December WIP Challenge: Day 29 - Vent Day

[soldierwitch]

 

 

Hi, y'all! It's Wednesday which means its Vent Day! The drill is the same as it has been in the past. Today's our day to air out any writing grievances, frustrations, etc. so we can get those bad feelings out of the way and make some progress.

Here are our discussion prompts:

-Is there anything annoying you about a project you're working on? Have you gotten stuck on a particular section in your work? Is the fic not coming out like you hoped?

-Do you need some writing advice? Ask away, we're here to help!

-Leave a gif/picture of how you feel about your writing today, positive or negative.

Note: You can expect two more check-ins this week. Friday and Saturday.

Comments

[soldierwitch]

To be honest, I know I bit off more than I could chew with my fic Vorare back when I started writing it in 2014. It's been on hiatus for going on four years. I'm about to go back to working on it consistently and I'm intimidated af.

Hands down it's the fic that I'm most insecure about which is saying something because I've got like three other fics that also scare the mess out of me lol. But Vorare was my first BIG fic. It's the first writing project that I put all my heart in so I'm determined to finish it despite the fact that I'm so invested that I've often stopped working on it because I didn't feel good enough to write such a fic.

I've grown over the years though so I'm hoping that my self-doubt doesn't get in my way this time.

[yvannairie]

I am so annoyed that my biggest barrier for writing is just feeling like there's no audience :( Come on, self, we've been over this, the characters just aren't popular, that's fine, that's why you like them.

[soldierwitch]

I feel you on that, yvannairie. Even when you adjust your expectations it can be hard to reconcile having a small audience for a fic you're pouring your heart into. I came across this post on Ao3commentoftheday, that helped me deal with these feelings. Here's the link to the post. The gist is to focus on what you can control and have that be your motivator rather than what you can't control which in this case is the amount of people that are reading your fic.

[yvannairie]

Thank you :) It comes and goes, tbh, a lot of times I start feeling better after a while talking about my underappreciated faves with my friends. The pressure to always be making stuff when you're a fandom of one for some thing is so unpleasant, but ultimately it's all in my own head and I'm generally aware that the best course of action is to stop caring and find my joy :'D

[soldierwitch]

Yay for friends to be honest. They keep us from the edge.

[linaewen]

I'm frustrated because I feel like I need to spend a lot of time working my way back into the WIP I need to work on because it has been so long since I worked on it -- but I am constantly being interrupted by various things and people, and when I know I am going to get interrupted, I will put off doing something to avoid losing my train of thought when I do get interrupted. It's perhaps a strange reason for not getting down to work on it, but I am pretty sure that is the problem. I probably need to have a writer's retreat and turn off my phone or something.

[soldierwitch]

I don't think it's a strange reason at all. You want to be able to focus and you can't because of life and other people interrupting you right now. Is it possible to block off at least 30 minutes for yourself a day or every other day? Like your sacred 30, no one can interrupt you or bother you for thirty minutes. It's a small ask and a time frame that's reasonable.

[mistressofmuses]

I JUST WANT THESE DAMN WORDS TO BE DONE ALREADY! But oh no, apparently I have to write them.

Though I *did* get a very little bit written longhand while at work, which at least felt better than nothing.

[soldierwitch]

EXACTLY!! It's the most frustrating thing. You just want to read your fic, but you have to write it first. It's the kind of thing that could send you screaming into a pillow lol.

Congrats on getting something written longhand. Even the tiniest step forward can be the biggest achievement sometimes, you know?

[mistressofmuses]

Right? I'm about ready to scream into a pillow over it. Expecting me to write this out just seems unfair. :P

Thank you! Even a handful of words is enough to help get over the 0-word-wordcount hurdle!