writing meme 21-30
Sep. 22nd, 2022 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
svgurl1-5 | 6-10 |11-20 | List of questions
21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?
At least a couple. It really depends how long it is. Usually, I'm editing and going back and rereading while I'm writing. Most of my edits are grammatical ones, though I will reword a sentence or add in a few lines if I think it will improve a scene.
22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style.
Ugh, this means reading them. Okay, here's a passage from a Clark/Oliver fic I wrote in 2007, Anticipated Realizations, going canon divergence on the episode 6.19 "Nemesis", because I really wanted Oliver to show up after Clark (and Lex) escaped the caves (before seeing the episode, I remember wanting Oliver to save Clark just on the basis of the summary but that didn't work for the story):
***But he missed Oliver like crazy. He was tired of being alone, of everyone else having someone except for him. Oliver was everything he wasn’t and he adored him for it. What he wouldn’t give just to see him again. Closing his eyes, he imagined Oliver showing up and saying his name, in that deep wonderful voice.
“ Clark .” Clark smiled to himself. Just like that. “ Clark !” This time, the voice was more frantic and Clark realized he wasn’t dreaming. He opened his eyes and found himself facing one very scared Oliver Queen.
“Oliver,” Clark said surprised.
“Yeah, well, I’m certainly not the Easter Bunny,” Oliver quipped, the traditional smirk gracing his features.
Clark knew he was grinning stupidly and couldn’t care less. “You’re here,” he stammered. “Why are you here?”
Oliver’s expression turned serious. “ Clark , I was in Metropolis on business. I was coming here to surprise you and I called Chloe. She told me what happened.” He bit his lip and his voice cracked. “You almost died; I was so worried I wouldn’t get here in time.”
And Oliver sounded pained. Clark would do anything to take that pain out of his voice. He did the first thing he could think of; he hugged him. Oliver stiffened for an instant but after a few seconds, returned the embrace.***
The whole story is pretty sappy it's not much before before this moment or after. It's also wordy and could use a bit of editing. Here goes:
**But Clark was tired of being alone, of everyone else having someone but him. And the truth was he didn't want just anyone; he wanted Oliver. They may have had their differences in the past, but Oliver was everything he wasn't and Clark found that he was only more attracted to him because of it. What he wouldn't give for him to be there in that moment, to see him, to hear him say his name. His eyes automatically closed, indulging in that particular fantasy.
"Clark." Just like that. "Clark!" That's when he realized it wasn't his imagination at work and his eyes flew open, gaping as he saw the man who had been occupying his thoughts standing in front of him, looking frantic.
"Oliver," he said, unable to hide the surprise from his tone or expression.
"Well, I'm certainly not the Easter Bunny," Oliver said, smirking.
"What are you ..." He trailed off, mind blank, as he struggled to come up with words. "What are you doing here?"
"Clark, I was in Metropolis for business," Oliver explained, growing serious once more. "I was coming by to visit, but when I couldn't reach you, I called Chloe. She filled me in. You"-His voice cracked, uncharacteristically-"You almost died. I thought I wouldn't get here in time."
Clark hated hearing Oliver sound so pained, and he wanted to fix it, but he wasn't sure what to say to make it better. So instead, he chose action over words, and pulled Oliver into his arms. Oliver instantly froze, this kind of intimacy unfamiliar for both of them, but within moments, relaxed, and wrapped his arms around Clark, returning the hug.***
Eh, slightly better. It could still use some work but I am lazy.
23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?
So many of my early multi chapter Clark/Oliver fics. They're just so melodramatic and weepy. A fic called "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" is still #1, where Clark decides to go out of the way to make Oliver dump him because he has to go off on his training (ffs just writing it out makes me feel like a moron- all I wanted to do was write a sad ending fic so I could write a sequel) just because of how OTT an OOC it was.
24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?
Yes, just a couple. Only one of them was finished and it is because I don't like the ship and I fell out with the person that I wrote it for, so it bothered me that it was around. Pretty petty on my part but no regrets.
