Joy's Fic

Survivor story update

Sat, 07 Jul 2018 17:07:04 GMT

I'm almost done with the Survivor fic's self-betaing. I haven't written the ending and so far, there are 24 pages, so perhaps it'll end up being 28. There isn't any sex in this story b/c the situation won't allow it. Alas. Sorry about that. However, Jack takes a moment to remember, without too much graphic detail, his and Daniel's First Time, and how Daniel was a virgin in all M/M respects including kissing.

Anyways, if anyone's interested in betaing this puppy, lemme know.

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Trilogy 14 Update

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 15:43:48 GMT

Trilogy 14: Page 67. 24,257 wds. 3/4 done. Thanks for your patience.

A little encouragement is always welcome. ;)

Anyone out there familiar with this series willing to beta?

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On I go without a compass

Mon, 15 Aug 2016 13:38:55 GMT

So. On page 51. Wheeee....

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Getting back into writing and plotting

Sat, 13 Aug 2016 12:36:33 GMT

My plunge back into writing with the JD Ficathon entry, "Reunion", was a step toward getting my ass back into writing my Trilogy series.

Sadly, I've lost so much of my ability to properly write exposition and "filler". My last chapter, Trilogy 13, was 188 pages of detailed storyline. I may have gone a bit overboard, but I couldn't see where it may have been trimmed. Still, I was rather proud of it.

Comparing that against my current project, Trilogy 14, and my opinion about my writing losses is valid. I'm on page 38 (yay, something is done at any rate) and I am damn near *finished*. I don't see where the plot should be added to. I've lost my ability to create detailed exposition and filler. Now, I've gone back through the story, filled in exposition where I think it needed, and I'm pretty sure where I'll need to put it in next, but after that is done, I'll only have 40 pages. I've perhaps got another five to write, so let's end the story at 45. 45? Forty-fucking-five?

What in the hell happened? I just don't understand. Okay, I understand that if you stop writing for a while, say having writer's block due to stress, it will take a bit of the usual "writer's stress" to get back to form, but come on! 45 pages?

I'm seriously at a loss.

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Writing about Subjects You Know Nothing About ...

Mon, 18 May 2015 20:44:37 GMT

Without taking classes or reading books about the subject.

As writers, we know one of our basic tenets is research, research, research. But what if you're writing about a character who's taken up a subject we've never seen before and something you know nothing about either, and instead of taking up a lot of classes and learning something you have no intention of putting to practical use, and you don't really want to do that much research?

What are thoughts about such a provocative turn in your writing?

My pointed example: Daniel likes photography, and uses a camera a lot of the time in his work as an anthro/archaeo scientist. Knowledge/use of his camera is the "tool" of the story.

But the only thing I know about photography is basic point-and-shoot digital cameras. Buttons for zoom or panorama are easy things to use in cameras these days so there's no real learning involved when it comes to photography.

So the question is, could I get away with writing a story like this without actually using descriptors and exposition. As an artist, I think I could fake a little bit, but I know nothing about lenses and filters and the types of digital shooting. It's not like film shooting, and perhaps there's no need for filters and lenses (and if you know that already, you know more than I do) in digital photo work, but I still wonder: how much research would I really need to do in order to make the story interesting without being boring?

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I Made a Bad Writer boo-boo

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 04:07:58 GMT

I've been looking through photos for other Trinity/Trilogy characters to "paint", especially those secondary characters who aren't always front and center. So I thought of Jason's team, SG-2, and his 2IC, Alex Wagner, is an easy one since he looks like Paul Walker, but with brown eyes. I started to look for the pics that describe the other two team members and after a bit of research through Trinity and Trilogy, I realized that I've never fully described their appearances. At first, they were "background" characters, but I then gave them personalities and spouses so why the hell hadn't I ever given them descriptions?

*sigh*

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How Music Can Inspire Writing the Fun Dark Stuff

Sun, 23 Mar 2014 05:32:00 GMT

In other words, when writing dark characters, music can pretty much write the story for you. All you need to do is type it out. ;)

I'm in the middle of a rut in writing the next chapter of my Trilogy series. Been doing a lot of research and reworking of history. It's in the same category as the reworking of Norse Mythology for Stargate SG-1. The research is taking a long time, and it's fairly extensive. Have no idea yet how much of what I learn and rework will actually end up in my story.

In the meantime, I'm considering writing some short pieces, partly to get my mind back in gear about being able to write--have the time for writing. And there is a bloody universe of ideas on *what* to write.

For the last week or so, I've latched onto certain music from a TV ad and, of all things, a PC game. Both are giving me wonderfully horrible/creepy/dark ideas.

There's a lovely little ditty out there called "Kill of the Night" by Gin Wigmore (a lovely and strange name *g*). Her song is used for backdrop advertising for many TV series running on the Investigation Discovery channel. Nationwide Insurance has adopted it too, so no matter what channel I'm watching, I hear that music.

The song, which I d/l from Amazon after I hunted down the what/who of it's name/singer, has a wonderfully twisted sound. Partly old-fashioned, in that "smokey nightclub of the 40s" vein, it's got some dark lyrics which I consider fun and entertaining. The words and music spawn lots of plot bunnies in my head.

There's another piece of music that's incredibly creepy (on purpose). It's the theme music for Clint Eastwood's movie, High Plains Drifter. That's a dark tale, and the music matches. It's not a "fun" piece of dark, not like "Kill of the Night" is. But it does inspire "intensity" in whatever plot bunny scenes leak out of my brain.

