You say, "I wanted you to be proud."--I always wanted that myself.
I think I'm starting to miss band class, hardcore. It's not like I was ever that active in it, or anything. I wasn't even that good, which was really annoying because I'd always get family members saying things like "Oh, I think you're great!" which was silly as hell, because I never had a solo or anything (there were four to six flutes at any given time, three of them consistently better than me! when I switched to alto sax, it was a little better, but I still had the least musical experience on sax because the one girl of the four of us who hadn't been into band as long had played sax for a full year longer than me), and I frequently got yelled at if I tried to practice flute within hearing range of my mom or step-dad.
(Which is not to imply I practiced a lot, which is to imply something about the reason I was only ever kind-of-okay instead of being FUCKING AWESOME, FUCK YEAH like some of my friends.)
I think maybe it's because I've been listening to a lot of music lately. (See, I've moved it from "background noise" to actively listening to the majority of it again; this means I've deleted some of my older stuff that'll pop up while I'm doing things too important to bother with switching to the music player and killing the song/skipping ahead or whatever, and I'm pickier about what I'm listening to at any given moment.)
I kind of miss marching band, too. The uniforms were hideous, and practices were always a bitch, but one of the best feelings in the world is Friday night, at the end of the semester, one of the last games, and nailing a show. The stadium lights are all on you, baby, and the world looks fucking gorgeous from the field.
An even better feeling was spending all Saturday at Competition (you can always hear the capital "C" when people say it out loud) with friends and buying over-priced snack foods and watching everyone else in hideous uniforms walk and play instruments at the same time (which is harder than it sounds, let me tell you) and do it well and make an impression--
We were totally the smallest band at every competition, I think, except maybe the guys from Oklahoma at the Liberty Bowl. (I am in that video! 8D Somewhere on the left, um, several rows back, I think. I can't remember. I'm one of over, like, 30 or 40 people people trying to look exactly the same in a blue/white uniform with um, I think we had white plumes at the time? Anyway, just mute the volume if you click that. The quality's terrible, the song's worse, and most of us are pretty sure that lady was lip syncing at her big, national, live performance.)
I have an RL friend who thinks I should join the college band with her, but I don't have my own instrument, and it just wouldn't be--the same, y'know? One of the things that made band class so fun in high school was all of my best friends being in it, too. RL friend who invited me is one of my best friends, too! But she's in band for the music of it, and I'm more a writer. Hence, my position on LJ as a fanfic writer, instead of a blogging musical artist.
So, I think I'm just going to compensate for the band-shaped hole in my soul by listening to a lot more Youngblood Brass Band and Tori Amos this week, because they kind of make the music feel solid again, y'know? (and if you do not know, go look some of their stuff up. YBB is what happened when some marching band students got bored and started to mess around after practice and Tori Amos is, um. I mean. She's Tori. Here is YBB's site--with free music samples! :D And here is some Tori.)
Super Sekrit Projekt
I've written, um, I think about two sentences on this? I'm trying to rework part of the beginning to be more believable. I was happy with the prose before, and I still love the scenes, but, um. Well. It's like, I'm not sure Tsunade would to that y'know? And what if something did happen? And then where would Naruto be? And all five villages would be like "I AM ROLLING MY EYES SO HARD THEY ARE GOING TO FLY OUT OF MY SOCKETS ANY MOMENT. THAT IS HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOUR 'DIPLOMATIC DECISION'. THIS IS NOT LIKE YOU, SO WE HAVE TO ASSUME IT'S PLOT-BASED STUPIDITY, WHICH MEANS IT'S NOT GONNA STOP ANY TIME SOON, SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO SAVE OURSELVES THE TROUBLE OF BEING MAD AT YOU ('CAUSE WE KNOW IT'LL WORK OUT IN THE END) AND JUST MAKE OUR WAY OUT OF THIS FIC BECAUSE MY GOD. I DON'T EVEN--I MEAN, WHAT IF PLOT-INDUCED IDIOCY IS CONTAGIOUS? YEAH. SO, I'M OUT OF HERE."
(Which is a convoluted way of saying, "writing tsunade is haaaaaaaaard /cry moar.")
So, um, anyway, I think if I just add in the one scene? Maybe two? And modify the start of my current second scene? Everything should flow better, and I won't have to worry about things like "Wow, that was kind of OOC, huh? I sure hope nobody notices. >______________>" Also, a tip for any up-and-coming writers in the audience: if, at any point, you find yourself thinking that (which is not the same as thinking "is this OOC? I mean--I justified the change in characterization with Previous Scene(s), but I mean, at this point in canon? would he do that?" the answer is yes and no. fanfic's aaaaaaall about exploring the possibilities), chances are you are doing it wrong.
Er, anyway, tangents aside, I've written two sentences. It broke the ice for the new scene, but didn't really get me very far. Sigh.
Jounin Big Bang (solo)
I'm expanding some parts. I wrote over 1000 words today (yesterday? well, in the last 24 hours, anyway), helping to put in more--something, which will hopefully feel more in character and give the fic more of its own feel, separate from canon. I'm trying not to cling quite so hard to canon as I usually do when attempting big changes like this, but um. I'm not really going to be sure how well I'm doing until it's done.
