I read this yesterday
Parkinson’s Law says, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
and I feel it in my soul.
This is something I need to work on as I think it’s the reason I don’t get as much done as I’d like. Things to consider!
I’ve been doing some soul-searching lately and I feel like it might be time for me to take another “fanfic time out” to concentrate more on my original fiction. This isn’t the first time I’ve come to this conclusion. I think I was 16 the first time. I poked at fanfic occasionally for a couple more years after that, and then dropped it completely 2009 I think? Then 2016 rolled round and I got back into fanfic in a BIG way. Now it might look like I took a break just a year later until 2020 but no I just wasn’t writing anything much at all.
Sanctuary brought me back into writing. The obsession reignited my passion. Without Sanctuary I wouldn’t be where I am. It gave me back my dream and that dream is to write my own original fiction. Increasingly I’ve become very aware of time invested in various stories. Like the crossover Sanctuary/Warehouse 13 fanfic is over 80k – that’s novel length. Now I don’t regret writing it for one second. I enjoyed writing it and it was what I needed to work on at the time. With all the selling the house/not selling the house/mums health scare etc. I was too panicked to write original fic. The crossover kept me sane, but basically now the crisis is over I’m thinking about the future.
Giving up fanfic is a decision I’ve been resisting for a while. I owe fanfic so much, and I DO enjoy it. But there’s only so many hours in the day you know? And it’s about what will make me happy long-term. Anyway, to make it easier on myself, I’m giving myself the rest of the year to write fanfic to my hearts content.
SO! My mission, should I choose to accept it bwahaha is to write EVERY SINGLE fanfic idea on my list (that I still want to write when I get to it) before the end of the year. Deadline December 31st. After that the slate is wiped clean.
Now this might not work out. I might get to December 31st and not be able to quit. We’ll have to see what happens. It’s going to be tough. You know what I’ve been like with Sanctuary and the dang novel length fics. Looking at the list *whistles* I’m going to be BUSY! Still I also hope that will stand me in good stead in terms of creating a rock solid writing habit of a good number of words per day. Anyway yeah that’s the plan.
Come next year I could be very red in the face, embarrassed after writing this post, because hey more fic. Who knows! Mostly I’m just worried that there’s still a lot of the year left, the list is already long, and those dang plot bunnies have a habit of spawning…
The unfortunate thing about tasks is that I need to actually DO the work, not just think about doing the work.
Another Friday, another episode of Picard, another hour of screaming over Seven and Raffi.
They are indeed the main event 😉
Seriously I know the future is going to be saved and all will be well. Am I curious about the plot? Absolutely. Do I care? Not really. I’m just here for the character crumbs and every ounce of Seven and Raffi I can squeeze. At least they actually interacted this episode!
I feel another fic coming on to be honest. I want to address that cute but awkward banter, and also Seven’s undeniable fear over a potential new Borg queen. That is going to be a far more personal terror as an ex-Borg than for anyone else. I just watched The Raven episode of Voyager when Seven remembered her terror of being assimilated. Nobody apart from Picard knows that trauma. So an unsuspecting earth, all those people who could be as clueless as Annika was as a child, who didn’t understand what stalked her and was terrified.
Yeah there needs to be fic. Oh! And I started the drawing of Raffi and Seven dancing. Very late to the party with that but I remain bitter the show didn’t give us even a ten second glimpse of it. Principle line art is done so tomorrow I’ll block colour and add detailing. See how I get on but I’ll likely have to finish shading on Sunday.
When I want to do stuff
buuuuut my brain says it has done enough stuff
buuuuut it’s only lunchtime and I have stuff still to do.
All I’m saying is the struggle is real.
Also how did it get to be Thursday? My to do list for this week is looking increasingly scary.
I’m just saying I’m trying to write my novel. In my mind I’m thinking that I need to start my other novel (the one I’m doing as a +Extra for the luddite challenge), and I want to plan the Bering and Wells fic I decided I’m writing next month.
Aaaaand my head is fairly screaming at me about the Raffi and Seven dancing drawing. If it takes me too long to do it, then the moment will be lost. I mean that was last week so the moment is kinda already lost but still I should get on that. If I’m doing it then I need to do it.
Which is making me think about the art course. I worked on that for an hour this morning buuuuuut there’s still so much left to go. And I found this other course I want to take but I promised myself to only do one at a time dammit. So progress? I don’t know you, you feel very far away.
