Writing and more writing

[icarus]

In the works:

Beg Me For It
I think I've finished the next chapter of 'Beg Me For It' - 'Hey You.' (Yes, based on the Pink Floyd song - it is my first songfic, lyrics provided by justacat.) tboy has kindly offered to Beta, as CLS is now out of town.

I read the series-thus-far beginning to end, and am not quite satisfied with 'Hey You' as a stand-alone story (explaining what's happened so far is getting unwieldy, and while 'Beg Me For It' stands solidly on its own, and 'Death Eater Rock' wobbles but still holds it own, 'Hey You' I think stands about as well as a three-legged table), but I do like it as a chapter. I just wish I could take Percy's intro out. Or rewrite it with something more appropriate to the mood of the piece and less obvious to people who've read the other parts.

SSFF
I'm working on my SSFF story, which, quite frankly, I've been drawing a complete blank on for weeks. Thank you to tradescant whose boredom and prodding (and likewise tinderblast's and her singing tumbleweeds!) provoked this story and provided the mood. Now I just have to figure out what happens next.

Yes, unlike all my other, carefully outlined and plotted stories, this one was written completely off the cuff and I've no clue where it's headed. I very rarely do this, (though Harry and Percy did ambush me on 'Skinny Dipping'), and I find it alarming. Oh no, I think, what if I don't think of an ending? What then? Will I run off the edge of the edge of the earth? *beyond this point there be Dragons.*

I think the SSFF story has been difficult because now that Snape is less-maligned, I've switched camps to defend poor, unloved 'let's-all-hate-Percy.'

I see a pattern, yes I do.

Good Lord That's Huge
Good god I've written a lot though. I printed all my stories out (minus Guy Talk, Rising Sun, Animagick, Skinny Dipping and all the drabbles - you know, the recent stuff), and spiral bound them -- it's about 350 pages. All since November.

I admit, I was surprised, but very pleased.

Whimper, I've Been Flamed
I realise that this is a rite of passage, but this is the first time someone has really let me have it on my writing. My ego's in a sling.

Comments

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

Muahaha! Prolificacy rears its head! Joiiiiin ussss... my preciousss... *waves Prolificists' Club badge at you*

*roasts marshmallows over flamer* They're arseholes, aren't they? Of course, most of them have less grasp of spelling and grammar than my cat (and she's an airhead), so if you think of it as jealousy and annoyance on their part because they know they will never have a percent of your talent and skill, it makes it a little easier.

It actually sounds like you're doing pretty well on the flames front. :) Only one since November is pretty good going. Ah, flashbacks to my first flame in this fandom: "If I were whoever it is that writes the Harry Potter books, I'd be disgusted." Yeah, apart from the grammatical flaws (and I know the spelling wasn't this good either), it made me wonder why this person was even reading HP fanfic. Eh, trolls. They're made of bogeys, ya know.

**hugs** *roasts more marshmallows*

[aigooism.livejournal.com]

*roast marshmallows over the flames with Sushi* Bwahaha. Now there really are some good uses to flamers, eh? XD.

And ignore them, dear. I definitely know for sure that you are getting more compliments than flames altogether, and those 1% of the flamers are just jealous and have an IQ of .0000001. So their opinions aren't even worth it.

*huggles* For ever flame you get, remember that it's worth -100x of every single compliments you get. You deserve the praises. :3

[tboy.livejournal.com]

I've managed to print it out! *g* Yes! Okay, that's stage 1 completed.

Started in with the red pen on the train trip home but am only about 3 or 4 pages in.

I'm going to have to think about this one a bit. You're right about it being an excellent chapter. I'm making lots of notes like (Good charactern.)(Gd. Voice.) and precious few (Query this usage) *g*.

Flaming

[snapetoy.livejournal.com]

Bloody hell, I can't imagine anyone flaming your work! Haven't they got anything better to do with their time?

Here, have another marshmallow and bask in the warm glow of those of us who are waiting for your next HP/SS fic.

If it's any help, it's likely that the whole "Snape is just misunderstood" thing that's happening won't last at all. He needs you more than Percy does. God, that sounds desperate. Ah well.

[tinderblast.livejournal.com]

The tumbleweed and I would very much like to read your flamage, in order to laugh and toast our limbs over their idiocy.

brodie

[loup_noir]

CLS is picking up her email. Heard from her last night. I hope she has a chance to relax on her vacation and catch up on that pile of books she's been accumulating.

