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mjjmori

@mjjmori@mastodon.social

Author based in Sydney, Australia #mjjmori #author #writer #shortstories #novels #poems #sydney #australia #literature #sf #fantasy #dreaming Currently engaged with #NaNoWriMo 2023, using it to get down in text an SF Novel called “Volition” that’s been brewing in my head for a decade. 😁

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mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 24 done Daily words: 2,429 Total words: 39,085 % Complete: 78.14%
Still cracking along. My writing is at the point now where while it’s a little hard to get going again, once I have started it’s not too hard to just keep going. I’ve never written like this for so long. It’s becoming very satisfying.

Tomorrow I will catch back up to and then exceed my projected word count again.

Onward and upward!
@bookstodon @amwriting @nanowrimo

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 23 completed
Daily Words: 2,335
Total Words: 36,656
Total Compete: 73.31%

Today’s words mean that over the last four days I’ve written 10,179 words. This is easily the most productive I’ve ever been in such a short period.

The best thing is I’m loving the narrative right now. It’s flowing out. 😁 14k words to go and I can see it’s all coming together.

One week to go, everyone! KEEP IT UP!

@nanowrimo @bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 22 done Daily words: 2,611 Total words: 34,321 % Complete: 68.64%
Just a quick update today because it’s midnight and I’m buggered after working a full day, going to the gym this evening, and then writing 2,611 words 😁
Couldn’t be happier really. Still a good way to go, but I’m starting to believe I might make it.

Never stop chasing your goals!

@bookstodon @amwriting @nanowrimo

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 21 done Daily words: 2,585 Total words: 31,710 % Complete: 63.42%

Still trucking, and still in with a realistic shot of getting this over the line.

Had a slow weekend as I meandered down the long and boring narrative road, but some adjustments and two chapters rewritten and it’s firing once again. Tension building, excitement too.

Keep on writing everyone! Still a week to get your goals met! 😅

@bookstodon @amwriting @nanowrimo

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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The hardest thing about is the continual effort of invention.

Even if you know where the narrative starts and where it ends and the big events in between, many more small events are needed to fill 50k words.

It also needs to be engaging with a sense of building tension. This is where one’s craft comes in.

It’s an amazing experience, a humbling fire consuming old mental structures yet powering the creation of new ways of thinking.

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori OP ,
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@JoanGrey @golgaloth @bookstodon @amwriting
Yeah, my outline is good for an overarching novel, three acts within and a heap of chapters.

It’s the smaller moment to moment events I’m finding need more thought. The minutiae of what actually happens on the ground, who says what where and how they interact, respond to events, form and disband groups, etc.

It requires the continual creation of micro-narratives, which is fun but draining. 🙂

mjjmori OP ,
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@golgaloth @bookstodon @amwriting I’ve got a few b-plots centred on main characters, and one or two brewing around different factions. But these were not so fleshed out as the main plot, so I’ve been thinking forward on these, while seeing where they go while I write. Definitely for my next novel I’ll be considering them in more detail prior to commencing.

mjjmori OP ,
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@golgaloth @JoanGrey @bookstodon @amwriting Yeah, good way of putting it. I’m finding this is the way. It feels good for something to happen that is a surprise to yourself, the writer, like, wow, where did that come from? :blobcat:

mjjmori OP ,
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@golgaloth @JoanGrey @bookstodon @amwriting On this, do you have any advice on knowing when it’s getting too far away from the larger plot, or just isn’t working, etc? Sometimes I think to not do this in case it winds up in a dead-end or something.

mjjmori OP ,
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@golgaloth @JoanGrey @bookstodon @amwriting Oh I like that a lot. I’m usually worried about wasting time and words, but to see it as a bit of puzzle of how to get back to where it needs to be is really nice. I’ll keep this is mind when it happens next time, to not just put a line through it but find a pathway back.

mjjmori OP ,
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@georgettetan @bookstodon @amwriting Yeah, there’s a line in the sand I suppose where it’s going to have drifted to far away, where it starts to change the tone or the character or the whole baring of the narrative in way not wanted.

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 15 done Daily words: 2,453 Total words: 25,084 % Complete: 50.17%
Yay, I’m half way through both in days and word count! 😃
So happy- I didn’t think I’d get this far. Still a long way to go, and if anything it feels like the first half will have been easy compared with the next fifty percent. The start already feels along time ago, IRL and Narratively.
DONT STOP EVERYONE! KEEP ON TYPING AWAY 😁
@bookstodon @amwriting @nanowrimo

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 12 done Daily words: 3,067 Total words: 20,508 % Complete: 41.02%

What a roller coaster!

Mentally draining, when reaching a narrative point not knowing how to proceed. I’ve learned to take five, let it percolate and trust the way forward to come to mind.

Emotionally draining too, feels great when I pull ahead, stressed when I fall behind.

But still where I must be to succeed. 🥳

KEEP IT UP EVERYONE! 😁

@bookstodon @amwriting @nanowrimo

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 8 completed
Daily words: 2,989
Total words: 14,929
% Complete: 29.83%

I had a very light day yesterday, mainly as I’d written into a narratively dull corner and wasn’t at all excited.

