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Guest post: “Getting It Done: What Determines a Writing Quota?” by Franklin Leo
by Franklin Leo
Writing is hard, and even for the experienced, it continues to be difficult. Whether it’s editing or drafting, there’s always a point when we find ourselves unable to move forward simply because time is such a huge issue.
I’ve instructed and tutored writing to college students for a few years, and I have only recently started to come out more as a furry author, but the number one thing that I hear from other writers or hopeful-writers is that there’s too much going on in their life.
Stephen King says in his memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft that it’s best for one to get around 1,000 words a day down and written into some piece he or she’s working on. That alone is around four pages, and to some, the idea of doing so much so soon comes off like a triathlon equal to NaNoWriMo.
What matters, however, is that you get something down — anything down. Students tell me that they could only get a paragraph written. In college, that’s quite a bit, I tell them. Some often tell me that they could only get a sentence or two down because they had to do some reading. That’s okay as well. Reading and writing go together. You simply can’t do one without the other, I say.
I also tell them that some days, it’s okay to write more than other days. Some days, it’s okay to write nothing. What’s important is to discipline and let yourself write as much as you can, understand that there is no punishment for writing too little, and being there for yourself when you need it. Writing is part therapy and part communication. Try to write as much as you can, but also allow yourself the freedom that the work demands.
Personally, I stand by the 1,000 word quota, simply because it works for me. I enjoy it, I get good enough results from it, and it makes me feel accomplished. Have I ever questioned my own methods? Of course. Working as a writer is like working as your own personal trainer at the gym. You need to know how much, when, and in what way to push yourself. I continue to keep my quota going as long as I can, but with work and class (as well as different stories going on at the same time in my head), it’s just impossible to do everything that I wish.
What works? Again, it really depends. For someone, writing a couple of sentences before bed can be enough to get him or her going until the next day. For others, they may feel that 2,000 words a day is worthy of any acknowledgement. Working with others, as well, forces you to work as much as you can; several times, I’ve had other writers tell me that I’m just not writing enough, which is nice because they hold me accountable when I myself am unable to do so. Beating yourself up about it, however, is something a writer should never do. By changing writing into something that you have to do rather than what you get to do, you ultimately take the fun out of it. You ruin your chance of wanting to return to a story because it honestly gripped you. For a writer at any level, that there is the kiss of death, whiskers and all.
My students come to me every day when I’m in my school’s lab, and I get to hear how they enjoy writing now because they realize it’s not work — it’s fun when they allow for it.
That’s all you can ever do. Allow for it, and be proud of those moments when you do. That there will build you a quota and keep you pressing forward amidst a hectic schedule and series of setbacks.
On popularity (and personal identity) in the furry fandom...
I've been thinking more often recently about how everything from people or artists to less tangible things like content and trends become popular. For many in the furry fandom, it's their main goal as they crave the attention. For others, it's part of a means to an end - useful, but not entirely necessary. Obviously, there's no foolproof formula for becoming "popufur" (and even if there was, it probably wouldn't work for long as everyone starts to use it and nobody stands out) - a lot of it ultimately comes down to doing the right thing in the right place at the right time.
Becoming popular is simple, in theory: be likable and memorable. Being likable is straightforward - give people what they want, show people things they enjoy seeing and tell them what they want to hear... Being memorable is easier said than done. When you're competing to stand out and make an impact on people, you're competing with everything else that can be seen or heard. Granted, most of those things aren't actively looking for someone's attention, but sometimes a scenic view is far more memorable than a reply in a message board. Whether it's artistic style or flair, a certain attitude, particular mannerisms, something else completely or a combination of the above, something that make you stand out will you more memorable. However, it might not be something that most people (including yourself) like. Don't force yourself to be something or do things that (you think) other people want you to do.
As for being in the right place and time, persistence pays off. This part is mostly down to luck, so give yourself the best opportunities possible to get noticed - stay visible, but not obnoxiously so. You don't have to be right in someone's face to be seen (literally - in real life, or metaphorically - online). Doing everything you can to be seen might get you noticed, but only as a flash in the pan. Instead, don't try to force or rush it - a good reputation takes much longer to build than a bad one.
Be yourself, do what you want to do. Find your place to belong. Find your audience. Find your friends. Be happy, and help others in your own way. You might get lucky and be known by more people than you'll even meet in your life... or you might only reach a handful of others who are willing to listen to anything you say, get to know you well and be there to help when times are rough. Neither is a bad thing unless you're setting (unreasonably) lofty goals for yourself - at which point, you need to take a step back and reconsider what you have and what you want.
submitted by Big_Red_Hothead[link] [112 comments]
If your fursona had an MTG deck, what would it be like?
Heya guys! It's your buddy Ringgar! This is just a question I'd figured I'd ask today since its going to be a slow day :P! Magic: The Gathering is a fun other hobby of mine, and I'd like to see what decks you guys can think of!
How would your deck work? What makes it win? What color(s) is it? What are it's key combos? Etc.!
Here's mine! Ringgar would definitely be Bant (Green, White, and Blue), and would focus on protecting his creatures, healing, and friendly synergy!
