I was thinking today of what makes me a productive writer. Apparently I haven’t been doing it lately, as the last bit I wrote was a while ago. Well, completed anyway. Lately all I’ve been able to write have been short segments, never a true story. I start, delete and repeat. Occasionally I save, only to a few weeks later open it again and delete it all.
Sometimes I’m inspired by other fics. Sometimes other fandoms. Occasionally its the music on my Ipod.
Its not getting ideas thats the problem. Its actually writing them down in a way that I feel satisfied with.
For example. I have several stories going on in my head. There is one where John Sheppard had a daughter he wasn’t aware about. Cliche, I know. It morphed into a repeat of POV (SG-1 episode) where Anya came from another universe. She’s about 22-24 in my head (born when JOhn was about 19 years old). She’s an astrophyiscist. In her universe she’s the daughter that Dora lost in my fic “THe Baby Room”. Instead, Dora died in that universe. So Anya was raised pretty much by John by himself, till he joined the Stargate program and she kinda gained family in the people her dad worked with. She likes to annoy Rodney by calling him Uncle Roddie (Which is normally a nickname for Rhodri but still). She happens to have a thing for men in uniform, dating Aiden Ford on her side of the portal, and has a crush on Lorne in this universe.
In my head I’ve already had several scenes completed. Went to the computer and nothing came out. Some of you might be thinking ‘Thank God, no more children fics”.
I have to admit, I wish I would get ideas that weren’t children fics. For those of you wanting to know what I’m talking about, they are also known as a Baby!fic although since my characters usually aren’t small children, but rather in thier late teens or older I don’t think it quite fits. But it even gets to me after awhile.
Oddly enough, my original fics don’t have the same tendecy. They do deal alot with families though.
Anyway, back to the point of this whole post. Why can’t I write anything? Why do I get blocked? I read one author who claimed it was procrastinating. Perhaps thats it, but I don’t think its the complete truth.
Lets see….I have over 30 WIPs, not including the several I want to write but haven’t started. Most are fanfics.
We won’t get into my backlot of art projects.
I have three stories for Harry Potter that are essientially the same story, told from different avenues. One of which I know excatly what happens. I’m just having trouble filing it in with stuff between the bigger events.
I have a House/Greys fic that is probably burnt out because of my dissatisfaction with the actual shows.
1 Star Wars story with a major Mary Sue Problem. THere is also a Stargate Atlantis fic with a simular problem
I think part of the problem is I don’t have a regular beta. So I don’t have someone going through adn asking “Why this?” or whatever they would ask that might spark that second go. And then when I do get so far I look back and get discouraged due to the fact I don’t see what I wrote as being any good. Because I don’t have someone saying “Hey wait a minute…Mary Sue alert!”
I’m going to stop writing this right now because its becoming less-self anylasis and more self-pity filled.
Sokorra Lewis 