on writing
Aug. 12th, 2005 12:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starzkiI'm reading Vonnegut
again. He's like a comfy old blanket I can always go back to and
just revel in the genius of his writing. I'm reading Bluebeard.
Well, re-reading it. I had forgotten a lot of it. I didn't
remember that he made the statement (that he's made in other places)
that writers should not write for a general audience. They should
write for just one person. They should tell a story that would
just tickle or engage or ring true for that one person in their
life. Vonnegut has said he sometimes writes for his sister.
I tend to write for my old roommates. There is always at least
one allusion to a situation or phrase that just would have made them
snort with laughter, especially J. We've been cracking each other
up for over a decade now.
But fanfiction is an odd thing. You're just sort of playing around with characters that aren't yours, but who you love anyway. For me, it usually starts with an image or situation that I can't get out of my head. If it sticks around a while, it gets to be like a splinter. You have to get it out of you one way or another or it will fester. And if I find a particular image that interesting, chances are that others will, too. So I try and fashion a story that makes some kind of sense around it. Sometimes the story is just too silly or nonsensical to go anywhere and I won't waste my time on making it work. Other times, I Mary Sue all over the story and that is fine for me to think about, but I know it's really really boring and annoying for others, so I don't actually write those stories out either. But there are some images that won't quit and I have to write them, even without the story just so I can sleep without it poking me and demanding attention. I think it has to do with the fact I have no other artistic outlets in my life (can't draw, sing, play an instrument, or really anything). I do write in my job, but it's definitely not artistic. It's pure, hard work.
I would love nothing more than to have some talent and be able to come up with my own characters and take the time to learn the art and try my hand at fiction. But I don't have the drive or discipline, never mind the talent. I have a job that I love and I'm finding that I actually don't completely suck at it. So fanfiction is a distraction. Usually it's a wonderfully pleasant distraction and I refuse to feel guilty for not being a "real" writer. There are plenty of those out there. I'm just having fun. Even if I didn't post them, I would be coming up with stories and just telling them to myself as entertainment. It keeps me sane and happy. That's probably why I hate the "Update now!" reviews. I'll get to writing them as it pleases me. I only post them because, as Vonnegut has written, the only way to know if I'm improving as a writer is to put the work in a public place and let others share their thoughts with me (art or not?).
I forget what brought this on. Maybe it's just reading Vonnegut again. Despite the fact that he's generations older than me with completely different life experiences, he's already written everything that I would have wanted to write.
On a completely unrelated note:
Yesterday I sneezed and, as a result, I scraped my elbow on my desk (I swear, this kind of thing only happens to me). Now I have a boo-boo and it's kind of annoying me.
But fanfiction is an odd thing. You're just sort of playing around with characters that aren't yours, but who you love anyway. For me, it usually starts with an image or situation that I can't get out of my head. If it sticks around a while, it gets to be like a splinter. You have to get it out of you one way or another or it will fester. And if I find a particular image that interesting, chances are that others will, too. So I try and fashion a story that makes some kind of sense around it. Sometimes the story is just too silly or nonsensical to go anywhere and I won't waste my time on making it work. Other times, I Mary Sue all over the story and that is fine for me to think about, but I know it's really really boring and annoying for others, so I don't actually write those stories out either. But there are some images that won't quit and I have to write them, even without the story just so I can sleep without it poking me and demanding attention. I think it has to do with the fact I have no other artistic outlets in my life (can't draw, sing, play an instrument, or really anything). I do write in my job, but it's definitely not artistic. It's pure, hard work.
I would love nothing more than to have some talent and be able to come up with my own characters and take the time to learn the art and try my hand at fiction. But I don't have the drive or discipline, never mind the talent. I have a job that I love and I'm finding that I actually don't completely suck at it. So fanfiction is a distraction. Usually it's a wonderfully pleasant distraction and I refuse to feel guilty for not being a "real" writer. There are plenty of those out there. I'm just having fun. Even if I didn't post them, I would be coming up with stories and just telling them to myself as entertainment. It keeps me sane and happy. That's probably why I hate the "Update now!" reviews. I'll get to writing them as it pleases me. I only post them because, as Vonnegut has written, the only way to know if I'm improving as a writer is to put the work in a public place and let others share their thoughts with me (art or not?).
I forget what brought this on. Maybe it's just reading Vonnegut again. Despite the fact that he's generations older than me with completely different life experiences, he's already written everything that I would have wanted to write.
On a completely unrelated note:
Yesterday I sneezed and, as a result, I scraped my elbow on my desk (I swear, this kind of thing only happens to me). Now I have a boo-boo and it's kind of annoying me.
