WIP challenge, day 9!

[littlebutfierce]

Day 9... we're almost in double digits! Tell us how it's going today:

Poll #7237 Day 9 check-in!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

View Respondents

What fic-related things have you done today?

View Answers

Write
7 (70.0%)

Edit
3 (30.0%)

Research
0 (0.0%)

Send to beta
0 (0.0%)

Post
0 (0.0%)

Procrastinate
4 (40.0%)

Something else (tell us what in comments!)
2 (20.0%)

And how are you feeling about your fic?

View Answers

Wonderful!
0 (0.0%)

Cautiously hopeful
6 (60.0%)

Bleh
3 (30.0%)

Depths of despair!
1 (10.0%)

How are you feeling about your progress on the challenge as a whole this month?

View Answers

And for discussion: return of the flamingo!



[Background — a six piece pie style colour split in three shades of pink. Foreground — the long neck and face of a pink flamingo.

Top text: Ask for ideas

Bottom text: Get nothing but requests for same pairing.]

Let's talk about ideas! Are you a writer that has a thousand more ideas than you'll ever write? Or do you struggle to come up with inspiration for fic? (Possibly you go through both phases!) Where do your ideas come from: your head, conversations w/other people in your fandom, prompts from a comment fic meme or a challenge, somewhere else? A combination of all of them? Are you ever itching to write but stumped for what to write about? Have you been successful in using other people's suggestions at those times (or, like the flamingo, perhaps you just get the same suggestions over & over, maybe something you don't want to write)? How do you keep track of your ideas before you have the time to actually write them? & how do you prioritize which one to pursue first?

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

I am feeling a little more optimistic about one fic in particularly because I've been getting some awesome suggestions from the relevant fandom comm. \o/ I'm really happy to have a few people to talk through this random PLOT w/! (Since, yeah, I am a writer who mostly does feeeelings, & last month I started writing all these fics that have actual plot, so... flail!)

I use prompts a lot of the time, partly because they are useful ways to get some fic words out if I'm not feeling inspired/energetic enough to work on a WIP (partly b/c I like filling people's prompts! Which doesn't actually happen enough). Sometimes I feel like the more ideas I have, the... more ideas I get. Like once the creativity faucet (ha!) is turned on, things just keep, er, flowing. It's hard when I get into a dry phase, though; I have to keep remembering that it probably won't last. I am getting better at having faith in myself, though.

Sometimes I am in the mood to write fic & none of my current ideas are grabbing me & I can't find a prompt that will get me started either. It makes me grumpy. ;) But luckily I don't seem to have that problem too often...

I don't tend to have a lot of friends in mutual fandoms so asking for suggestions at large wouldn't get me anywhere, I think.

[pipisafoat]

When I'm out of ideas and none of my friends are successful at prompting me, I always hit up comment_fic - they always have a nice stack of old prompts that never got filled, and it's fun to find ones for my rare fandoms and write for all of them out of nowhere. surprise! fic! months later! Or sometimes a random prompt hits me for something not-that-fandom or something. Faaaantastic.

[littlebutfierce]

I'd rather go to fic_promptly rather than comment_fic -- they have more prompts from my fandoms (& often they aren't just... left by me, whereas a lot of my fandoms don't even seem to exist on the LJ comm), heh. Author's choice prompts don't always do it for me, either, alas!! But yeah, I've started bookmarking prompts I like for days when I don't have anything else I feel like working on...

[pipisafoat]

I like the organization of comment_fic's
the
(just woke up sorry)
the bookmarks of things that haven't been answered, that. I like how nicely that works for me. Also I hadn't heard of this other; shall investigate!

(and my main fandom comm just opened a commentfic party, will be distracted there for a week now.)

[littlebutfierce]

Heh. Yeah, fic_promptly uses Delicious to organize unfilled prompts as well -- they are based organizationally off the LJ comm but w/some changes (like there's no limit to the number of prompts you can leave a day etc.).

[glitteryv]

Hee, those bunnies sure reproduce fast!

[lacygrey]

Most of my ideas are too ambitious: the fics they would lead to are too long to write, need too much research etc. I'm learning to identify these and put the ideas aside rather than waste too much time on them.

I have a 'Bunny Bin' for spare ideas. Sometimes a bunny will start to grow and look possible - usually because its generated other bunnies (chapters/ subplots) to keep it company. Then I'll let it out and try to write it. Otherwise I'll try to ignore its existence.

Prompts are good, they are usually more reasonable. I like the 31 days comm prompts on LJ, theres one every day.

[littlebutfierce]

I'm learning to identify these and put the ideas aside rather than waste too much time on them.

Oooh, I like that! That's a really important skill to have--to know when to NOT do something.

[glitteryv]

Oh, a "Bunny Bin" sounds like a very good idea. Hmm.