Feel free to post any suggestions if you have them :D!
submitted by Infamous0823[link] [43 comments]
Fox and Rabbit are Friends… Eventually
ComingSoon.net recently ran an article summarizing an article in USA Today (the Internet is so circular sometimes…) about Disney Animation releasing a preview image from their upcoming 2016 CGI feature Zootopia. The new picture gives us the first glimpse of lead characters Nick Wilde (fox, voiced by Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (rabbit, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) as they’ll actually appear in the finished film. For those who don’t know, “The story involves these two characters who don’t get along at first but must work together when Nick needs Judy’s help getting out of a jam as she’s trying to crack a big case. [Co-director Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph)] describes the film as the story of ‘two animals who would naturally never hang out or like one another in the beginning, but over the course of the movie develop a relationship and become friends.’ So apparently, it’s a buddy comedy via anthrapamorphic Disney cartoon characters.” And apparently, the writer for ComingSoon.net doesn’t know how to spell “anthropomorphic”. Anyway, the film’s other director is Byron Howard (Tangled) and it’s set to be released in March of next year.
image c. 2015 Walt Disney Animation
Sup nerds, I have some free stuff for you. Namely Humble Bundle games I'll never redeem.
All you gotta do is pick a game and prove to me you are a real person and have been active on this subreddit for more than a week. Pick the game you want and pick a number between 1-100. I'll be using a random number generator to find the closest number for each game. I'll check back tomorrow to give people a fair chance. Also, you can put in for more than one but you can only win one.
The games are
- Antichamber
- Braid
- Risk of Rain
- World of Goo
- Blade Symphony
- GoD Factory: Wingmen
- God Mode
- Primal Carnage
- Bejeweled 3
- Dead Space 2
- Mass Effect 2
- Heavy Bullets
- The Nightmare Cooperative
- Road Not Taken
- Vertical Drop Heroes
Oh god, so many options and so few good ones.
submitted by Terwin94[link] [39 comments]
Thanks /r/Furry!
First of all: I'm sorry if this becomes a huge wall of text :>
I think I need to thank you guys, you may not know it, but you have been there in the darkest moments of my life. I wanted to share this with you, and tell you the struggle I went through.
OCTOBER 2014:
Some time during October, I finally gathered the courage to ask out a girl I liked from school. I got rejected by her, and (to be honest) I knew she would say no, but what she said really surprised me. She said "Why would I go out with someone as ugly and retarded as you??". I was extremely hurt by this, but it didn't end there... The next day in school, people were laughing at me and saying "Haha you ugly retard!!". She had told 5 girls in my year about what happened yesterday, and it eventually, everybody knew about it. People said things like that for nearly 2 weeks before it died down. I thought that was the end, oh boy was I wrong!
DECEMBER 2014:
Sometime in December, my crush went out with someone in 1ST year (We were in 2ND Year at the time). People were saying "Oh Adam, you've got competition for (My crush)!". I decided to introduce myself to him (What a mistake that was). When I saw him, he was with my crush. I said to him "You're (My crush) new boyfriend right?" to which he replied, "Yeah, have you got a fucking problem about it?". This made me extremely scared that I could fuck up and he would kill me. I replied "No I don't have any problem with it, I just wanted to introduce myself". He burst out laughing and they both walked off. From this point onwards, me and my crush regularly got into fights on Facebook. She would tell her boyfriend and he would message me things like, "Stay away from my girlfriend or I kill you!" or simply "Do you want to die?". Other people also got involved. They knew I still liked her, but they made life a living hell. They made me WATCH THEM making out! Or the just insulted me as I passed. Then came the Christmas Exams. During these, my crush just snapped, and said to me "Adam, the world would be a better place without you, fucking kill yourself!". That was my breaking point. She told everyone and by Christmas Day, everybody knew what happened.
JANUARY 2015:
I isolated myself from people and started feeling suicidal. I didn't slit my wrist, I didn't slash my neck, instead I opted for one I knew would affect her. Overdosing on Paracetamol. I knew this would affect her because one of her friends tried to kill herself this way, she failed, I wont. I got more depressed as the weeks went by, I felt like nobody liked me, or cared about be, that was until I encountered the furry fandom.
FEBRUARY 2015:
I came across the Furry Fandom sometime in early February, and I loved it. I only recently made an account here, and you guys are amazing! You may not know it, but you guys have pulled me back from the edge and made me feel like there is a reason to live on your life. I am no longer depressed, but regretting even talking to her. I really have to thank you guys!
You guys are awesome! (Or since this is a furry community) PAWSOME! Gives you a High Paw :>
Please, stay this way,
Adam (IrishWolfy) submitted by IrishWolfy[link] [19 comments]
What good advice would you like to give to people in the furry community?
I've realized that a lot of people in the fandom sometimes have very similar issues, and I'd like to take a moment to invite people to give advice that they think would be helpful to furries.
So, what good advice do you have to offer?
Here's some that I have:
Be open to critique; it may be hard to hear people picking apart something that you love and worked hard on, but ultimately it will make your work so much better!
You don't have to dislike people for having a different opinion than you, nor should you feel the need to try to change or argue against someone else's opinion because it differs from your own.
People will be more likely to like you if you like you.
Stay away from petty drama & accusations without facts.
EDIT: If you like a post and/or the content that it is creating, upvote it! c;
[link] [25 comments]
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