Hello. I think (I hope) a thread like this goes in this section. If not you can tell me to fuck off, I'm used to it by now.

I have my fic open, my iTunes open, and Internet Explorer open. I'm supposed to be writing but instead I find myself here checking the forum every damned five minutes. My sister is bitching at me to finish the chapter I've been working on forever.

That's kind of funny since I haven't participated in a forum in a couple of years. I think the last time I joined a site like this was this race relations board. I got so damned angry every time I went on that thing that I just stopped going and haven't done it since.

So I have a question, it's not all just rambling nonsense.

What other writing do you do besides writing fanfiction? Or is fanfiction the only thing you write, as sort of a serious hobby? See, I'm supposed to be a screenwriter but I haven't touched anything in months because I've devoted so much time and energy to my HP fic.

And furthermore--do you find (for those of you that are writers outside of fanfiction) that it's kind of looked down on amongst your friends/peers/fellow writers? The friends of mine I have from school (mostly screenwriters, playwrights, very small time directors, actors, bleh) made fun of me whenever I mentioned it so I just stopped. They think it's a waste of my "talents" or whatever, that my time would be better spent working on my screenplay. I would agree because I would love to finish a script at this point, but I don't think it's a complete waste. I'm developing some writing skills doing this--controlling a coherent plot, character development, etc. Right?

Or do you believe that fanfiction is kind of a thing that should only be spoken about amongst fellow ff enthusiasts? It bothers me that I feel so silly when my friends are around and they take a look at my computer and say "What the hell are you writing? What's this...'A Harry Potter Fic by Kendra'? Where's your screenplay, girl?"

 

Sometimes it takes me awhile to get rolling on a new chapter. I have a whopping 500 words of chapter 19 of my main story done, but real life tends to get in the way. Right now I am typing away while keeping eye on 4 year old daughter taking a bath.

As for your writing, it wouldn't matter if it was HP, Babylon5, BTVS or Gilmore Girls. If it is fanfiction and your peers are not into that kind of thing, then you need to be prepared for their reactions. I get it alot, but I mostly ignore it. Take every opportunity to hone your skills! You never know when it will come in handy. Who knows in a year or two, you could be on a soap opera's writing staff and remember some goofy thing you did in your fanfic that would work well in the storyline.

Jim

 

I studiously keep my fanfiction addiction away from my friends. They regard the fact that I actually read a book every once in a while as complete nerdiness and consequentially, I'm sort of an outcast from my own circle of friends. And it's mostly this site's fault, because I hardly spend any time reading stories because good ones are so few and far in between, so the majority of my day is spent huddled over my keyboard on darklordpotter.net. No hard feelings, though, because I really enjoy wasting my life on this site. It's definitely worth it.

As for if I write anything else, I'm not into Anime or Manga, I don't watch TV all that much and so I don't really have anything else to write about. I have enough trouble coming up with decent ideas in an already established universe (see my story for evidence ) so I can't really be bothered coming up with an original work.