Writing meme
Apr. 8th, 2010 11:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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elle_blessing
1. How often do you write and how do you feel about your output?
When I have the time and Ducks In A Row, the writing comes out fairly consistently at about 1000 to 2000 words a day. When I am drinking fire I can write 1000 words per hour, but those times are few and far between. I am mostly okay with my output but I wish I had more time to spare for it and that my ducks lined up more often. Still, I don't like to make writing goals; that sort of thing always backfires with me. I get ahead of myself rather spectacularly every single time (counting my poor chickens before they're hatched is a failing of mine) and then I get disappointed. Especially because I so rarely do what is wanted of me. Even when I'm the one who wants myself to do it.
2. Where does your inspiration come from? Where do you get your ideas?
Anywhere and anything. It's all fair game. I especially like hearing from people. Sometimes at shows I segue into unusual topics, hoping that the customers who are browsing will have a story or two.
Some of the best inspiration comes when I'm driving long distances. My brain sometimes pops into this lovely gear where I simply sit and narrate entire stories and swaths of stories in my head in a continual and thrilling process. Unfortunately, it's hard to get that stuff on paper. Often it vaporizes later. However, I often retain the essence and can attempt to write it at the very least.
As far as where do I get my ideas--well, do you remember that character in the Sandman comics who gets cursed with constant ideas and nearly goes mad? heh. It's not that extreme, but still, I have constant thoughts for stories to write. Even if you weed out the tens of h/c story ideas I generate on a weekly basis, there are still bunches more of regular story ideas that pop in my head, just from looking at a sign or a tree or hearing someone say something. Constantly. I just wish I had the time to chase a few of them.
3. What are the first things you write? Dialogue? Sex? Something else?
I write the first sentence, and then the second, and then the third, and I continue writing until I reach The End. I very rarely write any passages out beforehand unless there is some particular phrasing that occurs to me that I must have.
4. How have you improved this past six months/year?
Remembering to give the secondary characters lives and thoughts and dreams. Actually finishing a 95,000 word fic. Sustaining a 95,000 word fic, which also taught me that, in a fanfic mystery, people will suspect all of the OCs, even if you give them the best alibi in the world. lol. Working on dialogue and paragraph formation and being concise.
5. Why do you write?
It's complicated. On one hand, I like writing, and I love rereading what I've written. I like writing the things I know will suit my reading tastes very well. I like filling that niche. But I also like sharing the writing, and that can be just as important as writing it for myself. I also think that writing is one of the few things that makes me consistently happy, and is one of the few things I do better than average. Some might debate that. Hell, I might debate that.
6. Do you go through highs and lows? What are the triggers?
As anyone who reads my journal will tell you, YES. I have a constant roller coaster which looks like this:
a) Write. Feel excited. Going up!
b) Read. Feel even more excited. Going up!
c) Wander off to make tacos or whatever.
d) Either: 1) read something that is fabulous that is written by someone else, 2) turn on the hypercritical inner drive, or 3) decide that I'm horrible at writing. Going down!
e) Even the Canadian geese in my backyard are more talented at evoking a mood than I am. Going down!
f) I can't believe I ever tried to string words together. Going down!
g) I'll just reread this bit. Hey, this is not bad. Going up!
h) Ooh, I love this phrase. Going up!
i) Repeat steps a through h.
7. Do people in RL (real life) know you write slash?
A few do. Two are fandom-oriented and understand; the rest are vaguely horrified.
8. Where do you write?
Computer desk. Occasionally longhand at shows or while on the road.
9. Does music help or hinder?
Mostly hinders, except for scenes I've written in my head several times that are super emotionally charged or actiony. Those are often helped by music. Usually the same song, played over and over and over again until Husband flees for another room.
10. What are your props?
Huh? For the actual writing process? The computer. Google. Dictionary. Chai.
11. How seriously do you take your writing/the writing process?
Well, I'm not closeting myself away writing poetry. I give it my spare time, and sometimes a little extra. I do want to write well and I want to be clear and concise, and I want the reader to understand what I'm saying and not be distracted by poor grammar or sentence construction. So fairly seriously, I suppose.
