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Manipulation? Seduction? It doesn't work with me.
How to guarantee I will not write a particular story:
- Bug me about it.
- Encourage me to read the pairing to get me back into it.
- Bug me about it.
- Bring it up in conversation.
- Bug me about it.
- Put down another character I'm interested in writing.
- Bug me about it.
- Put down a second character I'm interested in writing.
- Bug me about it.
- Offer to help with canon issues.
- Bug me about it.
Why getting me to read the pairing doesn't encourage me to write it:
I tend to write pairings that no one else is interested in, because I write my own reading material. I don't write Harry/Draco because there's plenty of reading material out there for those two. Back when I wrote Harry/Snape there were only a handful of novel-length Harry/Snape stories. Showing me how much Harry/Snape there is out there now does not encourage me to write it, especially as so much of it is excellent. I feel no need. I'm inclined to recline, pour myself a nice cold lemonade and read to my heart's content. I am fundamentally lazy and won't lift a finger where someone else has done it for me.
Why bugging me is foolish:
Bugging me about it is unwise, because I'm stubborn. If I start to feel pushed or dragged, my heels shall inevitably dig in and you will have better luck getting stories out of a mule.
Why putting down other characters I'm writing doesn't redirect my efforts:
As far as putting down other characters I'm intereted in writing, well, that does effectively kill my enthusiasm for particular stories from time to time.
But this doesn't move my enthusiasm neatly to another story. It kills my inclination to write altogether. Because the stories that are there, that want to be written, are the ones that are there. I don't want to be writing Lucius
Gen, but the story is there. It is not like weeding, where if you get rid of the unwanted characters/stories/weeds, your favourite flower will flourish. It's more like pouring concrete on the entire garden. Nothing will grow at all.
As for offering to help with canon issues, that is doomed from the start. My problem with certain stories is not that I need to coordinate with canon. It is that they are no longer even remotely original because JKR and I were thinking along the same lines (i.e., she foreshadowed successfully, I anticipated successfully and -- surprise, surprise -- we arrived at the same place). This has happened twice now, and with the same WIP. It rather takes the fun out of it when my story becomes a dry retread of canon.
The next person to bug me about either Snape Manor or Reunion will be treated to Filch/Kreacher porn... or perhaps a very limp G-rated story about Colin Creevey collecting water lilies to photograph. Or perhaps nothing.
I'm really getting soured on those stories and pairings, and I'm beginning to understand why Dien Alcyone abandoned Season of Healing.
- Bug me about it.
- Encourage me to read the pairing to get me back into it.
- Bug me about it.
- Bring it up in conversation.
- Bug me about it.
- Put down another character I'm interested in writing.
- Bug me about it.
- Put down a second character I'm interested in writing.
- Bug me about it.
- Offer to help with canon issues.
- Bug me about it.
Why getting me to read the pairing doesn't encourage me to write it:
I tend to write pairings that no one else is interested in, because I write my own reading material. I don't write Harry/Draco because there's plenty of reading material out there for those two. Back when I wrote Harry/Snape there were only a handful of novel-length Harry/Snape stories. Showing me how much Harry/Snape there is out there now does not encourage me to write it, especially as so much of it is excellent. I feel no need. I'm inclined to recline, pour myself a nice cold lemonade and read to my heart's content. I am fundamentally lazy and won't lift a finger where someone else has done it for me.
Why bugging me is foolish:
Bugging me about it is unwise, because I'm stubborn. If I start to feel pushed or dragged, my heels shall inevitably dig in and you will have better luck getting stories out of a mule.
Why putting down other characters I'm writing doesn't redirect my efforts:
As far as putting down other characters I'm intereted in writing, well, that does effectively kill my enthusiasm for particular stories from time to time.
But this doesn't move my enthusiasm neatly to another story. It kills my inclination to write altogether. Because the stories that are there, that want to be written, are the ones that are there. I don't want to be writing Lucius
Gen, but the story is there. It is not like weeding, where if you get rid of the unwanted characters/stories/weeds, your favourite flower will flourish. It's more like pouring concrete on the entire garden. Nothing will grow at all.
