Help!

[Highlander II]

Titles --

i have such a hard time putting titles to my stories -- i rarely start w/ a title then write the story -- w/ one MAJOR exception --

"NAKED JAROD" -- had the title - just had to make a story fit -- this was the coolest story -- (would have been cooler w/o VS restrictions -- VS=Virtual Series) --- anyway - story was still great and one of the most popular of the VS season 5 --

my fave work that i've done - simply titled - "Methos and Connor" is one that i wrote in 20 minutes right after watching Highlander: Endgame (which pretty much sucked btw) -- it kinda played off part of the idea of Endgame, but it was MY take on it -

i usually agonize over titles -- hate it too -- it bothers me when i can't come up w/ a title for a story that i've just spent forever writing ----

the story i just finished - which is called "Just One Week, Bailey" - got that name b/c i needed to call it something when i saved it -- i didn't like that title at first, but it kinda grew on me - and it now fits my story ---

titles -- oh the humanity ---- <dramatic swoon> <hehehe>

 

[skydiver]

each story is different for me. sometimes i have titles before the fic is written. still waters 4 errant children was titled long before i wrote it. on the other hand a year later i've never come up with a better title than 'foothold missing scenes' or 'a is for assassin'. tried and tried for titles.

i usually try to make the title reflect the story somehow.
letting go of the past got it's title at the very, very end when jack talked to sam. same thing with changing fate.
covenant not only dealed with the ark of the covenant but the sg-1 'no one gets left behind' pledge

the games people play came from the baddies literally playing thier little political games

the blond duo, the guy that issued the challenge called sam & sara the blond duo so...

maktel shcree...was just for the fun of it
same with libidos adn timeloops
blue skies got its name because that's one think skydivers say to each other...
just desserts...the urondans got their just desserts
fair play was a play off fair game
centre of attention was a play on the centre from pretender
in bad penny and in for a penny it started as a play off jonus being a bad penny who keeps popping up.
eight little words, it's jack's eight little words that cause all the trouble

still waters got it's name from 'still waters run deep' adn 'lower levels' is a play off the trek episode of the same name.

i have occasionally asked folks for titles. that's how covenant got its name. same with relaxing teal'c. jsc and coffeecup are great with coming up with titles.

when i write, usually i start at the beginning and work my way through. right now i'm working on the sequels to 'there's no place like home' and 'follow the yellow brick road'. i know where i'm going and what i want to do when i get there...it's just getting there. and they'll have oz themed titles to tie it all together.


sometimes i write a story just to do a scene. like in 'on a scale' i wanted to see how sam would react back in the cell from in the line of duty, so i wrote a fic setting it up.

changing fate came into being after i watched in the line of duty once and thought, gee what would happen if she didn't visit cassie.

the same with trust. that look on jack's face when hammy tells him they're not stealing stuff in touchstone always bugged me and after the third viewing i wrote a story.

sometimes inspiration literally strikes. 'the naked colonel...' anyone remember a mash episode where hawkeye walks across the camp naked? i had a flash of jack doing that so...he did

same with inspiration. jack was talking about luke skywalker in 1969 so...what if g. lucas heard the name and jack was responsible for star wars?

it is rare that i'll skip parts...do the 'insert jack here'. guess i am sorta linear. occasionally my beta will say 'now how the heck did that happen' and make me fill in the blanks.

 

[Rowan]

Note and things...

I find I can "over note" myself to death. I guess it's a way of stalling just making myself sit down and write something I think is gonna be 'kick-ass' but am afraid others will pick to pieces. For me... that's pretty much anything over about 7 pages. I'm very much a 'missing scene' or 'snippet' writer who loves a 'O'Henry' twist at the end.

Right now I've got probably 15 pages of rough notes on something I know could well be done novella length, but the idea of commiting that much time scares me, to be quite frankly. I do short and intense. I'm not sure I could keep the quality up over long and complex.

And as I mentioned before ... thank God for my doc of nothing but title ideas. It's bailed me out on numerous occosions.

As for doing stuff longhand? When I first started writing - mostly SCA music and Star Trek stuff way back when you had a typewriter, I did it all longhand becasue my spelling's so bad I go nuts. {Ms. Science here: I can spell 'drosophilla' but blow 'fruit fly' 3 out of 5 times. } and I'd run out of cor-flu. [Boy... I just dated myself there. 'Cor-flu' is old SF fannish jargon for 'CORrection FLUid = white-out]. Making the transition to keyboard took forever.

Now? I can't do pen/paper. My hands don't move as fast as my head and having been out of health care for over five years, I can't write that much anymore without mu hands hurting. the dig last summer was a real eye-opener on that. The idea of class notes and going back to school is daunting in that aspect.

