults at all. 😅 Which meant I was reading smut as early as 11-12 thanks to good old fanfiction dot net and, a little later, actual books. CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, anyone? It didn’t scar me, though. It actually opened my eyes to what was possible. #Bookvember

#Bookvember 7. It wasn't monitored, no. I don't remember ever trying to read books my parents might theoretically forbid, either (even though I know, in some extreme cases, even simple fantasy books suffer). Maaaybe Game of Thrones would've fit? But I was in high school by then, so 🤷🏽‍♀️

#Bookvember 7 When I was really young, my mom vetted what I read, though she didn't stop me from reading above my age level (hence 8yo me trying & failing to read Charles Dickens 😂) Once I hit my teens I was more free. I did get a little scarred, but in a good way. My parents never thought to

Yes and no. I was explicitly not allowed to read any book that contained magic, witchcraft, or physical intimacy of any kind but at 13yo through unfortunate circumstances I was left alone all day, every day for one year. What did I do? I got a library card and read everything I wanted. #Bookvember

#Bookvember 7 I was an 80's kid/90's teen with parents who worked full time. Most of everything I did was unmonitored, including my reading. But I loved that freedom. I read wide and deep, anything that struck my fancy. It made me the giant nerd/lovable weirdo I am today. #WritingCommunity #Books

Happy #Bookvember 7! I think my parents kind of ushered me away from books they thought would be inappropriate, but they weren't strictly banned. And since I was the youngest in a house full of avid readers, there was a lot of Stephen King & more lying around for me to get into 😂

I loved the #FlowerFairies books by #CicelyMaryBarker! They were gifted to my sister and me by the ✨fairies✨, who also kept a weekly correspondence with us to see how we were doing 😂💜 We would leave them treats & gifts on our windowsill and wake up to find crumbs and a letter! #Bookvember

No, we write based on scene rather than word count. We lock into a particular mindset and emotion and see it through organically without worrying about length. I know we could just continue, but then you need more emotional gas in the tank and there's no guarantee we'll have it! #PretendPanel

Naaah. I did it for a while for survival reasons and it absolutely blitzed out my brain. Ended up poorly. Unfortunate memories. However, when I'm done writing for the day, I like checking how much I did. It helps me conceptualize how far in I am, without any of the pressure. #PretendPanel

#PretendPanel I tend to participate in challenges like this, but I'm not a fan of the approach. Word count is arbitrary. I think an hour amount is a better gauge of time spent and attempt at creating a writing habit that people can stick to, because people DO know how much time they have in a day.

#pretendpanel - I did this for a while, back in 2016-18. Wrote 600 words a day for a stretch of months. I think it can be useful for limited periods. It helped me have a base of ideas from which I could pick the next WIP. But some writing progress simply can't be measured in wordcount.

#PretendPanel Absolutely not. I have weeks when I write nothing and I banged out the first draft of Storytellers, roughly 100k, in two weeks. Trying to write X words per day would just make me frustrated and possibly depressed because Why Can’t I Just Be Like Apparently Everyone Else.

For myself, yes. I stick to a comfortable middle ground that I know I can do without issues. That way I can plan ahead, and have wiggle room to catch up or do more when I feel like it without burning out. Every author needs to find their approach though, it doesn't work for everyone. #pretendpanel

I'm not a fan of this approach as I think it might force the wrong words out of me in an effort to hit target. I'm not good with targets generally, they just make me procrastinate. I'd rather write on the fly. #pretendpanel #writingcommunity #authors #thrillerauthors #writers #revspirations

My 1st (and worst) case of writer's block came when I attempted NaNoWriMo many years ago. The concept of writing a set number of words every day without going back to it is the antithesis of how I write. I tweak, massage, spy themes, layer in. Such a pantser. It nearly destroyed me. #pretendpanel

This is my usual approach! I aim for 500 words per day, which is usually easy for me—or at least, I thought so? It seems a lot harder for me now for some reason. Or maybe I’ve just had a couple of rough days this week. #pretendpanel

#PretendPanel 7. I've done this before, and it worked well... until it didn't. Nowadays, I'm getting into the habit of doing half-hour sprints, without caring how much I write in each or per day, and it works best for me.

#PretendPanel Nov 7 Nah, I cannot. I wish I could, but alas. Some days I need to stop writing & let something cook, or work on worldbuilding or re-outlining. If I pushed myself to the daily word count I think I'd quickly lose the joy of it. Occasional writing sprints have been very helpful though!

#PretendPanel I am not a person who writes every day due to my IRL job, disability, or other factors. When I do write, I aim for 500 words for the session, but if I'm not feeling it, I won't beat myself up over it.

I am not a fan of numbers. Or of tracking numbers. Or of comparing numbers from one day to the next. Numbers are strange glyphs that make me sad so I choose to ignore them at every opportunity. #pretendpanel

#PretendPanel If I had to be honest, no. My writing style is more free writing. I just write as a go. I tend to overthink things and when I do my writing suffers. I write to what I feel is appropriate for the chapter. I do designate days when I’m going to work on writing #WritingCommunity

Hello, #PretendPanel! Having a specific goal number of words per day helps me immensely. For several years, the November writeathon tracker with a chance to get the Achievement Dopamine rush was the only writing I really did. I did a 12 in 12 one year, because it was so helpful.

I think it’s an ok approach for some things but can wind up stifling the creativity if forced. I tend to go with the approach of ‘butt in the chair’ at least once a day, but I can’t beat myself up for failing to produce anything. I just follow the ebbs and flows. #pretendpanel