[jagnikjen]

I haven't done the poll yet as I have no idea what fic related time I'll have this evening. I'll come back and update later or tomorrow.

I'm a writer whose desire to write far outweighs the number of good plot-based ideas she gets.

I can usually bang out a drabble or a 1K to 3K missing scene or some-such with relative ease, but I'd love a few more solid plot ideas for longer fics.

My ideas come from various places, but usually just my crazy imagination; watching (or reading) canon can spark the missing scene ideas, sometimes prompts, sometimes specific challenges.

If I have more ideas than time, I just make a list and save them for later.

[littlebutfierce]

Aw, that must be frustrating, to want to write & have fewer ideas than you think you could use. :/

(Also, am impressed that you could bang out a 3k fic w/relative ease!!)

[jagnikjen]

It's very frustrating. :?

[glitteryv]

Hmm, but isn't a good plot-based idea worthier than several mediocre ones? I mean, that's one of looking at things, right?

[jagnikjen]

Well, I didn't say my short fics were mediocre. They're not. They're just shorter, less complicated with a single goal and usually a single complication. And therefore easy to bang out.

And I really would love to write a nice big juicy epic story more than once a fandom. Ah, well.

[jagnikjen]

Update: no writing yesterday as I was trying to get the men out the door. Once that finally transpired, I posted to DW/LJ, did a load of laundry and realized I was exhausted. I crashed at 8:30. :?

Oh, wait--I did do ficly things yesterday: I posted some more of my stuff at the single fandom archive and worked on beta reading for someone.

Maybe some writing today since my husband/boss is gone. It should be quiet in the office and I can enjoy a down day as long as the phone doesn't ring too often.

[pipisafoat]

I go through both phases! Currently I am full of mad ideas for Things I Don't Have To Write Right Now and absolutely nothing for what I have to finish restart.

I don't keep track at all. Sometimes I tell someone, sometimes I write it on a spare receipt that probably gets thrown away a minute later, but that way, if I remember it, it's top priority! hahaha.

[glitteryv]

Those ideas are sure pushy, aren't they? Always trying to catch your attention when it's not their turn yet. *g*

[pipisafoat]

you're telling me! instead of bizarre Potterverse trans fic, I am currently writing a solo-kink shaving-while-blindfolded fic for SG-1. DON'T EVEN ASK I DON'T KNOW. Perhaps after some sleep, sense will return. (*doesn't have high hopes*)

[glitteryv]

I'M NOT GOING TO ASK (THOUGH I'M CURIOUS. HEE!)

Also, Potterverse trans!fic. Ooooh! O_O

[pipisafoat]

The Potterverse is what I am supposed to be accomplishing via this! *glares at self* It has so much potential, but it hasn't been coming out right, so I guess my brain was like "detour to kink, come back later"
(a common solution to my problems! hahaha)

[littlebutfierce]

Ahahaha, isn't that (too often) the way? Every other idea looks so shiiiiny when there's something you've actually got to write. ^^;;; Good luck kickstarting the fic you need to write!

I like to think even if I forget an idea, if it was worth having, I'll think of it again. But that may not be true...

[lexicalcrow]

I managed to get a couple of fics plotted out during work, which was good. One was for my AU bigbang fic, so that made me happy too. I've been looking for something resembling a plot for a while and this will make it easier to write now that I have some idea where it's going. Which also reminds me I need to finish converting those episodes of The Prisoner into .avis so I can rewatch them all in various different orders to see if it a) makes any more sense, or b) just makes it even more confusing. :D? (I have about six different episode orders yay. XD) It's all For Fic Research purposes; I'm writing a Prisoner fusion for AU big bang and IT WILL BE AWESOME. 8D

The other idea was for Christmas fic in which Saint Nicholas is angry Santa's taken over so much and no one remembers who he is, so he uses all his magic to freeze the Earth into an endless Christmas before being consumed by the effort. There will be fairies and elves and other magical beings trying to stop it. :D ILU crackfic. XD

Did I mention I have too many ideas? I was watching this science show on TV last night and they were talking about this Spanish explorer d00d who came to Australia during the late 1700s, and I was all, that's totally the backdrop for that First Fleet-Time Travel-Zombie fic I never got around to finishing. 8D! It was going to be based around ELO's Time album. Woo, moar research. :D

I get ideas from everywhere. Songs, TV, sometimes reading unrelated things, it can be anything that sparks an idea in my head. I don't always get around to writing all these ideas, but many do get written. Some come from dreams too, or from images in my head. I at least try to write every idea down so maybe one day I might come back to it if I have enough inspiration.

