Where has this comm been all my life?

[hickumu]

Hey there, folks! I'm Hicku. I write both fanfiction and original works, whatever comes to mind. I play video games, I watch cool shows, I volunteer, and I'm studying Cybersecurities in college. I'm trying to get into running, I'm trying to get good at knitting, I'm trying to learn how to make clothes, and I'm trying to at least pick up drawing as a hobby again, but on top of school stuff, it's all slow going. As I mentioned in the subject line, this seems like one of those comms I didn't even know I wanted at first, but now I'm wondering how I ever did without.

I'll do my best to offer support to anyone who needs it, even if I might not be the greatest on advice! Group support got me jogging - group support can get us all clacking away at the keys! Heck yeah! *fist pump*

So, I'd like to warm up the comm a bit with some bemoaning. And that bemoaning is this - it's the editing that's the hardest part.

How do you guys do it? I have two manuscripts - two manuscripts with the potential to be something great, I know it, I can feel it - but they can't be that something special without some polishing. It's been a couple of years, now.

For one, I know basically how I want the plot to go, but...where do I start? That's always what I find myself wondering. How do I do it? Do I delete and retype a scene? Isn't that just starting me over again? Do I just change words that don't sound right? Is that enough?

And for the other...urgh. The plot hinges on time travel, but it turns out I suck at writing it. I need to figure out a way to explain things better, but I can't figure out what sort of explanations or buildup is needed. Have any of you guys ever gotten yourselves in over your head like that? And, if so, how did you get yourselves out?

For a couple of my other lingering works, one I just keep getting bogged down in minor details. The other...I know the characters, I know all the characters, but I can never settle on a plot! They've been damn near everything by this point, but it's never right, and by now I hesitate to even try something new because I know I'll probably just wind up scrapping the idea fifty pages in.

Commiserate with me, guys. I can't be the only one here. If you have any advice, excellent. My personal goal is to get one of these suckers done and submitted somewhere by the end of the semester...but it's looking like quite a daunting slog.

Comments

[sapphoatsunset]

For me, I always run something by someone else. Betas are awesome, not JUST for fan fiction. :) a beta can point out where you have knowledge in your head that hasn't been communicated yet. Where things have jumped to much. Where language is confusing. All the things we struggle to catch on our own.

And, I find a good way to catch issues with the flow of words is to read it out loud to myself as if I'm going to podfic it.

Personally, I love the nitpicky editing process and have to remind myself to not overdo it. To know when to quit. That, and actually getting things written (short attention span XD).

*hug* you can do it!

[hickumu]

And, I find a good way to catch issues with the flow of words is to read it out loud to myself as if I'm going to podfic it.

*_* Dude, idea! I actually do the occasional podfic, when I've got a working microphone! And I just recently got a working microphone! Reading it out loud and playing it out loud! That should help with something.

And I confess, I have had some bad experiences with betas in the past. Of a series I co-write, our readers pretty much always like the only beta'd one the least. But I suppose that might have been a case of too many cooks, since my co-writer and I kind of beta'd each other. Do you have any advice on where to look for one? I've got a lot of writer friends, but beyond a few glaring examples, they aren't the sorts to point out flaws.

[sapphoatsunset]

^____^

Haha, we've been talking/meta-ing about betas here recently. But, beyond that, there's a comm: betaplease.

It's hard to find betas that work for you. I like to drop a note out to my flist and see what happens. (This really sounds like we need an addme comm around betas, instead of doing things the other way around...)

[hickumu]

:) An addme comm around betas sounds awesome, since it's not really something you can just jump into - at the least, they need to be interested in your genre.

Until then, though, I'll poke around betaplease instead - much obliged for the link! \o/ I'll start looking as soon as I reconstruct a few more scenes.