WOW GUYS AM I DUMB OR WHAT.

[essbeejay]

So I totally didn't realize whenever I did the Word Count function in MWord, I was looking at character count instead of word count. Meaning I've misled everyone to believe there's 216,000+ words of TEF, when in actuality I'm only at 47,000+. Harumph.

Well, I've done a minuscule amount of work on it this week. The phase should continue, with the mood I'm in. I desperately need to outline this thing; it's getting too big for my brain D:

Waaaaaaah. I want fiiiiiiiic. Why must the Powerpuff Girls fandom be so... *sigh*.

I'm trying to set aside a little bit of time each day to write, and naturally it seems impossible for me to actually make it work, what with job and chores and spending time with the s.o. and all of life's other responsibilities getting in the way. Still, if I can manage an hour a day, I will mark it down as a success! And possibly celebrate by writing more. Or a drink. Which will likely be either Sapporo or tea.

I was thinking about the haphazard process/way I write and got curious about everybody else's take on it. For me, mostly ideas will pop in my head and hopefully I'll write them down somewhere. A lot of the time I'll just sit at the computer and GO, and (this is a very bad habit and most writers should not do this!) revise along the way. And then read it through at the end and tweak as needed. If it's a one shot it'll either go off to a beta (kisses to cagalli_chan and mathkid, who have not received anything from me in a long time I AM SORRY!) or, if it's birthday fic/a drabble, will probably go up within the hour, since I tend to be late on birthdays anyway and getting something done and posted in time for someone's special day is nothing short of a miracle for me.

Since TEF is a longer, more involved fic that spans a significant length of time, it's obviously taking much longer. I have bits and pieces - certain events that I know I want to happen at certain times, and so far I have maybe 40% actually typed out, with the rest swimming around with the rest of the brain debris in my head. Not only that, but I'm trying to establish an appropriate build - I already know how I want to, um, piece this story out, but I need to make sure something happens in each chapter to advance the story. Little episodes are cute, right? But for an epic like this, it's going to need a lot more than cute little episodes to keep it going...

I'm also wanting to do this right. I mean, I was very apprehensive about starting TEF at all, because everyone on ff.net does a PpG/RrB high school epic fic. And 98% of the time they are TERRIBLE. So I want it to be... well, first off, believable, and secondly, well-written, which, if I manage the second, the first shouldn't be an issue. Oh, and engaging, of course. We need to fight the good fight and keep the standard of PpG/RrB fic from hitting ZERO, which at this point a lot of people may consider a lost cause.

So anyway, I've got to outline this beast. Like, do an index card for each chapter, compile all my pages of disorganized notes, and just fucking lay this thing out, figuring out exactly where all these "significant events" I have in my head go. I may end up tossing some things out. Hopefully not too many. Though, of course, we can't just force our characters to go where we want them to go, right? All we can do is start them off on their merry way and see where they take us.

Okay. Project for this weekend. I must, must, MUST outline this fic. Like, the entire thing. That's the only hope I have of posting it on time (it still needs to go to beta, too!).

Anyway. How about everyone else? How do you work/write?

Comments

[dee-lirious.livejournal.com]

A lot of the time I'll just sit at the computer and GO, and revise along the way.

I do this. It's terrible, but I have this thing, where I get all perfectionist on myself, and reread whatever paragraph I've just written and break it down and analyze it to the point where I can't be subjective on it anymore and have to email it off to someone with a plea that sounds like "OMG I'M DYING HELP-UH".

And I apparently have this really short attention span as far as fandom is concerned, because I'll be really into something and then get sidetracked by another fandom or realy life, and totally forget why i was writing the thing in the first place.

so basically, writers should not be like me. D:

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

We can be examples of Writers Not to Be Like together!

[kujomatic45.livejournal.com]

If you want to be a great writer like yours truly, all you have to do is follow these simple steps.

The Kujomatic Method:

1. Your GREAT IDEA will appear out of thin air
2. Spend an entire week thinking about how great the idea is and hoping no one steals it before you write it
3. Sit down and write 8 pages or so
4. Realize that you have 8 pages of one-liners and haven't actually written any plot
5. Reduce dialogue and add plot
6. Realize that you've encountered a major plot hole
7. Think of a CLEVER IDEA to resolve the plot hole
8. Realize that CLEVER IDEA would make a much better story than GREAT IDEA
9. Return to Step 2 and repeat until you have 10 unfinished fics going at the same time
10. Get frustrated and give up on all of them
11. Format your hard drive and throw your laptop into the river

Hmmm... maybe this is why I haven't posted anything since 2001.

[essbeejay.livejournal.com]

Reading the Kujomatic Method gives me much joy :D

This! In particular:

4. Realize that you have 8 pages of one-liners and haven't actually written any plot

That's the first weak point! Where it all falls apart! (I'm not sure why I feel compelled to punctuate that with exclamation points.)