Daily check-in post!!

[littlebutfierce]

How's the writing going today? Good/bad/indifferent/not at all?

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

The writing session tonight started promisingly for me--I chose a prompt from fic_promptly to get started & then tried one out from yuri_challenge too. The latter might actually be usable.

But after a while I got an e-mail from my credit card company--one of those, "We have detected fraudulent activity, please contact us" ones. So of course I had to drop everything & call them. Only to find out, of course, that the supposed fraudulent activity was ME (which often happens!). Which is good, but annoying (Dear credit card company: sometimes I BUY THINGS. Cope!). Anyway, then my writing mood was broken. ;_;

[emothy]

I know EXACTLY what you mean about the credit card thing; I get exactly the same way when it happens to me! I remind myself how awesome it is that they are diligent and check up on things, and it makes me feel safer, but JEEZE IT WAS MY PURCHASE XD

(Although I did have someone manage to order £600 worth of alcohol online on a site I'd never even heard of without ever getting hold of my card once! Which was promptly sorted out for me, thank god).

Which yuri_challenge prompt were/are you working on? XD

[littlebutfierce]

£600!!! Holy moly. I'm glad they were able to sort that for you!

I'm working on a Natsume Yuujinchou Reiko/Hinoe prompt--it's not a pairing I ever would've thought I'd write (I like them, just didn't think I could write them), but I decided to give it a whirl in the course of getting my 750 Words in, & I think I might have something!

[emothy]

The most annoying part was that I don't even drink alcohol XD Not that my bank knew that!

Ah, Natsume Yuujinchou, I've seen this name thrown around a LOT recently. What is it about it you enjoy personally? (When I see a fair amount of prompts on fic_promptly it makes me curious about certain fandoms!)

I hope you manage to keep going with it! :D I think 750 words everyday sounds like quite a challenge so well done for that too!

[littlebutfierce]

Ohhhhh I LOVE NATSUME YUUJINCHOU SO MUCH! Um, I have written a little about it here (& the OP embedded in that post is definitely worth a look!). I keep thinking I need to write a proper promo post for it, but haven't yet gotten around to it.

I don't always write 750 words of fic every day, but I have been writing at least 750 words of something (sometimes it's just brain dump) every day for almost an entire year. \o/ I do think it helps! And often it is fic, which is awesome.

(can you tell how much I like to chat? XD)

[emothy]

...Is it completely utterly so wrong that I could watch that (spirit in the) cat FOREVER? IT'S ROUND AND HAS TINY LITTLE LEGS AND IS JUST SO CUTE.

(I am such a cat lover :x)

Also even though you said he was a highschooler I was not expecting Natsume to look so... grown-up. And holy cow does he see a lot of spirits! And they're all weird and wonderful, not just human!

As for the writing everyday I know how much that is supposed to help, and I have tried to do it before. But sometimes having that pressure to write when I really don't want to can make things worse, so I leave it when I don't feel up to it now, and when I do I have to really try XD

Re: (can you tell how much I like to chat? XD)

[littlebutfierce]

And, and, and, the show is also all about finding your chosen family & making friends & being scared to reach out to people & lots of HEARTWARMING STUFF!!!!1 *flails*

(Though yeah, Nyanko-sensei is totally cute, hee! You can't tell from the OP but he, of course, has a huge attitude. Which is awesome.)

For me, writing something every day has helped a lot--even when it's not fic (I'm not sure if the pressure to write that you mentioned is relating to fic or just writing in general). I think it's partly b/c I'm such a creature of habit, so if I tell myself I must write something every day, then my mind accepts that writing is something I do, y'know? Even if I'm cranky or in a hurry or really, really depressed. On those days it's not fic, it ends up being a lot of "Work sucked today, I hate everybody, what the hell else can I write in here so it adds up to 750 words, oh yeah, the WORLD SUCKS," etc. I used to write in a journal a lot when I was younger, so I do know that for me at least, it's pretty cathartic. ;) & then on days when I have more time/energy, it feels pretty low-pressure to write some random ficcish bit in there, b/c I know mostly it won't be something I'll want to keep or use, & that's fine... it's just like... doing warm-ups, or keeping the engine of my brain warm (? hello, mixed metaphors!) or something. A lot of the time I'll just be noodling around & writing really random horrible fic bits just to get the 750 words in, & suddenly a sentence will appear & I'll think, "I never thought about it that way!" & maybe out of everything I've written that day, that one sentence is the only thing worth keeping... but it might end up being the centerpiece of a whole fic.