12. What are your strengths?
No clue. The compliments I get are all over the map and I can't quantify them into discernable patterns. Except a lot of people say that I write fast. But that's not really the best strength, is it? Hmm. Maybe spelling? I'm a pretty decent speller.
13. What are your weaknesses?
Too many to list here, most likely. The two things causing the most despair right now are a) moving characters about in a scene and not making it sound like He Did This And Then Walked There And Did That, and b) the dialogue/action game. For some reason I have lost my handle on how to write understandable paragraphs where two characters are talking and one does something while the other is talking.
For example.
"I like this sweater," said Cody.
"Cody, that sweater needs to be put out of its misery." Nick stirred his coffee.
Cody frowned. "But I've had this sweater forever." Nick turned to look at him. "And I love it. I'm not giving it up."
It used to seem very natural to me where everything was placed, but I've kind of lost that. I look at the passage above and I hope that everyone understands that the last line of dialogue is spoken by Cody. But then I get scared and sometimes I rearrange it. I've lost some confidence there somehow. I need to find a tutorial of sorts and try to see if there are rules. Writing about men men men men makes it difficult too, as everyone is "he." I get confused easily.
14. If you beta, what do you get out of it?
I do not beta because I'm gone too much. I can also be flaky.
15. What do you write? AU's, crack, PWP, threesomes, crossovers etc
I do write the occasional AU. I don't like reading crack (about 99% of the time) but occasionally I write things with crackish premises. Mostly, though I write melodrama. lol. I love angst, drama, and I especially love the slow burn romance, where the couple takes a while to get together. I love that mystical magical early relationship time and I love stretching that time out.
16. Which fic have you written that felt like bungee-jumping – you really had to feel the fear and jump?
Um. I usually don't feel that, but I suppose you could say it about To Taste a Pure Heart, that odd angsty crackish fic I wrote about Martin Castillo from Miami Vice falling in love with his tie. I was a little worried about posting it--it really is a strange fic.
17. How do you feel about comments?
YES. THANK YOU.
18. Do you give other writers feed-back? Why/why not?
I give other writers comments. If they indicate that they want fb, then I sometimes do so, but that is a rare thing.
19. What is the indicator for you that your story was a success/worked?
Comments. Or just one or two very exuberant comments.
20. Do you write in the genre you like reading the most, ie crack, AU, angst etc?
Absolutely.
21. Do you write a straight through draft or is your first attempt bits and pieces?
Straight through. Beginning to end.
22. What is it about this fandom that is eating your brain?
About Riptide? Nick and Cody, how they try to heal each other, love each other, save each other.
23. Is this your first time, or are you a serial monogomar with fandoms?
I am a serial monogamist when it comes to writing fanfic. Mostly. Occasionally I'll do a little side fic, but normally I only write in one fandom at a time, it seems. Though I read in many.
24. Do you do drabbles, comment fic, challenges with deadlines – and how do you get on with these?
I like drabbles sometimes. Poems. I have done very few comment fics. And I don't do challenges with deadlines any longer. Too hard--I procrastinate because it's something I have to do and then I despair. Not a good mix.
25. Anything else?
Writing is awesome. Talking about writing is awesome. Writing about writing is awesome. I like writers. I like writing.
elle_blessing1. How often do you write and how do you feel about your output?
When I have the time and Ducks In A Row, the writing comes out fairly consistently at about 1000 to 2000 words a day. When I am drinking fire I can write 1000 words per hour, but those times are few and far between. I am mostly okay with my output but I wish I had more time to spare for it and that my ducks lined up more often. Still, I don't like to make writing goals; that sort of thing always backfires with me. I get ahead of myself rather spectacularly every single time (counting my poor chickens before they're hatched is a failing of mine) and then I get disappointed. Especially because I so rarely do what is wanted of me. Even when I'm the one who wants myself to do it.
2. Where does your inspiration come from? Where do you get your ideas?
Anywhere and anything. It's all fair game. I especially like hearing from people. Sometimes at shows I segue into unusual topics, hoping that the customers who are browsing will have a story or two.
Some of the best inspiration comes when I'm driving long distances. My brain sometimes pops into this lovely gear where I simply sit and narrate entire stories and swaths of stories in my head in a continual and thrilling process. Unfortunately, it's hard to get that stuff on paper. Often it vaporizes later. However, I often retain the essence and can attempt to write it at the very least.
