Fanfic Writers' Virtual Water Cooler

[Princess Awinita]

I have to admit to feeling a bit stressed at the moment. I was training new officers for cover duties last week. Discovered that one would be a problem if left on his own. But the PTB didn't listen.

This is what I do when I feel streesed; I beat up my characters in some way, seriously, Lake has been turned into a cat, shot, burnt, dropped o ff a cliff, hit by a truck, hit by a bus, roasted on a spit, hit by a van, remade digitally, totally hammered out of her mind on energon {she's a human, why the smeg did she drink it ?? I dunno...} shot herself, stabbed herself, hit by a van, hit by a tour bus, fell out of a biplane {somehow survived a three mile fall too O.o}

And the list goes on

And that's just ONE character

[Whytewytch]

amara, you're preaching to the choir here. I'm the same. I have only read a couple of fics with poor spelling/grammar, mostly because they're a friend's and she knows it and doesn't want to fix it. Other than that, I'm with you on every point. If my 11 year-old can spell better than you, I don't read your fic. If my teen-ager (who writes in text-speak as they all do) has a better grasp of grammar, I'm done reading. If your characterization has a lot in common with my accuracy with a baseball, then I'm done. (Hint: they NEVER asked me to coach Little League again after that one time. A little ice, the kid was okay. He shoulda had better reflexes at his age.) If you can't remember the spelling of your own characters' names, we've got a problem. It doesn't matter that I call the children by each others' names or by the name of the cat, who's been dead now for half a dozen years. That's me.

Mostly, I read SGA--and there, mostly Lorne fics (shocking, I know, given my sig). I'm powering my way through SG-1, at the beginning of S6 now. When she does show up, my muse is batting her eyelashes at Major Davis. She's such a little slattern sometimes. (See? I used a naughty word, but the kids will need to look it up in the dictionary. I'm providing education.)

Betas: like a good man (or woman) if you're single, they're hard to find. And good to find har--I digress. My beta has also been with me for many years and we are straight up with each other, often to the point where someone else might say, "Oh my word! That's so mean." She is the president of her local chapter of RWA and urged me to join mine. I'm currently unpublished, but I'm taking courses and working on my original MS at the same time. The only writing I do on my day job is to my sales associates and most of them wouldn't know if I misspelled a word or had a sentence fragment or anything like that.

[Whytewytch]

Thank you for your kind thoughts.

**hugs Starfist**

[Whytewytch]

This is what I do when I feel streesed; I beat up my characters in some way, seriously, Lake has been turned into a cat, shot, burnt, dropped o ff a cliff, hit by a truck, hit by a bus, roasted on a spit, hit by a van, remade digitally, totally hammered out of her mind on energon {she's a human, why the smeg did she drink it ?? I dunno...} shot herself, stabbed herself, hit by a van, hit by a tour bus, fell out of a biplane {somehow survived a three mile fall too O.o}

And the list goes on

And that's just ONE character

Last time my hubby pissed me off, one poor character was tortured. I've also had them beat up, stabbed, left for dead after alien attack, etc. Usually when hubby pisses me off. So the idea has merit...

[Princess Awinita]

Last time my hubby pissed me off, one poor character was tortured. I've also had them beat up, stabbed, left for dead after alien attack, etc. Usually when hubby pisses me off. So the idea has merit...

Once though one of my characters complained and she and I had a chat literally, in the middle of a scene basically like Strangeer than Fiction, you recall that movie ? the character talking withthe writer, made for some fun too. It was meant to be a spoof anyhow that piece so it was made more like a movie set with the characters as paid actors and me as the director and whatnot. It does get pretty fun

Though I;ve tortured characters, but nothing like what I have done lately, imagine getting stabbed then turneing into a cat after getting drunk shortly after getting stabbed, then ontop of that imagine getting thrown into the deep fryer, burping and setting t he thing on fire with your breath....

Dragon babies love to do that

[Amara D'Angeli]

Whytewytch, oh, I so know what you mean. Right now, managing an office pays the bills. The owner of the business is always buzzing my office to ask me how to spell something and I have to proof every letter that goes out the door. He doesn't know why I'm right, but he trusts that I am. (And boy, is that nice!)

I'm a published poet and a produced playwright but the holy grail, for me, is produced screenwriter and/or published novelist. But everyone has to start somewhere and considering I haven't quite knocked at 30, I'm feeling like I'm on the right path. I took an odd path through my 20s that included five different fields of study, nearly 200 hours of college credits, a pâtissière degree, an English degree, and now even more classes as I attempt to earn my credentials as a screenwriter. (My parents have accused me of being a professional student and they're not, exactly, incorrect.)