(tl;dr it works for me, though I appreciate it might not work for everyone!)

Re: (can you tell how much I like to chat? XD)

[emothy]

Depending on what it is I am such a sucker for heartwarming stuff XD I think that's why I enjoyed K-On - it's just these girls who are friends having fun, being a bit silly, with no petty arguments, and even misunderstandings are short and sweet (I hate the cliche where a problem is only continuing because people won't just TALK ABOUT IT).

Cute cat with a huge attitude? LOVE.

Ah! This might be the key! To just write things out in general instead of being so dead-set on those words all being fic. That's something to consider for sure.

[emothy]

(EXCUSE THE RAMBLE)

I started out trying to add to a fic I'm hoping to finish for no_true_pair in time for the first week of posting, and although I must've added a couple hundred words I feel like there's probably too much dialogue going on and that I keep forgetting that one of the characters I'm trying to write has matured somewhat through the series (I like to think of him as a tantrum-throwing brat). But the point of this fic is that he still needs to mature even MORE and that he hasn't had the opportunities to do that because of unexpected troubles that have fallen on the group. There's so much more to add to that fic yet and I hate when I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel :x


Once I gave up on that I decided to try another prompt from yuri_challenge, because although I LOVE femmeslash/yuri I've never had many fandoms I could write it for easily. K-On! feels a lot more promising in that regard. My problem with this one is that I've been trying to flit between tenses (mentioning something past then coming back to present), and although it works for the most part I don't think I can get the snippets I've been writing to join up smoothly. Once I sort that hiccup out I figure the rest might just work out!

[littlebutfierce]

Ramble is good!

Tenses, AUGH. Also having bits of a fic & not quite being able to figure out how to patch them together--I've had that particular problem before, where I can't figure out how to make flashbacks work w/the present of the story. :/

(But yay for more K-On! fic!!)

& for the other fic, I hope you manage to find a way to keep going on it! Feeling like there's just TOO MUCH work to do on a fic is no fun.

[emothy]

I'm usually okay at threading a reference to the past into a present-tense piece of writing, but the beginning of this whole thing just feels kind of clunky and I've rewritten so many sentences so many times trying to make them flow better. I might have to accept that less is more and take out any description that just seems OTT.

(K-on! It's one of the very few fandoms I actually know in the prompt list right now, lol. If J/K-dramas, etc. get to be included in the future things might broaden for me!)

[littlebutfierce]

Hm, let me know if you want a beta! I actually like betaing things but usually I don't know people's fandoms (which is fine if they just want a grammar check, obviously).

(I don't really know a lot of fandoms in the challenge either, heh. If they do expand to dramas I will know even less, but that's okay--I am just happy that someone's suggesting my fandoms other than me!)

[emothy]

Honestly I don't usually get things betaed. Sometimes I make a friend read something over before I post, but mainly to say, "it's good, post it!" I think I have a real issue with criticism. I know I shouldn't take it badly but it feels like such a blow to me, so I tend to avoid the situation (which is probably not really good for my writing XD). But thank you so much for offering, and I will definitely remember your offer if I ever gather up some courage ;)

(I have to admit the dramas people would prompt for I probably won't know either - I can't think of many that I've watched that would have a yuri following! But the idea makes me happy. I think when the prompts went up I only knew Prince of Tennis, and those prompts included a character I hadn't even heard of! It's so difficult to find girls in the canon XD So I didn't actually leave any prompts this time; I had no idea there was going to be such a HUGE response but it's awesome).

[littlebutfierce]

Heh, fair enough. I was absolutely terrified to ask for a beta the first time, & it wasn't even canon-specific (b/c I didn't have any friends I felt comfortable enough w/who were also in the fandom)--just a general spelling/grammar/does this suck? sort of thing. I still get nervous asking for betas, & yeah, sometimes I have to stop myself getting really defensive, but I've been lucky in that the comments I've gotten have been really helpful. I think it's useful, too, to kind of indicate what kind of beta I'm looking for--do I want really intense line edits? Or do I want someone mostly to give it a quick read to see if it rings true, canon-wise, & if you happen to see any typos, please let me know? (Knowing this helps the betas too!)

