Tag: writing

Posted in general, writing

Camp Nano Update

Posted on by sokorra

Author’s Note:  This was written on time, but then not posted till 2 days after it was supposed to be, so the dates are off in this.  

This post was a bit late in being posted.  I usually try and post around noon ET/EST but it doesn’t always work that way.  Part of it will be explained later in this post.

Today is the 18th, which means we are a bit past the halfway mark for April’s Camp Nano event.  For those of you just turning in, Camp Nano is a twice a year event in which writers gather to attempt to reach writing goals.  Its a spin off of the larger event, NanoWrimo that is held every November.  Unlike the Full Nano, Camp Nano is more personizable.  You can choose your word count, make cabins withyour friends who are also partispating and in general just have a good time.  Nano is a bit more focused, though just as fun.

This year, my goal was to write 30,000 words.  Not that hard for me usually, but it seems that life has other plans.  This month I have been continuously sick with a cold-slash-sinus infection which not only makes me an unhappy camper, it also makes my ability to write go down.  I just don’t feel like doing much of anything other then lay down and watch a show where people screw up cakes.  Most of my writing this month has been posts for this blog, and an email to my mother.

I’m still endeavouring to met my goal. I have a few days off in a row in the near future where I plan on resting (to get better) and writing (to get ot my goal).  Hopefully at the end of the month I can tell you I actually made it.  I’m probably about 15,000 words behind at this point, but I shall conquer the writer’s block!

I do think however that my goal of finishing two of my long-awaiting to be finished stories will not happen.  I’m almost finished with them, so hopefully within the next month I will finish.  I just don’t think it will happen this month at the rate I am going.  However, I will be finishing the pre-planned posts for this month.  Including Friday’s Women of History post, this time featuring astronaut Sally K. Ride, and Monday’s post which will be a list of writing resources.  If you have any favorites of your own, feel free to tell me.  I always welcome new suggestions to try out.

Hope your month is going well for you, and that this spring-in-winter’s-clothing ends soon so the germs will lay off.

Posted in essay, fanfiction, Original Writing, writing

Fandom Writing: The Importance of Trigger Warnings

Posted on by sokorra

WARNING:  This post mentions several triggering subjects in the course of covering Trigger Warnings.  

There has always been a debate on the use of trigger warnings..  Triggers are words and or images that can trigger adverse reactions in people who have suffered trauma or have various anxiety disorders. It also extends to things that people know, without having the anxiety, that they don’t care to see/here because its just not something they want to digest/handle.  People over the years have developed the idea of ‘Trigger Warnings’ to help people who have issues with these things avoid them, or at least be prepared to handle them if they still continue on.

Trigger warnings are important.  The debate on trigger warnings is that some people believe they are over used, and warning about things a person should be able to handle.  Others believe that not using it is showing a lack of compassion against those who have problems with triggers.  I am in the middle on this argument.  I believe common sense warnings about possible triggers is important and should be done.  However, if someone doesn’t write a trigger for something its not right to say they are not compassionate.  Perhaps it something they are unaware of being a trigger.

The common sense triggers are often built into archives.  Violence, character death, etc.  And it is already common to put tags to express when a fic has sexual content.  Its important to put these messages because not everyone is okay with everything.  Even if its not a trigger, some people simply don’t want to read smut, or want fluff only and no violence.  They might not want to read something descriptive in gore, or deals with a particular event or activity that makes them uncomfortable.

One of the generic ones is gore.  Some people don’t like the sight of blood or any other bodily fluid.  Sometimes its because an particular event, and sometimes it is just something the person knows they don’t like to see.  I used to have trouble remembering to tag these on posts because I wouldn’t think something was gorey, but then I would get messages asking for the tag.

If you are writing something that includes a sensitive topic, its a good idea to tag it, or make a warning in your chapter notes.  While you might not have a problem with it, or feel its important to your story, some people may just need to avoid that for their own personal reasons.   I have known people who refuse to tag stuff like this because they feel it gives the story away, but it would make it so much easier for people to avoid situations where they might be triggered.  It’s a courtesy to your readers. At the vary least it allows those who are picky about what they read the time to decide if your story will be one they choose.  It will also help those who have severe reactions to certain triggers to avoid them.

I think the fact that I have an anxiety disorder myself I understand the trigger system.  I am not triggered by anything written, but I can sympathise with those who are.  Sometimes surprise is not a good thing. So just take a few moments when you post your stories to think if there is anything worth tagging, anything that might trigger anxiety in people.  Things you should tag include sexual violence (including dubious consent), fertility issues (like miscarriage and stillbirth), detailed violence and torture.  Respect requests for added tags as well.

