Mentors, communities, and what keeps me writing. (Xposted at LJ/DW)

[lady_ganesh]

This is a little rambly, but I've been poking at it for days, so we'll release it into the wild. This is about fanfiction, because that's what I do, but if you want to jump in with reflections on what you do, please do!

Okay, let's start off with the simple stuff: this entry is pretty creepy and terrible. Generalizations, gender essentialism, and pretty much my least favorite fairy tale ever. (Bonus fail in the comments, whee!)

Having said that, calamitycrow has one excellent point: mentors are awesome, and it's important to many writers (and other creative folk) to have encouragement and support.

Did you grow up with a writing mentor? My parents certainly encouraged my writing, probably as much as any parents would or could; but they weren't writers. My dad was enormously creative, but he didn't put fingers to keyboard to write a story until after I was out of college and had been writing original and fanfiction for quite some time. Instead, the support I got were from my teachers at high school and college, mostly my English and writing teachers. One of my favorite English teachers was one who, after she gave us a creative writing assignment, shared the two "A" papers with the class; mine and another student's. We'd both done the assignment very differently, and she talked about the effort we'd put in, and the very different tone and content of both stories, with a real attention to the craft of writing. (And what can I say? I love having my ego stroked.)

And eventually, of course, I found fandom. And fandom runs the gamut, doesn't it? For all the people who post THIS POST IS AWESOME AND YOU ARE AWESOME there are a pile of people who seem to think that attacking others is an exciting game that will earn them points if they come up with the best cutting remark. (And of course, sometimes one person's criticism is another's cruelty.)

To me, the best writing community is neither of these; what I've managed to carve out, and what I love, is a big heaping helping of THIS IS AWESOME AND YOU ARE AWESOME, but also with betas and friends who are willing to say 'this isn't working,' or 'I'm confused,' or 'you are smack dab in Unfortunate Implications territory.' (See how much I love you? I didn't link to TV Tropes.)

Everyone, of course, has their own needs, and I think one of the great things about fandom is the way we can build ourselves a community that suits us, whether it's a fat flist filled with communities, a delicious account, or something else entirely. (Although I'd be happy without some of the crueler aspects...but that's another post.)

What about you? Who encouraged your creative life? How do you feel you sustain it now?

Comments

[inarticulate]

I had a writing teacher in high school who I give all the credit to for my writing being anywhere near decent; she taught me how to branch out, how to think about style, and how to write from the heart.

On the other hand, the person who keeps me writing now is karayan; she encourages me even when my writing is crap and sees the horrible drafts that nobody else does and tells me when they're worth fixing and posting. I don't know that it's really a mentorship as such, but it'swhat motivates me.

And fandom in general and the people around me provides a safe space for me to test things and write things that I really want to. It's amazing, and I don't know that I would still be writing without everyone here. ♥ ♥ ♥

[lady_ganesh]

Me neither. ♥

I think a good beta makes an unbelievable impact.

[lynndyre]

I had a wonderful high school english teacher who taught me how to really analyse the way things were written and why, he also let me study Shakespeare on my own while the rest of the class was studying [random irritating teen novel by an Australian author].

I don't think I've really had a mentor for writing fiction, though. I'd really like one? But... yeah, writing angst lately.

[lady_ganesh]

::hugs::

Thank goodness for your teacher. And you know I love your writing.

[hammerxsword]

First person to put in my head that I want to be a writer: Year 5 teacher, who said one of my stories back then was one of the best she read. I'd always told stories to myself, but she was the one who made me think 'writer.'

There were various teachers of writing workshops I went to when I was a bit older than that. Then in high school, a good friend and I decided we'd write novels together, and we encouraged each other on, though we didn't get much further than the first quarter of those stories.

Later on; I learned an awful lot from threewalls beta-ing a few stories of mine, most of which haven't made it online and likely never will, but her knowledge and suggestions really made me think more about both style and characterisation (fandom characterisation in particular, how to 'read' the characters in particular).

Oddly, I've produced more lately, but I've kinda of eschewed betas, not because I don't think they are valuable, but because I'm often rushing to meet a ficathon/challenge/gift exchange deadline!

These days I tend to find inspiration and thoughts on the writing process and such from all over, kind of plucking what I need and considering what makes sense and what doesn't.

I think right now also, in terms of my original work, I'm trying to finish a novel, and getting that finishing at the moment seems the important thing rather than the craft (though I keep reading about that as I go along). And I have a great bunch of friends who are supply the necessary cheerleading for that, which is wonderful - knowing that they want me to do well is good. I suspect, though, once I've gotten through the slog of the draft, I'm going to need something different - the critical but kind eye as you talk about.

[lady_ganesh]

I owe so much to threewalls. She's just amazing as a reader.

And I too am slogging through a novel and trying to push it along and worry about the touch stuff later! Good luck.

[hammerxsword]

Good luck to you too! Slog is definitely the word for it, but getting there, slowly but surely.

[whatistigerbalm]

I've had this open since you posted it and I'm still thinking. I can identify, with clarity and gratitude, individual pieces of advice that kind people shared with me and that I have often found useful, but I can't think of people - save of course my parents and parental grandmother - who had lent a lasting guiding hand. It's all been very scattered.

[whatistigerbalm]

Paternal grandmother. Why can't I post a single thing I don't need to edit? :/

[lady_ganesh]

I am so grateful for these two months' paid time. I think I'll pony up when they're over just so I can edit comments, omg.

[lady_ganesh]

It's pretty amazing how we try to get what we need, whether from one source or multiple sources.

[alias_sqbr]

(And now I actually reply to the post :))

Following on from what you were saying, my parents were always supportive of all my creative endeavours but the fact that they are constantly creating art (my mum was at art school for much of my childhood and teens) and my mum only writes a very little definitely is one of the reasons I ended up sticking with art and got totally out of the habit of writing until recently despite having been a more talented writer than artist (though I and mum would sometimes write each other little humourous poems. And wow, I haven't written a humourous poem in years...)

My Phd supervisor was a mentor for me of the scary intense "Helped my writing but only at some cost to my sanity" variety. But she taught me to revise and plan, and to express my ideas plainly and clearly and in logical sequence, which has had more of an effect on my nonfiction (eg meta :)) but also helped me learn to turn my vague story ideas into prose.

I get really weird about criticism and beta-ing but all the people who leave me positive comments are a vast encouragement. And hl has gone from one such helpful stranger to a fantastic beta and idea-bouncer-off-er.

And then there's all the tutorials and how-to meta etc. Hmm.

[lady_ganesh]

Oooh, yes, tutorials and how-tos! They're less common in writing so I don't always think of them, but man, when I knit? I WOULD BE DOOMED WITHOUT THEM.

Sometimes I think I should at least have gotten an MFA, to give myself a little more discipline and challenge. But I like money, so I went and earned it instead.

EDIT: Because I want to make it clear that I'm not saying people who do get graduate degrees want to live lives of poverty or whatever-- I just didn't have the drive or the opportunity to do it myself. (And then I hit post and realized what that sounded like!)

[alias_sqbr]

Yeah I don't actually find writing tutorials etc very helpful most of the time anyway, but for art they are SUCH a help.

Heh. No, it's true, if I wanted to make money I would not have done a Phd in pure maths :) (Speaking of mentors, the guy who showed me the ropes at my first real post-Phd job...was someone I'd tutored during my Phd) I learned a lot of useful skills but for all those years of work didn't get that much out of it :/ (Apart from this sweet icon)

[lady_ganesh]

I cannot count the times I've squinted over a knitting video!

If I'd wanted to make money I wouldn't have worked at a nonprofit, heh. (It is a sweet icon.)