Oh and of course my brain is reminding me of the PS5 game I want to finish this month because I really want to play something else (and I’m trying to finish games dammit so no starting anything new until it’s done!) and I have like 20 shows on my watchlist and can I please, pretty please, watch something to completion so there’s less on there. Oh and I signed up for the half-price deal on KU at the start of the week and haven’t read anything yet. Picked my book, but not sat down, so can I please do that!
No says my brain. My brain wants to build lego and rant a lot apparently.
I know what I want to achieve but I feel very far away from it. Honestly I could just go nap right now, that would be easier than that mountain. I got frustrated with myself for not doing exercise this week. Did exercise. Pulled something. My side is now synonymous with fire.
“Being better is so much harder” is all I’m saying. *so much screaming*
Just watched Burn Notice and I like the show well enough but it’s not something I’m “into” if that makes sense. No fan feels really. But oh man the end of this season 4 finale had a real “your OTP could never” moment.
Picture the scene. Michael has gone to draw the enemy fire and is going to wait until they get close and then detonate what amounts to a suicide bomb. He thinks it’s the only chance Fiona and Jesse have to get out (and also save his mom). He’s sacrificing himself for them and then this conversation happens.
Jesse: “Listen to me. If you go back out there, you know what’s gonna happen.”
Fiona: “Yeah. I’m going.”
Jesse: “What happened to all that wisdom about you and Mike having different priorities?”
Fiona: “Well, screw wisdom! I belong out there with him… For better or worse.”
Jesse: “It’s probably gonna be for worse.”
Fiona: “Well, I knew that the moment I met him.”
Aaaaand I have hearts in my eyes.
Not going to lie my immediate first thought was that I need to write this scene for one of my OTPs because damn. Seriously damn.
Obviously they lived but that’s like a marriage even though they aren’t married. That’s literal vows kinda. Your OTP could never indeed.
So I may have bought a house…
I know, I know, it’s crazy. I’m mad excited and mad scared. It’ll take a couple of months to go through but the offer has been accepted and we’re starting the process.
I am shook. I can’t believe this is for real just wow. So yeah this is a thing that is happening.
*clicks on my blog*
WHERE DID THE SIDEBAR GO???
Also far more annoyingly (at the moment) tumblr seem to have broken image sizes. Sometimes I like to put a little additional gif at the bottom as an image, rather than in the photoset, and have it be smaller than full width. It looks like that in the editor but when I click “save” it goes full width.
Please tumblr stop breaking things *begs*
#in which they do stuff that nobody asked for and it wasn’t broken and now it is and where is the logic?#please just stop well stop after making it how it was
You know how I said earlier I hoped there wouldn’t be a cliffhanger at the end of The Flash season 6
Mother of all cliffhangers complete with a “to be continued” tag and everything.
So that’s fun.
Now I could google and spoil myself but then I might find out something I don’t want to know like Cisco and Wells leave the show at the end of season 7. Interestingly Caitlin is still a series regular though congrats to the actress on her baby. I was actually looking to see if they had recast the Hartley Rathaway character but I think the actor had just dyed his hair but then I read that Ralph’s actor got fired so I checked the whole cast wiki page. None of that helps with the cliffhanger though.
Seriously so annoying. Ugh!
You know what ignoring that I can’t currently watch anymore I’m going to circle back to Wells. I mean my favourite Wells was definitely Harry Wells (Earth 2) and I miss that guy, but they all had a certain charm. Gotta be honest if I’m ranking Flash characters then Wells tops the list, and Cisco is probably second. So the Flash without them ??? Sad.
Awww man having just said “I’m nearly done with The Flash” I just realised I only have 2 episodes left 🙁
I swear there better not be a cliffhanger!
Still I can then swap to a few shows with less episodes and knock those out, to get some more off my list faster.
I make it sound like a chore. It’s not like that exactly, I mean I do want to watch the shows on the list otherwise I’d just mark them as abandoned and not bother. I do tend to make tasks and goals out of most things though, it’s the only way I ever get anything done, even supposedly ‘fun’ things.
Like I made a goal to finish at least 2 video games this year to 100% or equivalent (I have to take into account my lack of ability). As I’m really good at starting them, not very good at finishing. If I don’t specifically set aside time then time will slip and it just won’t happen, however much I might actually want to do the thing.
Is that crazy or what?