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Apropos of a meme that's going around, I am always surprised by people talking about their WIP folder.
Because that is not how I organize my files. Like, AT ALL.
I organize my writing by fandom, with one folder for each major fandom plus one master-level folder that acts as a catch-all for minor fandoms (some of which have their own sub-folders while others just get naked files within that catch-all folder), and then keep another folder for ficathons, prompt-fests, exchanges, etc. So if you want me to list all the stories I consider WIPs, it would require me to comb through... oh, at least a dozen folders, probably more. Scores if you add in all the unfinished original fiction snippets I have floating around.
I dunno, that's just how my mind works. To me, it's OBVIOUS that you sort stories by "world" and mark "this is unfinished" only in the file name, if at all. I add "(rough)" to a lot of files while they're in the WIP stage and whack that off once I finish -- or I make a separate file and call it "(final)" if it's long enough that I'm doing deep edits and/or have had it beta-read at some point, in which case there will usually be a third version with "(beta)" or "(for beta)" tacked onto the file name.
But apparently a lot of people keep a WIP folder! And I mean, I guess I can see how it would be useful if you're poking around wondering what to work on? But I keep having this knee-jerk reaction of "but why can't you just keep that part in your head?" and also "ew, gross, you're letting all the different worlds touch!" like they're bean casserole and cranberry sauce on a Thanksgiving plate and must be kept separate on pain of extremely unpleasant flavor combinations.
Which is also kind of funny since I have files that are just gigantic smears of blended worlds -- namely, every file that's a running tally of Three Sentence Ficathon fills, or a running tally of mini-ficlet prompt meme fills -- but eh.
Possibly it's related to only discovering fanfiction after years of writing unfinished original fiction? So I was used to organizing by world -- which is, of course, a lot more relevant for original fiction, where I also have lots and lots of background worldbuilding files and suchlike.
Or possibly it's just how my brain works. Brains are idiosyncratic and weird.
...
This has been your random thought of the day. :)
Because that is not how I organize my files. Like, AT ALL.
I organize my writing by fandom, with one folder for each major fandom plus one master-level folder that acts as a catch-all for minor fandoms (some of which have their own sub-folders while others just get naked files within that catch-all folder), and then keep another folder for ficathons, prompt-fests, exchanges, etc. So if you want me to list all the stories I consider WIPs, it would require me to comb through... oh, at least a dozen folders, probably more. Scores if you add in all the unfinished original fiction snippets I have floating around.
I dunno, that's just how my mind works. To me, it's OBVIOUS that you sort stories by "world" and mark "this is unfinished" only in the file name, if at all. I add "(rough)" to a lot of files while they're in the WIP stage and whack that off once I finish -- or I make a separate file and call it "(final)" if it's long enough that I'm doing deep edits and/or have had it beta-read at some point, in which case there will usually be a third version with "(beta)" or "(for beta)" tacked onto the file name.
But apparently a lot of people keep a WIP folder! And I mean, I guess I can see how it would be useful if you're poking around wondering what to work on? But I keep having this knee-jerk reaction of "but why can't you just keep that part in your head?" and also "ew, gross, you're letting all the different worlds touch!" like they're bean casserole and cranberry sauce on a Thanksgiving plate and must be kept separate on pain of extremely unpleasant flavor combinations.
Which is also kind of funny since I have files that are just gigantic smears of blended worlds -- namely, every file that's a running tally of Three Sentence Ficathon fills, or a running tally of mini-ficlet prompt meme fills -- but eh.
Possibly it's related to only discovering fanfiction after years of writing unfinished original fiction? So I was used to organizing by world -- which is, of course, a lot more relevant for original fiction, where I also have lots and lots of background worldbuilding files and suchlike.
Or possibly it's just how my brain works. Brains are idiosyncratic and weird.
...
This has been your random thought of the day. :)
