I've been commanded to spam

[thegrrrl2002]

So here I am. Look! I made a coffee-drinking Rodney icon. Isn't he pretty?



I've been having writerly thoughts lately. Because I'm not writing at the moment. I realize that despite all the fics I've written, most of the time, I'm not writing anything. I look at my flist and folks are talking about and listing their WIPs, and it makes me feel very impressed and inferior, because I rarely ever have any WIPs. And when I do, it's a WIP, not WIPs. (Once, I had two fics going at the same time, and my brain almost exploded.)

My writing would probably improve greatly if I could take a measured, steady approach to it, not ponder ideas and scenes and let them build up in my head until I know pretty much exactly what I want to write, and then have it spill out willy-nilly. I have to write that first draft all at once because it might get lost or go away or turn into something else before I'm finished. I think that's why I resist putting that first word down for as long as I can, because I know it's going to be the start of something irritating, like having a stone in my shoe, and it's going to effect every other aspect of my life until it's finished, because when I'm not writing it, I'm thinking about writing it, and I can't walk away from it but of course I have to because damn it, the world won't stop for me when I want it to. There are exceptions to that - I've been able to take my time with some stories, like "Depth Perception" and write at a more leisurely pace than usual. I think that fic (the first draft, at least) took me about a week to write, rather than my usual two or three days. But I'm pretty sure I still whined endlessly to mmmchelle about it. (She's a very kind and patient soul).

Anyway, I'm just saying I'm very impressed by all you out there who have fics they've been working on for a long time, carefully crafting and filling in scenes and being thoughtful and dogged because I think it's impossible for me to do that. I'm not sure if it's impatience or a very short attention span, or just a dislike of the actual process of writing. Or maybe a little bit of all three.

BTW, why is the mood icon for "thoughtful" winking? I don't wink when I'm thinking. Do you?

Comments

[alyse]

I'm sort of like you and sort of not (whee! Watch me prevaricate and comment to you rather than reviewing yet more files!).

I usually only have one fic going at a time, and I have to leave the idea until it's ready to write. That can mean a gestation period in my head for months until it's fully formed.

However, while I used to be able to sit down and spill it all out over a few days, maybe a week or longer, I can't do that anymore. I don't have the time or the energy, and maybe not the will either. I never used to be so unproductive, but carolyn_claire's threesome fic has been in progress for literally months now, and the evil twisted bunny was started last November.

I usually only have one story going at once, because I can't handle more. However, in New Pros I did start a bunny book, to record all the ideas, snippets of dialogue etc if I wanted to make sure I kept track, because my brain was fizzing with too many ideas and I couldn't start writing one until it had settled down and become something fully formed and concrete. At the moment, I have two ongong - CC's and the twisted bunny, which I have not touched for months.

This makes me sad and I wish I had the impetus to get going more on them instead of feeling like a useless lump. Also, the more irritated I am at the fandom, the less inclined I am to write, and the fandom, she is irritating, especially the part I have to deal with.

And I think the thoughtful icon is winking because the thoughts he is a thinking are the naughty sorts of thoughts.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

But at least you do have a fic in progress! Slow progress, maybe, but you haven't given up on it. For which I am grateful, because your fics are always a treat.

You have to deal with some extremely irritating aspects of fandom, so I'm not surprised that it puts a damper on your enthusiasm. Writing is a very touchy thing. I have a hell of a time with it when I'm feeling PMSy. (As in right now, LOL). I can't imagine what it's like dealing with an archive.

I really need to at least keep track of my ideas somewhere other than in my head. It's not the most reliable storage space ever, you know? I need to write down ideas. I need to do something organized.

[rivier.livejournal.com]

Wink when I'm thinking? Well, it all depends what I'm thinking about... ;-)

On the writing, I've generally found that I have more than one story on the go at once, without meaning to work like that. Part of that is that I'm so abysmally slow about writing, that it takes several weeks to get the whole thing down and done, for almost any story longer than a few hundreed words. Also, I can't tell a straightforward idea to save my life. I start with a linear narrative, but en route from A to B, I feel compelled to explain how John escaped from the Institute, or what happens when he get's x-rayed - I find all the dratted detail engrossing, but I have a strong idea that it's bugger irritating for most readers, who rightly want a story with a good strong beginning, middle and end. And some decent rumpo along the way. All of the stuff I put in prolongs the time it takes me to finish, having started.

