SNAFU update: part 4 of Beg Me For It
Mar. 31st, 2004 11:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusI am scared of this fic.
I have 24 post-its, a stack a 1/4" high that I'm finally transcribing.
Post-it #1 just worked out to be 10 pages of fic.
*Icarus does math. No. This story can't possibly be 240 pages long. Some of these post-its have to be shorter.*
I'm exhausted just writing this story. Reading it has me limp as a dish-rag.
You guys ever have a story where the action just overwhelms everything else? What do you do? Beat it back with a chair?
I have 24 post-its, a stack a 1/4" high that I'm finally transcribing.
Post-it #1 just worked out to be 10 pages of fic.
*Icarus does math. No. This story can't possibly be 240 pages long. Some of these post-its have to be shorter.*
I'm exhausted just writing this story. Reading it has me limp as a dish-rag.
You guys ever have a story where the action just overwhelms everything else? What do you do? Beat it back with a chair?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2004-03-31 12:22 pm (UTC)just step back and describe a tree or something. have a cigarette. anything.
Icarus-who-it-turns-out-is-not-so-helpful
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Date: 2004-03-31 12:37 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 12:41 pm (UTC)have to earn the badge somehow ;) (apart from offering sexual favours to everyone)
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Date: 2004-03-31 12:41 pm (UTC)Cases in point:
My Snaco fic, which is now up to 70000 words and counting, that was supposed to be a little ficlet as a smut outlet.
My Dracocentric fic, which was supposed to be over at 50000 words but that is now at 60000 and has only reached plot point number two of about thirty.
*terrified*
Yes, I know EXACTLY what you mean.
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:42 pm (UTC)So I'm not sure. I'm re-reading, and so far it's working. You could tell I was getting tired last night.
Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:50 pm (UTC)I wouldn't worry about it too much, honestly. Even when there's a lot of action, the characterization is bound to happen. It's not possible to go through the motions of an event without revealing at least a little bit about your character. So if you have lots of action, by the end of it all, your reader should be able to discern a lot more about the character than they could at the beginning, even if it isn't explicitly stated.
I'm sure it'll be wonderful. :>
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:54 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-31 01:49 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-31 01:57 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-31 01:52 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:38 pm (UTC)Sorry, so unhelpful. =) My own stories are generally too short to suffer that problem.
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:58 pm (UTC)Icarus *look mysterious*
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Date: 2004-03-31 03:32 pm (UTC)*tries to peek*
(Btw, Percy, I would probably take a book as well.)
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:40 pm (UTC)It's a hard thing to write. Especially if there is a lot going on, and lots of confusion, and many important things seem to happen all at once. And you want to capture it all, but you don't want to get too bogged down either.
UGH! I feel you baby. I love this story. It's one of my favorites in the whole fandom. So I'm beside myself with excitement that you are working on it, but I DO understand the stress of writing action.
(((hugs)))
Kele
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:48 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:53 pm (UTC)You tried something new with The Hat Trick and that was brilliant! You seem to be one of those lucky people who thrive when put to the test.
::is jealous::
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Date: 2004-03-31 02:47 pm (UTC)That's the real issue. But I take heart from your words!
Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 01:59 pm (UTC)*sends you good vibes for well behaving fic*
and yeah... my muses do that sometimes...
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Date: 2004-03-31 02:45 pm (UTC)Here's the whole thing, more or less in order. Well, the drabbles are all grouped together rather than scattered between the parts where they belong (http://home.earthlink.net/~dinkbird/id3.html#Beg).
Part 5 is already written, as is part 6. I just have to do part 4 and the series will be complete.
Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 02:02 pm (UTC)There's no way you can mess up.
About the action... turn it into something else? I mean you can blow up ministry buildings laughing maniacally, or being depressed about the outcome of a war, or getting horny in such an inappropiate situation because your fighting partner looks very hot being all macho.
You mix it, and the it's not just action. It's all about the inner dialog, baby!
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Date: 2004-03-31 04:43 pm (UTC)Cool! I couldn't be more pleased.
There's no way you can mess up.
Er. I hope that's true.
It's all about the inner dialog, baby!
The very conclusion I reached after talking to Redblaze.
I think I'm going to focus on the action first to make sure the pacing's good. Draco just ran off the page of my outline because of some unexpected trouble. Shit. How am I gonna get him out of this? My original solution is now impossible.
or getting horny in such an inappropiate situation because your fighting partner looks very hot being all macho.
Actually, the three of them are all split up at this point. I checked with a military analyst, and what you want to do is take out the barracks, communications, defenses and leadership.
No one ever said Ron's plan wasn't ambitious. *grim smile*
Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 02:37 pm (UTC)Which for me is a solution, but I don't know how you feel about two or three huge fics simultaneously :-)
Mad Martha
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Date: 2004-03-31 04:47 pm (UTC)SNAFU's just a chapter. Really. Not a book. *eep*
Oh well, maybe I'll just cut a lot later. At the moment I'll be happy just to get to page 12. 4,000 words and barely in.
Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 04:54 pm (UTC)And now I, too, much go deal with Irish nationalism. Damn it all, why couldn't they just have accepted Home Rule? ::pouts::
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Date: 2004-03-31 05:17 pm (UTC)How is it two people on my friendslist are writing about Irish Nationalism?
Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 05:22 pm (UTC)::wanders off singing "A Nation Once Again"::
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Date: 2004-03-31 05:26 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-31 07:41 pm (UTC)This is tough. Really, really tough.
Icarus
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Date: 2004-03-31 11:02 pm (UTC)Buck fucking naked and I didn't care.
is one of my favorite fanfic lines of all time, and I can't quite put my finger on why?
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Date: 2004-03-31 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-01 05:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-01 12:46 pm (UTC)Icarus