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So'm, I haven't posted much over the last few days because there hasn't been much going on in my life worth posting about, other than that I have a slight cold, and I don't think it's necessary for you guys to know the details of that. Heh. ;) My big focus this week, and much of last, has been writing To Ignite the Stars, and trying to push through a pretty major plot arc therein. I seem to have rediscovered my motivation, at least where TIS is concerned, but at the rate I'm writing I'll probably reach the A New Hope part of the fic by the time I'm, oh, 90 or so. *facepalm* I don't know what it is about this particular arc that's causing so much difficulty, especially since I've been visualizing it in my mind for months now.
But, as ever, I am valiantly carrying on. Chapter 49 is basically ready to post; it just needs one last editing go-over with Katie via IM, which we'll probably do in a couple hours or so. I've written 3,472 words of Chapter 50 but haven't yet reached said chapter's "Big Reveal," as it were, so I also need to do that today. I haven't even looked at the Drabble Request Post lately, though I do have a few of those ideas written down and some plans percolating in the old brain. However, as I said, my primary focus is TIS right now and I probably won't turn my attention to the drabbles (or those poor old birthday fics I owe some of you guys) until I'm finished this particular plot arc. I also really need to make a decision about bsg_bigbang, since said decision will affect what I do with Insanity Underrated and when.
Believe it or not, though, writing is actually not the main point of this post! Well, it is and it isn't, really. A couple of plotbunnies have been distracting me from writing over the last little while and I figure the best way to keep them from doing that is to put them in an LJ post and blab and ramble about them a bit. So, here goes.
Plotbunnies. Oh, plotbunnies. Those who've been around these parts for awhile know that May seems to be my absolute worst time for getting deluged by plotbunnies, for whatever reason. Exhibit A: May 24th, 2007 (how sad is it that I remember the exact date?) - plotbunny for To Ignite the Stars birthed. Exhibit B: May 2008 - plotbunny for The Sound of One Hand Clapping birthed. Both of those turned into pretty major fics, and in TIS's case, I'm still following the bunny through to its conclusion. On The Sound of One Hand Clapping, I wrote for about 20 days, each day spending about seven or eight hours straight in front of the computer, typing. I set myself the goal of getting to 1,000 words or above per day, and every day I equaled or exceeded that goal. It was certainly one of the most intensely creative periods in my life, and I can only dream of somehow replicating it.
It was thus with some trepidation that I watched the arrival of May 2009, wondering what my brain might have in store for me and at the same time dreading it, because right now I am working on two established projects that I can't really afford to derail for very long. And while the plotbunnies themselves stayed away for the first part of May, they seemed to have decided to kidnap my creativity and bring it along with them, since up until the beginning of last week this was looking like the month of 2009 during which I would accomplish the least. I didn't seem to be able to meet any of my writing goals and I was getting downright frustrated. For once, complaining about it and having long hand-holding sessions with Katie over AIM didn't appear to be helping. My confidence was particularly shot with regards to Insanity Underrated, as I managed to convince myself that everything I'd planned for Kara and Lee through S2 was impossible, crappy, unrealistic, out-of-character and would no doubt be met with derision from a wider audience. Katie is still talking about last Monday when she came home to a frantic IM from me wailing, "THE OUTLINE FOR SEASON 2 SUCKS/IS TOTAL BULLSHIT AND I THINK I'VE TURNED KARA INTO A MARY SUE! *CRIES!!!!!!*" We spoke later on and I was literally this close to throwing in the towel, ripping up my outline and/or disposing of it completely. Insanity Underrated does fundamentally work, but I was so frustrated with my lack of progress on ANYTHING that I was ready to decide it didn't. I went through similar jitters with TIS when I first started it, and while I probably would change a couple little things and smooth some stuff out if I had a chance to go back and re-write that fic, the overall idea is basically sound. I'm hoping it's the same with Insanity Underrated.
Things are different this week. I got some good writing done over the weekend and am feeling a mite more confident about my abilities. The only bad news about my confidence returning is ... it dragged those DAMNED PLOTBUNNIES back with it. It couldn't have left them in Hawaii or on Mars or someplace - nope, it had to bring them back and foist them on me and exclaim, "Hey, look at all these cool new ideas! Wouldn't it be great if we wrote some of these cool new ideas? Like, now?" LE SIGH.
One of those ideas is actually for a fic that I had planned to pursue after TIS is completed. It's another Star Wars AU longfic, but this time focusing on canonical pairings and another "what-if" scenario with regards to those. In my personal (non-Obidala) canon, the pairing of Obi-Wan/Siri gave us Mara Jade, and I've been wanting to explore how exactly that might come about. Part of that would most probably involve Qui-Gon and Yoda allowing the relationship on some level - though why they'd do this I haven't exactly figured out - and then after Siri's death, I have this whole thing worked out where before she's going to die, Obi-Wan holds her and she makes him promise to look after Mara (who is by then two, three-ish, maybe? I haven't figured out timelines either) and to make sure Mara knows that he's her father and Siri was her mother as she grows up. And Obi-Wan as a single father ... well, I don't know why that concept appeals to me as an author - maybe because it's a classic fish-out-of-water situation and I love those - but I'd like to explore it in a realistic AU.
