Friday was a momentous day. After sending out several requests, and not hearing anything back over a few days, I finally received a positive response. I can now announce proudly that:
I have a beta!
To be honest, I'm a little scared. I've never actually had a beta before, so I don't know what the accepted methods of communication and sharing are. Do I send a summary with the piece? Do I provide some sort of heads up notice before hand, or just send over a chapter or oneshot, and see what comes back at me?
I've decided to start out with one of my finished oneshots, a story about a party and two people who have entirely too much history between them to ever move forward. I'm anxious to see what she comes back with, and I'm hoping she likes my writing style enough to stay on for a permanent basis. I'd love to have someone that I could bounce stuff off of on an on-going basis *cheeky grin*
I haven't been able to write any new pieces this weekend, but I'm hoping, once the beta gets comfortable, I'll be able to begin the revision for my OTH fanfic, In a Time of Need. My plan is to finish the rewrite, and then post the story as a new version. We'll see how it goes ^_^
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Resurrection, FanFiction style
In 2008 I began a year long quest toward metal stability and emotional health via the ubiquitous avenue of fanfiction. After watching an entire season of One Tree Hill, and falling in love with the pairing of Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott, I more emotionally invested in that one season than I'd been in any tv show for a long, long time. I saw in those two a facet of romance and depth and fantasy that I instantly connected with. It was hard not to become obsessed with their characters.
When it was blatantly obvious that they would not be the It couple for the show, I went in search of FanFiction, a hoped for source of fictional storylines that would assuage my bitter disappointment in their separation. I was lucky enough to find FanFiction.net, and the wonderful community of readers and writers for OTH. I started, and posted, three different plots, and posted a fourth entry, intended to be a one shot.
Through my stories for OTH, I slowly worked myself back to a safe place emotionally, pouring all my emotional turmoil and strife from reality into a fictional world that was handed to me on a silver platter. Think about it: the hardest part to any great story is developing the backstory. It's creating characters with depth and realistic attributes, bit players that add humor, a history that one can build from. With FanFiction, you're handed a fully crafted set of characters and back story, with full freedom to tweak as you saw fit, adjust as needed, and spin into a future that would please you as both an author and a reader. Perfection.
As my stability solidified itself, I found my desire to write waning. At some point, I'd completely stepped away from the world of FanFiction, and tentatively dipped my toes into the fantastical world of FictionPress. Since then, I've branched out, created my own website (obviously) and have begun to seriously consider penning a novel for publication.
However, none of that truly matters when you consider my FanFiction profile. I developed fans, loyal readers who faithfully read my updates and commented and provided feedback. By not completing my stories, I was disrespecting the time and effort they'd already put into my creative therapy sessions. By leaving plotlines hanging and characters dangling in the wind, I was being rude.
I spent some time today on my FanFiction profile, updating it and making some tweaks. I reread my summaries, and dear lord they were horrific. I've since gone back and adjusted them, but still. Three years of those dreadful summaries up for all to see...I shudder at the thought. I'm going to finish my stories there, and maybe when I'm done I'll tweak the summaries again, who knows. Either way, I've vowed to finish the stories this year, and only post once I have all the chapters done. It's just kinder, and easier that way. Too many updates of "I'm so sorry this is so late!" and "I promise, the next installment's just around the corner." Bah.
I'm actively searching for a beta now, and I hope to finish the stories by mid summer. I'd like to focus on some other aspects of my writing, but not finishing these would be a serious thorn in my side, I think. So...onward. To finishing projects three years in the making, and upholding my end of the author/reader role.
When it was blatantly obvious that they would not be the It couple for the show, I went in search of FanFiction, a hoped for source of fictional storylines that would assuage my bitter disappointment in their separation. I was lucky enough to find FanFiction.net, and the wonderful community of readers and writers for OTH. I started, and posted, three different plots, and posted a fourth entry, intended to be a one shot.
