butterflydreaming

I've done a lot more fanfic'ing than I ever intended to because of the weekly challenges at TS, which have served as both dare and inspiration. I think that I need something like that for original writing.

But I don't want to spend hours going through the LJ writing communities, searching for one that is active and feels right to me. And I want one that isn't "original fiction and fanfiction"; I want one that is only orig fic. Because I really need the prodding.

I'm not sure that Key is going to "go". Maybe I've talked around it too much. Maybe the timing is bad. But I still want to write some things that are only mine, and short story is a format that I am enamored with. But it's very very hard, as a form. It has to be as perfectly balanced as a poem, but clear and developed into story. Uncluttered, concise, carefully considered, but also like a glimpse of something bigger.

I'm going to keep trying to keep up the no-fic ban for the month, just because anything that pulls me that much needs to be denied. After this month, I might try a balancing thing... I haven't worked out the details. Something like "x number of words per month" or a 1:1 ratio of original writing to fanfic writing, original fiction/nf reading to fic reading. (The reading is easier because the fanfic selection is thin.) I like writing fanfic -- have I said that before? I really like it. And when the sky is clear, I like doing something for the readers out there.

I could do that for other readers. The advantage of original fiction is that you get to introduce your characters; no one knows them before. So anyone can read them, no canon knowledge necessary.

As far as finding writing challenges, for now I'm going to try using the TS ones that can be modified for original characters/plot. There are some well thought out challenges, and I missed answering the early ones and some that I didn't think I could do with CCS characters. So I may start with the Beliefs challenge, especially since I've missed Peacewish's challenges twice now & that makes me feel kind of bad.

It's something to think about, anyway.

I am trying out another writing community (for SF,F,& H) that is for discussion of writing (and the genres) rather than posting of stories, like fiction_writers. Just reading a few of the posts makes me feel like somebody understands, and I don't think it will hurt to be peripheral to discussions of the business end of writing. I don't really think about being published, now, but I'd like to get to the point where I can think about it.

It's so hard not to have someone to talk to about writing... I mean, I get a bit from here on LJ, but I want to talk about it all the time, in dialog rather than monologue, and I really don't have anyone. My real-time writing group couldn't hold me -- I have to interact with strangers all the time, and if I'm not getting paid for it, I don't like doing it. Especially with mixed genres and the Reading Aloud format.

What I really need is a Poet/Writer/Reader (You should see how excited I get when I just meet another Reader! I start talking at a mile-a-minute, and forget what I'm supposed to be doing. And writing... I gravitated to Chris Walla not because he's in the band Death Cab for Cutie but because he chatted with me for a few minutes about writing.) that I can hang out with and talk with about these things, any age, either gender. I could put an ad in the Personals... {laughs}. No.

I'm sure that I need much more than this, but -- simplified -- this is what I need. The whole thing is rather disheartening. And if I keep following this path of thinking, I'm going to start feeling very, very alone.

Uh, and -- Yeah, I was Name Dropping just now. Oh, and Chris is seriously cute, and extremely nice in a sincere way. Buy his music. Go see them play if they tour in your region.

And as long as I'm name dropping, I might as well do this list:

Between living in L.A. and living in Seattle, I've racked up a little list of Notable People that I've met, usually on one side of a counter:

-Ray Wise, Twin Peaks' Leland Palmer
-William Shatner (he's my personal favorite to list)
-Leonard Nemoy (neither of these were at a Con, nor were they together)
-Emmanuel Lewis (You know who he is!)
-Roseanne Barr... but mostly her later husband, the very nice Ben
-O.J. Simpson ( I didn't actually TALK to either him or to Roseanne, though)
-and because I mentioned O.J. -- Ron Goldman. It still makes me sad and angry
-Courtyney Thorne-Smith, Melrose Place. (Yeah, who cares.)
-Ann Rice (no words spoken, booksigning)

-Chris Cornell (regularly)
-Artis, the Spoon Man from the video for, well, "Spoon Man" by Soundgarden
-Chris Walla (...hanyaan...)
-Scott M., formerly of Candlebox, who wanted me to recognize him. We were working "together" at the time.
-and Eddie Vedder, who I'd like to say that I've met, but we only live in the same neighborhood.

Anyway, those are the ones that come to mind right now.

To Write

no subject