As for offering to help with canon issues, that is doomed from the start. My problem with certain stories is not that I need to coordinate with canon. It is that they are no longer even remotely original because JKR and I were thinking along the same lines (i.e., she foreshadowed successfully, I anticipated successfully and -- surprise, surprise -- we arrived at the same place). This has happened twice now, and with the same WIP. It rather takes the fun out of it when my story becomes a dry retread of canon.
The next person to bug me about either Snape Manor or Reunion will be treated to Filch/Kreacher porn... or perhaps a very limp G-rated story about Colin Creevey collecting water lilies to photograph. Or perhaps nothing.
I'm really getting soured on those stories and pairings, and I'm beginning to understand why Dien Alcyone abandoned Season of Healing.
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LOL, is this a threat or an offer? =)
Really I feel similar about the bugging issue. Its a sure way to annoy me and make me feel anti-inspired to write something.
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As I feared, more than one person is willing to take me up on Filch/Kreacher. *gestures to replies* I really must learn some more effective threats.
Icarus
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Honestly, though...I can't see how anybody thinks pestering a writer is going to get them to write anything. I *have* written pairings I wouldn't ordinarily be interested in writing as gifts for friends or as part of a challenge, but generally speaking, even otherwise nice feedback that includes a plea to turn a completed story into a series is almost always a turn off.
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*bursts out laughing* Yes, actually, that will work.
A little encouragement is one thing. That concrete garden phenomenon, pissing on the characters I am writing? That's where it crosses the line into "herding."
Icarus
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*quick comment while at the office*
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The Long Shadow Of History - part 1
Colin padded past his fellow fourth years' beds, footsteps as soft as a whisper. There was a sniff and a sigh as someone rolled over, but otherwise the Sunday morning was quiet and undisturbed. Squares of cool sunlight patterned the stone walls of the dorm, and Colin's camera rattled a little as he strung the strap over his head and settled it diagonally across his chest. Wizard cameras were much heavier than Muggle ones, but he was so happy to have have one that finally worked at Hogwarts. In a hurry, he stuffed his feet in his shoes without socks, then scampered down the stairs.
The light was perfect.
The pink lady merely yawned as he gently shut the portrait hole door, his eyes alert, scanning the halls for Filch. Or Snape. Though he somehow thought Snape might melt like all the other shadows in this light. Who knew? His parents hadn't believed all fanciful ideas about flowers that would bloom just because he wanted them to -- and now here he was, a wizard after all! All his "silly day-dreams" had turned out to be real.
Colin felt rather smug about that as he strode down arched halls striped with early morning light. It was beautiful in its own right, the rich tapestries and ancient gilded picture frames glittering, the ceiling dark and mysterious overhead, but he refused to be distracted. Colin struggled and pushed open the huge front door, squriming through, and made for the lake.
Cool wet grass tickled his ankles as he strode across the Hogwarts grounds, feeling oddly like he was doing something wrong. Though there was no rule against getting up early that he knew of. Fang barked at Hagrid's house and Colin walked a little faster.
The sun was over the horizon, staining the sky gold and pink. Bright golden clouds were reflected in the lake ahead of him, dark circles of lily pads floating gently on its surface.
Colin squatted on the bank and pulled the camera strap over his head. Most of the lilies were still closed. He set the lenscap on the bank, holding the camera ready.
He shut his eyes.
He had yet to learn a spell for this, though he bet it would come up in Charms. Instead, he licked his lips and just wished, very, very hard. Then opened his eyes, peering out.
White fronds of water lilies began opening in slow motion.
One was very close ... He snapped a picture. Then four more, clustered together, but further out. Colin got three of them in a shot, all gently unfurling at different rates. Then six or seven, and then more began opening, and Colin took a wide angle shot and sprawled out on his stomach, ignoring the wet grass and mud.
