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foxmonkeyI've been sucked in! It's
The writers' survey.
1) When you have a new idea for a story, do you begin to write it immediately or do you let it sit and mellow a while before you start on it?
Both. Sometimes I start writing immediately, and sometimes I let an idea roll around in my head for a while - like when I'm getting ready for work and a rogue idea hits my brain. I'll mull it over while putting on my makeup, then as soon as I can (once I'm at work!), I write it down. I've got a brain like a sieve, so I've got to write things down or I'll forget them. I write whatever's in my head, a page, a paragraph, sometimes just a sentence. And I've got an NSync chunky mini memo book for bunnies.
2) Word processed or handwritten?
Word! I love my word processor! I can't believe I used to write pages and pages of stories by hand.
I think faster than I write, or maybe my thought processes flow more smoothly when I'm typing as opposed to writing. When I write by hand, I seem to lose bits of the story because I can't write fast enough to keep up with what I'm thinking. I've never had that problem when typing.
I don't use my computer at work, though. Any ideas or bunnies or lunchtime writing I do *strictly* on a legal pad. I've heard too many horror stories to take the chance.
3) Do you write fic in a fandom because you're wanting to write fic in that fandom? Or do you start with a general theme or idea you want to explore, and then select the characters and fandom that best suits to explore the concept?
No, I write fic in a fandom because I'm *in* the fandom. If I wanted to write fic in a fandom I'd be in the fandom first.
Or, reading further, did I totally misunderstand the question...
At the moment I only have one fandom, but when I had two, I wrote stories that fit the characters, not the other way around. The ideas or themes that I get are influenced by the fandom I'm in. The characters (in this case the guys' lives and their doings) influence the ideas that I get. Their personal interaction onscreen and the things they say (or don't say) in interviews, that's generally what shapes my fic.
If it's a whacked-out challenge that I'm responding to, though, all bets are off. ;-)
4) Do you talk about the story as it unfolds, or do you keep it tightly held to your chest until it's finished?
I tend to keep my fic close until finished.
Lately though, since I've begun posting more in LJ about my fic trials and tribulations, I've mentioned at least one long-overdue story that no one's seen, and the next part of a multi-part story that's long-overdue as well. I moan about how those two stories are kicking my ass, but I don't give a public blow-by-blow account of what I'm writing before I spring it on my unsuspecting readers. I don't want people to know what's coming before I'm ready for them to know.
In the last few months I've developed a wonderful fic discussion relationship with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
scot_ty, so now I share all my fic secrets with her. :-)
5) Do you write out large chunks of the story and then go back to edit it, or do you write small sections and polish them one by one?
I know someone in another fandom who works on each sentence until it's perfect. I absolutely cannot do that. I write in chunks, then edit and tweak and edit and re-write and polish some more. Then I go over the story as a whole.
Then I hand it off to a beta if I'm using one for that fic, and when it comes back I edit and tweak some more.
I sound like an anal freak! I hope it shows.
6) Do you have to have a title before you can begin to write? Or do you chose your title afterwards?
Ye gods, no! I'm the worst with titles, though I've improved. If I waited until I had a title to write, I'd still be working on my first story.
I have to have a title to post, though, which is probably a holdover from my first fandom where the archivist/listmistress wouldn't archive untitled stories. I'll hold a story until I'm hit with something that fits and speaks to me. And sometimes things just pop in my head and I'm like, "Yes! That's it!"
7) How much research, if any, are you likely to indulge in before beginning a story?
I'm a sponge when I first enter a new fandom. When I discovered NSync, I visited a million sites, looked through hordes of pictures, read every interview. I hate when I'm writing and I think of a tiny detail from an interview I read a year ago, and I have no idea where I saw it. Drives me crazy.
Just the thought of sifting through hundreds of sites to find that tiny bit I want, makes me insane. So I ask people about things I'm not clear on, which usually blows the logjam so I can Google-ize and find exactly what I want.
As far as what I research, whatever's needed to make that particular bit authentic. Did this happen before they went there? Which awards show came first? What quote from what interview appeared in which magazine, that kind of thing.
