Trying to rediscover the fun
Much writing this weekend. I wrote my first drabble ever, for writercon100, which is raising WriterCon scholarship fund money for every drabble posted. Matching funds mean that drabbles for specific fandoms or specific pairings generate more money for the fund. Check out the matching fund info.
Writing a drabble was painfully difficult. 100 words, yow. It's more like writing poetry than writing narrative fiction, for me. You have to start in media res and hope the reader supplies all the context. (Fanfic has an advantage here.) The rule of thumb I have about stories is that a story is something that could only happen once; toss that out for drabbles. They might be about a single intense moment or situation. No development, no resolution, just the bang. If a short story is a punch in the face, the drabble is the moment you see the punch coming.
Or not. I've only written one.
I wrote a few thousand words in longer stories as well, mostly in The Unnamed Montana GBX Story and in Blackmail. I might be ready to resume writing swords-n-sorcery now that I've shed the stress over not finishing it on time. I'm feeling more cheerful about the writing, anyway, if dismal about any future involvement with organized fannish activity. I think summer_of_giles is going to be it for me this year. I have utterly failed with everything else. Deadlines are not working for me at the moment.
I would say that I need a new motivational strategy, except that I don't.
My lovely new Ethan icon is from a new batch of icons by katekat1010. 5 of Giles, 5 of Ethan, among others. Check it!
Also, fandomsecrets #124 from yesterday's post is not, in fact, mine.
And now I get to work on my sadly neglected list of fannish obligations.
Writing a drabble was painfully difficult. 100 words, yow. It's more like writing poetry than writing narrative fiction, for me. You have to start in media res and hope the reader supplies all the context. (Fanfic has an advantage here.) The rule of thumb I have about stories is that a story is something that could only happen once; toss that out for drabbles. They might be about a single intense moment or situation. No development, no resolution, just the bang. If a short story is a punch in the face, the drabble is the moment you see the punch coming.
Or not. I've only written one.
I wrote a few thousand words in longer stories as well, mostly in The Unnamed Montana GBX Story and in Blackmail. I might be ready to resume writing swords-n-sorcery now that I've shed the stress over not finishing it on time. I'm feeling more cheerful about the writing, anyway, if dismal about any future involvement with organized fannish activity. I think summer_of_giles is going to be it for me this year. I have utterly failed with everything else. Deadlines are not working for me at the moment.
I would say that I need a new motivational strategy, except that I don't.
My lovely new Ethan icon is from a new batch of icons by katekat1010. 5 of Giles, 5 of Ethan, among others. Check it!
Also, fandomsecrets #124 from yesterday's post is not, in fact, mine.
And now I get to work on my sadly neglected list of fannish obligations.