September 10, 2012
Thirty days is a long time
The best of life is always ahead, always further on. — William Mulock
Ran across an interesting meme on a blog.
I remember these sorts of things back in the days of my fandom experience. I never much got into them, especially in regards to fandoms but always thought they were kind of neat.
Now that it applies more towards what I love, it seems like a fun thing to do.
So! On to day number one!
1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you’ve worked with and why.
Wow. I have to come up with one? All of my projects (in various stages of progress) are my favorite. It’s why they’re Works in Progress and not ideas in my idea book.
Sadly, because there are so many, it’s still at the WiP stages. Something to remedy.
I suppose, if I had to choose one, it’s my SuperSecretProject that I’ve been going on about for the past several posts. There’s something remarkably freeing about writing hardcore erotica and self-publishing it. I’ve gotten so much out of this in the short time I’ve been doing it, I really don’t know where to begin.
The beautiful thing is that because it’s new — I’m still working my way along — it’s still shiny and interesting and the progresses I’ve made personally are just astounding. Astounding. Many of them are harder to put into words, I’m still processing it all.
It’s a fabulous time for me.
Let me try to put some words to it.
The SuperSecretProject is about short stories. Short stories have been that kind of thing where I saw other people do it and I just had no idea. No idea how to start, what to do, how to end. Themes and evoking imagery and writing concisely and descriptively, it’s all been a huge challenge. The learning curve has been steep to the point of feeling almost completely straight up.
How was I going to overcome that? Like eating an elephant, my mother’s voice reminded me.
One bite at a time.
I came across a fabulous technique by someone who used to be on the AW forums but he has long since been gone. I figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by using it. I was half afraid it would be formulaic. Maybe it was.
Not going to argue its efficacy in general because it worked for me in particular. It was that leg up I needed to see the plateau that lead to the next obstacle. Writing is, if nothing else, about doing what works for me.
We’ll see if I manage to keep up with the 30 days schedule for my blog.
the glass 'possum 
J.W. Alden said,
September 11, 2012 at 6:56 am
You know, I was the same way with short stories. They just baffled me; I couldn’t see myself doing them at all. Then I just dove in, partially because I was forced to write one as part of a workshop, and now I’m in love with them. It’s all I’ve been doing since last November.
And one of the reasons I love them so much is the power and room to experiment without the potential ruination of several months work! So I’m going to try out the method you linked to. Thanks! 🙂
z. l. sasnett said,
September 12, 2012 at 2:21 pm
Ruv’s primer on putting together a short story was a God-send to me at a time when I needed it. I will hope, as I gain confidence in my abilities to write shorts, that I won’t need this particular crutch any more.
It has been so useful in allowing me to see how other writers have done it. I learn well by seeing patterns and this one was no different. Now I see the pattern! Seeing now allows me to play with what I do.
Day Two of Thirty days of Writing, a day late! « the glass 'possum said,
September 12, 2012 at 2:13 pm
[…] From this, Day number two! […]