WIP challenge check-in: day 11!

[littlebutfierce]

It's the weekend! Does that mean time to work on fic, or are there too many other things you have going on?

Poll #7252 Day 11 check-in!

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

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What ficcish things did you do today?

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Write
6 (60.0%)

Edit
4 (40.0%)

Send to beta
1 (10.0%)

Post
0 (0.0%)

Procrastinate
5 (50.0%)

Research
0 (0.0%)

Something else I will describe in comments
1 (10.0%)

How many words, if any, did you write today?

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1-249
1 (16.7%)

250-499
2 (33.3%)

500-749
1 (16.7%)

750-999
1 (16.7%)

1000 or more
1 (16.7%)

And how are you feeling about it all?

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& a discussion topic: Beginnings! Middles! Endings! Every story has these. Which are you best at? Which do you hate? How do you try to drag yourself through the worst section of the story in order to get it done?

Comments

[msmcknittington]

Middles are totally my downfall. I tend to feel really confident when I start, and I generally know how I want it to end if not the exact words, but middles are where all the doubts creep in and I struggle to connect Point A to Point B. I usually even know what I want the climax and falling action to be, too, but the rising action leading to climax is really difficult to me.

I try to break the plot down into successively smaller pieces, until I know exactly what intermediary steps I have to take to get to where I'm going, but even all that logic doesn't always work. Sometimes I just need to write and fail and then re-write and re-write and re-write until it clicks. Letting things age for a while works, too. Sometimes writing is like a fine cheese -- it stinks, but improves with time.

[littlebutfierce]

middles are where all the doubts creep in and I struggle to connect Point A to Point B

I so hear you on this one!!!

Breaking down things into small steps sounds like a good plan--I should do that more. I don't tend to do much plotting or other story-thinking on paper, but I might try that (using the theory that sometimes trying a different medium--I always write on the computer--will jog free different thoughts & ideas). I don't tend to do much actual plot so I've never really needed to before, ahahahaha.

& yes, I definitely agree that sometimes letting a fic sit for a while is the best thing that can happen to it!