Work Room - Week 26

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Some weeks are easier than others for you. Not just the topics, but getting the time to concentrate on writing. During intersection weeks, there are times when things just click between people and other times when they don't.

How do you take those rough patches and make them into something positive?

That's important after all, being able to use those hurdles as growth opportunities is one of the biggest cliches in the book! ;) So, obviously, there must be something you learn from them!

How do you manage to transition back into thinking about your entries as a solo act? Are there people that you have previously intersected with that you continue to use as sounding boards?

Comments

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

First?

YAY FIRST!

Also - Gary, you scurvy rogue! Here I thought I was SO DAMN CLEVER preemptively nabbing an awesome partner before the topic post even went up, but noooo. Evil creature :P

ETA: Wait, are "firsts" even allowed in the work room? Or is that GR only? My lack of social skills, let me show you them.

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

I kinda saw this coming but I'm sad about it.

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Firsts are allowed anywhere. You should declare it loudly in the line at the bank, too, as soon as you get to the front. :)

[ellakite.livejournal.com]

Hell, I did a FRIST on a vote page. So as far as I'm concerned, Work Room counts.

But since you did a FIRST instead of a FRIST, you're not dead to me...

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Hehe I figured since we were prepared for intersections, we wouldn't have them. Gary is tricksy like that! Future intersections will have to be considered :)

[ashgaelsonaria.livejournal.com]

You. I thought - having written both topics already I would get to just free write (just wrote a peace called my fair zombie) but new topic needs a new peace for the home game which I have up already.
Now to think of new fun stuff to write.

[emploding.livejournal.com]

I'm almost thinking I can manage a homegame entry this week!

Which of course means it won't happen.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Good luck!

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

So far, the hardest thing for me with intersections has been getting past my tendency to finish at the last minute. Working with people has been awesome and every time, I feel that the inspiration from someone else helped me write something better than what I'd do on my own.

It's really hard for me to transition back to working on my own. I do have people who've betaed for me repeatedly but they weren't always former intersection partners. My partner from last week has betaed for me a lot, though. :)

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

That's been my only issue as well. I have Sunday to pretty much write and edit. Sometimes a bit on Saturday, but not much. Aborting with a partner can be tough when it's like that, but it's always worth the effort, I think.

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

I definitely think it gets harder to make an impact as time goes on.

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

I wold be happy to brainstorm with you. I have a hard time going back to solo writing too.

[alien-infinity.livejournal.com]

I've had a couple Intersection partners beta for me outside of Intersections. I wanted to give an extra-special shout out to porn_this_way because I essentially met her through said Intersections. I have continued bombarding her with the bizarre workings of my imagination even after her poll standing wasn't at stake, and she hasn't told me to shut up (yet). ^_^

I feel a little...adrift not having a partner this week. I'm not sure how I'll transition yet. Possibly by annoying porn_this_way and asking her if my ideas suck. :P

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

AND LO AND BEHOLD, what are we doing on AIM right now?? Heehee.

Though you are not remotely annoying me. ♥ ♥

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

Okay, now that I'm done posting questionably appropriate declarations of "FIRST!" and shaking my fist at the overlord...

I *definitely* still talk with previous intersection partners. alien_infinity and I bounce ideas off each other all the damn time, and that girl is a godsend. I get to see her cool shit ahead of time in order to beta it, and she's downright amazing with poking and prodding me out of writer's block when I go flailing to her on AIM at some weird-ass hour of the night. java_fiend, however, who I worked with on intersection week 2, is a tool of Satan, not God, and I have the feeling he'd do me in for slander if I claimed otherwise :P

As far as transitioning back into a solo act - that shit's tough, NGL. It's weird because I always hated group work as a kid in school, and still generally prefer to work alone on most things, but I find myself writing better, stronger pieces, and being much more willing to go out of my comfort zone when I'm working with someone in an intersection. IDK if it's because an intersection = an automatic sounding board, or because I've got another person's ideas to play with, or because I'm horrified at the idea of dragging somebody else down with me should I fuck up a piece, or some combination thereof, or something else entirely.

[tigrkittn.livejournal.com]

If you hadn't kicked so much everlovin' ass this week I'd have been dragging you down liek whoa - which I guess technically I was still doing, you were just too good for it to matter. I'm relieved to be writing solo this week, because I can't hurt anyone else if I screw up again.

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

I am probably not the only one relieved that this week is not an intersection week. My dad is in town this weekend, and collaboration, though not impossible, would have been more difficult.

I've been *VERY* fortunate...

