Write every day! October 2019 - Day 2
Oct. 2nd, 2019 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zwei_hexenLovely to see so many joining us again, and welcoeme to all the new (at least to me ;o) ) faces!
I've also a question for you, as I've just experienced this again myself: do you find your ability to write or your writing creativity in any way influenced or compromised when reading a lot of fic, and particularly well-written, long, intense or so fic?
I find I do. I've observed that the intensity and output of my writing is inversely proportional to the amount of transformative fic I'm reading, and vice versa. I don't read much and mostly only slowly when I'm on a good writing streak, and more so when working towards a deadline; and when I find myself immersed in some intense or just really good fic my writing creativity and output is singificantly less. I know this happens to others as well, but I'm wondering if we're the exceptions or if this is more common.
Tally:
Welcome post
Day 1:alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, china_shop, cornerofmadness, fadedwings, falkner, iferion, mergatrude, sanguinity, silveradept, schneefink, sylvanwitch, yasaman, ysilme (15/15)
Day 2:china_shop, schneefink
Let us know if we missed you or if you didn't check in for a while, so we can add you. Of course joining the fun is possible at any point.
~ ~ ~
ysilme here: no tally yet for me again; this is going to be another late writing night.
sylvanwitch here: One of the many perks of moderating a student writing club at my school is the opportunity to write while at work. We typically do a writing exercise at each meeting, and sometimes I get something cool out of it. Today's is just the beginning of a story, 293 words, and it may not go anywhere, but I like what I have so far, so I think I'll file it for the next time I'm stuck on something else.
I've also a question for you, as I've just experienced this again myself: do you find your ability to write or your writing creativity in any way influenced or compromised when reading a lot of fic, and particularly well-written, long, intense or so fic?
I find I do. I've observed that the intensity and output of my writing is inversely proportional to the amount of transformative fic I'm reading, and vice versa. I don't read much and mostly only slowly when I'm on a good writing streak, and more so when working towards a deadline; and when I find myself immersed in some intense or just really good fic my writing creativity and output is singificantly less. I know this happens to others as well, but I'm wondering if we're the exceptions or if this is more common.
Tally:
Welcome post
Day 1:
alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, china_shop, cornerofmadness, fadedwings, falkner, iferion, mergatrude, sanguinity, silveradept, schneefink, sylvanwitch, yasaman, ysilme (15/15)
Day 2:
china_shop, schneefink
Let us know if we missed you or if you didn't check in for a while, so we can add you. Of course joining the fun is possible at any point.
~ ~ ~
ysilme here: no tally yet for me again; this is going to be another late writing night.sylvanwitch here: One of the many perks of moderating a student writing club at my school is the opportunity to write while at work. We typically do a writing exercise at each meeting, and sometimes I get something cool out of it. Today's is just the beginning of a story, 293 words, and it may not go anywhere, but I like what I have so far, so I think I'll file it for the next time I'm stuck on something else.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-02 10:41 pm (UTC)Often the only downside, in terms of creative output, I experience from reading more good fic is having less time in which to write.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-05 10:53 pm (UTC)The main reason to not read much when I'm writing intensely is more the "staying in my own bubble"-thing, though, I suppose, much like sanguinity describes it below.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:40 am (UTC)Today, I've been working on the nonfiction project (which is taking up a lot of my time) and brainstorming on the current fan_flashworks prompt (about 300 words on that).
Anyway, I am here, and plan to go along as I have been, pretty much.
As for the question about reading fic & writing, I'm just the opposite! I find reading a lot of ANYTHING gets me writing more. Especially if it's good, but even if it's bad (like the rather silly bookshop novels I've been reading lately). Though as
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:24 am (UTC)Yay for noodling along on this and that and keeping the words flowing! It's always good to see you! :-)
ETA: This is
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-05 11:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 01:35 am (UTC)I tend not to read all that much when I’m writing. Though sometimes it depends on what I’m writing. Or I stick with reading short little fics. I do find that sometimes reading really good emotionally charged fic when I’m writing (especially at first draft stage) can make me feel too inadequate. Like, I’ll never write anything that good, so why bother trying, and it can make the words freeze up.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:25 am (UTC)ETA: This is
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-05 11:04 pm (UTC)I can totally relate to the feeling of inadequacy from good stories - I know I need to avoid stories by my two favourite authors when I write myself, as they're so good I get quite intimidated myself - and frustrated, because I know I'll never be half as good.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:08 am (UTC)Oct 2: 500 words on a new story (incidentally throwing out the bad couple hundred words I had before).
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:26 am (UTC)I'm like you in regards to not wanting other words in my head, though in my case, it's because I'm impressionable, and I fear bleed-over.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-05 11:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:43 am (UTC)Re your question: I find that I start writing more fic when fandom's producing less of the kind of fic I want to read. Otherwise, I don't know that my fic reading plays into my writing, beyond the simple reality that I only have so much free time. Sometimes a fic will spark some inspiration for me on how to write something in my own fic, or it will make me think more deeply about a character or trope and inspire me to try my own take on it (which is usually different than that of the fic I'm reading, otherwise I wouldn't bother to write something new!), so I'll deliberately seek out fics adjacent to what I'm writing or thinking of writing.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-06 09:46 pm (UTC)I'm also sometimes seeking out certain fics close to what I'm planning to write or working at for various reasons, but that'd always be in the planning or editing stage, not during the time when I'm doing the main storytelling.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 04:11 am (UTC)Relatedly, the thing that gets in my way the most right now productivity-wise is not reading fic (transformative or otherwise) but my side gig writing about hockey, which burns me out a bit.
