WIP Challenge - Weekly check-in/snippet posting/beta-seeking

[lacygrey]

Hello all, time for a weekly check-in and the place to post any snipets you'd like to share, request beta help or have a general natter.

Heres a poll about the week:

Poll #7873

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9

View Respondents

How are the WIP/s of the week?

View Answers

Finsihed!
0 (0.0%)

On target
3 (33.3%)

Getting there
3 (33.3%)

Hanging in there
1 (11.1%)

Help, send chocolate!
1 (11.1%)

I need a break...Does anyone else need to take a break?
1 (11.1%)

For discussion: What do you do if the chips are down and you get stuck with a fic. What are your creative ways of getting 'unstuck'?

Comments

[anehan]

I've written more in the past three days than in the past three months. Wow! I estimated once that this fic would be no more than 10K. I've now passed 6K and the end is nowhere in sight, so I'd say that we're definitely going for the 10K mark. My problem right now is that I've no clear idea how to proceed. I've got my characters into bed; now I've got to get them into a relationship. :D I have some ideas for later scenes, and I might just go ahead and write them to see whether they'd provide some ideas for what comes in between.

As for how to get unstuck on a fic: well, writing sprints help at least a little bit.

[lacygrey]

Well done on the word counts and thanks for initiating the sprints.

Are your characters anyone I might know of?

[anehan]

I don't know. Do you know Prince of Tennis? My characters are Atobe and Tezuka.

[lacygrey]

No, sorry. I did try POT, but I'm not a tennis fan and didn't like the manga graphics much. I might try they anime sometime though - it looks decidedly prettier and some of the characters are very cute in it.

[littlebutfierce]

When I'm stuck, taking a break from the fic (but ideally working on another fic instead) for a few days or even a few weeks can help shake something loose & help me figure out how to proceed. Or sometimes I'll write a scene from a different character's POV, in case that ends up telling me something I need to make happen.

No fic today; too busy packing! (So much still to do... ;____; )

[lacygrey]

taking a break from the fic (but ideally working on another fic instead)

I did something completely and utterly differnt from intended during Nano last year for this very reason. I couldn't bear to look at the thing I'd planned (which is what I'm doing now in fact) but instead spawned three other fic ideas.

The point of view thing - yay - thats what worked for me this week.

Good luck with the move, hope this ones the good one.

[ficwriter1966]

Yes, me too: when I'm stuck, I'll set the offender aside and let it rest for a while. I'll try to work on other things, little snippets or ficlets, so my imagination can wander in other directions but still keep moving. I try not to force anything, because it always comes out looking forced - which is why I've not been signing up for challenges or exchanges lately. I'd rather just let the Muse operate at her own pace.

I finished the latest section of my multi-piece AU. Tomorrow, it's on to the next section!

[lacygrey]

I'll set the offender aside and let it rest for a while

I can understand that... and how it doesn't work well challenges that impose deadlines.

I suppose I've tended towards challenges because I fear I'll get distracted and not finish otherwise. Also I like that challenges can attract readers.

[linaewen]

Help! Send chocolate!

I'm not getting anywhere, really. I have a list a mile long of things I should be doing in RL and that's just the kind of thing that makes my writing brain dry up. However, I did do a tiny bit of editing on last month's Big Bang story. I was a bit pressed for time at the end and couldn't wax eloquent like I usually do in some of the later chapters, so I wanted to be sure I hadn't cheated the story any or made it unbelievable by skipping over some of the scenes I could have included. It was a good exercise because I decided the story is good as is and I only tweaked a couple of things that were misspelled.

When I get stuck with a fic, I'll either put it away for a bit while I mull over different possibilities, or I'll reread it from the beginning to see if that unsticks me. Quite often rereading previous chapters gives me a feel for the overall tale that I sometimes lose track of while in the middle of a single chapter, and that is enough to push me forward.

[lacygrey]

Quite often rereading previous chapters gives me a feel for the overall tale

Thats a good one. Good for keeping the tone uniform too.

[lacygrey]

I didn't write today, but have all the prerequisite parts of my fic, albeit in a primitive form. The deadline is in a month but I'll have to submit early as Ive stuff on in September. So really Ive only about three weeks to edit, have beta'd etc. I think I'm going to split it between different betas to start with as 20K is a lot for one person, and a lot for me to revise in one go. Then I might try to land the lot on someone, just for a reread.

