#becoming a writer

[calaisreno]

2022: Writing Year in Review

This year I posted 19 stories, less than my usual, but that was one of my goals. I'm satisfied with what I wrote.

I'm most proud of posting The Last Envoy because that story had been in the works for years and it was time to figure it out and share it. Doing that was a great writing experience and a great fandom experience for me. I'm so grateful to everyone who read it and let me know what it meant to them.

[I also read a lot of stories this year and added authors to my list of favorites. I'll share those in another post.]

My writing goal for 2022 was to post less. Not because I am bowing out of the fandom, tired of writing, or hoping to become a 'real, published writer.' (*sarcasm: fanfiction IS real writing. Fight me.)

I wanted to post less because I needed to write differently and that required a new mental attitude. According to my Scrivener writing history, I actually wrote as many words in 2022 as I have in past years; I simply haven't posted them all. (They are steeping, or ripening, or whatever first drafts do when you leave them be for a while.)

One of the ways I learned to write was simply by writing a ton of stories and posting most of them. This is the Just Get Over Yourself and Do It School of Writing. I've been in the Sherlock fandom on AO3 for five years now, and I've written far more than the 133 stories and 1.6 M words I've posted. I'm proud of some stories, and I cringe at others. They all stay up for anyone to read because in writing them, I became better; they are a record of progress.

But writing well isn't the only goal of writing. Nor are numbers the goal (words, stories, hits, kudos, comments). As I consider where I'm going with my writing this year, I remind myself why I write:

To tell a story I'm excited to tell.

To try out something new that might not succeed, but I just want to see if I can do it.

To thank someone who's been supportive by writing something they will love.

To start a conversation with readers.

To get something out of my system.

To have fun writing a story that's just fun to write.

To work out feelings about something that happened, either in RL or fiction.

To imitate something I admire.

It's a new year! I've got stories in progress, but I'm not making goals. Working on goals implies that "done" is more important than "doing," that "being a writer" is more rewarding than "becoming a writer." For me, goals do not produce joy. If I have to make a goal, it is to carry on becoming a writer, and (I hope) never actually arriving. Being is not as much fun as becoming. Well, if I have to have a goal, it will be to have fun writing in 2023.

As Ao would say (quoting Ursula Le Guin): "It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

I'd love to hear your reflections on the year just ended or goals you have for the new one. Tagging a few; probably not all I should tag; consider yourself tagged.

@totallysilvergirl @thetimemoves @discordantwords @therealsaintscully @shiplocks-of-love  @sherlockwatson-holmesblog @jobooksncoffee @keirgreeneyes @raina-at @7-percent  @a-different-equation @shelleysprometheus  @helloliriels @blogstandbygo @jrow @mydogwatson @momma2boys @thegildedbee @copperplatebeech 

#journeys #becoming a writer #ursula le guin #the last envoy #my fics #writing in 2023 #2022 year in review

[devastator1775]

Should I or shouldn't I?

That is the question that's been floating around in my brain all day. Just hanging on with little hooks and not letting go.

And why is this question hanging around?

Because I am really, really considering setting the first steps of fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine ... and write an actual sci-fi novel, and become able to really call myself a real author.

And I ... I don't know. One the one hand: it's my dream, and I've had half of this idea for a story for a while now, and it could be fun.

On the other hand: it will take a few years, a lot of hard work that'll push me to the edge of my abilities and I have no idea how I would even get this publishes. How to even start at such a thing? And, you know, it might flop spectaculary.

Or people might like it.

They say 'everyone can write a book' and I would like to believe that ...I just ....fear I might quit.

Should I take the plunge? Or just stick to fanfiction?

#becoming a writer #aspirations to be a writer #writing novel #novel #writing #writer #author #big decision #decisive moment

[greyjadeexpert]

I now constantly have the thesaurus tab open when I write.