A particularly large lily spread its petals very close, off to his right -- unfortunately back-lit but he snapped the photo anyway. Eagerly he took his pictures, imagining in his mind's eye the moving wizard photos of his flowers opening and waving on the surface of the pink and gold pond.
"Yes. Quite lovely, I agree."
Colin jumped, nearly dropping his camera in the water.
"Oh dearie me, I do apologise. I didn't mean to startle you."
Professor Dumbledore stepped forward, his hands holding up his long pale yellow robes, though it was useless: the hem was already thoroughly soaked. "So few people appreciate the morning, don't you think?" he said amiably. "It seems more a time for complaints that one must wake so soon." His eyes twinkled at Colin over the rim of his half moon glasses.
Colin could only nod dumbly.
"That charm you seek... it is called Oleavhara. Although I daresay you are doing quite well without it." His gaze passed over the unfurling lilies with a pleased expression.
Colin stared up at him.
The Long Shadow Of History -- part 2
With that, Dumbledore continued his walk, his light summer robes bright against the rolling green of the Hogwarts grounds. The pink and gold wash of the lake lapped the water's filling his footprints with coloured water as he followed the edge of the lake. The dark battlements of Hogwarts castle loomed over him while the lilies continued to open, seeming almost to sprout at his feet.
Entranced, Colin suddenly realised Dumbledore was barefoot. Bits of grass clung to his pale feet.
He leveled his camera, hardly daring to breathe at this boldness, and took picture after picture after picture. But Dumbledore didn't appear to notice as he glanced around at his beloved Hogwarts, tipped his head towards birdsong, and generally dithered at the edge of the water. Then slowly, the bearded form of the great wizard disappeared around the green curve of a grassy knoll, with a final little careless wave.
Colin exhaled at last, and clutched the camera to his chest as if he carried gold.
Carefully, he replaced the lenscap. He was going to ask Professor Flitwick to develop these and no one else.
It was hard not to run back to Hogwarts, but he forced himself to walk. But even so, Colin was still breathing hard as he pushed open the door to Hogwarts, ignoring the cacophony of his friends eating breakfast in the Great Hall.
The Long Shadow Of History -- part 3
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::wipes hands:: My job here is done. I have no clue why people think that yelling at authors makes them want to write more. It seems counter-intuitive.
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My work here is done.
Icarus
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In the interest of reverse persuasion, please do not write this (because if someone bugs you to do so, you won't right?)
I think there are certain pairings that have lost their edginess now that the world and his missus is writing them. I started in SS/HG when it still had a bit of edginess left. By the time I left, it was mainstream with silly crap with Sevvie looking after the toddler whilst watching Barney. So, no I am not going back, never. I do not think SS/HP has quite gone that far down the u-bend, but for my part I only like Snape pairings if they are edgy and ever so slightly unnerving. The minute there is too much fluff, I'm off. And I'd never write SS/HP because there are enough brilliant stories, anyway.
So hi-diddle-dee - it's rare, bizarre or crack pairings for me.
like Snape/Pettigrew*coughs*, or Snape/Rosier (which I am doing) or (grab onto something solid) Snape/Palpatine (which I did), I did Snape/Umbridge too. No wonder the guy's utterly batshit.I do not think anyone should be told not to do any pairing, or whatever kind of story. I mean, if it is not to my taste, I can always look elsewhere, but I'd rather read what the writer was interested in, myself, that something that was produced as a response to pleading.
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Oh god... it is doable, isn't it? I mean, if Filch were to catch Kreacher up to no good and Dumbledore told Filch that Kreacher would only truly obey Harry, and Filch demanded Harry tell him to punish himself?
The grizzled head of Argus Filch pushed into the common room, dragging behind him a squirming house-elf. Then he stood there, peering about as if had every right to be on the wrong side of the portrait hole. Which he probably did, but it had never occurred to anyone. The Gryffindors stared at the sudden intruder. Kreacher yanked free of his grip and cringed away, spitting muttered curses.
