The it's a loooooong story thread: Support group for epic fan fic writers - poll 6/14 (red)

*catches* You should do great, and finish it before you do that. Personally I just need to get an idea. I hate trying to force things out.

 

*Enters thread with tongue hanging out* Must write new chapter of The Sith Insurrection, must keep ahead of readers... *pants then nearly passes out*

And may the Force be with you, Ophelia.


JD.

 

Thank Dev. We might need to organize a squad in here to deal with jumpers

JDH3, I can never keep ahead of the readers. I don't know what's wrong with me So I have some questions for most authors:

How long have you been writing your current long story? How many words is it currently? How much left to go? How many words/posts do you write a week? Do you stay ahead a few posts? What's your favourite thing to do when you get frustrated/go insane from long fic stress ?

I'll go ahead and answer for me.

I've been writing "In the Shadow of the Chosen" for 10 montsh now. It's at 70,000 words and as I mentioned earlier, is probably going to be around 364,000 words when done (it's a big series, so I'm estimating per episode here). I usually write about one 2,000+ word post a week, and I feel terrible for that. I wish I could do more I can't stay ahead a few posts, I can barely get that out. My favourite thing to do when stressed is to pace around my upstairs for a while, stop, and talk to carboard Obi-Wan to get ideas

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

solojones wrote: I admire your work ethic so much

I don't have a work ethic--I have a deadline.

During student teaching, your personal life becomes frozen in carbonite. It's like . . . it's like another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound . . . but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land, whose boundaries are only that of the imagination . . . you're entering . . . the Twilight Zone . . .

Maybe I just need a cardboard Obi-Wan to talk to.

Nah, I have a small apartment, and I'd just have to lift him out of the way any time I wanted to get anywhere. The magic would fade quickly.

Also, this isn't getting my story written. ::

 

I don't have a work ethic--I have a deadline.

Yeah, I guess I see your point. School starts Wednesday for me, though, and it's not going to get any easier But then again, maybe I do better during the school year because I'm in that mode of having a normal schedule. I dunno...

It's like . . . it's like another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound . . . but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land, whose boundaries are only that of the imagination . . . you're entering . . . the Twilight Zone . . .

Rod Serling [face_obscure]

Nah, I have a small apartment, and I'd just have to lift him out of the way any time I wanted to get anywhere. The magic would fade quickly.

Hey, it might be tedious, but don't know the magic!Obi-Wan

Also, this isn't getting my story written. ::

Sorry. I should be writing right now too. Arg! *inspires*

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

solojones: How long have you been writing your current long story? How many words is it currently? How much left to go? How many words/posts do you write a week? Do you stay ahead a few posts? What's your favourite thing to do when you get frustrated/go insane from long fic stress ?


Well I have two current long fics, so I'll give you both dates they were posted. When I actually began writing them...? Probably not too long prior to their board posting dates. What I Know was posted on 4/23/03! And The Sith Insurrection made its debut back on 6/27.

What I Know's word count is currently at 104253 and climbing! I haven't done a word count for TSI recently.

How much is left to go? A lot! WIK is just entering the heart of the clone wars, and it won't wrap up until after the events of EP3. As for TSI, my post-NJO fic, its just getting underway. There is a great deal of setup on many fronts before I get to the meat of the story.

How much do I write per week? It really varies wildly. I try and write one chapter a week, if possible. But often I'll go a week or more with nothing more than a few meager sentences.

Do I try and stay ahead of my readers? Force, yes I do! I don't have many readers, but they are VERY loyal. I hate keeping them waiting for long periods. However, I have done that more than once. Anyway, I do everything in my power to stay as far ahead as I can.

Favorite stress release? Anything that doesn't involve me typing until my fingers go numb.


JD.

 

2:47 a.m. -- first draft of chapter 9 completed, partly because I shortened my definition of "chapter 9." A scene that was going to be part of it has now magically been moved to chapter 10. Now I can start editing, so I have something decent to post when I run out of bits from chapter 8.

Total word count: 83,886

And we have a new masochism record!

[image=http://members.aol.com/opheliasannexe/marathon2.gif]

The next milestone will be 100,000, mostly because I don't want to have to re-edit the photo of that lady runner again any sooner than that.