If I lived in slash fantasyland, I'd have a staff of researchers with a neatly organized library of magazines, racks of videotaped appearances, and the fastest, most up-to-date computers money can buy. My dream research staff. ::happy sigh::
Seriously, one thing I've learned is that the next time I'm hit with the burning need to immerse myself in a fandom, I'm going to keep notes and have the most frighteningly organized bookmarks anyone's ever seen.
8) What is your writing strength, and what is your weakness? How does knowing your greatest strength and weakness affect how you plan your story/ the direction the story takes?
I have no idea what my strengths are.
My weakness? Hmm, probably that I'm too shmoopy. The guys usually end up happy (or at least getting there) because dammit, I *want* them to be happy. I don't want Lance drinking himself into a stupor when he goes to parties, because it's too easy to imagine that he's drinking a little too much. If it takes Chris to get him to that place where he's strong enough to pass on the Jack Daniels, well, that's what I'll do. I'm the Barbara Cartland of the fic world.
I don't think that knowing my strengths and weaknesses affects either my fic or how I write - maybe that's my weakness and/or my strength. ;-)
I'm not aware of it on a conscious level, if it's there.
9) Do you write to music? If so, how much does the music you are listening to affect the mood of your story?
I don't always have music on, mostly because my CD player is wonky at the moment. I prefer to have music going, though.
What I'm listening to doesn't affect the mood of the story; if the music is going against the mood, I change the CD.
Until very recently, Dave Matthews Band's Before These Crowded Streets was *the* writing CD for me. I've included John Mayer's Room For Squares in the line-up; Live's The Distance To Here is another favorite, as is their CD Throwing Copper. Jack Johnson's Brushfire Fairytales and the guys' Celebrity are good, too.
10) Do you try to incorporate quotes, snippets of song lyrics, poems, etc. at the beginning of your story? If so, why? How do you choose them?
Not generally, no. The closest I've come is using three lines from "Missing You" by John Waite, as the opener to my fic of the same name:
Every time I think of you, I always catch my breath.
And I'm still standing here, and you're miles away
And I'm wondering why you left.
I'm using a single lyric line as chapter headings for "The Threesome Fic a Year in the Making That's Currently Sucking My Will to Live" (the working title). I still need a few lines, so yes, my will is still being sucked dry by this thing.
11) If you are about to write a story about a character or pairing that you have never done before, and are not particularly familiar with other stories written in the same vein, would you avoid stories written about this pairing until your story was complete, or read everything you could find to see how other handled the idea?
Let's see. If I were going to attempt an Eminem/Moby pairing... That's a tough question. First, I'd probably jump on Google and search sites for situations and ideas in order to slash the two personalities in something half-way believable (yikes).
I probably would't seek out a pairing to see how others handled it. Would I avoid them? Hmm. Probably.
12) Do you have a muse? Is it an evil muse? Or are you museless?
See the answers to #4 and #10 concerning stories that are currently kicking my ass and are taking a year to write.
Yes, I have a muse. My muse is evil. My muse is a poltergeist.
13) Who is the first person you are likely to show your story to? Is there someone whose opinion means more to you than anyone else?
Only a beta, if I'm using one, would see something before it hit my site or LJ. Lately, though, I've been on a wild sharing spree withscot_ty; I value her opinion pretty highly.
14) If there is a character that you particularly dislike, do you try to write a story about that character? If so, how does your dislike affect characterization? Do your feelings about the character change after you have written about them?
Like, working out my issues with a character by writing them in fic? Never done that, though I considered writing a Carlos-centric fic to work on my Carlos issues. Yes, I have Carlos issues, folks. I'm not perfect.
He's popping up in other peoples' stories now though, so I probably won't.
15) What are you doing answering this not-survey when you should be writing fic!?
Writing!? It's 12:30! I should be sleeping!
Oops, that was true last night when I was scratching my head and doing a lot of deep thinking in order to answer this thing. Now it's 1:30 in the afternoon and yes! I should be writing! What the hell am I doing answering this not-survey?
You'll have to excuse me now; my poltergeist of a muse and I have some things to discuss concerning stories that are currently kicking my ass and are taking a year to write...
