This idea just came to me as I read Dustin Goeller's screams of
frustration.  I hope it gives you a chuckle.  ;)

Sincerely,

Megane 6.7


"A BRIEF LOOK INTO THE MIND OF A FANFIC WRITER...."



"THE JOURN.....THE FUTURE OR THE PAS....THE ULTIMATE REALIZ...."

I sit at the computer, staring at the now motionless blinking cursor,
willing my mind to come up with something groundbreaking, incredible,
original, something to see the FFML on fire and make me the center of
attention at least for a few hours....

"LIGHT AND DARK....SHADOW AND THE FLAM....MIDNIGHT SHADO...."

"No, no, no!"  I growled at the screen, cursing inwardly for being too
inept to come up with a descent title for a fanfic.  It's little wonder
I rarely get anything finished because I'm so indesicive.

I decide, now's as good a time as any to get up, go to the bathroom and
maybe watch something on tv for a little while.  After I'm finished in
the bathroom, I start to watch TV, only to groan when I remember it's
Saturday and nothing's on at the moment.  I decide to go back to the
computer and try to come up with something.  

I glance at the clock and groan again.  In less than three hours, my
father would be taking the computer from me and I wouldn't get it back
until midnight.  I wanted to accomplish at least something before I had
to give it up.  Taking a deep breath, I search my archives for something
to do, abandoning the other fanfic for now for something fresh.  

I find an old file I had stopped working on for a month.  I read it over
and a few ideas come to mind.  Inspired, I start typing these ideas
down, managing to write a page or two before pausing to look back at
what I had written.  "Not bad" I remark to myself.  Then I try to
continue the fic but doubt starts creeping into my mind.  What am I
missing here?  Is there an inconsistancy I've overlooked?  I tell myself
to stop being so damned paranoid but by this time, my mind is set into
quiting while I'm ahead, so I save the fic and shelve it once again for
the time being....

I glance at the clock again.  Only an hour and 45 minutes to go.  I
wonder if I should try writing a fic from scratch, using the one-hour
method and see if I could come up with something good.  So I create a
blank page with my word processor and think of possible ideas to use.  
I popped open a can of coke and took a long pull from the can before
returning it to the desk, keeping it a comfertable distance from the
keyboard.  

As I consider what to work on next, I glance at the TV and see an
advertisement for a movie they're showing tomorrow on cable TV.  I
recognize the film, it's a piece of crap, but there's one girl in the
film that really looks sexy and catches my interest.  When the
commerical is done, I suddenly find myself with the urge to write a
lemon story. For a while, I toy with the idea of writing a really
raunchy lemon, something sordid and filthy for the hell of it.  Maybe a
sordid tale of lust between Nabiki and Ranma? Ranma-Chan and Ranma? 
Nah, both of them have been done to death....

Then it dawns on me.  A Nabiki/Ranma-CHAN lemon!  True, it had been done
before but not as often as the first two couples!  I smiled as I
pictured a hot lesbian scene between these two nubile girls, this was
going to be a GREAT lemon! 

With this idea set in my mind, I decide to take the intro for a fanfic
that I never bothered continuing and use it for the lemon, thus speeding
things along.  Then I start writing the actual scene, not wanting to go
for the lemon right away, building up sexual tension and setting the
overall mood of the story, I'm on a roll when suddenly....

"I need to use the computer!  It's for school!"  my sister proclaims as
she steps into the computer room, her arms full of binders and other
school supplies.  My apathy for my sister's priorities, forces me to
argue with her for a few moments, knowing it was pointless, and
reluctantly gave up the computer. My sister promised to be finished with
it in a hour or so.  Great, I thought to myself, I'll play a little
Tekken 2 while I wait....

"Could you please leave me alone?  I'll get done much faster!"  My
sister requests as I attempt to set up the playstation.  I was too tired
to argue with her so I went upstairs and decided to watch TV up there,
when the phone rings.  I answer it and it turns out to be one of my
classmates.  

Apparently, they want me to come with them to the college tomorrow to
work on a group project that's due the following tuesday.  Knowing I was
in no position to argue, I agreed and hung up.  That's just great, the
one day I get to talk in real-time chat with my friends on the FFML on
IRC and now it looked like I was going to miss it.  Sometimes, real life
really bites.

Fortunately, my sister was done early and I was soon back at the helm of
the computer, only by now my enthusiasm for writing the lemon had
diminished with the interruption.  I decide to wait until I'm in the
proper mood again before finishing it, rather than write it
half-heartedly.  I try starting a fanfic from scratch again, trying to
come up with ideas for a fanfic....

Then it hits me!  A fight scene!  Ryouga Hibiki from Ranma 1/2 meets
Cloud, Aerith and Barret by chance and they battle each other to a close
draw.  I start writing the setup.  Ryouga is lost as usual and finds
himself wandering the countryside.  Then he sees the FF7 trio trying to
capture a Choboro and Ryouga stops them, thinking they are trying to
hurt the bird.  Misunderstanding lead to harsh words and threats and
finally combat.  Ryouga proves to be a durable opponent, able to
withstand a great deal of punishment and dish it out as well!

Then I pause again.  While I was familar with Ryouga's style of attack,
I had only rented FF7 a few times and needed to learn their materas and
individual attacks.  So I begin to search the web for FF7 pages.  I soon
find himself frustated as my internet server is moving slower than
molasses.  I check the connection and find it to be 31.2 instead of 33.6

I absentmindly disconnect from the net, trying to get a better
connection when I realize a half second too late that it was past 5pm
and it was very difficult to get back on the net at that time.  I try to
dial back on, praying I get lucky, only to hear the busy signal. 
Damn....

Oh well, I shrug, At least I managed to write *something* today.  I
decide to let the net keep trying to connect as I saved my FF7/Ranma 1/2
story and decided to take a nap on the couch, figuring today was a good
a day to loaf as any....


(That's it.  It's not much I know but sometimes it's fun to step back
and take a look at yourself.  C&C is welcome.  ;)