#writing memes #writers #writing #writeblr #i swear im a writer #writer things #becoming a writer

[sandramiksaauthor]

What Does it Take to be a Full-Time Writer? (5 Key Ingredients ✍🏼)

#youtube #becoming a writer #writing community #writertok #authortube #writetube #full time writer #writers tips #writing tip #write more #writers life #writing career #books #booktok

[rozmorris]

‘Let the narrative bend where it wants to’ – memoirist Joseph Lezza @lezzdoothis

Joseph Lezza’s first published book is a grief memoir, surrounding the death of his father from pancreatic cancer and the years that followed. It began as an MFA assignment to write a lyric essay, and once he’d finished he found he needed to write another and another, until he had a whole book, full of unexpected turns, resolutions and reconciliations – I’m Never Fine: Scenes And Spasms on…

View On WordPress

#Becoming a writer #CNF #grief memoir #how I made my writing career #how to write a grief memoir #how to write a memoir #Joseph Lezza #LGBTQ+ #memoir #MFA #narrative non-fiction #personal essays #Russell T Davies #Vine Leaves Press

[wolfeyedwitch]

when did you first start writing?

I had to go check my Ao3 page for this, because I didn't remember!

The first writing I posted anywhere was a Supernatural/Danny Phantom crossover fic that's 10k words and I wrote in like 2 days of procrastinating from my college classes. I'd written original stuff before, as a collaboration with a friend of mine who let me borrow his universe to let my OC go run and play in, but this was the first time I shared my writing beyond just my friend group. The responses I got were absolutely mindblowing and I kept chasing that dopamine rush 😆

If you're interested, the fic is called Hunters and Halfas. It's grown into a series that's still in progress. You can find it here if you like!

#asks answered #my writing #becoming a writer #hunters and halfas

[institutewriters]

Series are more popular than ever. We’re in the age of binge-watching television shows and instant gratification. Following TV trends, planning a series can be beneficial for writers too. There's a lot to consider when planning a series, author Jamie K. Schmidt shares her tips for planning your next successful book series.

#tips #planning a series #writing course #How To Write A Book #how to become a writer #becoming a writer

[bloodybellycomb]

One massive, legitimate way to improve as a writer or artist or in any creative endeavor really, is to become absolutely obsessed with something and to allow yourself to be weird about it. Genuinely mean this btw.

#dc comics #disco elysium #shakespeare #hamlet #scott pilgrim #<- all this things have made me a better #writer and artist for both fan creation #and for my own original work #literal life hack #allow yourself to become obsessive and cringe to a certain degree #birdy chirps

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

the fact that shakespeare was a playwright is sometimes so funny to me. just the concept of the "greatest writer of the English language" being a random 450-year-old entertainer, a 16th cent pop cultural sensation (thanks in large part to puns & dirty jokes & verbiage & a long-running appeal to commoners). and his work was made to be watched not read, but in the classroom teachers just hand us his scripts and say "that's literature"

just...imagine it's 2450 A.D. and English Lit students are regularly going into 100k debt writing postdoc theses on The Simpsons screenplays. the original animation hasn't even been preserved, it's literally just scripts and the occasional SDH subtitles.txt. they've been republished more times than the Bible