In this context Anakin/Padmé would happen as it does in canon, as would Anakin's fall, and I'm thinking of telling the story in flashbacks from the point of view of an older Obi-Wan or Mara, maybe ten or so years after Revenge of the Sith. A couple of the major issues with this particular fic plot: 1) Timelines. Mara would, for plot purposes, need to be young-ish at the time of the Temple massacre, so I need to figure out exactly how different time periods would work and if I need to adjust any of them for plot purposes. 2) Mara as Mary Sue. Now, I know she is technically considered a canonical Mary Sue by those familiar with the EU (I'm ... not, so much), so I guess I'd like to minimize those Sue-ish aspects as much as possible. The potential problem is that I'm afraid some of the stuff I'm planning to have happen to her, particularly involving her relationship with Anakin and her parentage, might turn her into a Sue anyway. >.> I just ... I hate the idea of having a Sue in my fic - I mean, I know I wrote them when I was just starting out writing, but I'd like to think I'm sort of beyond that. The only thing I could see in my fic that maybe wouldn't turn Mara into a full Mary Sue is her lack of special abilities and how other characters react to her. But those are sort of flimsy by themselves anyway, so I don't know.
I'm not going to start working on this right away, not even on refining it or fixing the plot holes, because of my issues with having two projects on the go in the same fandom. But it's been on my mind, so I thought I'd jot down the preliminaries here so I can refer back to them in 2034 or whenever I'm finished TIS. ;)
The second idea is a fic I actually did start after I finished reading Wild Space, but then lost the inspiration for before I could finish. It's Obi-Wan/Padmé, and in my mind is set in the TIS universe, though really all a reader would need to know to understand it is that Obi-Wan and Padmé are in a pre-established relationship by the time of Wild Space's events, and that she did not marry Anakin. It's a missing scene taking place near the end, and is basically unabashed hurt/comfort. I was really having fun with it, at least until my brain decided to move on to something else, but now I'm suddenly inspired to finish - or at least continue - this fic. So I'm sort of dividing myself, spending one hour on TIS and one hour on my Wild Space fic. It's weird, but good.
All things being equal, I'll post Chapter 49 of To Ignite the Stars likely tonight or tomorrow, depending on when I can get it edited. The WS fic ... well, I'm hoping to finish it once and for all, and if I do, that'll also be put up asap.
I was going to blather about stillness community stuff too, but I think that's a topic for another, friends locked, post. So I shall leave you folks with this, and head back to writing and watching the hockey game.
But, as ever, I am valiantly carrying on. Chapter 49 is basically ready to post; it just needs one last editing go-over with Katie via IM, which we'll probably do in a couple hours or so. I've written 3,472 words of Chapter 50 but haven't yet reached said chapter's "Big Reveal," as it were, so I also need to do that today. I haven't even looked at the Drabble Request Post lately, though I do have a few of those ideas written down and some plans percolating in the old brain. However, as I said, my primary focus is TIS right now and I probably won't turn my attention to the drabbles (or those poor old birthday fics I owe some of you guys) until I'm finished this particular plot arc. I also really need to make a decision about bsg_bigbang, since said decision will affect what I do with Insanity Underrated and when.
Believe it or not, though, writing is actually not the main point of this post! Well, it is and it isn't, really. A couple of plotbunnies have been distracting me from writing over the last little while and I figure the best way to keep them from doing that is to put them in an LJ post and blab and ramble about them a bit. So, here goes.
Plotbunnies. Oh, plotbunnies. Those who've been around these parts for awhile know that May seems to be my absolute worst time for getting deluged by plotbunnies, for whatever reason. Exhibit A: May 24th, 2007 (how sad is it that I remember the exact date?) - plotbunny for To Ignite the Stars birthed. Exhibit B: May 2008 - plotbunny for The Sound of One Hand Clapping birthed. Both of those turned into pretty major fics, and in TIS's case, I'm still following the bunny through to its conclusion. On The Sound of One Hand Clapping, I wrote for about 20 days, each day spending about seven or eight hours straight in front of the computer, typing. I set myself the goal of getting to 1,000 words or above per day, and every day I equaled or exceeded that goal. It was certainly one of the most intensely creative periods in my life, and I can only dream of somehow replicating it.