When I’m not excited, I stop writing, as I can’t expect the reader to feel excited if I’m not when I’m writing it.

Lots of thinking 🤔 & midday today an idea got me really excited again, so got back to writing.

So much fun! 😃

@bookstodon @amwriting @nanowrimo

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Day 6 complete
Daily words: 1,922
Total words: 11,368
22.29% completed
11 hours 49 minutes total time spent writing directly.
Much more time spent thinking and planning and narrativising around that.

Keep it up everyone!

@nanowrimo @amwriting @bookstodon

AnthonyHarold , to bookstadon
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Day 5. Don't Mess With the 😈

The day before I decided to take a break and trim my trees, so I did! 💪🏻😄 A meditative exercise, I tell you. While pruning, I thought about the plot development of my book The Closed Tunnel.

Can I brag? Not only am I writing a book, but I have pomegranates in the garden 😂

Key takeaway: writing a is not always typing on a keyboard. 80% of the time, the story is born in your head.

Have a great week, everyone! 🫶🏻

@bookstadon

video/mp4

mjjmori ,
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@AnthonyHarold @bookstadon This is very true, about writing the first draft in your head before you type any actual words.

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Hello- I’ve been off for a week crook, but now back and raring to go. Time to resume writign my novel 😊

Just posting to create some accountability, really, with you all and void, for myself. 🤔

Do you have ways to help bring you towards writing?

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori OP ,
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@LJ @bookstodon @amwriting I’ve never tried that but it’s always sounded worth a go. I’ll ask around.

mjjmori OP ,
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@pelielios @bookstodon @amwriting Good luck. Is that Bubsy the Bobcat? :-) I haven’t heard of that guy for years.

mjjmori OP ,
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@pelielios @bookstodon @amwriting It can get like that, and a couple lines at a time is still progress. When someone reads all those lines it’s still the same whether it’s writers one sentence a day for a month or all in one thirty minute burst.

I am (just) old enough to remember the first bubsy being released on Mega-drive. I think I haven’t played it since ;-)

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Yay, I just finished the third chapter of my novel, in which my washed-up protagonist is found in a dank London pub and called back to duty with the offer of just revenge.

This writing-in-the-morning thing is certainly working for me. 😊

I hope you’re all having success with your own writing goals as well. :blobcatcoffee:

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Yay, I just finished the second chapter of my novel. Was thinking on it all weekend, wasn’t feeling it this morning, but made myself sit at my desk while I drank my coffee, and I just wrote what could be the first sentence. It wasn’t terrible. Took a few sips of coffee, then wrote a potential second. Another sip, soon I had the first paragraph.
An hour later & hey presto, chapter written 😊
Ok, time to log off and start the day.
@bookstodon @amwriting @mjjmori

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Yay, just finished the of my . Calling it done for now and moving right along to chapter 1, which will introduce the overarching antagonist. Which is quite exciting. :-)

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Part of having a writing habit can be having a specific time and place to write.

For me, I have recently set up a little tiny desk in a quiet corner that holds a little tablet with a keyboard that is for nothing but writing, and so far it seems to be working quite well.

Do you have a special place for writing. Or are you able to write anywhere, anyhow?

Write well!

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Monday morning and back to morning writing. I guess this is four weeks in a row now. I woke up with my story on my mind. So got to keep it happening. :-D

@amwriting @bookstodon

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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I’ve gone back to an old I’ve been writing for years- this time I’m getting it done! 😉

But, in doing so I have decided to change the prose text from past-tense to present-tense to give the some extra tension and forward drive.

It’s working out so far, but I’m not entirely convinced it’s the right thing to do. Most narratives are written in past-tense after all, so it might make my novel less inviting.

Thoughts? 🙂

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori OP ,
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@pretensesoup @bookstodon @amwriting Very good point. Any tense will work well if used correctly within a well-edited text. And part being well-edited would be selecting the tense that works best for the text. :BlobHajMlem:

mjjmori OP ,
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@rayckeith @pretensesoup @bookstodon @amwriting That sounds like a challenge.

“You will wake to the sound of past screams recorded when the waves rolled up and over the shores of the world, slowly dying along with your dreams. Then as you are eating breakfast in the econo-dome, you will hear the expectant ding a visitor at the door. There you will find…”

Not sure it would stick for a novel, but for a short story it could be very interesting.

mjjmori OP ,
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@pretensesoup @rayckeith @bookstodon @amwriting Not a lot going around, that’s for sure.

mjjmori OP ,
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@pretensesoup @rayckeith @bookstodon @amwriting This is very interesting, as I’ve always wondered what would be a particularly good reason to use second person, apart from aesthetic or simply to be different. This approach makes a lot of sense.

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Writing writing writing writing Writing

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mjjmori , to bookstodon
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@amwriting @bookstodon

mjjmori OP ,
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@pelielios @amwriting @bookstodon Hah, i know what you mean. Once or twice I’ve woken and thought that narrative or character I’ve figured out was just brilliant. In the cold light of morning, it is anything but.

