August WIP challenge - day 2 check-in!

[littlebutfierce]

Day 2! How's your month starting off?

Poll #7656 Day 2 check-in!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 12

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What fic-related things have you done today?

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Wrote
10 (83.3%)

Edited
2 (16.7%)

Sent to beta
0 (0.0%)

Researched
3 (25.0%)

Posted
1 (8.3%)

Refreshed canon
2 (16.7%)

Something else (tell us what in comments!)
1 (8.3%)

Procrastinated
3 (25.0%)

How many words have you written today?

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0-249
2 (18.2%)

250-499
3 (27.3%)

500-749
2 (18.2%)

750-999
3 (27.3%)

1000 or more
1 (9.1%)

Please describe how you're feeling about your fic today, in 5 words or less!

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& for a discussion question: What's the best writing advice you ever received? How often do you actually follow it? Does it help?

Comments

[curuchamion]

The best writing advice I ever got was this quote from Ursula LeGuin:

"As for “Write what you know,” I was regularly told this as a beginner. I think it’s a very good rule and have always obeyed it. I write about imaginary countries, alien societies on other planets, dragons, wizards, the Napa Valley in 22002. I know these things. I know them better than anybody else possibly could, so it’s my duty to testify about them. I got my knowledge of them, as I got whatever knowledge I have of the hearts and minds of human beings, through imagination working on observation. Like any other novelist. All this rule needs is a good definition of “know."

...which the quoter (idlewild_ on LJ) followed up with this:

"Your universes are your universes. So maybe someone else has written or created media in the sort of universe you'd like to write about. That doesn't mean that you can't. Your worlds will bloom in their own way when you start writing them. Don't forget that it's reasonable to have influences. I am influenced by noir, and it shows a lot in a lot of my writing. That doesn't make it not original."

All of which entirely changed the way I look at my writing, and inspired me to try orig!fic again. So. :D

[littlebutfierce]

Very wise words from LeGuin indeed!