"You," Filch's eyes landed on Harry. "The headmaster says this one's yours." He pointed accusingly. "Tell it to punish itself."
"Why? What did he do?" Harry asked in surprise.
Lip curled in a look of utter disgust, Filch paused. Finally he leaned over and whispered in Harry's ear. Harry wrinkled his nose.
"Ew."
Ron glanced between them. "What? What did he do?"
"The blood-traitor asks what is none of his business," Kreacher said to the wall, "oh how my Mistress would weep to see me associated with such..."
"You really don't want to know," Harry interrupted, brushing the question aside with a gesture. He turned to Filch. "So what am I supposed to do about it?"
"What did he do?"
"Harry," Hermione was already turning on him, "you can't make Kreacher punish himself! House-elfs have been oppressed --"
"The filthy mudblood vermin speaks..."
Filch cut them off. "If you're too much the coward to discipline your elf, Mr. Potter, it will continue and all the house-elfs will think they can defy me, just like you lot!" He waggled a bony finger in Harry's face.
"That's very unlikely!" Hermione complained. "House-elfs are the nicest, most obedient --"
"Forced to serve mudbloods in a traitor-wizard's school..." Kreacher said.
"Not this one," Filch snarled.
No one had an argument for that.
Harry paused. Hermione glared at him while Ron tipped his head in a curious bemused look. It was not likely either of them would ever be in this position. What did one do with a house-elf like Kreacher?
"What do you suggest?" Harry asked, stalling a little.
"Give him to me," Filch sneered, "and I will teach him some manners."
It did get Harry off the hook, not ot mention Kreacher did deserve... well, okay, no one deserved Filch, but he could make sure that... "All right, Kreacher. You are to serve Filch for one week. You can't say anything about me or my business -- or my friends', or Dumbledore's. Or do anything against us." Harry thought fast to make sure the treacherous house-elf couldn't squirm out of it. "You are to do your duties for Dumbledore and then serve Filch just in the evenings."
"Poor Kreacher..." he whinged, "he must now serve a lowly Squib..."
Harry glanced at Filch's suddenly bulging eyes with alarm and quickly added, "And you can't do anything that'll cause you physical harm."
Filch cast him a murderous glance at this last restriction. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as Filch dragged the elf out of his presence. But whatever Filch did to Kreacher, he was pretty sure he wouldn't want to know.
Okay, there you go. :D
Icarus
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Draco/Umbridge, with Draco as seducer. You know you want to.
*runs*
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Lucius Malfoy to his son in OotP, "All the Dark Lord asks is that you.. maintain good 'relations' with Dolores Umbridge."
"How good?"
Lucius examined his nails. "I suspect you are able to work that out on your own. Remember to call her 'Dolly.'"
You realize of course that HBP has given the Snape/Dumbledore ship new life?
Icarus
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The other pairings are great and I love them but these others are wide open still that you actually can get some original stuff happening.
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I still haven't seen a Percy/Draco anywhere yet.
There are a few out there that I've seen, but one good one stands out in my mind because it was written for me. I'll see if I can find the link....
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Some of my favorites!
Re: Some of my favorites!
Re: Some of my favorites!
Re: Some of my favorites!
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Write it!
WRITE IT!!!!
(okay, hopefully that means you will NEVER write that pairing...)
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Icarus
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pst ARTHUR/DRACO
*tries to force bunnies because there is no Arthur fic and it is SAD*
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Reversing the family/generational split, I'm continually surprised there's so little Ron/Lucius.
*still at work, busy but being bad*
Re: *still at work, busy but being bad*
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Re: *still at work, busy but being bad*
Re: *still at work, busy but being bad*
Re: *still at work, busy but being bad*
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It's also Summer in The Pacific Northwest. Bugging you to sit down and do a story when the sun is shining and the islands beckons with your sweetheart is rude and cruel! :)
*hugs*
Also, expect Percy's Day Planner by Sunday- I finally finished, and would love you to have a chuckle!