And when the show is airing, new eps seed new ideas in my head - Trinity needs a coda, that meadow scene needs a blow job, etc. And even when it isn't airing, it'll be chance remarks in journals and comments, stray thoughts sparked... Some of them find their way in and, before I can help myself, I'm switching in the space of five minutes, between Fic Ideas A, B and C. I do have a pathetic attention span, which probably helps this to happen. It's all completely inefficient, I know, but I can't seem to control myself enough not to do it!

Hey... cuuute icon!

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I love your porny eating icon. I keep watching the food slllliiiiide into his mouth, it's so mesermizing....

Mmmm, what were we talking about? Oh, writing...yes, you might write slowly, but your fics are beautiful and nuanced and full of lovely ideas and details I don't think any of it irritates your readers, good lord, you silly woman! Sometimes details can take away from the storyline, but the proper details only add to it and flesh it out like just the right amount of spiceness and sometimes even a squeeze of lemon. Except for Rodney. He gets no squeezes of lemon. He gets to squeeze other things.

I do find chatting on lj to be very inspiring. One minute I'll feel like I have no ideas whatsoever, and the next I'll be plotting something out in my head. And new eps definitely add to the mix. I can't wait for "The Hive".

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

Or maybe you are the one that's disciplined and always knows what she wants and doesn't need endless rewrites and is able to shake it out of her sleeve??

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Oh, I revise endlessly, never doubt that. Until I can't stand to look at the fic for another moment. It's that first draft, the first throwing down of words onto paper, that I get obsessive about.

I know my fics turn out better when I can step away for a while and then look at it with a fresh eye, but I have so much trouble letting go when it's in progress. That's where I need the discipline.

[chibimonnie.livejournal.com]

My problem is that I have so many WIPs and ideas that I tend to put off working on anything. I start working on one, then get distracted by another and sometimes they get tangled in my head and then I have to go to work and not say what's in my head then the ideas get lost by the time I get the chance to actually sit down then I get all frustrated...

And then my eyes cross and my brain goes snap.

No, I don't wink when I'm thinking. According to others I look mildly pissed off. Think sucking on a lemon face.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

And then my eyes cross and my brain goes snap.

Hee! Been there. And that's usually with only one fic in progress.

I think the problem is that work and RL gets in our way. We should be able to stop the universe whenever we need to so we can sit down and get fics finished.

Yup, that is just what we need.

[crysothemis.livejournal.com]

Well, I've written both ways (back in the day when I wrote), and I always seemed to find that your way led to a better finished product. The faster, more intensely I wrote, the more focused, clear, and emotionally satisfying the story was.

So don't knock your process. There's nothing wrong with it. Well, apart from the little "can't think of anything else for three days" problem . . .

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Hee! Look at John and Rodney! I love the icon. So macho, aren't they?

I definitely see your point with being able to write intensely, and when the fic is flowing, it really is a satisfying feeling. And when something is flowing that well, it's probably going to be a good story.

But when it's not flowing, and you can't walk away from the computer, but you can't write, either, and each word is sheer torture...aaaaah! I hate that.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

BTW, why is the mood icon for "thoughtful" winking? I don't wink when I'm thinking. Do you?

Only with naughty thoughts.

I look at my flist and folks are talking about and listing their WIPs, and it makes me feel very [snip]inferior

It shouldn't. While constantly working on a writing project is pretty impressive, it's by no means the measure of a great author -- that's still the output, not the input. Plus, a work in progress may not ever be completed.