 

Posted in essay, fanfiction, writing

Fandom Writing: Writing the Opposition Badly

Posted on by sokorra

One of my pet peeves when reading fan fiction is when a character, usually someone who is the other possible love interest, is villanized to make another character look good or to make a ship seem more plausible.  Not only does it often come with out of character writing for said character, it makes me feel like the person who is writing is not all that sure in the ship they are writing.

You do not have to villainize a character to make your main character, or main ship, look better.  If the character is a villain already, then at least there is canon backing to your character being a villain.

My most recent example of this was in the Arrow fandom.  I am a big fan of Felicity and Laurel, and of Olicity.  However I found way too many fics that villainize Laurel.  Laurel has her own character set-backs, but she is no way a good choice for a villian in an Olicity fic.  And I’ve seen it likewise when people decide that Laurel/Oliver should happen, and make Felicity into a villain or an unhealthily clinging person.  None of it makes sense with the characters we see on-screen, who are in fact friends and strong women.

Another example is found in Doctor Who.  Martha and Rose are alternative villainized depending on the ship choice of the writer.  Honestly if you don’t like a ship, don’t write it.  I’ve found most of the time the ships resolve themselves around each other and you can avoid the other alternative fairly easy without villainizing a character. If you must deal with a ship that you dislike, resolve it between the characters and move on. Most of those reading are most likely already fans of your ship, and you don’t have to prove to them why your choice is better than the alternative.  That is best left to fandom meta essays.

I’ve also seen this with just characters.  Most often female characters, but occasionally male characters.  They will exaggerate bad qualities to the point of OOCness or completely villainize a character to make their favorite look better.  Your favorite character can be awesome all on their own.  That is why they are your favorite.  You don’t have to miswrite a character to make your fave look better. Again, most of your readership most likely already thinks your main character is awesome.

For a good example of how to deal with a love triangle, there is The Hunger Games.  The love triangle in that series is between Katniss, Peeta and Gale.  Peeta and Gale don’t fight each other over her, and both characters are allowed to have flaws and good things about them without comparing to each other.  In the end there is a little comparing when she finally makes a decision, but for the most part all three characters are allowed to exist on the same side.  Neither is completely villainized either.

My suggestion is if you really don’t like a character, have them take a trip, or be otherwise out of the picture of the story you are writing.  If you feel you can write the character well, and not villainize for the sake of making them look bad, go ahead and write them.  Take a look at canon.  Be honest with yourself as to why you are writing the character the way you are.

If you are just writing angry fic about a character you hate, label it as such so fans of the character know to avoid it.  And people who may hate the character but prefer to stick to canon can know that going in. For example, bringing back the Arrow fandom, I have seen people post “Anti-Felicity” or “Anti-Laurel” as a tag, letting me know that their story is not favorable to that character.  So I can avoid those stories.

Even in original writing, take a moment and think about the different features of the character.  Are you writing a well-rounded character or are you just focusing on bad parts so its clear they are the wrong choice?  Are you trying to make a compelling villain or just make your other characters look better?

Consider your characters and your readers before writing a character simply to be the anti-choice.

Posted in fanfiction, general, writing

Spring & Camp Nano

Posted on by sokorra

Hope everyone is having a fantastic April.  Spring seems to be a little sluggish in waking up and arriving.  I’m writing this while looking out a window at snow.  Had a brilliantly sunny day yesterday, today is snow.   But that is what I get for living in the Northeast.

This month is Camp Nano, so there is going to be some writing posts.  A while back I did a series of essays on starting to write fanfic, so I won’t be redoing those right now.  But there are some other topics suggested to be that I’ll be covering.  It’s mostly to do with fanfic writing,  but some of it has original fiction writing connections too.  These include using triggers, why it’s a bad idea to villianize a character to make your character look good, and its good policy to ship and let ship.

I also have two bookit reviews coming and every Friday remains my Women of History series.

For those of you who don’t know what Camp Nano is, its a month-long writing challenge.  Every November is National Novel Writing month, where in people try to write a 50,000 word story.  It’s not quite a full novel, but it’s getting there and allows you the pleasure of knowing you wrote something.  In April and June they run Camp Nano, where you can work towards any writing goal.  Some use it to help them prepare for Nano, others for finishing up outstanding WIPs they have (I am one of those people).  But it’s basically up to you whether you write 1000 words or 100,000.  You get to set the goal.  My goal this year is started at 30,000 and I want to complete two chapter fics and a series of drabble challenges I haven’t finished yet.  It’s possible to adjust your word count so I may raise it later on.  On the 18th I have planned an update post, so I’ll talk more about my goals for Camp Nano then.

If you feel interested and or want to learn more, you can visit the Camp Nano Website.

