WIP check in - Tuesday 28th February

[lullabymoon]

How did your writing go today?

• I wrote
• I researched
• I edited
• I posted
• I had too much else to do
• I did something else I'll explain in the comments

Today's discussion topic is another fanficflamingo:



Do you like writing about or developing your own headcanon for those characters that don't have any in the source material? 

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

Actually wrote some words this morning that might end up as a treat for the Book of Friends exchange, which would be nice! Also got my main fic back from beta, & also managed to make myself go through the edits & address them (I'm kinda tired today, & editing takes a lot of mental energy).

I really like developing minor characters! Sometimes they're the ones that grab me the most anyway, & if canon doesn't give them sufficient attention, well... I will. Also it's a pleasing challenge to come up w/things to fit around the few pieces of canon relating to them.

[lullabymoon]

Yay for words and editing!

[sharpiefan]

I wrote. 524 words so far today... just over half a chapter written (I've got very roughly another 1000 words before I can call it finished).

My speciality is background characters - people who 'were there' even if they're not necessarily visible onscreen. You know, the passerby, or a random crowd member. And in my case, the background characters are Marines (I write in the Age of Sail) which gives them something of an interesting take on things.

[lullabymoon]

That's brilliant!!

[rhi]

Oh, man, the secondary and tertiary characters are just so much more fun. And they have so much less written about them that I feel like there's arm room to play. Just... whee!

[lullabymoon]

Yeah, I definitely think that's part of the appeal! :)

[proseac]

Still not writing...but the plot bunnies are working overtime today - I'm brimming with ideas. I need to capture them all so I don't lose them again!

I'm not working much at the moment, and I'm running a bit low on cash, so today was spent doing my taxes, just to make sure I didn't owe - and I actually get a small refund, which has set my mind at ease. Nothing worse than the Sword of Damocles aka the spectre of possible taxes owed hanging over one's head. That'll kill the muse faster than anything else I know.

I love inventing headcanon for minor characters. The trouble is, my main fandom is NCIS, and after nine years, they've really done quite a lot, even with the minor characters, and there's no end in sight. There's always a risk that the fanon you create will get blown away by some future episode. Some people don'e care about such things, I know, and simply slap an "AU" label on their fic. I'd rather not do that if I can help it, but it's getting harder not to with every passing season.

[lullabymoon]

Sounds like a productive day regardless! Yay!

[enemytosleep]

Yuujinchou Exchange (due Mar 17): First draft complete. I got the first batch of notes back, the other will hopefully come later this week. For the moment I'm letting it sit as I'd like to edit it only once with both sets of notes side-by-side. Current word count: 9,306

Yuujinchou Exchange Bonus Treat #1 (due Mar 24): No progress. Current word count: 2,128

Yuujinchou Exchange Bonus Treat #2 (due Mar 24): No new words. Current word count: 0

Help_Japan (due 18 years ago - 750 word min): No new words. I promise to give this love after the Yuujinchou exchange stops eating my brain. O.o Current word count: 3,666

Worst day ever yesterday, chose hot shower and Archer marathon over critical thinking and editing.

[lullabymoon]

Some times we just need days like that. Hope today wasn't too bad.

[roane]

I posted! The next chapter of "Displacement" is up. It's trying to grow a plot beyond the plot I already gave it. I literally had to pull myself back from creating the entire case that was just supposed to be background for the 'real' plot of longing and sexual identity angst. My brain was like, "But no, I want to know who the murderer was!" Perils of writing Sherlock fic. :) I may have to revisit.

I love minor characters. I love stuff written from the perspective of secondary characters. I'm reading some right now and it's wonderful. Dunno where it comes from, but I'm realizing that every single thing I've posted in the past month has an original character in it. Or close enough. Huh. Not sure what that means.

[lullabymoon]

Yay! that's awesome!

[crowdog66]

I had too much else to do. :(

I have a lot of fun coming up with headcanon for minor characters, but right now I don't have the energy to write any more than that. :)

[roane]

:( Hope things get better soon.

[lullabymoon]

Ah well, sometimes we do have to focus on other stuff. Hope things get a little less busy.

[bay_alexison]

Just got home, but got emails from both Beta A and Beta B over their edits on my Big Bang, so will be doing that in a bit.

I quite like making headcanon for the minor characters as it's fun coming with a backstory for them as long as it makes sense.

[lullabymoon]

Hope the editing went okay!

[snowynight]

Case story bigbang (10K min.) : ~1K written. Currently 6K. Cautiously optimistic.

Queer bigbang (10K min.) : I'm thinking of starting a new plot, again. Not working on it right now.

Reverse Bigbang (6K min) : Brainstorming

It's fun to develop minor or background characters. They are like a blank sheet and I can write a lot on them and have a new spin on canon.

[lullabymoon]

Seems like awesome progress!

[pinstripefedora]

I think I had a breakthrough today on why I was blocked on this scene, and I think I've got a pretty good idea of how to fix it. I've pinpointed a place where the dialogue seemed kind of forced and awkward in an effort to introduce conflict, and I've figured out a way to fix it so that, not only will it not be forced and awkward anymore, but I can cut out a lot of unnecessary words (as in, over a page) that I had to put in to justify/compensate for that weak spot. God, I'm so relieved. I spent about two weeks just flailing around with vague dissatisfaction in the direction this scene was going and had just about convinced myself that it was boring and uninteresting and didn't flow at all and everybody was going to hate it and why even bother finishing this stupid story anyway. Now I know why! I kind of want to roll around on the floor in triumph.

Ah, and fleshing out minor background characters... it can be fun, especially since a lot of times they're practically a blank slate. I don't get to do it as much as I'd like to, though, simply because every time I get inspired for a story it always involves the same few characters. :/ I wish my mind would branch out a little bit.

[lullabymoon]

That's awesome!!

[lea_hazel]

I should be writing, today was gonna be my designated writing day. I have deadlines. But it's raining out and all I want to do is faff in my pajamas all day. I can't get inspiration.

[lullabymoon]

Blah. I hate when that happens. I hope you manage to find inspiration.