writing meme!
I stole this from amand_r. It's kind of weird to fill out a meme on writing when you haven't produced much in awhile. Sigh.
1. How often do you write and how do you feel about your output?
When I'm being productive, I write every day. When I'm not, like now, I'm lucky to get a few sentences in a week, if that. Obviously I'm sad about my output right now, which seems to be almost purely meta rather than fic. I kinda know why but it still makes me sadface, I miss that great fic-writing-feeling. I just don't get it from meta, which can be satisfying in other ways, but not very creatively satisfying.
2. Where does your inspiration come from? Where do you get your ideas?
Usually it's the source (duh) but more specifically it's something a character says or does in the source will grab me. Like with "iterative development" it was the fact that it took Tony forever to even ask Yinsen's name. I tend to stick pretty close to canon, I'm not much of a "what if" writer, as much as I'd like to be. Sometimes my motivation is driven by... less virtuous reasons. Like I'll get pissed off about some trend I see in a fandom and write in response to that. Mostly that's meta, but occasionally it's fic.
I like consequences and fallout, that's kind of where I live.
3. What are the first things you write? Dialogue? Sex? Something else?
Often it's dialogue, sometimes an image or a scene will pop into my head. Usually it's just a little hint of a scene rather than the whole thing, and I have to write to find out what's happening. Sometimes it's just a mood.
4. How have you improved this past six months/year?
I haven't done a ton of fic writing in the last six months to a year. I was happy with the creepy in "Succession" because I wasn't sure I was going to be able to quite go there. And I'm still really proud of the sense of place I got into "Cheeseburger First." I was surprised by "The Waiting Room" because I had no idea that Jo's doppelganger would do what she did. I'm not sure any of these things are improvements per se.
5. Why do you write?
Argh. Uh. It used to be that I literally couldn't not write, or something like that. I've become way more self-aware of what I write and how I write it over the last couple of years and while I think this has made the actual quality better, it's slowed the output down for various reasons. Now I write, when I write, because I want to actually express something in particular, even if it's just a mood. And sometimes, when I'm lucky, it's for the way the way the words fit together.
6. Do you go through highs and lows? What are the triggers?
Completely. Not entirely sure. The pattern used to be high=shiny new fandom, low=either stumped by plot or just burned out on a fandom, I guess. This hasn't correlated to SPN, so I have no idea. Triggers for meta writing tend to be me getting pissed off about something and wanting to make a point. Basically, someone is wrong on the internet.
7. Do people in RL know you write slash/fic?
Some of them.
8. Where do you write?
Oddly a lot of my most productive writing has been at work. SHHHH. I don't know why, but I find it harder to focus when writing at home.
9. Does music help or hinder?
When writing at home I always listen to music. At work not so much.
10. What are your props?
Don't have any props.
11. How seriously do you take your writing/ the writing process?
It varies. I take writing meta essays pretty seriously, mostly because of that whole making some kind of point thing. Fic writing varies. Sometimes I take it seriously, sometimes I don't. It works better if I don't take it seriously until revision time. Taking it too seriously is a formula for writer's block.
12. What are your strengths?
Hmmmmm. Uh. I think I have a decent ear for dialog. I can rock details of setting when I actually remember to do so, which isn't often enough. I've been told I have an ability to really "stay in a scene" but I've never been able to write any other way so I'm not sure that's a strength.
13. What are your weaknesses?
Ugh. Plot. PLOT. I suck at plot, guys. I am horrible at plot. If I work too much out in advance I get bored and stop writing. If I don't work enough out in advance, I get stuck and stop writing. FUCKING PLOT.
14. If you beta, what do you get out of it?
Is this asking about me betaing other people or the other way around? I get a ton out of being beta-ed, now. I never used to use beta readers until the last couple years, and I never saw the point of revisions before -- I always revised as I wrote. I think oddmonster was my first real beta relationship, though I'd been beta-ed before that. But oddmonster started with some of my Miami Vice fic and made it so much better. She kicks my ass in a good way. besyd is another good beta, she's great with character, and reminding me that there are OTHER SENSES BESIDES SIGHT. Which I still never remember. I blame my shitty sense of smell.
