Snowflake Challenge - Day 11 - The Creative Process

[cmk418]

Day 11

In your own space, talk about your creative process(es) — anything from the initial inspiration to how you feel after something’s done. Do you struggle with motivation or is it a smooth process? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to pull out when a fanwork isn’t cooperating? What is your level of planning to pantsing/winging it?


This one is a little bit difficult for me because the process varies from project to project. Some of you know that I have a background in screenwriting which makes my style, for the most part, very economical - there's no waxing rhapsodic about the color of the sky, the clothes someone is wearing, or the soft texture of someone's lips (unless I'm doing an exercise where those things are necessary). For the most part, it's basically dialogue with a little bit of action thrown in. I tend to write a lot of short things which basically is just writing a scene. The main issue is just figuring out what the scene is supposed to be about and then writing to that point. I like to have a bit of an emotional component to it and to hit that emotional chord as quickly as possible.

Research depends on the project. If it's something for a particular fandom and I have access to the movie or show, I might have to look at a particular scene or hear how a particular character is speaking so I can get their cadence down. I don't delve into the research because that has a tendency to waste a lot of time that could have been spent creating. My NaNo semi-autobiographical portrait of the artist as a hockey fan involved some research, but it also involved my faulty memory and there may have been a lot of "that one guy" in there.

I journal every morning- 3 pages longhand- just to get all of the lingering crud out from the previous day and be able to free my mind to work on other things later. There have been fics that I've tried to work out in my journal- usually those are for prompts where I'm trying to find a right fit.

Mostly, I just sit down at the keyboard and type. If something isn't working, I'll just stop it where it is and try to approach it again from a different angle. I may have to throw out a few hundred words, but some of it may be salvageable for the new approach. I won't say I've never let anything out into the world that I haven't been entirely satisfied with, because there've been a few instances, but I'm generally not so wedded to something that the idea of carving it up is unthinkable.

My advice for creating in fandom is to do what makes you happy. Write the weird pairings with the chemistry that only you can see. Write kinky stuff. Do a picture of the landscape of Tatooine if that's what floats your boat or seventeen icons of some obscure character. When you're done, it'll be one more fanwork for that particular subject and maybe it'll inspire someone else to do the same.

Comments

[severina2001.livejournal.com]

It's always super interesting to read about another person's writing processes. I especially enjoyed hearing that you write longhand every morning. Since I started my not-really-bullet-journal I've been using it mostly to track my progress on various things, and part of why I haven't used it for anything lengthier is this weird desire to keep it NEAT. But really, it should be used for whatever I WANT to use it for, and writing out ideas or random sentences or the name of that song that weirdly inspires me could be some of those things. I think you've inspired me.

Also, love your advice about just writing or creating whatever you wish, and especially that it might inspire others. As someone who writes in a lot of teeeensy fandoms and then sometimes picks the most obscure pairing ever, that made me feel a little ... justified? Or maybe just encouraged.

[cmk418]

Have you read any of "The Artist Way" books by Julia Cameron? That's where I got the journaling idea from. I've done it fairly consistently for the last year or so. I don't think there's any right way or wrong way to do it. One thing I got from your comment - I'm trying to commit to using a planner this year, so maybe I can write down prompts that have come up on a particular day so I can have inspiration for later. That sounds like a plan.

I think it's essential to write what interests you just to make sure it gets into the world. My first foray into OZ fandom was a hundred word drabble which had Jia Kenmin watching/lusting after Ryan O'Reily. (Mainly because I wanted to get the pairing into someone's head when I put my request for OZ Magi later that year)

I'm glad you're feeling encouraged. It's always nice to see you out here and I was thrilled to see you over at the Weekend Challenge this week. (I was a little nervous about it since it was the first time I hosted). Happy writing!

[severina2001.livejournal.com]

I have heard of those books but I think the spiritual aspect would put me off. I'm atheist. I do a lot of googling and such for journaling ideas. Sometimes all I'll end up with is bookmarks for layouts, but ideas can come from that, too.

I am still working on something from your prompt! That was a cool challenge. :)

[cmk418]

There is definitely a spiritual element there, so it might not be your cup of tea. One writing book I would recommend, if you can find it, is "For Writers Only" by Sophie Burnham. It has little insights into the process from start to finish as well as vignettes about what other writers have done or said in their process.

Glad you liked the prompt. I'm looking forward to reading what you write.

[severina2001.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've added it to my "books recommended" list. :)