I'm willing to try. I will be called away in about half an hour for dinner, but that won't take more than half an hour to finish. The food's all leftovers, no need to do more than microwave it all.
Aside from lonely, how are you? How's the writing going?
I am having a bit of a bad bout with the depression recently, but I'm starting a stress control course on Monday, which I'm hoping is going to help somewhat. I feel like a lot of my depression comes from stress I can't deal with, so I'm hoping getting some techniques will help somewhat.
The writing is - well. The novel is kind of crawling on - I really want to get some stuff done on it this weekend. I've also got a Welcome to Night Vale challenge fic to work on - due in three weeks, eep! - which I have not started yet.
I've also created some new characters in my novel universe. They're friends of one of my main characters, but they probably won't figure in the novel itself as they have nothing to do with the novel plot, and I don't see much of the supernatural crap that my novel characters are doing showing up in their lives. However these characters have somewhat taken over my head, which is quite entertaining. I should probably write some notes on them at some point...
When I have uncontrolled anxiety, it often makes me depressed. I'm aware of how badly I'm coping and terrified that I can't do better.
I hope your stress control course helps!
It sounds like your plate is full on the writing front.
I'm currently working on a challenge fic. It's due Monday, however, and I'm unlikely to do much writing this weekend, so I'm not going to make it. The challenge is for creating fanworks for one of two fandoms following a theme of the week. I knew I could write for this week, and I think I can write for the last week of the challenge (assuming I'm not hip deep in Yuletide by then). The themes in between are all things I can't manage.
I'm also trying to do some vague world building for my big WIP. I need to take a character to an alien planet where he'll encounter people from dozens of different cultures. I have to figure out who he'll meet (scads of OCs) and what he'll be doing.
Yeah - I think that is a common thing. My anxiety seems to get subsumed into "okay back to bed" very rapidly with me, which is annoying.
My plate is very full! It's nice to be full of ideas, but I do wish my new characters would be quiet for a bit and let me get back to the novel.
Wow, your plate sounds pretty full too! I find worldbuilding quite difficult - I am very worried that my novel universe is a mess. But still, that is something I can fix in a second draft, I feel like I should really concentrate on getting a first draft, first.
It is hard when the ideas are coming really fast. It's hard to keep up with them. I've got nearly a dozen long fics that I want to write, but I write slowly enough that I'm only likely to get to one or two of them. One of them is unlikely to progress because I need a co-writer who knows the fandom (Rurouni Kenshin) and can write fight scenes.
My big fic, I'm posting chapter by chapter, so I can't go back and fix things when I find I've made a mistake (there are a few threads I've dropped that I'm not sure how to pick up again). I don't intend to post chapter by chapter again. At least, I don't think so. It's nice to get the feedback as I go along, but I'd kind of like the freedom to rewrite.
I'm not spectacular at world building. I tend to come up with just what I really need for the scene at hand and hope that I don't contradict myself or write myself into a corner. I've seen that referred to as 'writing on the bubble.'
Yeah, my usual way is to have a giant bunny list that I never get around to writing half of. Which is sort of a shame, 'cause there's lots of things on my bunny list and I would like to write lots of them!
You are way braver than me! I'd be terrified to post long stuff chapter by chapter, for that very reason - if there's something in earlier chapters that doesn't quite pan out in later ones, I want to be able to go back and fix it. I'm pretty sure I'll go back to my novel draft when it's done and change all sorts of things that don't make sense in light of where I ended up...
I didn't think about it when I started posting. At that point, I thought the story was going to be a lot shorter than it's turned out to be. I'm twenty-three chapters in and have at least ten more to go (I'm bad at outlining, so I'm not sure). So far, I've mostly been lucky that I seeded enough stuff early on that I can draw on it now.
My daughter is watching a Disney sit-com right now. I find sit-coms painful because I hate seeing people embarrassed.
I've been getting dinner ready in the breaks between replies. The rice and baby bok choy are warm. All I have to do is heat the chicken.
It'll probably be a little bit before I'm back, but I will be back.
Sounds like you are in a pretty good position with it!
Yeah, a lot of sitcoms are really painful like that. My personal hates are gross-out comedy and slapstick - I have never understood why watching someone get whacked on the head is funny. I just feel for them.
Also, chicken is delicious. We had shepherd's pie tonight and it was yummy.
I am looking forward to Yuletide! It's only my second year participating, and it was my first year nominating, so I'm really thrilled that all my noms got in. I should grab the spreadsheet at some point and figure out what I want to request and offer...
I'm not sure how many years I've been doing Yuletide now. I did take one year off because my husband felt that it was getting in the way of holiday preparation. I missed it dreadfully, though, so I was back the next year. I'm happier when I'm writing than when I'm not.
