A really belated thank-you.
Oct. 12th, 2009 07:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiercelydreamedIt's somewhat belatedly come to my attention that Who's Left and Who's Leaving received a 2008 Stargate Fan Award for Best SGA Gen Team Drama Story. Thank you, to whoever nominated it and to those of you who voted for it! I'm especially touched (if slightly guilty) because I've written so little in the last year.
While I'm on the subject, this seems like a good time to ask: does the sequel still hold any interest for anyone? It's been on hold for ... well, basically since I plotted it; grad school killed my writing mojo but good. That said, I've got a Google Doc with the first fifth of it, and I know the general shape of the rest.
So this is the part where I blather a bit, mostly to get my thoughts in some kind of order. Please don't take any of this as fishing for feedback, encouragement, or hand-holding -- I'm not expecting any response from anyone, though if you've got advice I'll sure as hell take it.
I'll tell you honestly that "End of Miles" (the sequel) has ended up being a hell of a lot harder and more complicated than WLWL, and that I'm honestly not sure I'm capable of writing it to my satisfaction. Part of it's that WLWL was, structurally, a very simple story: I came up with the premise, and then it was a matter of looking at Atlantis -- at John's life, really -- and stripping things away. Turns out: death's easy, it's rebirth that's hard, so it makes sense that part of what's taken a lot of thought is world-building Mradi.
Really, though, it's John who's been driving me nuts, which is ironic because he's usually the easiest SGA character for me to write. His arc has been incredibly difficult for me to figure out, which means that while I know the events that take place, it's hard to structure them, and I'm normally a very architectural writer: I build stories in my head like they're suspension bridges, and I can tell you which cable connects to which girder before those pieces are even set in place. Trying to let go of wanting certainty has been daunting.
Also, all the traits that I usually like to write in John are problems for me here: they're not wrong, exactly, but I had to scrap my initial conception of what I was doing when I realized draft one was headed to be so one-note that I'd be ready to take it out back and put it out of its misery before I got to 10,000 words. There's a lot of complicated middle ground I need to find in the way that he deals with the new situation he's in, in order to make him a person (let alone a person anyone reading should spend an hour of their life with).
The end of the series threw me off, too -- not because it ended, but because they had a run of episodes where people did stupid things for uncharacteristically stupid reasons, and they worked anyway. Everybody felt more flimsy to me at the end of S5 than they had at the end of S4. Boo, PTB. There's a fly in thissoup fandom. Still, it's not like crappiness of source text ever stopped me before; quite the opposite, in fact.
So basically, what I guess I'm saying is: I'm not sure I can do it, and the doubt has kept me from trying to do it. As I'm typing it, it sounds like a really weak reason. So maybe, to get back into writing, I should think about making this my sacrificial story: the thing I write so I'm writing, while practicing non-attachment to the outcome. It might not be a bad idea -- brooding clearly isn't going to get it written, and I think my first attempt at a sacrificial story was Unidentified.
Hmm.
While I'm on the subject, this seems like a good time to ask: does the sequel still hold any interest for anyone? It's been on hold for ... well, basically since I plotted it; grad school killed my writing mojo but good. That said, I've got a Google Doc with the first fifth of it, and I know the general shape of the rest.
So this is the part where I blather a bit, mostly to get my thoughts in some kind of order. Please don't take any of this as fishing for feedback, encouragement, or hand-holding -- I'm not expecting any response from anyone, though if you've got advice I'll sure as hell take it.
I'll tell you honestly that "End of Miles" (the sequel) has ended up being a hell of a lot harder and more complicated than WLWL, and that I'm honestly not sure I'm capable of writing it to my satisfaction. Part of it's that WLWL was, structurally, a very simple story: I came up with the premise, and then it was a matter of looking at Atlantis -- at John's life, really -- and stripping things away. Turns out: death's easy, it's rebirth that's hard, so it makes sense that part of what's taken a lot of thought is world-building Mradi.
Really, though, it's John who's been driving me nuts, which is ironic because he's usually the easiest SGA character for me to write. His arc has been incredibly difficult for me to figure out, which means that while I know the events that take place, it's hard to structure them, and I'm normally a very architectural writer: I build stories in my head like they're suspension bridges, and I can tell you which cable connects to which girder before those pieces are even set in place. Trying to let go of wanting certainty has been daunting.
Also, all the traits that I usually like to write in John are problems for me here: they're not wrong, exactly, but I had to scrap my initial conception of what I was doing when I realized draft one was headed to be so one-note that I'd be ready to take it out back and put it out of its misery before I got to 10,000 words. There's a lot of complicated middle ground I need to find in the way that he deals with the new situation he's in, in order to make him a person (let alone a person anyone reading should spend an hour of their life with).
The end of the series threw me off, too -- not because it ended, but because they had a run of episodes where people did stupid things for uncharacteristically stupid reasons, and they worked anyway. Everybody felt more flimsy to me at the end of S5 than they had at the end of S4. Boo, PTB. There's a fly in this
So basically, what I guess I'm saying is: I'm not sure I can do it, and the doubt has kept me from trying to do it. As I'm typing it, it sounds like a really weak reason. So maybe, to get back into writing, I should think about making this my sacrificial story: the thing I write so I'm writing, while practicing non-attachment to the outcome. It might not be a bad idea -- brooding clearly isn't going to get it written, and I think my first attempt at a sacrificial story was Unidentified.
Hmm.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-13 01:54 pm (UTC)Also, I am with you on S5 putting a real damper on my love of the characters and the show. The gf and I have talked about scrapping S5 and writing our own 20 episodes, dealing with maybe half the themes they came up with, and then taking care of several other things we want tied up.
Actually... Hrm. That's kind of a huge idea. I know I'd never write a full season myself, even with help. But if there were 20 writers willing to take an episode each? *thinks*
Sorry - completely hijacked your post there. As for the story... it sounds like you need someone to soundboard off of, maybe? Because without details as to John's character development or the events of the story that you hint at, I find it hard to say more than "I want this!" Which I know is completely valid, but... also probably not helpful. I'll volunteer, if you want, but I have a feeling you probably have someone you go to for these things.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-28 06:22 am (UTC)I am lucky enough to have a couple of cheerleaders for this, and I need to overthink it less and trust them to tell me what I need to do to make it work as I go. I may well recruit you as another set of eyes -- I've found that when there are people reading/plotting with me as I put a story together, it can be good to have someone outside that process as a control, to make sure the story's logic makes sense on the page and not just because my behind-the-scenes blather has been convincing. :)
Thanks for the advice, K. Btw, I've been thinking recently that I miss trading emails with you -- will endeavor to correct that.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-30 03:39 pm (UTC)A) I seriously want to rewrite S5, though it's probably better left for next year, late winter/early spring, as that's the only time of the year without major writing fests for SGA. I'll consider drumming up more support then, but man, would I love to have you and
B) Send me whatever you want, whenever you want. I am willing to read and squee, read and soundboard, read and crit... whatever you need.
C) I miss it too! Clearly I need to become independently wealthy so I can do nothing but eat bon bons and chat with my friends. ♥