Some Writing Woes... but nothing depressing, I promise

[kriadydragon]

It's been a while since writing my last original fic, so I can't recall if the writing process had taken as long as it's taking with my current fic. It took me about a year and a half to plot this story, about three days to write up the outline, and it's officially taking me the entire summer to write the dang thing.

And, yes, I do place some of the blame on fanfic - it has been a distraction - but that's my own fault as I let it be a distraction. I'm quite giddy about writing my next chapter fic - Genesis Rift - but I won't let myself write it until the original fic is done. In turn, it's kind of, sort of tainted my motivation, causing me to want to rush rather than take my time. But thank goodness for fickle muses and my somewhat perfectionist nature. If I don't like a chapter or section, I'm incapable of writing that chapter or section until I'm happy with what I have in mind. So as much as I "try" to rush, in reality I really can't.

The rest of the blame I lay on this story being the most difficult I've written. Let's face it - sword and sorcery fantasy is pretty dang easy to write because you're pretty much making every single aspect of it up. My current story is urban fantasy, and though the world is made-up to an extent, it's still modern and it's also a mystery, which means having to pay close attention to what I'm writing or else risk plot-holes so big as to force me to rewrite the whole thing.

Writing this fic has been quite the experience for me. There are sections that will have to be rewritten (including an entire chapter) and that's something I've never had to do before (the consequences of rushing.) It's also made me realize why fanfic is so dang addicting - it's instant gratification, not in terms of feedback, but in that you basically have everything you need - the characters, the genre, the settings, etc - and all that's needed is a plot. Original fiction is like baking a pie from scratch. So far, with this story, the hardest part as been getting a steady handle on many of my characters and finding the motivation to write certain chapters.

And so goes my fruther adventures in writing.

On another note... I hate dial-up! It's being so dang slow tonight, so apologies if I don't respond to any feedback for a while. Can't risk tossing my modum out the window in a fit of frustration ;)

Comments

[jasper3.livejournal.com]

lol. Good luck with the writing. Hope it straightens itself out to a suitable pace for you.

Larissa.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Thanks :D

[sholio]

You're certainly doing better than me. I started out the year on a great note - I finished the rough draft of a YA novel, and a 25,000-word novella that I'm really happy with. And then it all fell apart. This novel I'm working on right now is driving me NUTS. I wrote 12,000 words of it and then scrapped that totally, then wrote another 15,000 words and now I'm looking at having to scrap that, too, as the plot and characters keep changing on me. AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH. I'm about ready to shelve it for a while and work on something else, which is too bad because I love the premise, love the characters, love the world - I just can't keep it from switching around on me.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Muses so suck sometimes. That's what happened with me and Black Dragon. I wrote it, rewrote it, was happy with the first part of the rewrite but the rest was like running head-first into a brick wall. That's when I set it aside. It still hasn't come together in my head, but it's starting to, and hopefully I'll be able to get back to it because I really like what I have so far.

Then there's a story I wrote a while back that ended up being five hundred pages, and I hated it. Which means a total rewrite.

I hate setting stories aside myself because I worry that I'll never go back and finish them. It also makes me feel guilty, like I'm playing favorites and going for the shinier, newer story. But, yeah, some stories you just have to put away until you figure them out.

[(Anonymous)]

Yay original fic! Fanfiction is definitely instant gratification, in terms of both reading it and writing it, but I've found that original work can be even better (after, of course, enduring nights of teeth-grinding, hair-pulling, kick-things frustration, because sometimes the story or characters just refuse to cooperate.) I think it's great that you've dedicated a summer to original writing!

I completely agree about research. I used to write fantasy, and when I switched to more realistic settings with aspects of fantasy or science fiction, I was astounded with the amount of research I needed to do. (Though, admittedly, when I say 'I used to write fantasy,' I mean when I was about eleven, so things might be a bit different if I tried to tackle it now.)

Are you planning to publish, or at least post, when you're done? I'd love to read it if you do. I'm pretty familiar with your style from your fanfiction, but, as you've pointed out, it's a whole different game with original stuff, and I'd be interested to see what's new and what stays the same.

Also, with you, there's always the promise of whump. That is a definite plus.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

It is monumentally satisfying, having a completed novel. It's the other reason why I keep trying to rush - to have it all down so I can go back and clean it up. I used to hate editing, but now I love it because that's when I can shape the story into what it's supposed to be... if that makes sense. And this particular story has a lot of pieces I need to make sure fit perfectly together. Plus there's so much that needs fixing, and I'm not just talking about spelling and grammer.

This story I'm publishing - with a company. I have another book I completed some years back that I'm going to have published through an online self-publishing company (Right now it's a matter of formatting, which my brother is doing for me since he has the resources, just not the time, yet.) That's my foot in the door, so to speak, since most companies won't consider a new author unless they've been published. Once my self-published book is released for sell - and has been pruchased - then I'm aiming for the companies.

And, yes, this story most definitely has whump. In fact, there's not a story I've thought up that doesn't have whump ;).

[(Anonymous)]

That sounds wonderful. Be sure to let us know; you'll have a slew of buyers right here. (Isn't it nice to already have a fan base?) Who knows - people may be writing fanfiction for you soon enough!