Sunday, January 12, 2014

Marathon Week on Steroids

Some of you may have been around for the first "Marathon Week." It occurred in July of 2012, and featured me pushing out 18 updates to the old Red Rain fanfic.
Aubrey and I have made it a goal for me to finish producing the Crook Q (official title!) draft by the end of January. She is very nice, usually, about my slipping past deadlines, but I have been doing that for an awfully long time, and I very much mean to make this one (hence one reason I wrote 1000 words tonight).
By my count I have nineteen days left in January after this one ends in about fifteen minutes (feel free to correct my count, especially if you find me some extra days). I estimate that about 50,000 words need to be written to finish the second draft of Crook Q. I have given a relatively high estimate, so it shouldn't be more than that, and may well be less. I had Google do the math and 50,000/19 is 2,631.something words per day.
But I think I can do it, if I try hard, and you guys goad me. Believe it or not, I am in a position that goading really helps. So if you still read the blog, or find it from where I link to it, I suggest you start goading if you want this draft soon! Good places to goad are my Twitter @DavidJHartung, this blog (as comments to the posts).
To encourage goading (goad-ception) I am inventing a little game. This the game where we see who can harass me the most into writing.
If I am to complete this goal, I will have to be writing everyday, hopefully a few thousand words at a time. I will divide "credit" for those words among those who prod me into writing each of those days by contacting me one of the two ways above (or another one, if you can invent it!) (maybe bonus points for inventiveness...). Anyhow, I will divide credit for each day's words among all the people that kindly harass me into writing more and faster. You can only prod me once per day though! (Too much harassment is not a good thing). At the end of January (whether the second draft is done or not) I will total up who has accrued credit for the most words of my writing!
So obviously the strategy is to prod early and often. You will get more credit on days I write more, so not every day will be claiming the same amount of credit. I will probably make up bonuses for first to prod on any given day, most creative threats from prodding... kind of whatever I want. I am in charge here, after all!
Also, bonus of keeping up on me is that you can get sneak peeks at the new language that is going into the second draft (and by that I just mean how I am writing differently, not some boss new fantasyesque language showing up out of nowhere).
I am kind of new at this promotion deal, but I am sure Aubrey or I can cook up some manner of prize for the winner, if we get decent participation. So get out your red-hot writing prods and lets see who can make me write! (other than myself. I promise not to win my own contest).
[Incidentally, if I pull off 50k that fast, it will be like a miracle because that is faster than a NaNo novel...]

4 comments:

  1. :twisted: *rubs hands together* Permission from the man himself to get him writing so we can FINALLY read "Crook Q". *cue evil laugh*

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    1. well I guess we shouldnt expect a response as he'll be too busy writing. Or should be! *glares* :P

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    2. For reference, I am a college student, so I do have occasional internet access during times where I won't have enough time to write, like right now. You have both been put in my records for poking today. Be sure to come back and poke future days to keep claiming credit!

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  2. What, my eternal gratitude for helping get a finished draft isn't enough prize?

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