Superhero Muses

--Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

I use a timeline program for longer stories, but other than that, not much! My "outlines" are generally just scribbled notes on pieces of paper I am bound to lose later.

This week I have crept up to the precipice of writing a big emotionally-fraught scene and haven't been able to nerve myself up to take the plunge yet--let's hope there's time for it this weekend! How about you?

--If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

So many people here are writing mostly original fic now that the question doesn't make much sense. :P But apply it to fanfiction, I suppose? For me it would be Clark and Bruce, simple choice because they're actually about 12 pairings rolled into one--I can switch from animated series to movies to comics and get a fresh perspective anytime, and there's always more coming out. Plus the double (or even triple) identities give a lot of freedom to write them differently as well.

Writing has been sporadic but not bad. I'm having a lot of great conversations with my beta who's helping me get unstuck at various points in my Yuletide story. I love having a person I can show something to and say "The story went kind of flat and lifeless right around here, where do you think I went wrong?" and he'll think about it for a while and then tell me what seems to be missing or off about it. It's a great cure for writer's block, which usually stems from having taken a wrong turn about 300 words ago for me...

How about you? Are you stuck or moving forward? My sticking-point was having a character acquiesce too quickly and readily to something because I was anxious to get to the aftermath dialogue, but because he gave in too quickly the next conversation lost all of its snap and emotional resonance. Back I go to slow things down a bit... (this story is heading for 12,000 words, nooooo).

--What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Ha! Um, most writing advice has some good in it at some level, it's usually the way it's taken that I disagree with. Like "write what you know," which I think is fine advice when taken as "use your own experiences as a springboard" but bad advice when taken as "your stories shouldn't go far outside your own experiences." But that all hinges on your definition of "know," after all.

Writing this week has been pretty much non-existent--lots of brainstorming with my husband, which is great fun, but not much putting words on the screen. I've taken to using my 2 half-hour bus commutes as writing time--I hate writing in public, but with the November work load it's either write in public or don't write! If I write on the bus I can go to bed at night knowing I got at least 100-200 words written (it's a lot slower going tapping on an ipad on the bus as well...) Though I'm quite happy with what I've managed to write, so I'm not actually in that bad of a mood! How about you?

(Posting a little early because I have to be up at 5:00 tomorrow!)

--Is there an episode [issue/title/scene] above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?


Just for the confidence and camaraderie and equality.

How about you?

In writing, I'm waiting eagerly for Yuletide assignments--I haven't requested anything comic-book related (manga, but not US comic books!), but I've offered for a couple, so we shall see!  Writing has been spotty but I got a nice burst in this evening, which is good because I'll be on the road all day tomorrow...

--Which fic has been the easiest to write?

Oh, that's a harder question to answer than hardest fic. Anything involving snarky banter covering up pining and including an awkward moment of intimacy at the end (i.e. 80% of my one-shots) was probably easiest. :)

I had a good writing week! I finished a long one-shot I've been working on for ages, finished another chapter, and am making good progress on everything at the moment. Happiness! I hope your easiest fic to work on is the one you're working on right now!

--Share one of your strengths.

Ooooh, probably...a light touch on prose? I get comments from non-native English readers that my work is usually easy to understand, and that always makes me happy...

I got smidges of writing done this week, nothing too major (first week of classes!), but enough to keep me happy! I hope you had a good week as well!

--How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Oh, I'm mostly still just plugging away on the two really long series I'm working on, BUT I would very much like to write a story where Dick teaches Bruce some of the hypno-control techniques Spyral has been teaching him to make people more suggestible and Bruce decides to put them to more, uh, interesting use. :)

I did get a lot of good writing done this week! One action sequence that went very smoothly, and one that I've had to constantly re-write and somehow I just can't keep in my head how it goes. *sighs* The details seem to slip out of my head no matter how many times I try to remind myself of them... I hope the writing is going well for you too and you don't keep forgetting key things, lol!

I also got some actual writing done!  On the plane and then after, although time has been amazingly tight.  So I'm feeling good about that.  And I checked Tumblr just before coming to post this and found a great new questions for writers post and have decided to swipe questions from it, whee!  It was kismet!

--Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Oh, this is (somewhat depressingly) easy:  A and B meet and don't "get" each other at first.  Maybe they're from different cultures or backgrounds or worldviews, but they clash a bit.  Over time they realize they have a lot in common, and respect dawns between them--a respect that turns to love.  Yet a series of misunderstandings and miscommunications (either comic or tragic) keeps them from truly connecting until some crisis forces them to admit they care about each other.  There is much banter and pining, and a happy clinch at the end.  :)  (Nearly everything I write is either a long story that traces that arc, or a short story that takes place on some segment of that arc).

I would love to hear your Platonic ideal you-fic!  And although I am NOT AT ALL caught up on previous posts, I will get there, I promise!

--What are some of your favorite words, and why?

Oh, um...I love twilight and dusk, both because they're lovely words and I also love that time of day. I used to use eldritch so much when writing that people told me they could recognize anonymous stories as by me because of it, so I've backed off it a lot. :P Cacophony. Sussurus. Cerulean. There are so many...

Suffering some middle-story lag this week, the price of writing two long stories at once. Had some fraught discussion with my beta about the need to kick the action up a bit and move forward--I'm a bit reluctant to, simply because I'm enjoying the worlds and don't want to move ahead and finish. But it's got to end or it's not complete, and things have to move forward or they can't end... How about you, what's catching your attention this week?

--what is the best time of day for you to write, and why?

Anytime I'm not sleepy (lately that's a lot of the time!). That's most likely to be in the mid-morning and in the early evening. But I can write just about anytime!

I've dedicated two hours this afternoon (it's my morning now, time zone shenanigans) for writing and am looking forward to it! Things have been going pretty smoothly, but some dedicated writing time would be a real gift... How about you? I hope whenever works best for you, you have a lot of free time to write!