cruiscin_lan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cruiscin_lan) wrote2009-12-22 04:03 pm
cruiscin_lan) wrote2009-12-22 04:03 pm
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Hey writers. Let me poll your brains.
Man. I've got writer's block like whoa right now. I can't write anything smutty, and I can't write anything even remotely humorous that doesn't turn to crack instantly. The only thing I can write right now is angst, and that is not working out with my ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
heroes_exchange prompt.
So you know what I'm going to do instead of write? I'm going to do a poll. I love polls.
For anyone who has ever written before, this one's for you. We'll be playing it fast and loose with definitions, so don't stress it too much. I'm just wondering what you write, why, and how. Ticky box poll so you can check as many boxes as you need!
[Poll #1502315]
What
I think, for me, most of these poll questions would depend on the fandom I'm writing for. I haven't written much for Veronica Mars, but what I have written leans towards angst/romance. Glee lends itself more to cracky or funny fics. I've written so much for Heroes that it probably relies more on the characters or pairings (i.e. Mohinder/Elle tends to be fluffy and silly, whereas Sylar/Claire is really dark and angsty).
Why
As far as why I write what I write is concerned, lately much of my output has been generated by prompts. I would even say that I prefer working with prompts for one primary reason: I like to know that someone's going to read what I've come up with. Normally the length or genre is dictated by the prompt or challenge, so that's taken care of for me. When I choose prompts, it's often determined more by what seems feasible than anything else. I tend to stick close to canon when I can.
How
My writing process right now is kind of ridiculous. For some reason when I write a scene I always start by writing the dialogue first, and then I go back and fill in all the action and description. While it's really useful to do this a lot of the time, it's not the best way way to go about writing scenes that don't require a lot of dialogue, like a really smutty scene, or a scene driven only by one character. I very rarely do any outlining, unless it's a really, really long fic or I'm trying to make sure it fits a specific prompt; otherwise my stories develop pretty much organically. I don't write from beginning to end, though - I normally start with one or two scenes and then fill in scenes around them as I feel necessary.
Okay, flist. Tell me about how you do things.
heroes_exchange prompt.So you know what I'm going to do instead of write? I'm going to do a poll. I love polls.
For anyone who has ever written before, this one's for you. We'll be playing it fast and loose with definitions, so don't stress it too much. I'm just wondering what you write, why, and how. Ticky box poll so you can check as many boxes as you need!
[Poll #1502315]
What
I think, for me, most of these poll questions would depend on the fandom I'm writing for. I haven't written much for Veronica Mars, but what I have written leans towards angst/romance. Glee lends itself more to cracky or funny fics. I've written so much for Heroes that it probably relies more on the characters or pairings (i.e. Mohinder/Elle tends to be fluffy and silly, whereas Sylar/Claire is really dark and angsty).
Why
As far as why I write what I write is concerned, lately much of my output has been generated by prompts. I would even say that I prefer working with prompts for one primary reason: I like to know that someone's going to read what I've come up with. Normally the length or genre is dictated by the prompt or challenge, so that's taken care of for me. When I choose prompts, it's often determined more by what seems feasible than anything else. I tend to stick close to canon when I can.
How
My writing process right now is kind of ridiculous. For some reason when I write a scene I always start by writing the dialogue first, and then I go back and fill in all the action and description. While it's really useful to do this a lot of the time, it's not the best way way to go about writing scenes that don't require a lot of dialogue, like a really smutty scene, or a scene driven only by one character. I very rarely do any outlining, unless it's a really, really long fic or I'm trying to make sure it fits a specific prompt; otherwise my stories develop pretty much organically. I don't write from beginning to end, though - I normally start with one or two scenes and then fill in scenes around them as I feel necessary.
Okay, flist. Tell me about how you do things.
Re: My writing process, let me show you it!
Well, that's interesting! So you're not looking for a specific scene or resolution for the characters, but for the readers? I've never thought about doing that!
I do the benchmark thing, too, though, when working on really long fics. I think in one draft I have two separate spots that are marked "AND HERE IS WHERE ASS GETS KICKED."
I tend to repeat my words, and if I don't have time to put my work down and 'see' the mistakes, I'll ask someone to beta.
I think most writers get some sort of fic fatigue with their work if they've been looking at it too long, and thus won't pick up mistakes or spot where writing could be cleaned up. That's why betas rock my socks.
I'm curious as to how you would approach an anonymous prompt - you won't know the prompter's preferences because you don't know who the prompter is! Do you ever write for kink memes or other memes?
LOL, I do.
It's nice if everything works with the characters or resolution. But to be fair, I do try not to be indulgent, so I tend to avoid stuff like 'death fic', or try to stay away from cliché or if I can't, I will try to subvert it. But no, when I'm writing a story, or a scene, I do try to go for an emotional tone (the reader must feel this) over actual plot.
I'm curious as to how you would approach an anonymous prompt - you won't know the prompter's preferences because you don't know who the prompter is! Do you ever write for kink memes or other memes?
Yeah, I do (or did) a lot of those when I first started in fandom over a year ago. I do try and write the specifics what the prompter will ask for (eg 'first time awkwardness' or crossovers, or Winnie the Pooh dubcon) but I am of the opinion that I'll let the story goes where it wants to. So if the characters don't want to have sex, or I can't pigeonhole them into having sex, well... I don't. Like, I am one to deporn a prompt, throw in a lot of plot, and voila, WORDS. But I can write kink memes, etc, but I still tend to aim for an emotional 'tone' in terms of what I want the reader to take away from the story. So it tends to inform my word choice and a LOT of tweaking.
On one hand, it works in that I'd like to think that the person gets a story that's at least well thought out, but on the other hand, I can't just write sex and cock and balls, because I need mood and some sort of pretentiousness, I guess. But then, that's why I fly under fandom radar. :D
Re: LOL, I do.
So it's not in what you write, but how you write it!
I can't just write sex and cock and balls, because I need mood and some sort of pretentiousness, I guess.
I'd rather have more than porn in my porn, honestly. I like to know a little bit about why something is hot, not just repeating the same Tab A going into Slot B or whatever.
P.S. That crackling sound you hear is my synapses sizzling. The idea of Winnie the Pooh dubcon sent my circuitry into overload, and now I've got smoke coming out of my ears.