Late Intro and learning from my dead bunnies

[sarasa_cat]

Hello, I'm Vieralynn, or just VL.  I am drowning in WIPs. ;)

As of this year, I now split my writing time 50-50 between original fiction and fan fiction. My fandom writing is entirely in video game fandoms, mostly Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Age although I sometimes write fic for other square-enix games and for teeny tiny independent games.

Just before learning about this community I started compiling my frighteningly long WIP list so I could think about my transition (back) into original fiction, which has me digging through files on old computers, my old cell phone, and weird locations on the internet, all of this going back to 2006. I honestly cannot begin to count how many WIPs I have and it will take me a few months to organize all of it. Since 2006 I have banged out between 1.3 million and 1.6 million words and -- trust me -- most of it was shit awesome fertilizer full of learning experiences for current and future projects. Those were my 1 million starter words for learning the craft of novel writing and short story writing.

But, I am making lists! My Dragon Age WIP list is over here, which has everything that is more than a mere premise bunny.  (The premise bunnies alone would be a list just as long). 

My Final Fantasy WIP list is partially compiled and I'm trying to decide how much of it will be turned into fertilizer for my Original Fiction WIP list, which already has a few concepts for novels and a collection of short story WIPs listed on it. For one of those original novels I am nearly done plotting and I'm starting to draft it. The others are in thinking-planning-researching-plotting mode.


What I like about this community is that it will make me THINK about my WIPs. I need to reflect on where I have been as I go forward.

This weekend I felt inspired to look at a WIP that I have left rotting for almost two years. I read the 8000 words of that have been drafted (it wants to be less than a 10,000 word story) and I just forced myself to forget about every other project I have so I could look at why this WIP failed me and what I need to do to fix it, finish it, post it (it is fanfic), and happily kiss it good bye. I managed to identify specific problems with the characterization that bugged me when I wrote the story but I just couldn't put my finger on what needed to be done. Distance does wonders, as does the detached sense I have when looking at something two years old that isn't as meaningful to me right now. I saw aspects of the story where I needed to do a better job chasing the characters up a tree and throwing rocks at them. ;)  So far, I've managed to rewrite 1/4 of that story. Hopefully I'll be able to cross it off my WIP list in a few weeks (while working on other projects).

Looking forward to crossing off more WIPs and learning from what I've written in the past and *why* I've gotten stuck.  :)

Comments

[alassenya]

... and I thought I was bad. That's an impressive WIP list you have there.

I agree totally that distance enhances perspective, it's a lot easier to see the faults (and the strengths) when you approach it with a fresh eye. I only wish it was as easy to summon up enthusiasm for the actual writing. *sigh*

[sarasa_cat]

The sad (or frightening?) thing is that the WIP list I linked only includes WIPs from late 2011 through now, and nothing from before that (2006-2011) which I'm still compiling, and none of my original fiction (although I have that list sitting in front of me).

Oh so true about summoning up enthusiasm. I ran hot and cold for years and some of those cold spells knocked my confidence pretty hard.

Last August, I got involved in a 101 day writing challenge with a few dozen other people. Peer pressure and daily accountability does amazing things! Every day I forced myself to squeak out at least 300 words so I didn't have a blank cell next to my name in the group's shared spreadsheet. Since then, I have treated writing and editing like brushing my teeth: at the very least, first thing in the morning and before bed I pound out a new page of words (shitty first drafts are always allowed!) and/or I attempt to fix prior shitty drafts by rewriting. Even if I'm not feeling enthusiastic, I force myself to type ANYTHING, even if just summaries of scenes or characterization notes. That way, I'm always moving forward and a daily minimum of 300 to 350 words actually goes fast when my goal is just getting those words onto the page (so I can go to sleep!).

[alassenya]

Forcing yourself to write x00 words every single day is a very good rule, probably the best rule there is. I keep trying to adhere to it, but my job is cerebrally demanding and when I get home I'm absolutely wiped, so most of my writing tends to happen at the weekend. Mornings ... well, lt's just say I've never inflicted my morning writings on the world. My brain just doesn't wake up the same time I do.