Hope you all have a great month, and that spring finally arrives – and sticks around!

Posted in essay, Original Writing, writing

Writing Resources

Posted on by sokorra

October has become “Nano Prep” month for me for many years.  I’ve been participating since I graduated from high school (which is longer then I remember, surprising myself each time I actually do figure out how long its been).  So I’ve decided to make a post for some of the places I get help in my writing endeavours for anyone participating in Nano.

I’m including various websites and tools, some of which I use frequently, and some of which I have used in the past and no longer do for one reason or another (in the case of one, I forgot my password).

NanoWrimo.Org

We should always start with the Nano page.  The Original NanoWrimo occurs every November, and its goal is 50k in a month.  NanoWrimo.org also offers helpful links, a forum, as well as offline events as well such as write-ins and community meet-ups.  It also does a yearly fundraiser for Libraries in areas that are too poor to fund one.

(there are also some great coupons if you win for writing services and programs).

Writing Sites:

750words.com

This website gives you online space to help keep up sprints, and daily writing.  The goal is to write 750 words daily.  The longer you go, the more points you get.  You get target rewards each time you meet the criteria.  It also gives stats on word usage and tone which can be useful.

4thewords.com

This is another example of a writing habit creator.  In this particular one, its a subscription service, but only four dollars for what accounts for a month.  You can pay by month, or pay ahead if you want to.  However, it is very fun and so far worth it in my opinon.  However, it doesn’t work for everyone, so the month trial should give you some time to find out.

The basics of it is that you are playing a game.  To fight the monsters that come across your path, you write.  Each monster has a word count goal and a time limit.  You can choose which monster you want to fight.  When you complete the battle successfully you get rewards which go towards accomplishing the Quest goals.  Then you can move on to another part of the valley where there are new monsters to fight against.  It also does periodic special runs of events (particularly during Nano events).

Hemingway Editor

THis is a online editing software (although it does have a desktop app) that allows you to check your grammar and writing as you write, helping you improve as you go along.  I like to sometimes copy/paste my writing into it to see what it says and strengthen the weak spots, but you can just get typing in there.  It has some basic formatting features as well, and a readability monitor to tell you if you are writing for the right age level.  (this is especially important if you are writing for kids. ).

Writer

This is for those who don’t need anything to distract them.  All they need is a plan screen.  If you need the least amount of distractions and just want to write, this may be good for you.

CharaHub

This website is designed to help you with your character building, keeping an online character report for you instead of half a dozen tabs or folders on your computer.  I haven’t used this, but I have been told its quite helpful.  (If you have used this, let me know what you think.)  Its been sitting in my “Writing – Tools” bookmark folder for awhile now.

Word Counter

DOn’t have a word counter built into your word processor?  This site is helpful in that it allows you to check your word count.  Also pretty good for challenges where you have a word goal and/or limit.

I have a whole folder for writing resources, but not all of them are useful as broad tools, and I limited mine to what appeared to at least give a free preview of the service.  I have a selection of generators that are sometimes fun to play around with when you have writers block, and there are millions out there that can partition to your chosen topic/genre.  Also, don’t be afraid to use the same resources you may have used in school to write those papers.  Some of them can be quite helpful when writing fiction (and really helpful if you are writing non-fiction).

If you have any websites/tools you would like to suggest, feel free to mention them in the comments.  I’m always open to finding new things.

Posted in Original Writing, writing

NanoWrimo: Week One Update

Posted on by sokorra

Its that time of year again when I join in with a community of writers for National Novel Writing Month or NanoWrimo or as we usually just shorten it to: Nano.

Nano is a month long event where writers from around the country partispate in an personal effort to write a 50,000 word novella in a month.  I’ve partispated for the most part for the last decade or so.  I don’t always manage to write 50,000 words – life does dedicate some of that – but its fine enough to try.

Not everyone writes the same thing, or gets involved in the same way.  Some people write original fiction, some write fanfic.  Some write a series of short stories, while others write actual novel-length stories. The only goal is to get 50k worth of words, and to get people writing.  Nano also has forums to get involved with, and often local team leaders who develop events where you can go and meet local Nano-ers.

They also have a donation run to create libraries and provide books for those who don’t have access to them.

This year I am working on several stories, trying to get some of my work in progress list done.  I’ve got about 18 there now, and I’m sure that isn’t a complete list.  (I need to review that one of these days).

Alright its been one week (completely, its now 12Am, so HAPPY ELECTION DAY PLEASE VOTE *AHEM*)  My personal results are as follows:

Continue reading “NanoWrimo: Week One Update” →

Posted in writing

Nano Update – Week One

Posted on by sokorra

Well, I wish I could stand here and say I’m doing completely on top of things and am actually ahead of the game but that would be a lie.  Various issues, including a cold that just won’t leave me alone, have caused me to have some lucklaster writing days.  In fact despite planning 2k a day, I’m only at 6,350.  To compare, the original goal had me being at 12,000 going into today.  So I’m basically doing half as well as I was trying to push myself to do.