25. What do you look for in a beta?
Just someone that will be a second pair of eyes. Mostly I want to check on SPAG but I also accept criticism and characterization pointers and whether the plot flows/makes sense.
26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?
Yes, very occasionally. I'm really happy to do it for anyone though. Unless asked otherwise, I tend to stick to spelling and grammar. I am happy to give other sorts of feedback as well as brainstorm ideas or cheerlead.
27. How do you feel about collaborations?
I've only tried to do one with my former beta ages ago and it never finished. I like the idea of it, but I am pretty picky and it would have to be with someone whose writing style is similar to mine and that I get along with well enough with.
28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.
3? Impossible!
![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
tiny_spy: writes amazing WW/Wondertrev fics and I'm constantly in awe of the way she is able to be so many words and they're all good!
brokenhighways: has a wonderful grasp on Clark and Lois, as characters and as a ship. Always great dialogue and plots. Also she got Oliver's voice in, like, one line, in a fic, and it has stayed with me forever
nanasekei - Really writes the kind of Steve/Tony that is what I'm looking for in the ship. Fun banter, and I love how much her Tony loves Steve (and the feeling is obviously mutual)
LearnedFoot: the reason I'm back to requesting Mike/Harvey in exchanges. Totally love the way they write those two. Nails what I love about the dynamic and the ship.
29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?
Does 'finishing a sequel' count? Because I remember one of the first Clois fics I really loved was 'A World Without Lois Lane', where Lois (who is engaged to Clark) ends up in an alternate universe where she died before they met. There was a sequel called 'A World Without Clark Kent', about the AU Clark after she left but it was never done. I always dreamed of the possibilities though I still would prefer she does it than me.
30. Do you accept prompts?
Yes, in theory. It might just take me a long time to actually get them done!
21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?
At least a couple. It really depends how long it is. Usually, I'm editing and going back and rereading while I'm writing. Most of my edits are grammatical ones, though I will reword a sentence or add in a few lines if I think it will improve a scene.
22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style.
Ugh, this means reading them. Okay, here's a passage from a Clark/Oliver fic I wrote in 2007, Anticipated Realizations, going canon divergence on the episode 6.19 "Nemesis", because I really wanted Oliver to show up after Clark (and Lex) escaped the caves (before seeing the episode, I remember wanting Oliver to save Clark just on the basis of the summary but that didn't work for the story):
***But he missed Oliver like crazy. He was tired of being alone, of everyone else having someone except for him. Oliver was everything he wasn’t and he adored him for it. What he wouldn’t give just to see him again. Closing his eyes, he imagined Oliver showing up and saying his name, in that deep wonderful voice.
“ Clark .” Clark smiled to himself. Just like that. “ Clark !” This time, the voice was more frantic and Clark realized he wasn’t dreaming. He opened his eyes and found himself facing one very scared Oliver Queen.
“Oliver,” Clark said surprised.
“Yeah, well, I’m certainly not the Easter Bunny,” Oliver quipped, the traditional smirk gracing his features.
Clark knew he was grinning stupidly and couldn’t care less. “You’re here,” he stammered. “Why are you here?”
Oliver’s expression turned serious. “ Clark , I was in Metropolis on business. I was coming here to surprise you and I called Chloe. She told me what happened.” He bit his lip and his voice cracked. “You almost died; I was so worried I wouldn’t get here in time.”
And Oliver sounded pained. Clark would do anything to take that pain out of his voice. He did the first thing he could think of; he hugged him. Oliver stiffened for an instant but after a few seconds, returned the embrace.***
The whole story is pretty sappy it's not much before before this moment or after. It's also wordy and could use a bit of editing. Here goes:
**But Clark was tired of being alone, of everyone else having someone but him. And the truth was he didn't want just anyone; he wanted Oliver. They may have had their differences in the past, but Oliver was everything he wasn't and Clark found that he was only more attracted to him because of it. What he wouldn't give for him to be there in that moment, to see him, to hear him say his name. His eyes automatically closed, indulging in that particular fantasy.
