Fanfic Writers' Anonymous
Jul. 23rd, 2003 02:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciroccojHere we go, everybody say BAAAH! Stolen from various and sundry persons.
Do ideas come in little tiny pinpricks and then get expanded, or do they start great big and scopy and then get refined?
Little pinpricks, sometimes with a vague overarching theme. Which become scenelets. Which become a file full of loosely related, out-of-sequence scenes. Which eventually cause me to despair. The despair causes me to sit and figure out a rough chronology of events from beginning to end. Then I plug the scenes into the chronology. Then I modify the scenes to fit the chronology, see what I'm missing, and fill in the blanks. Then revise, revise, revise, revise, revise, revise...
Why do you choose to write in the tenses you do (present tense, or first person POV, or third person) and how do you choose particular styles for particular stories?
I naturally fall into third person past tense. The only exceptions so far have been The Child is the Father of the Man, which was script-like, the Plain Sight Exceptions, which are first person, and Purgatory, which ended up present tense. That last was strictly because it started out as a series of present-tense flashbacks before I realized I couldn't tell an entire story in flashbacks. I kept the tense because it seemed to fit with the nightmarish panicky-dreading tone, especially near the end.
Do you have music that inspires your writing? (That you listen to while writing, or certain songs that remind you of certain characters.)
Nope. I prefer instrumental music when I'm actually writing new stuff, since having lyrics in the background distracts me.
How do you brainstorm what comes next in a story?
See above - I don't do "what comes next". Leslie once said my writing was like quilting - get all the pieces together first, move them around to see where they fit, stitch them together, then finish.
What do you do when you hit a road block?
See above. I just highlight it ("this is where Jack talks to the priest") and write other scenes.
How often do you end up deleting a whole bunch of already-written stuff, and how hard is it to let that stuff go?
Not often enough, and very hard. I mostly look at whether a scene actually adds anything to the narrative and often find that no, it doesn't - I already said the same thing somewhere else in the story. So I try to delete it. But then I think of all sorts of excuses to not take it out ("Yes, but I didn't say it in the same way").
I do sometimes force myself to do it by taking it out and putting it into another file ("outtakes"). That way I can tell myself that it's not really gone. Then I re-read the passage without that scene, realize I've made it better, and tell myself I'll use the deleted scene somewhere else, or in another story. I usually don't.
What if you really, really want to include something but part of you is saying it's not right for that particular story?
Leave it in the outtakes file and tell myself I'll use it in another story. I've done that several times.
Do you take notes longhand, and if so, when?
Not often. Usually when I'm out with the kids and they're playing by themselves, I'll jot down scenelet ideas or try to do a story-flow chronology.
Do you use challenges by other people to inspire you?
Only once so far, for Plain Sight Exception.
Do you do anything in particular to get you into the right mindset to write a certain character or characters?
Nope.
Which characters are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
Probably Rey and Lennie.
Rey, I don't know why - he's not much like me. But I think I get the rigid moral code and the Catholic guilt complex and the hubris and the lack of insight into personal motivations unless dragged into insight kicking and screaming and... stuff like that.
Lennie, because he's cool. He's got his head on straight, knows himself fairly well, and is fairly straightforward and uncomplicated. Plus I love his tasteless sense of humour.
Which characters are most like you emotionally?
Don't know. None, really. I think the way I interpreted Claire was pretty close to me, except for the fact that she doesn't mind conflict. I think I often follow a moral code as rigid as Rey's, except that I'm aware that doing so can get somewhat ridiculous, which Rey doesn't seem to be. I often approach difficult situations with protective humour, like Lennie, but usually censor myself and don't make my little irreverent comments out loud.
How often do you feel like what you're writing is fulfilling some emotional need - ie, when you're writing comfort, is it because you often feel that you don't get it IRL?
Hm. Tough one. I know I felt that for about a year, but now don't feel that way so often. Unfortunately, it's not that RL is fulfilling needs any better - it's that writing isn't fulfilling them either.