[ellakite.livejournal.com]

I've never had a *BAD* intersection partner. However, I'm not sure I can say my experiences last season were particularly *GOOD*, either...

My first partner and I had no clue how to work together -- the fault was as least as much mine as theirs, so *PLEASE* don't think that I'm pointing my finger. But since neither of us had a clue how to work together, we didn't even try: We each wrote our respective pieces without communicating or coordinating... and posted them when they were ready. The stories obviously had nothing to do with each other, so we never claimed otherwise. We made it through the week, so I can't say it was a *BAD* experience... but I learned nothing from it, so I can't call it a *GOOD* experience.

My second partner did try to coordinate with me... but that boiled down to them saying "Tell me what you're writing about, and I'll build my piece as an extension of yours." So they did all the real work, all the "heavy lifting"... and they came up with a very nice piece. I didn't have to do any extra work at all.

At first, this sounds like a *GREAT* partner... except since my partner did all the work, I didn't learn anything from the experience! So again, I'm not sure I can say it was a *GOOD* experience.


This season... I thought I was going to "screw the pooch" the first time Intersections came up. Granted, my self-esteem problem was going full blast at the time, but still: I had no idea what I was doing, no clue how to pick a "good" partner for me. But I did have one thing going for me: I've always been open-minded. So when my first partner pitched their idea, I quickly came up with a story both they and I could work with. And we just kept the lines of communication open, traded ideas back and forth. I'm still amazed how well it worked out.

My second partnership... it was a little rough in the beginning for both of us, as it took us a while to come up with ideas that we were both happy with that we could connect. OTOH, after the initial rough patch, things got *MUCH* better... because we were both willing to talk things through and make adjustments to our tales as needed.

My most recent partnership, I got to play in someone else's world. A lot of people have complimented me on my "world building" skills, but it was interesting and unusual for me to employ those skills according to my partner's rules... but again, the lines of communications stayed open both ways, and we were both reasonably flexible. And we were both *VERY* happy with the results.


Never having had a truly "bad" partnership, I'm not sure what to say about handling that situation, and what could be learned from it, though I hope I would try to stay positive. OTOH, I *KNOW* that I've enjoyed working with all three of my partners this season, and I absolutely would be willing to use them as sounding boards / beta readers / con crit advisers. They are each wonderful writers in their own way, and each brings something different to the table, so to speak.

I know my partners this season feel the same way about me. They've said so many times.

Re: I've been *VERY* fortunate...

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

You and I could compete for the longest comments, I swear :)

That being said, I've never had a bad partnership either. I've been lucky. Even when I've went with someone totally different than myself, or someone I didn't know... It's always worked out where they were some of my favorite entries. I've learned a lot from my partners and it's always been a good experience for me.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

I'd almost forgotten what a blast it is to have a sounding board/intersection partner! whirlgig and I just pounded out every conceivable idea that popped into our heads. It was exhilarating for me because I seldom work that way except in my own head ;)

The one thing I'm tempted to take away from the intersection experience is beta'ing. My husband usually beta's my work, but there is definitely something to be said about having somebody beta who's also playing Idol. I've never gotten into it because of my work schedule. But I figure, if I can successfully intersect with somebody on the other side of the world from me, trying to juggle beta'ing with my work schedule can't be too difficult, can it?

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

E-mail works wonders! My usual go-to beta is in a different time zone from me. :)

[sarcasmoqueen.livejournal.com]

I for one am ecstatic to not be intersecting this week. And if I make it through this week, I hope not to intersect next week either. Not because I didn't enjoy my experiences so far, because I have. But RL gets in the way, and I don't want to be the cause of someone else going home. When it's just me, I can work on my entry whenever I have a spare moment, which happens at odd times and may not be conducive to partner work. Especially given the time frame in which we have to submit - despite having a full time job, my weekends lately and for the next couple of weeks are my busiest times.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

See, that's the same issue I have. I'd love to intersect/beta more, but my schedule usually isn't conducive to it. We both really lucked out last week ;)

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Let it be known... I love intersections. It's tough when I'm limited on time and must rush, but the inspiration and the unique views the other person brings is always worth it.

I always bounce stuff off my beta reader #1 (who also happens to be my boyfriend #1 and intersection #1). I bounce ideas of Java through text, then in person and then he beta reads sections and we discuss. I don't know what I'd do without him, really. I admire him as a writer so much and would love to be as good as him one day, so having him as a mentor is invaluable. He's helped me grow already this season. Then alien_infinity and I bounce ideas off each other through email all the time, and I'd I finish in time, she's usually the first person besides Java who beta's for me. But that was even before our intersection. Then michikatinski and I are friends and have talked long before our intersection too... So I guess not much has changed since I've intersected with people I already know.

