timepiececlock | Entries tagged with writing

In her recent post,

apocalypsos wrote this:

I just like knowing what ideas I've got on hand even if I'm not going to use them, you know? I feel like I want to do like I did with Heroine Addiction, where I kinda just sat down and made a short list of stuff I either like to read about or write. So, "bisexuals" + "superheroes" + "wee little cafe" = FUNSIES. I'm just going to end up throwing, like, "disasters" and "wizards" and "gay romance" and "mpreg" and "reality TV" and "cooking" and "travel" and "surprise pregnancy stories" and anything else I can come up with at a wall and seeing what sticks.

I thought, 'Hey, that's a great idea!' For my original fiction and for fanfic. So I tried it:

( See full page under cut. The concept of a 'short list' wasn't one of those things that sticks. )

HERE HAVE SOME FUN. There's two, possibly three things that appear twice on the list. Notice them?

Also, there appear to be some interesting groupings that I'm afraid to say reveal certain things about my psyche. For example, one column goes: secrets, amoral killers, redemption, vampires, demons, politicians. Did I ever tell y'all I was a poli sci major?

After that, I typed them all up, printed them out, cut them into little fortune-cookie sized strips and have them sitting in a plastic CD stack lid that's turned upside down to be my desk's interpretation of a grab-bag.

Current Mood: determined

1. http://nkjemisin.com/2009/04/ways-to-describe-characters-of-color/ [note: read comments for diverse examples/opinions]
2.
3.

This is a link I am posting for myself, so I can add it to my LJ memories. I have started a memories section specifically for posts that focus on writing/describing Characters of Color. I've read many of them this year, and probably should have started bookmarking them ages ago.

If anyone has more recs along this topic, I always appreciate new information. Book recs too! Particularly since this applies to two of my current OTPs: Katara/Zuko and Spock/Uhura. With K/Z fandom I've had my first experience of writing about CoCs in a world where the CoC's point of view is predominant and the palest characters are still CoCs by white viewing standards. I've been mostly able to skate by on the whole description thing because a) you generally don't have to describe characters much in fanfic, and b) the ethnic baseline is Asian, not White/European like I'm used to, so I more described the differences between the Asian cultures represented than the difference between White and Asian. Also, the darker half of my OTP--Katara--- is visually presented as South Asian / Inuit, not Black, and I'm just realizing now that until Uhura/Spock, I've never had an OTP with a Black female character before, at least not one that I've written fic for. It's always been White, Asian, or Latina...mostly because I watch a lot of anime. I've also tried to convey culture through clothes and food and objects more than physical indicators, which basically means that I've never really forced myself to look into that aspect of description.

I'm not only interested in the nitty gritty details of description because of my new love for Star Trek's rockin' communications officer, but because I have started outlining a novel. A big, scary, superhero novel which I text

irrel about at odd moments of complete terror. ( Brief outline of the ethnicities of my characters and how I feel about writing them and why the idea of writing a book at all terrifies me, and a bit about the ethnic make-up of where I was raised. )

I may add to this post as I find more blogs/sites that are not LJ-based and wish to include them. I know there are already several lists out regarding the cultural/philosophical/moral wank of RaceFail and how to avoid it; for my own purposes I'm trying to collect some links that deal specifically with writing fiction rather than the larger communication-between-fans kerfluffle of FAIL, which multiple people have already covered nicely.

Current Mood: contemplative

I am trying to write a fanfic where it involves an epic make-out moment, and... I don't know what to listen to!

Music is VITAL to my writing process. And all I can seem to find to listen to on my comp is break-up songs! ARGH!

I need some quick recs. Something sweeping. Romantic. Swooning. Swooping. Other cleaning & vertical movement metaphors, I don't know. I'm not asking for links, just names I can play from youtube or something. Anything to jolt my brain into the right sphere of sappy romantic thinking! They can be totally mainstream, too. I don't discriminate in my pop.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllppppppppppppppppppp!

ETA: The pairing I'm trying to write for is Uhura/Spock, if that helps.

ETA 3: 1. You guys are so thoughtful for responding! 2. I don't think my romantic vernacular matches everyone else's, apparently. I should figure out how to fix that. To clarify my confusing and incomprehensible request above: Not slow songs, because slow songs tend to be sad even if they are romantic and my brain thinks sweeping/swooning/epic = big music and energy. Seventy-six bloody trombones.

Current Mood: unusually neurotic

Going purely from ff.net here, since I've religiously archived 95% of my fanfic there.

1. How many words of fanfic have you submitted? 266,675 words

2. How many people have you on alerts? 429 alerts

3. How many people have faved you? 514 favs

4. Which fandoms do you write for? *current
Gundam Wing/AC, Sailor Moon, X-overs, X-Files, Dragon Ball Z, Blue Seed, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Inuyasha, Trigun, Fushigi Yuugi, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Cowboy Bebop, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Naruto, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist, Princess Tutu, Avatar: Last Airbender, Doctor Who, Ironman, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Dark Tower series, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

5. How many stories have you written?
144 stories under two account names, but at least five of those are drabble collections with multiple ficlets contained within.

( 22 questions in total, because I added 2 at the end that I felt like including for completeness. )

Current Music: [Cowboy Bebop] - Yoko Kanno - "Blue"

Fandom, character[s], song title. Go!