What about writing smut - do you find it easy, difficult?
Difficult and uncomfortable. Especially when somebody I know reads it. I blushed for about a day when my partner read Burden.
What kinds of smut are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
Non-graphic. I prefer to write about what the characters are feeling, sexually and emotionally, rather than the anatomical stuff. eg, "pleasurable shivers" = OK, "swelling, engorged manhood" = ick.
Which of your stories is your favorite and WHY? Least favorite?
Hm... favourites would be either Pretty Picture or Open Letter. Pretty Picture just took a lot out of me and I'm kind of proud to have created something pretty much out of my own mind. No, I didn't make up the characters, but the situation, plot, etc were original.
Open Letter was just a lot of fun to write, and seems to have been greatly enjoyed.
Least favourite, I'd have to say is Confession. Don't know why, other than maybe because it reminds me that I've had a sequel to it languishing for over a year now. Makes me feel slightly guilty.
Which of your titles do you like the most/least, and why?
I like Plain Sight Exception and It Might Not Be A Pretty Picture, despite the unwieldiness of the second. Um... dislike? Dunno. Probably Purgatory, because I wish I'd been able to come up with a L&O ep title for that one.
How do you choose titles for your stories?
They're either quotes, or self-explanatory, or titles of L&O eps that may or may not have anything to do with the fic.
Do you write differently with a cowriter than you do alone? Is it easier or harder?
Only really done one cowriting experiment, unless you count the Plain Sight round robin. It was interesting. It started out fairly ad hoc, and then at some point we realized we had a fic on our hands instead of a series of joking e-mail exchanges.
It was a lot of fun, having both the control over plot that you have as a writer and the excitement of reading something new that you have as a reader. The only drawback was that there were a few spots where I wouldn't have had the characters say or do what my co-writer had them say or do - it didn't ring true to me. I'm sure there were sections of mine where Leslie felt the same way. But it was parody, so I wasn't that bothered by it.
Do you write original fic differently from fanfic (if you write it at all)?
Haven't done original fic yet. I started a short story... we'll see how it goes.
For series and long works, do you decide a goal in advance to stop at or are they open ended? If you do choose a goal, how often do you stick to it?
I choose a goal. Otherwise I go nuts. I often have the ending written waaay before the rest of it. I didn't, with Aftershock: McCoy, because I'd tried to end the others on a 'happy' note (well, except for Claire's which ended with a ::smuck::) but really couldn't think of anything positive to say at the end. I mean, really. As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bear put it, "Your girlfriend just died and you were an asshole. How are you feeling RIGHt NOW?"
I felt like I was heading for an open pit of black despair as I got closer and closer to the end with still no idea of how to insert even the slightest bit of sunlight. Don't want that feeling again.
When a scene feels forced, what are the first few tricks you try to fix it?
Leave it alone. Then, if it's really, really not going anywhere and everything is ready to go except for that scene, I just force through, write garbage, then edit, edit, edit.
Are most of your fixes deletions or additions?
Both. Rewrites, mainly.
How long does it usually take you to write a story? How many revisions do you go through?
Oy Vey. Shortest time: probably Open Letter, which took about a day to write, then a couple of days to revise. Longest: if the post-Deborah or post-Confession ever get written, it'll be at least 1.5 years.
Number of revisions? Every time I read, I do little changes. Even after I've posted, I'm still rewriting until about a month after I post the last chapter.
Obsessive?
No, why?
Do you use beta readers?
Uh... sometimes. Although I had none for Pretty Picture and most of the Aftershocks. Leslie sort of beta'd Aftershock: McCoy, then beta'd everything I wrote after Aftershock: McCoy. Now I bow to the beta-wisdom ofbear and gypsum
Do ideas come in little tiny pinpricks and then get expanded, or do they start great big and scopy and then get refined?