You made me laugh out loud (and wake the cantankerous German Shepherd currently sharing my couch) with your little league aside.

My beta and I would probably appear mean-to-each-other to outsiders, too. We're not mean, just honest. And when you work with someone for a long time the shorthand of being able to skip the effusive praise is really nice. We already know the other one thinks we're amazing. ;-)

[Whytewytch]

Once though one of my characters complained and she and I had a chat literally, in the middle of a scene basically like Strangeer than Fiction, you recall that movie ? the character talking withthe writer, made for some fun too. It was meant to be a spoof anyhow that piece so it was made more like a movie set with the characters as paid actors and me as the director and whatnot. It does get pretty fun

Though I;ve tortured characters, but nothing like what I have done lately, imagine getting stabbed then turneing into a cat after getting drunk shortly after getting stabbed, then ontop of that imagine getting thrown into the deep fryer, burping and setting t he thing on fire with your breath....

Dragon babies love to do that

Never saw the movie--I'll have to look it up.

And while I've been pretty mean, I've never been that extreme. Yet. Give hubby time to get me good and pissed to a severe extent when my muse is around.

[Amara D'Angeli]

This is what I do when I feel streesed; I beat up my characters in some way, seriously, Lake has been turned into a cat, shot, burnt, dropped o ff a cliff, hit by a truck, hit by a bus, roasted on a spit, hit by a van, remade digitally, totally hammered out of her mind on energon {she's a human, why the smeg did she drink it ?? I dunno...} shot herself, stabbed herself, hit by a van, hit by a tour bus, fell out of a biplane {somehow survived a three mile fall too O.o}

And the list goes on

And that's just ONE character

I tend to force my characters to go through whatever it is I can't force myself to deal with emotionally. As a matter of fact, that's how I started writing Stargate. I'd been suffering panic attacks and I couldn't deal with why, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't make it stop. So, I forced Sam to deal with it. It was better therapy than my shrink!

[Whytewytch]

Whytewytch, oh, I so know what you mean. Right now, managing an office pays the bills. The owner of the business is always buzzing my office to ask me how to spell something and I have to proof every letter that goes out the door. He doesn't know why I'm right, but he trusts that I am. (And boy, is that nice!)

I'm a published poet and a produced playwright but the holy grail, for me, is produced screenwriter and/or published novelist. But everyone has to start somewhere and considering I haven't quite knocked at 30, I'm feeling like I'm on the right path. I took an odd path through my 20s that included five different fields of study, nearly 200 hours of college credits, a pâtissière degree, an English degree, and now even more classes as I attempt to earn my credentials as a screenwriter. (My parents have accused me of being a professional student and they're not, exactly, incorrect.)

You made me laugh out loud (and wake the cantankerous German Shepherd currently sharing my couch) with your little league aside.

My beta and I would probably appear mean-to-each-other to outsiders, too. We're not mean, just honest. And when you work with someone for a long time the shorthand of being able to skip the effusive praise is really nice. We already know the other one thinks we're amazing. ;-)

My manager used to ask me to look over her communications when I worked at the office; now, I work out of my home and just cringe whenever I open her emails.

I knocked over 30 and stole its purse ages ago--I was going for the ID. I finished my BA in English, looked for a job in publishing for months, got married, moved to Texas (that's where hubby was stationed, so...), got a job in a bookstore, got pregnant, had #1 kid, moved to Florida, had #2 kid, struggled to feed offspring while educating hubby (not me--the university he attended when he wasn't working), then finally began to see some light at the end of the tunnel (like the song, I hope it ain't no train). Now, I have a gainfully employed hubby, as well as a teen and a pre-teen who encourage Mom to write. Mostly because a non-writing Mom is a grumpy Mom and a grumpy Mom finds chores for them to do, but whatever works.

So, the pain of children makes you laugh? Me, too!

It's nice when you know that someone knows you're wonderful and you can hear it through phrases like, "What in Hello do you think you're doing here?" and "WTF's with all the head-hopping? We went over this already!" Ah, she loves me, she really does. Or something.

[Whytewytch]

Night night, all. I'm getting punch drunk. It's way past this old lady's bed time.

[Amara D'Angeli]

So, the pain of children makes you laugh? Me, too!

