How about a ~writing self-accountability~ post

[mistressofmuses]

Okay, so back in October I had what I'll generously call an "ambitious" plan for writing. The month actually started out pretty well, and I got a decent chunk of my goals done. (Then work got stressful and things sort of went to hell.)

November didn't have much of a plan beyond NaNo, but at least I succeeded!

But now I've got a handful of WIPs, and it's been between one and two months since I worked on any of 'em, plus I'm stuck in that post-NaNo fog where the relief of not having to write 1667+ words/day means I write 0 words/day.

I've got two WIPs that have bits posted up on AO3, so those are my priorities.

(I can't remember if I mentioned it here, or just thought about it, but those have DEFINITELY reaffirmed that I don't like posting as I write. Some people find getting feedback as they go motivating, and find writing and posting one chapter at a time to be easier than writing a whole fic without sharing it...

Maybe that's true for writers who get a lot of feedback, but unfortunately, that's not me, haha. Instead it just makes me feel guilty that I'm not posting regularly. Plus it's harder to go back if I decide I want to lay some breadcrumbs for a later plot point/twist, or if I decide that a hinted plot thread actually isn't going anywhere, etc.

Plus with fics that I start to feel burned out on, or don't know how to continue, I could just give up on them and not disappoint anyone, lol. I know it's not like... illegal to abandon a fic just because it's been posted, but I don't want to do that.)

SO. Here's the list of writing things to be done:

Connections of the Heart (the Unconventional Courtship fic)
- make a cover/moodboard thing
- write chapter 5
- write chapter 6
- 2nd draft of chapter 3
- post chapter 3
- 2nd draft of chapter 4
- post chapter 4
- 2nd draft of chapter 5
- post chapter 5
- 2nd draft of chapter 6
- post chapter 6
DONE!

Island Territory (the Vampire/Monster Hunter AU)
- reread chapter 1 and the two earlier oneshots
- write chapter 2
- write chapter 3
- write chapter 4
- 2nd draft of chapter 2
- post chapter 2
- 2nd draft of chapter 3
- post chapter 3
- 2nd draft of chapter 4
- post chapter 4
DONE!

Beyond that:
- write the last part of the bodyguard AU? If I can remember where I was going with it, lol
- cover/moodboard for All Strange Wonders
- final edits on ASW
- finally start posting ASW!
- 2nd/3rd draft of Outbreak (the Silent Hill fic from 2016 that I held off on posting because it's about a contagious disease.)
- HORRIBLE IDEA for a Christmas/holiday rom-com type AU. I meant it as an offhand unserious passing comment and then there were plot bunnies. Considering I haven't ever watched all the way through any of the Hallmark-style holiday rom-coms, I don't even know if I could write one. It's not a thing I even really like, it'd just be cute for my OT3. :( And if I write it over the course of 2022, I could have it to post next December.
- The fairytale world-hopping monstrosity? It has so much idea debt behind it at this point, but I still want to write it, despite it having been in various stages of progress for more than a decade.

I have not figured out a true schedule or set myself any soft deadlines on any of this yet.

But tentatively...
- make the cover/moodboard thing for CotH by Tuesday, Dec 14
- get chapter 5 of CotH written by Saturday, Dec 18 (or at least be a couple thousand words into it)
- get chapter 5 and 6 first drafts absolutely done by the end of the month. Hopefully before that.

I may refine those goals and come up with some more specific deadlines, but at least for now, that's what I'm going with.

Comments

[olivermoss]

I also hate posting as I go. I worry more about leaving things unfinished than I should.

[mistressofmuses]

Same! I know that statistically, there are a LOT of unfinished fics out there, or ones that go on hiatus for longer than a couple months. I know that most people read in-progress fic with the understanding there's a chance it won't ever be completed. But I hate the idea of leaving something unfinished (that other people know about!)

[olivermoss]

Yeah, I take the idea of having unfinished WIPs out there way too seriously. It's probably half forgotten fandom stuff from ages ago that makes me feel that way. That and being eternally sad that a Sentinel-Highander crossover fic from a few decades ago is forever unfinished.

[mistressofmuses]

Hard same. I very much remember the pain of long-unfinished faves from way back when. (Though had the vague shock once of going back to a nostalgic old fic and finding that had been finished after a years-long hiatus.)

[scarlipswolfwife]

With all my WIPs, I actually like posting them as I finish a new section because if I didn't, nothing of mine would ever get posted. Plus, with Hemispheres, I get comments like, "Oh yay! I've been waiting for the next bit! I'm so glad you're still writing this!" So that boosts my morale a lot. LOL Since I have several WIPs that I'm seesawing with, it helps to post whatever I've finished (even if I have to break that part up into chapters). Though I mean. I don't get a lot of kudos or comments. I just never have. I'm not one of the "popular" writers in any of the pairs I write - though to be fair a couple of them are kinda rare pairs. So I don't get tons of people gushing. Sometimes that can feel kind of discouraging, but it hasn't stopped me lately from writing.

[mistressofmuses]

I'm glad it works for you!

I know a lot of it is just the difference in fandoms (and that I only write for an OT3 that has a pretty solid following, but is less popular than the component pairs), but you get way more interaction on your fics than I ever do!

Those types of comments ARE extremely morale-boosting, and have definitely given me motivation, or sometimes encouraged me to continue a oneshot into something more! For me, the anxiety about not having the rest done just outweighs any of the encouragement I get from those comments. Or the encouragement is tinged with guilt because I don't know when I'll have more done. (I still post chapter by chapter when I have the whole fic written... and knowing I can stick to a regular posting schedule is a big relief.)

Fortunately, the lack of substantial response to my stuff doesn't really discourage me, either. I'm fairly good at NOT looking at my numbers. And I write stuff because I enjoy it - other people enjoying it is a bonus, though! Otherwise I wouldn't feel much need to share it.

[spikedluv]

I used to post WIPs, but I don't like doing it these days.

Good luck with your fic wordage!

[mistressofmuses]

It gives me too much anxiety and guilt, not knowing when I'll have more to post!

Thank you!