Little pinpricks, sometimes with a vague overarching theme. Which become scenelets. Which become a file full of loosely related, out-of-sequence scenes. Which eventually cause me to despair. The despair causes me to sit and figure out a rough chronology of events from beginning to end. Then I plug the scenes into the chronology. Then I modify the scenes to fit the chronology, see what I'm missing, and fill in the blanks. Then revise, revise, revise, revise, revise, revise...
Why do you choose to write in the tenses you do (present tense, or first person POV, or third person) and how do you choose particular styles for particular stories?
I naturally fall into third person past tense. The only exceptions so far have been The Child is the Father of the Man, which was script-like, the Plain Sight Exceptions, which are first person, and Purgatory, which ended up present tense. That last was strictly because it started out as a series of present-tense flashbacks before I realized I couldn't tell an entire story in flashbacks. I kept the tense because it seemed to fit with the nightmarish panicky-dreading tone, especially near the end.
Do you have music that inspires your writing? (That you listen to while writing, or certain songs that remind you of certain characters.)
Nope. I prefer instrumental music when I'm actually writing new stuff, since having lyrics in the background distracts me.
How do you brainstorm what comes next in a story?
See above - I don't do "what comes next". Leslie once said my writing was like quilting - get all the pieces together first, move them around to see where they fit, stitch them together, then finish.
What do you do when you hit a road block?
See above. I just highlight it ("this is where Jack talks to the priest") and write other scenes.
How often do you end up deleting a whole bunch of already-written stuff, and how hard is it to let that stuff go?
Not often enough, and very hard. I mostly look at whether a scene actually adds anything to the narrative and often find that no, it doesn't - I already said the same thing somewhere else in the story. So I try to delete it. But then I think of all sorts of excuses to not take it out ("Yes, but I didn't say it in the same way").
I do sometimes force myself to do it by taking it out and putting it into another file ("outtakes"). That way I can tell myself that it's not really gone. Then I re-read the passage without that scene, realize I've made it better, and tell myself I'll use the deleted scene somewhere else, or in another story. I usually don't.
What if you really, really want to include something but part of you is saying it's not right for that particular story?
Leave it in the outtakes file and tell myself I'll use it in another story. I've done that several times.
Do you take notes longhand, and if so, when?
Not often. Usually when I'm out with the kids and they're playing by themselves, I'll jot down scenelet ideas or try to do a story-flow chronology.
Do you use challenges by other people to inspire you?
Only once so far, for Plain Sight Exception.
Do you do anything in particular to get you into the right mindset to write a certain character or characters?
Nope.
Which characters are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
Probably Rey and Lennie.
Rey, I don't know why - he's not much like me. But I think I get the rigid moral code and the Catholic guilt complex and the hubris and the lack of insight into personal motivations unless dragged into insight kicking and screaming and... stuff like that.
Lennie, because he's cool. He's got his head on straight, knows himself fairly well, and is fairly straightforward and uncomplicated. Plus I love his tasteless sense of humour.
Which characters are most like you emotionally?
Don't know. None, really. I think the way I interpreted Claire was pretty close to me, except for the fact that she doesn't mind conflict. I think I often follow a moral code as rigid as Rey's, except that I'm aware that doing so can get somewhat ridiculous, which Rey doesn't seem to be. I often approach difficult situations with protective humour, like Lennie, but usually censor myself and don't make my little irreverent comments out loud.
How often do you feel like what you're writing is fulfilling some emotional need - ie, when you're writing comfort, is it because you often feel that you don't get it IRL?
Hm. Tough one. I know I felt that for about a year, but now don't feel that way so often. Unfortunately, it's not that RL is fulfilling needs any better - it's that writing isn't fulfilling them either.
What about writing smut - do you find it easy, difficult?
Difficult and uncomfortable. Especially when somebody I know reads it. I blushed for about a day when my partner read Burden.
What kinds of smut are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
Non-graphic. I prefer to write about what the characters are feeling, sexually and emotionally, rather than the anatomical stuff. eg, "pleasurable shivers" = OK, "swelling, engorged manhood" = ick.
Which of your stories is your favorite and WHY? Least favorite?