Nice philosophy regarding remembering later.

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Writing a for my local writers group. 350 words with the prompt: birthday party, locked cupboard, twins. The variety is always interesting when we read our stories aloud.

Have trouble keeping it short? First, write without concern for word count.📚

Then hack and prune that wild shrub.🌳

Select one word instead of three.📌 Delete any sentence that changes nothing.✂️ Repeat. ♻️

You’ll be left with a flowering rose bush.🌹

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori OP ,
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@kinyutaka @bookstodon @amwriting Poor Henry! Though next year it’ll be: Poor Johnny! :-D

mjjmori OP ,
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@kinyutaka @bookstodon @amwriting A bit of darkness was certainly there the moment it included “locked cupboard’”. My writer group came up with that prompt by having three people say the first thing that came to their mind. One or two of them always right dark thriller and murder mystery pieces, so it keeps things interesting. 😇👹

mjjmori OP ,
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@BertL @bookstodon @amwriting The more I write (I’d like to get to 50 professional years, but that’ll be impossible for me now 😉), the more I can see when two sentences say the same thing, even when they are totally different. It can happen surprisingly easily, and I used to do it all the time. Not so much now. Writing a lot of micro-narratives over the last couple years helped with this a lot, I think.

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Ok, I finally finished a version of my new short story and submitted it for consideration in a YA Fantasy anthology. Here’s hoping it is selected.

Beyond that, while it’s taken consistent and considered work to get it where I liked, the feeling of achievement and dare I say it joy in having gotten this far makes it all worthwhile either way.

But, onto the next thing now: a micro-narrative for my local writers group 🙂

Write well!

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Just had one of those great little moments when writing where without knowing exactly where the story was going and just capturing my character’s words and actions, one of them did something unexpected that made it all work and helped explain the thrust of the whole story.

Suddenly BAM a little weight of doubt has lifted from the final narrative puzzle-piece falling into place. Phew- :BlobHajMlem:

Ever get this?

Write well :-)

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Back here again this morning. Writing. That’s most mornings for a week. For me, this is the most consistent I have been for a long time. It’s normally sporadic at best, with “when” and “for long” ever an open question. So, -hopefully- this is the start of one of those weird things called a habit. Some habits are good 😊

Short story almost complete. Nice to be in the penultimate scene, it’ll be completed tonight. Might need a twist.

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Hi everyone. Big weekend, bigger than expected- so not writing for a few days. In any case, back to it on Monday morning. If anything a short break from wriing has given my brain time to foresee the ending of my short story, so now I know where it’s going. Exciting to figure out how to get there. Also, and I’m very lucky, got a very short extension to complete and submit, so very much thankful to a great editor. :-D
Write well!
@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Under the pump to get this short story finished today. Things is I’m working all day, and a social event tonight, so it’ll be tight. But squeezing out bits and pieces across the day then stringing it together after I get home will work well enough to submit midnight tonight. There’s a fill editing process after that so it doesn’t need to be 100. Either way, I’ll get it done.

How do you go about meeting writing deadlines?

@bookstodon @amwriting

mjjmori , to bookstodon
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Back here writing again this morning. It was hard to sit and start, my sleepy mind against the idea of divising narrative, but the coffee helps.

Still on my current short story. Also still stuck, but it’s better than a few days ago, a couple scenes reduced into one, and moving right along in about 350 words instead of 1000.

I’m not yet excited about it, meaning I can’t expect my reader to be excited. It’ll spark soon :blobwizard:

@bookstodon @amwriting

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mjjmori OP ,
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@AnnaSaultron @bookstodon @amwriting Good analogy. Certainly some distance can help in these kinds of moments. A new pathway leading on an arc around the main event can show it in a different light. I have kind of done that with this story, backtracking up the path to a spot where a slightly different narrative pathway presented itself and I’m down there now and into the next scene. It was so nice to arrive here.

mjjmori OP ,
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@AnnaSaultron @bookstodon @amwriting
I’ve got a few short stories published in anthologies. A small start, but I’m trying to make something more of my writing that a long term small time hobby. Been following a meandering pathway through a wide grassy field for a very long time, now standing at the basecamp of a tall mountain. Scary and awesome at the same time :owi:
My latest short story is here:
https://books2read.com/ap/xLLyOk/M-J-J-Mori

mjjmori OP ,
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@AnnaSaultron @bookstodon @amwriting That’s all writing and is never wasteful. I’ve read a few times that the authors we all love often write twice as many words if now more by the time we have a novel in our hands, all false starts, and world-building, and character stories, and so on. But I find it can be tricky to pull it all together into one main narrative. All together lots of hard determined work required. :-)

mjjmori OP ,
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@AnnaSaultron @bookstodon @amwriting Sounds like you’ve got all the pieces you need, but have yet to built a narrative structure from which to hang them all.

mjjmori OP ,
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@mwayne0013 @AnnaSaultron @bookstodon @amwriting It can like that. Are you writing stuff you don’t like, or not writing at all but want to?

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