Mostly I value a critical eye for where the story is sagging and not sharp enough. I mostly don't need a spelling/grammar beta by this point, I need someone to point out where things are weak or don't make sense, and some cheerleading of good parts never hurts:)
When I beta I love the feeling of helping someone make their story better. Which sounds simple but it's kind of like a puzzle, taking a story apart and looking at the pieces. I have a hard time doing that with my own writing so it's good practice to do it with someone else's.
15. What do you write?
Almost exclusively gen. I've written a bit of het and slash but I'm a gen girl at heart. I am almost entirely uninterested in writing romance of any persuasion. Also like I said, I mostly stick close to canon. Not so much future fic or past fic or AUs, though I love reading them. I think maybe I'm just too in love with the canon most of the time to bother venturing further? Or possibly it is because of that sucking at plot thing.
16. Which fic have you written that felt like bungee-jumping - you really had to feel the fear and jump?
Probably "tell your mother" and "Succession" and "The Waiting Room" -- they're all more suspense/horror than my typical output, and oddly enough all three came quickly for me. I think if I ever really dig in to SPN it will be scary, but I can't seem to get there in fic.
17. How do you feel about comments?
They're awesome! I've been in such small fandoms (MIAMI VICE: FANDOM OF LIKE, THREE) that any comments at all make me happy. I'm still bowled over at how many comments I got on some of the Iron Man stuff, because of that. Tiny fandoms really make you value comments! But truth be told, I'd be writing even if no one commented (MIAMI VICE: FANDOM OF THREE) because I mostly write for myself. That said, comments from writers I respect make my day.
18. Do you give other writers feedback? Why/why not?
Yes. I'm not great at thoughtful feedback, I'm more a I REALLY LIKED THIS! person, sadly. But I don't comment on stories I didn't honestly enjoy, and I've gotten pickier and pickier about what I like over the years, so if you get a comment from me I very much mean it. If I didn't like it, I don't comment.
19. What is the indicator for you that your fic was a success/worked?
If people I trust like it. I've found that the things I'm interested in writing don't always/often coincide with what the majority of fandom is interested in reading (that whole not caring about writing romance or sex) so it really comes down to whether I felt like I managed to accomplish something new in the fic (whether it's improving my writing, or exploring some aspect of canon/a character that I felt had been overlooked or just grabbed me) and whether writers I admire/trust liked it.
20. Do you write in the genre you like reading the most, ie crack, AU, angst etc?
Yep, angsty gen. Though I really enjoy reading comedy and I don't write much of it. Also I love nonlinear and plotty fics, both of which I suck at.
21. Do you write a straight through draft or is your first attempt bits and pieces?
I tend to write fairly linearly. Though sometimes things get rearranged in revision, the actual first draft writing is linear.
22. What is it about this fandom that is eating your brain?
I guess that would be SPN right now? It's eating my brain to the point where I can't actually write anything fictional! Uh. It's one of the best depictions of family dysfunction I've ever seen on television, despite the horror/fantasy trappings. The fact that every major action has consequences over time. The way the characters change because of what happens to them, instead of bouncing back to some kind of steady-state. The way that love doesn't fix everything, and can actually make things worse. And a couple of things it has in common with Miami Vice: that the "heroes" don't always win, and that sometimes (usually) there are no good choices. And like Miami Vice and Iron Man as well, SPN ends up being something of a deconstruction or critique of pop culture action hero movie heroics, but in an organic way.
23. Is this your first time, or are you a serial monogomar with fandoms?
Serial monogamist with occasional brief flings with old flames.
24. Do you do drabbles, comment fic, challenges with deadlines - and how do you get on with these?
Not so much with drabbles or comment fic, my brain doesn't work very concisely or quickly. Occasionally do challenges with deadlines, with varying success.
25. Anything else?
Naw. I feel weird about my writing right now. Too exposed or self-conscious or something. Hopefully I'll get over it.