My nephew and my god-babies have been mortified to discover that, indeed, it does. I'd worry it makes me a bad person but they all seem to find me the most entertaining aunt because I'm the most likely to laugh at them; so I'll take my lashes via wet noodle, please and thank you.

Florida, huh? Please tell me you didn't float away in this weather we've been having. I'd love to say the same, but currently about six square feet of my living room is holding water...

*sigh*

[Princess Awinita]

I've never been that extreme. Yet. Give hubby time to get me good and pissed to a severe extent when my muse is around.

I'll just say this; when I'm on my period, so are my female characters....

Has anyone seen a female Autobot go and mangle up a trash dumpster ?

[selene0789]

Whytewytch, oh, I so know what you mean. Right now, managing an office pays the bills. The owner of the business is always buzzing my office to ask me how to spell something and I have to proof every letter that goes out the door. He doesn't know why I'm right, but he trusts that I am. (And boy, is that nice!)

I'm a published poet and a produced playwright but the holy grail, for me, is produced screenwriter and/or published novelist. But everyone has to start somewhere and considering I haven't quite knocked at 30, I'm feeling like I'm on the right path. I took an odd path through my 20s that included five different fields of study, nearly 200 hours of college credits, a pâtissière degree, an English degree, and now even more classes as I attempt to earn my credentials as a screenwriter. (My parents have accused me of being a professional student and they're not, exactly, incorrect.)

You made me laugh out loud (and wake the cantankerous German Shepherd currently sharing my couch) with your little league aside.

My beta and I would probably appear mean-to-each-other to outsiders, too. We're not mean, just honest. And when you work with someone for a long time the shorthand of being able to skip the effusive praise is really nice. We already know the other one thinks we're amazing. ;-)

All right. You've sparked my interest. What credentials are there to be a screenwriter? I've been looking into some community-college courses on screenwriting, but I didn't know there were *credentials*. Clearly, my area is not real big on that industry.

Also, I've been tossing around the idea of going back to school to get a second degree in English or Creative Writing or something. On one hand, it's probably something I should've done the first time around, given how long I've been writing and the fact that towards the end of school I was having to write my fics during class just to stay awake and pay attention. (Think that doesn't make any sense? Well, don't ask me. I did some of my best writing during class and I still aced my courses. )

But on the other hand I've been terrified that doing it as a degree would suck all the fun out of it for me. Which is something I never, ever want to have happen.

And yet, here I am trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life, and all I can think about is writing. Sure, there's the brief toying with the idea of going to nursing school, or becoming an EMT. My mother thinks I'd make either a great nurse or a great teacher. And if I was a nurse I could become a travel nurse, which is appealing. Her one condition of her support of me going back to school is that whatever I study has to be *useful*. I'm terrified to ask whether she thinks writing is *useful*.

And yeah, I'm old enough to be at the point where I shouldn't care if she supports my decisions, so long as it makes me happy, but at the same time I know that if she *doesn't* support me, she'll nag me until the end of time. Or until I become a best-selling author and I buy her a beach house. You know. Whichever comes first.

So my question, amara, is what kind of courses you're taking for learning screenwriting. Do you have any other resources you use to learn? And where have you been published? Curious minds want to know!

[Amara D'Angeli]

Selene,

I'm working on my BFA in Motions Pictures and Television at the Academy of Art University. There are several disciplines within the MPT program of which screenwriting is one. You don't need any special certifications or whatnot and the AAU program helps you get your WGA card. The drawback to going this direction with it is that I have to take all the other classes to get the degree, too, because most of my previous work doesn't transfer. I have learned, along the way, I really enjoy editing. But I'm a writer at heart so I know I'll continue to go that way.

Of course, you certainly don't need a degree in MPT or screenwriting to become a screenwriter. It's just the path I chose. As far as learning about screenwriting from other resources, I read voraciously on the subject. And I write plays for a local theater. There's a difference, certainly, between writing for the screen and writing for the stage, but there's something to be said of the experience of turning out a script you live or die by each night of the production. It's taught me humility, that's for sure.

I've been published in literary journals and poetry mags over the course of the past few years. Poetry wasn't ever something I really wanted to get involved in, but I had a fantastic creative writing instructor who actually taught me to write the stuff and I turned out some good work. I don't write poetry much anymore because it just isn't where my heart is.

[SF_and_Coffee]

I knocked over 30 and stole its purse ages ago--I was going for the ID.

You know, maybe I should try that! Think I could pull it off?