I hate my plot

[wickedwords]

I got 3/4 of the way through a list of scenes, and realized I hated what I was doing; I was essentially drafting a cave story, and it had no cleverness to it. It was just...lying there like a gutted trout. So I think I am back to reexamining what I want this one to do, and what I want it to be. Anyone got some favorite story tropes that you'd like to see?

Comments

[cathalin.livejournal.com]

I don't think I can help with the story tropes, but I'm just posting in sympathy. Just a couple of days ago, I discarded completely what I *thought* I was writing for sgaSanta and started over. :(

The good news is, it seems to have been the right decision -- once I emptied my head of what I was doing, after a couple of days a new, hopefully better idea began to take shape. I needed a few days' "rest" in between, though.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

It seems to be working for me, too. Restarting seems to have been a good choice.

[rhi]

I have to admit, one of my favorite SGA tropes is the team having to fight their way past the world itself back to safety. Not the people, but the environment, geology, fauna, flora, and/or weather. ::grins:: But I don't know if that's really your thing or not.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Man vs. Nature. The story I started was sorta that basis, but it just didn't gel. I do love those, especially ones where nature goes wild.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Ohh, good ideas. I love cave stories, getting them isolated and in the dark and dependant on one another. But when I tried to write it, I just felt like gosh, everyone has already read this story, and I could not come up with anything new. :( So it was back to the drawing board. The new one seems to be working out.

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

I promise you, the SGA fandom will never, ever get enough good cave fic. Especially with cave-ins and the inherent physical and emotional trauma. A wounded Rodney trying to hold it together in the dark? Yeah, baby. John trapped, and trying to grope for his too-silent friend in the complete darkness? Bring it on. ::g::

Some of my other favourites:

Transformation, especially wingfic!
Aus where Rodney is a Merman or something
Amnesia
John or Rodney being sold into slavery
One of them thinking the other is dead, and mourning until--surprise! They're alive!
Alien sex pollen/drugs/water/bacteria/etc.

(You are writing a SGA McShep fic, right? I am remembering you correctly from comments you've left, yes? If not, my abject apologies.)

BTW, hi! I've friended you via Write Something, You Miserable Fuck, because you are cool. :)

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Oh what an awesome list! I love my partner's dead just kidding, and slavefic. And Amnesia! Seriously, we are like kink and cliche twins or something. ;)

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Hee. I'm glad you liked them! I hope that means you'll continue to write your story with the cave in it--I'd love to read it!

If you haven't read my SGA fanfic that actually uses some of the chliches I mentioned (Amnesia, Transformation, major H/C stuff, though with no real caves involved), and would like to, I would be more than happy to give you some URLs. :)

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Please do!

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

Happy to oblige. :D I believe you've read some of it already, though....

My stuff under my better-known name of Leah (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewuser.php?uid=3)

And Taste is Sweet (http://www.wraithbait.com/viewuser.php?uid=2293)

Enjoy!

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Oh, you are tricky! Yes, I have read a lot of your Leah stuff. *g*

[taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com]

:) Well, I wasn't trying to be tricky--honest! I just needed a new LJ so I could do archive stuff without being cyber-stalked by people whom I had told needed betas. And then I started wondering if I could write differently if I was writing as a different person (don't know if I did, but it was fun to try). I was never trying to actually deceive anyone.

Now that I'm no longer involved with the CSI archive, I'm going to 'out' myself once I finish this fic and post it, because it'll probably be my last one in the fandom. But I'm no longer trying to keep anonymous as TiS so strenuously.

And you are one of the few who knows. ;->