The State of the Ficcery: February 2019

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Monthly word count: 28,885

Writing: Some accomplishments this month: 1. completing a line of Fluff Bingo. 2. completing four lines of Ladies Bingo. 3. filling the final picture prompt from the Snowflake Challenge. 4. reaching 22 fandoms in the 100 fandoms challenge.



I really hope that I can make this Raffles-Sherlock Holmes crossover fic happen by the 15th. I have watched a few films [The Sting and two versions of The Thomas Crown Affair and a bit of a French film called Rififi (it was too violent against women to watch the whole thing so I just skipped to the robbery which is pretty famous for its realism)] trying to get a feel for the heist genre. But I would like it to be Clever and sometimes I puzzle and puzzle 'til my puzzler is sore wondering how that's going to happen. Twists! Turns! I have lowered my expectations as far as length. I just want something!

Reading: I have read Mary Oliver's A Poetry Handbook [I'll post about it separately but suffice to say I'll be buying own copy soon] and her book of poems American Primitive. I've just started her Rules of the Dance which is about metrical poetry, and am accruing library fines on it as we speak on it. All very good and has given me a good education in poetry and blank verse in particular.

Also, in trying to find heist material for the Raffles fic, I have fallen in love with the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin by Maurice Leblanc. It's been a very long time since I had that 'I don't want this book to end!' feeling. He's so over-the-top and I like that. I actually like him much more than Raffles and I think I've found inspiration/structure/mood for the Molliarty fic that I'd like to do for my Molliarty readers (will start on it after the 15th, hopefully)

Also, have been reading a bit wider for the 100 fandoms. I re-read Ellis Peters' Cadfael book One Corpse Too Many for a picture prompt fill Dust. I re-read Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers to do an add-on to my filthy Lord Peter smut. I am right now reading The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett to do a Nick & Nora Charles fic (I want to do one where Asta the Schnauzer solves a mystery while Nick and Nora are drunk/hungover). I read More about Paddington by Michael Bond to do a triple drabble Blameworthy.

Listening to: I am listening to The Thin Man as well, narrated by William Dufris, he's not doing a bad job. I am listening to Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin stories by my new fave Bronson Pinchot and he's knocking it out of the park with very silly French accents which are Wrong but prove to me that I am at heart an Uncultured American because I am Laughing Out Loud (I will be doing a narrator/Dupin fic for 100 fandoms for certain). And I listened to my other fave Cumberbatch do Ngaio Marsh's Artists in Crime to do a Roderick Alleyn triple drabble Blameworthy

Personal: I had about a 10-day bout of depression, starting Valentine's Day when the boys' father did not (and still has not!) acknowledged the sonnet I wrote him. Just feeling worthless and disconnected from life and everyone in the world, all of whom, strangely, seem to be have a better time of it than I am. I am feeling better now, but of course, I binge-ate the half-stone I lost last month away. I did, however, manage to survive the building maintenance removing some trees (I have a strong self-harm trigger to the sound of chain saws and tree removal) without cutting. I thought about it A LOT but I didn't. Everyone in the household has been sick but me, and we've had snow on and off. The boys' father is scheduled to leave on the 27th so I'll have to gear up for that.

Comments

[ancientreader]

Can I just say how wowed I am by your productivity? It's something to aspire to, especially in that you are not only diligent but also fearsomely clever and witty.

I am sorry to hear about the bout of depression, which I hope has lifted? and glad to hear you were able to not self-harm when exposed to a trigger. What helped, do you know?

And fooey on not acknowledging Valentine's sonnets!

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Aw. Thanks. I was a bit surprised this month as it was a short month but I managed to crank out quite a bit. Aw. You are too kind.

Yes, I'm surfacing now. Procrastination helped a lot with the cutting [oh, I'll cut when I get back from the store or oh, I'll cut when Minisculus takes a nap, and then forgetting to cut]. I had trouble with the sound and then trouble with the ugly holes in the ground and then (surprisingly, a new one) trouble with the logs stacked up on the edge of the parking lot for a day. Hopefully they won't remove any more.

Yeah. I'm still going to write sonnets (but not for him!). He said thanks when I gave him the card but nothing since then. He doesn't know what a sonnet is and he doesn't read for pleasure but it was a poem (and about him!) so a word wouldn't have gone amiss. Nevertheless, on y va. We march on.