I nominated some really obscure things this year. I don't know if anyone will offer to write them. I spotted a couple of other fandoms I might request. I just have to decide whether or not I'd be okay getting a story for one of those fandoms. If I wouldn't be, I shouldn't request them.
I have started going through the tag set to see what I could offer. I've copied over all the fandoms I've found that I think I might be able to write. I'll narrow it down gradually to what I'm really sure I want to offer. I want to go through the song and other media fandoms to see if there are any five minute fandoms I could reasonably offer. Last year, I thought seriously about it but only ended up offering one (and didn't match on it. Which is probably just as well as I'd have had to lie to the friend who was the only one who requested it).
I tend to offer a lot of fandoms. I limit it to things I own or can get my hands on very easily. I tend not to offer TV shows because they're too big to review properly. I currently have two or three TV shows on my maybe list. I don't know if they'll stay.
Yeah I haven't really looked at anything since noms - I should really write my WtNV fic first.
I think I will probably offer the maximum, if only because it seems like that would make things easier. Pretty sure I'll be able to find 10 fandoms I can offer!
I might request the maximum, too. There's a lot of stuff this year.
There are a few anime/manga fandoms that I'm side-eying because I don't think they're very rare. They're rare on AO3 because there's not much anime/manga fic there and because they're old, but I don't think they're really rare. I'm not planning to challenge them, but I also don't think I'll offer them.
I'm always surprised by the people who say they can't find enough fandoms to offer. I don't consider myself widely read or to have seen many movies, but I can usually find forty or fifty things that I might be able to write (and there're at least another couple of dozen that I know but am sure immediately that I can't write). I don't offer all of them, of course. I whittle down the list considerably.
I seem to recall that last year they limited us to offering twenty fandoms.
Wow was it really that many? I didn't remember that! Ten seems like a good number to me - enough to get a good bit of variety without being really overwhelming.
And yeah, I can't remember how long my unfiltered fandoms list was last year, but it was pretty long. There are an awful lot of cool small fandoms out there!
I am really not familiar with anime or manga fandoms at all. The closest I might possibly get is Hellsing, which I've only watched once and never sought out fic for.
I would have real trouble narrowing it down to just ten fandoms. I mean, I expect I could do it, but there'd be things I'd love to write that I'd be leaving off the list. I hope I can get the bucket list to work. I couldn't when I signed up for Fic Corner this summer.
Next year is going to be hard. There are so many fun exchanges that I'd love to sign up for, but I really, really want to try to finish my big WIP. If I push and find people to do writing sprints with, I might be able to manage a chapter a month. It's a pity my best times for writing tend to be while everyone else is busy.
I stayed away from Fic Corner - I loved the idea but I was too scared. :D I'd really like to try and do it next year, and Jukebox too, because that looked like lots of fun.
Yeah - I'm kind of wondering when I'm going to find the time for my original bunnies in between all the fic I need to write! And never mind all my meta ideas... sigh.
Fic Corner was fun. I like the story I wrote for it. I actually wrote for a fandom I hadn't matched on-- I didn't offer the Chronicles of Chrestomanci because it includes several books that I've only read once and because people often ask for characters I don't remember from my reading. My recipient asked for a straightforward crossover, however, with a book I love. I couldn't resist.
I don't think I could handle Jukebox. I don't recall in detail how it works, but I know very little of the music that other people seem to like. (My taste runs to top 40 from the early to mid 1980s and folk music from even earlier.)
Two challenges that I used to love didn't happen this year. I liked Remix a lot. It was always an interesting challenge. Then there was the Finish-a-thon where people posted a list of plot bunnies and other people voted as to which one the person should finish.
Should we start a new thread? This one is getting kind of narrow. If you like, I can do that with my next response.
Sure, starting a new thread would be cool! They do get a little narrow as they go on. :D
Yeah, I have no idea how diverse the song nominations were for Jukebox, but I guess at least a song is a pretty easy thing to research? So much is on Youtube now.
So on another note, here is a thing that I do:
I have my original characters who I love, and a lot of (mostly TV show) fandoms. And my brain is a champion cross-pollinator. So I tend to keep dumping my original characters into whatever fandom I'm playing with at the moment. I've been doing it a lot with Joel and Danny, the MCs from my novel, and now I'm starting to do it with Ash and Kieran, the new characters that I came up with a couple of weeks ago.
I recently got into Sleepy Hollow, and I was dumping Danny and Joel into Sleepy Hollow fandom. The dude who's been dead for 230-odd years (and recently reawakened) turned out to be very confused by two guys kissing in public...
Putting original characters into other settings sounds like fun. It's just another way of playing. It's a pity it's not more widely welcomed. Of course, I'm a defender of Mary Sue.