The writers' survey.
1) When you have a new idea for a story, do you begin to write it immediately or do you let it sit and mellow a while before you start on it?
Both. Sometimes I start writing immediately, and sometimes I let an idea roll around in my head for a while - like when I'm getting ready for work and a rogue idea hits my brain. I'll mull it over while putting on my makeup, then as soon as I can (once I'm at work!), I write it down. I've got a brain like a sieve, so I've got to write things down or I'll forget them. I write whatever's in my head, a page, a paragraph, sometimes just a sentence. And I've got an NSync chunky mini memo book for bunnies.
2) Word processed or handwritten?
Word! I love my word processor! I can't believe I used to write pages and pages of stories by hand.
I think faster than I write, or maybe my thought processes flow more smoothly when I'm typing as opposed to writing. When I write by hand, I seem to lose bits of the story because I can't write fast enough to keep up with what I'm thinking. I've never had that problem when typing.
I don't use my computer at work, though. Any ideas or bunnies or lunchtime writing I do *strictly* on a legal pad. I've heard too many horror stories to take the chance.
3) Do you write fic in a fandom because you're wanting to write fic in that fandom? Or do you start with a general theme or idea you want to explore, and then select the characters and fandom that best suits to explore the concept?
No, I write fic in a fandom because I'm *in* the fandom. If I wanted to write fic in a fandom I'd be in the fandom first.
Or, reading further, did I totally misunderstand the question...
At the moment I only have one fandom, but when I had two, I wrote stories that fit the characters, not the other way around. The ideas or themes that I get are influenced by the fandom I'm in. The characters (in this case the guys' lives and their doings) influence the ideas that I get. Their personal interaction onscreen and the things they say (or don't say) in interviews, that's generally what shapes my fic.
If it's a whacked-out challenge that I'm responding to, though, all bets are off. ;-)
4) Do you talk about the story as it unfolds, or do you keep it tightly held to your chest until it's finished?
I tend to keep my fic close until finished.
Lately though, since I've begun posting more in LJ about my fic trials and tribulations, I've mentioned at least one long-overdue story that no one's seen, and the next part of a multi-part story that's long-overdue as well. I moan about how those two stories are kicking my ass, but I don't give a public blow-by-blow account of what I'm writing before I spring it on my unsuspecting readers. I don't want people to know what's coming before I'm ready for them to know.
In the last few months I've developed a wonderful fic discussion relationship with
scot_ty, so now I share all my fic secrets with her. :-)5) Do you write out large chunks of the story and then go back to edit it, or do you write small sections and polish them one by one?
I know someone in another fandom who works on each sentence until it's perfect. I absolutely cannot do that. I write in chunks, then edit and tweak and edit and re-write and polish some more. Then I go over the story as a whole.
Then I hand it off to a beta if I'm using one for that fic, and when it comes back I edit and tweak some more.
I sound like an anal freak! I hope it shows.
6) Do you have to have a title before you can begin to write? Or do you chose your title afterwards?
Ye gods, no! I'm the worst with titles, though I've improved. If I waited until I had a title to write, I'd still be working on my first story.
I have to have a title to post, though, which is probably a holdover from my first fandom where the archivist/listmistress wouldn't archive untitled stories. I'll hold a story until I'm hit with something that fits and speaks to me. And sometimes things just pop in my head and I'm like, "Yes! That's it!"
7) How much research, if any, are you likely to indulge in before beginning a story?
I'm a sponge when I first enter a new fandom. When I discovered NSync, I visited a million sites, looked through hordes of pictures, read every interview. I hate when I'm writing and I think of a tiny detail from an interview I read a year ago, and I have no idea where I saw it. Drives me crazy.
Just the thought of sifting through hundreds of sites to find that tiny bit I want, makes me insane. So I ask people about things I'm not clear on, which usually blows the logjam so I can Google-ize and find exactly what I want.
As far as what I research, whatever's needed to make that particular bit authentic. Did this happen before they went there? Which awards show came first? What quote from what interview appeared in which magazine, that kind of thing.
