Advice gained - thank you!

[amberdreams]

I have nearly 5k words written for a RPF AU which was going to be my Team Free Will bang. Except I am so stuck it's not funny, and I think a big part of the reason I'm stuck is that the original idea was never meant to have Misha/Castiel in it. This was just going to be a (short) story about Jensen with issues, and his growing relationship with new boy Jared. There was going to be a prisoner, a rescue and reunion, and that was about it. But trying to make it fit as a TFW by adding Misha in there (especially giving him equal weight to J2) is doing my head in.

80% drafts are due tomorrow. I've no idea whether what I've got is 80% or 20% or what the hell it is, and I don't know if I can finish it at all - even though in theory I don't have to have a completed fic until September.

So advice please.

Do I

1. pull out now and write this story how I originally wanted to, minus shoe-horned characters?


2. switch it from RPF to SPN and see if that frees up the log-jam?


3. send in what I've got as my 80% and keep plugging away at it in the hope that I can lick it into shape before September?

Bearing in mind that some poor artist is going to get lumbered with it if I carry on.

At the moment I'm angling towards door number 1.

Comments

[kalliel]

My vote is always to write the story the way the story wants to be written! It's always fun to do things for specific challenges, but if that's not what the story wants to be, then I feel like participation in the challenge becomes more of a hindrance than a help. Obviously it's different if you sign up for a challenge that assigns you specific prompts or parameters, but for a Bang-type challenge, I feel like you'll have more fun with the story if you let it be as it was meant to. What greater irony would there be in manhandling a story into a fate it doesn't want, for a challenge dedicated to Team Free Will? :P <3333 Good luck!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

i think I'm in that exact frame of mind, I just needed to hear someone else say it. LOL

[madebyme-x.livejournal.com]

I'm with Kalliel. It sounds like an uphill battle to make a fic into something that it's just not. But saying that, rewrites and betas can work wonders, so I'm sure that it's doable if you really want to make it work (but whether it'll ever be the fic you really want it to be might be questionable)

Yikes, I'm not sure I'm being much help here!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I did wonder about asking someone to alpha/beta it but yeah, I think pulling out now is the best option.

[marciaelena.livejournal.com]

I agree with what's been said so far. As much as pulling out of challenges suck, it's been my experience that you can't force a story, and if you insist in shaping it into something it doesn't want to be the end result is going to be less than satisfactory for everyone involved. So go back to your original premise and let the story take you where it needs to go. You won't make this particular challenge, but you'll create something that will feel right and hopefully mean something to you.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

well at least I'm pulling out before anyone else is involved - so that's good timing.

[fanspired]

Write the story you want to write. You can't force the muse, and your heart will regret it if you try.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I think I have a consensus! Thanks!

[cherie-morte.livejournal.com]

Write the story as you are inspired to write it. Forced narrative always feels forced to readers. It is going to do a disservice to the story to have 1/3 of the main characters be one that doesn't belong and that the writer knew all along didn't belong. I swear this isn't just me being biased toward J2. XD

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I swear this is me being biased towards J2 though... Ha ha ha! I think I have my answer. *nods*

Cheers me dear!

[fufaraw]

I'm gonna just nod along with everybody else's opinion. In my experience, if I try and force a direction, even if I finish it, it's never a good story. Good luck with the story you want to write!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I definitely have a consensus for door number one! Now to let the mods know.