Somewhere Different Now

Like the idea of a challenge to write more in November, but know that attempting NaNoWriMo would just end in shame?  Got non-novel things you need encouragement to write, perhaps because currently even very short stories are a huge strain on your attention span and ability to complete things?  Already doing some writing but in need of a place to complain about it?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should sign up for wrisomifu, the November writing challenge community where your goal is to write for ten minutes every day of November on whatever the hell you want or need to write:  a novel, fanfic, academic work, a blog post...pretty much anything.  You could probably make an argument for counting writing your To Do list.  Then come to the comm to report back and whine about how hard writing is (or celebrate about how well things are going, I guess, if you're one of those people).  In case you were wondering, wrisomifu stands for WRIte SOmething you MIserable FUck.  It's a fun community where people cheer each other on and commiserate, plus I find that I do get so much more done if I have potentially manageable goals (though it is impressive how I frequently fail to manage even the very minimal standard of 10 minutes a day) combined with some semblance of accountability.

Today and tomorrow are new member sign up days!  Membership is closed most of the time and only open to new members for a very limited period (presumably to keep the comm from getting unmanageably huge).  You can sign up at the mods' LJs here or here.  Sign-ups are only open until October 31 ends (no mention of time zones, but they will probably accept anywhere), so go!  If you've joined in the past, you're still a member.

For myself, 10 minutes a day is about 9.9 more minutes than I've been averaging this year, so I am really hoping that this helps me get back in writing mode.  Or, alternatively, perhaps I'll pick up some cocktail recipes from fellow mifus who have given up and resorted to drinking.

Thought of the day:  you know what the Whoniverse really needs?  Isaiah Mustafa, the Old Spice guy, playing a Time Agent.  THIS IS THE CASTING IDEA YOUR CASTING IDEA COULD SMELL LIKE.  Can you not imagine him hanging around with young Jack and John Hart, making outrageous innuendos, seducing people of all species and genders, and alternately fighting and committing crime? 

I am not sure whether I want this character more on Torchwood S4, because it sounds like it needs some wisecracking Time Agently hotness, or Doctor Who, because I think watching the reactions of Eleven, Amy and Rory would be hilarious. 

Meanwhile, courtesy of a large portion of my flist, we have a fic love meme.  I feel a little greedy posting this, but I am human and I like hearing kind words.  Hopefully encouragement will excite my muse.  The Doctor/Jack fic is REALLY CLOSE, and I need to finish it up and get cracking on another project.

the ❝that's my favorite!❞ meme

Meme time!  First, I'm nabbing the "seven things about my writing process" meme from eponymous_rose  and rosa_writes .  (Cue skeptical cries of "you have a writing process?!?"  Yes, I do. It's just so slow that it rarely results in actual fic.)

1.  Stories usually start with a general concept.  I turn that concept over in my head for a while, thinking of some scenes and plot elements that might happen in that scenario.  Usually by the time I start writing I have the beginning sitting in my head in a fair amount of detail, plus a few key scenes along the way.  The ending and the rest of the middle are generally much vaguer at the start.  This method results in a lot of temporarily stalled and permanently abandoned stories on my hard drive, but I like working things out as I go along.  Outlines are rare and generally made halfway through a story if I feel like I need a better idea of the structure. 

2.  For longer stories, I usually have one or more sources of mood inspiration besides the DW canon.  That inspiration typically gives me my titles as well as some themes or a tone.  For the "Illyria" series it's Twelfth Night.  For "Path of Needles," it's clearly oodles of fairy tales, especially Little Red Riding Hood, plus various works derived from fairy tales.  I'm working on a mostly-done Doctor/Jack story entitled "Mercy of the Fallen" after the Dar Williams song. 

3.  I do much of my writing in coffee shops.  I concentrate much more easily there than at home.  In addition to having caffeine, I think the effort of tuning out the other people focuses me on what I'm doing, plus the time limit of only having so long I can reasonably occupy a table tends to  prod me to get writing and not dither around on the internet.  My bank account doesn't like this habit, but I really am much more productive there than in my apartment.

4.  I edit incessantly as I write.  I've heard that this is a bad habit, but I just have trouble leaving a sentence alone until it's right.  I can sometimes manage to make myself a deal to come back later if I realize that a large section needs fixing.  Generally, however, I like to get things as good as possible before moving on.  Of course I edit even more once I'm done with a draft, but I rarely make large changes in the shape of the story once the ending is in place.

5.  I almost always type my stories rather than writing by hand first.  The ability to move words around easily is invaluable.  While I don't usually create fast enough for it to matter, on those magic days when my muse is in hyperdrive I type faster than I write.  On the rare occasions when I make an outline, however, these are always on paper.  MS Word's autoformatting is a pain in the butt, and if I'm going to have an outline I want to be able to see it without having to toggle between windows.

6.  When I decide I need to cut out or drastically revamp a paragraph or more, I usually paste the original version at the end of the story's file along with other cut snippets.  Knowing that I'm not yet irrevocably getting rid of those words I slaved over gives me the confidence to make bigger changes and try new things.  I rarely put the originals back, but I like having them there just in case I change my mind.

7.  I rarely place in chapter divisions as I write.  Every now and then events will clearly suggest a chapter break (like the moment Rose exploded in "Path of Needles," which was a chapter ending from before I set fingers to keyboard for that story), but usually I treat the story as a whole until the first draft is done.  Once I'm sure how long it is and I know the plot is basically settled, then it's time to divide it and tweak the story accordingly. 

And now, ye olde 30 Days of TV Meme.

Day 27:  Best pilot episode

Eh, most of my favorite shows were not at their best in their pilots.  I remember the pilot of Twin Peaks as being very good, if sad, though it's been many years since I saw that.  Lost had a cool pilot episode that did an impressive job of introducing a lot of characters and some mystery.  However, I think I may award this one to Heroes.  The beautifully shot pilot set up a bunch of intriguing characters.  When I rewatched Heroes S1 (the only season really worth a rewatch) a few months ago, I was astonished at how much happened in the pilot.  By the end of the episode, Hiro has had his "yatta!" moment of teleportation to NYC, Claire's dad is seen to be involved in some suspicious business, Isaac has painted the bomb exploding, and Peter has jumped off a building, only to be caught by Nathan. On first viewing, I was left eager to know more about these people, their powers, and how they could be connected. 

All three pilots I nominated are from shows I stopped watching before their endings.  Apparently a great beginning leads to increased likelihood of disappointing me later. 

*sigh*

I wait to watch DW until it shows on American TV here so I can call my dad afterwards to talk about it.  He doesn't like the idea of illegally downloading stuff, and I'm not sure if my parents' elderly computer could even handle it.  He's my RL Who buddy, and I want to be on the same schedule as him.  Watching ahead would feel unfair.  However, reading LJ right now makes my resolve really hard to keep.  I shall be strong! 

Meanwhile, my brain has been hijacked by an unusually aggressive plot bunny.  I finally gave in and started to write it when it promised to be short.  It has not, of course, kept its promise, but at least it is coming along fairly quickly on the me scale.  It's not Illyria (I've written quite a bit of the next Illyria story, but it acts like it's being written by ents:  not hastily.)  However, the work in progress that's actually progressing has Rose attempting to get back to her home universe and ending up lost in the woods.  While carrying a basket of cookies.  And wearing red.  Bad Wolf exacerbates my natural tendency to fangirl fairy tales in a ridiculously obvious manner.  There's even a short appearance by Jack riding a white horse.

( An excerpt, because I am a horrible tease. )