WIP Check-in -- Days 22 and 23

[glitteryv]

Firstly, I'm tremendously sorry for the non-posting. Basically, a wacky combo of RL and co-modding duties kept me ridiculously busy yesterday. /o\

Poll #7382

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

View Respondents

My goal fic(s), you ask? Well, I . . .

View Answers

wrote!
5 (62.5%)

edited!
4 (50.0%)

did something ficcish (brainstorming, research, daydreaming, etc.)
4 (50.0%)

procrastinated.
0 (0.0%)

set it aside 'cause I needed a break.
0 (0.0%)

did something else that I'll describe in my comment
0 (0.0%)

Today's question: What would be the best piece of advice you'd give to a fellow ficwriter? (It can be as silly or srs bizness as you want it to be. )

Comments

[glitteryv]

I had a very quiet day at work today (thanks to the entire system being down. *g*) so, I was able to scribble two of my h/c bingo fills (total words: 1,100 for one and 700 for the other.) They're nowhere near ready to even get betaed, much less posted. Still, I feel good about going about slowly-but-surely getting my bingo card done.

What would be the best piece of advice you'd give to a fellow ficwriter?

Write what YOU want to write.

[lexicalcrow]

Migraine yesterday, which did slow me down a little, but I'm still making progress. My AU bigbang fic is now passed 11k! :D It's still very skeletal and in need of some proper world-building and scenes involving The Bad Guys (whoever they are atm) to give it more structure. It's just confusing atm because my characters have NFI what's going on and neither do I. So it's become this series of scenes in which my characters are confused and somewhat brainwashed and it's making no real sense. There's mindfuckage and then there's 'really makes no sense at all and not in a good way'. So that's what I'll work on over the weekend. I'm going away, which will be nice, and hopefully, I'll have time to rewatch some more Prisoner episodes (the ep order I'm using does make more sense, tbh) for inspiration.

I'm still toying over whether to include only one Number Two, or keep with the original series and use more than one. I always did like that there was more than one as it's more disorienting. You don't know them long enough to figure out how to manipulate them before a new Two comes along. Might be a good excuse to use my favourite Twos to fuck with everyone's minds. :P Especially Leo McKern's Two. He's my favourite. <3 He has an evil goatee and everything. XD

And, um, advice I'd give to a fellow fic writer would be write the story that wants to be told. Don't try and force it to be something it isn't.

[pkc_creative]

Haven't had much chance to write, stupidly bust :( but I got around to doing some editing on short fic (under 1000 words) and also started mapping out a couple more chapters for my huge WIP.

Best advice? don't let other people tell you what to write. Write whatever is in your head, no matter how far-fetched it may seem to everyone else.

[snowynight]

I write 800 words and start to brainstorm my urban fantasy noir AU.

Just write it. You can always edit later. is the best advice I have.

[littlebutfierce]

Tried my hand at some more comment fic (I really want to play more when fic_promptly has contest weeks, waaaaah) but I don't think it's salvagable, boooo. Still, it's words! Words are good!

My advice would be: just get some damn words out. Even if it's shitty, it will warm up your brain & remind your brain to stay in creative mode & when you've got to the point where you're churning out better stuff, then you can go back & edit out the bad bits at the beginning. But you can't edit what's not there.

[jagnikjen]

Printed out my July challenge fic and started reading it out loud. The first parts have been edited many times over on the computer so there weren't big changes, just minor tweaks for word flow issues.

I also worked on my June challenge fic a bit on the 22nd and that's almost finished.

Advice: find a beta reader : honestly :) Not that I have always followed that advice. But I do now.

You could be writing the best fic ever, but if I can't read it because your text is filled with grammar, spelling, and punctuation issues I'm not reading it. If you have issues with with these things, LEARN them. I know it's not easy sometimes, but my first impression of you/your fic/your writing style is important. Many of us are super busy. I'm busy. I don't have time to give authors chance after chance to win my time by reading--or trying to read--a poorly presented fic.

I know I might sound harsh, but this is one of my biggest pet peeves. :)

[bay_alexison]

Day 22 was my writing day off while Day 23 I wrote around 800 words and finished a short story. The rough draft is really bad, so later tonight/tomorrow I'll edit the heck out of it. XD

As for advice, I'm also going to have to say write what you want to write and don't worry about how the others want you to write the story. I actually got that advice handed down to me a couple times when I was stressed over about my stories, haha.

[lacygrey]

Hi. Ive not been checking in much this last week but I at last have the fic moving again and have put on another 2000w. Its getting a bit complicated from the beliefs point of view - I guess anything with ghosts is bound to. The Hikago canon (from Japan) is ambiguous and therefore open about the afterlife. I'm keen to try to keep that but Ive got to have a few rules somewhere - oops looks like I'm trying to play God there.

Advice to fanficers(this is actually what I'm telling myself at the moment): Practice writing everyday like one would a musical instrument, not necessarily working on specific fic but at least word use and idea generation, to try to keep in shape and improve.

I'm also thinking of doing a reading ban (another idea from the Artist's Way) to try to clear my head a bit.

[linaewen]

My advice would be to not be afraid of what other people will think of your story/fic/writing; just write it! Don't let imagined criticism keep you from writing what's in your head or on your heart. If you have envisioned a story, then go ahead and get it out there, because there are probably more people out there pining for just that tale than there are people waiting to jump out and criticize it. ;-)