Check In - Day 11

[enemytosleep]

Hello, writers! What have you been able to accomplish today toward your January goal?

— I wrote today!
— I planned and/or researched something.
— I sat down and did some editing.
— I sent things to my beta.
— I posted!
— I focused on something else today.

Writing question time: What was your hardest scene to write? Please feel free to share it here.

Comments

[enemytosleep]

I haven't had time to write yet today, but I will update later once I do. I plan to finish that chapter today!

I’ll leave a link to the most difficult scene. The opening scene to Chapter Two of “No Sound of Water” was so difficult to write. Partly this was because it was my first chaptered fanfic, and partly because that chapter/scene was in a difficult character’s POV. I remember being very frustrated and needing much cheerleading from my beta to get it all out. This was also back when my MUST BE PERFECT OR ELSE mentality was strong, so I kept hindering my progress by erasing and fretting in front of a blank screen instead of simply writing something, even a crappy something, to edit and perfect the next day.

[enemytosleep]

So far today I have not made good on my writing goals. Instead of wrapping up the portion I wanted to send off to beta, I skipped ahead to my chocolateboxcomm prompt and starting plotting that out (including a good hour of cultural research). I then watched several episodes of the show to get back into their head space and create an outline. So, it's been productive, but on the wrong piece. I'm going to run to the store now and I hope to set to work the fandom_stocking piece when I get back home.

[enemytosleep]

Got that chapter sent off to my beta! Oi what a relief.

[autobotscoutriella]

Speaking for yesterday since today hasn’t really started yet, I completed and posted a short fill for a rare pair community, and started on a new chapter of my long WIP that I hope to finish today! (Of course, I also dropped all my notes in the sink trying to multitask, so that’s a slight setback. Still, I wrote!)

As for the hardest scene, I think I’m stuck on it right now—for the moment I’ve skipped it and kept going, but I’ve been hung up on one essential scene for a couple months. I’m not sure if it’s a POV problem, a “this scene is not actually necessary” problem, or what.

[enemytosleep]

Aaah, sorry to hear about the notes taking a swan dive! I hope you were able to dry them out? Good luck writing later today.

I'm not sure if I can help, but if you would like someone to take a peek at the rough spot to weigh in, I'm always happy to take a look. Sometimes I find a fresh pair of eyes can really help jog my brain with a few simple notes.

[autobotscoutriella]

The notes have mostly survived! They're a little blurry, but I can read the important parts--most of them have already been transcribed, thankfully.

I may take you up on that at some point! I'm hoping that reworking the scene from the beginning might help today, but if it doesn't, I might drop you a message and see if there's anything you can do.

[enemytosleep]

That's so great - we've all had hard drive failures orother catastrophic events before, and that this one wasn't in the end is awesome. :D

Yeah no worries, if you find yourself still stuck later on, shoot me a message. ♥

[autobotscoutriella]

Part of the reason I take so many notes longhand is because I actually did have a colossal computer failure fourteen hours before the biggest presentation of my academic career, and wound up spending the night teaching myself how to transfer everything from the old hard drive to a new one (information was fine, it was the actual machine that died). This way, at least I have the rough drafts and all the notes!

Thanks so much! I appreciate it.

[enemytosleep]

OMG that's awful! Also a little triggering because my 6 year internet hiatus began when my sister visited one xmas season and fucking murdered my laptop while I was at work. Literally murdered it. Spilled an entire mug of coffee on it, freaked out that she spilled and dropped in on stone tile when she tried to get up, tried to WASH THE COFFEE OFF UNDER THE TAP WITH IT STILL TURNED ON. Mind you she is a PhD in sciences so you would think intelligent enough to not do the last one...

For a while I couldn't afford a new computer, then I moved, then I moved again ... and before I knew it, it had been 6 years with no internet aside from Netflix and Hulu on the TV. Kind of crazy how it all worked out in the end. I am very paranoid now with work things and backing up to outside sources, because of course I lost more than fanfic that fateful day. #mylifeinanime

[frogfarm]

Finished a rough draft last night. Today's agenda is polishing that while writing more on at least two others.

Hardest scene? Absolutely the final chapter of Honey Moon Shine (Buffyverse, Faith/Willow). Eight fricking months agonizing over every tiny aspect of their first sex scene, driving two different beta readers out of their minds with my raging perfectionism. You'd think that would have been enough for me to learn my lesson, but I ended up abandoning that series before finally learning how to power through.

[enemytosleep]

Good luck tonight!