Through my stories for OTH, I slowly worked myself back to a safe place emotionally, pouring all my emotional turmoil and strife from reality into a fictional world that was handed to me on a silver platter. Think about it: the hardest part to any great story is developing the backstory. It's creating characters with depth and realistic attributes, bit players that add humor, a history that one can build from. With FanFiction, you're handed a fully crafted set of characters and back story, with full freedom to tweak as you saw fit, adjust as needed, and spin into a future that would please you as both an author and a reader. Perfection.
As my stability solidified itself, I found my desire to write waning. At some point, I'd completely stepped away from the world of FanFiction, and tentatively dipped my toes into the fantastical world of FictionPress. Since then, I've branched out, created my own website (obviously) and have begun to seriously consider penning a novel for publication.
However, none of that truly matters when you consider my FanFiction profile. I developed fans, loyal readers who faithfully read my updates and commented and provided feedback. By not completing my stories, I was disrespecting the time and effort they'd already put into my creative therapy sessions. By leaving plotlines hanging and characters dangling in the wind, I was being rude.
I spent some time today on my FanFiction profile, updating it and making some tweaks. I reread my summaries, and dear lord they were horrific. I've since gone back and adjusted them, but still. Three years of those dreadful summaries up for all to see...I shudder at the thought. I'm going to finish my stories there, and maybe when I'm done I'll tweak the summaries again, who knows. Either way, I've vowed to finish the stories this year, and only post once I have all the chapters done. It's just kinder, and easier that way. Too many updates of "I'm so sorry this is so late!" and "I promise, the next installment's just around the corner." Bah.
I'm actively searching for a beta now, and I hope to finish the stories by mid summer. I'd like to focus on some other aspects of my writing, but not finishing these would be a serious thorn in my side, I think. So...onward. To finishing projects three years in the making, and upholding my end of the author/reader role.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Temporary Hiatus? What?
One of the most difficult, and inescapable, aspects of being a writer, is the dreaded block. That moment when your lovely purple people eater plot bunny snags that tenuous wisp of the storyline, and disappears down that horrid rabbit hole, to go share a cup of tea with your ancient relic of a muse.
For me, I've always found inspiration, and the peak in my desire to write, comes from the harder times in my life. The moments when I'm stressed and overwhelmed and angry at the world, all the while hoping it'd be just a tiny bit kinder. With the development of a safe, stable life, my inspiration is sorely lacking. Add onto that a transfer and merger of three different computers, and their various versions of all my work, and you've got a hefty enough justification to take an extended break from the creative nightmares that writing can turn into.
Tonight though, I've finally managed to successfully blend together all three sources of data ^_^ Listen to me being a nerd. While I by no means have fully finished the updating, I have gotten to a spot that requires intense attention to detail, and review of every doc in my folders. You know what that means, yes?
No.
Oh. It means I am forced to review my stories, find out where I left off in each, find the inspiration again for their lovely plotlines, and forcibly threaten the deserters otherwise known as Grok and his sidekick, back to the table.
It's hopefully just a few more clicks away from posting, and I'm actually excited about the prospect of writing again. Joy of joys!
For me, I've always found inspiration, and the peak in my desire to write, comes from the harder times in my life. The moments when I'm stressed and overwhelmed and angry at the world, all the while hoping it'd be just a tiny bit kinder. With the development of a safe, stable life, my inspiration is sorely lacking. Add onto that a transfer and merger of three different computers, and their various versions of all my work, and you've got a hefty enough justification to take an extended break from the creative nightmares that writing can turn into.
Tonight though, I've finally managed to successfully blend together all three sources of data ^_^ Listen to me being a nerd. While I by no means have fully finished the updating, I have gotten to a spot that requires intense attention to detail, and review of every doc in my folders. You know what that means, yes?
No.
Oh. It means I am forced to review my stories, find out where I left off in each, find the inspiration again for their lovely plotlines, and forcibly threaten the deserters otherwise known as Grok and his sidekick, back to the table.
