NaNoWriMo meme from here.

( Questions and answers )

Writing progress:
. If you can call me editing at a snail's pace and wondering if a certain turn of plot makes sense, or whether I should start abusing the thesaurus, progress...
. In lieu of reference books, I downloaded Indonesian translations of Jin Yong novels. I've already got three (two of which seem to have been translated by Gan KL rather than Oey Kim Tiang - not sure about the third), the shortest of which is 700 pages long.
. All the female characters are the strong, knightly type, though with different personalities. Since women in wulin tend to rely more on weapons than men do, I also get to pick cool weapons for them.
. Speaking of characters, I don't usually make a detailed list of their personalities from the start. I just assign an adjective or two to each character (e.g. A is hot-tempered, B is rational, C is your usual curious teenager), and, as the story rolls along, watch how they'd react to particular situations. (My type is probably one of the worst pantsers imaginable)

Meme:
Choose one of my icons and I'll write something based on it. If it's not a fandom icon, I have the right to write for any fandom or an original snippet.

1. From here:
Pick any of my stories, and write the WORST possible description of it, and then I have to guess which one it is.

2. I have two Dreamwidth invites. Anyone wants?

3. Writing progress

July 5 1,400 words. Why do my wuxia stories tend to have stubborn old men?
July 6 800 words.
July 7 800 words again. My male protagonist turns out to be quite a smooth talker. A good thing. Maybe.
July 8 Another 800 words.
July 9 200 words, all fanfic for 31_days. Another race-against-the-clock writing.
July 10 200 words.
July 11 1,600 words. I really must be able to keep up this kind of pace every day.

( Notes )

1. The Phase System, using phase outlines which Lazette Gifford says helped her to "write a 101,000 word book in ten days". I think I've read this before, probably in the book she wrote for NaNo. The method does seem useful for writing events like that one, or if you're on a tight deadline. The downside is the writing might become less of an adventure and somewhat more like an assignment. Conclusion: you can't have everything (but don't ever give up trying to).

2. Last seen in shadowsinfire: Feel good exercise: Poke through your old fics and find bits and pieces you like and that still satisfy you now.
( Old means mostly pre-LJ/Not all of these are in English )


Writing progress
June 7 300 words. I had no excuse.
June 8 1,300 words, mostly thanks to latte and donuts.

1. Beta-Reading & the Art of Criticism.
The betas I've had have never seemed to hesitate to point out my mistakes, for which I'm extremely grateful.
State specific concerns about your story. I'm generally worried about everything. I mean, I always do the best I could, but one thing or two (or even five) will always slip by undetected.
Don't beta-read for authors you love. Authors I love might already have had better betas than I am, IMO.

2. This week's question at fannish5: What are five stories you wish you could write, but can't?

( Too many ideas, too little time )

1. Via summerwrite2: Suspending Disbelief. My reply to the post is here.
I tend to get bogged down by details because I believe they can either contribute to the plot or the character, later if not sooner. Thus, I want to see how I can make the most of them, and I want to see it now. I don't want to later do research on a certain aspect of the story, and think how useful some of the findings would be if I could have integrated them into the story. If that's a failing on my part, I hope it's one that can be remedied by extensive pre-research.

2. A meme that's been reappearing lately:
"Sometimes it's okay to pimp yourself out. Post a list of your top five fic-favorites you've written, regardless of fandom or the reason you love them. This isn't about the BEST things you've written, but what you LOVE most. Then tag five other people to do the same."
Taken only from the fics I wrote in 2008 until now, and not cut, er, because everyone isn't cutting theirs, either. Tag yourself if you want.

1. Days of Glory - Tennis no Oujisama
I can't write serious!Tezuka well, and thus, crack.

2. A Thousand Years - Naruto
Sasuke/Sakura, written the way I like it - with distance between them, more than a touch of melancholy, and a sense of future hope.

3. This Season - Fullmetal Alchemist
Roy/Hawkeye. What I thought would be a drabble developed into a decent-sized fanfic. I like Roy and Hawkeye here, both individually and separately.

4. Blades in the Moonlight - Tennis no Oujisama
What is this tennis you speak of? Those boys are swordsmen, that's what they are. And Tezuka vs Yukimura really needs to happen.

5. Bamboo Shots in the Snow - Yitian Dulong Ji
Yin Liting/Yang Buhui. There's an atmosphere of quiet here that I enjoy. And apparently I write Buhui better than I do her husband.

gen_ficathon

THE ANONYMOUS WRITING FEEDBACK MEME

toonowrimo, a community for word wars.

Ganked from lindensphinx: original character questionnaire. I'm doing the main character from the NaNo 2008 novel.

( Do you think all this LJ-hopping will land me in trouble someday? )

Off-topic: Yesterday I won a copy of the latest edition of the official Bahasa Indonesia dictionary. After the euphoria has passed, it occurred to me that this might be a sign for me to start working on the NaNo 2008 novel again.

1. Via meganbmoore: springfluff, a "no-stress, no-deadline fandom gift exchange".

2. A meme that's been going around.
Post a single sentence from each WIP you have (or as many as you want). No context/explanations.

( The sentences )

1. I'm still in the grip of writer's block. Bits and pieces and first sentences (and titles with no stories to support them) are all I have. I don't want to start writing only to stop dead after four sentences. Not that I'm overly methodical - I just don't want to have yet another WIP on my hand, and I want to come up with something at least worth reading. Is that called being obsessed, I wonder.

2. Off-topic meme, because I asked at aiwritingfic:
Comment here with anything you want to hear me say, read or talk about, and I'll record it all in a voice post. It can be anything, from my favorite color, fandom opinion, to the last book I finished reading. Warning for Indonesian accent.

1. Ganked from mekkitty:
Give me a plot idea in any fandom, and I'll write the first 200 words of the story.

2. I just finished the first edit for the NaNo 2008 novel. The story definitely still has a long way to go, and I'm yet to come up with technique names. During the editing, I fangirled so much over the characters and scenes* that I was worried the story might be little more than a blatant fulfillment of personal fantasy. But there's nothing inherently wrong with that, I guess, if others can enjoy it as well.
*One character is supected of being a frequenter of pleasure houses, and for some unknown reason this made me gleefully run around in circles.