I was prompted to post this poll having looked at Yvonne's. (I was tempted to copy her idea and ask which story of mine people would like to see next but decided that my ego wouldn't be able to handle people writing 'none of the above... in fact, nothing at all'. Besides, well, read the questions and guess which category I fit in!)

Seriously... I wondered whether anyone out there actually does have the ability to work on one story and keep with it. Can you decide to sit down for a few hours a day and get words on paper? Can you decide to write a specific story for that specific someone? Can you tailor a story for your eager readers?

Or does your muse play tricks on you and drive you to distraction?

Hope this doesn't overlap too much with the muse thread.

Chris

I have a cantankerous muse.

For example, I have a couple of original fics that I really need to work on, but my muse is entranced with Spider-Man. So I've been writing Spidey fanfics lately.

I'm thinking after I get Spider-Man 2 on DVD and watch it until I get completely sick of it, I'll finally be able to write something else.

My Muse? Comes into my life and leaves me again at a moment's notice, leaving me behind with a string of WIPs.

Sara

Well, I like to think I'm in control, at least partially :p Once I'm really working on a story -- have it plotted out and partially written -- I can generally sit down with nothing in mind and bang something out for an hour or two. Of course, sometimes she's extremely coy about letting me in on the story plot, and when I don't know where I'm going -- or how I'm going to bridge that looming plot hole -- I can get very stuck. That, I'm afraid, is what's happened to "K is for..." It's not been abandoned... but, metaphorically, it's up on blocks by the side of the road with no spare tire in sight

For me, the difficult bit is working out the plot. I hate to begin writing if I don't know at least roughly where I'm going and how I'm going to get there. And I'm talking about A- *and* B-plots. I have to have an idea of how the relationship is going to progress, and what's the goal to get to -- usually, it's a revelation and/or exchanges of "I love you," but not always. I like writing out outlines, in broad overview to start, and then in scene-by-scene detail as I'm writing. It helps me think.

Anyway, point is, once I've got all that worked out... I can pretty much sit down anywhere and produce something. Now, whether it's any good or not is a whole 'nother question... but at least it's a starting point.

PJ

Catching up here. It was the subject topic, rather than the poll, which caught my interest (never having had a muse, I had to check other<g>). I can't write to order to save my soul - the few times I've tried it, as part of a group thing, what I produce always feels contrived. my inner anarchist or something. <g>

Chris wrote:
LOL. But seriously, would very much like to see another Chris Carr story!

cc m

Ditto Carol here! Chris knows, I'm sure, which story of hers I most want to see. But if that's not the one you're inspired by right now, Chris, I'll take anything I can get.

Can I write to order? Sometimes. And sometimes not. There are times when I have the free time to write, but I sit down at the computer with the story file open and nothing comes. I procrastinate. I refresh the boards. I play Collapse. I go on IRC. Anything but write. Or, if I'm working on a couple of stories simultaneously, my muse will allow me to work on anything but the one I most want to finish. Right now, I have a couple of other writing ideas buzzing away in my head, but I refuse even to jot them down in a notes file because I don't want to get distracted from my current WIP, which I need to finish. Want to finish.

And yet there are times like last night, when over dinner I worked out how I was going to begin the next bit of the story, which had been giving me problems. I came back to the PC, sat down, and just wrote. About an hour later, I had five and a half new pages and some edits on earlier sections. Now, if only that could happen every day!


Wendy

Ah, so that's where my Muse was last night - Wendy kidnapped it and took it to Canada.

Give me my Muse back at once, Wendy! I can't torture Clark without it.

Yvonne

You need a muse to torture Clark? Since when? I think you should give yourself more credit than that, Yvonne...

PJ

In a very real sense all fanfiction writers write to order.

You are writing for a specific audience with certain broad parameters that already exist. Your audience as clear expectations in what they expect to see. If you want your story to be read a writer needs to be aware of those expectations and meet them within the context of the story.

The creative process lies in the variations on those themes that the writers can come up with.

Tank (who can't be bothered with writing problems right now since he just bought another guitar and... well, you know)

My muse and I cooperate most of the time. I usually have a general idea what I want to do and where I want to go, and she goes along with me, although it's usually best if we have a certain amount of pressure due to reader expectations to prod us into action.

Now and then we get temporarily stuck and start a second story in the middle of writing the first one. It's sometimes necessary while we work out exactly how to get from part a to part b. (See the Wedding series that came into being while Twins was in progress). So far at least, my muse and I have always managed to finish every story, but that's because she's a very concientious muse who doesn't like to disappoint people, and as for me, I love telling stories. All that nice FDK is great for feeding the addiction, too.

Of course, sometimes she's just completely stubborn and runs off for days at a time when I'm dying to start a new story, but haven't a clue what to write about.

Nan