WIP challenge: day 16 check-in!

[littlebutfierce]

We're heading into the second half of this month's challenge? How is it going?

Poll #8328 Day 16 check-in

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

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What kind of fic stuff did you do this weekend?

View Answers

Wrote
1 (16.7%)

Edited
2 (33.3%)

Sent to beta
0 (0.0%)

Posted
0 (0.0%)

Researched
0 (0.0%)

Nothing at all (deliberately)
0 (0.0%)

Nothing at all (despite wanting to)
3 (50.0%)

How do you feel about the upcoming week of the challenge?

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Are you on track for your goals for this month?

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Not even close
1 (20.0%)

I've surpassed them
0 (0.0%)

Can't tell yet
3 (60.0%)

Roughly on track
1 (20.0%)

For discussion: Lately I've been having a lot of days where I want to write fic, I'm intending to write fic, I have ideas & energy, etc. etc. & somehow the day ends & I realize I never stopped to write fic because I simply forgot or other things got in the way. How do you keep fic from going on the back burner? Is there a way you have to get into the habit of writing fic regularly? Or do you figure that if you forgot to write fic, it just wasn't supposed to happen anyway?

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

I write something every day via 750 Words, but it's not always fic, & when it's not fic, that's when I find any time I might've hoped to spend on actual fic slips away. Sometimes it's b/c I'm doing other productive things -- Japanese homework or housework or running errands -- which feels okay, if not satisfying, but sometimes it's just... procrastination. I haven't figured out a way to get better at it!

I wrote 800-ish words for my Kaleidoscope assignment. I should've done more canon refresh today, but that was the part of my plan that slipped away (instead I did a lot of Japanese homework, as it turns out). I'm a little worried that maybe I shouldn't be going w/my first idea for the fic -- like the first idea might somehow automatically be a bad one? Not necessarily true but now I'm worried that I'm closing myself off to other ideas. Hm. Maybe finishing canon refresh will spark something else, although I do like the idea I came up w/!

[jagnikjen]

Mostly I'm on track to complete my exchange fic by Nov. 15th, so that's good. I really need to spend some time re-reading/editing/revising/finishing up. I can't tell how this week is going to pan out, unfortunately. Hopefully, I'll find some time to work on it.

I actually just let fic sit on the back burner. :) I'm the no-pressure-to-write girl and so if it happens, it happens. I spent a lot of 2010 depressed and hid in my fic writing. It worked at the time, but now I'm trying to not let fic get in the way of things I should be doing, though I don't always manage it very well. :)

[littlebutfierce]

Woo, yay for being on track w/your challenge fic so far!

For me, I have trouble finding a balance between pushing myself in a productive way & letting pressure get unproductive. I think I need a little bit of impetus or I'll just let things slide b/c I'll just keep 'forgetting' to write fic or whatever, hahahaha...

[dragovianknight]

750 words has been my key. Even if I don't write fic every day, I have to write 750 words of SOMETHING, so on the days I want to write fic...it might as well be fic.

[littlebutfierce]

Oooh, yes, that's often the case w/me as well! Though sometimes if I'm in a real hurry, or just really, really tired, I won't write fic b/c no matter what, it will take longer than really fast rattling off a litany of complaints about my coworkers or my day in general, ha! I v. rarely write fic at speed -- sometimes if I'm hit w/an idea at just the right time, I can pound out a few scenes quickly, but if I'm at the point w/750 Words where I need to do it in a hurry, it never ever coincides w/ideas, alas.

[devilc]

It's been a really crappy month for writing. :(

[littlebutfierce]

:( I'm sorry to hear that. I hope even if you're not able to approach your goals, something changes so the rest of the month is better in general!!

[taelle]

To stop ideas from getting on the back burner I have to be in the habit of writing every day. Which I am trying to return to, this month. Only last several days too much life and work happened.

[littlebutfierce]

I agree, making writing a habit seems to be key for me. Good luck in arranging it around life & work, ack!!

[destinyislands]

I edited/look over something I have due near the end of the month. That was about it for today. I had planned to do some canon refresh/research for my Kaleidoscope assignment, but...I ended up not? I don't know what happened.

Definite deadlines tend to make me more focused on getting writing done. Otherwise, I end up slacking a lot with ideas I get. Giving myself a specific set amount of time to write within helps a lot too.

[littlebutfierce]

Yay for the editing!

I really need to do more Kaleidoscope canon refresh myself. ^^;;;;

Deadlines help me, too -- some fics I'm just kind of internally on fire to finish? The ones that you just HAVE TO WRITE ASAP. But for the rest, yeah, I find deadlines useful.

[bay_alexison]

My friend finally gave me more of her story to look over, so I had been doing that for a bit. Going to look through some more tonight and then the rest of what she gave me tomorrow.

I think I'm a bit behind on my goals for this month, but it's fine. Wanted to get Chapters 1-4 of my fic finalized before sending them to my potential artists, but only got the first two chapters done and my beta told me she won't get the third chapter beta'd until this upcoming Saturday (she has been busy with school and work lately). Looks like I'll only send the first three chapters and the fourth chapter another time. There's also the two prompt stories-- got one done, unsure when I'll get to the other one as it depends if I got an idea for it.

If I have quite a lot of fics I need to write I try to get around 300-400 words a night so that at least I have something. Sometimes that works as I then able to get the words flowing. When I suddenly have a lot of real life stuff I needed to care of though I leave the fics on the back burner as I want to concentrate on dealing other proprieties first.

[littlebutfierce]

I feel like beta-ing helps me w/my own writing, & besides which it's a nice thing to do for people, so go you. ;) Also yay for being satisfied w/the progress you're making so far!

Sometimes when there's a lot of RL stuff going on I abandon fic to deal w/it but sometimes I cling to it even more fiercely as a coping mechanism when things get stressy. I guess it depends on just how stressed I get!

[lacygrey]

I didn't expect to get much done this weekend fic-wise. Weekends frequently equal housework and sometimes music. So, I was pleased that I at least managed to get a bit of planning done for the coming week. Having found last week that if I set myself a very small and precisely defined goal and stated it here, then it tended to get done before the next check-in post I commented, I made a list of such goals this week. If I can do the one that involves the first chapter, I might even get something to my beta this week.

So, before the next check in I'm going to convert a scene I wrote in first person present tense (which is a method I use when I'm feeling at a loss - I try to be the character for a moment) into third person, past tense, like the rest of the fic.

Discussion: What you described sounds a bit like I get with music practice sometimes, or with RL chores or admin. As for fic, I kind of jot sporadically throughout the day (I'm afraid of losing ideas) with sprints when I need to. I don't put off writing, I just do it in a cursory way if I've got other stuff on and hope to fill in the gaps later.

[littlebutfierce]

Yay for the planning you managed to get done! & I'm glad announcing your goals here each day seems to be helping!

Also, that's a really interesting trick about writing in first person in order to get through a rough spot -- I might have to try that!!

& I am impressed that you manage to do writing in bits & pieces here & there -- I think that's ideal, but it's not something I'm super-good at doing.

[lacygrey]

writing in bits & pieces here & there
I'm too scared of forgetting it otherwise!