(no subject)

[aadler]

11:45PM Central Afghan Time

The last few days have kept me busy enough that I had to streamline my activities (as an example, I haven’t watched any Alias episodes on DVD since Wednesday, and I was just about to start getting into new material). I’ve kept writing, though. “Beg to Differ” is at 9,000 words now; for awhile I thought it might stretch out to 15,000 or more, but I’m feeling the end drawing nigh, and it’s just a matter of what verbiage is required to get me there. I might very well finish tomorrow — and I’ll definitely try to do so, that being my original goal — but it certainly won’t take me more than a couple of days beyond that, if at all.

Once I finish, I may not post immediately; I’ll need to revise at least a bit, and I want to be particularly careful about character voice. liz_marcs and bellatemple have both friended me, and I believe I’ll investigate asking them to take a preliminary look and offer suggestions.

I feel good, though. I’m on the home stretch, and something that wasn’t even in my head a couple of months ago is now very near to being a completed product. I’m much more proud of my children than of my stories, but the feeling is very similar.

The next time I post will be on New Year’s Eve. Cosmic.

Comments

[jgracio.livejournal.com]

Am I allowed to hate you just a little? Just to keep with tradition, I'm obliged to hate everyone who writes that much faster than me, I'm sure you understand. :)

[aadler]

I think there’s sufficient evidence to conclude that I have distinct obsessive-compulsive tendencies. Mostly, though, it’s just a matter of reveling in my situation: I am in circumstances where (when not on urgent duty) I’m able to devote a lot of sit-down time to my favorite pursuits.

Plus, I’m learning as I proceed. A few years back, I would let an idea work its way through my head until I felt I had a good enough handle on it to turn it into a story. I got some good stories that way, but sometimes the working process would last for years. Lately, I’m finding that, if I have a decent idea of what the thing will be, I can just jump in and feel my way through it as I go. It’s exhilarating, and new things pop out, and then I have a brand-new fic-child and can rest for a few weeks until I start feeling like I have to begin another.

I turned out “Ex Post Facto” in two days, in Spring of 2004. Then I went for over a year without any output. Kept trying, couldn’t make it work. Now I’ve done six stories in six months.

It’s a drug. I love it.