on writing
Aug. 31st, 2006 04:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnestIt's time for some introspection, so
Writing Meme
Keyboard or notebook?
Usually keyboard, but sometimes the notebook has come in handy. Sometimes I have a bunny and have to be somewhere else, so I take the notebook and hope to scrawl something down. I wrote the sonnet to Lance's ass during a succession of university visits.
Beta or no beta?
Hmm. I know for a fact that the stories which have been beta'd always benefit, but I don't always get it done, nevertheless. I'm pretty confident in my ability to write coherent sentences and to spell; beyond that, it depends how important a story is. 'Big' stories, challenge stories, gift stories, I definitely get someone else's input, but for quickies and not-exactly-serious stuff, I don't necessarily. I know my American English has improved quite a bit, but I suspect I still perpetrate Briticisms - but on the lighthearted stories, I'm not too worried about it.
Plot?
Hmm. A lot of what I write are mere scenes, where it's more a question of who's licking what off whom than actual *story*. I do find that where I have to follow something through carefully to make sure the storyline makes sense, it's probably the hardest thing about writing. That kind of story definitely needs beta input, to check that it works.
Title?
I don't think I'm good at thinking up exciting titles, the kind that make a potential reader think, Ooh, that looks fascinating. It has happened once or twice, perhaps. But I don't usually find it difficult to think of a title that fits the story. These are successful in varying degree: I'm very fond of 'Who's Your Daddy?', 'The Educated Pig', 'Neville Longbottom and the Boke of Fecretf', 'Warm Oil and an Innocent Smile' and 'Midnight Rodeo' as titles, but I have to admit that a lot of my titles are depressingly unmemorable.
Smushy or smutty?
Bit of both, really. I have written some quite explicit stuff, but after a while it gets really difficult to find a different, interesting way to describe sex, and as I enjoy the titillating set-up, I don't think it's necessarily important to show the actual deed. And I try to keep the mushier emotions in check, so that the fantasy in my head isn't quite so squishy when it comes out in words. Depends what I'm in the mood for, I suppose.
Summary?
I have a feeling my summaries are the kind that might remind a person of the story they've read, but won't necessarily entice them to read. Perhaps I should do a survey.
Funniest fic?
Has to be Merchandising, I guess. Honourable mention to Neville Longbottom and the Boke of Fecretf, and maybe some of the recent crack!fic.
Most popular fic?
Clearly Merchandising.
Most fun to write?
I'm extremely fond of my Chronicles AU, it's enormously enjoyable finding new ways to refer back to canon in a fantasy setting. But possibly the most fun was 'Justin Junior', which I wrote on Sunday morning at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nopseud's house during my first sparkly weekend, and passed round for general inspection as people woke up.
Best and worst?
Best: It's hard to judge, but I'm very proud of Prone, which I struggled with quite a lot. Worst: I dunno, really. There are quite a lot of not-to-be-taken-seriously ficlets on my website, which vary quite a bit in quality. Of stories I can honestly say I worked on, I guess 'What You See May Not Be What You Get' didn't work out as it should have done, because I really ought to have written it with an unhappy ending, and I didn't want to. Otherwise, 'A Matter of Timing' sounded better when I thought it up than it ended up being, probably because what I *really* wanted to write was an epic, sweeping, multi-generation-spanning Datafic and I used this little bit instead and never wrote the big one.
Coulda been contenders?
I don't really know what this means.
Strengths
Um... I like to think technical proficiency, but I may be kidding myself. It gratifies me that I can—always provided I *get down to it*—write quite fast. And I think I'm a reasonable self-editor.
Weaknesses?
Tendency to under-write. Sometimes I read the perfect detail in someone else's story—a half-sentence of description that sets the scene, or a moment of throwaway conversation that encapsulates the character, or an observation that enriches the whole thing—and I realise that I don't do that, and I wish I could. Sigh. At the same time, I can get adjective/adverb-happy.
If anyone is reading this, and would like to suggest what I ought to have nominated here, I'd be interested to know.
Dirty little secrets?
Um... I wrote a couple of romances aimed at Mills & Boon, about twenty years ago. In fact, if I'd known then what I subsequently learned about rejection letters that go into detail about what needs fixing, I'd probably be a published romance writer now. Meanwhile the characters in those stories have children in my head, who're having their own romances now...
Writing Meme
Keyboard or notebook?
Usually keyboard, but sometimes the notebook has come in handy. Sometimes I have a bunny and have to be somewhere else, so I take the notebook and hope to scrawl something down. I wrote the sonnet to Lance's ass during a succession of university visits.
Beta or no beta?
Hmm. I know for a fact that the stories which have been beta'd always benefit, but I don't always get it done, nevertheless. I'm pretty confident in my ability to write coherent sentences and to spell; beyond that, it depends how important a story is. 'Big' stories, challenge stories, gift stories, I definitely get someone else's input, but for quickies and not-exactly-serious stuff, I don't necessarily. I know my American English has improved quite a bit, but I suspect I still perpetrate Briticisms - but on the lighthearted stories, I'm not too worried about it.
Plot?
Hmm. A lot of what I write are mere scenes, where it's more a question of who's licking what off whom than actual *story*. I do find that where I have to follow something through carefully to make sure the storyline makes sense, it's probably the hardest thing about writing. That kind of story definitely needs beta input, to check that it works.
Title?
I don't think I'm good at thinking up exciting titles, the kind that make a potential reader think, Ooh, that looks fascinating. It has happened once or twice, perhaps. But I don't usually find it difficult to think of a title that fits the story. These are successful in varying degree: I'm very fond of 'Who's Your Daddy?', 'The Educated Pig', 'Neville Longbottom and the Boke of Fecretf', 'Warm Oil and an Innocent Smile' and 'Midnight Rodeo' as titles, but I have to admit that a lot of my titles are depressingly unmemorable.
