Writer’s Meme

[aadler]

 
I got this from jedibuttercup, who credits igrockspock:

1.	How often do you write in a week? Depends on the week. Right now, I’m writing absolutely nothing. NOTHING. The details of my schedule are shifting, however, and I hope to get back into the flow in the next few weeks. For writing under more normal circumstances … if I’m writing at all (and I will go long stretches without doing so), I try to aim for a minimum of 300-400 words a day, regardless of what else is going on in my life. That carries a lot of value when I’m not really enthusiastic but need to be doing something. When I’ve actually caught the spirit, then 2,000 to 5,000 words a day is more common. So, depending on my circumstances and the story I’m addressing, my weekly output can go anywhere from 2,000 words to 15,000.
2.	Do you carry a notebook with you? Is it full of stuff to do with writing? I used to. Right now it’s not really practical. I should renew the habit, though, because I had a very interesting idea a few days ago — not fantastic, but something that could have produced a nice little story if followed out — and now I can’t remember what it was. Doubtless something will remind me of it within the next few days, but that might not happen. I kept telling my daughter, ALWAYS write down your ideas, and then I failed to do so. Dumb.
3.	Do you only write when inspired? No, but when possible I wait for some kind of excitement before I start writing. Not a good habit; you should always follow the enthusiasm when it’s there, but should also maintain a steady, workmanlike flow.
4.	Can you self-edit? Oh, heck, yeah. Probably I would benefit from the efforts of a suitable beta when it comes to pacing, theme, dialogue, characterization, and so on (at least from the standpoint of getting a perspective different from my own), but I manage to limp by without one, and where spelling and grammar and punctuation are concerned, I’m quite a bit better qualified than almost anyone else I know.
5.	How do you feel about critique? I welcome it. Maybe I’d feel differently if I had to deal with a lot of it, but it seems that such readership as I attract isn’t given to in-depth analysis, or doesn’t feel that I would welcome it if offered.
6.	How do you feel about rejection? I can’t say that I’ve had any experience with rejection in the online sense. I don’t maintain any cherished membership in communities, so my identity isn’t tied up group identity. I don’t participate in contests or fic challenges (remixredux is the nearest thing to an exception). In the normal course of things, I only hear from people if they like what I’ve done, and I’ve never gotten spoiled to a huge quantity of response and so never developed the sense that lack of response equals rejection.
7.	Are you misunderstood? Only in a limited (but unfortunate) area. Following my attendance at the second WriterCon (in Atlanta, 2006), I posted an account of my experiences. Unfortunately, I posted it on the WriterCon site itself; a minor breach of a bit of etiquette with which I was unfamiliar, but with a disproportionate impact because many, MANY people took enormous exception to some of my observations. Or not. Since the majority of the response, of course, came from those who felt most passionately about the issues they were addressing, my opinion is that by far the majority of them were dealing with their own issues rather than mine. I had expressed some annoyance at being unable, despite my best efforts, to avoid the enthusiasms of slash writers/readers; there was a lesser thread that touched on my unease at being one of very few males in a room full of women laughing uproariously at a fanvid that involved two men being drugged into sodomizing one another. These lesser comments (maybe one-sixth of the total post, maybe less) were seized upon and denounced as the hateful rantings of a homophobic misogynist, intent on asserting male privilege, and demanding that the entire ’Con be rearranged to suit his own preferences. The whole business would still be going on (there was a reference to it in posts describing the most recent WriterCon, three years later) if I’d had the least interest in fighting it out. I didn’t. I don’t. Those who took greatest exception have apparently joined in some unofficial boycott that involves not acknowledging that I still exist. In general, I am content to be ignored by persons willing to give themselves over to such pettiness.
8.	Is your writing misunderstood? Sometimes, perhaps, but only in very minor areas. Or, if there are larger misunderstandings, they’ve never been made known to me. I write almost solely in the world of Buffy, and hew very closely to canon insofar as history and characterization are concerned. I try to tell an effective story, not to make any sweeping changes (either in that ’verse or in the opinions of my readers), so there just isn’t that much prompt for misunderstanding.
9.	Do you consider writing a craft? An art? All art involves craft. The best craft itself reaches the level of art. You have to know the rules, if only to have a common medium for communication, but pretty much all writers feel their way to the story they’re trying to tell.
10.	Have your relationships suffered because of writing? Never to my knowledge.
11.	Has your job suffered? There have been times when I was giving a job less attention than it deserved because I wanted to devote more attention to writing. I’m trying to avoid that, this time through, which is why I’m doing very little writing at the moment. As I said, however, I believe I’m almost to a point where I can find the right balance.
12.	Do you ever get smacked with inspiration? Hugely. I just don’t believe it’s a good idea to rely on it too much.
13.	What percentage of writing is talent, inspiration, and hard work? Stephen King, in On Writing, said something to the effect that learning technique won’t make a good writer a great writer, and it won’t make a bad writer a good writer; but it can make a good writer a better writer, and turn a poor writer into a decent writer. Talent will always distinguish the good from the great; talent, however, won’t substitute for discipline, education, and practice. Inspiration … that’s a pony I ride as far as I can, however often I can catch it, but I don’t like to rely on it.
14.	And most importantly — do you enjoy writing? There was a time when it brought more pleasure than anything else in my life. It’s not at the top of my pyramid right now, but I doubt it sits any further down than third or fourth.

Comments

[aadler]

I did notice that, yes. In fact, the words I used to describe the situation (but only to myself, since those of whom I used these words no longer communicate with me in any way), were: “Consider the irony that I, the designated bête noir of bigotry, intolerance, and hatred, am trying to relate to those who disagree with me by focusing on the areas where we have common interests and opinions; while they, seeing themselves — no doubt sincerely — as the champions of openness, tolerance, and inclusiveness, have chosen to demonstrate their dedication to these principles by means of intolerance, exclusion, and downright damn public rudness.”

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Exactly!!! That's exactly how it is! I'm going to print that out and hang it on my front door.