#writing is a process

[elleldoe]

Writing is more than just stringing words together.

My writing is my blood, sweat, and tears. It's my desires, my interests, my fears. It's my dwindling sanity. It's sleepless nights, fueled by the need to get the words out. It's my heart pounding in my chest because of too much caffeine. It's typos because my shaky fingers miss the keys. It's doubt, uncertainty, as I give myself over to the process, wondering if I'll manage to live up to my own expectations. It's guilt, devastation, when I feel like I can't. It's strength, perseverance, when I continue regardless. It's accomplishment, pride, a rush, when I'm satisfied with the result. It's change because, just like the words, I, too, have changed, a part of me now inextricably tied to what I have created, forever left behind on the page, by the time I'm done.

[anotherhawk]

I last studied maths a quarter of a century ago and dropped it as soon as I could. I never studied physics. Why am I in the maths-and-science fandom trying to figure out timelines in base six while accounting for relativity???

[leafwateraddict]

Im gonna do it. Im finally gonna post art for my fanfic…

[opaige]

okay ive thought about how much odysseus loves penelope enough that i feel like throwing up, which means im ready to work on the hades fic

[tvaccaro]

It's okay if your first draft sucks!

Creating is hard. You're literally sifting through the dark recesses of your mind piled to the brim with chaotic thoughts and ideas, and desperately hauling them out into the light. Of course it's gonna look like shit at first!

Be patient and kind to yourself. You need time to take what you've brought back, rearrange and experiment with it, and eventually curate it into a beautiful story.

You're still getting to know your work. Don't give up on it just before you discover the beauty beneath.

[iwillkeepfighting]

Me: this self-indulgent fic is just for me, I never have to share it with fandom, it does not matter what people would think of it Me, spending half an hour poring over lists of DC villain organizations searching for one where two specific villains would feasibly meet each other: —But It Has To Be Accurate Though

because how else could I, both author and audience, set up the big plot point I've been mentally planning for multiple years, if the villain who carries it out does not have a feasible way of discovering the opportunity from this other villain who had a chance encounter on a whim last week?

[artemisianerdmom]

Like many others, I was very concerned by NaNoWriMo’s recent post concerning the organization’s stance on AI. I like to keep things light on this blog, so here’s a meme summing up my feelings on the matter:

NaNoWriMo’s remarks concerning how the condemnation of AI is inherently ableist and classist struck me as truly bizarre. Maybe I’m throwing a blanket over the topic here, but it seems to me that all writers, whether abled or disabled, represented or underrepresented, generally have one goal in common:

To write.

I’ve never used generative AI in my own writing and I never plan to. Part of the fun for me is sitting there, staring at the end of my blank document trying to think of what happens next. Part of the fun is wrestling with that one sentence or paragraph, trying to figure out how to make it work or if I even need it at all. For me, having fun with my writing and finally surmounting the challenges I create for myself are what make those hours I spend drafting and revising and deleting and rewriting all worth it.

I continue to scratch my head over some of NaNoWriMo’s remarks about how the use of AI can be helpful for replacing human feedback. The organization’s full name is “National Novel Writing Month,” not “National Novel Editing Month,” after all. I know that they have resources for revision and publishing after the fact, but I always thought that the biggest thing NaNoWriMo pushed was the creation aspect of writing. I always saw the challenge as a way to compel myself to finish a draft in a short period of time, so the organization’s refusal to condemn the use of especially generative AI just doesn’t sit right with me.

I mean, what is the point of taking the NaNoWriMo challenge if you don’t Wri your No?