It's hopefully just a few more clicks away from posting, and I'm actually excited about the prospect of writing again. Joy of joys!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Archiving
In the words of the immortal Peanut... Life is good, gooood, gooooooood! My writing environment has now been fully supplied, and I'm ready to delve into the murky depths of my files, and start jumping feet first back in the shizz. I have much organization to do of the cobweb covered files, but seeing as how I'm a nerd at heart, organization's always kinda been my thing. Life has been super hectic lately, and with the beginning of February already upon me, I'm hell bent determined to appreciate the days as they pass more so this year than I did last year. I haven't been all that successful with my journal, but this past week has seen my stress levels spike higher than ever before, so I think I can be excused. I'm vowing, starting this week, to be a lot better about that. And, consequently, be better at updating the site ^_^
I'll be going on social lockdown after Super Bowl, which will go a long way towards feeding my creative monster, so I'm excited about that. I'll be updating the site this week with some archived works from the last few years, as well as - maybe - some poetry, we'll see. I also intend on spending some time on my TWA challenges, as they're already completed, just need to be fleshed out. It'd be a good place to start, sort of like wading into the pool instead of cannonballing in after a particularly cold winter, in April. Heh.
I'll be going on social lockdown after Super Bowl, which will go a long way towards feeding my creative monster, so I'm excited about that. I'll be updating the site this week with some archived works from the last few years, as well as - maybe - some poetry, we'll see. I also intend on spending some time on my TWA challenges, as they're already completed, just need to be fleshed out. It'd be a good place to start, sort of like wading into the pool instead of cannonballing in after a particularly cold winter, in April. Heh.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
They're Here! They're Here!
Holy frakking cow! My package from Amazon finally arrived. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am right now. The journal is perfection personified. It even has a lock on it, with keys! I didn't expect that, and now I feel like a kid again. It's great ^_^
The prompt books are smaller than I was expecting, but I suppose I should have seen that coming. They're prompt books, not writing booklets from ninth grade english, heh. I was reading through the Forewords and Introductions, and I'm already intrigued. I now have over two years worth of daily prompts, so I suppose I don't have any more excuses for not updating the website, huh? I flipped through the prompts, and while some probably won't inspire me beyond a handful of words, there were a few that had me itching for a pen. A good sign!
My goal seems to be getting closer and closer. My inspiration is slowly making it's way back to my creative hell, and I'm finding the desire to write and finish the stories I've left hanging for entirely too long. I'm ashamed at how long some of those things have been out there! Too long!
I see a weekend full of cleaning and writing and getting caught up on life in my very very near future ^_^
The prompt books are smaller than I was expecting, but I suppose I should have seen that coming. They're prompt books, not writing booklets from ninth grade english, heh. I was reading through the Forewords and Introductions, and I'm already intrigued. I now have over two years worth of daily prompts, so I suppose I don't have any more excuses for not updating the website, huh? I flipped through the prompts, and while some probably won't inspire me beyond a handful of words, there were a few that had me itching for a pen. A good sign!
My goal seems to be getting closer and closer. My inspiration is slowly making it's way back to my creative hell, and I'm finding the desire to write and finish the stories I've left hanging for entirely too long. I'm ashamed at how long some of those things have been out there! Too long!
I see a weekend full of cleaning and writing and getting caught up on life in my very very near future ^_^
Monday, January 24, 2011
Your Regularly Scheduled Saturday post - two days behind.
So in my own defense, this weekend was sort of shot at the outset for blogging and updating. Between the absolutely stunning weather (eighty degrees with a slight breeze, anyone?) to the Divisional Championship games on Sunday, there wasn't much room for anything other than pure, raw, living of life.
That being said, I've posted updates today, and clearly, seeing as how you're reading this, I've blogged. Heh. I may be a couple days behind, but I'm willing to forgive myself the oversight, just this one time. *snort*
Let's move on, yes? Updates! As promised, I've added a new Category, Lucidity. At it's basest form, it's meant to be a window into the heart and soul of the writer. The category's designed to be a catch all for several different outlets: word sprints, quote blurbs, utter randomness, and writing prompts. Think of it as sort of a tidbit of information, a shining light in the darkness that is Rain's cluttered creativity. The entries under this header are lucid, as the name suggests, unedited, and completely free flowing. And quite possibly, the best work I'll ever do. Go figure.
