Meme: On enjoying writing...
A meme for a quiet Friday afternoon.
A while ago lyras posted a meme asking writers to identify their favorite fics from among the stories they'd written. I'm not sure I've gained nearly enough distance from my own fics to do that kind of thing; I still tend to be very judgmental about the finished product. But the meme got me thinking about the writing process more generally--why sometimes it's easier and more fun than others--and I realized that there *are* times I love writing, and reasons for that. I'm adapting the original meme a bit here.
What makes the writing process enjoyable for you? Which of your fics did you most enjoy writing?
What makes the writing process enjoyable for me? (I'm hiding most of the introspection behind the cut.)
1. A strong sense of empathy for the main character
The one thing that will invariably get me excited about a story is the realization that I know exactly what it would feel like to be in that situation. I know, I know, it's the first rule of characterization to put yourself in the shoes of your main character, but in practice that works better sometimes than others. Sometimes you hit on a combination of situation and personality traits that you just feel like you understand so thoroughly that the rest of the fic falls in place while you bond with your protagonist. I had enormous fun writing a rational, research-oriented Hermione dealing with the emotional process of coming out in The Unusual, Exceptional, and Statistically Remarkable Hermione Granger, Age 21. Despite the rather sad storyline, I also thoroughly enjoyed writing The Red Umbrella, which has a willful, slightly arrogant Fleur who refuses to admit that things are not going the way she planned. Er, we've all been there, right? At least some of us? *sheepish smile*
1a. I do empathize with women more easily. Something to think about.
2. Having something to say to fandom
I've written a couple of stories that were fairly polemical in origin. Frankly, I'm not sure this approach always makes for very good fic, but it certainly gets me typing like nothing else. I wrote a hasty little chapter about Sirius' reluctance to become a godfather to Harry with gusto, because I've always felt that Sirius, of all people, would have had very conflicted feelings about being a parent. It felt rather good to get that off my chest. (Please don't defriend me, Sirius lovers; I do think he warmed to his role later on.) Less obviously polemic, The Universe is a Procession began as a remix of a really lovely cross-dressing!Snape Snupin romance by Busaikko, but after I'd made the initial change--making Lupin, the POV character, also the transgender character--the story took on a life of its own. It's always bothered me that angsty, soul-searching fics about queerness are usually about the issues the queer character is dealing with, and not everyone else; here Lupin is intended to seem relatively comfortable with his conflicted gender identity, while the more-or-less-straight Snape takes a while to face up to things and come around.
3. A feeling that I can put things right.
I'm conflicted about this one. On the whole, I try to work with the world we already have: I stick fairly close to canon, and my outlook, if anything, tends toward the angst-ridden: things are bleak, the characters are coping as best they can. (Thank you for continuing to read my fic, f-list, by the way; I realize it must not be much fun sometimes.) Every once in a while, though, it occurs to me that maybe, just maybe, I can use fic to change some of the things I don't like about the world. I struggled with Fumbling, Stopping, and Starting, which traced the arc of Sirius' ill-fated romantic life, until I decided I would give it an epilogue that takes place in the afterlife, where I could fix some of the problems that had seemed intractable while Sirius was still alive. Suddenly, the fic became fun. I also delighted in arranging for the Deathly Hallows that I want to read in End of Days, which explained why and how the angel Aziraphale brings back Black.
3a. Would writing be more fun if I wrote more fluff and created happier universes? Because really, if you stop to think about it, I'm the one inflicting all the pain on my characters. *ponders*
3b. I love bringing presumably straight characters out of the closet. Out of the Cupboard Under the Stairs is probably the fic I had the most fun writing.
What is it that makes you enjoy writing, f-list? I'm curious to hear what you have to say. If you're interested in doing the meme yourself, would you mind linking me to it in comments?
A while ago lyras posted a meme asking writers to identify their favorite fics from among the stories they'd written. I'm not sure I've gained nearly enough distance from my own fics to do that kind of thing; I still tend to be very judgmental about the finished product. But the meme got me thinking about the writing process more generally--why sometimes it's easier and more fun than others--and I realized that there *are* times I love writing, and reasons for that. I'm adapting the original meme a bit here.
What makes the writing process enjoyable for you? Which of your fics did you most enjoy writing?
What makes the writing process enjoyable for me? (I'm hiding most of the introspection behind the cut.)
1. A strong sense of empathy for the main character
The one thing that will invariably get me excited about a story is the realization that I know exactly what it would feel like to be in that situation. I know, I know, it's the first rule of characterization to put yourself in the shoes of your main character, but in practice that works better sometimes than others. Sometimes you hit on a combination of situation and personality traits that you just feel like you understand so thoroughly that the rest of the fic falls in place while you bond with your protagonist. I had enormous fun writing a rational, research-oriented Hermione dealing with the emotional process of coming out in The Unusual, Exceptional, and Statistically Remarkable Hermione Granger, Age 21. Despite the rather sad storyline, I also thoroughly enjoyed writing The Red Umbrella, which has a willful, slightly arrogant Fleur who refuses to admit that things are not going the way she planned. Er, we've all been there, right? At least some of us? *sheepish smile*
1a. I do empathize with women more easily. Something to think about.
2. Having something to say to fandom
I've written a couple of stories that were fairly polemical in origin. Frankly, I'm not sure this approach always makes for very good fic, but it certainly gets me typing like nothing else. I wrote a hasty little chapter about Sirius' reluctance to become a godfather to Harry with gusto, because I've always felt that Sirius, of all people, would have had very conflicted feelings about being a parent. It felt rather good to get that off my chest. (Please don't defriend me, Sirius lovers; I do think he warmed to his role later on.) Less obviously polemic, The Universe is a Procession began as a remix of a really lovely cross-dressing!Snape Snupin romance by Busaikko, but after I'd made the initial change--making Lupin, the POV character, also the transgender character--the story took on a life of its own. It's always bothered me that angsty, soul-searching fics about queerness are usually about the issues the queer character is dealing with, and not everyone else; here Lupin is intended to seem relatively comfortable with his conflicted gender identity, while the more-or-less-straight Snape takes a while to face up to things and come around.
3. A feeling that I can put things right.
I'm conflicted about this one. On the whole, I try to work with the world we already have: I stick fairly close to canon, and my outlook, if anything, tends toward the angst-ridden: things are bleak, the characters are coping as best they can. (Thank you for continuing to read my fic, f-list, by the way; I realize it must not be much fun sometimes.) Every once in a while, though, it occurs to me that maybe, just maybe, I can use fic to change some of the things I don't like about the world. I struggled with Fumbling, Stopping, and Starting, which traced the arc of Sirius' ill-fated romantic life, until I decided I would give it an epilogue that takes place in the afterlife, where I could fix some of the problems that had seemed intractable while Sirius was still alive. Suddenly, the fic became fun. I also delighted in arranging for the Deathly Hallows that I want to read in End of Days, which explained why and how the angel Aziraphale brings back Black.
3a. Would writing be more fun if I wrote more fluff and created happier universes? Because really, if you stop to think about it, I'm the one inflicting all the pain on my characters. *ponders*
3b. I love bringing presumably straight characters out of the closet. Out of the Cupboard Under the Stairs is probably the fic I had the most fun writing.
What is it that makes you enjoy writing, f-list? I'm curious to hear what you have to say. If you're interested in doing the meme yourself, would you mind linking me to it in comments?