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: I come from metafandom
There is an audience for it, and I've seen some good examples- even ones using the modern comics version, rather than some of the lighter versions (fluff with the 60s TV version, or the cartoon versions, would be a lot easier to write without being OOC at all). And there's always OOC you can believe, though usually that only pops up in longer stories with a lot of character development.
"I guess if you took those cracky ideas and wrote about them seriously, it could turn out to be parody or satire, or just a really ironic story. I'm not sure."
But parody and satire aren't really serious. I'm saying, if I have one of those ideas that's so insane that it breaks your brain (most of mine seem to involve small fandoms...ex. Methos is one of the wizards from the Young Wizards series), that could so easily be non-serious, I'd write it completely seriously...which in and of itself boggles my mind. It's a completely serious story with a crazy plot.
Part of my beta problem is that the beta I had wasn't actually in any of the fandoms I was writing on a regular basis, and now that she's both computerless and out of fandom I don't know how to find a new one. Most of what I need in a beta is somebody to talk about my stories with before they're done (or sometimes even started) and help me work out the plot, which doesn't seem to be what most betas do. I hit the concrit jackpot on fanfiction.net- 3 out of the 4 reviews I got were concrit, and that was the first concrit I'd ever gotten. But honestly I don't know if that's because the story definitely had room for improvement (which, honestly, it was my nanowrimo novel. I was shocked I got anybody saying anything about it was good), or because concrit is common on fanfiction.net, or what. I prefer concrit, because even if I had a beta reader everybody sees different things they like and dislike, and I already know I'm an average to slightly above average writer. I want to get *better*, and mindless squee doesn't help me do that.
Re: I come from metafandom
You're right - they aren't meant to be taken seriously, although they often are treated seriously by the author, which was what I was trying to say. I guess, though, that could lead to some serious unexpected reactions either way, so I don't know. I guess I think, with enough effort, cracky plots could lead to serious fic, just as funny prompts can become dark, or something angsty could become something darkly humorous.
Most of what I need in a beta is somebody to talk about my stories with before they're done (or sometimes even started) and help me work out the plot, which doesn't seem to be what most betas do.
I agree that it can be hard to find someone just to bounce ideas off of. I lucked out when I first joined fandom, because I was so self-conscious of both my story ideas and my execution, but I had some really nice people basically holding my hand and leading the way.
I prefer concrit, because even if I had a beta reader everybody sees different things they like and dislike, and I already know I'm an average to slightly above average writer.
This. I love it when people pull lines or other details out of fics and comment on them, whether positively or negatively - it's also my favorite kind of feedback to leave.