That Old Familiar Feeling . . .

[corduroybard]

I'm feeling that itch again, the itch that tells me I want to undertake a writing project. Specifically I'd love to take on Halfway again, because I really liked the premise and characters. Frankly I blame all of you NaNoWriMo types for this itch, you're like poison ivy on a mosquito bite. Not that I want to do NaNoWriMo really, on some inherent

Comments

[leeflower]

video games you could be playing?

...vid...?

...nevermind. I don't even want to know what's going on in your twisted mind that could make video games seem > writing as a priority. It might be contagious.

As far as nano, it is at its heart nothing more than an excuse to get your butt into your chair and write. A whole lot of people talk about the 'novel they're meaning to write someday.' Those of us who've actually written one say 'put up or shut up.' There's no time like the present. 50,000 words in a month is too much? Fine. Write less. Five hundred a day, maybe. But just write, because you can't revise what's not on the page.

Not that *I'm* doing nano, mind you. November's a terrible month for students, and butt-in-chair isn't my problem (query-in-mail is).

[corduroybard]

Yeah see, this isn't quite the same. It's more of an issue of trying to sort which priority is most important. I have a lot of things I've been "meaning" to do. The video game thing connects to the fact that if I've bought all these games I might as well play them. What's more, when I could easily finish the majority of the ones I own, I should do that instead of letting them languish as unfinished projects on my plate.

Also, what about my music? I like this story idea, I also like to sing . . . which is more important to me? I'm not sure I have time for both.

[leeflower]

I find it amusing that video games qualify as 'unfinished projects,' especially in comparison to something you yourself could be creating. I've always considered writing a song or finishing a story a much, much more impressive achievement than beating a video game. A million people can beat halo (a million people probably have, in fact). Only you can finish your story or write your music.

Obviously, other people can't set priorities for you. But in the end, you have time for what you make time for. If finishing Halfway is important to you, make time for it. The fact that you have video games to finish doesn't mean you 'don't have time' to write. It means you're choosing to spend you're time doing something else instead.

[corduroybard]

Ironically, I make the same argument against fanfic. But no, the video games I'm talking about are not Halo (which is already done by the way). The video games to which I refer are Action-RPGs, AKA stories with pictures. In my mind they're the equal of a book in terms of prioritizing. It's not about beating the video game, it's about knowing what happens to the hero/heroes. The act of earning the right to see that ending is similar to not skipping to the end of a book.

One big thing though is that I try to spread my time between work to make something, and something more like a book, which is less stress on me and gives me back something by reading it.

[littleredmorain]

You know I'll always support your writting, especially where Halfway is concerned. I still remember the first time to read that to me and the boys. It was a bus conference and Toby nearly throttled you for not having more of it.

Hell, I could even write notes while you dictate if you want!