The PC music isn't using a cover of High Plains Drifter. *G* But a piece of background music that plays once in a while has these high drawn-out notes that remind me of the High Plains Drifter music, specifically the parts at the beginning and ending scenes of the film where the stranger (Clint's character, who is either a ghost of the dead sheriff or the embodiment of revenge and justice) comes from the desert, appearing/disappearing like a mirage. You can see what I mean by listening to the beginning of this piece someone kindly put on Youtube: http://youtu.be/iYZwcuC0z4o

Anyways. Music always inspires me, one way or another. These "dark" pieces of music mentioned here inspire me to go to the dark side. I have before, but not to the extent where I made a reader all that uncomfortable. What I'd like to do is write a story, short or long, that makes me feel like the dark music makes me feel. The thing is, I wonder at my readership's reactions. I don't normally let opinion sway what I write, but when it comes to how dark to go, I generally keep to big nasty spiders and what not. What I need to do is go all Dexter (season one) and to hell with negative opinion. *wince*

I should go for it anyway. And then laugh at myself when the fear of backlash doesn't come and instead, I get tumbleweeds. *snort*

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Dear Muse, I Hate You

Sun, 27 Oct 2013 07:04:08 GMT

How come I get all these fantastic plots along with the desire to write five days before Halloween?

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J/D Ficathon is On!

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 12:12:51 GMT

Have my assignment. Here's hoping I do it justice. :) Been a long time since I've done anything even remotely similar. I mean, it's been so long in our fandom that I've engaged in any challenges, not since I was a member of FDAS Yahoo Group. Here's hoping that active participation on DW will change all that. :)

Now, off to see the wizard...

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Website Feedback Requested

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:28:06 GMT

Here's the link to the web design I plan to buy for the fanfic portion of my website.

There is a single column for stories, including code for pics within the page.

Feedback is appreciated, though I should add that this is a design that's for keeps. I'm on a photoshop-CS6 look and this baby is as close to what I want as I've found. This includes the purple scheme, though I'll be changing the pics and eliminating account features bit. I may put links there, I dunno yet.

If this color scheme is too hard for people, let me know. While I'm keeping the scheme, I can import stories to my account on Archive of our Own (AO3), providing I'm getting enough feedback to do that. As you know, AO3 has a basic black-on-white theme, and if I get specific requests, I can do that. However, I've no plans to import all of my stories (god, what a tedious chore that will be) **UNLESS** I get requests to do that.

I know that many people read my stories on various platforms, and iirc, the new design shouldn't be too bad on cellphones. OTOH, why the hell would anyone read stories on a cellphone? You have to have bionic eyes for that. ;)

In my previous post, I said that I was planning to scale down the SG-1 site. But then I got some feedback on the site today, telling me how happy they were for all the info. And as we know, only 10% of readers give feedback. So I guess all the content will have to stay. ;)

Anyway, AO3 importing won't need to wait for my website overhaul, so again, please give me some feedback to let me know about readability, both on my new design and what's displayed on AO3. :)

Thanks. :)

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Getting There

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:09:04 GMT

Hi all. Just a message from the abyss (snerk, name of journal style).

Now that I've been in my own place for 8 months, I think I'm adjusting well. After all, it's the first time I've lived by myself. At age 53. :desk: I'm getting to do my own thing without having to answer to anyone about leaving a plate on the coffee table, sitting around in my underwear, showering whenever the hell I want to, taking a nap whenever I want to...

*contented sigh*

Over the last two/three years, it's been tough for me to write: Writer's block and stress. Now that I'm on my own, I'm having to get used to a whole new life and I'm afraid it's taken a toll on my creative ability. Typing without interruption hasn't changed however. I have a cat who's now 10 months old and when he really wants my attention, he makes sure I can't ignore him (like getting behind the computer and messing with the cables).

OTOH, he's my only distraction. Pleasant, that is. Other distractions are summed up in one word: pain. Whether it's my wrist, my shoulder, my neck, my head, my back. *eyeroll* I take naproxen and most of the time, it does a good job. But when I finally get a chance to see if I can break that goddamn writer's block, I ... just sit there.

I've ordered the speaking software, Dragon Home, and will teach myself the program by starting with journal posts. It'll be hard because I write better than I speak and I'll suddenly have to pay attention to the words that come out of my mouth. ;)

I'm hoping this software will help when I have difficulty typing. :)

As for creating my stories, my mind is never far away from them. I think up stuff all the time. Jason's actually in a few passwords so he is *never* out of my mind. :)

I am also going to devise a new theme for parts of my website. The fanfic part will remain the same for the time being because it's way too big a project to change. The Stargate wallpaper site, however, will be integrated with other fandoms. It'll stay by itself, but I plan to have more fandoms in on the fun. It's early yet, and the theme I'd like to have needs to be paid for (only $20) because I got sick of searching free templates for the theme that I'd like to have. My design interest is in pages that resemble the Adobe CS6 UI. I really love the dark grey. It brings out colors really well, makes them pop. :)

--------

Anyhoodles, that's my update on things. :)

Oh, and by the way, nagging and suggestions are *totally* invited. :)

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Having Title Issues?

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:29:46 GMT

For all my peeps who've been having that hair-pulling Fic Title brain lock, I found this through a link on DeviantART: The Title Generator

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