My writing would probably improve greatly if I could take a measured, steady approach to it

You know yourself just a *tiny* bit better than I do, so if you think that'd be great, coolness -- but writing style differs greatly, and changing it might not always be for the best. Thomas Mann, for example, would get up bright and early, then, punctually, sit down at his desk and write neatly until noon, whereupon he would lunch, have a walk, and sit back down at his desk again to write in a concentrated fashion again. Constrast that to JKR who, as we all know, scribbled bits and pieces of The Sorcerer's Stone on napkins in cafés.

That said, while I can't do it (nor feel the need to, usually), I do admire authors who can work on fiction in an efficient and orderly manner...but I'm German, it's to be expected. & ;-)

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Only with naughty thoughts.

You know, I can imagine a bunch of us around the world staring at our computers and winking thoughtfully as we read our flists.

You definitely have a point--everyone has their own style, and it works for them. It's just that every now and then I have this yearning to be efficient and orderly, because it seems like life would go so much smoother if I was. And I'm not even German. *g*

When I was doing research, my willynilly approach certainly caused problems at the lab bench, (where stepping back and thinking is a Good Thing) but it also had it strengths, too. And, now that I think about it, I had long periods of not-very-high activity, punctuated by bursts of productively where I'd make real progress and have a damn good time with it. I never really compared the two tasks before but I guess I've always worked like this.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

I've been working on this one collaboration forever, and both of my co-authors are what I call 'burst' writers, which sounds very similar to how you describe your process. A burst writer constructs in their mind for a while (and it can be quite a while), but when they do sit down to write, they *know* what they are doing, where they are going, and how they plan to get their. They get into 'flow' and it's like turning on facet -- the story just goes.

Me, I'm not a burst writer. I can conceptualize maybe a scene at a time, and then I have to write that one scene, but I have no clue what happens next. So I have to noodle on it a bit, figure out the next scene (which may or may not be linear with the one I just finished) and do that one. I keep thinking that if I could just figure out a way to keep my butt in a chair and keep writing even after I have finished that one scene in my head, that maybe, maybe, I could do like 'the other writers do' and finish something all at one go.

But apparently, it doesn't work that way for me, darn it. So I end up with: 1 story I am actively working one, 1 story that I have back burnered for when I have no ideas on the active story, 2 stories I set aside and feel guilty about so I dink on occasionally as I have no ideas on the next scene for the first two stories, an article or some other non-fiction that I don't have to think about, and then an idea list for jotting things down on that someday I'd like to complete. I feel very scattered and admire people like you who can just sit down and write the story that comes to them as a part of 'the think system'. Me, I feel very ADD when I write.

[kageygirl.livejournal.com]

Me, I feel very ADD when I write.

Oh, me too, totally.

The funny thing is, I've been both--my thesis I had to chug through (my advisor gave me a great piece of advice--well, great for me personally, YMMV; he recommended I write one page a day. which was, at the time, about as much as I could do steadily, every day, without writing a bug chunk and then being too burned-out to write the next day), but I used to do a lot more burst writing of fanfic. These days, it's a bit more infrequent, and often just the initial idea comes at once, and then I have to work at it forever. I'm fairly certain that the change has been entirely due to increased stress messing with my ability to concentrate on anything for long, and it's quite frustrating.

[kageygirl.livejournal.com]

I am a terrible, terrible perpetrator of WIPs; right now, I have so many total that I am literally afraid to count them for fear of having hard proof of how crazy I am. I'll just say that it's probably greater than 20, and can best be expressed by a desperate and slightly hysterical laugh that dies quickly...

Like Riv, I get ideas faster than I write--especially when the show is actively airing, because omg new canon! *glomps* But I also get ideas from reading other people's thoughts, both the "someone should totally write X" posts and just the meander-y posts that spark something. Oh, and then there's the ones what get sparked by chatting with people (docmichelle is particularly... inspiring, and you can take that as you like. *eg*)

Worse than that, though, is that these days, I'm "actively" working on like 7 fics at once. By which I mean, when I sit down to pound out some words, I'm usually chugging along on one fic, but there are several others floating around in my head where I might get a conversation happening in my head at some random point during the day, and I pop open the file and jot it down before I forget it, even though it's not my current primary fic.

