Big Bang...

[zara_zee]

Who is Big Banging this year?

I've seen a few posts from people lamenting their lack of progress, which is comforting to me as I've really struggled with my Big Bang this year. It has fought me every step of the way!

You wanted lighthearted and fun? Ha, says the muse I'm only gonna do serious and angsty this year! :(  I tell you, it's like the two of us are trying to control the one steering wheel, me trying to turn us down the fun path and the muse trying to turn us down the serious path.



Anyhoo, I'm currently sitting at 18,500 words and yesterday I took a pair of scissors to my outline, cut out a whole subplot, made over the main plot ever so slightly and now...I'm confident that I can finish a (very) rough draft by the deadline!


(Metrics visual snagged from firesign10...isn't it cool?)

How are all the rest of you Big Bangers feeling about your piece? Will you make deadline? Are your characters behaving themselves? Is your muse being fickle and annoying like mine?  And have all you artists got in mind the kind of piece you want to art for this year? Claims are fast approaching!

Comments

[twnchesterangel.livejournal.com]

I love all you "Bangers" ffor the hard work you do while I just get to sit back, relax and READ. I wonder if Muses have their own journals where they sit and bitch about writers not cooperating with them. Haha They probably do. Fickle little bizzos. I hope the rest of it goes smoothly for you! I can't wait because no matter what, if you're writing it, it's gonna be good. *hugs*

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Aww thank you. :D And you don't just sit back and read; you also leave lovely, long, awesome comments which truly make a writer's day!

Lol. I can just imagine my muse, kicking back with some of the other muses, shaking her head, going "Seriously, she wanted light and fun. Clearly that just doesn't work for this story. I keep telling her, but will she listen? Fickle, ungrateful writer." *Hugz*

[firesign10.livejournal.com]

I am just about to update my ticker! Not to 18K though LOL! Good job!

This one for me has been hard to get into any kind of flow, which was annoying since I had the idea all laid out. But it's finall picking up some momentum and I think I have a shot at being ready for check-in.

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Same here. I had the plan, just not the momentum. It's been like dragging a lead weight behind me toward the finish line! Good to hear you're now gaining pace! Check-in here we come! :D

[whiskygalore.livejournal.com]

Go you!! You sound like you have a clear plan, that's half the battle.

I'm sitting at just about 18k too but I have probably about another 6 or 7 to go. I don't know for sure because my outline for the last third is still a little vague :(

Hopefully I'll make it but it's going to be down to the line. It's been a struggle and if I finish I suspect I'll have to rip apart the first draft because I planned for a sleek and sexy kind of style, kind of dark, but then I introduced Chad, and it all got a bit silly. Stupid muse! I guess ignoring the damn thing for three months and hoping it would write itself wasn't the best idea either!

We have (just over) a week. We can do it, fingers crossed!!!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

I guess ignoring the damn thing for three months and hoping it would write itself wasn't the best idea

Bwhahaha! I think that might be where I went wrong too!

I do now have a clear plan, and like you, I've got about another 6k worth of action to write. I think.

Dark, sleek and sexy sounds amazing...but a bit of silly Chadness thrown in just to mix it up a bit is also great! :D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you are beating this one into submission because I, for one, want to read it! :D

Re: the art - I never have anything in mind before I search through the summaries when I'm looking for the fic to art for - I just trawl through and pick out the stories that appeal to me. Then I whittle those down (because there are always too many of them) by thinking about the visuals the summaries promise. I confess, I am unlikely to pick a summary that's badly written because I will have to read the fic, after all!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's been a battle!

That's probably the process I would use if I could do more than a very bad stick figure visual art-wise!

It's really hard having to choose, isn't it? I didn't realise that until I did my first reversebang.

My summary is actually (for once!) really short and succinct. I might have to add a few lines about prospective visuals... :D

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

yes yes, tempt me, tempt me... :D

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

They aren't a proper Muse until they've veered you off the road a couple of times hun ;) Good luck with it, this is why I sign on for art instead of actual writing because my brain and Muse sit there and instantly down tool and crossed their hands over their chests and go, "NOPE Not happenin'!" lol!

I never have a piece in mind first, I read the summaries and go all gaga at the thought of one (or ten, lol) speaking of, I need a proxy because I'll be at A16 O.o

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Well my muse has certainly taken me down some unexpected paths before, in terms of getting inspired by art that has lead to something I never thought I'd write--but she's never fought me this hard where I've wanted to go one way and she's going, nope, nope, we're going this way!!

