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hollywdlizEvery couple of years, I take another crack at NaNoWriMo. I don't think I've ever gotten beyond 10,000 words; most years I don't even get close to that.
This year, I gave myself permission to write whatever I wanted even if it's spread across a bunch of different works. And holy shit, that was the key for me. I'm past the 30,000-word mark, which is BANANAS. The vast majority of it is purely self-indulgent fanfic I will never show anyone (I'm serious, please don't ask), but writing the stuff I want to write even though nobody else will ever read it has been an incredibly freeing experience. The practice has made me a better writer even in the past two weeks, and I think I'll be able to reuse a fair amount of the "I'm never showing this to anyone" fic in stories I am actually willing to show people. (Still fanfic, but writing nonetheless.)
Speaking of which, I don't think I've posted fanfic in at least a decade, and very rarely before then. I finally worked up the courage to post a story to AO3 tonight. It's MCU-ish, Steve/Tony, vague timeline, sexy but not explicit, and I kind of don't hate it? It's about 80% fluff and 20% PWP. God bless tropes, honestly.
I'm proud of myself for doing this, because it was frankly pretty scary. I think my therapist will be impressed that I put myself out there even though she'll have no idea what I'm talking about if I get into specifics. It was fun to play with the characters and put my own spin on things. Working on stuff like this is definitely giving me energy for my original fiction; I have a few different ideas I'm working on that might be workable as short stories or even novels. Part of me wishes I'd tried this years ago, but honestly, I wasn't there yet. I'm finally in a place where my brain is good to go, at least sometimes. I hope there's more to come.
In other news, I got back into figure skating. It's harder than ever before, because I'm older and heavier now, but I'm glad I stuck it out through those first few painful sessions of "oh god I get dizzy just skating backward what the hell am I even doing here," because a lot of stuff is starting to come back. I bought an annual pass to the local rec center that includes all public sessions, and they have three 2-hours sessions a week on weekdays when there are rarely more than 5-10 skaters, so it's heaven and it's a hell of a good deal. I bought new skates a few months ago (Jackson Premiere boots, if you care; I put my old but barely used Coronation Ace blades on them) and wow, boot technology has come a LONG way in the past two decades. Heat molding is a godsend. I haven't even bled in them, which was unheard of in the old days. (I do not miss the old days.) And I love being able to prop up my phone at the boards and take videos of myself so I can see exactly how I'm fucking it up! I'm in the process of looking for a coach, but it's helpful to know what I need to work on in the meantime.
This year, I gave myself permission to write whatever I wanted even if it's spread across a bunch of different works. And holy shit, that was the key for me. I'm past the 30,000-word mark, which is BANANAS. The vast majority of it is purely self-indulgent fanfic I will never show anyone (I'm serious, please don't ask), but writing the stuff I want to write even though nobody else will ever read it has been an incredibly freeing experience. The practice has made me a better writer even in the past two weeks, and I think I'll be able to reuse a fair amount of the "I'm never showing this to anyone" fic in stories I am actually willing to show people. (Still fanfic, but writing nonetheless.)
Speaking of which, I don't think I've posted fanfic in at least a decade, and very rarely before then. I finally worked up the courage to post a story to AO3 tonight. It's MCU-ish, Steve/Tony, vague timeline, sexy but not explicit, and I kind of don't hate it? It's about 80% fluff and 20% PWP. God bless tropes, honestly.
I'm proud of myself for doing this, because it was frankly pretty scary. I think my therapist will be impressed that I put myself out there even though she'll have no idea what I'm talking about if I get into specifics. It was fun to play with the characters and put my own spin on things. Working on stuff like this is definitely giving me energy for my original fiction; I have a few different ideas I'm working on that might be workable as short stories or even novels. Part of me wishes I'd tried this years ago, but honestly, I wasn't there yet. I'm finally in a place where my brain is good to go, at least sometimes. I hope there's more to come.
In other news, I got back into figure skating. It's harder than ever before, because I'm older and heavier now, but I'm glad I stuck it out through those first few painful sessions of "oh god I get dizzy just skating backward what the hell am I even doing here," because a lot of stuff is starting to come back. I bought an annual pass to the local rec center that includes all public sessions, and they have three 2-hours sessions a week on weekdays when there are rarely more than 5-10 skaters, so it's heaven and it's a hell of a good deal. I bought new skates a few months ago (Jackson Premiere boots, if you care; I put my old but barely used Coronation Ace blades on them) and wow, boot technology has come a LONG way in the past two decades. Heat molding is a godsend. I haven't even bled in them, which was unheard of in the old days. (I do not miss the old days.) And I love being able to prop up my phone at the boards and take videos of myself so I can see exactly how I'm fucking it up! I'm in the process of looking for a coach, but it's helpful to know what I need to work on in the meantime.
no subject
Date: 2019-11-12 01:35 pm (UTC)The skating is also great news. Congratulations, Liz. This is all wonderful. I've now subscribed to you so I can shower you with praise the next time you post, when you're ready to gift us with more.