#due to the Great Data Decay academics write viciously argumentative articles on which episodes aired in what order #at conferences professors have known to engage in physically violent altercations whilst debating the air date number of household viewers #90% of the couch gags have been lost and there is a billion dollar trade in counterfeit “lost copies” #serious note: i'll be honest i always assumed it was english imperialism that made shakespeare so inescapable in the 19th/20th cent #like his writing should have become obscure at the same level of his contemporaries #but british imperialists needed an ENGLISH LANGUAGE (and BRITISH) writer to venerate #and shakespeare wrote so many damn things that there was a humongous body of work just sitting there waiting to be culturally exploited... #i know it didn't happen like this but i imagine a English Parliament House Committee Member For The Education Of The Masses or something #cartoonishly stumbling over a dusty cobwebbed crate labelled the Complete Works of Shakespeare #and going 'Eureka! this shall make excellent propoganda for fabricating a national identity in a time of great social unrest. #it will be a cornerstone of our elitist educational institutions for centuries to come! long live our decaying empire!' #'what good fortune that this used to be accessible and entertaining to mainstream illiterate audience members... #..but now we can strip that away and make it a difficult & alienating foundation of a Classical Education! just like the latin language :)' #anyway maybe there's no such thing as the 'greatest writer of x language' in ANY language? #maybe there are just different styles and yes levels of expertise and skill but also a high degree of subjectivity #and variance in the way that we as individuals and members of different cultures/time periods experience any work of media #and that's okay! and should be acknowledged!!! and allow us to give ourselves permission to broaden our horizons #and explore the stories of marginalized/underappreciated creators #instead of worshiping the List of Top 10 Best (aka Most Famous) Whatevers Of All Time/A Certain Time Period #anyways things are famous for a reason and that reason has little to do with innate “value” #and much more to do with how it plays into the interests of powerful institutions motivated to influence our shared cultural narratives #so i'm not saying 'stop teaching shakespeare'. but like...maybe classrooms should stop using it as busy work that (by accident or designs) #happens to alienate a large number of students who could otherwise be engaging critically with works that feel more relevant to their world #(by merit of not being 4 centuries old or lacking necessary historical context or requiring untaught translation skills) #and yeah...MAYBE our educational institutions could spend less time/money on shakespeare critical analysis and more on... #...any of thousands of underfunded areas of literary research i literally (pun!) don't know where to begin #oh and p.s. the modern publishing world is in shambles and it would be neat if schoolwork could include modern works? #beautiful complicated socially relevant works of literature are published every year. it's not just the 'classics' that have value #and actually modern publications are probably an easier way for students to learn the basics. since lesson plans don't have to include the #important historical/cultural context many teens need for 20+ year old media (which is older than their entire lived experience fyi)

[ballyhubbock]

Becoming a writer – one Irishman’s tale

How I became a writer and whats going to get me published

I’ve been writing forever like many of you have. In my angst teen years, I poured my frustrations into my diary. I was writing because I needed an outlet for the thoughts that crossed my mind and the stories that presented themselves to me. I was fortunate to sneak into the College of Commerce in Rathmines, Dublin, to complete a three-year business studies course which I elongated into four.…

View On WordPress

#Becoming a writer #Murder On Board #one writers story #Paul Lynch #Simon Trewin

[nvvacanesworld]

ALL 2023 I WANNA SEE GOJO ANGST

#becoming a writer #gojo satoru #gege when i catch you #nvvacanesworld #I CANT BREATHEEEEEE MY BABY NOO #gojo angst #IN THE ARMS OF AN ANGEL

[favvn]

I am once again thinking about how in The Naked Time, Spock has an emotional breakdown after contracting the virus and cries about the regret he feels for not loving his human mother vs his shame he feels for his ongoing friendship with Kirk, but before he contracts the virus, Spock finds LOVE MANKIND written on the wall. And it's been written and discussed to death about what it means, I know this, but it's telling that Spock not only loves in spite of his Vulcan upbringing and continued adherence to their customs but that he holds regret and shame deep down inside because the love is still there, regardless.

Whereas Kirk likewise has his virus-induced breakdown over the opposite: his self-inflicted pressure to not love an individual, either due to fear of distraction from duty, losing his position as captain due to the ethical conundrum of "How can a captain date one of their crew?" (no, I do not know the details of how Starfleet manages crew relationships, but I'm assuming rank is an issue, especially where captains are concerned), or even the unspoken taboo of the show's production era, his sexual orientation, hence his focusing on the ship as the only safe and constant outlet for his love. But after this, Kirk finds SINNER REPENT written on the wall, as if to say his altruism isn't the full truth, as if what he desires is what he denies even with the virus lowering his inhibitions.

And like my god. What foils to each other! How damned telling the literal writing on the wall is for them! I am going to eat my fucking sweater!