More Sam essay tomorrow, got too tired to do any complicated formatting.
1. How often do you write and how do you feel about your output?
When I'm being productive, I write every day. When I'm not, like now, I'm lucky to get a few sentences in a week, if that. Obviously I'm sad about my output right now, which seems to be almost purely meta rather than fic. I kinda know why but it still makes me sadface, I miss that great fic-writing-feeling. I just don't get it from meta, which can be satisfying in other ways, but not very creatively satisfying.
2. Where does your inspiration come from? Where do you get your ideas?
Usually it's the source (duh) but more specifically it's something a character says or does in the source will grab me. Like with "iterative development" it was the fact that it took Tony forever to even ask Yinsen's name. I tend to stick pretty close to canon, I'm not much of a "what if" writer, as much as I'd like to be. Sometimes my motivation is driven by... less virtuous reasons. Like I'll get pissed off about some trend I see in a fandom and write in response to that. Mostly that's meta, but occasionally it's fic.
I like consequences and fallout, that's kind of where I live.
3. What are the first things you write? Dialogue? Sex? Something else?
Often it's dialogue, sometimes an image or a scene will pop into my head. Usually it's just a little hint of a scene rather than the whole thing, and I have to write to find out what's happening. Sometimes it's just a mood.
4. How have you improved this past six months/year?
I haven't done a ton of fic writing in the last six months to a year. I was happy with the creepy in "Succession" because I wasn't sure I was going to be able to quite go there. And I'm still really proud of the sense of place I got into "Cheeseburger First." I was surprised by "The Waiting Room" because I had no idea that Jo's doppelganger would do what she did. I'm not sure any of these things are improvements per se.
5. Why do you write?
Argh. Uh. It used to be that I literally couldn't not write, or something like that. I've become way more self-aware of what I write and how I write it over the last couple of years and while I think this has made the actual quality better, it's slowed the output down for various reasons. Now I write, when I write, because I want to actually express something in particular, even if it's just a mood. And sometimes, when I'm lucky, it's for the way the way the words fit together.
6. Do you go through highs and lows? What are the triggers?
Completely. Not entirely sure. The pattern used to be high=shiny new fandom, low=either stumped by plot or just burned out on a fandom, I guess. This hasn't correlated to SPN, so I have no idea. Triggers for meta writing tend to be me getting pissed off about something and wanting to make a point. Basically, someone is wrong on the internet.
7. Do people in RL know you write slash/fic?
Some of them.
8. Where do you write?
Oddly a lot of my most productive writing has been at work. SHHHH. I don't know why, but I find it harder to focus when writing at home.
9. Does music help or hinder?
When writing at home I always listen to music. At work not so much.
10. What are your props?
Don't have any props.
11. How seriously do you take your writing/ the writing process?
It varies. I take writing meta essays pretty seriously, mostly because of that whole making some kind of point thing. Fic writing varies. Sometimes I take it seriously, sometimes I don't. It works better if I don't take it seriously until revision time. Taking it too seriously is a formula for writer's block.
12. What are your strengths?
Hmmmmm. Uh. I think I have a decent ear for dialog. I can rock details of setting when I actually remember to do so, which isn't often enough. I've been told I have an ability to really "stay in a scene" but I've never been able to write any other way so I'm not sure that's a strength.
13. What are your weaknesses?
Ugh. Plot. PLOT. I suck at plot, guys. I am horrible at plot. If I work too much out in advance I get bored and stop writing. If I don't work enough out in advance, I get stuck and stop writing. FUCKING PLOT.
14. If you beta, what do you get out of it?
Is this asking about me betaing other people or the other way around? I get a ton out of being beta-ed, now. I never used to use beta readers until the last couple years, and I never saw the point of revisions before -- I always revised as I wrote. I think oddmonster was my first real beta relationship, though I'd been beta-ed before that. But oddmonster started with some of my Miami Vice fic and made it so much better. She kicks my ass in a good way. besyd is another good beta, she's great with character, and reminding me that there are OTHER SENSES BESIDES SIGHT. Which I still never remember. I blame my shitty sense of smell.
