February Scheduling - It's Working Out

Today is the seventh of February, leaving me three weeks in the month. I restarted my o-fic for Untold Press with a completely different theme and it's working much better. I should have things at an edit stage by the end of the weekend. I have decided to shelve my LOTR Community story for February, the topic and my assigned elements just aren't working for me and I have too many other things on my agenda to spend the time with something that doesn't bring me enjoyment. And I have decided that the remainder of the month (aside from several more edits of my o-fic) will be devoted to illustrating CB's Big Bang story. What fun!

I just love the layered detail in the hair here...

so very well done!

I am not an artist who works quickly. In fact, compared to my writing, my artwork is downright pokey. But I've now read the story twice and have started collecting the images I want to display. Soon I'll be adding my travel easel to the items I'll be carrying back and forth to the shop with me each day. Once I get the inking done, I'll begin overlaying the pastels. I have obtained all of the colors I'll need (and many more - I'm a bit pastel crazy right now) and I look forward to playing with them. I'll have to double-check the deadline, but I am planning on having things wrapped up by the end of the month, optimistically.

During our regular weekly phone call, Aearwen and I discussed writers boards. They are so incredibly useful, but only when people feel comfortable posting there and are happy with the level of critique that they receive. When I first started writing fan fiction, I had already been involved as a beta reader on a writers board called Lizard Council. An amazing array of writing talent was gathered on that board including Darth, Pande, Surgical, Randy and many more. It was a safe place to post and receive feedback and the things I learned there I carry with me every time I settle down to edit my own work or help friends with theirs. A writers workshop can be invaluable and impartial input from the members of a good one can make a good story stronger.

Over the past year I have found that I hardly visit LC any more, and I miss it in so in many ways. The level of trust that I had felt there disappeared, at least for me, so I pulled back from the group although I stayed in contact with many of the people I had met through its boards. But I miss it; at least I miss the interaction and the give and take that a good writers board can offer. It was extremely pleasant to speak with Aearwen about this because she is in the process of starting a new writers board that will be open to any fandom and even to o-fic. I'm hoping that it will get off the ground successfully and be a worthwhile project and board to participate in. When there is concrete information about the new board, I'll share with all of you who might also be searching for a new home.