Sometimes when we know how important a moment is to the characters, we can make it SO IMPORTANT that it becomes a burden to execute. I'm sorry you had to struggle through on that, but I hope the lessons have helped since then.

[frogfarm]

So far so better - hit my quota and exceeded it, working on three. Now polishing and prepping the finished for posting.

[linaewen]

I wrote today, roughly 1200 words. I think I finished the chapter I was working on, but I will set it aside for now and read it through again later just to make sure.

The hardest scene to write is one that hasn't been written yet. It's a battle scene that is next up in a WIP that has been on hiatus for years because I can't seem to bring myself to write that scene! I'm not sure if it's because I don't want to write a battle, or because I am going at it from the wrong POV, or what. I plan to get that WIP out again and have a look, maybe after all these years, something fresh will come to me and I won't be blocked on it!!

[enemytosleep]

That's awesome! And I always like to let something sit overnight before sending it off as I usually catch something with fresh eyes.

What kind of battle? I find watching some movie/tv fight scenes really help me plot things out. I'm not sure if battle means legions of troops, martial arts, or what, but I'm sure a fight scene exists that would be appropriate for your story as inspiration.

[linaewen]

It involves a number of troops. Good idea to watch a film, though. I have some movies, even some books, with some good fight scenes I could watch/read to help me get in the right mood, at least. Reading a book might help me get some ideas of good words to use, too.

[yvannairie]

I wrote some porn. Oops. I am now obligated to finish writing the porn and getting it out of my system before I can write anything else.

I also wrote some preliminary thoughts down on a Hollow Knight inspired post-apocalyptic AU. I'm actually pretty excited to keep working on it -- partially because it lets me do another interesting variant on my OTPs relationship and partially because I love stories about trying to fix the world after it broke in a way that came way out of left field.

I think the last scene that really gave me trouble was the second half of Wheeljack's monologue in Half a Same Mind. I had to write that sucker twice and the ridiculous thing is that the first version isn't even bad, it just flowed weird. Honestly for a character whose "voice" I had such little difficulty getting down pat, I never expected to run into such a problem.

[enemytosleep]

Porn must be written, and it earns the Blushing Winry icon as well.

I'm not familiar with the series, but post-apocalypse things are a favorite genre of mine to consume. It sounds fun and I hope you enjoy digging into that draft.

Monologues are tough no matter how well you know a character. I'm glad it's behind you in the past, though!

[samuraiter]

A visit to Game Stop today – for the PS4 remaster of Tales of Vesperia – means that writing is unlikely to happen, as my brain keeps going to the PS4 instead of to this computer. To be fair, though, I have had a productive week, so it might be time to relax in order to avoid burning myself out too early in the months. Tomorrow might be a different story, though, as there is quite a bit of snow coming, and I have no intention of leaving my home for that reason. (Mercifully, I do not have to work again until Monday.)

The hardest scene I have had to write was most likely my first *cough* adult scene – not going to link to that, as it is no longer available online, and it was under the cloak of anonymity, anyway. I was less worried about the content than I was about taking the plunge and becoming "one of those kinds of 'ficcers". ... Bit of a droll observation, considering the amount of naughty stuff I write nowadays, but it was a concern a decade and a half ago.

[enemytosleep]

Oooo there's something about a snow day that is so fun and meant for things like new games. I hope you stay safe and warm in the storm!

An embarrassing porn anecdote gets an embarrassing double entendre icon of a porny nature. I remember panicking at my first adult piece wondering DID I USE THE WORD COCK TOO MANY TIMES?!? IS THERE SUCH A THING AS TOO MANY TIMES? I TOTALLY USED IT TOO MANY TIMES. Yay for getting more comfortable and writing what you enjoy without worrying what other people (anonymous, internet people) will think about it.

[samuraiter]

For the record: Cock is one of the handiest words in the arsenal where porn is concerned, IMO. It beats trying to come up with euphemisms.

[enemytosleep]

Euphemisms most often fall flat for me (heh) so I agree, be liberal with the amount of cock in your porn ... unless there is no cock involved!

[lady_katana4544]

No writing happened today since I was focused on other things.

The hardest scenes for me to write in any fic, are the mostly fight scenes since I'm never certain how much research I want to put into battle formations and troop numbers. Otherwise I just decide to skip writing them and just make a character note that a battle between the A and B forces happened.

[enemytosleep]

Big battles can be tricky. I wish I could remember who told me this so I could credit them, but they told me that, "If it bores you to write it, it'll bore readers to read it." So sometimes it makes sense to skip ahead.