 

[CynVision]

Re: Note and things...

Originally posted by Rowan
[Boy... I just dated myself there. 'Cor-flu' is old SF fannish jargon for 'CORrection FLUid = white-out].

I'm going to blow your mind with the idea that because my mom was a secretary downtown in the late 60's I learned typing on a typewriter and the correction stuff was either those pointy pencil-like erasers or the pack of celophane correction film that you stuck in front of the paper and then restruck the errant letter.

 

[Rowan]

Typewriter

Nope... you won't blow it. In my HS, typing was a required class for 'girls' along with Home Ec. and Sewing { I graded in 1970 for a fairly out of the way school in Washington State - Enumclaw}.

The fact that I was a 'special assignment' lab assistant for biology [by request], was in Advanced Bio [by permission of instructor], in Chess club, head of our local HS Biological Honor Society and a percussionest and guitarist in every band we had through the school into a major fit of 'Can't Cope'.

Like I sadi. One of the Boys.

Also, both my mom and dad were registered pharmacists [mom got her degree pre WW-II when that just *didn't* happen] and ran their own store. I just never really *got* the gender thing.

 

[Highlander II]

typing wasn't a required class when i went to school (don't hit me - i graduated HS in '94) -- but, by then, typing - which had been changed to 'keyboarding' -- was for everyone -- so was home ec - which included sewing - but the guys couldn't figure out why THEY had to do it to -- um - for the same reason girls have to play stupid football in gym class -- ugh --

before computers - i did EVERYTHING long hand - all of my papers for school and anything i had to write - all longhand -- even after my parents bought a computer - b/c i didn't know how to type - i still did stuff longhand ---

taught myself to type, btw - and type faster than many ppl who have been through typing classes --- so - to everyone who told me to take a freaking typing class --- : PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

oh - and Rowan - as far as 'committing' to a lengthy work - you just have to DO IT! -- that's the only thing --- however - i would suggest an outline to keep yourself on track -- i have a Sentinel/Pretender x-over that is quasi-novel length (supposed to be that way) that i wrote in about 8 months - and i'm working on 'sprucing it up' and cutting out irrelevant parts, but putting in pieces that need to be there -- b/c i have this problem w/ starting stories very slowly, then all of a sudden everything just hits you in the face --- ie: i would suck at mystery writing --

 

[Rowan]

Outlines

Actually, one thing I'm trying with "Grail" [working title] is 'storyboarding'. I've got a big white board [not really big enough now... this thing *grew*] and several colors of post-a-notes: major plot line in one color, secondary plot lines in other colors - and I've been making 'sotlines' with them. I find I can shift them around if a new way to look at things hits me. If I 'write' it down, I feel obligated to force it that way.

So far, it seems to be helping.

 

[Highlander II]

there's an idea! never thought of that --

but - i have a hard time plotting out my stories b4 i write them -- i can't do much plotting until i have part of the story written, then i plot and i can finish the story -- it's how i wrote -- "The Wrong Man" -- Sentinel/ Pretender x-over -- and "Just one Week, Bailey" - the Profiler fic i just finished ---

i think one of my other problems is trying to write in too many genres at the same time -- Pretender, Sentinel, SG-1, Law & Order (this is the hardest one), Profiler, JAG (only have a small PWP snippet running for this one), Highlander (my baby) -- sooooo many great characters - so little time ---

i have so many i started a story called "The Ultimate Crossover" -- interesting study in 1st person POV storytelling from the POV"s of 4 different characters -- this one's at a standstill --- ugh ----

 

[CynVision]

Where would we be without post-its, white-out (cor-flu), airconditioning and ATMs?

 

[Rowan]

Fics

Amen, Cyn.

I'm mostly Gate right now and that's been the majority of my writing. Did old Trek back in the 60's when it was 'New and Only Trek' for the first story fanzines that came out. Did a small bit of Bab-5 a few years ago. Just now trying TS [FYI: Cy, I just opened a very misspelled TS fan fic thread, thanks to HII's suggestion.].

Have an editor that wants me to start doing 'Rat Patrol' and 'Black Sheep Squadron' for her [she prints a lot of my more military Jack stuff] and would probably be quite happy if I threw some S:AAB in with it.

Like I have time... Actually, I have the time. Just don't seem to have the organization skills right now. :dead:

 

[Gemsong]

Writing

I was the queen of the keyboard for a while when it came to writing. In the last few months, I've gone back to long hand. A lunch I used to read a book. Something to seperate my mind from the thousand and one things I have to do at work.

Now I write on a tablet I keep in the car. I average about 4 pages on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets in that hour.