Prioritising can be hard, as I do have a helluva lot of WIPs, but I tend to prioritise those I have a chance of finishing, rather than waste time on a WIP I have no inspiration for anymore. Sad, but sometimes it happens, especially for fandoms that aren't really active anymore that aren't really holding my attention either. I hate leaving it behind, but what can you do? My muses are bastards.

Also, my hands are cold. That is all. *wraps self in blankets*

[glitteryv]

*hands you over virtual cashmere blanket* Also, let me high-five you for your love of crackfic. Hee! *fistbump of crackfic love*

Oooh, and go you for working on your AU Big Bang. I TOTES THINK IT'S GOING TO BE AWESOME TOO! :D!

[lexicalcrow]

*snuggles* So cold. XD Crackfic is my life, man. Most of my fic is crackfic. It's awesome. ILU crackfic. :D My kinked big bang fic is going to be about D/s kink + mutant Pokémon superpowers. 8D! *claps hands gleefully*

It's going to be amazing. 8D! It's fused with a rl event that happened just around the time it originally aired in the UK in 1967. I have paranoid band members and gangsters and spies and possibly even George Harrison being evil. Because I like him being evil. (That, and I have half a mind to write a modern Prisoner AU in which Dhani is the new Number Two and takes over from his father. Because this is how my mind works. XD) (Also, it would be a modern Prisoner AU that would be better than the remake, which was shit. :P) /elitist. XD

[glitteryv]

That sounds INCREDIBLY AWESOME!

Other than my dS/Bandom (MCR) Big Bang (a story between a spy and a rockstar), I'm also enjoying planning my entry for Wave 2 of the Bandom Big Bang. A fic whose plot bunny is SO cracky that it gave me a headache. It's totally self-indulgent and ridiculously cracky.

In short, \crackfic!/

P.S.: Most of my fic is crackfic too and I wouldn't have it any other way. Hee!

[lexicalcrow]

Yes. I'm very excited. 8D! I've already added 700 words to it this morning, so that's been excellent. Progress! :D This is the band I'm writing about, fyi. They totally need a fandom because they are awesome and no one knows who they are. :(

I turned an icon meme into an 11k word crackfic. That's probably the craziest crackfic I've written. I had too many icons and all the pairings sort of maybe turned into a coherent (if crazy) narrative. There were rl plotbunnies, people getting sucked into the Internetz, Gods, and other assorted things. It was several kinds of amazing. XD

It's actually easier to go back and pick out the fic that isn't crackfic, rather than try to count the crackfic. And the AUs. I live for crackfic and AUs. :D

[littlebutfierce]

Icon meme into crackfic is AWESOME!!! That is an amazing idea.

[lexicalcrow]

Yeah, it was a lot of fun to write. You can read it here: part one and part two, if you're interested. :D

[littlebutfierce]

Yay for plotting out more fics during work!! \o/

& heeeee, all your ideas! That's exciting. & awesome that you pick up ideas pretty much all the time!

[lexicalcrow]

Yes, I have to have the Internetz open to do my work, so I always have email (and twitter) open too. I can just write emails to myself. It's awesome for planning things. :D

Yeah, possibly too many ideas, but that's never a bad thing. At least I'm rarely short of something to write. Plus, I've usually got several projects on the go at once, so I've always got something to work on. I tend to follow my inspiration a lot. It does minimise the amount of writer's block I get, which is great too. :D

[linaewen]

Other than a few small projects for work today and dumping hot and sugary Ovaltine all over my computer desk and laptop, I didn't accomplish much. :-/ I took a break from writing fic, but I'm hoping to get back into it soon, and continue challenging my month's challenges.

I don't have too much trouble with ideas. I have lots of them that haven't been used yet, but I try to keep track of all of them. Most of them are related to already started fics and will hopefully be used as part of the various epics I'm writing -- though some turn into plot bunnies on their own. Most of them come from something I see or read or hear quoted that triggers an idea, which is usually just a small thing, but it turns into something full-blown after I research it to see if it fits. Once in awhile I get a suggestion from someone that works as an idea, but it's harder to work with one of those than one that comes to me on its own. I have rarely written from a prompt, but the few times I have it as been helpful.

If I feel like writing, I'm never at a loss for what to write about -- the problem is more getting to feel like writing, or sometimes in the starting and getting the right words to convey the idea. The idea is still there, it's just trying to explain it properly that's the problem!

[glitteryv]

*hugs you* Who knew Ovaltine was so evil as to end up all over your laptop. :(

Also, yeah, getting that initial burst of writing going can be a total drag sometimes.

I hope tomorrow is a much better day for you.

[linaewen]

The Ovaltine was definitely evil -- it burned me, I jumped, and out it came from my cup onto my computer. Looks like things are fine for the most part, however. A couple of the keys are sticky but they still work!

[littlebutfierce]

Oh no, I'm sorry about your laptop & computer desk! :( Is... there any chance of salvaging the laptop?