Smushy or smutty?
Bit of both, really. I have written some quite explicit stuff, but after a while it gets really difficult to find a different, interesting way to describe sex, and as I enjoy the titillating set-up, I don't think it's necessarily important to show the actual deed. And I try to keep the mushier emotions in check, so that the fantasy in my head isn't quite so squishy when it comes out in words. Depends what I'm in the mood for, I suppose.
Summary?
I have a feeling my summaries are the kind that might remind a person of the story they've read, but won't necessarily entice them to read. Perhaps I should do a survey.
Funniest fic?
Has to be Merchandising, I guess. Honourable mention to Neville Longbottom and the Boke of Fecretf, and maybe some of the recent crack!fic.
Most popular fic?
Clearly Merchandising.
Most fun to write?
I'm extremely fond of my Chronicles AU, it's enormously enjoyable finding new ways to refer back to canon in a fantasy setting. But possibly the most fun was 'Justin Junior', which I wrote on Sunday morning at
nopseud's house during my first sparkly weekend, and passed round for general inspection as people woke up.Best and worst?
Best: It's hard to judge, but I'm very proud of Prone, which I struggled with quite a lot. Worst: I dunno, really. There are quite a lot of not-to-be-taken-seriously ficlets on my website, which vary quite a bit in quality. Of stories I can honestly say I worked on, I guess 'What You See May Not Be What You Get' didn't work out as it should have done, because I really ought to have written it with an unhappy ending, and I didn't want to. Otherwise, 'A Matter of Timing' sounded better when I thought it up than it ended up being, probably because what I *really* wanted to write was an epic, sweeping, multi-generation-spanning Datafic and I used this little bit instead and never wrote the big one.
Coulda been contenders?
I don't really know what this means.
Strengths
Um... I like to think technical proficiency, but I may be kidding myself. It gratifies me that I can—always provided I *get down to it*—write quite fast. And I think I'm a reasonable self-editor.
Weaknesses?
Tendency to under-write. Sometimes I read the perfect detail in someone else's story—a half-sentence of description that sets the scene, or a moment of throwaway conversation that encapsulates the character, or an observation that enriches the whole thing—and I realise that I don't do that, and I wish I could. Sigh. At the same time, I can get adjective/adverb-happy.
If anyone is reading this, and would like to suggest what I ought to have nominated here, I'd be interested to know.
Dirty little secrets?
Um... I wrote a couple of romances aimed at Mills & Boon, about twenty years ago. In fact, if I'd known then what I subsequently learned about rejection letters that go into detail about what needs fixing, I'd probably be a published romance writer now. Meanwhile the characters in those stories have children in my head, who're having their own romances now...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-31 03:53 pm (UTC)Coulda been contendors I think means stories that had great potential but you just couldn't realize them to it. [where in KC shows grammatics and proper sentence structure are not her strengths.. lol].
I love movie and song titles. I'm far less moved and marked by literary titles. I suppose because I found very early that fabulous book titles usually accompanied text books or volumes of the dreaded self help variety. Some of the dullest titles are amazing reads. And sometimes the title is such an obscure reference. :shrug: Every once in a while a fic title marries the story so well I remember it. Merchandising is actually one of them. Those I remember. Titles seem to be the thing most commonly dreaded in fic writers though, lol.
Your icon is fabulous.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-31 10:05 pm (UTC)Glad you like the icon! The minifesto site is great fun.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-01 04:12 pm (UTC)I have a very soft spot for Audience Reaction.
Strengths
I think another of your strengths is your willingness to/interest in write in totally unexpected formats and not just keep to the tried-and-true prose story.
Weaknesses
Hmm, I'm bad at spotting those I think. I tend to see what it's there and never notice if something isn't, if you understand what I mean.
I wrote a couple of romances aimed at Mills & Boon, about twenty years ago
Eeeeeek!!! The horror!!! ;-)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-01 11:19 pm (UTC)I... can't remember which one that is! (!) The panto one?
I do enjoy doing verse, it's a sort of technical exercise which quite by chance sometimes throws out a meaning - I always start with some likely-sounding rhymes and go from there.
I tend to see what it's there and never notice if something isn't, if you understand what I mean.
I do know what you mean - I think I'm doing the same by noticing what I *don't* do and not really seeing what I *do* do. It's like that when I go to a craft fair - I see things that are unlike my own style and tend to think they're cleverer than they are, and meanwhile the person who did those is probably looking at my stuff and thinking the same...
The things that come easily 'don't count', if you know what I mean. That's one reason why I nominate 'Prone', above - I struggled with that one, whereas sometimes a story flows with ease.
Eeeeeek!!! The horror!!! ;-)
Secret Shame of m/m Pr0n Riter!
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 05:21 pm (UTC)Yes. It's all dialogue but it paints such a vivid picture of them together that I can almost see them. And it's of course incredibly funny!
I think I'm doing the same by noticing what I *don't* do and not really seeing what I *do* do.
Yeah, it's two different perspectives, the readers versus the writers, or if you talk about crafts for example, the maker versus the user. Your example about the craft fair made me realise that when it comes to things I can do myself I really do have the opposite perspective from the one I have when it comes to stories. I always see what's missing or wrong with what I created and have problems seeing what my strenghts are.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-03 11:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 06:13 pm (UTC)So. Much. Love!
That is all!
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 08:44 am (UTC)