What do I do when I'm stuck? I tend to procrastinate and go read fanfic, which can be good and inspiring or can be a terrible downward spiral into time wasting. This is,in part, why I asked the question. I agree about the sprints, they worked well (especilly with the idea of showing afterwards - that made me edit instead of just spewing words, which makes it better than 'write or die'.

My way of trying to control this 'binge reading' is to limit myself to a screenful of fanfic for each useful thing done for myself, whether this be working on my fanfic or on real life stuff. Another useful thing is mundane RL tasks that are otherwise hateful. Conciencious cleaning really helps me think though plots I find.I didn't write today, but have all the prerequisite parts of my fic, albeit in a primitive form. The deadline is in a month but I'll have to submit early as Ive stuff on in September. So really Ive only about three weeks to edit, have beta'd etc. I think I'm going to split it between different betas to start with as 20K is a lot for one person, and a lot for me to revise in one go. Then I might try to land the lot on someone, just for a reread.

So, would anyone like to beta me a little Hikago...or a lot of Hikago in the coming month?

[jagnikjen]

Been chugging along with this latest HP fic (snippet to follow). I'm up to 5500 words in three days, so that's exciting. Not sure how much more to go, though it is almost finished. Then final bit of editing and it'll be ready for posting. YAY.

When I get stuck on one fic, I'll either work on something else or just take a break from fic. It depends on why I'm stuck. Sometimes I just get sick of the pressure to write, so I just take a break. That usually only lasts a day or two and then, I'm back at it. Sometime I read fic hoping for a good plot bunny to jump out at me--which is sort of what happened to me this week. I came across a new pairing which I'd shied away from but decided to give it a go. Luckily the story was really good and I decided I wanted to give that pairing a try. I pondered for a bit and came up with a place to start...

[jagnikjen]

What Dreams May Come snippet

Damn door. Damn key. Ginny fiddled with both, trying to get into the flat. All she wanted was a large tumbler of firewhiskey and to forget about today. The practice from hell. Gwenog had been a right royal bitch. Ginny jiggled the door handle and was just about to kick the door in frustration when it flew open and out of her hand. “What the hell?” She looked up and into the amused face of Draco Malfoy and grimaced.

“Locks and keys aren’t really all that difficult to master, Weasley. If you’re going to live in a muggle abode, you really shou—”

“Shut it,” she said pushing past him and dropping her bag to the floor next to the floo.

He closed the door and turned, but stayed where he was.

She met his gaze. Warm and appreciative of her snug-fitting practice attire. “What the hell are you doing here again?” It was the second time in a week. And anger and irritation was her best defense against the flicker of pleasure she had suddenly begun experiencing at his appearances. Especially tonight. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with a black bow tie tied neatly around his collar. Pressed black trousers hugged slim hips and highlighted his long legs.

[anehan]

Ooh, intriguing!

[jagnikjen]

Thanks!

It's been a fun story/pairing to tinker with. :)

[lexicalcrow]

...I got distracted by kink_bingo fills. And a steampunk time travel fic. *facepalm*

But I'm one fic closer to a bingo, and the time travel fic is world-building at any rate so yes. Not a total waste. XD

I also posted my AU big bang fic on Friday, so that's now sitting there waiting for people to love it. It ended up being 31k by the time I'd finished editing. But, oh well. I'm quite pleased at how it turned out.

If I get stuck on fics, I usually just set them aside for a while and work on something else. If it wants to be finished badly enough, I'll have some new inspiration when I come back to it. Like, looking at other prompts, or maybe a song, or IDK something else that jogs my inspiration out of its rut. Otherwise it'll be resigned to the Perpetually Unfinished WIP section of my hard drive.

[bay_alexison]

Wee, able to get around 850 words of the next chapter of my Big Bang! It took a bit due to me figuring out which lines I want to put from the radio drama and also was distracted a few times haha, but other than that getting some progress there.

As for the discussion, I also tend to write something else for a while so that I don't get rusty with my writing pretty much. That helps most of the time.