Now, I consider all that *points up* to be bad form, and I think I'd be significantly better as a writer if I could focus on but one thing at a time, and also if I got ideas for longer, actual plotty fics, instead of a ton of short little... thingies. But I fear my brain is permanently broken in that regard.

As for the mood icon, I don't tend to wink when I'm thinking, no. It's more like "grim amusement, evil giggling and/or disgustedly rolling my eyes at myself."

[rivier.livejournal.com]

I'm usually chugging along on one fic, but there are several others floating around in my head where I might get a conversation happening in my head at some random point during the day, and I pop open the file and jot it down before I forget it, even though it's not my current primary fic.

Yes, yes, yes, oh God yes. I'd love to pretend that my head multitasks WIPs, but that would be bullshit! It's more akin to it having a remote control and 500 channels to surf. My brain seems to watch one scene for a few minutes, and then simply flip randomly to another, without any logic to the process.

[inapickle.livejournal.com]

I wink when you're thinking.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Ah! And I thought you just had something in your eye.

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to know there's someone out there who writes pretty much the same way I do. :) One thing I've learned is that I cannot write the way they tell you is the "right" way - if I try it's either hopelessly boring or doesn't get finished. So we've all got to follow our own stars, I suppose.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

I think you've got a point there. It's not like my work habits are going to change after all these years. *g* But gentle modifications, yeah, I think that's the thing.

[inthekeyofd.livejournal.com]

I think the best way to write is the way you are most comfortable with, conforming to what you may think you should do can sometimes totally throw you off your game. If you have something that has inspired a story, that first draft is probably the best one to get everything you want to say in it, then you can go back and edit, add, subtract, change something. But getting it out in the first place should be the way you work easiest with..and believe me, you're stories are fantastic.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Aw, you're awfully sweet. Thank you. I do think getting that first draft out and ignoring your internal editor is important--but stepping back and pondering is useful, too. *g* And being able to put it aside to get the real work, like the job I get paid to do, done is good, too.

Or maybe I'll just sit and stare at your icon, because really, JF has the most fabulous neck *ever*.

[reedfem.livejournal.com]

Whatever you're doing, it's working in a big way. So go with it. *g*

I tend to get tons of ideas, but I have the swiss-cheese brain now, so I write things down in a plotbunnies file before they fall through the cracks. It's a really BIG file. But... I tend to find that once I've written down the idea, I lose the desire to actually write the story. Bleah.

That and I have all this other stuff to do. ;)

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'll match your Rodney Food icon with my Ronon Food icon. *g*

I can understand your difficulty in writing, although I miss your lovely fics. But my god, you have kids! Two of 'em! And a puppy! See, that would overwhelm me totally.

I think it is possible to think an idea to death and kill the writing urge for it completely. I'm sure I've done that with a few ideas. Or maybe they're just not ready yet. ::checks incubator::

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

I find myself with four or five WiPs nowadays, of which I expect to finish about half. The others will lie abandoned for months and then maybe I'll be reminded of them and look them over and find something worth finishing. Maybe.

I'm writing for sg_workshop today - can I post a link to this as another discussion about writing?

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Oh, all those words! Five WiPs! I could never do that. I don't think I have that many words.

can I post a link to this as another discussion about writing?

Oh, sure, if you like!

[the-moonmoth.livejournal.com]

I used to be like that, when I first got into fandom... don't know why things changed, but my list of WIPs only seems to be getting longer >:-/ In some respects it's nice to be able to work on something else when my brain packs up on one fic, but mostly (esp at the moment with no time to write anyway) it just stresses me out thinking about it. Also, the fics I write seem to be getting longer and more involved the deeper I get into fandom :-S

But I am like you that when I do sit down with ideas to put onto the page, I have to do it all in one big splooge. It doesn't always result in a full fic, but I'll get several thousand words out before I either run out of ideas (and go back into thinky mode) or reach a place where I feel happy to stop for the time being. Often I have to plan when I'm going to do it because I literally won't do anything else but write once I get going, and that's quite inconvenient!