(Also, sometimes I just miss things from having worked on the same fic over & over. Did you see that fanfic flamingo post recently that was like, "Character takes off pants 3 times during sex scene. THANK YOU BETAS"? Heh.)

(ETA: I don't get absolutely everything betaed, though, heh. Partly b/c shorter pieces I feel more comfortable letting out into the world by myself--less to mess up!--& partly b/c I don't have an awful lot of people I can ask for betas, even still, so I try not to overwork them. ;)

[emothy]

Yeah, when a beta has been a requirement, as part of a ficathon for example, I've still only asked for spelling and grammar because it was usually someone I didn't know very well and I didn't want that outside criticism. With a friend I can take a "I don't really get this bit" and explain what I was going for in a way that doesn't make me feel self-conscious or silly or overly defensive of my own work ;)

LOL yes I saw the fanfic flamingo post; I am following that tumblr on RSS (I don't actually have a tumblr) and it's so hilarious! It definitely shows off fic writers true colours XD

[in_lighter_ink]

[deleted and re-posted because I fail at html today. twice.]

I've managed a decent amount of rambling and notes* (750 words worth, in fact ^^) for a couple of fic_promptly prompts that caught my eye. Just have to try not to get so excited to start new things that I abandon the WsIP I already have!

Now that I've started back on the draft that is so close to done I can taste it, it's going much more slowly, but it's going. \o/

*I am bad at doing commentfic properly... both things are threatening to turn into full-blown stories. *happy facepalm*

[emothy]

I have two fuckyeahfanficflamingo images that sum up your problems and will remind you that you aren't alone ;)

Why Finish a WIP?

Started As A...

[in_lighter_ink]

Hee! Yes, those are perfect! :D

[emothy]

I don't know if you've tried this, but sometimes when I have THAT many WIPs threatening to bury me I force myself to make a promise - once I finish one already in progress I can start on a SHINY NEW idea! ;)

...It doesn't always work, but you probably have more willpower than me XD

[in_lighter_ink]

(Late comment is late -- it's been that kind of week. :/)

Yep -- that's my strategy exactly! In theory, anyway... we'll see if I've actually got the willpower!

[littlebutfierce]

Yay for the commentfic! (& hahaha, I was totally going to post the fanfic flamingo ones that emothy did below.)

And also yay for having the tenacity to go back to the main WIP after flirting w/commentfic!!

[in_lighter_ink]

I think I might have to set those fanfic flamingo things as, I dunno, wallpaper or something... they're just too perfect!

Heh -- the WIP in question is a fic I'm writing for a fest that a friend is running, so I'd better finish it eventually!

[haruka]

I failed at finding time again today. We painted two rooms in our house, went out to buy more paint, watched a couple of episodes of Magiranger, laid in the dark for an hour for Earth Hour and here we are. :( I think I'll stop checking in until I'm able to actually WRITE something. XD

[littlebutfierce]

Aw, but that sounds like you had good reasons for not writing!! I mean, okay, end result is the same (no writing occurred), but it sounds like you had stuff to get done (the painting of the rooms! -- which then totally requires some down time after, I can imagine). I get more frustrated when I haven't written & it's just b/c I was crabby or couldn't make myself focus or just felt pouty & didn't want to do it, y'know?

[haruka]

Same with me, I usually start getting hard to live with if I haven't written for a while, but lately, I haven't even had time to think about it much (stupid renos.)

[linaewen]

This was me again yesterday. ^^^^

But I'm determined to accomplish some writing today -- it's a matter of honor! So no matter how sleepy or listless or uninspired I feel I'm going to do it! ;-)

The one thing I accomplished yesterday was finding some good notes and dialogue I scribbled on a scrap while I was at a doctor's appointment, so if I can use that as my springboard today, it should be good. *crosses fingers*

[littlebutfierce]

Welllll... if you were crashed out, you must've needed the down time to catch up on your sleep! Hopefully today is going better--plus it's great that you were able to use the down time while waiting at the doctor's to think of some notes!