Update on the Ron Ficathon...

[icarus]

I am soooooo not into this story *drudgery, drudgery* and it is very, very dull.

Very dull. I apologise in advance for inflicting this story on the fandom.

*heavy sigh*

Wow, this sucks. I'm not exaggerating, it's lifeless.

*Icarus does CPR*
*Then kicks fic*
It doesn't even twitch.

I hate het.

Comments

[sarka.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry. Het is nice, but I can imagine that it's no fun if you're not into it...

Why is it going so badly?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Well, a variety of reasons. But at the top of the list is the fact that this is not actually a challenge fic but ghost writing.

The plot is very specific, and you can feel that they're a little attached to it. So it's hard not to write they want.

Icarus

[sarka.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose that the challenge would be to find the interesting part about writing it, then...?

I went back and read the actual challenge... and, well. I think that "Do what you want with it" are key words here. I think you can basically set this anywhere you want and bend the plot around anyway you want. This is Madhuri we're talking about, the person who wrote Dennis Creevey/Hermione. She's über cool. Also, she originally put this up for "Blame someone else" and she can't have expected that to come out exactly the way she'd thought of it.

Now, a question, is there a methaphorical line drawn somewhere that I've never seen? With slash on one side and het on the other side? I'm such an innocent, this had never ocurred to me. Some people only like slash and others only like het, okay, I got that, but is it unusual to like both?

Miss Pince.

[saltroseortopaz.livejournal.com]

Random interruption from a random person here -- but I don't think it's terribly unusual to like both, and I was bored enough to think up a name for it, too.

Bitextual. (It'll never catch on, but isn't it shiny?)

[sarka.livejournal.com]

It is very shiny indeed! Why wouldn't it catch on? We people who like both need to have something to define us! It's not any worse than "slasher" (which I've always thought sounded like something out of a bad horror story...)

I'm tempted to make an icon :) Would you mind? It's your word after all...

[saltroseortopaz.livejournal.com]

Aww, go ahead, make an icon. Share? [puppyeyes - is incapable of making own icons]

[sarka.livejournal.com]

I'll make it and get back to you. Send me an email at elinel at hi dot is if you want me to use something specific for background and colours and such - or if you want me to use specific text. Mine will probably be animated. Or, you can just go over to my own LJ and comment with your requests. I think we've spammed Icarus' LJ enough for tonight :)

[saltroseortopaz.livejournal.com]

Gotcha.

[apologies to Icarus for her spammage. hehe, not the first time either]

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Hey, no sweat.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I suppose that the challenge would be to find the interesting part about writing it.

I had it outlined and plotted on Friday, it's just a matter of execution at this point. *Icarus lights final cigarette.*

Now, a question, is there a methaphorical line drawn somewhere that I've never seen? With slash on one side and het on the other side? I'm such an innocent, this had never ocurred to me. Some people only like slash and others only like het, okay, I got that, but is it unusual to like both?

*Icarus squints.* Huh? Is this an argument? Because I don't have the energy for an argument at the moment.

I read both, though mostly I read slash. I write only slash, because that's what I like to write. As for sweeping generalisations about other people - hell, I dunno. Is there an invisible line?

I think I assumed the Ficathon was slash because it was being pimped by slasher friends of mine. But it was easy enough to tell... all you had to do was read down the requests. I just assumed I wouldn't get one of those. The story's starting to pick up, but it's definitely not going to be one of those I can post with only a lick of beta-review.

Icarus

[sarka.livejournal.com]

Is this an argument?

Nope, it's not. Just a curious question, from someone who doesn't understand her friends when they wail about how the slashers did this and the het shippers did that, and so forth. I like/read/write both and sometimes I feel like I'm a total minority. I'm just wondering whether that's true.

Miss Pince.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I know that when fanfiction and NC-17 fanfiction is railed against, slash tends to be singled out. So I think that's created an artifical dividing line that really doesn't make sense if you think about it carefully.

The 'slashers' have had to band together to preserve and protect their work, and it's created a tight community that the Het writers haven't needed to form.

Het and Gen writers are welcome, but it's like a non-smoker hanging out with the smokers: you always feel a little on the outside.

Most of the slash writers I know read all of it though, Het, Gen, Slash you name it.

The only complaint I have about Het really, is that it lends itself to Mary Sues. You find many, many more Mary Sues in Het than you do in Slash. I assume this is because there are so many teenage girls writing fanfiction and they identify with a particular female character. So I read Het with Much Trepidation. I generally only read Het stories that have been recommended for fear of what I might find.

Icarus

[sarka.livejournal.com]

This is interesting. I'd never thought about it like that. See, this is why I asked you. I knew you'd come up with an answer :)

Miss Pince.

P.S. I'm sorry if I sounded like I was trying to start an argument at first. English is my fourth language and sometimes it doesn't come out quite the way I want it to... and I end up saying something totally different from what I mean.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Damn, my loooong answer yesterday didn't post. I think I was all argumented out (ha, I should copyright that phrase) from something else that was going in LJ.

Anyhow, I've almost finished the Ron Ficathon piece (19 pages in and I just have to write the final scene), and now I'm trying to track down a ruthless beta. Most of my stuff in the past has come out fairly finished in the first draft, but this one is very rough and I know it.

But I managed to stick very closely to Mags request: it is Quidditch and plot-centric. It is about corruption in Quidditch. The only real pairing is Ron/Hermione, and while their relationship is central to the story, this is not one of my porn stories. It may be a little darker, more angsty and more romantic than she planned, because what got my interest was the moral dilemmas the situation suggested.

Icarus

[sarka.livejournal.com]

Well, congrats on getting the story done. I'm having trouble getting into mine. (The "Where do I start?" dilemma.)

Anyway, if you need the sort of beta who goes; "Uh... don't think he'd do that..." or someone who's well versed in R/Hr, I can do that. I'm good at spelling as well but grammar and punctuation kick my arse. As for wording, I can usually tell if there's something wrong with it, but not what it is... I'm not sure if I'm a ruthless beta, though. Not unless I'm expressively told to be nasty. Just thought I'd offer :)

Miss Pince.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Hi, thanks! I've asked tinderblast and ygrane to beta, but thanks for offering.

Characterisation's probably not the issue, though I'm sure I describe Ron and Hermione's relationship differently than anything else out there, as I've never even read Ron/Hermione.

I'm going to withhold judgement on the story and wait for what they have to say.

Icarus