As far as where do I get my ideas--well, do you remember that character in the Sandman comics who gets cursed with constant ideas and nearly goes mad? heh. It's not that extreme, but still, I have constant thoughts for stories to write. Even if you weed out the tens of h/c story ideas I generate on a weekly basis, there are still bunches more of regular story ideas that pop in my head, just from looking at a sign or a tree or hearing someone say something. Constantly. I just wish I had the time to chase a few of them.
3. What are the first things you write? Dialogue? Sex? Something else?
I write the first sentence, and then the second, and then the third, and I continue writing until I reach The End. I very rarely write any passages out beforehand unless there is some particular phrasing that occurs to me that I must have.
4. How have you improved this past six months/year?
Remembering to give the secondary characters lives and thoughts and dreams. Actually finishing a 95,000 word fic. Sustaining a 95,000 word fic, which also taught me that, in a fanfic mystery, people will suspect all of the OCs, even if you give them the best alibi in the world. lol. Working on dialogue and paragraph formation and being concise.
5. Why do you write?
It's complicated. On one hand, I like writing, and I love rereading what I've written. I like writing the things I know will suit my reading tastes very well. I like filling that niche. But I also like sharing the writing, and that can be just as important as writing it for myself. I also think that writing is one of the few things that makes me consistently happy, and is one of the few things I do better than average. Some might debate that. Hell, I might debate that.
6. Do you go through highs and lows? What are the triggers?
As anyone who reads my journal will tell you, YES. I have a constant roller coaster which looks like this:
a) Write. Feel excited. Going up!
b) Read. Feel even more excited. Going up!
c) Wander off to make tacos or whatever.
d) Either: 1) read something that is fabulous that is written by someone else, 2) turn on the hypercritical inner drive, or 3) decide that I'm horrible at writing. Going down!
e) Even the Canadian geese in my backyard are more talented at evoking a mood than I am. Going down!
f) I can't believe I ever tried to string words together. Going down!
g) I'll just reread this bit. Hey, this is not bad. Going up!
h) Ooh, I love this phrase. Going up!
i) Repeat steps a through h.
7. Do people in RL (real life) know you write slash?
A few do. Two are fandom-oriented and understand; the rest are vaguely horrified.
8. Where do you write?
Computer desk. Occasionally longhand at shows or while on the road.
9. Does music help or hinder?
Mostly hinders, except for scenes I've written in my head several times that are super emotionally charged or actiony. Those are often helped by music. Usually the same song, played over and over and over again until Husband flees for another room.
10. What are your props?
Huh? For the actual writing process? The computer. Google. Dictionary. Chai.
11. How seriously do you take your writing/the writing process?
Well, I'm not closeting myself away writing poetry. I give it my spare time, and sometimes a little extra. I do want to write well and I want to be clear and concise, and I want the reader to understand what I'm saying and not be distracted by poor grammar or sentence construction. So fairly seriously, I suppose.
12. What are your strengths?
No clue. The compliments I get are all over the map and I can't quantify them into discernable patterns. Except a lot of people say that I write fast. But that's not really the best strength, is it? Hmm. Maybe spelling? I'm a pretty decent speller.
13. What are your weaknesses?
Too many to list here, most likely. The two things causing the most despair right now are a) moving characters about in a scene and not making it sound like He Did This And Then Walked There And Did That, and b) the dialogue/action game. For some reason I have lost my handle on how to write understandable paragraphs where two characters are talking and one does something while the other is talking.
For example.
"I like this sweater," said Cody.
"Cody, that sweater needs to be put out of its misery." Nick stirred his coffee.
Cody frowned. "But I've had this sweater forever." Nick turned to look at him. "And I love it. I'm not giving it up."
It used to seem very natural to me where everything was placed, but I've kind of lost that. I look at the passage above and I hope that everyone understands that the last line of dialogue is spoken by Cody. But then I get scared and sometimes I rearrange it. I've lost some confidence there somehow. I need to find a tutorial of sorts and try to see if there are rules. Writing about men men men men makes it difficult too, as everyone is "he." I get confused easily.
14. If you beta, what do you get out of it?
I do not beta because I'm gone too much. I can also be flaky.
