follow through
Jun. 12th, 2011 02:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thelibraniniquityEvery so often, either out of nostalgia or sheer boredom, I skim my old profile page at fanfiction.net. It goes back to around 2003, when I first started writing serious fanfiction instead of just odd bits and things. I like to think I've improved since then, as writing like anything else is a learning curve.
I noticed a new review on one of my oldest posted fics this afternoon, which expressed disappointment with the lack of follow through on what was a promising set up, and it's got me thinking. I remember the night I wrote that fic, and it was basically a piece of semi-entertaining fluff for my sister that I read aloud as I wrote, the night before her birthday. (She'd have been about 12 at this point, I think.) I didn't think there was a lack of follow through in the fic then, and I still don't think there is now, or if there is I don't think it's an issue. It is what it is - a bit of birthday-related fluff that kept my little sister amused.
The review did get me thinking about my more recent fic endeavours, though. I love coming up with setups and backgrounds for stories - universe building is one of the things that keeps me entertained at work - and since I rarely write most of what I come up with, I rarely find myself coming up with the actual plot to go with the setup - it's just not necessary. And when I do write some of the things I come up with, I tend to either struggle with the plot, or just wing it as I go.
Is this a problem? Thinking about it, I can put one of my Primeval WIPs stalling down to the scene being set but no concrete plot to go with it. There was a comment on my Five-0 story expressing some dismay at a lack of comfort to go with the hurt. I remember with one of my longest fics that I originally planned to end it with the rescue scene, and had to be dissuaded by my beta, and the story finally finished some 15 or 20,000 words post-rescue. I think that particular story is better for the fallout, and I still consider that story one of the turning points in my writing.
This could be an issue with the two ideas I've got for the Five-0 big bang. I have two quite detailed set ups, and only the vaguest of outlines for the plots that follow, and an idea of how I'd like each to end. I'm well aware I'm probably my own worst critic, and this challenge in particular is something I'd not only like to complete, but complete well.
Nothing's ever going to be perfect. For one thing that's impossible, and for another this is a hobby which, yes, I try to take seriously most of the time. Maybe this is just something else I need to consider to become better.
I noticed a new review on one of my oldest posted fics this afternoon, which expressed disappointment with the lack of follow through on what was a promising set up, and it's got me thinking. I remember the night I wrote that fic, and it was basically a piece of semi-entertaining fluff for my sister that I read aloud as I wrote, the night before her birthday. (She'd have been about 12 at this point, I think.) I didn't think there was a lack of follow through in the fic then, and I still don't think there is now, or if there is I don't think it's an issue. It is what it is - a bit of birthday-related fluff that kept my little sister amused.
The review did get me thinking about my more recent fic endeavours, though. I love coming up with setups and backgrounds for stories - universe building is one of the things that keeps me entertained at work - and since I rarely write most of what I come up with, I rarely find myself coming up with the actual plot to go with the setup - it's just not necessary. And when I do write some of the things I come up with, I tend to either struggle with the plot, or just wing it as I go.
Is this a problem? Thinking about it, I can put one of my Primeval WIPs stalling down to the scene being set but no concrete plot to go with it. There was a comment on my Five-0 story expressing some dismay at a lack of comfort to go with the hurt. I remember with one of my longest fics that I originally planned to end it with the rescue scene, and had to be dissuaded by my beta, and the story finally finished some 15 or 20,000 words post-rescue. I think that particular story is better for the fallout, and I still consider that story one of the turning points in my writing.
This could be an issue with the two ideas I've got for the Five-0 big bang. I have two quite detailed set ups, and only the vaguest of outlines for the plots that follow, and an idea of how I'd like each to end. I'm well aware I'm probably my own worst critic, and this challenge in particular is something I'd not only like to complete, but complete well.
Nothing's ever going to be perfect. For one thing that's impossible, and for another this is a hobby which, yes, I try to take seriously most of the time. Maybe this is just something else I need to consider to become better.