Everyone has got to do it sometime.
I think the threads of motivation that have been flapping in the breeze for so long may finally be refocusing on something. Writing.
And not in the "yay, more fun fanfics!" way. In the serious career move way.
Now, obviously I'm not dumb enough to up and quit my day job, but I've been doing some reading and research on the industry and how one goes about breaking in. And I think I may be approaching the point where I'm ready to give it a real shot. No more "somedays." No more "I'd like to." Now, and I will.
Of course, this brings me back to the birthday problem of "I don't have anything to sell." But that's relatively easily remedied. I'm going to win NaNo, and when I've done that, I'm going to finish the story. Initially, I thought of NaNo as just practice, a pile of garbage words I'd most likely never actually use. The comments I've gotten on it have prodded me into thinking otherwise. (I think I've finally, at long last, figured out why people liked the cotton-candy WAFF that was "Golden Afternoon." It had lolzy arguing.) With some editing (a LOT of editing), this thing may actually be worth the paper it's printed on. Or not. I'm still not entirely convinced the nanomeme isn't just screwing with me (y helo thar memers! I'm Dejana, and I'm writing the fantasy adventure with the dragon and unicorn! /o\). In that case, it goes to Lulu and gets pimped to people who like my fanfic. Either way, I've decided it's worth the old college try.
And while it's being edited by pretty much everybody I can possibly trust with my original work, it'll be time to try writing some short stories. It's kind of strange, actually. I think my brain is finally making the transition from "writing is a hobby" to "writing is work." I never regained that "whee, fun!" spark that used to drive me through pages and pages of handwritten fanfiction, but I'm starting to feel that dedicating a little time to writing every day wouldn't be such an unwelcome chore. It's an odd feeling. Some people in the local NaNo group are forming an ongoing writer's circle, and I'm looking forward to being a part of that.
I'm not sure what this means in terms of the "So, are you officially quitting fanfic, then?" question. I'm still thinking "no," not entirely. For one thing, I have Yuletide to write for, aargh. For another thing, there will be "Fantaisie Sign." If I have to chain myself in a basement with nothing but a notebook and pen, I will not leave fandom without leaving that fic in it. And if I happen to write some fanfic at some of the area write-ins, who knows.
Of course, it's also highly likely I'll come back in a week with a mopey post about jinxing myself by writing all this, heh.
On the NaNo front, I did get into the MPR bit this morning. He cut out the emo babble that led up to the statement, so it wasn't as bad as I feared. ;)
Also, it's an incredibly small world. I'm on the road to possibly befriending a local NaNoer, and at a late-night write-in the other day, she turned out to be a Detour attendee who entered my drabble contest last year. That was an incredibly unexpected collision of worlds...
nanometer
40,074 / 50,000
(80.0%)
And not in the "yay, more fun fanfics!" way. In the serious career move way.
Now, obviously I'm not dumb enough to up and quit my day job, but I've been doing some reading and research on the industry and how one goes about breaking in. And I think I may be approaching the point where I'm ready to give it a real shot. No more "somedays." No more "I'd like to." Now, and I will.
Of course, this brings me back to the birthday problem of "I don't have anything to sell." But that's relatively easily remedied. I'm going to win NaNo, and when I've done that, I'm going to finish the story. Initially, I thought of NaNo as just practice, a pile of garbage words I'd most likely never actually use. The comments I've gotten on it have prodded me into thinking otherwise. (I think I've finally, at long last, figured out why people liked the cotton-candy WAFF that was "Golden Afternoon." It had lolzy arguing.) With some editing (a LOT of editing), this thing may actually be worth the paper it's printed on. Or not. I'm still not entirely convinced the nanomeme isn't just screwing with me (y helo thar memers! I'm Dejana, and I'm writing the fantasy adventure with the dragon and unicorn! /o\). In that case, it goes to Lulu and gets pimped to people who like my fanfic. Either way, I've decided it's worth the old college try.
And while it's being edited by pretty much everybody I can possibly trust with my original work, it'll be time to try writing some short stories. It's kind of strange, actually. I think my brain is finally making the transition from "writing is a hobby" to "writing is work." I never regained that "whee, fun!" spark that used to drive me through pages and pages of handwritten fanfiction, but I'm starting to feel that dedicating a little time to writing every day wouldn't be such an unwelcome chore. It's an odd feeling. Some people in the local NaNo group are forming an ongoing writer's circle, and I'm looking forward to being a part of that.
I'm not sure what this means in terms of the "So, are you officially quitting fanfic, then?" question. I'm still thinking "no," not entirely. For one thing, I have Yuletide to write for, aargh. For another thing, there will be "Fantaisie Sign." If I have to chain myself in a basement with nothing but a notebook and pen, I will not leave fandom without leaving that fic in it. And if I happen to write some fanfic at some of the area write-ins, who knows.
Of course, it's also highly likely I'll come back in a week with a mopey post about jinxing myself by writing all this, heh.
On the NaNo front, I did get into the MPR bit this morning. He cut out the emo babble that led up to the statement, so it wasn't as bad as I feared. ;)
Also, it's an incredibly small world. I'm on the road to possibly befriending a local NaNoer, and at a late-night write-in the other day, she turned out to be a Detour attendee who entered my drabble contest last year. That was an incredibly unexpected collision of worlds...
nanometer
40,074 / 50,000
(80.0%)