Insert Pretentious Writerly Title Here, or How I Got Where I am

[tejas]

xanthe is starting her journey from just being a fic writer to writing both fic and original work. (Congratulations!, Xanthe!) I was reading a post of hers on LJ and it reminded me of my own journey, which then got me thinking that maybe it would be useful if those of us who've made the jump were to talk about it. If nothing else, it would be fun to see

Comments

[superbadgirl]

I haven't read this in its entirety yet (am at work), but what I have is fascinating.

And I had to chuckle, because one of the crazy ideas I've had with the upcoming departure from this job is the possibility of writing gay porn and trying to get it published somewhere, somehow. I just haven't figured out how I'm going to take a little fic universe I created and build it into something more.

Or what to do with it if I ever get to that point. I don't bore easily, but I lack sufficient drive.

[tejas]

Porn for pay is one of the hottest self-pub options there is. taylorgibbs has some stuff out there now and it's very good. She's doing a serialized story that's hot. :-)

And thanks. If my rambling helps anyone else figure out what the hell they're doing, I'll feel like I've accomplished something. LOL

[taylorgibbs]

Aww thank you :)

[tejas]

Very welcome! I'm loving that one!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Wow-I knew very little of this. It sounds to me like you've been pretty darned successful overall, but I know when you're down, it's hard to see the up points-or you can see them, but it's hard to believe you'll ever reach them again, and that's even worse.

I'm glad you have someone to love! I hope that keeps going well!

It's great that you know what you need to do. My own writing is academic, and I'm still struggling a bit with getting it done. I'm still trying to figure out how I work best (although I have figured it it's not the same way it was when I was younger and had fewer responsibilities).

Great to hear from you again!

[tejas]

Thank you!

And yeah, my writing habits have changed so much over the years. And now it's a case of figuring out what my new method needs to be.

That essay was 4700ish words...and I wrote it today in between doing other things. If I could produce that much *fiction* a day I'd be in hog heaven. LOL

The Writer's Journey

[cleothemuse]

It's a long journey, but the destination--if indeed there ever is one!--is definitely worth the trip.

I don't dare begin mine until after college graduation... the urge to write is there, but I can SO easily get sucked into writing and forget the real world exists.

Re: The Writer's Journey

[tejas]

Maybe use it as a reward for when you've done some major school related task?

I can't wait to see what you do when you dive in. :-)

Re: The Writer's Journey

[cleothemuse]

My original novel idea is so huge, I've taken to recording the world-building and cross-referenced plot notes in a Wiki installed on my laptop. The trouble will be narrowing it down, but it MUST be reduced for better focus!

And yes... I could certainly reward myself with some writing time when a project gets finished... hmm...

Re: The Writer's Journey

[tejas]

And the earlier you finish the project? The more writing time you allow yourself. :-)

And I love your solution to the world building. :-) I tend to write these long, encyclopedia type articles that run on for page after page when I'm world building.

Which is basically what you're doing, you're just being even geekier than I am. *KUDOS*! LOL

[sg_wonderland]

I am reading this as Gibbs pretends to get drunk with his 'kids'.....and how could I forget this was a two-parter?

Good for you! I've gotten so many 'books' on Kindle that weren't worth reading. I'm glad that someone is writing something worth reading. And worth paying for.

Cause that's what it comes down to, doesn't it? I look at books that are 12 - 14 bucks and I'm thinking 'that'd have to be pretty damned good for me to pay that much for it'. More times than not, it isn't.

[tejas]

I shudder when I see some of the crap that people are paying money for. 50 Shades? Are you kidding me? (And how rich is it that she got all upset over someone using the theme for passion parties? LOL) On the one hand, I can be happy for anyone who makes a bundle writing. On the other hand, would it hurt to do it with *GOOD* writing?

[sg_wonderland]

It's kind of uplifting, in a way, cause I'm thinking 'even I can write this shit!'

[tejas]

LOL!!! Please write better than that. I know you can. LOL

[xanthe]

So much that's interesting here! It's always fascinating hearing about other people's journeys. I've never met one creative person who didn't struggle with depression of some form or another - it seems to come with the territory.

It's interesting how we're all on a journey. I've been writing fanfic for 14 years but never thought there would come a time when one could cut out the middleman and go straight to the consumer and sell one's own work. I talked about this with my brother, years ago, but it seemed always a long way off. Now it's happened and that feels like a whole new exciting world to explore.

Suddenly there are different possibilities for writers - and I love that. I always felt the trad publishing world was too much of a gatekeeper - I knew people loved kinky stories, but you could never get them published outside of a certain formula (always het) and style (Black Lace etc) and they didn't have the kind of deep, engaging stories I so often enjoyed in fanfic.

[tejas]

While I'm a huge fan of trad publishing, you are so right. The erotic side of the house has always been the redheaded bastard stepchild. It's certainly fun to play that line between what people really want and what trad pub is willing, or able for whatever reason, to provide.