Well, last Saturday we had our first Writing Marathon. Our amazing spouses gave us a WHOLE Saturday to write. Deb's husband even took the kids OUT of the house so we could gather there.
We started slow--hey, we are all friends and it takes us some time to stop talking. Then Kirk threw down the gauntlet and posed the first challenge. Who could get the most words in the next hour. I won the first challenge (hee hee). We broke for lunch. If Kirk ever offers to make you a sub, say YES. Trust him to make it his way and you will be so happy.
After lunch we had another challenge. I struggled getting started (there was turkey in that sub). And I lost to Kirk by 30 something words!!! If only I hadn't eaten that amazing food.
We had a final challenge at the end of the day. Both Kirk and I were done. We got something like 30 words for the whole hour. (Does that mean I wouldn't be able to finish a real marathon? I hit the wall and didn't break through it.)
Kirk won for the day. I only lost to him by 200-ish words. (Again, if only . . . )
We gathered later with our spouses and enjoyed a great dinner and conversation.
All in all it was a great time. We decided we need to do a marathon quarterly. Someone else will post the grand total of words written during the 8 hours of the marathon.
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It was a great day of writing indeed. And I whole heartedly agree with Kirk's sandwich making skills. Simply awesome.
ReplyDeleteThanks for not outing me as the loser every round. I appreciate you not putting that out there for public consumption :)
I did try to protect you. :)
ReplyDeleteSo since no one has put up the word count I'm gonna say it. We broke 10,000 words in a 6 hour marathon of writing with 6 of us writing at different paces. It was fun and inspiring and definitely a must do again event.
ReplyDeleteDid you all write in the same room? Did you all write on laptops? How did you stay focused? Were you all writing first drafts? Do you each write a different genre? It sounds like it was a lot of fun! Congratulations on your 10,000 plus words!
ReplyDeleteWe were all in the same room except for Arlene. She was in another state.
ReplyDeleteWe were all on laptops. We had moments of hilarity, but it was fun to have immediate gratification for questions.
After each contest we would read a bit of what we'd written.
We are in different genres. I won't speak for the other Inkers but I am currently writing Middle Grade fiction. I've got a MG Sci-Fi on the back burner and a YA fantasy.
Inkers, shout out what genre you consider yourself. (Bad sentance, but I'm letting it stand)
I'm happy to make a killer sandwich anytime. Glad you guys liked them.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, Gussie, we mostly wrote in the same room with laptops until I was outcast because of the unbearable Kirk vibe that dominated the room. Also, Arlene tele-marathoned with us. We stayed focused because I'm competitive and challenged and because debbie had the right music. It was amazing how much we were able to accomplish, and hopefully we'll get it going once a quarter.
We each write in different genres, which shakes things up
It felt so good to be able to dedicate such a large chunk of time to writing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kirk for the marathon idea and the sandwich skills, which I enjoyed and managed to keep down in spite of a lingering and annoying stomach virus. All better now, thank goodness.
Thanks Debbie for kicking your family out so we had a comfy place to work.
Thanks DJ for keeping the competitive spirit going.
Thanks Donna for sharing your really intriguing first pages of a new story.
Thanks Arlene for joining in long-distance.
And a BIG thanks to our spousal units for giving us the time and kid coverage.