Oh yeah...a lot of people are going to be at that Con. I'm not sure when claims open, but I know it's usually at a very unfriendly time for us Southern Hemisphere types! I said to Amber a few months back, I'd volunteer to proxy, but I bet it'll be the middle of my night!

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

That means once it's done it's gonna be a complete STONKER of a story :DD

Sinfulslasher was gonna proxy for me, but she's lost her laptop!! It went boom!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Haha! Well, I hope so. It's gonna need A LOT of editing though, so I hope I don't get an early posting date. :D

Poor Sinfulslasher. I feel her pain. Laptop loss is a terrible thing. :(

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

I think I'd have a meltdown!!
Least you've got something to work with though, an artist' and an author' worst enemy is a blank page!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I don't know whether to get a proxy or what... It depends what time of day claims fall for us. In theory I should have internet access but if it's in the middle of the day then we'll be a little preoccupied! LOL

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Well exactly, I'm kinda nervous about missing out on some good chances for summaries...but the previews go up on the 5th so in theory I can sit at Jane's and decide then just hit send and hope for the best!

[anactoria.livejournal.com]

At the moment I'm feeling panicked, mostly. I'm probably around the 20k mark at the moment, but the story needs to be much longer than that. D:

And I feel you on the story-not-cooperating thing. I can't seem to get my characters to do anything but sit around arguing!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Oh no! Well at least you're over the minimum word count, so that's one good thing.

I think generally characters know where they need to go, but an unexpected detour when there's a plan and a deadline can be a little disconcerting for a writer!

I trimmed back a whole bunch of stuff because I knew I'd never make deadline if I didn't cut the story back. Would anything like that be possible for your story? Or does it really need that length to get the story told properly?

[anactoria.livejournal.com]

I trimmed back a whole bunch of stuff because I knew I'd never make deadline if I didn't cut the story back. Would anything like that be possible for your story? Or does it really need that length to get the story told properly?

I don't think so, sadly! It doesn't have much in the way of subplot -- it's mostly focused on character interaction -- and that stuff just doesn't ring true if you take shortcuts (or at least, I can't make it do so!) I'll inevitably end up skipping over some stuff and adding it back in in the editing stages, but... *sigh*.

I think generally characters know where they need to go, but an unexpected detour when there's a plan and a deadline can be a little disconcerting for a writer!

Yeah, I think the characters refusing to co-operate is usually a sign that I haven't planned the emotional arc out properly, so I just let them do their thing until I can move the plot on. Still a tad frustrating, though!

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear the muse is fighting you, but I'm really excited to see the end result. Keep up the great work, and who knows, maybe next year it'll be time for a lighthearted and fun bigbang ;)

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

Thank you! At least this is not a fandom that has issues with angst and hurt, so there's that! :D

Are you big-banging?

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

Absolutely!!! A little hurt and angst here will be welcomed with open arms :)

No, I'm not bigbanging. Maybe one year I'll give it a try, but I really struggle with long fics. Wishing you all the best!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

You know I was going to say, 'oh but that one based on the video game that you did was so awesome and that was long!' But then I went and checked and it was only 8kish. I remembered it as being a much longer fic... I honestly thought it was novel length, and it takes so much skill to weave such a complex tale in so few words. But yes, doesn't help when there's a minimum word count! :D

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

I know it's weird, right! My very first fic was a long multi-chapter fic that was well over the 20k, but I've never written anything that long since. The closet I've come was about 13k, but that's still so far off the minimum. Maybe one day, right!?!

I hope you're getting there with your big bang. Best wishes!

[dawnmay.livejournal.com]

I was doing pretty well until today. I'm sitting at 9K right now, and I'm not sure what direction to take this. I don't outline, so I'm just trying to push through to the end and play it by ear.

I completely understand the stubborn muse! One of my characters is being secretive, but I need to know his back story if this is going to go anywhere interesting! XD

Keep going, you're almost there!

[zara-zee.livejournal.com]

I never used to outline either, I'd just have an idea and then write and write and the story just evolved. But one thing I found was that when I had a deadline or was pushed for time, or had a word count to adhere to, then stopping mid way through the story and outlining the rest of it, helped me to meet my targets!

Stubborn muses and characters who think they're real and can therefore argue with you about what they will and won't do...the things we writers have to deal with! :D

Good luck. I hope you're able to push through and get done by the deadline. You're almost halfway there, at least. :)