In other news, I have not actually made progress forward, I'm just adding between, and replacing one scene with... well, I think there are at least three in its place, now? I'll be cannibalizing the scene, though; some interactions will go toward the replacements, and some descriptions will be put back into the fic because I like them too much to let them go.
I've been planning ahead again, because before I only had kind of a skeleton of an outline, and now I've got a bit more of an idea of what I want to do with the fic's immediate future. (although my exact plans for the ending are still undecided.)
I'm also considering just asking the mods for an extension preemptively. SN_E kind of ate my soul during its run, and I didn't get a whole lot done on Big Bang like I wanted to, and this thing is going to be massive--there was never any question about that.
The deadline has been pushed back a week, due to umm, something blah blah with the artists and the chuunin rounds and I don't even know--so I'll have a bit longer. But uni starts back in ten days oh my god, when did that happen (fuuuuuuck, I totally thought I had more time than that)--which will be a mixed blessing, I'm sure. On the one hand, I haven't seen my friends much this summer because I live under a rock, so we will probably do social things which I will heartily agree to, ignoring my deadline because I love hanging out with them, even if I mostly choose to live under a rock--but on the other hand I have waaaaay too much free time between classes now, and probably not enough gas money to be running to the house and back between every single one of them (oh the woes of not living on campus), so I'll probably hang out in the library and write.
I'm hoping I get enough library writing done to at least come close to finishing Big Bang in time for the deadline.
Jounin Big Bang (with sirona)
I am sure that as soon as I can come up with someone who has a witty reply for That Character You Just Reintroduced And, Man, Wasn't That Convenient (not just for the plot--although, yes, I'd totally forgotten about him and he did need to be brought back because seriously, his sideplot has to be resolved somehow before we end this thing--but also for us because yaaaaaaay, free ticket to exposition and cool things and character interactions~) I will, but, um. Staring at the blinking cursor hasn't helped much yet. (Have you ever noticed if you stare at it too long, it starts to look like it's mocking you? Or is that just me? That's one of those weird Ember Things, isn't it?)
Shipping meme Day 20 - The ‘can’t stand the sexual tension anymore’ pairing? Er-- to be honest, I never notice UST until it's pointed out to me. ._.
Although, Sasuke and Naruto are obvious enough to at least register on my radar. Sometimes?
And the Star Trek Reboot boys--fjkd; I blame Chris Pine. I think he could have sexual chemistry with anyone. Setting the Reboot Kirk in a room with Capt. Jack Harkness would cause everyone in a twenty mile radius to feel aroused, most of them without quite knowing why.
ETA: new fic over at graphiteandsoul. It's just a drabble set, but, um, check it out anyway. 8D
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(Which is not to imply I practiced a lot, which is to imply something about the reason I was only ever kind-of-okay instead of being FUCKING AWESOME, FUCK YEAH like some of my friends.)
I think maybe it's because I've been listening to a lot of music lately. (See, I've moved it from "background noise" to actively listening to the majority of it again; this means I've deleted some of my older stuff that'll pop up while I'm doing things too important to bother with switching to the music player and killing the song/skipping ahead or whatever, and I'm pickier about what I'm listening to at any given moment.)
I kind of miss marching band, too. The uniforms were hideous, and practices were always a bitch, but one of the best feelings in the world is Friday night, at the end of the semester, one of the last games, and nailing a show. The stadium lights are all on you, baby, and the world looks fucking gorgeous from the field.
An even better feeling was spending all Saturday at Competition (you can always hear the capital "C" when people say it out loud) with friends and buying over-priced snack foods and watching everyone else in hideous uniforms walk and play instruments at the same time (which is harder than it sounds, let me tell you) and do it well and make an impression--
We were totally the smallest band at every competition, I think, except maybe the guys from Oklahoma at the Liberty Bowl. (I am in that video! 8D Somewhere on the left, um, several rows back, I think. I can't remember. I'm one of over, like, 30 or 40 people people trying to look exactly the same in a blue/white uniform with um, I think we had white plumes at the time? Anyway, just mute the volume if you click that. The quality's terrible, the song's worse, and most of us are pretty sure that lady was lip syncing at her big, national, live performance.)
I have an RL friend who thinks I should join the college band with her, but I don't have my own instrument, and it just wouldn't be--the same, y'know? One of the things that made band class so fun in high school was all of my best friends being in it, too. RL friend who invited me is one of my best friends, too! But she's in band for the music of it, and I'm more a writer. Hence, my position on LJ as a fanfic writer, instead of a blogging musical artist.
So, I think I'm just going to compensate for the band-shaped hole in my soul by listening to a lot more Youngblood Brass Band and Tori Amos this week, because they kind of make the music feel solid again, y'know? (and if you do not know, go look some of their stuff up. YBB is what happened when some marching band students got bored and started to mess around after practice and Tori Amos is, um. I mean. She's Tori. Here is YBB's site--with free music samples! :D And here is some Tori.)
