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Original Fiction is Hard, Barbie.
Jan. 28th, 2013 12:19 pmDo you remember the Math/Barbie scandal of... the late-90s? Apparently, there was a talking Barbie doll who said any number of inane things, including, "Math is hard!"
"Math is hard, Barbie," has become one of those phrases that my family uses to shorthand an idea. In this case, we usually mean it to imply: this is something that really shouldn't be that difficult, but I'm struggling with it anyway. And, today, all I can say is, "Original fiction is hard, Barbie."
I think I may be finally getting into the swing of things, but... man. It's like pulling teeth over here for some reason.
I wish someone could explain it to me. Why can I bust out 2,000 words of fan fic in about a half-day (if that) and original fiction writing is as slow as molassas? Given the scene I was just writing, I think part of the issue is description. I have a lot more of it in my fan fic than some writers, but original fiction demands a LOT of scene setting in a way I don't think is quite as necessary in fan fiction. Certainly, physical description of characters can be lighter--after all, most fan fiction is based on visual media. I tend to put a lot of effort into describing (of all things) weather in my fan fic. Also, because of who I write, there's a lot of talk of food and smells. But, a lot of the other stuff can be "brush stroked." I can do that to some extent in original fic, but a reader needs to know where they are and part of that is physical description.
And that's slow going.
Also, I can't just start with established characters and situations. I have to make all that up, and worse, get you to sympathize and like these people I'm inventing.
Hard work, Barbie.
I'd better get back to it, or I'll never get the 2,000 words I've promised myself for the day.
"Math is hard, Barbie," has become one of those phrases that my family uses to shorthand an idea. In this case, we usually mean it to imply: this is something that really shouldn't be that difficult, but I'm struggling with it anyway. And, today, all I can say is, "Original fiction is hard, Barbie."
I think I may be finally getting into the swing of things, but... man. It's like pulling teeth over here for some reason.
I wish someone could explain it to me. Why can I bust out 2,000 words of fan fic in about a half-day (if that) and original fiction writing is as slow as molassas? Given the scene I was just writing, I think part of the issue is description. I have a lot more of it in my fan fic than some writers, but original fiction demands a LOT of scene setting in a way I don't think is quite as necessary in fan fiction. Certainly, physical description of characters can be lighter--after all, most fan fiction is based on visual media. I tend to put a lot of effort into describing (of all things) weather in my fan fic. Also, because of who I write, there's a lot of talk of food and smells. But, a lot of the other stuff can be "brush stroked." I can do that to some extent in original fic, but a reader needs to know where they are and part of that is physical description.
And that's slow going.
Also, I can't just start with established characters and situations. I have to make all that up, and worse, get you to sympathize and like these people I'm inventing.
Hard work, Barbie.
I'd better get back to it, or I'll never get the 2,000 words I've promised myself for the day.