 

All of mine are longer stories, and I keep hearing these irregular slamming noises when I hit a wall.

Last Chance is easily 50K words, TK about 35K words, Martyrs oi... 40K written, but not all of that is posted (I've misplaced the disk in the year it's been on hiatus); I wrote about 30K for Talon Intelligence Squadron that was useable, but have well over 300K words on disk which I'll likely use for a profic project at some point in the future. I started big, though: I did a good 100, 000 words for USJS, over the course of two years.

All of my profic projects are long: two trilogies in the planning, but I'll hone those into publishable shape once one of the stand-alone novels sells. Keep in mind, a standalone novel these days has to be 100-120, 000 words...

I get tired just thinking about it.


*Derisa*

 

SoloJones do you realize what you said?

And right now I have an on going trilogy, at least I hope I can make it into a trilogy... I just need inspiration! Which I just got!!! I love this thread!!!

And generally I have maybe one post every week or two, sometimes it's two. I think on one I haven't updated it in a month...

 

Boy, stay away for a day or two, and the thread explodes.

Congratulations, ophelia! It's always a great feeling to have finished a chapter.

Of course, I have that feeling almost anytime that I finish a story and then about two days later I get a major rush of the wonderful feeling that it was so awesome to have actually finished it up. And then I go and start something else.

Oh, I'm exactly the same way. The last couple of chapters of a story I can't wait to get it finished. And then, when I finally do, I feel sort of lost without something to work on, so I start planning the next one.

How many characters do people tend to have in their epics?

Well, I have only two main characters, and I write from their perspective. Then there are about 10 supporting characters, and a whole crew of very minor ones.

How long have you been writing your current long story?

I began writing my series in January 03, and completed the latest installment in July 04. Now, my current story is a brand-new, unrelated-to-the-series fic, and I started it about two weeks ago.

How many words is it currently?

Heh, I have no idea. Guess I'm strange because I've never paid much attention to word count.

How much left to go? Lots and lots.

How many words/posts do you write a week? Do you stay ahead a few posts?

I try to post once or twice a week. Each chapter is usually 5-8 pages. I only wish I could stay ahead. It's all I can do to keep up, though.

What's your favourite thing to do when you get frustrated/go insane from long fic stress?

Go spend time with my family, read a book, go for a walk. Then I try to come back to it with a fresh mind.

Kristeh

 

How long have you been writing your current long story? I've been writing on Sleight of Hand for about a year and three months, give or take.

How many words is it currently? 56782

How much left to go? Not sure. I figure I'm at about the halfway point, so it's definitely going to go over 100,000.

How many words/posts do you write a week? It varies. Some weeks, I'm really inspired and I may write 5-6 pages. Other weeks...ZERO!


Do you stay ahead a few posts? I so wish that I could. But no, I pretty much post as I go, which explains why I update about once a month...if I'm lucky.

What's your favourite thing to do when you get frustrated/go insane from long fic stress? I read other stuff besides SW. Right now I'm reading The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum.

I had been stuck on what to do with Arica while Luke and Mara go to Dagobah to see Yoda. But last night, I dreamt about my story and I woke up with the solution!

Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to write it yet as my sister called me and I talked to her for an hour and a half and having my son really doesn't allow me to write too much on the weekends! Oh, I hope I don't lose this before I get to put it down!

 

Don't you dare lose it, kayladie! Jot it down somewhere real fast if you have to!

That's wonderful how you dreamed the solution. I once dreamed up a fantastic plot for a SW fanfic. I was typing it like crazy, the ideas were flowing, and I couldn't wait to post it.

Then I woke up and couldn't remember at all what the story was about.

Kristeh

 

I've done that too - where I dreamed a great story and lost it when I woke up. And I had a great plot twist while driving home and then forgot it all by the time I got there.

As for length, as I said before, 140 pages, 98000 words so far. It should be about 200-250 pages when done. I post as often as I can but it's more like once a month rather than once a week since I work, have kids, etc. I feel badly when I don't post but RL has to come first. I don't have any posts ahead of time (I wish I did). When I'm done with the post, I do wait until Thursday to post since my readers all know my posting schedule. Once I posted early and they told me not to do that again!!! LOL.