Hm... favourites would be either Pretty Picture or Open Letter. Pretty Picture just took a lot out of me and I'm kind of proud to have created something pretty much out of my own mind. No, I didn't make up the characters, but the situation, plot, etc were original.
Open Letter was just a lot of fun to write, and seems to have been greatly enjoyed.
Least favourite, I'd have to say is Confession. Don't know why, other than maybe because it reminds me that I've had a sequel to it languishing for over a year now. Makes me feel slightly guilty.
Which of your titles do you like the most/least, and why?
I like Plain Sight Exception and It Might Not Be A Pretty Picture, despite the unwieldiness of the second. Um... dislike? Dunno. Probably Purgatory, because I wish I'd been able to come up with a L&O ep title for that one.
How do you choose titles for your stories?
They're either quotes, or self-explanatory, or titles of L&O eps that may or may not have anything to do with the fic.
Do you write differently with a cowriter than you do alone? Is it easier or harder?
Only really done one cowriting experiment, unless you count the Plain Sight round robin. It was interesting. It started out fairly ad hoc, and then at some point we realized we had a fic on our hands instead of a series of joking e-mail exchanges.
It was a lot of fun, having both the control over plot that you have as a writer and the excitement of reading something new that you have as a reader. The only drawback was that there were a few spots where I wouldn't have had the characters say or do what my co-writer had them say or do - it didn't ring true to me. I'm sure there were sections of mine where Leslie felt the same way. But it was parody, so I wasn't that bothered by it.
Do you write original fic differently from fanfic (if you write it at all)?
Haven't done original fic yet. I started a short story... we'll see how it goes.
For series and long works, do you decide a goal in advance to stop at or are they open ended? If you do choose a goal, how often do you stick to it?
I choose a goal. Otherwise I go nuts. I often have the ending written waaay before the rest of it. I didn't, with Aftershock: McCoy, because I'd tried to end the others on a 'happy' note (well, except for Claire's which ended with a ::smuck::) but really couldn't think of anything positive to say at the end. I mean, really. As
bear put it, "Your girlfriend just died and you were an asshole. How are you feeling RIGHt NOW?"I felt like I was heading for an open pit of black despair as I got closer and closer to the end with still no idea of how to insert even the slightest bit of sunlight. Don't want that feeling again.
When a scene feels forced, what are the first few tricks you try to fix it?
Leave it alone. Then, if it's really, really not going anywhere and everything is ready to go except for that scene, I just force through, write garbage, then edit, edit, edit.
Are most of your fixes deletions or additions?
Both. Rewrites, mainly.
How long does it usually take you to write a story? How many revisions do you go through?
Oy Vey. Shortest time: probably Open Letter, which took about a day to write, then a couple of days to revise. Longest: if the post-Deborah or post-Confession ever get written, it'll be at least 1.5 years.
Number of revisions? Every time I read, I do little changes. Even after I've posted, I'm still rewriting until about a month after I post the last chapter.
Obsessive?
No, why?
Do you use beta readers?
Uh... sometimes. Although I had none for Pretty Picture and most of the Aftershocks. Leslie sort of beta'd Aftershock: McCoy, then beta'd everything I wrote after Aftershock: McCoy. Now I bow to the beta-wisdom of
bear and gypsum
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-07-23 06:37 pm (UTC)HA!!! ::smuck::!!! I love it. I hope that's meant to be macabre humor, b/c otherwise I'm cracking up really inappropriately.
I mean, really. As bear put it, "Your girlfriend just died and you were an asshole. How are you feeling RIGHt NOW?"
::weeping::
no subject
Date: 2003-07-23 06:47 pm (UTC)Yeah, well, see, I mentioned having a rather tasteless sense of humour a la Lennie - except I usually censor myself in public, unlike him. The joy of lj is I don't need to to censor. Aren't you all lucky?
no subject
Date: 2003-07-24 07:08 am (UTC)I mean, I'm one of the few people (along w/ Kyl) who thinks that anthrax jokes are among the funniest things EVER.