If I lived in slash fantasyland, I'd have a staff of researchers with a neatly organized library of magazines, racks of videotaped appearances, and the fastest, most up-to-date computers money can buy. My dream research staff. ::happy sigh::
Seriously, one thing I've learned is that the next time I'm hit with the burning need to immerse myself in a fandom, I'm going to keep notes and have the most frighteningly organized bookmarks anyone's ever seen.
8) What is your writing strength, and what is your weakness? How does knowing your greatest strength and weakness affect how you plan your story/ the direction the story takes?
I have no idea what my strengths are.
My weakness? Hmm, probably that I'm too shmoopy. The guys usually end up happy (or at least getting there) because dammit, I *want* them to be happy. I don't want Lance drinking himself into a stupor when he goes to parties, because it's too easy to imagine that he's drinking a little too much. If it takes Chris to get him to that place where he's strong enough to pass on the Jack Daniels, well, that's what I'll do. I'm the Barbara Cartland of the fic world.
I don't think that knowing my strengths and weaknesses affects either my fic or how I write - maybe that's my weakness and/or my strength. ;-)
I'm not aware of it on a conscious level, if it's there.
9) Do you write to music? If so, how much does the music you are listening to affect the mood of your story?
I don't always have music on, mostly because my CD player is wonky at the moment. I prefer to have music going, though.
What I'm listening to doesn't affect the mood of the story; if the music is going against the mood, I change the CD.
Until very recently, Dave Matthews Band's Before These Crowded Streets was *the* writing CD for me. I've included John Mayer's Room For Squares in the line-up; Live's The Distance To Here is another favorite, as is their CD Throwing Copper. Jack Johnson's Brushfire Fairytales and the guys' Celebrity are good, too.
10) Do you try to incorporate quotes, snippets of song lyrics, poems, etc. at the beginning of your story? If so, why? How do you choose them?
Not generally, no. The closest I've come is using three lines from "Missing You" by John Waite, as the opener to my fic of the same name:
Every time I think of you, I always catch my breath.
And I'm still standing here, and you're miles away
And I'm wondering why you left.
I'm using a single lyric line as chapter headings for "The Threesome Fic a Year in the Making That's Currently Sucking My Will to Live" (the working title). I still need a few lines, so yes, my will is still being sucked dry by this thing.
11) If you are about to write a story about a character or pairing that you have never done before, and are not particularly familiar with other stories written in the same vein, would you avoid stories written about this pairing until your story was complete, or read everything you could find to see how other handled the idea?
Let's see. If I were going to attempt an Eminem/Moby pairing... That's a tough question. First, I'd probably jump on Google and search sites for situations and ideas in order to slash the two personalities in something half-way believable (yikes).
I probably would't seek out a pairing to see how others handled it. Would I avoid them? Hmm. Probably.
12) Do you have a muse? Is it an evil muse? Or are you museless?
See the answers to #4 and #10 concerning stories that are currently kicking my ass and are taking a year to write.
Yes, I have a muse. My muse is evil. My muse is a poltergeist.
13) Who is the first person you are likely to show your story to? Is there someone whose opinion means more to you than anyone else?
Only a beta, if I'm using one, would see something before it hit my site or LJ. Lately, though, I've been on a wild sharing spree with
scot_ty; I value her opinion pretty highly.14) If there is a character that you particularly dislike, do you try to write a story about that character? If so, how does your dislike affect characterization? Do your feelings about the character change after you have written about them?
Like, working out my issues with a character by writing them in fic? Never done that, though I considered writing a Carlos-centric fic to work on my Carlos issues. Yes, I have Carlos issues, folks. I'm not perfect.
He's popping up in other peoples' stories now though, so I probably won't.
15) What are you doing answering this not-survey when you should be writing fic!?
Writing!? It's 12:30! I should be sleeping!
Oops, that was true last night when I was scratching my head and doing a lot of deep thinking in order to answer this thing. Now it's 1:30 in the afternoon and yes! I should be writing! What the hell am I doing answering this not-survey?
You'll have to excuse me now; my poltergeist of a muse and I have some things to discuss concerning stories that are currently kicking my ass and are taking a year to write...
