Saturday, August 28, 2010

Start totting up your August points...

You still have a few days to save yourselves! Then come here and let me know if in August you have...

Submitted a short story, poem or other short fiction submission to a competition or magazine (one point for each submission)?

Submitted an article (one point per article, no matter how many mags the article is submitted to)?

Written and/or edited at least 4000 words (one point)?

Written more than the basic 4000 words (one additional point for each 2000 words of original writing (not editing)?

Edited more than the basic 4000 words (one additional point for each 5000 words of editing) ?

Outlined/plotted 4000 words or more (one point for each 4000)?

Beta-read read a fellow writer's novel and provided feedback (one point)?

Completed and published a new author website (one point)?

Written your query? (one point)

Written your synopsis? (one point)

Submitted a novel to an agent or editor? (Straight up to Koala Approves!)

(Anyone who's on Koala Approves while waiting for an agent response, remember that you must keep writing/editing/submitting short stories in the next month. Anyone sitting on their laurels drops down a stage. However, if an agent asks you to make changes to a novel, you get to stay on Koala Approves for the duration of your editing and negotiations, provided you get those changes to him/her in time and remember your manners. Ask for an extension or moan about your potential agent and you drop down a stage.)

A reminder... Points cannot be held over for a following month. The Koala wants consistent effort. The Koala is always right.

29 comments:

McKoala said...

The Koala approves of herself this month. Always a treat.

Sylvia said...

aaaaaand I'm sure you won't be shocked to hear that I'd like to claim August as my month off!

I wrote 250 words today though, so there's night at the end of the tunnel!

writtenwyrdd said...

I don't know if I get one point or two, but I wrote both the prompt for my blog contest and submitted a story to it.

Other than that, I spent my writing time writing a huge series of seven articles for my own blog, to the tune of thousands of words, at least 2 points worth. But I don't think that counts, darn it!

Sarah Laurenson said...

So far I've got

1 point for WW's contest
1 point for Brains and Janes contest (Janet Reid)

268 new words written - 0 points

7024 words edited and ~15,600 words smushed together (2 mss became 1) which may or may not count as edited and also included writing new words but I don't know how to count it all now. I think I'll take 5 points for that. (Especially since I only counted 1 point for a weekly contest that went on for 6 weeks.)

Total (so far): 7 points

This weekend, I'm wading through critique group notes that have been sitting on my desk forever. I doubt there will be any ms progress until next month.

Sarah Laurenson said...

And Mockingjay is on it's way to me. If that gets here this weekend, nothing else is happening. Not even sleep.

writtenwyrdd said...

I don't get the Hunger Games trilogy excitement. I just haven't wanted to read that one. I keep thinking Logan's Run...which is unfair, of course...

Sarah Laurenson said...

Actually, the concept sounded meh to me and definitely not something I would be interested in reading, but I kept hearing all my blogging buddies rave about it.

The Hunger Games is one of those rare books that I could not stop reading once I started. Literally. Catching Fire didn't grab me that way until about halfway through. Once I got to the end, I was panting.

I have heard from some who don't like them or can't get past the first person, present tense POV. They're not for everybody, for sure.

The second time I read them - to study and see how she does what she does - I could put them down from time to time, but I kept getting caught up in the story and I wasn't able to read critically. Not yet.

I hear Mockingjay is even more violent. Not surprising given the story line.

McKoala said...

Tsk tsk, Sylvia.

One point, Written. No blog posts!

Sarah, I'll give you your seven. Mostly because I can't be bothered counting to see what it would be otherwise. The Koala has been working all weekend and is somewhat fatigued.

I haven't read the Hunger Games at all, clearly another one to get to, though!

Sarah Laurenson said...

Better make that 6. I counted wrong.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Oops. The wife just pointed out my package that arrived today. *sigh* Must refrain until tomorrow.

Phoenix Sullivan said...

I wrote 250 words today though, so there's night at the end of the tunnel!

Clever play or Freudian slip, Sylvia?

Still submitting, so Approves.

Still whining, so I'll drop myself down a notch on principle again.

Ah, Hunger Games. Yet another TBR series. Retirement can't get here soon enough. I'll need YEARS to get through all the TBRs...

Sylvia said...

LOL Phoenix. Not intentional, that one.

Have any of you read Battle Royale? It is apparently the basis for the Hunger Games and supposed to be very good. I like seeing how someone gets inspired so I've picked it up to read next month.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami | LibraryThing

Aniket Thakkar said...

I can't think of a way to talk my way out of this one. Things going crazy at work. So I guess, I go straight to Koala smack-down.

But all's not bad this month for the number of registered writers on my site reached 100 today. :D All your blessings oh mighty Koala. All your blessings.

jjdebenedictis said...

One point for Writtenwyrdd's contest.
One point for writing 5,400 words.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

If I can get 800 words in before September 1st, I'll be back to claim another point.

McKoala said...

Ah, you see Sarah, I give you the benefit of the doubt and you unmask yourself as a fraud! Look out for the So-Honest-I-Even-Dob-Myself-In Award later this year.

Smackety smack Aniket. LOL Goblin! You follow in the footprints of greatness... (mine).

Whirlochre said...

I thought I'd done very badly this month, but it turns out I've done OK.

SO...

8000 words edited = 2
4000 words o/l = 1
Query = 1
Subs = 1 (for all) (like a musketeer)
WW = 1

Which is 6.

For my next trick, I may get cracking on some flash fiction, long overdue...

Robin B. said...

Hey - if you submitted/queried, Whirl - doesn't that shoot you right up to approves?

I'll be bringing my numbers with me tomorrow - haven't looked around to count yet!

McKoala said...

Yes, a novel submission gets you right up into the Koala good books, what with this being The Year of the Submission and all!

Robin B. said...

OK, then.

I've sent in 3 queries and re-edited two chapters (11,000 words) I'm still not all the way tickled with.

No need to tot up points with the novel submissions, so yay!

iasa said...

Only 1 point for WW contest, i was the other anonymous entry.

Merry Monteleone said...

I took August off... but I wrote lots of letters of complaint and probably spent about 50 hours on the phone swearing at insurance adjusters/bank officials...

Of course, none of that counts as far as points but it's great fodder for future articles.

I'm back at it in September...

jjdebenedictis said...

*screeches in, trails of smoke in her wake and fingers still twitching*

Make that three points this month.

Stacy said...

Unfortunately I only wrote 2000 words and had no submissions, nor any editing.

My first month and I'm already on your s%^# list. Well, no place to go but up, I guess.

writtenwyrdd said...

I actually wrote TEN articles for my blog. Damn, if I were writing for someone who paid me, I'd have four or five points.

pacatrue said...

I guess I'm with Stacey on the smack list. I actually wrote about 2,000 words of fiction this month which is the first 2,000 words I've written all year. Alas, it is not enough now that special furry rules have gone, so I suppose I'm smacked.

Angie said...

3 pts -- submissions
2 pts -- writing (500 words short of 3, argh!)
-----
5 pts

Not great, but I've done worse.

Angie, hiding under her keyboard

Mother (Re)produces. said...

Oops. Sorry I'm late to the party. Now that the kids are back in school, I wrote about 8000 words. I also made 12 subs. (two of which have already gone 'kapwing'.)

So I count 15 points. :)

PD Singer said...

Hmm, did better than I thought.

10 22k words, 2 14k editing. I never quite know how much I've done until I show up here.

McKoala said...

Oooh, a couple of smackdowns, nice.

Good to see the challenge is keeping the rest of your noses to the grindstone!