On other fronts, I'm eagerly awaiting my arrival of materials from Amazon, the least of which is my new journal. Be warned, fellow fiends, that Lucidity will probably be receiving the most updates once zee package arrives. ^_^ In addition, there are talks about a purchase of a new laptop, which would greatly greatly spur on the writing. There's just something about being tucked into the corner of the couch, with the iPod, and losing oneself to the world. *sigh* Such bliss!
Jokers Wild and Love You, Lose Me are still front runners for updates. Along with those two gems, there are whispers of some of the older stuff being posted, just to get a solid archive of works going.
It's my goal to make 2011 an amazing year, creatively. I'm hoping to see a more solid, reliable upturn in my writing, especially if I ever hope to get published. I'm already off to a great start, here's to seeing it through to the end!
That being said, I've posted updates today, and clearly, seeing as how you're reading this, I've blogged. Heh. I may be a couple days behind, but I'm willing to forgive myself the oversight, just this one time. *snort*
Let's move on, yes? Updates! As promised, I've added a new Category, Lucidity. At it's basest form, it's meant to be a window into the heart and soul of the writer. The category's designed to be a catch all for several different outlets: word sprints, quote blurbs, utter randomness, and writing prompts. Think of it as sort of a tidbit of information, a shining light in the darkness that is Rain's cluttered creativity. The entries under this header are lucid, as the name suggests, unedited, and completely free flowing. And quite possibly, the best work I'll ever do. Go figure.
On other fronts, I'm eagerly awaiting my arrival of materials from Amazon, the least of which is my new journal. Be warned, fellow fiends, that Lucidity will probably be receiving the most updates once zee package arrives. ^_^ In addition, there are talks about a purchase of a new laptop, which would greatly greatly spur on the writing. There's just something about being tucked into the corner of the couch, with the iPod, and losing oneself to the world. *sigh* Such bliss!
Jokers Wild and Love You, Lose Me are still front runners for updates. Along with those two gems, there are whispers of some of the older stuff being posted, just to get a solid archive of works going.
It's my goal to make 2011 an amazing year, creatively. I'm hoping to see a more solid, reliable upturn in my writing, especially if I ever hope to get published. I'm already off to a great start, here's to seeing it through to the end!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Heh - epic fail anyone?
So apparently, I committed to a blog/story update every Saturday. It would have been helpful if I'd remembered that little fact, huh? After making the updates yesterday - more on that later - a vague niggling thought wormed it's way to the front of my brain and insistently beat on my forehead until I remembered...oh right! I promised weekly updates! Duh.
Needless to say, that hasn't been happening. In part because I haven't much felt like blogging, but mostly because I'd completely spaced the schedule. Now that I've added it to the Calendar (*shudder* commitment!) and I'm writing an actual blog about it, I won't forget - I hope. Going through these motions has done much to open my eyes to the world of site management. Sure, I've built sites before, done some VERY basic coding, a little bit of internet networking and marketing, but I've never undertaken an entire website of my own, that relies solely on my own efforts to further its progress. It's a highly daunting adventure! I'm learning though, and I'm by no means a complete newbie, so hopefully I'll pull this sucker off.
My new schedule is a blog update every Saturday, and a story update every Sunday. I'm not so foolish as to believe that I'll have an actual story update every Sunday, but I do have some works that need to get transferred over to this site, and some poetry that I can use to fill the gaps that will undoubtedly pop up. I'm hoping this will give me the push I need to start actively writing again, instead of once every week for seven hours like a mad woman.
That being said, I've posted updates! There are two new WIPs on the site, and Love You, Lose Me, and Jokers Wild. I'm quite excited about both stories, as they explore facets of life that have always entranced me: the strong, quiet female lead, the hurting, protecting male lead, and a slew of dramatic side plots. They're two different takes on the female lead, with a somewhat comparable male lead, so these two are being posted together. I'm hoping to have banners up for both stories shortly; the images I want to use are currently awaiting approval from the owners.
I'll also be introducing word blurbs shortly, which will mainly consist of quote/word of the day/idea of the day blurbs that are completely raw and unedited. My original thought had been to focus those mainly on my blog, but it's writing, and not all writing is pretty, so the blurbs are being added to the mix. It's hopefully my way of drawing the visitor/reader in a little bit more, so you/they can delve further into my world. Hopefully it's a hit.