 

I've done that too - where I dreamed a great story and lost it when I woke up. And I had a great plot twist while driving home and then forgot it all by the time I got there.



That sucks. I've had that happen to me before. Sometimes I've had it happen where I get plot bunnies in my dreams and the bunny is so insistent it demands to be written right when I get up..

 

How long have you been writing your current long story?

My current story is Dark Interventions. I think I've been writing it since December 2003.

How many words is it currently? How much left to go?

87 538, and I'm trying to get over the 100 000 word mark.

How many words/posts do you write a week?

Depends. I tend to post every Friday, but I delay when I get writer's block or writing a big chapter.

Do you stay ahead a few posts?

I try to always stay two posts ahead.

What's your favourite thing to do when you get frustrated/go insane from long fic stress?

Ironicly, I usually go watch/read Lord of the Rings and/or other epic movies and books.

 

Well, it's good to hear from other people about their fics, because I actually don't feel so bad about my progress now I guess I'm about normal in keeping up with my story so I don't feel so bad. I have a small core of loyal readers which always helps of course, but it also means I don't want to let them down by waiting too long between updates.

Congrats on the new record ophelia. Sadly, that's about the time most of my writing gets done. Not when school starts, it won't be, though Tell me, though, how many words are each of your chapters? I sometimes wonder if your tactic of posting shorter posts every day isn't maybe better than how I do it...

Dev...what did I say

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

In some language Dev means god, so you said Thank god... I don't know, I just found that funny

 

Oh, well that's what you get for being named 'god' I think I meant 'thanks' though, lol.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Yup, I didn't even know what it meant until I was looking for an OC name And what does Alba gu bràth mean?

 

I find that writing some BS fic for one of my other fandoms helps get my creative juices flowing for writing some of my SW fic.

I find it almost insane that I am attempting to write a book lenth fic as my first SW fan fic. I must have been possessed. However with some hard work and determination and a lot of time I will eventually finish Paladin Squadron. With any luck it will develop a bit of a following once I start to post parts of the story, but God only knows when I'll start posting it...

 

And what does Alba gu bràth mean?

It's Scottish Gaelic for 'Scotland Forever'. I'm about 1/3 Scottish, and also interested in preserving the language (which is why I'm learning it ).

I find that writing some BS fic for one of my other fandoms helps get my creative juices flowing for writing some of my SW fic.

I have kind of tried something similar. I am currently reposting one of my old, just pure fun SW fics so I sometimes get a break by working on the re-editing of that. I also have a new SW humour fic I'm working on that I like to write when I'm getting stressed out, because it's always tons of fun

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

I do tha ttoo. I have a notebook that I write a first person HP story... it's just one of those things that helps me to get the juices flowing.

 

I certainly don't feel bad seeing the lengths of time that people are taking with their fics. I have a bit of a self-imposed deadline for mine, so I can't take a year to finish.

That said, I'll share my latest milestone... which I reached only an hour ago when I concluded Part 3 of 4 in my fic, On the Shoulders of Giants. My word-count is currently 65,153, and that will go a lot higher in Part 4. Word-count isn't really a 'goal', so much as getting the plot out and writing well and making the story enjoyable both to write and to read.

I typed the first scene of my fic on 7/5, and made my first post on 7/11. I was initially posting around once every other day, but I got behind with a plot bunny I worked in, so what's posted is pretty much all I have written. I'm hoping to finish it very quickly, as my self-imposed deadline in next week... but Part 4 might actually be larger than the others.

We'll see.

 

Wow, you just started it that recently? I wish I could write that much. That's awesome

I'm currently working through some plot issues with my beta. This story of the series being a mystery is driving me crazy. I haven't updated in over a week now and school starts Wednesday so I'm really trying to get some of these problems worked out and the next post up before then My head hurts.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Wow, you just started it that recently?

This version, yes. Believe it or not, this monster of a story started as a short backstory for this reskin of a KotOR game armor I designed back in May.

Needless to say... it morphed a bit in the plot layout and got restarted twice before I settled on SoG. It's been coming along wonderfully ever since!