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2017 Weekly Writing Log, Part One
Jan. 15th, 2017 08:05 pmI feel like I haven't been productive lately, and I feel like I haven't been getting any feedback. Basically, I feel useless and invisible. In order to stave off my despair, I've decided to keep a weekly writing/art log. I will also give myself compliments, because why not.
This is what I accomplished this past week...
- I submitted an essay titled "Why Ganondorf Was Wrong in The Wind Waker" to Kill Screen. This was really hard! First I wrote 5,000 words, and then I edited it down to 3,000 words, and then I edited it down to 1,800 words, at which point I finally felt confident pitching it to the editor I worked with last time. I think I'm saying something important, but I'm not holding my breath for a positive response. The "politics of the NPC" are very tricky, especially when it comes to enemy characters, and I don't think a lot of people outside of the gaming community realize just how radical it is to say that perhaps the player-character is not entirely justified in the demonization and abuse of people who don't look or think like him (or her).
- I'm writing a book – an actual book omg!! – about The Wind Waker, and this week I finished the second chapter. Woot woot, good for me! Two chapters is enough to send with a pitch... once I can manage to come up with one. My first choice for a press is Boss Fight Books, but submissions are currently closed, which gives me more time to work.
- I posted a longish piece on The Last Guardian on my video game blog. One of my game dev friends left a really good and insightful comment on it, so one of my projects for next week is going to be writing a response to him.
- I posted the first chapter of my new Zelda fic! On AO3 it only got one anonymous kudo... haha... *dies* Two really sweet people reblogged it on Tumblr, though, which filled my heart with hope and gratitude. I was considering messaging them to thank them, but that's probably weird. The second chapter is already mostly done, and I'm thinking that Wednesdays are a good day to post weekly updates.
- I managed to contact and successfully commission Denimcatfish to do an illustration for this fic. I am honestly super proud of myself for having done this. Communicating with artists is hard for me, mainly because I struggle to find the right balance. I want to tell them how much I appreciate their work, but I don't want to come off as creepy. I want to effectively communicate and insist on my vision, but I don't want to be a dick. I want to be as specific as possible, but I don't want to waste their time. In any case, I decided to start with an illustration of just Zelda by herself, and the artist and I can go from there if we work well together.
- I've been working on a humorous (at least I think it's humorous) set of panel redraws from one of my favorite segments of the Legend of Zelda webcomic A Tale of Two Rulers, and I finally finished and posted it (here it is)! I haven't been keeping track, but I spent at least twenty hours on this, and I'm super happy with my work, flawed though it may be. It's weird, though. I wanted to ask the artist's permission to do fan art of her comic, but then I chickened out and never said anything to her. I also waited until she posted something big so that she wouldn't see my single note in the sea of notes she's getting for her own art. There is just so much love for her work and affection for her as a person in my fan art, and it's embarrassing to show it to her. What can I say, I'm a coward. I also don't want to put any pressure on her to feel like she needs to express appreciation for my garbage, to be honest.
- I wrote a peer review for an academic article in my field. Based on the citations the author uses, some of which haven't been published yet, I think I know who wrote the essay, and even if it isn't the person I'm thinking of I'm pretty sure it's a grad student. Back when I was a grad student myself, people were constantly being evil to me, so I took the time to write supportive comments with specific suggestions for improvement in my review. Based on my own experience, a lot of people seem to think that something has to be 100% perfect in order to be considered for publication, but that's (mostly) just elitist garbage that only reinforces existing power structures. Peer reviewers are not editors, of course, but reviewer comments are generally taken very seriously, and the difficulty of revisions can often make a huge difference in whether something makes it into print. I honestly don't feel one way or the other about the author, but I think it's important to support good work, even if the person doing it is still relatively inexperienced.
So, in conclusion, I guess, I did a fair amount of work this week, but none of it has really paid off yet, which makes me feel like I haven't done anything at all. But I am working hard! I am doing good things! I hereby give kudos to my own damn self, because I am awesome.
This is what I accomplished this past week...
- I submitted an essay titled "Why Ganondorf Was Wrong in The Wind Waker" to Kill Screen. This was really hard! First I wrote 5,000 words, and then I edited it down to 3,000 words, and then I edited it down to 1,800 words, at which point I finally felt confident pitching it to the editor I worked with last time. I think I'm saying something important, but I'm not holding my breath for a positive response. The "politics of the NPC" are very tricky, especially when it comes to enemy characters, and I don't think a lot of people outside of the gaming community realize just how radical it is to say that perhaps the player-character is not entirely justified in the demonization and abuse of people who don't look or think like him (or her).
- I'm writing a book – an actual book omg!! – about The Wind Waker, and this week I finished the second chapter. Woot woot, good for me! Two chapters is enough to send with a pitch... once I can manage to come up with one. My first choice for a press is Boss Fight Books, but submissions are currently closed, which gives me more time to work.
- I posted a longish piece on The Last Guardian on my video game blog. One of my game dev friends left a really good and insightful comment on it, so one of my projects for next week is going to be writing a response to him.
- I posted the first chapter of my new Zelda fic! On AO3 it only got one anonymous kudo... haha... *dies* Two really sweet people reblogged it on Tumblr, though, which filled my heart with hope and gratitude. I was considering messaging them to thank them, but that's probably weird. The second chapter is already mostly done, and I'm thinking that Wednesdays are a good day to post weekly updates.
- I managed to contact and successfully commission Denimcatfish to do an illustration for this fic. I am honestly super proud of myself for having done this. Communicating with artists is hard for me, mainly because I struggle to find the right balance. I want to tell them how much I appreciate their work, but I don't want to come off as creepy. I want to effectively communicate and insist on my vision, but I don't want to be a dick. I want to be as specific as possible, but I don't want to waste their time. In any case, I decided to start with an illustration of just Zelda by herself, and the artist and I can go from there if we work well together.
- I've been working on a humorous (at least I think it's humorous) set of panel redraws from one of my favorite segments of the Legend of Zelda webcomic A Tale of Two Rulers, and I finally finished and posted it (here it is)! I haven't been keeping track, but I spent at least twenty hours on this, and I'm super happy with my work, flawed though it may be. It's weird, though. I wanted to ask the artist's permission to do fan art of her comic, but then I chickened out and never said anything to her. I also waited until she posted something big so that she wouldn't see my single note in the sea of notes she's getting for her own art. There is just so much love for her work and affection for her as a person in my fan art, and it's embarrassing to show it to her. What can I say, I'm a coward. I also don't want to put any pressure on her to feel like she needs to express appreciation for my garbage, to be honest.
- I wrote a peer review for an academic article in my field. Based on the citations the author uses, some of which haven't been published yet, I think I know who wrote the essay, and even if it isn't the person I'm thinking of I'm pretty sure it's a grad student. Back when I was a grad student myself, people were constantly being evil to me, so I took the time to write supportive comments with specific suggestions for improvement in my review. Based on my own experience, a lot of people seem to think that something has to be 100% perfect in order to be considered for publication, but that's (mostly) just elitist garbage that only reinforces existing power structures. Peer reviewers are not editors, of course, but reviewer comments are generally taken very seriously, and the difficulty of revisions can often make a huge difference in whether something makes it into print. I honestly don't feel one way or the other about the author, but I think it's important to support good work, even if the person doing it is still relatively inexperienced.
So, in conclusion, I guess, I did a fair amount of work this week, but none of it has really paid off yet, which makes me feel like I haven't done anything at all. But I am working hard! I am doing good things! I hereby give kudos to my own damn self, because I am awesome.