I find it helpful when switching from straight factual observation writing to creative writing to pause and read something before I start into the novel. Re-sets my brain or something.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 04:26 am (UTC)Also -- it's Lferion, not iferion (though I do have iferion, as a re-direct journal, for this very reason :-))
Thank you for hosting!
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 10:26 am (UTC)Sorry about the username - I might need new reading glasses, as I find it hard to see the difference even after you pointed it out to me! *g* (Oh the perks of getting older - at least I'd now be of age if I were an elf. ;o) )
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 04:55 am (UTC)Today was a good day, got 300 words on a comment_fic I wasn't supposed to be writing and 986 words on my IWRY story
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 03:17 pm (UTC)thanks
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 06:11 am (UTC)Reading + writing depends for me.
- Sometimes I can't read when I'm writing because I need to be in a bubble with just me and the source canon. (Or maybe I can only read stuff by certain authors, usually the ones who write the character voices really well.)
- Sometimes reading helps my writing by putting me in the "headzone" for a particular fandom/character, inspiring me, or just helps words move around in my brain.
- Sometimes reading CAUSES my writing because I read something and think "nope, I need to write my own take on this."
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 06:37 am (UTC)I do find the more I read, the less I write, and that this also works in the reverse. However, when my writing is stuck I might read a favourite fic, or story, or author, and find either inspiration or a loosening of the writing nerves. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 06:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 08:23 am (UTC)I also worked a bit on an unfinished piece of fanfic.
For me, reading and writing varies, both with original stuff and fanfic. I generally believe in reading voraciously and widely, and being influenced and impressed upon by so many pieces and writers that no one influence comes through as the only strong one. I get so much out of reading other stories, picking up themes or details or characters and going "hmm, what could I do with something like this but another context...?" But while I'm actually writing a specific story, I don't usually read another fic on just the same topic, because I want to discover my own vision. However, if I feel stuck, it often helps me to read a story about that character/pairing/situation, because then I can pick up something as a point of departure, even if I end up writing directly against that. Or someone else's fic might remind me of an aspect I could explore in my own story, a piece of background that I could include, etc. It doesn't always help, but sometimes it does. I don't really have hard-and-fast rules about any of this, I just go with whatever seems good at the moment.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 10:07 am (UTC)I also think a writing club at school is really cool. We didn't have anything about creative writing at school in my time, or generally; I don't think something like this existed at all back then. (Of course we wrote lots and lots of essays at school, in the last three years also in our foreign languages, and we were taught about the basic structures for this, and analysed literature and whatnot, and not only a little and learned lots about text analysis and how to do write non-fic and so on. But nothing called creative writing, and no encouragement exactly to go creative. For those of us who were interested in going that way, it was kind of self-understanding
I've only heard about creative writing being something that is taught when I discovered the internet and fanfic. At first I've been totally envious, until I found out that there's also a big advantage to not having had any tuition on that, after seeing manuals and instructions in how to deviate from the rules learned in such classes, or when I found that certain types of fanfic read like carbon copies of each other for structure and plot: I was free of that, "only" had what I'd learned myself from text analysis and voracious reading. But what I'd really loved to have would've been encouragement for my own writing. Until I discovered fanfic all I did was write for myself, with the rare exception, and didn't even dare to show my efforts to anybody because I knew they were very beginner-level. ;o)
Word-wise, I've done much better this time, 662 words, although it's all non-fic. But at least the words are flowing again, which is good.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 12:58 pm (UTC)The students in the club are always eager for a writing exercise, so we generally have a snack first, then share any writing we want to get comments/concrit on, and then we finish with a writing exercise, sharing what we've written in that if there's time.
In fact, one of the two almost-finished short stories I've been working on on and off for the past two weeks came from my last club meeting and the writing exercise therein. It's a wonderful, very freeing sort of writing for me because there's no pressure to actually create a finished product (which I couldn't do with the time limitations on the club), and the prompts are random, so I never know what's going to happen!
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 01:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 02:48 pm (UTC)To answer the question, I tend to read more when I'm stuck in a spot on my writing, because I'm one of those people that of you background the process of trying to solve the problem, my brain does faster and better work and will take on any new inputs or go "huh, that's a clever way of doing it, would that type of thing work for this setting?" toward solving the problem.
When the words are going, I don't read as much, because I want to make sure I get all the things down before they fly out of my brain and I can't remember what it was.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 03:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 07:33 pm (UTC)(I also tend to not think of myself as specifically creative, because ideas don't spring forth from my head and demand to be written all the time. Yet, part of exchange work is coming up with possible prompts and directions...)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-07 03:49 pm (UTC)I do have this kind of inspiration for problem-solving on occasion, too, but it always comes from either a different medium (movies or series, or even video games) or from a completely different genre, like original published fiction for fandom issues and vice versa.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-07 05:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 07:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 08:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-10-03 10:20 pm (UTC)