WIP challenge - day 4 check-in!

[littlebutfierce]

Poll #7680 WIP challenge day 4 check-in!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

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How many words did you write today?

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None
1 (14.3%)

None, but I planned it that way
0 (0.0%)

1-249
2 (28.6%)

250-499
0 (0.0%)

500-749
1 (14.3%)

750-999
3 (42.9%)

1000 or more
0 (0.0%)

& how are you feeling about your progress on your goal fics so far?

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For discussion (topic courtesy ficwriter1966!): Let's talk about writing for someone else. That could be fic exchanges, comment fic, birthday (or other gift) fic, etc. How does writing for a specific recipient change the process of fic for you? Do you worry a lot about whether they'll like it? How closely do you stick to the prompts? Do you do a lot of snooping to try & pin down the recipient's tastes? (Probably some of this will change depending on what kind of fic we're talking about: fic exchanges are different from comment fic -- especially an anon meme -- etc.)

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

Woo, yay for the writing & editing combo!! I hope you were able to get some more writing done as you hoped.

I agree that when the pairings are rare, recipients seem particularly grateful, which is sometimes a relief! (Sometimes I think, ugh, maybe my story sucked but they were just happy for scraps...)

Sometimes I find it easier to experiment when writing for anon memes, b/c if it sucks or goes over badly, I need never post it anywhere else & claim it as my own. ;)

Also bwahahaha zombies! & also -- not being able to fill your own prompt to your satisfaction must be quite frustrating!!

[lexicalcrow]

Well, I've managed to sort out the scene order, I'm just revising now. I'm about halfway through now? I think I'm on the last of the scenes needing a more severe revision than a few words here and there, which is nice. Hoping I can get it done in time to send it in. D: Also, I settled on a better title, which is nice. I kind of hated the one I had before. XD

Yeah, it's also a nice validation that you're not the only one who wants that pairing either. I don't always worry about if it's good or not, probably because most of them are for kink memes and I'm writing porn anyway, so. But it's nice to write for them anwyay.

This is also true. I really should go fill my own prompts more often. It might be the only way I get them written, since some are too obscure even for kink memes. I don't think I've ever not reposted something I've written for a kink meme though. I've usually been happy enough with it to repost it. But I can see the advantage of being able to just leave it there anonymously and forget it's yours.

Yes, zombies. *facepalm* I had to rewrite that fic entirely from scratch, particularly as I was writing to someone else's prompt that time. Good thing I had another idea, and I do love that new fic so much now. But it wasn't a waste. I turned that zombie fic into a queerlygen fic, which then spawned two more fics to finish off that particular narrative, an apocabigbang fic, and then one more fic (about werewolves). SO. It's turned into its own distinct AU now. Woo. XD

And yes, it is frustrating not being able to fill it properly. I keep reading through what I wrote and I still can't point out what's actually wrong with it and how I'd fix it. Which makes it even worse. I have no idea where I'd start if I rewrote it so I haven't done any work on it since. It's just ... not what I wanted to write. It's probably my least favourite fic. :/

[littlebutfierce]

Do you ever print out WIPs & cut them up & physically move the paragraphs around to reorder things? &/or do the virtual version (in something like Scrivener)? Sometimes that helps me. Obviously you got where you needed to go, though, so yay!! (& super yay for new title that you like. I haaaate doing titles. I'm so like that flamingo that says "Need a title? Google song lyrics" or whatever.)

A couple of times I've filled my own prompts & they've gone over like lead balloons... & I'm not going to comment praising my own piece *giggle*. Oh well, if it satisfies me as the prompter, that's the main thing!

I'm sorry your least favorite fic is one you did for your own prompt, though. :(

[lexicalcrow]

I use a program called yWriter, which lets me shift scenes and chapters around. It's like a simplified (and free) version of Scrivener and LSB (which I can't afford anyway). That does the job. I always do big edits on paper as well, and yeah, I have occasionally cut things out and shifted them around, but that's a cow of a thing to do for a 50 page story. XD So yWriter is a lot easier to manage. XD But yes, I JUST FINISHED. 8D I've sent it in already just so I don't forget tomorrow. My weekend is going to be hella busy. D: But good. :D (I hate titles. I usually nick mine from song titles or albums. /lazy. But it works. :D)

Ahh, well. I wouldn't leave praise on my own work, I'd just leave it there and hope someone else might come along and read it.

I was rereading it today and I think what I hate about it is that it became about the pairing, not the trans* experience. The focus is all wrong. It was never supposed to be about the pairing, but that's how it turned out. (It wasn't a pairing prompt, it was about one guy and his trans* experience.) So at least that gives me something to go on if I ever decide to tackle it again. Get rid of the main/dominating pairing and focus on other things. That might help. Is it obvious I still want to salvage it? Because it was a great prompt. I just didn't execute it that well on my first attempt. And hey, if I can salvage a zombie fic from a derailed lgbtfest fic, I can salvage this one. XD