"Clark." Just like that. "Clark!" That's when he realized it wasn't his imagination at work and his eyes flew open, gaping as he saw the man who had been occupying his thoughts standing in front of him, looking frantic.
"Oliver," he said, unable to hide the surprise from his tone or expression.
"Well, I'm certainly not the Easter Bunny," Oliver said, smirking.
"What are you ..." He trailed off, mind blank, as he struggled to come up with words. "What are you doing here?"
"Clark, I was in Metropolis for business," Oliver explained, growing serious once more. "I was coming by to visit, but when I couldn't reach you, I called Chloe. She filled me in. You"-His voice cracked, uncharacteristically-"You almost died. I thought I wouldn't get here in time."
Clark hated hearing Oliver sound so pained, and he wanted to fix it, but he wasn't sure what to say to make it better. So instead, he chose action over words, and pulled Oliver into his arms. Oliver instantly froze, this kind of intimacy unfamiliar for both of them, but within moments, relaxed, and wrapped his arms around Clark, returning the hug.***
Eh, slightly better. It could still use some work but I am lazy.
23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?
So many of my early multi chapter Clark/Oliver fics. They're just so melodramatic and weepy. A fic called "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" is still #1, where Clark decides to go out of the way to make Oliver dump him because he has to go off on his training (ffs just writing it out makes me feel like a moron- all I wanted to do was write a sad ending fic so I could write a sequel) just because of how OTT an OOC it was.
24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?
Yes, just a couple. Only one of them was finished and it is because I don't like the ship and I fell out with the person that I wrote it for, so it bothered me that it was around. Pretty petty on my part but no regrets.
25. What do you look for in a beta?
Just someone that will be a second pair of eyes. Mostly I want to check on SPAG but I also accept criticism and characterization pointers and whether the plot flows/makes sense.
26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?
Yes, very occasionally. I'm really happy to do it for anyone though. Unless asked otherwise, I tend to stick to spelling and grammar. I am happy to give other sorts of feedback as well as brainstorm ideas or cheerlead.
27. How do you feel about collaborations?
I've only tried to do one with my former beta ages ago and it never finished. I like the idea of it, but I am pretty picky and it would have to be with someone whose writing style is similar to mine and that I get along with well enough with.
28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.
3? Impossible!
29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?
Does 'finishing a sequel' count? Because I remember one of the first Clois fics I really loved was 'A World Without Lois Lane', where Lois (who is engaged to Clark) ends up in an alternate universe where she died before they met. There was a sequel called 'A World Without Clark Kent', about the AU Clark after she left but it was never done. I always dreamed of the possibilities though I still would prefer she does it than me.
30. Do you accept prompts?
Yes, in theory. It might just take me a long time to actually get them done!
no subject
Date: 2022-09-23 12:34 pm (UTC)I used to accept prompts, back when my flist was active. They can inspire you quite nicely! 🤩
no subject
Date: 2022-09-29 09:28 pm (UTC)For sure! I enjoyed writing birthday fics back in the day too because you get new ideas and make someone happy. :D
no subject
Date: 2022-09-23 11:20 pm (UTC)A World Without Lois Lane is a good fic. I can't remember if I ever started the sequel. Either way, thanks for giving me something to add to my reading list. It's a shame it wasn't finished.
I fell out with the person that I wrote it for, so it bothered me that it was around. Pretty petty on my part but no regrets.
Lol! Sometimes it's just for the best.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-29 09:31 pm (UTC)True! She's a good writer in general, one of my faves back in the day, but she moved on to other fandoms. I don't know if she writes anymore but she was writing WestAllen from The Flash for a while too.
True! I don't like deleting fics in general because I feel sad about when a fic I liked is gone but yeah, I would've always associated it with that wanky person.