For the Win

Last week I called myself for being a Big Fat Liar Pants, whining that I can’t seem to finish anything longer than a blog post. I talked about my various writing projects, the majority of which seem to reside only in my head. Of the big ones, there are a few books – two fiction, but different genres and one nonfiction – whose ideas have lived for varying numbers of years. Of the smaller variety, I regularly come up with ideas for shorter stories, sometimes one-shots or flash fictions, some the longer of the shorter variety. I counted among my writing projects a fanfiction story that’s been in various stages on paper for two years.

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the vampire playthings in my head: the apparent sun-fearing conspirators who wake at night (when I should be sleeping) and prance around in my mind, sucking away any chance at sleep by preventing my mind from shutting off at a decent hour. It then occurred to me (only after this had been going on for years; sheesh, I’m slow) that, perhaps, I should work them to my advantage. Thus, the novel idea of a writer writing in the middle of the night was born.

In the wee hours of the morning, I tweeted and facebooked (that one doesn’t really work as a verb, oh well) the following:

That’s right. I finished something. Something longer than a blog post. In your face last-week-self!

The two-year-old, multi-chapter fanfiction story is complete and out there for the world (of fanfiction readers, that is) to read. Granted, I never share my pseudonym, so no one knows it’s me; but that’s not the point.

No, it’s not a major writing project. No, it’s not a novel. But it’s something that’s been occupying my brain and it’s not complete. It’s a little more of that 95% that never makes it to paper actually on paper. I’m counting that as a win.