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Oh, by the way, I should mention that I was the last candidate on Thursday. That guy wanted to leave.
Icarus
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Otherwise I'm just waiting patiently 'til you come up with anything your heart desires. ;)
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Ah, the possibilities . . .
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I can really relate to your "I write my own reading material" comment. That exactly describes where I am at. I write a certain story a certain way because that's exactly what I want to be reading, and nobody (that I know of) has done quite what I have in mind (or perhaps they have, but not with the *intensity* I have in mind).
Which explains why canon and you converging would kill the urge to write a particular story. Oh, yes.
*wrote this last night and fell asleep*
Exactly. It's not "fresh" anymore. It's more like... three-day-old fish.
I've been working on the fan-writer relationship for years, and I still don't quite have a handle on how to deal with that close connection between writer and fan in the fanfiction world.
On the one hand it's great to have such immediate feedback and comradeship.
On the other hand, the fans tend to stop by for dinner, offer well-intended if inappropriate advice, make off with the spoons and trample the rosebushes. I think every writer periodically goes "Okay, everybody -- OUT!" It's not that the good intentions go unappreciated, it's that eventually the rosebushes need time to recover.
I wouldn't let anyone push you into writing faster. I've been pushed for speed before, and in that particular case it worked out all right but updating once a week is more than generous.
Icarus
Re: *wrote this last night and fell asleep*
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Or maybe the story's dead on the operating table. Maybe it'll survive, I dunno. There's usually a reason I'm not writing something, generally a whole bunch of reasons in fact.
Reviews are the only thing that encourage me to write a particular fic or pairing. Even that's not guaranteed if the story itself is the problem.
Icarus
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You, too, huh? I did that, too, when I was writing a lot of HP fic. People actually bugged me when they *knew* my grandmother had died and I wouldn't be writing for a few months. Sometimes I wonder what goes through the minds of people, lol. The best way to get me not to do something is to constantly bug me about it.
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The thing is, I was unstuck for a bit, but then the pressure for it got so heavy-handed. When it was followed with anti-pressure towards what I was currently writing... augh.
Icarus
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That's my sole reason for starting to write in the first place - because I couldn't find the stuff I wanted to read. Embarrassingly, this does mean that I re-read my fics to entertain myself sometimes, but I can't be the only author who does that ... at least, I hope I'm not!
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Icarus
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As for the WIPs...I so concur. I want to scream and say, yes, I know they're there and yes I intend to finish them, but pushing to have them finished only makes me want to go write something entirely different. Sigh. People. *thwaps them*
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What works is to review. That's what gets me going on a story -- when I receive reviews on a pairing or a story looooong after the time I wrote it, that *pings* it in my mind. It makes me want to write more. Negative stuff, why write Percy, why write Lucius, why write Stargate -- the carrot works. The stick doesn't.
Icarus
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oh my god, if someone bugs me about something, i'm exactly the same. the more you bug, the less likely i'm to do something..well, in cases where it's more of a benefit to the asker.. if someone bugs me to get important stuff done, that's different.. but yeah.. heh, made me smile to see someone else like that.
filch/kreacher... hmmm...ya know, i like edgy/new pairings, but that one is just... too much for me.. you did scar me with your hagrid/buckbeak... heh...i'd rather read the earlier suggestion of umbridge/draco with draco as the seducer? if both parties were written totally in character, that'd be a gem.. hehe....
not that i'm bugging you to do that. at all, seriously, i promise.
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As for the Kreacher/Filch, well... I couldn't resist (http://www.livejournal.com/users/icarusancalion/395671.html?thread=4709783#t4709783). Come on, I dare to read it. ;)
Icarus
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Here's a little cuddle from me, and remember: no pressure.
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Icarus
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Amen.
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Icarus
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