Mostly I value a critical eye for where the story is sagging and not sharp enough. I mostly don't need a spelling/grammar beta by this point, I need someone to point out where things are weak or don't make sense, and some cheerleading of good parts never hurts:)
When I beta I love the feeling of helping someone make their story better. Which sounds simple but it's kind of like a puzzle, taking a story apart and looking at the pieces. I have a hard time doing that with my own writing so it's good practice to do it with someone else's.
15. What do you write?
Almost exclusively gen. I've written a bit of het and slash but I'm a gen girl at heart. I am almost entirely uninterested in writing romance of any persuasion. Also like I said, I mostly stick close to canon. Not so much future fic or past fic or AUs, though I love reading them. I think maybe I'm just too in love with the canon most of the time to bother venturing further? Or possibly it is because of that sucking at plot thing.
16. Which fic have you written that felt like bungee-jumping - you really had to feel the fear and jump?
Probably "tell your mother" and "Succession" and "The Waiting Room" -- they're all more suspense/horror than my typical output, and oddly enough all three came quickly for me. I think if I ever really dig in to SPN it will be scary, but I can't seem to get there in fic.
17. How do you feel about comments?
They're awesome! I've been in such small fandoms (MIAMI VICE: FANDOM OF LIKE, THREE) that any comments at all make me happy. I'm still bowled over at how many comments I got on some of the Iron Man stuff, because of that. Tiny fandoms really make you value comments! But truth be told, I'd be writing even if no one commented (MIAMI VICE: FANDOM OF THREE) because I mostly write for myself. That said, comments from writers I respect make my day.
18. Do you give other writers feedback? Why/why not?
Yes. I'm not great at thoughtful feedback, I'm more a I REALLY LIKED THIS! person, sadly. But I don't comment on stories I didn't honestly enjoy, and I've gotten pickier and pickier about what I like over the years, so if you get a comment from me I very much mean it. If I didn't like it, I don't comment.
19. What is the indicator for you that your fic was a success/worked?
If people I trust like it. I've found that the things I'm interested in writing don't always/often coincide with what the majority of fandom is interested in reading (that whole not caring about writing romance or sex) so it really comes down to whether I felt like I managed to accomplish something new in the fic (whether it's improving my writing, or exploring some aspect of canon/a character that I felt had been overlooked or just grabbed me) and whether writers I admire/trust liked it.
20. Do you write in the genre you like reading the most, ie crack, AU, angst etc?
Yep, angsty gen. Though I really enjoy reading comedy and I don't write much of it. Also I love nonlinear and plotty fics, both of which I suck at.
21. Do you write a straight through draft or is your first attempt bits and pieces?
I tend to write fairly linearly. Though sometimes things get rearranged in revision, the actual first draft writing is linear.
22. What is it about this fandom that is eating your brain?
I guess that would be SPN right now? It's eating my brain to the point where I can't actually write anything fictional! Uh. It's one of the best depictions of family dysfunction I've ever seen on television, despite the horror/fantasy trappings. The fact that every major action has consequences over time. The way the characters change because of what happens to them, instead of bouncing back to some kind of steady-state. The way that love doesn't fix everything, and can actually make things worse. And a couple of things it has in common with Miami Vice: that the "heroes" don't always win, and that sometimes (usually) there are no good choices. And like Miami Vice and Iron Man as well, SPN ends up being something of a deconstruction or critique of pop culture action hero movie heroics, but in an organic way.
23. Is this your first time, or are you a serial monogomar with fandoms?
Serial monogamist with occasional brief flings with old flames.
24. Do you do drabbles, comment fic, challenges with deadlines - and how do you get on with these?
Not so much with drabbles or comment fic, my brain doesn't work very concisely or quickly. Occasionally do challenges with deadlines, with varying success.
25. Anything else?
Naw. I feel weird about my writing right now. Too exposed or self-conscious or something. Hopefully I'll get over it.
More Sam essay tomorrow, got too tired to do any complicated formatting.