Fanfic Writers' Virtual Water Cooler

[mathpiglet]

I don't know about anybody else but my preferred method is to write the whole thing unbroken and then go back through to find the natural points where the story can be broken into chapters, often with a little tweaking to get the chapters to roughly the same size and/or make the breaks more effective.

That's exactly how I write!

[SF_and_Coffee]

I don't aim for a specific wordcount, unless the challenge requires it. If it's a lot of words I need to tell a story then it's a lot of words I'll use.

But that 200,000+ word fic I dubbed Fic-From-Hell haunts me on a regular basis... especially since it's one of those neverending stories which will also, in all likelihood, never be posted. No point in writing it but the muse won't leave it alone...

What's wrong with a 200,000 word fic? All That We Leave Behind is longer than that (it's posted as a WIP currently around 180k words, but I have much more than that already written and only waiting for some in-between chapters to be completed before I can post a lot of the pre-written stuff). And it's only Book One of a series!
There's really nothing wrong with an epically-long novel per se. Just make it good.

I've not written a lot, so I don't have much experience to draw from, but I tend toward 1800-2000 words per chapter when I write multi-chapter stories. That may change with experience.

I tend to self-edit WAY too much as I write...gotta kick that habit.

Nothing wrong with self-editing as you write, either. I do it constantly, and feel it only improves and polishes my material. You'd have to ask my beta, but I imagine it probably saves him a lot of effort, too.

I don't think there is a rule about chapters. One source I read said you should aim for your chapters to be roughly the same length, but some authors (ahem...George R. R. Martin) with good reason.

Logical breaks are what are needed. If you're merely writing to get to a certain word-count, there's a chance it's filler and doesn't add to the actually story.

And by the same token, chopping off a chapter at a certain word-count just because that's your quota can make for awkward breaks in the flow of the story. If a chapter is hellaciously long, then yes, you may need to look for places to break it in two. But unless it's more than twice your average chapter length, doing so is probably unnecessary.

*laughs*

Anyway, I do WIPs so I know what I want to write per chapter (or at least that's the idea... *glares at muse*) and that's usually about 5000-7500 words, depending on the story.

That's certainly a nice, healthy, manageable number.

[SaraBahama]

Nothing wrong with self-editing as you write, either. I do it constantly, and feel it only improves and polishes my material. You'd have to ask my beta, but I imagine it probably saves him a lot of effort, too.

SF -the problem is that I self edit so much that it brings me to a standstill because I'm fretting over every detail. I've ended up with writer's block more than once over this very thing. Pol encouraged me to try a couple of "close your eyes and write" exercises and it really helped, so I've started incorporating that notion into my regular writing -just write it: go with the flow and come back later and put the pretty on. I find it freeing. I still edit (sometimes entire sections) before it goes to Beta, but I try not to do it as I write. Even then I find that 500 words at a go is a lot for me.

Anybody else get frustrated because sometimes you can't type at the speed the ideas come rolling into your head (and I mean, regardless of your WPM typing skills)?

[SF_and_Coffee]

Oh, that speed thing gets me all the time. I think it's normal.

[Cold Fuzz]

What's wrong with a 200,000 word fic? All That We Leave Behind is longer than that (it's posted as a WIP currently around 180k words, but I have much more than that already written and only waiting for some in-between chapters to be completed before I can post a lot of the pre-written stuff). And it's only Book One of a series!
There's really nothing wrong with an epically-long novel per se. Just make it good.

After working on my characterization stuff last night, I came to the realization that Broken Silence may very well reach 300,000 words. That's OK by me though. There are five characters that are supposed to undergo monumental life changes and by the time the novel finishes none of them will be ever the same again. That's not something that can be done quickly or with brevity.

[SF_and_Coffee]

Same with ATWLB, only not as many characters undergo transformation. But some do...

[SaraBahama]

Oh fickle Muse!

Why dost thou commune with me in the waning hours of evening, heedless of the tasks I must complete upon the 'moro? Dost thou lift your chin in contempt of my plight?

If I should send you away, will you return tomorrow, or shall I be spurned for such insolence?

[Cold Fuzz]

Oh fickle Muse!