15. What do you write? AU's, crack, PWP, threesomes, crossovers etc
I do write the occasional AU. I don't like reading crack (about 99% of the time) but occasionally I write things with crackish premises. Mostly, though I write melodrama. lol. I love angst, drama, and I especially love the slow burn romance, where the couple takes a while to get together. I love that mystical magical early relationship time and I love stretching that time out.
16. Which fic have you written that felt like bungee-jumping – you really had to feel the fear and jump?
Um. I usually don't feel that, but I suppose you could say it about To Taste a Pure Heart, that odd angsty crackish fic I wrote about Martin Castillo from Miami Vice falling in love with his tie. I was a little worried about posting it--it really is a strange fic.
17. How do you feel about comments?
YES. THANK YOU.
18. Do you give other writers feed-back? Why/why not?
I give other writers comments. If they indicate that they want fb, then I sometimes do so, but that is a rare thing.
19. What is the indicator for you that your story was a success/worked?
Comments. Or just one or two very exuberant comments.
20. Do you write in the genre you like reading the most, ie crack, AU, angst etc?
Absolutely.
21. Do you write a straight through draft or is your first attempt bits and pieces?
Straight through. Beginning to end.
22. What is it about this fandom that is eating your brain?
About Riptide? Nick and Cody, how they try to heal each other, love each other, save each other.
23. Is this your first time, or are you a serial monogomar with fandoms?
I am a serial monogamist when it comes to writing fanfic. Mostly. Occasionally I'll do a little side fic, but normally I only write in one fandom at a time, it seems. Though I read in many.
24. Do you do drabbles, comment fic, challenges with deadlines – and how do you get on with these?
I like drabbles sometimes. Poems. I have done very few comment fics. And I don't do challenges with deadlines any longer. Too hard--I procrastinate because it's something I have to do and then I despair. Not a good mix.
25. Anything else?
Writing is awesome. Talking about writing is awesome. Writing about writing is awesome. I like writers. I like writing.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-12 04:12 am (UTC)If I remember right, I think one of your major strengths is showing emotionally where your characters are and painting a very detailed picture of the connectivity between characters...if that makes any sense.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-12 03:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-12 10:18 pm (UTC)Cody frowned. "But I've had this sweater forever."
Nick turned to look at him.
"And I love it. I'm not giving it up."
With maybe something in the last sentence to indicate that it's still Cody speaking, or the reader might think Nick is mocking him.
(Sorry. But when I post this, I'll be noting that dialog is my one strength.)
*hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-12 10:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-12 11:46 pm (UTC)I know it was just an example, but now I want to see a story built around Cody's sweater and Nick's dry, penetrating gaze. And Thom's drumstick agrees.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-13 12:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-15 10:47 am (UTC)#9 - the same song, played over and over and over again
Hee, me too! Except with earphones. :)
#12 - You have a very clear vision of your characters and the events in your stories, and you are able to express that vision to your readers. We see what you want us to see, at least, I think we do. :)
#13 - No disrespect to L_T, but I don't have a problem with how you've written the "Cody frowned" line. Since all the dialogue is spoken by one person, and you've clearly identified who's doing what, it works for me. According to
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-15 05:22 pm (UTC)Hee, me too! Except with earphones. :)
It makes poor Husband crazy, but sometimes it's perfect for a scene--and when it's right, I think I write even better.
#12 - You have a very clear vision of your characters and the events in your stories, and you are able to express that vision to your readers. We see what you want us to see, at least, I think we do. :)
That is very reassuring, because I completely and totally obsess over whether I've painted the picture correctly or not. Thank you!
So I interpret the opposite to hold true: same speaker, same paragraph. FWIW; YMMV. :)
See, that's what I always thought, myself. Then again, I look at both ways, and in one way it's a touch confusing, and in the other way there's too much pausing and it gives Nick's action too much emphasis. So I'm still puzzling it out.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-28 10:59 pm (UTC)"Cody, that sweater needs to be put out of its misery." Nick stirred his coffee.
"But I've had this sweater forever," Cody said (protested, gibbered, danced up and down and yelled *s*, whatever you want!), and frowned (scowled, adjective of choice) as Nick turned to look at him. "And I love it. I'm not giving it up."
Just another way of breaking it up....
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-29 02:41 am (UTC)