Current Music: A.R. Rahman feat. M.I.A. - O Saya

Duplicated from everyone on my flist: When you see this, post your favorite poem in your journal.

by Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)

Résumé

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

Of all the famous American writers, I'd choose to have her silver tongue. I've already decided that if I ever write a book that's either A) a murder mystery, or B) a vampire novel, I will absolutely title it Among The Roaring Dead.

"Your Comments Are Whack!"

Dear Bones,

Why is it so hard to write fic for you? I could be intimidated by the technical language of your main character, but that never stopped me from making up science talk for the Doctor in Doctor Who or completely avoiding actual magic wordage for Harry in Harry Potter, so it can't be that. It might be that I like Booth and Brennan just the way they are and are afraid to mess them up by playing with them, but that kind of messing is what fanfic is for, so it's probably not that. It could also be that I don't expressly identify with either character so I have difficulty getting into their heads...not that I ever seriously identified with Buffy, though, and I wrote tons of fic about her.

...It's probably the science language thing. For the wizards I can say "Harry mumbled, flicked his wand, and the street lights went dark." I can write thousands of words about wizards without actually saying a single spell. But it sounds a bit silly to say, "Doctor Brennan picked up the bone, told her assistant what amazing discovery she'd just made, and he concurred that it most definitely meant the killer had a hangnail and a gimp leg. They agreed that they'd have to arrest the mayor--and that Booth was going to be unhappy about it."

I suppose I could write only from Booth's POV and invent humorous euphemisms for technical terms so that every time Brennan spoke what Booth actually heard was like a completely different language, but that'd get irritating after a while, I bet.

GGRRRRR! Why mush my new favorite characters all be so goddamn smart and tech-y?

Sincerely,

Rashaka

Maybe I just need ideas. Drabble ideas, anyone? Prompts?

Current Music: "The Untouchables" on AMC. Great movie!

I will be posting bits of my attempt at National Novel Writing Month. Who wants in?

By agreeing to be under the filter, you understand:

1. I will be posting sections of my writing as I go along. These will be under an LJ-cut.

2. As per the advice of the website, I won't be editing as I go, so it could be quite terrible and below the moderate standards for punctuation you typically expect from me.

3. I may cry.

4. At some point in this month you will have a non-binding friend obligation to give feedback of some kind, even if it's to tell me that my story is "surprisingly lame". As this is non-binding obligation, the only thing to happen if you don't comment sometime during November is that you will be eaten alive by your own guilt. With store-brand cheese.

5. You may have to hug me if I cry.

P.S. Listen to Common Rotation's "Rock Me Obama", because I love it.

Current Music: The Doors - Alabama Song

"They put their hands on the arc of history and bent it towards a better day."
- President-Elect Barack Obama

1. Since I decided this morning to belatedly try the National Novel Writer's Month challenge, I have of course been doing everything possible to procrastinate and avoid it. These things include political stuff, looking at cute stuff, random Avatar stuff, fandom stuff, watching movie trailers, and listening to a music mix CD a boy made for me yesterday.

2. Sometimes people comment on my journal, and I look at their names, and I think, "Who are you?" because I have no freaking idea what prairie hole they popped out of, good or bad or alien. I usually don't say anythig, though, and I pretend I totally know who they are and why they're here commenting on my journal.

3. My finances are scaring me so I have been avoiding grocery shopping. But I do get some money tomorrow, at least. And I should get a lot in about a two weeks. It's the in-between that bothers me. Not that I'm in any real danger of not being able to purchase food or anything like that--just that I am eating a lot of pasta and canned soup and leftovers. Also, online banking gives me anxiety. To see all my funds or lack-of laid out in such clear, cold digital type.

4. The person cited in italics up there? I've never typed those words before. And...now I have. The reality of all this keeps hitting me late. This intense upwelling of emotion? Should have happened three days ago, when I was standing in a campaign office watching the map change colors and knowing that the state where I've been working, my own county, was going to be blue. But I didn't cry then. I cried randomly yesterday, in my car, listening to this old guy on NPR. And I almost cried just now, and holy crap, usually I only cry for patriotic stuff when I'm on my period. (I cried for the dramatic cavalry charge in The Two Towers, and I cry for old historical videos where people do things like stand in front of tanks. Shit. I'm crying now.) But it's definitely not hormones this week; it's pure sentiment scratching and clawing past my defenses.

5. It could be that I'm obsessively listening to Common Rotation's "Rock Me Obama", which despite the title is surprisingly emotional and acoustic-guitar-y. Seriously, this is the MOST ADDICTIVE and LEAST ANNOYING Obama-related song I've heard since the campaign began. In fact...I should email the band and tell them so.

Current Music: Common Rotation - Rock Me Obama

So...how does one get a NaNo counter?

And...am I really six thousand words behind?

And...what should I write about?

trinityofone is hosting her second contest of Worst Opening Sentence You Can Imagine For A Fic. (I submitted twice already) It lasts until Thursday morning, then there's a vote.

Fly, my little pretties! Go represent some of the anime fandoms or ATLA or Doctor Who!

side bar 1: I'm enjoying this tangent conversation listing Lt. Colonel John Sheppard's greatest fears.

side bar 2: I didn't know this before, but apparently I was a [Dis]Honorable Mention in the last contest! With this one, which it hurts to even remember having typed:

Ronon thought John Shepard's nipples were the prettiest rosebuds he'd ever seen.