I appreciate that getting the motivation to write can be difficult, but yay for always feeling like there's something to write about, when you do get there!!

[linaewen]

Seems like it's going to be okay. The worst hits were taken by the Backspace and Delete keys; they are quite sticky (all senses of the word) and sluggish to perform. I guess I'll just have to not make any mistakes from now on that require backspacing or deleting! :-D Or maybe I'll have to make a lot so they can get limbered up from their sticky state...

[littlebutfierce]

Phew!! I'm glad things seem to be all right -- I hope the backspace & delete keys unstick soon.

[glitteryv]

Did my usual 1,400 (somehow I can't quite reach the full 1,500, but I've made my peace with that) words. Also made a list of places I can get a few betas for it (as it's a crossover between two random fandoms, I'll deffo need a beta from each Fandom.)

Are you a writer that has a thousand more ideas than you'll ever write? Or do you struggle to come up with inspiration for fic? (Possibly you go through both phases!) Where do your ideas come from: your head, conversations w/other people in your fandom, prompts from a comment fic meme or a challenge, somewhere else? A combination of all of them? Are you ever itching to write but stumped for what to write about? Have you been successful in using other people's suggestions at those times (or, like the flamingo, perhaps you just get the same suggestions over & over, maybe something you don't want to write)? How do you keep track of your ideas before you have the time to actually write them? & how do you prioritize which one to pursue first?

I've never had any problems coming up with ideas. The thorny part is differentiating between an idea I kinda like and something that I *really* want to work on. The majority of my ideas come from fics I'd love to read but that (for one reason or another) simply don't exist. So, I write them instead (that is, if I can't nudge the idea to one of my friends first. *g* Not for not nothing am I know as the keeper of the plot bunnies AND a shameless enabler.)

Interestingly enough, other people's prompts rarely (if ever) get me writing. I think it's a combination of feeling anxious that the person will like the final product PLUS the pressure to perform. I write fic because I dig writing fic, not because I have to. That's why, with a few exceptions, I tend to be very slow when I write for auction fics.

I have a notebook filled with scribblings (rough outlines, pieces of dialog, etc.) that I carry with me at all times.

As I tend to work on two to three fics at once (otherwise I get REALLY bored and the fic will not get finished), I'm constantly moving fics up or down my "Top 5 Fics I Want to Finish" list. A list that I keep in my head.

[littlebutfierce]

1400 is still pretty freakin' impressive! & yaaaay for figuring out where you can get a beta.

& ha, I end up leaving prompts for fics I want, but feel like I can't write myself, on fic_promptly or other places. Once in a while, especially if the prompt goes unanswered, I decide to give it a go (while doing my 750 Words or something) & I actually get somewhere! (Actually one of my favorite fics [of my own, I mean!] started off that way: it was an unanswered Yuletide request & then a prompt I left & then somehow I managed to write it. \o/ )

It's important to know what gets you excited about writing & what makes you freeze up, so yay for learning how to keep the fun in it!!

[glitteryv]

Thank you! The fic is taking shape so, it deffo looks like I will totally make the deadline (which is five days from now.) :)

[bay_alexison]

Oi, kept forgetting to check in! D: Well, Tuesday despite being away for most of the day I was able to write out 400 words of one scene that has been on my mind for a while. Wednesday and today I was busy editing and expanding my first help_japan fic. Send the story to my beta and she said she should finish looking through it by Friday afternoon. Soon I'll finally get that story posted! XD

Oh man, I tend to get tons of ideas and half the time I don't get through them. My ideas tend to come from prompts, a scenario I wished happened, conversations with my friends, and from other sources of media. I keep track of them by writing them down in my notebook so that I can refer back to them if I suddenly forget where I want to take the story, plot wise.

I'm pretty good with having my ideas connected together into one huge plot. There are two stories that I'm still thinking over how I'll go with the plot, but I'm sure once I get myself rid of distractions I'll be able to come up how to deal with that, haha.

[littlebutfierce]

Yay for being so close to done w/your first help_japan fic!!!

I think it's all right to have way more ideas than energy to write all of them--I mean, then you can pick & choose the most awesomest ones, right? & just... having your brain open to receiving ideas is a good thing. :D

[snowynight]

I wrote 200 words. I think my wip is about to be finished. Now I just need to wait for my beta to be free.

I'm more of a prompt writer. I get my inspiration from conversation with friends, prompt from meme (though usually prompts of fandoms that I can fill are left by me). To make sure I remember them, I write them down in a few words in my sticky post. I pursue them

[littlebutfierce]

Woohoo for being so close to finishing your WIP!!

though usually prompts of fandoms that I can fill are left by me

AHAHAHA I know what this feels like. I get quite excited when I see some that aren't mine!