Comments | johnnypurple: thoughts on writing and a meme

johnnypurple

thoughts on writing and a meme

Aug 29, 2008 20:22

I was thinking thinky thoughts about my writing. Except that they aren't actually that thinky. But I'll tell you anyway. Or maybe I'm just writing this down for myself. Because otherwise I'll forget them and then have to think them all over again. Though maybe I should just forget them. You'll see.

( The thoughts were this... )

meme, writing, fandom

Comments 7

rhosyndu August 30 2008, 03:48:45 UTC

These seem fairly thinky for non-thinky thoughts to me. I think. ;)

I think the instant feedback is what keeps most of us in fandom, tbh, but not just because of the feeling of reward: I tend to find when I’ve spent a while on something that it stops making sense, that I can’t see what the immediate effect or the general tone of the thing is anymore - it’s like something glutinous has snuck in and slimed all my careful words up into gibberish.

johnnypurple August 30 2008, 06:48:59 UTC

oh god yes. I agree. Also if it's something that only you and noone else has read, then it's like it doesn't quite actually exist in the real world. And you can't read it with fresh eyes - I guess not unless you put it away and forget about it and then come back to it much later. but i'm always scared to do that. in my memory things are brilliant and i'd sometimes rather keep the memory that to go back and discover what I wrote was rubbish. it's kinda a similar thing to re-reading books you loved in childhood: it's risky.

though I guess this is why pff-smo is good. it will help with that - having people to read things. etc.

mmm, glutin. like glutinous rice cakes or something that we sometimes get at the dumpling place. mmm, dumplings. if only my original fikshun was that tasty! ;)

nixwilliams August 30 2008, 09:18:04 UTC

i like your thinky thoughts. keep thinking. thinking is good.

i forgot my keys this afternoon. i was locked out. i saw kate and then she had to go to her mum's b'day, so i went to see michelle and rachel delivered a table and then they went to dinner and i went home and db was home. now i am roasting spuds.

johnnypurple August 30 2008, 11:42:27 UTC

buggerations! lucky you live near people. the only people i live near are hostile strangers zombies. a table? that sound damn exciting. like whoa.

ok, i'm listening to country music on youtube and it's make my head all funny. it's not willy nelson, let me say that. it's this... do I really want to embed it on my lj? OH WHAT THE HELL. watch AND ENJOY. particularly the hair. and the lyrics. oh, all of it!

but some willy to counter-balance things. All hail the faun king!

i will indeed keep thinking. that is what i plan to do. maybe i will watch your version the leggy blonde vid and then go to bed to dream of elves! :)

wolfy_writing September 7 2008, 04:14:46 UTC

Impressive thoughts.

I'd definitely like to both get away from the idea that people who write fanfic have to be building towards published original fic (the same way knitting doesn't mean you need to go looking for a career in the fashion industry) and encourage more feedback and satisfaction for people who do want to. Which is the point of the pff_smo, even if I've been a bit busy and useless at the moment. Partly because we just did the giant million-hours-a-week part of the internship (which meant meeting cool people working on development issues, so it was good), and partly because while rejection letters where they say what they didn't like are a positive step, but not a fun one if you're not used to them, and I spent a good three or four days with my will to write original fic at a low ebb (better now).

johnnypurple September 7 2008, 06:21:38 UTC

I think I meant to mention pff-smo in this post, because it's connected, as you say. It means that writing original stuff can have a bit of a readership too and feedback and whatnot - all those good, encouraging things. I'm happy if to get me writing original stuff, I write it to post at pff-smo. That's OK with me ( ... )

wolfy_writing September 8 2008, 08:37:42 UTC

The rejection was only temporarily discouraging. The good thing is that it tends to be either a generic 'we regret to tell you we rejected your stuff' line, which is hard to spin into "My writing sucks!" or if it's specific, it means your writing doesn't suck, and you've got a reasonable shot at getting something published.

I am back for the moment (Miss Adelaide and assorted women of the world have gone back to their respective countries), and will be around more. I need to get a modly reminder off to the otter mismanagers about flocking their own stuff.

*brainsexes back*