It was thus with some trepidation that I watched the arrival of May 2009, wondering what my brain might have in store for me and at the same time dreading it, because right now I am working on two established projects that I can't really afford to derail for very long. And while the plotbunnies themselves stayed away for the first part of May, they seemed to have decided to kidnap my creativity and bring it along with them, since up until the beginning of last week this was looking like the month of 2009 during which I would accomplish the least. I didn't seem to be able to meet any of my writing goals and I was getting downright frustrated. For once, complaining about it and having long hand-holding sessions with Katie over AIM didn't appear to be helping. My confidence was particularly shot with regards to Insanity Underrated, as I managed to convince myself that everything I'd planned for Kara and Lee through S2 was impossible, crappy, unrealistic, out-of-character and would no doubt be met with derision from a wider audience. Katie is still talking about last Monday when she came home to a frantic IM from me wailing, "THE OUTLINE FOR SEASON 2 SUCKS/IS TOTAL BULLSHIT AND I THINK I'VE TURNED KARA INTO A MARY SUE! *CRIES!!!!!!*" We spoke later on and I was literally this close to throwing in the towel, ripping up my outline and/or disposing of it completely. Insanity Underrated does fundamentally work, but I was so frustrated with my lack of progress on ANYTHING that I was ready to decide it didn't. I went through similar jitters with TIS when I first started it, and while I probably would change a couple little things and smooth some stuff out if I had a chance to go back and re-write that fic, the overall idea is basically sound. I'm hoping it's the same with Insanity Underrated.
Things are different this week. I got some good writing done over the weekend and am feeling a mite more confident about my abilities. The only bad news about my confidence returning is ... it dragged those DAMNED PLOTBUNNIES back with it. It couldn't have left them in Hawaii or on Mars or someplace - nope, it had to bring them back and foist them on me and exclaim, "Hey, look at all these cool new ideas! Wouldn't it be great if we wrote some of these cool new ideas? Like, now?" LE SIGH.
One of those ideas is actually for a fic that I had planned to pursue after TIS is completed. It's another Star Wars AU longfic, but this time focusing on canonical pairings and another "what-if" scenario with regards to those. In my personal (non-Obidala) canon, the pairing of Obi-Wan/Siri gave us Mara Jade, and I've been wanting to explore how exactly that might come about. Part of that would most probably involve Qui-Gon and Yoda allowing the relationship on some level - though why they'd do this I haven't exactly figured out - and then after Siri's death, I have this whole thing worked out where before she's going to die, Obi-Wan holds her and she makes him promise to look after Mara (who is by then two, three-ish, maybe? I haven't figured out timelines either) and to make sure Mara knows that he's her father and Siri was her mother as she grows up. And Obi-Wan as a single father ... well, I don't know why that concept appeals to me as an author - maybe because it's a classic fish-out-of-water situation and I love those - but I'd like to explore it in a realistic AU.
In this context Anakin/Padmé would happen as it does in canon, as would Anakin's fall, and I'm thinking of telling the story in flashbacks from the point of view of an older Obi-Wan or Mara, maybe ten or so years after Revenge of the Sith. A couple of the major issues with this particular fic plot: 1) Timelines. Mara would, for plot purposes, need to be young-ish at the time of the Temple massacre, so I need to figure out exactly how different time periods would work and if I need to adjust any of them for plot purposes. 2) Mara as Mary Sue. Now, I know she is technically considered a canonical Mary Sue by those familiar with the EU (I'm ... not, so much), so I guess I'd like to minimize those Sue-ish aspects as much as possible. The potential problem is that I'm afraid some of the stuff I'm planning to have happen to her, particularly involving her relationship with Anakin and her parentage, might turn her into a Sue anyway. >.> I just ... I hate the idea of having a Sue in my fic - I mean, I know I wrote them when I was just starting out writing, but I'd like to think I'm sort of beyond that. The only thing I could see in my fic that maybe wouldn't turn Mara into a full Mary Sue is her lack of special abilities and how other characters react to her. But those are sort of flimsy by themselves anyway, so I don't know.
I'm not going to start working on this right away, not even on refining it or fixing the plot holes, because of my issues with having two projects on the go in the same fandom. But it's been on my mind, so I thought I'd jot down the preliminaries here so I can refer back to them in 2034 or whenever I'm finished TIS. ;)
The second idea is a fic I actually did start after I finished reading Wild Space, but then lost the inspiration for before I could finish. It's Obi-Wan/Padmé, and in my mind is set in the TIS universe, though really all a reader would need to know to understand it is that Obi-Wan and Padmé are in a pre-established relationship by the time of Wild Space's events, and that she did not marry Anakin. It's a missing scene taking place near the end, and is basically unabashed hurt/comfort. I was really having fun with it, at least until my brain decided to move on to something else, but now I'm suddenly inspired to finish - or at least continue - this fic. So I'm sort of dividing myself, spending one hour on TIS and one hour on my Wild Space fic. It's weird, but good.
All things being equal, I'll post Chapter 49 of To Ignite the Stars likely tonight or tomorrow, depending on when I can get it edited. The WS fic ... well, I'm hoping to finish it once and for all, and if I do, that'll also be put up asap.
I was going to blather about stillness community stuff too, but I think that's a topic for another, friends locked, post. So I shall leave you folks with this, and head back to writing and watching the hockey game.