Hmm. No idea, as far as fanfics go. I suppose it's something in the "Superman Returns" fandom, but can't be sure which. Original novel ideas... there's one I started working on a few years back and I've gotten about halfway with 158 pages- and then I thought "wait- maybe I should rewrite it in *this* way" :rolleyes: And so that's about where that's stayed.
I have a couple of LnC fics that I'm working on that I'm sure will break the barrier for longest I've written. Currently though, I'm trying to write a full-length, original screenplay- which is *entirely* different, I tell you. The main problem seems to be keeping it at or around only 100-130 pages, since pages typically equate to minutes. That, and the fact that the writing style is very different than I'm used to. It's all very visual and not at all thought or character driven, which is what I'm most used to...
Quote from LynnSM:
I think my years of scholarly writing have made it hard for me to write anything lengthy. In that writing, I strove for brevity, effective summarization, and the presentation of only the most salient ideas. I learned to excise anything in a scholarly paper that would only be added for 'colour.' I've been spending my time as a fanfic author learning to undo those habits. (Not to mention learning that sometimes breaking the rules is a good thing. As with sentence fragments. )
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Lynn, I can symphathise completely with you in this.
I spent thirty years in industry, mostly in Organic Chemistry and Entomology. Most of my writing was confined to recording observations in a research notebook. I had the same problems, having gone through the 'Berger' writing classes. I guess the hardest thing my beta readers had to do was teach me not to 'report' the story, but *tell* the story. Once I got past that hurdle then they taught me to let the actors tell the story. It is very much a learning, or should I say, re-learning process.
I completely see where you guys are coming from. My mother went to school for journalism, and as many ideas as she has and as creative as she is, she has the exact same complaints about writing nowadays.
