In Lieu of a Year-End Fic Meme
So I'm not doing a fic meme this year, because I didn't really publish very much fic in 2010.
Some notes about where I want to go with writing, fannishly and otherwise:
A.) Take everything a little bit less seriously. Throw fic around like confetti from time to time. It's fun and nobody gets hurt!
B.) Write in more fandoms. It's good fun and also better exercise than writing all Numb3rs all the time.
C.) Write "exercises." Stretch. Try dubious tactics. Please only yourself.
D.) Crit a lot. Be a pain-in-the-ass beta. Challenge the writers you read for.
E.) You know that knot in your stomach you get when you think about starting? If you start fast enough, you barely even feel it.
F.) Leap. You won't come to the end of your life wishing you'd written less or played it safer.
I spent a huge chunk of 2010 struggling with confidence issues - not my typical ever-present need for reassurance, but a morass of negative self-talk and lizard-brain mental "tapes" that felt paralyzing.
I have some thinky-thoughts on this, if you'll indulge me, which I record here mostly for my own edification; if you have thoughts, feel free to share, but don't feel obligated. I'm not expecting advice.
Dear Self:
1.) When you feel like staying home in your pyjamas for the second or third day straight? Put on comfy street clothes and go out for a walk. Seriously. You can put pjs back on when you get home if you want to.
2.) You are doing better than you think. Yes, I'm sure.
3.) If you spend an entire day not nervous? You are not living fully. Mild nerves are a sign you are doing it right. The complete absence of fear is a sign of stasis.*
4.) You resist social connection, but you need it. Recognize the impulse to be a hermit, but don't succumb all the time.
5.) You are probably never going to wake up free of resistance - resistance to writing, resistance to learning, and resistance to social interaction are just a part of life, for you. That's okay, just notice it, feel it, and put it in its proper place - which is usually going to mean doing-the-thing-you-resist-anyway.
* No, nobody is asking you to terrify yourself, or to prove anything. Breathe.
Some notes about where I want to go with writing, fannishly and otherwise:
A.) Take everything a little bit less seriously. Throw fic around like confetti from time to time. It's fun and nobody gets hurt!
B.) Write in more fandoms. It's good fun and also better exercise than writing all Numb3rs all the time.
C.) Write "exercises." Stretch. Try dubious tactics. Please only yourself.
D.) Crit a lot. Be a pain-in-the-ass beta. Challenge the writers you read for.
E.) You know that knot in your stomach you get when you think about starting? If you start fast enough, you barely even feel it.
F.) Leap. You won't come to the end of your life wishing you'd written less or played it safer.
I spent a huge chunk of 2010 struggling with confidence issues - not my typical ever-present need for reassurance, but a morass of negative self-talk and lizard-brain mental "tapes" that felt paralyzing.
I have some thinky-thoughts on this, if you'll indulge me, which I record here mostly for my own edification; if you have thoughts, feel free to share, but don't feel obligated. I'm not expecting advice.
Dear Self:
1.) When you feel like staying home in your pyjamas for the second or third day straight? Put on comfy street clothes and go out for a walk. Seriously. You can put pjs back on when you get home if you want to.
2.) You are doing better than you think. Yes, I'm sure.
3.) If you spend an entire day not nervous? You are not living fully. Mild nerves are a sign you are doing it right. The complete absence of fear is a sign of stasis.*
4.) You resist social connection, but you need it. Recognize the impulse to be a hermit, but don't succumb all the time.
5.) You are probably never going to wake up free of resistance - resistance to writing, resistance to learning, and resistance to social interaction are just a part of life, for you. That's okay, just notice it, feel it, and put it in its proper place - which is usually going to mean doing-the-thing-you-resist-anyway.
* No, nobody is asking you to terrify yourself, or to prove anything. Breathe.