July WIP challenge: day 10

[in_lighter_ink]

Hello, fellow WIP-ers! How have your weekends been? Productive? Relaxing?


Today, I've:
- Written
- Edited
- Sent fic to beta
- Posted
- Planned and/or researched
- Procrastinated
- Something else I will describe in comments.

And a question, as a new week begins: What do you guys do when you just can't get a fic's beginning to work? Do you plow through, then go back and edit or re-write later? Skip to a scene that's more inspiring? Try a completely different point of view or style?

Comments

[jagnikjen]

The weekend has been productive all the way around, so I can't complain. I got a lot accomplished yesterday on my challenge fic, though not quite as much today, but that's okay. At this point, I'm going to put aside my challenge fic and try to get some work done on my original fic.

When the beginning of a fic give me fits, I usually plow through writing whatever crap comes out of my fingers until I finally get to where I want to be. Then I go back and edit.

[lexicalcrow]

Might as well reply now. I am (still) awake. XD

I finished my AU big bang rough draft! :D I have duly sent it off. I also wrote about 2k? 2.5k? on my kinked big bang too, along with a ton of research on Pokémon moves and which ones are able to be modded into a D/s situation. (Don't ask.)

IDK about beginnings though. Depends on the fic. Sometimes I plough through, other times I might just rewrite from scratch and see if that works. Maybe even print the whole thing off and do a red pen edit, just to see if that helps. It depends how far in I am too. Like, it's easier to start again when I only have a few scenes. It's a bit harder when it's 75% done and quite a lot longer.

[mystiri_1]

I'd have to say fairly productive. Wrote a short fic, started two more that may or may not go anywhere. Monthly total is lookng good, too. But I do need to try writing one of the things I am supposed to be getting done, because I keep getting distracted by a shiny new fandom (to me, anyway).

I have a fic I started last wekend for a challenge (day before the deadline, too). I wrote a good two pages or so before deciding I absolutely hated it, then a new song came on my playlist that inspired me two write the other prompt instead, so I did. I'm still planning to write the other fic eventually, but I'm not sure if I'll use the beginning I've already got, or just trash it and start again. I always wait until I have a beginning for a fic, because if I start on a different scene, I have no guarantee I'll be able to get there.

[mystiri_1]

Congrats on finishing your big bang draft!

[littlebutfierce]

Wrote nearly 900 words on a new fic that may actually be worth keeping. Did some editing on main WIP (which has breached the 10k barrier, a record for me ^^;;;;;). I feel like maybe I am getting back into the groove after the wasteland of last week. I only hope that work doesn't kick my ass quite as much!

I'll plow through the beginning of a fic if I have to; my strategy in general when writing is to just crank out words, & if they're crap, at least I'm warming up my brain & eventually good stuff will come out. I can revise a beginning; I can't edit what's not there.

[littlebutfierce]

Woo, congrats on conquering your big bang rough draft!!

[jagnikjen]

Congrats!

[jagnikjen]

YAY for 900 words and hitting 10K!!

[jagnikjen]

Update on original fic: I crested the 6900 mark. I'm aiming for 7500 words so as to reach "novelette" status. Getting closer. Woo hoo.

[littlebutfierce]

Thank you! 10k is terrifying, but hopefully I can work w/it!!

[jagnikjen]

Seven thousand words and counting!

[pkc_creative]

So far today I've re-read my research and I'm about to start typing up a new handwritten chapter from my WIP. Also have a bit of an idea for one of my challenge prompts too, hopefully I can work on the challenge fic tomorrow.
Something else - posted a couple of my old(ish) fics on to my AO3 account. Quite like the site so far :)

Whenever I can't get a beginning to work I tend to leave it alone for a few hours and do something else before going back to it and I tend to figure it out when I'm away from it.

[jagnikjen]

7100...!

[snowynight]

I wrote another 500 for my assignment fic.

If a beginning doesn't work for me, I'm known to scrap it and begin again.

[linaewen]

My weekend was mostly productive. I wrote some new stuff and edited some other stuff, and generally made progress. I wasn't able to write any today, but I did work up a very nice annotated outline to give me a clear picture of what is left to be written as I attempt to finish my half-way-done Big Bang in three weeks.

I usually just fuss with a beginning until I get it -- for some reason, I don't like to move on to another part unless I can get the beginning down. I don't seem to be able to just right stuff and edit later; I usually edit as I go, so what I end up with is pretty much the tale as it's going to be. If it's a real struggle, I might play with some notes for other parts and then come back to the beginning, but getting that first bit right at the beginning seems to set the tone for me for all the rest.

[bay_alexison]

I mostly did a quick edit/read though of my first slashfest fic to see if there's something that needs to be changed/expanded and did some wording changes here and there. I'll look at the story again for grammar mistakes and then see if I can have someone beta it in a couple of days.

Hm, I actually tend to get an idea how I want to begin the fic, but it's the opening lines I have a hard time writing out, LOL. If that's the case, though, I tend to plow through and then go back and edit. Sometimes I might revise the beginning a couple of times until I'm satisfied with it.

[eggcrack]

My weekend was lazy, but I've been writing ficlets for poetry_fiction's July challenge to get rid of the various self-inflicted writing blocks, and it's been going well! I'll ty to get back to the daily writing/posting swing this week, as well as work on the already in-progress stuff.

I usually try to either plow through or try something different, usually the latter because it's important for me to get the right "tone" for the story right in the beginning. Sometimes finding that right tone can take time though, so that's when I plow through just to get started. I used skip to the more interesting stuff in the past, but now it feels like cheating in a way. Another aversion I need to get rid of?