One year has passed since I've updated this little blog of mine. Now, we are nearing the end of the first day in year 2016, so I thought it prudent to write out the happenings and reasons for my longer than normal absence from blogging.
Year 2015 was in some ways a hard year - from me going under the scalpel once again, to mum and father losing their brothers and near family to death. Miya had grown up some, if you care to remember the doggy furball I was ranting about some posts back - she successfully passed the second obedience exam along with both first and second sniffling exam. Mum even participated with her in a national sniffling competition!
As for me, I don't know whether I've grown some. The last year was taxing on my patience what with me having to listen to brother's "poor Miya" laments while being pissed off that he didn't keep his promise to take her out on the walk at weekends. I sometimes still hold a grudge for that one.
I still haven't gotten a job, but I think I've improved in writing the job applications, along with making a good leap in going to job fairs. They are exhausting and disheartening, but every time I learn something new. I learned to stand up for myself when talking about what I want to do for a job, so I have now defined wants and lines to where I want to go, I will have to brush up my skills for my trial working period soon - I just hope it will go well with the skill set I have. I am a little bit nervous about it, but let's hope it will go smoothly.
On writing front, this is the first year since acquiring the contract job for being freelance writer for some internet page. It's slow going, but at least I can express my thoughts there, though it irks me that I still haven't got enough traffic to be considered for payment.
Fanfiction writing, I've posted at least three works - updated Reach For The Sky, along with finishing Scrapbook Jewels - even if I still get the ideas, I've closed this particular compendium down, to help me concentrate on advancing and consequently finishing the already existing works, like Among The Hawks And Doves, Fire And Ice and Crimson Sagittarius.
Last updated works aside Reach For The Sky was Stray Notes - QUARTET NIGHT. I've explored that fandom quite thoroughly what with me watching and re-watching the episodes and I really couldn't help myself but be amused with QN's jealously issues, so this four-part fic came into being, and later on gifted to Zara who was the reason for me to even getting into writing in this particular fandom.
The largest piece of writing this year, aside from some of my more technically minded projects, was Who We Are, a Fate Zero/HP crossover. I believe I've munched on this one for a year, both because of the difficulty of characters and story-wise, I had to make biggest number of scene rewrites up until now. There went a perfectly good notebook /mournful/. I am grateful I got an excellent beta, Luna13 who helped me to edit this monstrosity both on the French and English side. I hope the following year will be fortuitous to her.
Among The Hawks And Doves is already written and (presumably?) in beta-reading I am concerned, because my new beta haven't replied back to me yet. MHB is not on the radar anymore, for at least a year already, so I've sought out another one. mist_el is similarly preoccupied, which worries me, because she already passed the deadline twice - I've sent her the document after Christmas, and I expected to get in back in 4 days tops. No such luck, so I am self-beta-ing again, which is pissing me off, because it delays the posting the chapters. it doesn't help the chapter in question is 10k long and the theme is a little bit more on a sensitive side than usual. I am on thin ice with it, becasue it threatens to offend the readers, what with blood and gory bits, but life is not a teletubbies land, so I am not so kind as to conform to the readers' expectations here. Naruto is a good manga, but they omitted many life-aspects from it, if they weren't shinobi related. Well, here's to correcting that eyesight. /mocking smile/.
Another beta, Paxloria, offered her services for beta-ing Fire And Ice - I already have half of the chapter done, but it will be prone to revising at least once, for I think I lost a sight on where the story is going, and one kind reviewer forced me to revise and explain my reasoning to her, which clarified my thoughts on the interactions of characters, but amusingly enough, I haven't got a reply back. Antares is a hard character to work with, because on one side, I ant to bash everyone for him, but on the other, I want to make him merciful, which is an interesting conundrum to balance. We'll see how it goes.
Sewarea is a newbie on the scene, and I hope we will work well together, but so far, she had sent me the chapter for Reach For The Sky in a completely unrecognizable formatting that is making me scratch my head with confusion. Tomorrow, I will attempt to get the program that will open the document, and then we will see.
I am a little bit disgruntled that I am so dependent on betas, but I have to admit, with chapters as long as they are, even I can lose sight of the mistakes, be that grammar or spelling ones. MHB was a godsend in that regard, and I miss her, but still, I wish her all the best.
Also got into writing original fiction, and despite of being rejected from the publishing company, I am still going strong. I am officially rewriting Shoes To Marry For to my satisfaction - it seems that I don't agree with word-imposed limits, so I am all on my own in this one. Still, having fun, and that's the most important bit here.
Last project to write was for Rose of Versailles, and I got it together in two days, because inspiration stuck. I believe that I spent the last day of the year 2015 writing like possessed - managed to chip off a keyboard's key, while I was at that - and finished writing at 3.30 in the morning. If the old adage, what are you doing at the first day of New Year any indication, I think I have a pretty good idea where my days will be spent for a foreseeable future.
I am obsessing over writing, that's for certain. Much to the disgruntlement of both my mum and brother, and for that reason, I am not very happy camper when I am interrupted to go out walking with a certain furry ball of ours, even if sometimes my head does need some pause to get thoughts in order.
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