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Hee! The big splooge. That describes it perfectly.

I suppose I do have WiPs of a sort, in my mind, tucked away for when I figure out what's going to happen with them. I'm much happier with them there, than down on paper (or the computer screen, since that is how I write).

And you're so right about the inconvenience. Inconvenience and agitation, that's what writing's all about.

At least when I have PMS, that is.

[eliade.livejournal.com]

BTW, why is the mood icon for "thoughtful" winking?

The yin and yang of open and closed eyes symbolically represents how the lucid waking mind and the unconscious dream mind balance each other for mental creativity, and yet when deeply thoughtful, the right eye--which is wired to the left side of the brain--is closed, indicating that the rational, logical part of the mind is asleep, leaving the creative right side of the brain in ascendance.

....

Or, not.

*g*

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, I see.

::nods knowingly::

[becky-monster.livejournal.com]

I always enjoy reading about other people's approaches to writing - especially if they are an author who's work I love (yes, I am talking about you dear;)) so this is fascinating!

I must also confess that I was looking through my wip file (namely my e-mail's draft file ::pets yahell::) and it's damn scary!
I lost count after about seven!

The best way of describing my writing style is 'I write what the little voices tell me to write!' Unfortunately, the little voices do not keep the kind of hours that let me get on very far (namely from about 7pm GMT or 9pm if Stargate is on, 8pm for Doctor Who) on my stories.

Even so, it helps that I prefer to work a little at a time on them - but if I can get a whole story out in one 'go', then I sure as heck am not going to say no!

Alas, the little voices are not talking to me right now - which is a shame. Might have to threaten them with professional exams. That always helps;)

Even so, this method seems to work for you and you are a marvel at what you do, so... don't mess with success!

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

That's very, very sweet of you to say. I think my approach works sometimes for me, and other times, I think my fics could use a bit of walking away from and rethinking.*g* But hey, maybe that's just me being my own worst critic.

The best way of describing my writing style is 'I write what the little voices tell me to write!'

LOL, that's sort of how it works, isn't it? Sometimes listening is a big part of writing. And you have WiPs! See, now that's a very cool thing. You can multi-task.

[amireal.livejournal.com]

I tend to have about thirty ideas at a time, and that gets wittled down to about 5 or 6 starts to a fic. Anywhere from one page with enough for me to remember where I was going, or five pages, with a real start going to it.

But then I tend to let a story sweep me up, this is the non scientific part, I sort of cast an imaginary y-stick and go "heeeere musey musey musey"

How do I know I've hit water? I can pound out anywhere from 1200 to 4500 words in that fic without blinking.

(In case you haven't noticed, I can be fairly prolific.)

95% of the time from that point, I won't get distracted, in fact sometimes I have to tell myself to stop or my arms will fall off. Stories like "Cornered" and "Containment" werre written in one evening.

As for plotting, I often find that for the fics I turn my focus on, I already know my ending, where I'm head, though I don't realize this fact until I'm actually writing.

I find I often know where I'm going, just not neccessarily how I'm getting there. The mile markers only get set two or three bits ahead and occassionaly I do indeed find myself at a point where I don't know what the next scene is, but I do know where I have to go and with a rough idea of what I have to do to get there.

And sometimes my characters surprise me and little, but very important moments appear in just the right place, (see the blow job scene in Coping Mechanisms, which only occured to me as I started the scene before it. I knew I had to get the sex in somewhere soon or there'd be character waffling again, but I wasn't sure how/when/where until then.)

As I've lost my train of thought, I'll leave it there for now.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

But then I tend to let a story sweep me up, this is the non scientific part, I sort of cast an imaginary y-stick and go "heeeere musey musey musey"

LOL, I love hearing that. That's the fun part, isn't it? When the muse replies? Yours has obviously been behaving quite nicely! Mine is currently in hiding.

And sometimes my characters surprise me and little, but very important moments appear in just the right place,

That's another fun part--I like to have my fics planned, but when something unexpect comes up, it's really quite nice. It only happens when I'm really comfortable with the characters.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'm really enjoying reading all these responses.

