I've just had the first page of my current draft of my Mindflights story critiqued by Ms. Shreditor on the blog of Julie Coulter Bellon. Like a cat, I am purring happily away about the positive feedback, that I have an intriguing start and clean text (why yes, I am one heck of a self-proofreader, and by golly, I am proud that I do not suffer from humility in that particular area at all, although that's just about the only area where I do feel strong and confident.) On the other hand, I also feel stupid that I never stopped to consider double-spacing my lines, making my entry about twice as long as it should have been. *hangs head* I've just got into the habit of writing so that I can copy and paste my fanfics straight onto the web. I must stop and think next time before I submit. What do they say, fools rush in without checking the submission guidelines? Or something like that.
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Well, after more than two weeks of the strangest illness I've ever had, I think I'm getting back to normal now. Not fit, as I was explaining to my visiting teachers to-day, but normal for me. I call it the strangest illness because I don't know how else to classify it; it wasn't really a cold, or the flu, or bronchitis, or a virus (I went to the doctor and had a blood test.) But I felt distinctly under the weather and it took me a good long while to buck up again.
Now I have to get back into the rhythm of my goals again. I've kept on writing my fanfic as much as I could, but I haven't been walking like I should have, or translating. This fanfic is another strange thing -- the idea has grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, dragged me into its grotty cave, and forced me to write. I can't concentrate on anything else, the story goes around in my head during all my waking hours. I keep working on it, trying new scenes, polishing old ones, and yet I'm quite sure I won't get a big audience or much praise for it when it's finally finished. As it's a fanfic, I also won't be able to sell it anywhere for money, either, but despite the probable lack of reward, I just can't stop. I am holding out a faint hope that once I've completed the fanfic, I can get back to my original idea for the Mindflights story that has now wilted by the wayside. I was just thinking the other day how listening to audio books and audio productions has introduced me to several classic books that I never would have bothered with otherwise, or which might have scared me off if I'd tried them in their original form first. Thanks to BBC Radio Four Extra (which used to be the better-sounding BBC Radio 7), I have listened to productions of, among others, Dracula, Frankenstein, and most recently, Ben Hur. And more than a year ago, I also listened to Richard Armitage playing Robert Lovelace in a production of Clarissa on BBC Radio Four -- a book I never would have dreamed of reading (and probably never will even now.) His performance was, at least to my untrained ears, award-worthy, even if I didn't care for the story all that much. I wish he could do more audio work. But in the meantime, I will enjoy the work of others as I go about my housework with headphones in my ears, fixing lunch with a generous helping of various dramas. I came down with the flu last week and haven't been able to do any of my goals. Occasionally, I start thinking about my stories, but then my mind drifts off to something else and that's that. I haven't been this sick for a long time -- I only hope it doesn't go down into my lungs again. The last time it did, I had walking pneumonia for at least two months. Why they call it "walking" pneumonia, I will never know, because I spent most of that time on the couch and not strolling around in the fresh air. And speaking of couches, I hear mine calling me for yet another nap.
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Melanie Goldmund
I've written fanfic under the name Zelofheda, and some original fic under my real name. Archives
September 2019
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