Why dost thou commune with me in the waning hours of evening, heedless of the tasks I must complete upon the 'moro? Dost thou lift your chin in contempt of my plight?

If I should send you away, will you return tomorrow, or shall I be spurned for such insolence?

My Muse gets antsy when I don't write. Right now, the Muse knows that I have an important work-related task that I need to complete in the next two days so instead of feeling guilty about not writing, it wants me to pay very close attention to the dialogue of TV writers like J. Michael Straczynski and Richard Mueller to get a good feel for dark humor.

The Muse has given me an abundance of ideas and inspiration so I can't fault it in anyway. It does get annoyed with me when I have trouble choosing to commit to a particular idea within a multitude of ideas. Recently, the Muse has given me some interesting ideas for future writing projects but they're still in the a ways away.

[Sealurk]

SF -the problem is that I self edit so much that it brings me to a standstill because I'm fretting over every detail. I've ended up with writer's block more than once over this very thing. Pol encouraged me to try a couple of "close your eyes and write" exercises and it really helped, so I've started incorporating that notion into my regular writing -just write it: go with the flow and come back later and put the pretty on. I find it freeing. I still edit (sometimes entire sections) before it goes to Beta, but I try not to do it as I write. Even then I find that 500 words at a go is a lot for me.

You're not alone. It's one of the things that often kills my writing stone dead, the inability to leave well enough alone after I've written something. I'll just notice a word that would be better if substituted for another, or a typo, or I decide to re-order some of the dialogue for better tension and before I know it I've completely stalled the fic/novel due to my excessive editing.

There is a very useful maxim for these situations: Don't get it right - get it written. Simply remembering that (and having it printed out and stuck to a wall) helps to focus me. I also, personally, find appropriate music is great for maintaining flow, focus and pace.

Anybody else get frustrated because sometimes you can't type at the speed the ideas come rolling into your head (and I mean, regardless of your WPM typing skills)?

Absolutely. It's one of the other things that hampers my writing badly, and I'm not half bad when it comes to typing. Between my neurotic editing and frequent bouts of writing-related 'attention deficit ooh shiny', it's a wonder I get anything written. Ever.

On occasion though, I have a really good day when the writing flies out of my fingertips and I churn out anywhere up to 30,000 words a day - these are exceedingly (and increasingly) rare though, and usually require weeks of editing.

On these notes, I think this short video, from the excellent and highly recommended 'Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure', will feel very familiar to a lot of us:

[AlexanderD]

Oh fickle Muse!

Why dost thou commune with me in the waning hours of evening, heedless of the tasks I must complete upon the 'moro? Dost thou lift your chin in contempt of my plight?

If I should send you away, will you return tomorrow, or shall I be spurned for such insolence?

As someone who does all of my writing long after I should be asleep, I can relate.

[fems]

ETA:
Oh noes! FFnet is offline again! The entire site is slower than a snail when loading but the connection times out when you try to sign in.

Luckily, I can sign in again today. I immediately updated, just in case it happens again! Last week it was the same error for what, two days at least, I think? I don't know what those people are doing over there...

What's wrong with a 200,000 word fic?

My first fic and really, my first venture into writing ended up with 340,000 words...

SF -the problem is that I self edit so much that it brings me to a standstill because I'm fretting over every detail.

Overall, I just start typing with a few pointers in mind and don't stop until I've finished the scene or if I have to look up a word/expression. The latter is dangerous if I need the internet (instead of real dictionary or program in toolbar) to check because then I'll get distracted and start doing other things, which means I'll have to re-read what I've written so far by the time I get back to the fic. That leads to self-editing.

So, I aim to just finish a scene/chapter and then I'll re-read and make edits. Unless I'm working against a deadline I usually do that right after writing and at least once more before uploading, that way it doesn't really halt my progress but I still get my editing (and sometimes entire rewrites, who'll need to be checked later on as well) done.

Just set yourself a goal, whether that's a word count or the end of a scene/chapter before you get to edit.

Anybody else get frustrated because sometimes you can't type at the speed the ideas come rolling into your head (and I mean, regardless of your WPM typing skills)?

Oh, that speed thing gets me all the time. I think it's normal.