Super Sekrit Projekt
I've written, um, I think about two sentences on this? I'm trying to rework part of the beginning to be more believable. I was happy with the prose before, and I still love the scenes, but, um. Well. It's like, I'm not sure Tsunade would to that y'know? And what if something did happen? And then where would Naruto be? And all five villages would be like "I AM ROLLING MY EYES SO HARD THEY ARE GOING TO FLY OUT OF MY SOCKETS ANY MOMENT. THAT IS HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOUR 'DIPLOMATIC DECISION'. THIS IS NOT LIKE YOU, SO WE HAVE TO ASSUME IT'S PLOT-BASED STUPIDITY, WHICH MEANS IT'S NOT GONNA STOP ANY TIME SOON, SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO SAVE OURSELVES THE TROUBLE OF BEING MAD AT YOU ('CAUSE WE KNOW IT'LL WORK OUT IN THE END) AND JUST MAKE OUR WAY OUT OF THIS FIC BECAUSE MY GOD. I DON'T EVEN--I MEAN, WHAT IF PLOT-INDUCED IDIOCY IS CONTAGIOUS? YEAH. SO, I'M OUT OF HERE."
(Which is a convoluted way of saying, "writing tsunade is haaaaaaaaard /cry moar.")
So, um, anyway, I think if I just add in the one scene? Maybe two? And modify the start of my current second scene? Everything should flow better, and I won't have to worry about things like "Wow, that was kind of OOC, huh? I sure hope nobody notices. >______________>" Also, a tip for any up-and-coming writers in the audience: if, at any point, you find yourself thinking that (which is not the same as thinking "is this OOC? I mean--I justified the change in characterization with Previous Scene(s), but I mean, at this point in canon? would he do that?" the answer is yes and no. fanfic's aaaaaaall about exploring the possibilities), chances are you are doing it wrong.
Er, anyway, tangents aside, I've written two sentences. It broke the ice for the new scene, but didn't really get me very far. Sigh.
Jounin Big Bang (solo)
I'm expanding some parts. I wrote over 1000 words today (yesterday? well, in the last 24 hours, anyway), helping to put in more--something, which will hopefully feel more in character and give the fic more of its own feel, separate from canon. I'm trying not to cling quite so hard to canon as I usually do when attempting big changes like this, but um. I'm not really going to be sure how well I'm doing until it's done.
In other news, I have not actually made progress forward, I'm just adding between, and replacing one scene with... well, I think there are at least three in its place, now? I'll be cannibalizing the scene, though; some interactions will go toward the replacements, and some descriptions will be put back into the fic because I like them too much to let them go.
I've been planning ahead again, because before I only had kind of a skeleton of an outline, and now I've got a bit more of an idea of what I want to do with the fic's immediate future. (although my exact plans for the ending are still undecided.)
I'm also considering just asking the mods for an extension preemptively. SN_E kind of ate my soul during its run, and I didn't get a whole lot done on Big Bang like I wanted to, and this thing is going to be massive--there was never any question about that.
The deadline has been pushed back a week, due to umm, something blah blah with the artists and the chuunin rounds and I don't even know--so I'll have a bit longer. But uni starts back in ten days oh my god, when did that happen (fuuuuuuck, I totally thought I had more time than that)--which will be a mixed blessing, I'm sure. On the one hand, I haven't seen my friends much this summer because I live under a rock, so we will probably do social things which I will heartily agree to, ignoring my deadline because I love hanging out with them, even if I mostly choose to live under a rock--but on the other hand I have waaaaay too much free time between classes now, and probably not enough gas money to be running to the house and back between every single one of them (oh the woes of not living on campus), so I'll probably hang out in the library and write.
I'm hoping I get enough library writing done to at least come close to finishing Big Bang in time for the deadline.
Jounin Big Bang (with sirona)
I am sure that as soon as I can come up with someone who has a witty reply for That Character You Just Reintroduced And, Man, Wasn't That Convenient (not just for the plot--although, yes, I'd totally forgotten about him and he did need to be brought back because seriously, his sideplot has to be resolved somehow before we end this thing--but also for us because yaaaaaaay, free ticket to exposition and cool things and character interactions~) I will, but, um. Staring at the blinking cursor hasn't helped much yet. (Have you ever noticed if you stare at it too long, it starts to look like it's mocking you? Or is that just me? That's one of those weird Ember Things, isn't it?)
Shipping meme Day 20 - The ‘can’t stand the sexual tension anymore’ pairing? Er-- to be honest, I never notice UST until it's pointed out to me. ._.
Although, Sasuke and Naruto are obvious enough to at least register on my radar. Sometimes?
And the Star Trek Reboot boys--fjkd; I blame Chris Pine. I think he could have sexual chemistry with anyone. Setting the Reboot Kirk in a room with Capt. Jack Harkness would cause everyone in a twenty mile radius to feel aroused, most of them without quite knowing why.
ETA: new fic over at graphiteandsoul. It's just a drabble set, but, um, check it out anyway. 8D
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