State of Me
I really, really should get back in the habit of posting more here. But between DW having gone quiet(er) and chatting a LOT with 
tanaqui, I've usually said all I wanted to say and it feels redundant to put stuff up on DW as well.
And time seems to slip through my fingers like water. How did it get to be September 2013 already?
That said:
Work is its usual craziness. We're on the eve of a major (and I mean major) reorganization. Lucky me already knows where she's supposedly gonna be placed (I was among one of the first), and while I think I'm quite suited for the position, it also means I have to give up a few things, mostly facilitating all kinds of workshops and scrum events. Which will be a shame. At least this is part of my personal toolkit, so I'll try to keep my skills honed sharp on my own projects.
It's also very stressful for everyone, and eating up a lot of energy with very little result to show for it. Plus the gossip mill is running overtime as management seems to think putting an X number of posts (that basically say "we've all been working hard and you'll hear more later") on the intranet is a proper measure of good communicating (don't get me started...)!
In my downtime, I'm still puttering along writing fanfic novels, and melancholically looking back on the days when I was writing short fic. Cause that is soooo much easier. I'm mostly a "character-focused pants-er" by nature, but of course that simply doesn't work for novel-sized fics with complicated interweaving plotlines.
So I'm still stumbling my way through various outlining methods and tricks. One thing I have found out for sure: I can't for the life of me work from a set framework like "three acts, midpoint, crisis point" etc. Just looking at that makes my brain shrivel up and any thought I might've had die before its time.
What does seem to work (somewhat) is using a whiteboard, sticky posts, and erasable markers. Mostly by throwing stuff at the whiteboard (nicknamed Whiteboard of Doom, because geez, it is a scary thing when it's all blank and white and staring back at me...) and then see if something workable emerges.
50K words in, I did have to redo the whole third installment of the Sons of Anarchy trilogy that's been eating my life the last... year? Or so. After coming through a screeching halt, it turned out I was telling the wrong story from the wrong point of view, and it got more and more complicated (and dull to write -- that should've been a sign much earlier on I was on the wrong track). Anyway, slowly but steadily I seem to be designing something simpler and better (I hope! Proof, pudding, eating, etc.)
Some day, it might even get put out on line....
On the plus side: I just got my Jericho AU novel back from my beta! Squee! (I haven't dared look at it yet, but this means it's just one step closer to actually being done. I'm hoping before the end of the year....
So, that's a rough outline of the state of me. How about you?
This entry was originally posted at http://scribblesinink.dreamwidth.org/285142.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
people have commented.
tanaqui, I've usually said all I wanted to say and it feels redundant to put stuff up on DW as well.
And time seems to slip through my fingers like water. How did it get to be September 2013 already?
That said:
Work is its usual craziness. We're on the eve of a major (and I mean major) reorganization. Lucky me already knows where she's supposedly gonna be placed (I was among one of the first), and while I think I'm quite suited for the position, it also means I have to give up a few things, mostly facilitating all kinds of workshops and scrum events. Which will be a shame. At least this is part of my personal toolkit, so I'll try to keep my skills honed sharp on my own projects.
It's also very stressful for everyone, and eating up a lot of energy with very little result to show for it. Plus the gossip mill is running overtime as management seems to think putting an X number of posts (that basically say "we've all been working hard and you'll hear more later") on the intranet is a proper measure of good communicating (don't get me started...)!
In my downtime, I'm still puttering along writing fanfic novels, and melancholically looking back on the days when I was writing short fic. Cause that is soooo much easier. I'm mostly a "character-focused pants-er" by nature, but of course that simply doesn't work for novel-sized fics with complicated interweaving plotlines.
So I'm still stumbling my way through various outlining methods and tricks. One thing I have found out for sure: I can't for the life of me work from a set framework like "three acts, midpoint, crisis point" etc. Just looking at that makes my brain shrivel up and any thought I might've had die before its time.
What does seem to work (somewhat) is using a whiteboard, sticky posts, and erasable markers. Mostly by throwing stuff at the whiteboard (nicknamed Whiteboard of Doom, because geez, it is a scary thing when it's all blank and white and staring back at me...) and then see if something workable emerges.
50K words in, I did have to redo the whole third installment of the Sons of Anarchy trilogy that's been eating my life the last... year? Or so. After coming through a screeching halt, it turned out I was telling the wrong story from the wrong point of view, and it got more and more complicated (and dull to write -- that should've been a sign much earlier on I was on the wrong track). Anyway, slowly but steadily I seem to be designing something simpler and better (I hope! Proof, pudding, eating, etc.)
Some day, it might even get put out on line....
On the plus side: I just got my Jericho AU novel back from my beta! Squee! (I haven't dared look at it yet, but this means it's just one step closer to actually being done. I'm hoping before the end of the year....
So, that's a rough outline of the state of me. How about you?
This entry was originally posted at http://scribblesinink.dreamwidth.org/285142.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
people have commented.