leave any time, you don't have to be nice - just pour yourself a cup of coffee

[frith_in_thorns]

Does anyone else do the thing where you start filling a prompt on a ficmeme and the whole time while you're writing it you keep on refreshing the page at intervals, being paranoid that someone'll have been faster than you and already filled it? /laughs at self

I'm currently interspersing fic-writing with revision, half an hour of each and then switching. It's going okay. Well, the end of last week and the weekend were a complete and utter loss, but I'm finally beginning to pick up again. However, when writing fic I'm even less inclined to come up with actual plots than usual. Expect continuing spam of contextless h/c.

(Speaking of which - is 'getting a bug' used in the context of having a cold in the US? Enquiring minds are unsure.)

- -

Book! I love this book. It's extremely funny and dark and witty. You should read it. It's... quite hard to sum up what it's about, but it mostly focuses around a soul-destroying shopping centre in Birmingham. Anyway, it's one of my favourites.

#7
She'd been staring at the words for so long, they were bled of meaning. Hobbies and Interests. What did it mean? Technically it wasn't actually a question, and it was only the two inches of white space below that would clue you into the fact that the words were supposed to elicit a response. Maybe she could just write something equally ambiguous as a response: 'Good', or 'Hello', or 'Yes'. It was a conundrum. Obviously she had no hobbies and interests, she was a duty manager... and yet there were those blank two inches, as if they wanted or expected you to have a life outside of work. It was a trap, but the thing with these traps was to act as if you didn't realise it was a trap. Lisa knew that writing, for example, 'I find hobbies and interests take up valuable time that could be better spent developing top-notch merchandising skills in store' would be too obvious. She also knew that even if she had any interests, to list them honestly would be disastrous, a clear compromise of her commitment.

After twenty-three minutes of staring at the three words, she had a flash of inspiration and wrote: 'Shopping and reading magazines.' So simple. And true! They would be delighted that her life truly was that small.

- Catherine O'Flynn, What Was Lost

Comments

[leesa_perrie]

Contextless h/c sounds fine to me!! :)

My sort of SGA/WC crossover fic is getting long (13000+ words) and that's just scary! I really hope the momentum continues and I actually finish it sometime this year - and that it's actually readable and in character!!

[frith_in_thorns]

Wow, that's massive! :O *extremely impressed* I'm looking forward to reading it!

I've started filling prompts on the running hot meme, so there will be gratuitous sick!Neal fic in the next few days :P Also, the prompt I'm currently filling is an OT3 one - I have realised that there is basically no functional difference in writing gen or OT3 in this fandom (since I don't write sex anyway). I am very much amused by this.

[ebeneezerdark.livejournal.com]

...there will be gratuitous sick!Neal fic in the next few days...

YAY!!!

[frith_in_thorns]

If I ever manage to finish it, that is, it keeps getting longer XD

[ebeneezerdark.livejournal.com]

You say "longer" like it's a BAD thing...

[embroiderama]

(Speaking of which - is 'getting a bug' used in the context of having a cold in the US? Enquiring minds are unsure.)

Yes it is, though it could also mean a stomach bug. Basically some kind of minor thing.

[frith_in_thorns]

Shiny, that's what I was hoping. Thanks!

[ebeneezerdark.livejournal.com]

...is 'getting a bug' used in the context of having a cold in the US?

Yes. Also, "caught a cold" instead of "having a cold" (which seems a bit silly given that it's more the COLD that catches YOU...)

If you want some U.S.-usage beta-ing, let me know... but you do a rather good job already from what I've read.

[frith_in_thorns]

Thank you! For both the information and the offer :)

Hmm, the phrasing makes sense in the context of you catching viruses inside you... possibly I'm overthinking this :P

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

*cheers on the h/c* LOL, I'm all for fun, contextless h/c fics. ;D

Also, yes, can confirm that "bug" is used commonly in the US to refer to various minor sicknesses (most commonly heard in reference to being down with "a stomach bug", but definitely other things as well). Most frequently, though, in my experience you'd hear it phrased as having "caught" a bug, rather than "getting" a bug. Though yes, as ebeneezerdark mentioned, caught a cold/has a cold are probably the very most common ways of saying that someone's got one. :3

[frith_in_thorns]

Thank you for the information! :)

At the moment I apparently don't have enough of an attention span to write things which aren't h/c :P And there are so many great prompts everywhere right now which I want to write for!

(Weirdly, I'm absolutely useless at coming up with prompts myself...)

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

That book sounds rather good. (And what on earth are you supposed to put when asked about hobbies and interests? All I do is read and go on the internet!)

Good luck with revision!

[frith_in_thorns]

It is extremely excellent - the characters are wonderful. It's also partly a mystery story. Anyway, I highly recommend it.

My alternating revision and fanfic plan seems to be going well! :)