[mmmchelle.livejournal.com]

You did not whine endlessly, and you know how much I hate talking about fic with you. It's such a burden.

Given the number of times I send you something with a note that says "I changed three words, but I really think this version is better," you have absolutely earned the right to whine were you so inclined.

I need to read at least three hours worth of files, and I want to finish that scene which made you call me a tease, but the gift certificate the boy recieved for his birthday is burning a hole in his pocket so we're off to the toy store. But first, ice cream.

(((hugs)))

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

"I changed three words, but I really think this version is better,"

::giggles:: But it really does change the tone of the fic when you do that!!! At least you have a written fic when you do that. I whine to you about ideas that never make it down to the page.

And now you are going to go have ice cream and buy toys. But even so, I'm still going to hug you back. ::squeezes:;

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

I have to get a pretty good idea of the story in my head before I start writing. Otherwise I end up staring at the computer blankly.

I write slowly. 300-1200 words a day. And not every day. So yeah, it takes a while to get the thing out. I don't do a "first draft" or anything like that. I write. And then I reread what I've written before going on, and I tweak it, and then I write more. I wish I could just let it all out over a few days, like you!

I usually don't have multiple stories percolating at the same time, but when I do, they're very different from each other. I kind of like that, because when I'm blocked on one I can make progress on another.

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

When I finally do sit down and write, it can be pretty slow, too, even with my internal editor turned off. My fics tend to be short, although after a while that starts to frustrate me and I'll sit down to a longer one. (Which, for me, is about 10K word count).

I can certainlys see the appeal of having more than one kind of story going, where you can switch off depending on your mood or inspiration. One of these days I'm going to try that.

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

perhaps the mood icon isn't winking so much as twitching? sometimes i twitch when i think and my brain is broken. ;)

intriguing what you've said about writing, and i can understand and identify (even though i've only written a few things) with the way it can be like a stone in the shoe. or maybe a pearl in the oyster? because ultimately that's what the finished product is like to read. *g*

and the cognitive style of processing information as well as stories varies tremendously. *hugs*

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Twitching, yes, I do that, very much so. Like when I'm trying to write. *g*

with the way it can be like a stone in the shoe. or maybe a pearl in the oyster? because ultimately that's what the finished product is like to read. *g*

Awww, now you've turned me to mush. That's a lovely way of putting it, and a very nice thing to say. ::hugs you up:: I'm feeling very meh about writing right now, as I'm sure you can tell, and you made me feel warm and fuzzy.

I guess everyone has their own style and their own way of working. I should just go with it and not think about what everyone else does.

[dvswraatins.livejournal.com]

I've been having writerly thoughts lately. Because I'm not writing at the moment. I realize that despite all the fics I've written, most of the time, I'm not writing anything. I look at my flist and folks are talking about and listing their WIPs, and it makes me feel very impressed and inferior, because I rarely ever have any WIPs. And when I do, it's a WIP, not WIPs. (Once, I had two fics going at the same time, and my brain almost exploded.)

//cries// I have so many WIPs. I envy people that can just write the way through. I can do that on occasion, but then there are fics that are fun in my head, but I know will take time to write and they just drag and drag, I have about ten WIPs at the moment and it really brings me down to even look at them,

Doesn't stop me from starting up new WIPs either //is idiot//

BTW, why is the mood icon for "thoughtful" winking? I don't wink when I'm thinking. Do you?

I twitch and fall over a lot. But winking? No ;-)

[thegrrrl2002.livejournal.com]

Yes, and you write real stories, with beginnings, middles, and endings, and they're funny and profound they rock and they have actual PLOTS, OMG!

Sometimes I'll be a grown-up writer who has at least one of those things.

You make it all seem so effortless. Even on those days when you're wrapped in your losery (loosery) blanket. So go, start that new Wip!! We'll be here waiting for you.

I twitch and fall over a lot. But winking? No ;-)

Hey, wait, you just did!!!