My husband and daughter are playing Monopoly on the Wii U. It's tedious. I'm not sure how long they're going to continue. It's better than sit-coms, but I'm not loving it.
I ought to write now. The headache I had earlier has subsided, so I can think. I'm just facing writing a fight scene, and I don't want to. It means I have to decide a few things about how well the characters fight (I'm not sure which details are fanon and which are canon), and it means I have to choreograph a believable fight. I could get out of it, but I think that would be me wimping out.
It kind of is fun! At one point I had Joel (who is clairvoyant) getting a bunch of information psychically about the recently-reawakened guy, and subsequently explaining to the guy's friend that he won't know the word "homosexual", because it wasn't coined until ~90 years after he died. (I didn't know that fact off the top of my head, but Joel totally would.)
Monopoly starts out fun but it always goes on way too long.
Writing sounds like a good plan! I find fight scenes really hard too, but I believe in you. Good luck!
That said, it's 1.30am here, so I'd better go to bed. Thank you so much for talking to me, it's been fun! ♥
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 10:19 pm (UTC)Aside from lonely, how are you? How's the writing going?
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 10:24 pm (UTC)I am having a bit of a bad bout with the depression recently, but I'm starting a stress control course on Monday, which I'm hoping is going to help somewhat. I feel like a lot of my depression comes from stress I can't deal with, so I'm hoping getting some techniques will help somewhat.
The writing is - well. The novel is kind of crawling on - I really want to get some stuff done on it this weekend. I've also got a Welcome to Night Vale challenge fic to work on - due in three weeks, eep! - which I have not started yet.
I've also created some new characters in my novel universe. They're friends of one of my main characters, but they probably won't figure in the novel itself as they have nothing to do with the novel plot, and I don't see much of the supernatural crap that my novel characters are doing showing up in their lives. However these characters have somewhat taken over my head, which is quite entertaining. I should probably write some notes on them at some point...
What's up with you?
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 10:30 pm (UTC)I hope your stress control course helps!
It sounds like your plate is full on the writing front.
I'm currently working on a challenge fic. It's due Monday, however, and I'm unlikely to do much writing this weekend, so I'm not going to make it. The challenge is for creating fanworks for one of two fandoms following a theme of the week. I knew I could write for this week, and I think I can write for the last week of the challenge (assuming I'm not hip deep in Yuletide by then). The themes in between are all things I can't manage.
I'm also trying to do some vague world building for my big WIP. I need to take a character to an alien planet where he'll encounter people from dozens of different cultures. I have to figure out who he'll meet (scads of OCs) and what he'll be doing.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 10:35 pm (UTC)My plate is very full! It's nice to be full of ideas, but I do wish my new characters would be quiet for a bit and let me get back to the novel.
Wow, your plate sounds pretty full too! I find worldbuilding quite difficult - I am very worried that my novel universe is a mess. But still, that is something I can fix in a second draft, I feel like I should really concentrate on getting a first draft, first.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 10:46 pm (UTC)My big fic, I'm posting chapter by chapter, so I can't go back and fix things when I find I've made a mistake (there are a few threads I've dropped that I'm not sure how to pick up again). I don't intend to post chapter by chapter again. At least, I don't think so. It's nice to get the feedback as I go along, but I'd kind of like the freedom to rewrite.
I'm not spectacular at world building. I tend to come up with just what I really need for the scene at hand and hope that I don't contradict myself or write myself into a corner. I've seen that referred to as 'writing on the bubble.'
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 10:50 pm (UTC)You are way braver than me! I'd be terrified to post long stuff chapter by chapter, for that very reason - if there's something in earlier chapters that doesn't quite pan out in later ones, I want to be able to go back and fix it. I'm pretty sure I'll go back to my novel draft when it's done and change all sorts of things that don't make sense in light of where I ended up...
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 10:57 pm (UTC)My daughter is watching a Disney sit-com right now. I find sit-coms painful because I hate seeing people embarrassed.
I've been getting dinner ready in the breaks between replies. The rice and baby bok choy are warm. All I have to do is heat the chicken.
It'll probably be a little bit before I'm back, but I will be back.
Are you looking forward to Yuletide?
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 11:00 pm (UTC)Yeah, a lot of sitcoms are really painful like that. My personal hates are gross-out comedy and slapstick - I have never understood why watching someone get whacked on the head is funny. I just feel for them.
Also, chicken is delicious. We had shepherd's pie tonight and it was yummy.
I am looking forward to Yuletide! It's only my second year participating, and it was my first year nominating, so I'm really thrilled that all my noms got in. I should grab the spreadsheet at some point and figure out what I want to request and offer...
