Scales and Tales

Nicking this from lannamichaels:

Head on over to fictional_fans and describe your WIP badly.


As fun (and funny) as these are to read, I've done it before and always feel like it strengthens my summary skills in the long run. Summaries are hard for me! Trying to make them funny requires making them pithy and concise - and you can't miss the point without knowing what the point is. Trying to come up with a funny misinterpretation helps me see the big picture and describe the core elements, even when I'm laughing about them.

Well, my last word count post was in July (*wince*) but anyway! Here it is, back again. I went a long time where I just had zero energy or inspiration to write, but in the last week or two I've had two or three bursts of sudden WORDS ARE HAPPENING excitement. (As usual: not necessarily on anything I should be prioritising, but at least it's something!)

Document 1
last wordcount: 90,267.
current wordcount: 99,121!

Document 2
last wordcount: 10,694.
current wordcount: 12,837!

Document 2 is even more impressive because I've actually split the largest of its pieces off into a separate GoogleDoc, so that means most of its new words are divided between just two fic starts. For purposes of word counting, the GoogleDoc version shall be known as "Document 2.1" henceforth.

Document 2.1
last word count: ??
current word count: 5434.

I hit a roadblock in this one for a long time due to POV issues, but I've been slowly hammering away on them (it boils down to having to rewrite everything after a certain point), and was able to post another snippet to AO3! Next bit is giving me grief because it's hideously infodump-y, and I really really hate "we now interrupt your hawt pr0nz to bring you All The Background Info" -- so I'm having a hard time convincing myself that it's okay to post it as-is and clean it up later. (I think the lesson this story is teaching me is: No, posting works in progress is Not For Me.)

Sort of, anyway.

Baseline/starting point word counts seemed like a good idea.

Document 1 - this is the larger one by far, with way more words and way more fic starts (and fic middles, and random scenes going nowhere, and meta/underlying headcanons for the aforementioned, copy-pasted prompts I like, and pure self-indulgent fic that will never see the light of day). Starting word count: 84,630.

Document 2 - this one's a lot smaller, because it contains only a handful of fic attempts (or, rather, three fic attempts and four prompts I haven't done anything with, yet). Starting word count: 7,078.

Document 3 - this holds one specific fic attempt, started back in the early days when I thought that writing Homestuck fic would be a one-time thing (hahaHAHA, good thing I'm not a fortuneteller). Starting word count: 4,550.

Hopefully, Monday Night Word Count Updates will become a thing! Snippets may be involved; griping about the bits I'm stuck on almost certainly will. :D

Thank you all so much for your kind responses to my meltdown of yesterday. *facepalming*

For various reasons, some related to the job (schedule is at least finalised, and not as bad as I was expecting, though other issues are still causing me minor peeves) and others related to, uh, breaking out the double bergamot Earl Grey? The direction of the wind? The breaking of the emotional dam? Anyway, I am a lot less angry-and-hopeless today. (And I haven't even eaten the slice of chocolate pie in the freezer yet!)

I can't express how much I appreciate your comments and encouragements. I did know my frustrations aren't unique, but there's something to be said for knowing that people I know have been in the same boat. Plus they apparently expect that I will someday disembark!

In conclusion: I love all of you and will keep on keeping on, hopefully with a boost to my motivation.


Never mind working, anyway. What I really need is someone to come here and make me tea while prodding me with a sharp stick until I finish this Dave/Sollux thing. I've worked on, basically, everything else I have going that is not the Dave/Sollux thing, and it's approaching the ridiculous. *facepalming*

So... I'm seriously thinking of signing up for Yuletide this year. I've been yearning for some kind of writing challenge that appeals to me (my vanity, let me show you it: I go and stare at my AO3 page and wince at the tiny list of "fandoms" at the top), and 1,000 words does not feel insurmountable.

It also seems like it might be a handy way to combat AND feed my recent cravings for fandoms-so-small-they're dead. (While all of you guys are off raving about "Sherlock" and "White Collar" or whatever's on telly these days, I keep haunting the Interwebz for more Dragaera or Foreigner fanfic, with little to show for my diligence...)

Anyone out there want to talk me out of it? Or pat me reassuringly? (I'm just a teensy bit doubtful of my own abilities, especially as regards "coming up with a plot" and "including all the required characters". Just a tad.)

LJ's "Writers Block" Question of the Day:
What is your opinion of relationships where there is a significant age difference between partners?


AhahahahahahaHAHAHAHA! As probably 99% of my fellow-fandomers know, I can answer this in one word: HOT.

*Giggling* I never answer these silly things, but I couldn't resist this one.