Superhero Muses

Trying to figure out a graceful and interesting entry point into a story this week.  I remember reading the advice that in general the first 10% of any story can be trimmed, as it's likely to be exposition--I can tell that's usually true with my stories, but it's hard advice to follow.  The compromise I'm thinking of doing for this story is one I've seen often in pro comic books--a quick action scene that establishes the tension, and then moving back in time ("Twelve hours ago" or the comics standbys "earlier" or "yesterday") to where the setup is.  Any of you ever do that in your stories?  I don't often think to, but I usually like the effect.

How goes the writing week for all of you?  I'm hoping everyone's inspired and productive, and if you are (or if you're blocked and need to vent) it would make my week brighter to hear about it!

Got a story and a chapter finished this week, so that's a good feeling! Sometimes getting to the end of a story can feel like Zeno's Paradox--every time I write I get halfway there, but the end recedes into the distance and I never seem quite able to reach it. And then of course there's the difficulty of finding a last line/paragraph that actually feels satisfying and not just like "Well, this is where I ran out of things to say." :P

Any good endings or beginnings this week--in writing or otherwise?

Working hard on various things, particularly a small-fandom fic for a New Year's Resolution.  After spending so much time playing in the DC sandbox it's always kind of odd when I switch to a universe with different "rules" for things like how the world works and how people interact.  Writing a character with the ability to be anywhere in the world in a few minutes can be both freeing and frustrating (at those times when I need him to NOT be somewhere quickly!) 

How's your writing going?  Feeling productive or blocked?  I hope the former!

Slowly and steadily, writing is getting done! Finished another small piece for the fun of it, and wrote the first sentence of another chapter. Just the first sentence, but I liked it, so that's unusual enough to count for something. How about you?

I've been reading a book called "The Pocket Muse: Ideas & Inspirations for Writing," most of which are not terribly useful, but it's still fun. One of the exercises she suggested was to pick ten random letters, then come up with a sentence that uses a word starting with each of those letters in order (So I T B S could be "In the bleak summer...") to make a hypothetical first sentence to a story. It was kind of a fun challenge, so if you feel like playing along (please don't if you only have the time to tell me how your week was, that's more important!), here are the letters I chose at random:

Y A I S D C M T U W

I put my sentence under spoiler space if you don't want to see it first:

Young asters in spring: daisy chains made to urgent whispers.

It's a sentence fragment, woe! Though plenty of stories start with sentence fragments, I suppose...

I wrote paragraphs here and there this week, but no time for a concentrated burst of creative thought, I'm afraid. I think my best was 40 minutes in one stretch! How about you--how much time in a block do you need to feel optimal, and how much time can you get by on in a pinch? I hope you all have nice big comfy blocks of time!

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Ugh, I've had no time at all to write, but I found an old comic I needed access to for a very visual story--someone had posted scans of it online and I bookmarked it for later, but then the site went under and they disappeared, grrrrr.  I was in despair, but I found the original comic and am thus re-inspired!  I was particularly unhappy to have lost it because I knew the last line of the story already, a rare and precious happening for me.  I think my last four stories I handed to the beta with a note at the end saying "I like everything about this but the ending, help!"  But this time, I'm starting with the ending already in mind, and that makes me happy!

The weather is beautiful, I'm getting out of work early, and I refuse to be intimidated by the fact that my mother-in-law is showing up next week to stay for a bit (and I found out three days ago!)  IT IS A GOOD DAY.  How about you?  What's inspiring you?  Do you have your ducks in a row and your endings in place?  :)

This week has been all comedy, no angst--I find comedy difficult to write, the mood and ability for it doesn't come along often, so I've been enjoying it!  What tone have you been aiming for this week:  comedy, tragedy, romance, raunch?  And what comes most naturally for you?

How did people write fic before Youtube existed, when they couldn't go and see actual sea lions, hawks, and golden retrievers in action before trying to write them?  (Yes, I am writing a menagerie into a fic this week!)  I think if Youtube and Wikipedia disappeared, I might just have to quit the fanfiction biz.

What have you been researching, or are you past research and rattling the keyboard nonstop this week?

It is a measure of my desperation to write lately that I actually pounded out a few paragraphs while on a bus surrounded by new first-year students! And felt pretty good about it, actually. I'm writing a side story from a long series I wrote a long time ago--it's kind of fun to explore characters that weren't able to take the spotlight during the actual story because I was limited in my point of view. Have you ever felt frustrated when you have an interesting reaction or thought, but the point of view is with someone else and so you can't fit it in--and what do you do when and if that happens?

Ahhhh, I finally got back to writing some identity porn this week--not porn identity porn, just lots of playing with identity issues to humorous effect.  Or it was supposed to be humorous, but turned oddly serious in the middle somehow.  Have you ever had a story that you meant to be one tone and yet somehow it ended up being something quite different?  How did it work out?  Usually I have to just trust my instincts when that happens...