Yeah, just last week I was saying something similar. I really wish there was some kind of doohickey we could connect to our brains and make it write out the stories in our minds, instead of us having to type them all out. *dreams on*

Oh fickle Muse!

Why dost thou commune with me in the waning hours of evening, heedless of the tasks I must complete upon the 'moro? Dost thou lift your chin in contempt of my plight?

If I should send you away, will you return tomorrow, or shall I be spurned for such insolence?

I've found feeding my muse chocolate motivates him. However, last night I discovered Kinder chocolate makes him go hyper and totally disregard the pointers I had and instead coming up with a more playful end to a chapter. Don't know what I was thinking; Kinder chocolate is for children, not seals!

As someone who does all of my writing long after I should be asleep, I can relate.

I do most of my writing late in the evening or the early hours of the morning too. For some reason I just end up staring at my screen during daylight, which is quite frustrating when you finally have a morning off and plan to get some writing done.

[SF_and_Coffee]

Luckily, I can sign in again today. I immediately updated, just in case it happens again! Last week it was the same error for what, two days at least, I think? I don't know what those people are doing over there...

Well, for once I guess I'm glad that I'm somewhat off my normal schedule for updates, then...

My first fic and really, my first venture into writing ended up with 340,000 words...

ATWLB is by no means the first story I've written, but it is my very first fanfic...

Overall, I just start typing with a few pointers in mind and don't stop until I've finished the scene or if I have to look up a word/expression. The latter is dangerous if I need the internet (instead of real dictionary or program in toolbar) to check because then I'll get distracted and start doing other things

I know what you mean. I have to do a lot of online research for ATWLB and some of my other stuff, so there is a constant danger of distraction. Then again, sometimes the things I find while distracted lead to something else neat being included in the story! But all too often, it's just distraction.

Word to the wise: if you should find you've wandered onto TVtropes.com, get out FAST! Either that, or resign yourself to losing at least an hour or so, and be sure to leave a trail of breadcrumbs...

Yeah, just last week I was saying something similar. I really wish there was some kind of doohickey we could connect to our brains and make it write out the stories in our minds, instead of us having to type them all out. *dreams on*

I want one! Heck, I'd use it to make movies or something.

I've found feeding my muse chocolate motivates him. However, last night I discovered Kinder chocolate makes him go hyper and totally disregard the pointers I had and instead coming up with a more playful end to a chapter. Don't know what I was thinking; Kinder chocolate is for children, not seals!

You have the most adorable Muse!

I do most of my writing late in the evening or the early hours of the morning too. For some reason I just end up staring at my screen during daylight, which is quite frustrating when you finally have a morning off and plan to get some writing done.

A published writer friend of mine has a theory, to which I subscribe: It's much easier to write at night when most people have gone to sleep, because then the sort of mental/psychic 'static' that normally fills the world becomes thinner, and it becomes easier to hear one's Muse and to interface with one's ideas.

[fems]

You have the most adorable Muse!

He's very soft too. Whenever I lack inspiration I pet his head (he's sitting next to my keyboard) and most of the time it works too.

A published writer friend of mine has a theory, to which I subscribe: It's much easier to write at night when most people have gone to sleep, because then the sort of mental/psychic 'static' that normally fills the world becomes thinner, and it becomes easier to hear one's Muse and to interface with one's ideas.

Huh, that's definitely an interesting theory.

[Princess Awinita]

Apparently login attempting is only resulting in failure for short periods lately since the longer outage of unable to login to fanfic. I can login just fine

Anyhow, my muse normally works best with certain types of music

[Falcon Horus]

What's wrong with a 200,000 word fic?

If it could actually lead somewhere - nothing... But that's the problem at the moment...

There's really nothing wrong with an epically-long novel per se. Just make it good.

I had to learn to keep it short in order to be able to write drabbles. But once the muse gets a hold of me, there's no stopping her and she'll go off on a quest for words, lost of words.

Nothing wrong with self-editing as you write, either.

Except that there has to come a point in time where you need to let go and stop the neverending editing, or it might completely twist your tale into something else entirely.

Anybody else get frustrated because sometimes you can't type at the speed the ideas come rolling into your head (and I mean, regardless of your WPM typing skills)?

My fingers always play catch up - it's definitely frustrating especially when you notice you've written three words in one.