Other updates that have been done to the site itself:
Categories! I've removed the Title category selections, and instead grouped them under two headings: Titles A-L and Titles M-Z. I finally admitted that a separate category for each title would just get too ugly in the long run, and instead of having to remove and edit dozens of posts later, I revised them now, when I'm only four posts into the site. This should work much smoother for future postings, with an easier navigation for the reader, I hope.
Calendar - I'd originally hoped the calendar would have a larger role on the site. I'd envisioned this daily accounting of "Things Happening" like when I was writing, or when I was occupied with life, or when I was just plain lazy. But as I got to thinking about it, I realized that was a little on the personal side, and wouldn't really accomplish anything. Now I'm sticking to writing related topics, or nationally recognized holidays/events. It's not ideal, but it's working, and a much more realistic application, I think.
Aside from all that, TWA posted another challenge this month, but I am passing on it. Too many other things, and too much time spent on a piece of work that will not go beyond what the challenge asked for. I need to focus on the plot lines I've currently got running, edit and tighten the works I've already finished, and focus on becoming a more rounded, accomplished author. Lots of stuff, not lots of time!
Needless to say, that hasn't been happening. In part because I haven't much felt like blogging, but mostly because I'd completely spaced the schedule. Now that I've added it to the Calendar (*shudder* commitment!) and I'm writing an actual blog about it, I won't forget - I hope. Going through these motions has done much to open my eyes to the world of site management. Sure, I've built sites before, done some VERY basic coding, a little bit of internet networking and marketing, but I've never undertaken an entire website of my own, that relies solely on my own efforts to further its progress. It's a highly daunting adventure! I'm learning though, and I'm by no means a complete newbie, so hopefully I'll pull this sucker off.
My new schedule is a blog update every Saturday, and a story update every Sunday. I'm not so foolish as to believe that I'll have an actual story update every Sunday, but I do have some works that need to get transferred over to this site, and some poetry that I can use to fill the gaps that will undoubtedly pop up. I'm hoping this will give me the push I need to start actively writing again, instead of once every week for seven hours like a mad woman.
That being said, I've posted updates! There are two new WIPs on the site, and Love You, Lose Me, and Jokers Wild. I'm quite excited about both stories, as they explore facets of life that have always entranced me: the strong, quiet female lead, the hurting, protecting male lead, and a slew of dramatic side plots. They're two different takes on the female lead, with a somewhat comparable male lead, so these two are being posted together. I'm hoping to have banners up for both stories shortly; the images I want to use are currently awaiting approval from the owners.
I'll also be introducing word blurbs shortly, which will mainly consist of quote/word of the day/idea of the day blurbs that are completely raw and unedited. My original thought had been to focus those mainly on my blog, but it's writing, and not all writing is pretty, so the blurbs are being added to the mix. It's hopefully my way of drawing the visitor/reader in a little bit more, so you/they can delve further into my world. Hopefully it's a hit.
Other updates that have been done to the site itself:
Categories! I've removed the Title category selections, and instead grouped them under two headings: Titles A-L and Titles M-Z. I finally admitted that a separate category for each title would just get too ugly in the long run, and instead of having to remove and edit dozens of posts later, I revised them now, when I'm only four posts into the site. This should work much smoother for future postings, with an easier navigation for the reader, I hope.
Calendar - I'd originally hoped the calendar would have a larger role on the site. I'd envisioned this daily accounting of "Things Happening" like when I was writing, or when I was occupied with life, or when I was just plain lazy. But as I got to thinking about it, I realized that was a little on the personal side, and wouldn't really accomplish anything. Now I'm sticking to writing related topics, or nationally recognized holidays/events. It's not ideal, but it's working, and a much more realistic application, I think.
Aside from all that, TWA posted another challenge this month, but I am passing on it. Too many other things, and too much time spent on a piece of work that will not go beyond what the challenge asked for. I need to focus on the plot lines I've currently got running, edit and tighten the works I've already finished, and focus on becoming a more rounded, accomplished author. Lots of stuff, not lots of time!
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