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Randomness
I said this recently, but I'll say it again here. Writing is hard - hard to coax the words out, hard to put them into some kind of order on the screen, to not use the same word repititiously, to find some new angle, a new light, to an old scene. Or to properly set up those between canon moments that live in my head. Hard to slip into a character's head, and sometimes hard to jump back out again. If I had a free hour or two, I swear I'd spend the time surfing flists and comms, instead of working the word doc WIP I've opened up. Other times I've got a little elbow digging into my thigh, and my husband nudging me every two seconds because The Man Show just did another funny skit -
-and the characters are speaking right then.
I wonder if this is what it means to be an artist. I never considered myself one before, there's such pretention down that road, but what if I am? Because why else would I be driven to write? Is that the difference, when you're driven to do it?
I've been writing, in one form or another, since I was twelve. So even though I've never been published, or even close to it, does that make me a writer?
Or is this still something I do instead of scrapbooking or backpacking?
-and the characters are speaking right then.
I wonder if this is what it means to be an artist. I never considered myself one before, there's such pretention down that road, but what if I am? Because why else would I be driven to write? Is that the difference, when you're driven to do it?
I've been writing, in one form or another, since I was twelve. So even though I've never been published, or even close to it, does that make me a writer?
Or is this still something I do instead of scrapbooking or backpacking?
no subject
And I agree wholeheartedly with fanfic being a better read than original fiction. I'll always buy books, but I love fanfic and thank god every day I found it. You're allowed to do things, go places with a character that you just aren't in regular works. It's like the books you find in stores follow a formula on what has to happen, what the 'hero' can do, and can't, and whatnot. There are no rules in fanfic. I love that. You can take Wes and twist him four different ways without ever violating his character, and Angel - Lord, the things you can do with Angel. LOL! And frequently do!
And I've never read the Angel novels. I've heard enough about them that, as a C/A girl, I probably won't enjoy them the way others would. Plus, I heard when you write in a certain universe, there's a bible you have to follow. That pretty much means it has to appeal to a broad range of people, which means, to me, it's too vanilla.
And I really need to get a couple of Wes icons, just to use for your posts.
no subject
And vanilla is precisely the word I was looking for but couldn't think of when replying originally. The Angel novels, and even original fiction to an extent, must conform to a certain standard of acceptable story-telling. Angel writers mustn't upset too many of the fans, and those setting up their own story must spend time building characters in a way that's already done for us in fanfiction.
I think that's why I find fanfiction so much more satisfying. The - I don't want to say boring - bits have already been covered in canon, so the fanfic writer can take their creativity to a much more complex level without sacrificing background.
I this making any sense? *scratches head*