#trekposting #star trek tos #the naked time #spirk #hello trek fandom i have watched this ep 4 times already and each time i become more unhinged #it's just any time i think about the words they find on the wall i want to scream #if the writers didn't intend on spirk what is all this then #sinner repent for what??? #trek meta

[puppetmaster13u]

 Danny and his haunt are more than a little distressed to find out that Pariah Dark can’t be destroyed and can only be sealed away due to being the Ancient of Darkness. Danny is worried about someone trying to wake him up again, while his friends are more worried about the ghost going after the newborn Ancient of Space again. 

 They scour libraries, search high and low in both the Ghost Zone and the living world for a solution before finally just asking Clockwork. 

 And well, they feel like just a bit of idiots but also elated. 

 Because if Danny can become the new embodiment of space, then what’s to stop them from giving the power of darkness to someone else that’s not Pariah Dark? 

 They make a list of requirements, ask both ghosts and living friends. There’s nothing in their world, no one quite right, but what about other worlds? The realms are supposedly infinite right? So there had to be someone out there. 

 And while it takes a long, long time, they eventually find one when a small bloodied ghost of greens, golds, and reds comes forth shyly, eyes burning with determination. He speaks of heroes and villains- far more than their own world- of a city cloaked in shadow and of a single man trying to help despite it seeming impossible. 

 Who better to become the new Dark besides the dark knight himself after all? 

#Batman Becomes The New Ancient of Darkness Au #Look he's died or nearly done so enough times to be counted liminal at the *least* #yes the ghost is lil Jason shh #dp x dc crossover #dc x dp #danny phantom #batman #dc #dcu #danny fenton #cryptid batman #prompts #ghost jason todd #jason todd #honestly up to the writer on if he stays dead or not #bruce wayne #imagine waking up one day to a green sticky note with multiple writing styles saying ur slated to become the literal embodiment of the dark #so don't be afraid when you get some abilities or something #oh btw here's out number :) #Bruce: #Bruce: ALFREEEED

[crypticarchivist]

For those who are confused why writers and actors are striking, imagine you’re an actor trying to make ends meet and your boss walks up one day and snaps a photo of your face and then says that they now own your face.

They’re gonna use your face to make themselves money for the rest of time and they’re only gonna pay you once for it.

And then theres what they’re doing to the writers. Do you want formulaic, unoriginal, safe, non challenging media thats boring and only exists to sell as many tickets as possible? Ai writing is how you get media thats formulaic, unoriginal, safe, non challenging and boring shit that only exists to make as much money as possible.

These people have decided that making a good movie that you will remember takes second priority to mass producing a metric fuck ton of soulless unimaginative garbage because mass printing garbage makes them more money.

These rich buffoons who wouldn’t know a good story if it hit them upside the head with a diamond-encrusted 2x4 are trying to AUTOMATE FUCKING WRITING AND ACTING, and pay anyone who they keep around nothing but pennies in comparison to their own profits.

So don’t throw a fit if your favorite shows or movies get cancelled or delayed because of this. The people at fault are not the writers and actors but the people who make all their money off the writers and actors and are hoarding said money and trying to replace said actors and writers with cheap knockoffs.

#writers strike #actors strike #you can tolerate missing out on some good movies now if the alternative is bad movies forever #sag strike #wga strike #these rich bastards literally said they would wait until the strikers lose all their money and become homeless

[sandramiksaauthor]

Can Anyone Write a Novel? ✍🏼

#youtube #writing #writers #writing community #writertok #authortok #authortube #can anyone write #novel writing #writing advice #writing inspiration #writing motivation #start writing #becoming a writer #writing tips #writing for beginners #newbie writers #writing channel #amwriting #novelist

[harbingersecho]

"zuzu, you didn't tell your friends about me? i'm hurt."

#avatar the last airbender #atla #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #princess azula #fire hazard siblings #fire siblings #*24 #art #mine #zuko #azula #bg of this is something like. zuko's doing a secret mission and azula's helping for her own reasons. the gaang shows up and its a thing #idk im not a fanfic writer i just draw and have ideas lol #in my head azula becomes a spymaster. idk if she'd work for the fire nation or if she'd be more independant but i love spymaster azula <3 #also i love fire nation reflective in the dark eyes. i imagine water tribe has a similar thing w/ the moon