for those who are curious about the progress of my side project
I'm now 21 posts into my 84 over at meanwhile_84, and I'm having the best time...except when it's 10:30 and I realized I haven't written anything and I look up my randomly-structured list and come face to face with Hurley. Or Claire...again. Somehow, the list ended up Claire-heavy at the start, and I'm running out of things to do with her. I've done angsty baby stuff (woe is Claire!) and shameless baby stuff (nestling that child in Sawyer's arms, because I am indeed a shamless fangirl), and I've also sexed her up and let her indulge in girl talk.
Speaking of that, I'm going on record to say: Nikki will have no plot this season, but she'll get to fill the same role Hurley does, providing comic relief. At least that's what keeps happening to her in my fic. Perhaps that's because I don't know what to do with her, having only a certain ingratiating pluckiness in evidence for her character.
I'm still doing a bit of disguised essay writing, where the story isn't so much a story but a bit of fictional play with the pairing's most obvious point of connection or comparison. But when you're in a hurry or are writing a double drabble, that works. I'm also becoming obsessed with a capital O with people's facial expressions. It threatens to derail some of these fics.
Also, I'm still sticking obstinately to my feeling that a fic ought to wrap up tidily. I hate it, but that's what I do. And I mean rhetorically tidy, with the last sentence hitting you like a sledge hammer, often by referencing the first paragraph or other touchstone words, bringing things full circle. Bad habit I'll try to break, unless it's not bothering anybody else.
Things I've discovered about my writing these characters:
--I get just as shut up in Desmond's head as he does. Bad thing.
--I'm still working out my issues with Jack's behavior in 3.06, almost every damn time I write him.
--I'm scared of Eko, but luckily he's only come up once.
--There is a reason I don't write Locke: I don't know how. WOE!
--My characters keep moving toward the ocean. But I think that's more my subconscious than them, really. :)
So, basically, I'm happy so far. Once these busy weeks are over, hopefully I'll have more time energy to devote to this project, but I'm going to do my best to keep producing until then. Even with my life being busy, these ficlets are important to me. I have an excuse every day to escape my head for a while and work on the puzzle of character and labyrinth of language.
Statistics so far:
1 pairing uncled (wherein I cry "uncle!" and give up, refusing to write)
2 posts tagged 'blech' (for being, in general, wonky as all hell)
18 posts that stand otherwise unencumbered by protestations of incompetence and laziness
I won't swear those 18 are fabulous, but I'm proud of each of them for one reason or other, even if it's simply that, WTF, I managed to write that pairing after all!
(This update brought to you not to guilt you into reading my other LJ if you haven't been, but so that you'll know, generally, what's going on over there...if you are inclined to wonder.)