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Weekly Writing Update
Jul. 23rd, 2021 03:08 pmUgh. I just defaulted on several exchanges, two of which had rapidly approaching deadlines I simply couldn't meet, and the other because of a tonal mismatch. I am not pleased, but I am relieved. This whole year has been quite strange, but the past couple of months have been a bit blarggg for me, and I haven't really been able to concentrate. I know I got in way over my head with exchanges, and sometimes when that happens, it's best to just get out of the pool before you drown.
I did keep my Press Start assignment, though! I'm looking forward to working on it. :)
But the exchanges that I dropped did serve to remind me that I am primarily a gen writer, despite my recent dabbling in shippy fic. The pairing prompts for the exchanges sounded interesting and fun, but try as I might, I just could not get these pesky characters to act like anything more than Best Buds, and there's nothing worse than forced romance. So, when I decide which exchanges to sign up for next year, and which to drop, I'm pretty sure the ship-centric ones will be the first on the chopping block.
And first among those will probably be the femslash ones, which pains my heart because I love some lady-lovin', but I'm apparently a bit too vanilla for the exchange communities. This is where that tonal mismatch I mentioned above comes in. I signed up and defaulted on both Femslash Kink and Femslash After Dark, because I just don't think I can write the kind of stories my recipients would enjoy. In both exchanges, I matched on one fandom/pairing and one freeform tag, but the specific requests were very far out of my wheelhouse and comfort zone. Personally, I like my smut lighthearted and fun, and clearly list noncon/dubcon in my DNWs, but for both exchanges, I received requests for noncon/dubcon, as well as encouragement to get as mean, twisted, and manipulative as I wanted to. Which is no problem, if dark smut floats your boat; but if it's definitely not something you want to work with, it's a bit uncomfortable.
I know matching is difficult, but I think it would be very helpful for mods to consider DNWs in the matching process as well. I would be happier to hear that I was unmatchable than feel uncomfortable/naive/immature for not wanting/being able to deliver the kind of material my recipient is seeking. Just a thought.
I also think that the fact that I don't share fandoms with most of the community makes me harder to match, so I'll just give those an official pass, and maybe peek in to see if I can treat.
Anyway, in my flailing around to try to get my assignments to actually work, I did get some words down, so let's go ahead and count those in!
Stats!
Total words written this week: 1,206
Total words written this year: 65,117
Total days written this week: 2
Total days written this year: 57
I did keep my Press Start assignment, though! I'm looking forward to working on it. :)
But the exchanges that I dropped did serve to remind me that I am primarily a gen writer, despite my recent dabbling in shippy fic. The pairing prompts for the exchanges sounded interesting and fun, but try as I might, I just could not get these pesky characters to act like anything more than Best Buds, and there's nothing worse than forced romance. So, when I decide which exchanges to sign up for next year, and which to drop, I'm pretty sure the ship-centric ones will be the first on the chopping block.
And first among those will probably be the femslash ones, which pains my heart because I love some lady-lovin', but I'm apparently a bit too vanilla for the exchange communities. This is where that tonal mismatch I mentioned above comes in. I signed up and defaulted on both Femslash Kink and Femslash After Dark, because I just don't think I can write the kind of stories my recipients would enjoy. In both exchanges, I matched on one fandom/pairing and one freeform tag, but the specific requests were very far out of my wheelhouse and comfort zone. Personally, I like my smut lighthearted and fun, and clearly list noncon/dubcon in my DNWs, but for both exchanges, I received requests for noncon/dubcon, as well as encouragement to get as mean, twisted, and manipulative as I wanted to. Which is no problem, if dark smut floats your boat; but if it's definitely not something you want to work with, it's a bit uncomfortable.
I know matching is difficult, but I think it would be very helpful for mods to consider DNWs in the matching process as well. I would be happier to hear that I was unmatchable than feel uncomfortable/naive/immature for not wanting/being able to deliver the kind of material my recipient is seeking. Just a thought.
I also think that the fact that I don't share fandoms with most of the community makes me harder to match, so I'll just give those an official pass, and maybe peek in to see if I can treat.
Anyway, in my flailing around to try to get my assignments to actually work, I did get some words down, so let's go ahead and count those in!
Stats!
Total words written this week: 1,206
Total words written this year: 65,117
Total days written this week: 2
Total days written this year: 57