It's always a great experience though. In three seasons of Idol, I haven't had a bad intersection partner. And I've made friends with those I intersect with (and umm more than friends with one). So I loves intersections :)

Now onto this topic... How come my brain keeps going sexual? I have a funny idea but I so should not go there. But my mind is taking me there and nowhere else because it's my brain and if I'm not thinking about cannibals or evil child eating dolls, my brain goes into the gutter.

To answer Gary's question. When I struggle with writing, it's usually insecurity that gets me. When I'm insecure about something like work, I become insecure about everything and wonder why I have to be such a screw up. It's more annoying than Adam Levine's voice (sorry, heard that awful song about hearts and stereos and can't get that sound out of my head). But usually, I can find a way to pick myself back up by making myself feel good about something. It can be anything from dying my hair darker and feeling pretty to realizing I don't suck at something. Even kicking butt at a game will sometimes do it. Once I find my confidence again, it's all good for a bit. Though I'm always a bit... Hesitant. I wouldn't say I'm ever seriously confident, but I am getting there. I'm liking my writing more and more as I go on and get better. I know I'm not the best and sometimes that tears me down... But sometime, I realize that I have opportunities to get better.

Sorry, I just wrote a novel of a comment. I should be doing stuff. Like RL stuff. This comment was written from my phone as my Internet still sucks. So forgive any autocorrect mishaps.

[similiesslip.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking sexual for this prompt too..but I'm not sure how that would go over? I think I will write it more than one way and see what works out.

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Since I apparently haven't said enough already....

For those talking about difficulty coordinating time to intersect, I was in a three-way intersection with two people on the other side of the world. And there was never a time when all three of us was awake at the same time. I'd wake up to 25 emails between those two, jump in and do 25 more with one before they signed off to go to bed and the other woke up again.

Now that was nuts. But they are great people, so it worked :)

[cosmolinguist]

getting the time to concentrate on writing

Indeed! I've got to write this week's entry today, if I do it at all, because I'll be on vacation away from the internet for the next week!

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

Baxaphobia is one of my constant sounding boards, but that is probably because she lives downstairs.

I have no idea what I am going to write on this topic.

[similiesslip.livejournal.com]

Well I can see you found a good idea now.

It must be nice to have a sounding board:)

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

Do y'all think that fairy tales are too overdone to be entertaining at this point in the game? I've never done one and so far, that's where my inspiration feels like it's leading this week.

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

Not if it's done well, I don't think. My absolute favorite entry last week was a Cinderella piece, and it seemed to be doing pretty damn well in the polls. From what I've observed at least, any source material can be good if a truly new and unique spin is put on it. It's not about where it came from, it's about where you went with it, ya know?

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

The thing I like best about intersections is bouncing ideas around and seeing how someone else's brain works. The idea-generation stage of things is my favorite. It's fun! I do like working on my own better, if only because I know nobody else will be depending on me, and I can take things entirely at my own pace and not worry about anyone else. Though I loved working with all of my intersection partners, and I consider each and every one of them a friend, it's kind of relaxing to know that my fate is entirely in my own hands again. I don't want to be the doom of anyone else! I talk with medleymisty regularly and we share thoughts and works in progress, and I would probably do so more with jem0000000 if I happened to be active online at the same time she is.

I'm feeling weirdly contrary, though. I had totally worked myself up and gotten excited about doing another intersection - it seemed inevitable, and I was all "this will be great" and I had a dozen different ideas for "closer" and now... yeah... I'm kind of feeling both anti-social and really wanting to ping around some thoughts with a new person and see how they come back to me different after passing through other neurons. And I have only vague ideas and no solid stories for "sated" which is a little worrisome. Hrm.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Lol, it would be nice to be online at the same times! My schedule is awful about that sometimes.

I'm off Monday! Although I do have to go get a prescription and allergy shots. But hopefully that won't take too long!

Also -- I have been meaning to PM you -- would you be interested in betaing for me this week? It's looking like I might do a spot of world-building, although this will be primarily character-driven. I can totally trade you betaing for yours. :)

[copyright1983.livejournal.com]

I've got a first draft written; anyone willing to beta for me? I'll, like, bake you virtual cookies and stuff. :)

[similiesslip.livejournal.com]

I liked the entry you posted. Great job!:)