Friday, May 06, 2005

Ah yes, so there it is....



Wind and Kwi

You know, I think I would have been disappointed if I hadn't gotten at least one letter about the word count posts at FM. You get used to certain things happening. I was going to post it, but it's really silly -- '... (everyone) needs to stop being so annoying and shoving it in the faces of people who can't write as much.' And 'Pips are stupid and ugly. I hate them. They're just for show offs.' ....And more along this line about the layout of the site, the colors, what people discuss, and how none of it is helpful to her. I have the distinct feeling that nothing would help her anyway, but that didn't matter. It is our purpose to make things work for her.

I expect two or three more before the thread disappears. I'm going to mostly ignore them this time around. I have only recently realized that it doesn't matter what I say to some people, they will find a reason to complain -- especially about things that don't affect them at all. No one is required to take part in anything that happens at the site. You get to pick and choose what you like, and if nothing at the sites work for you, then move along and find something that does.

I am not going to remake the site for a handful of people who are annoyed by the fact that others are actually writing, finishing work, submitting and in many cases, selling their stories. It's been wonderful to see the posts from people who have completed their first novels, submitted their first works, and made their first sales. That's the stuff I look at when I start getting notes like this. Doesn't work for you? Well maybe the truth is that you just don't want to work, and it wouldn't matter how the site was set up or what we allowed or didn't.

I think I'm going to start using pips in my signature again. I haven't because I’m lazy. I don't expect it will affect the way I write or the way anyone else writes, either.

I suppose it was silly to post anything in the thread thinking it would deter people from writing to me personally. I would much rather they posted on the board. And you know, I understand that people still think it's Holly Lisle's Forward Motion -- but I do wish they would spell my name right (Lisette? Ugh). Sigh.

Over all, I don't get it. I really, seriously don't. If you can't stand the fact that someone else writes more than you do (and we are not talking better or worse, just more) then how can you even walk into a bookstore? Are these people that way about everything in their life? Can they not stand it if a person reads faster than they do? Where do they draw the line?

And why does it always have to be 'this doesn't work for me, get rid of it' and never mind if others like it or not. The implication of the letter above is that she's more important than any group of people. I see far too much of that attitude at FM, and like I said in the posts there, I've accommodated the people as much as I'm willing to. I'm not going to tell people they can't use the pips, they can't announce word counts in chat, or anything of the like.

Now, don't get me wrong. This is really a very minor little problem -- but has a sometimes vocal group. And I realized that I had been wrong about saying we should limit pips to certain things, because with ones like the speedwriter (which I always forget), we had already gone into the word count side. So there should be at least one pip that allows posters to recognize someone else who does not set word count goals and such. We'll work on that.

And I had a good day today. Oddly enough, I've barely done any writing. I'll get about 1k tonight and call it good. I spent part of the day at the park getting a few pictures, and it was so nice just to be out of this office, this house, and neighborhood (where I usually do my walking) that it made me feel much better. It really is spring out there! Yay!

I saw the possible cover art for my new chapbook. Quite nice. The web site I did for a friend and writer went over very well. He'll be sending me updated info for it. I found my notes for the next 2YN class, so I have a chance of actually writing what I intended to this week. (We'll not discuss last week... lol). This is week 71 for the class. Hard to believe we're so far into this class already!

I am very close to being done with Kinship. I should probably be done by now, but I've slowed up on the last three chapters for some reason. Well, actually, I know why. It's not that I don't want to get in there and write it out -- I've just had a few other things that had to be done first. But I'm getting there!

Tonight I really must work on the 2YN stuff, though. And I'm almost done with my first story for SAD. That's not good. I wish I had more time to write them!

Ah well. Things are looking good!

1 comment:

Jean said...

Is that the ying and yang of Wind and Kwi? (I can't wait to have Magellan and Hershey living with me again.)

As for word count, we do tend to focus on it at the site, but, really, getting the right number and kind of words on paper is what writing is all about. Some people do it faster than others. Some people learn to write faster as they gain experience, and some people will always write a little slower. And some people will never be happy. Keep on keepin' on, Zette. You're going good things, and many, many more people appreciate it than those who complain. The latter are just more visible.