Thank you for your kind words!

[smallhobbit]

Just caught up with your drabbles which I've thorough enjoyed. Delighted you've been writing in so many fandoms - and so well. (I may be slightly envious there!)

I hope the depression is lifting, and that soon-to-come spring will help.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you for all your comments. I don't think most DW users know most of them, but then I never know their comic books or video game worlds.

You know, I don't think 100 fandoms is going to be as hard as I thought. I mean, it will take a long time, of course, but I think I'll find 100. I'm not concerned about that part anymore.

Yes, it's lifting. Feeling better about things. We got 2 inches of snow last night so spring is not yet here. Minor's on a 2 hour delay to school. March seems to be blowing in like a snow lion.

[ellieet]

I'm very sorry to hear that you had a tough time with your depression and that your sonnet was not recognised. It can be very hard when something we've put our heart and soul into doesn't receive the reception we were so hoping it would and that's enough to knock anyone off balance. I haven't had a chance to tell you yet but I've loved the poetry you've written. I was actually writing some at work today (ha) and thinking that I'd love to have the gorgeous flow you have because there's a rhythm to your lines and use of words that's difficult to find.

And absolutely well-done for getting through the urge to cut; as someone who often struggles not to carry out compulsions and is having trouble breaking the habit, I commend you. Keep up that brilliant reading!

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you. Yes, it's been dark but things are getting better. Like you, I'm trying to commit to getting more exercise for March in order to help things.

Oh, thanks about the poetry. I am so glad you like it. I hope you enjoyed your writing of it today. It can be useful to put down in words (not necessarily linear thoughts) what is going on in your mind. I can see how it might be superhelpful with OCD.

Thanks. I think you understand more than most about those moments. Thanks. I am reading a lot more than last year; it's pretty cool.

[ellieet]

I'm glad things are improving and I hope March brings you better days. At least we're leaving the winter behind us, now. :) Exercise does help with the stress, I have to say; it already feels like it's made a difference to my mentality, although that could just be me. ^_^

I find poetry can be a useful weapon against mental health issues; you're taking something painful and turning it into something good. My final year at Uni was spent dealing with a severe bout of OCD that caused my problematic few months of considering suicide; I wrote about it in creative writing, turning it first into poetry and then into a short story. It was ironic because I was suffering writer's block, but I found writing about that made all the difference.

Keep feeling better. *hug*

[debriswoman]

Always fascinated by your writing and reading range...delighted that the Mary Oliver books appeal, and looking forward to seeing what you come up with next.

And I hope life treats you more kindly

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you!

Yes, The Poetry Handbook is very good on blank verse and many other topics and philosophies (e.g., Keats' the poet's negative capability). In my head, I am comparing and contrasting Rules of the Dance with Stephen Fry's book and the Norton guide. April is National Poetry Month in the US so I'll be doing a lot then with it.

The box helped so much. I was already starting to feel not quite so bad and it arrived and really yanked me back to the land of the living. We're supposed to get another 1-3 inches of snow tonight! Yee! Spring is not here at all.

[luthienberen]

I am very impressed by how productive you have been!

Sorry that you suffered a bout of depression, I hope you are better now and feeling more positive?

It is marvellous how the 100 fandoms challenge is opening up new books/worlds. I wish you luck with it :D

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thank you very much! A good word count for a short month.

Yes, I am feeling better and more positive.

Definitely. I like the challenge very much and don't think it will be difficult to find 100--but it will take a very long time, of course.

[luthienberen]

Yay, glad you are feeling better! :)

Yes, the super thing about the challenge is that we have a long time to reach the 100 fandoms bar!

All the best for March creative and health wise.

[mafief]

The Son of Man part from Thomas Crown Affair is my favorite. I still remember the tension from that scene even after seeing it a long time ago.

Congrats on getting things done. :) I’ll keep an eye out for the Dupin fic.

::hugs:: over the reception of the poem. :( that sucks. And go you for not getting triggered from the chainsaws.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Yes, very fun scene.

Thank you. If I can get this Raffles fic done, I'll not commit myself to anything time-sensitive (except perhaps a Hallowe'en fic) for the rest of the year. Yeah, it will be second half of the month or maybe April.

Yeah that's life. Thank you!