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 11:34 pm (UTC)I nominated some really obscure things this year. I don't know if anyone will offer to write them. I spotted a couple of other fandoms I might request. I just have to decide whether or not I'd be okay getting a story for one of those fandoms. If I wouldn't be, I shouldn't request them.
I have started going through the tag set to see what I could offer. I've copied over all the fandoms I've found that I think I might be able to write. I'll narrow it down gradually to what I'm really sure I want to offer. I want to go through the song and other media fandoms to see if there are any five minute fandoms I could reasonably offer. Last year, I thought seriously about it but only ended up offering one (and didn't match on it. Which is probably just as well as I'd have had to lie to the friend who was the only one who requested it).
I tend to offer a lot of fandoms. I limit it to things I own or can get my hands on very easily. I tend not to offer TV shows because they're too big to review properly. I currently have two or three TV shows on my maybe list. I don't know if they'll stay.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 11:37 pm (UTC)I think I will probably offer the maximum, if only because it seems like that would make things easier. Pretty sure I'll be able to find 10 fandoms I can offer!
I might request the maximum, too. There's a lot of stuff this year.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 11:44 pm (UTC)I'm always surprised by the people who say they can't find enough fandoms to offer. I don't consider myself widely read or to have seen many movies, but I can usually find forty or fifty things that I might be able to write (and there're at least another couple of dozen that I know but am sure immediately that I can't write). I don't offer all of them, of course. I whittle down the list considerably.
I seem to recall that last year they limited us to offering twenty fandoms.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 11:48 pm (UTC)And yeah, I can't remember how long my unfiltered fandoms list was last year, but it was pretty long. There are an awful lot of cool small fandoms out there!
I am really not familiar with anime or manga fandoms at all. The closest I might possibly get is Hellsing, which I've only watched once and never sought out fic for.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 11:58 pm (UTC)Next year is going to be hard. There are so many fun exchanges that I'd love to sign up for, but I really, really want to try to finish my big WIP. If I push and find people to do writing sprints with, I might be able to manage a chapter a month. It's a pity my best times for writing tend to be while everyone else is busy.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:01 am (UTC)Yeah - I'm kind of wondering when I'm going to find the time for my original bunnies in between all the fic I need to write! And never mind all my meta ideas... sigh.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:10 am (UTC)I don't think I could handle Jukebox. I don't recall in detail how it works, but I know very little of the music that other people seem to like. (My taste runs to top 40 from the early to mid 1980s and folk music from even earlier.)
Two challenges that I used to love didn't happen this year. I liked Remix a lot. It was always an interesting challenge. Then there was the Finish-a-thon where people posted a list of plot bunnies and other people voted as to which one the person should finish.
Should we start a new thread? This one is getting kind of narrow. If you like, I can do that with my next response.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:18 am (UTC)Yeah, I have no idea how diverse the song nominations were for Jukebox, but I guess at least a song is a pretty easy thing to research? So much is on Youtube now.
So on another note, here is a thing that I do:
I have my original characters who I love, and a lot of (mostly TV show) fandoms. And my brain is a champion cross-pollinator. So I tend to keep dumping my original characters into whatever fandom I'm playing with at the moment. I've been doing it a lot with Joel and Danny, the MCs from my novel, and now I'm starting to do it with Ash and Kieran, the new characters that I came up with a couple of weeks ago.
I recently got into Sleepy Hollow, and I was dumping Danny and Joel into Sleepy Hollow fandom. The dude who's been dead for 230-odd years (and recently reawakened) turned out to be very confused by two guys kissing in public...
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:28 am (UTC)My husband and daughter are playing Monopoly on the Wii U. It's tedious. I'm not sure how long they're going to continue. It's better than sit-coms, but I'm not loving it.
I ought to write now. The headache I had earlier has subsided, so I can think. I'm just facing writing a fight scene, and I don't want to. It means I have to decide a few things about how well the characters fight (I'm not sure which details are fanon and which are canon), and it means I have to choreograph a believable fight. I could get out of it, but I think that would be me wimping out.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:32 am (UTC)Monopoly starts out fun but it always goes on way too long.
Writing sounds like a good plan! I find fight scenes really hard too, but I believe in you. Good luck!
That said, it's 1.30am here, so I'd better go to bed. Thank you so much for talking to me, it's been fun! ♥
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:51 pm (UTC)combination of
a) in a USA time zone (I'm in Australia)
b) had gone to bed
c) had gone to work
d) had run out of social spoons/brain,
and didn't think twice about it. ^_^
Happy to chat - poke me anytime.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 03:24 am (UTC)I need to pay more attention to DW :(
no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 12:42 pm (UTC)You are awesome! Also I could totally have just clung to you on IRC. ♥
no subject
Date: 2013-10-06 12:57 pm (UTC)