One of my issues, as I mentioned before, is that I caught a cold/allergy attack that doesn’t seem to want to leave me, yet gives me a different problem as it solves one problem.  Today’s issue is major coughing that just doesn’t put me in a writing mood.  However I’m going to try and push through it because if I want to get back on track, I need to write about 2,565 words a day for a week or so.

Another problem is getting my writing around my life. Since I live with others, there is no real way to lock myself away in some room and just write whenever I get inspiration.  Plus I work, and my job is not convienent for writing . I’m sure other writers have these same problems.

The good news is I got caught up with my prompts.  Now I just have to work on finishing the longer fics that are still in the Work-In-Progress File.

This is all in hope that by Novemeber, I can focus on an original story, or a brand new fanfic that isn’t something that I’ve got half finished.

How are others doing this month with Nano?

Posted in Art, bookit, general, writing

July Goals

Posted on by sokorra

Its that time of the month again where I go over my goals sheet from the start of the month, see if I accomplished anything I set out to do, and start to make a new goal sheet for the next month.  I’m posting some of them here to basically feel more accountable for them since other people know of them.

THis month didn’t go so well as I ended up not doing ANY of my goals.  So many of July’s goals will be roll overs as I try once again to accomplish them.

Assisting me this month as far as writing is Camp Nano, which I talked about last night so hopefully I will actually achieve the 50,000 word goal for the month.  This should also help me with my goal to catch up with the drabble prompts from a challenge I am doing.  I also hope to finish alot of various fics.

And now t hat recap of last night’s post is over, I also am rolling over some health goals.  I want to reduce my sugar intake (less pop, resist the temptation that is 99 cent cake slices) and also start doing pilates regularly to perhaps ease some of my back pain and help me be healthier.  Maybe start using my phone health app a bit more regularly to track my meals to see what exactly I am eating.  (A good bet is not enough of the right stuff, too much of the yummy but not good stuff)

I also plan on continuing to try daily drawing goals, and to take classes on Lynda to assit me in bringing back my motiavation and actual follow through with graphic design.  I feel like my artistic muscles are atrophying.

I also hope to update a few of my websites that I run, try and get them spruced up.  Partispate more in my creative online communities, and read a few more books.  I’m at the halfway mark for my goal I think (either 25 or 26, I need to check my record), but I need to keep up with the reading because not only is it a relaxing activity for me and helps me keep my stress levels within dealable boundries but also because I’m determined to reach that goal this year.

I’ve got Hunger Games queued up next (among the other 5 books I’m in the process of reading). I’ve already read it, so I’m not sure if I’m going to review it, but I might make some Hunger Game themed posts as I read through the series.  One you might see this month is a post on my changing thoughts about Gale Hawthorne.

And maybe I’ll start posting that rewatch series of Gilmore Girls since the new season is approaching.  (I’m excited yet afraid…)

 

 

Posted in writing

Writing Update

Posted on by sokorra

I realised I haven’t talked about my writing lately, so thought an update was in order.  For the last month or so I haven’t had alot of time to write, and when I did get the time, I didn’t seem to be able to write anything that I was happy with.  So nothing really has gotten finished, although I have added greatly to my plot bunny file.

Hopefully this will all change next month.  One of my many goals for July is to be better at time management, and knowing my limits so that when I do need to do something I’m not exhausted by it.  So no more staying up till 2 in the morning because “Just one more chapter”, or trying to get too much done in one day that I feel out of sorts for the next few days.

Hopefully this will include dedicated writing time outside of sprints, and a sucessful Camp Nano.  I completed a 30k word CampNano in April, so I’m going to try for a full Nano this camp, so 50,000.  Like before, my goal is to catch up with drabble prompts I owe, as well as finish some ongoing fanfics that should have been finished eons ago. Starting in August, I plan on doing some serious editing and planning so I can finish my Peresphone original novel and perhaps start its sequel, Isis.

Right now I’m off to a nightly sprint I do with a few friends and trying to write a couple drabble prompts within the 30 minutes.  Its an interesting challenge for those of you who like writing.  Just set aside a set amount of time (some people like to start with 10 minutes and work their way up) and try to just write (no editing, no distractions) for that amount of time.  Its not always possible, especially when you live with other people who need your attention for some reason or another, or like right now when you have a cat who wonders why you aren’t paying attention to them.  (Max is staring at me sorrowfully as he bemoans the lack of attention).