I think I have linear moments. Usually a scene just pops into my head. That's how illusions started. As I complete a chapter, I ask myself "what would logically happen next" or "what would be the reaction to what I just did". I think if I stop doing that, the story would have been done by now. I do that to all my stories. must be why I have a problem finishing them. the "What happens Next" Syndrome.

I make notes as I go along sometimes. Mostly when I think of something I didn't put in and jot down a reminder for when I type it up.

Stargate is my first attempts at writing fanfiction. Guess I've been watching the show more intensely than I thought.

 

[imported_Sandman]

i've been writing fanfiction since i was a little kid--didn't know that it had a proper name back then, but i did it. then, i guess about a year and a half ago, when i got finally got internet connection i stumbled across some US Marshals/the Fugitive fanfiction and i got completely hooked. in my search for more USM stuff i found stargate and i have been doing that ever since. i don't know what i would ever do without it.

 

[Rowan]

Writing for pleasure

You do get hooked, that's for sure.

 

[Rowan]

Ta Da!

And it looks like I just hit Alien #6! It's getting crowded over there.:alienooh:

 

[skydiver]

in hindsight i was writing fan fic way back in classic trek (though mine were all reruns, missed the original airings by a few years) adn then, of all things the chronicles of narnia when i would create my own characters to interact with the others. i'd do it as a way to fall asleep at night, tell my self a story. i actually wrote down a few of my trek ones, though they were usually just a couple of pages as an outline never as a full fledged story.
i started writing sg fic when i found helio for the first time...i started looking for sam fic, discovered there really wasn't much and after reading some of the stories went 'heck i can do that' and i started writing.
i write longhand and transcribe. i don't have a laptop and want to be able to add a scene or two at any time so...paper is portable.
it's hard for me to sit in front of a puter and pull the story out.

i must look weird to people when i drive because i usually work out dialogue while i drive...danny & jack have conversations while i'm going to work.
sometimes at work i'll occupy part of my mind working out a scene in my head, then i go home and put it down on paper.
for me my best writing time is right before i go to bed. i'll sit there and scrawl out a chapter or two. sometimes i'll type it up on a daily basis but usually i'll wait until it's done or mostly done.

my fic can be long or short, depending on the mood. but i seem to prefer a few pages, maybe 20 at the most. it's nice a comfortable lenght. the longer stuff starts to get unweildy after a while. i know when i got centre of attention adn covenant done it was almost mentally exhausting to deal with 50 plus pages. nice but hard to keep track of it all.

some fic write themselves. finis just popped into my head while lower levels five has been lying half finished for weeks...

 

[CynVision]

Originally posted by skydiver
i'd do it as a way to fall asleep at night, tell my self a story.

i must look weird to people when i drive because i usually work out dialogue while i drive...danny & jack have conversations while i'm going to work.

sometimes at work i'll occupy part of my mind working out a scene in my head, then i go home and put it down on paper.
for me my best writing time is right before i go to bed. i'll sit there and scrawl out a chapter or two. sometimes i'll type it up on a daily basis but usually i'll wait until it's done or mostly done.

This is so me! The night time thing and while I was cleaning out the fish tanks at PetCare. What else to do with my brain? If you are relaxed driving or walking or biking, the right side of the brain is just guiding you to the destination by rote. The left side is bored and wants something to do between interpeting streetsigns.

I think the bedtime thing could be a form of lucid dreaming, or encouraging lucid dreaming.

Saying the lines out loud is normal IMHO, that's how we hear them and they are not always proper English. Only way to get the emphasis right in some cases. I get nervous or selfconcious that I look like one of the outpatient mental patients we have around here. They also walk down the street talking.

 

[imported_Sandman]

Originally posted by skydiver
of all things the chronicles of narnia when i would create my own characters to interact with the others

my friends and i used to do the same thing when we were in grade school. Narnia made great adventures. of course we'd be so intent on writing down our plays and figuring out exactly what would happen that we always ran out of time to actually act them out.

 

[CynVision]

Narnia had a certain charm for me at age eleven or so. But also there was an animated feature about that time. So it was made just a little pop culture. I believe a kid had to be pretty smart to get through all the books.

Later, when the PBS/BBC guys tackled it live action/CGI I was just blown away.

 

[skydiver]

i have those on tape though i haven't watched them in years. just wish they did more than the first 3. i'd love to see the last ones somewhere other than my imagination

 

[CynVision]

another pig sticker in my brain

Okay, my brain has been overwhelmed by the "Quiz" thread. They've been talking there in past months about the ep "1969." When I saw that ep I wasn't as much of a gate head and didn't understand part of the episode. Who are the hippy kids on the bus that give's them a lift? IIRC, someone has a sudden "Oh, we can't tell them anything" moment and I'm assuming it's because they have a pivotal role in their history/someone's life. But I'm too unlettered to know exactly who.