Round 89, Hour 37

[naemsie]

I've put my dear author letter aside in favor of some real work. I might end up being tempted by the pool, though …

What, other than laundry and lunch, is happening?

Comments

[inkstone]

I'm awake! Ugh, these overcast, misty days really are wearing me down.

I forgot to check in last night. I'd finished editing my article before I went to the movie but after I came home, I formatted it, added links and images, and submitted it. So that's checked off my list!

This morning, I just finished breakfast so I'm going to head out soon & buy some groceries.

[naemsie]

Sorry for going MIA on you! Sounds like you were quite successful. Hooray for articles! And groceries!

[badly_knitted]

I've got words, but one of my characters is demanding long opening scenes before he'll be in the mood for smut. He's a bit skittish, so it's like pulling teeth at the moment trying to get him motivated.

What is it with characters? I try to write something G-rated and they want smut, I try to write smut and they're all... "We can't just jump straight into bed!"

Anyone else struggling with uncooperative characters?

[naemsie]

Sorry for going MIA on you! I don't know what's wrong with characters. When you read about them or see them on TV, they're so perfect, but ah, I hear you about them having their own mind, fic-wise. I gave up fighting them long ago. Not sure if that laissez faire approach is any good for them, but it's definitely good for my peace of mind. (Thank God I'm not a parent!) I hope you got your character to comply. Did you consider threatening him with ninja penguins?

[badly_knitted]

I hadn't thought of ninja penguins, but knowing my boys, Ryo wouldn't notice them and Dee would probably shoot them.

Until I started writing I thought writers were in charge of the characters, but the very first fic I wrote the characters decided to have a conversation and wouldn't do what I wanted until they'd talked things through. Now I know the characters have all the power and I have to coax them to cooperate. A fic I just finished started out as a G rated drabble and finished up as over 5k, more than half of which was explicit smut. I tried telling my characters I'm not a smut writer, but... Well, I am now =/

I'm not a parent either - I would have been useless at it.

[naemsie]

Poor penguins ^.^

Oh yes, the things our characters make us do … I have tons of fic I abandoned (for the time being) because my characters totally disagreed with my plans, and I didn't feel like fighting them OR following their lead … But I learned that most of the time, my characters know better than I do, haha.

Same. I tend to say, "I have a cat. That's all the responsibility anyone should ever give me."

[badly_knitted]

I'm sure the penguins can handle themselves, bulletproof vests or something.

I'm trying to actually finish a few ongoing fics this year, with mixed results. Some progess is being made, but practically every day there's a new challenge to write for, plus a never ending list of requests for sequels. Sometimes I have to bribe my characters... 'If you do X now, I'll let you do Y later...' The worst thing is when I have a challenge with an imminent deadline and none of my characters are interested.

I have action figures. Can't go wrong with them. They don't eat much either ;)

[naemsie]

I feel you!

[badly_knitted]

The pain of writers everywhere...