I have added a link to them on my menu at the right. The category I am writing for is called "A Day in the Life" and described as such:
A Day in the Life – True, somewhat true, or made-up tales of player character miners, mission runners, manufacturers, pirates, scammers, spies, and other heroes, rogues, and opportunists of EVE.
The first entry I finished last night. I put on some music made sure everything and everyone in my house was fed and leaving me alone and burned through the writing. The story is not long. It ended around 2.5k words. I blinked, pushed back and asked my boys if they were willing to proof read for me.
They said yes. I sat down with them and we talked about things. There was a lot of honesty and a bit of soul bearing in it. Asking people to critique ones work is hard. Critiques are good things. They let a clear set of eyes see things. Still, when one hands over a pure creative endeavor it can be hard to watch it pulled and pushed open. Hono and Dher and MacG came through for me like I was pointed on a gate and going down fast.
The people I play with are wonderful. There was a lot of productive criticism. I changed things. I edited. I fixed typos I would not have found. I restructured some things and I stepped back and put it up. The second I finished today and MacG has been kind enough to skim through it and do some clean up. The third is halfway done. I will finish it on my next days off I suspect. I'm often to tired on my work days to produce much of interest.
That was the point where I realized that I was nervous. My blog is something I started to keep track of my memories of the game. As time passed it expanded. Even now, it is most often a reflection of my days or my thoughts. I ponder topics and follow along in my game life and the game lives of those around me. I never expected it to be read when I first started. I have been startled and pleased to develop what looks to be a steady readership that takes the time out of their day to peruse the words that pour from my fingers.
This is different. I'm an avid reader and often consume 1-2 books per week depending on length and workload. It used to be 3-5 but employment is a cruel master. I've never attempted fan fiction of any kind. The closest I have come is some paintings a few years ago from another hobby of mine. Now, I was crossing into waters that I had never been before. I was pouring my raw creativity into a mold and setting it aside for others to judge. I even had little worries about writing things to early and waiting to the last minute. Is there some type of 'game plan'? Then, before I drowned myself in ridiculousness thoughts I decided it didn't matter. I'd let the work flow as it flowed and hope that it stood upon its own self.
It is uncomfortable. The internet is not a kind place. I've know it for years and of late I am given frequent reminders. There is a difference in accepting criticism for something like a personal thought or event cycle and offering, I don't consider myself an internet journalist. I just write about Eve and the people around me and the things that go on.
I don't know how much further the creative fiction writing will go after the contest. For now, I am attempting to capture the feel of playing Eve in text. The writing is my game of Eve for the moment. My energies are focused on it. It is a brilliant motivator for me. I have subject and focus and time limits. I'd like to see what I can create during this time. Things like winning and prizes. They are what they are. I think I will 'win' regardless in what I gain from this process. It is a new thing for me. A humbling thing for sure but an exciting one nonetheless.
The hardest part for me in writing fiction is finding my voice and transcribing dialogue into interesting conversation. It's funny how for all the books I've read and writing I've done, I never bothered to try to understand what made great dialogue in a novel.
ReplyDeleteIf you feel yourself getting into it, feel free to send me a mail for proofreading, critique, other writers/RPers to talk to. There's a lot of folk who dig the fiction of EVE.
I've read and enjoyed both. Kudos to you for entering them! As you say, that's a win regardless of the contest result.
ReplyDeleteI've long wished I could attempt fiction writing but every time I consider it I either lack the courage to put such work out there or I fail to translate my love of reading fiction into writing fiction. One day, perhaps.
Well done, thanks for an enjoyable lunchtime read and some inspiration.
Hooray for honest proof readers - those are invaluable! But even with them, writing fiction just takes a lot of practice. I'd shudder to read my very first pieces of fiction (long time before EVE), and there also some EVE posts of mine which I'm less than proud of. In particular creation of events is one of my bigger weaknesses, hence my current based-on-a-true-story approach.
ReplyDeleteSugar, I liked both stories, with 'The Path Divides' striking a deeper chord with me. Just... the names of the characters did cause a raised eyebrow at times :)
It's whatever comes to mind simply because looking at local is often a Wtf expierence.
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