Flamers suck. However, you can now feel as though your have your own coming of age. Look! Experience!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Az Nahg Gimbhatul..

Yessss... my precious...

I step into the hallowed halls of the overly-prolific. I ask wikdsushi, "My these walls are thick. Perchance, what are they made of?"

"All the bound collected works of past members...solid enough to withstand a hurricane in full force..."

As for my first flame, well, they really hated my style and decided I must have no knowledge of grammar because my writing is so sparse. But, but... I edit. I edit ruthlessly.

If I can something with one word instead of two, I do it. If I say 'calm, placid lake' -- I nix one of these two words.

If I have passive voice anywhere I don't need -- I change it to simple past.

If I have present continuous tense -- I get out my ax and make two simple sentences of it.

If my paragraph is more than four sentences, I cut it.

You see, my first Lord of the Rings stories were virtually ignored, and I decided that my thick prose and slowly building plots didn't fly in internet publishing. Some other 'writerly' writers simply looked down on the poor taste of others, but I wasn't so sure that was the problem. I studied those stories I could read on a computer screen, and found I skipped certain things even if the writing was excellent.

On Flamers

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

I've never actually read anything of yours (yet), but I encourage you to post the flame on your website and mock them ruthlessly as a deterrent to others. It takes the impact out of what they are trying to do to you. And, yes, it's immature, but it's also very funny.

Also, keep in mind for every one imbecile that flames you because they don't like your style, or your pairing, or your sense of humor, there are plenty of readers out there who probably love what you do, but because they are satisfied, don't bother to send you an impassioned email.

As long as YOU are satisfied with your work, everyone else can just kiss off. Because we know that writers are usually harsher critics on themselves than anyone else anyway.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

It was a cogent, intelligent, properly spelled... flame. It disguised itself as con-crit at first, but then came out swinging:

"you constantly do this!"
"you always do that!"
"you need a beta reader who is skilled with grammar to go through your story from beginning to end!"

*spittle flies*

Apparently I know nothing about grammar, though I'm to excuse any grammatical errors in the flame because they were writing it in a hurry (there weren't any), and I ignore the basics of sentence structure. The woman noted that as a 37-year-old she might know better... I guess she assumed that meant she was older than me, though I was born in '67, too. Personally I think the college students are generally ahead of us fogeys in the grammar department.

*gulp*

It was well-written enough to really puncture. If it were the usual 'U R SIK HARRY ISNT GAY!!!!!!!!!!' well, I'd just chuckle.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*Icarus breathes a sigh of relief about that printing...*

Yay! I can't wait! And, get this, someone in China is translating 'Beg Me For It' and 'Sex, Drugs and Death Eater Rock.' (Beg Me For It has got to be a really tough translation project, I mean, Ron's speech is so idiomatic.) I've promised to send her 'Hey You' once it's beta'd, too. Al-most-there... I just have to write 'SNAFU.' *starry eyed* 'Stand In The Ruins' is done. 'Scarred' is done.

Wow. Did you know the 'Beg Me For It' story arc is going to be around 150 pages by the time it's completed?

Icarus

Re: Flaming

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'll just pair them together, how 'bout it?

*grins*

Everyone gets flamed. I'd be happier if it were a stupid flame, instead of one that very successfully hits below the belt. Ah, well, I was just writing stories I enjoy, written in a manner I would enjoy reading.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I'll you the bozo flames, you know, the ones that embarrass themselves beautifully. This one... hurt.

Icarus

[switchknife.livejournal.com]

*hums happily* New chapter!

... And did you say 350 pages, your writing since November? That's 350 pages of slash I've read... :)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

CLS is picking up her mail, and her part's basically done. Her laptop has bit the dust, however, so she let me know we won't be able to be in contact until Sunday. The story's not... ready. I can feel it's just not there yet, even though she and I have done quite a few changes. I'm anxious to keep it moving, and I feel like it's at that point where if she and I continue to tinker, we're not going to improve it. *laughs* You know when you're cooking, and just reached that point of almost-too-much salt and you think 'I'd better stop now'? Yeah. We were there.

And, frankly, I think she really needs a break. She does such a massive amount of Beta reading, it's just incredible.

Icarus

Re: On Flamers

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I don't know what it is that I ramble on when I email you, like you're an old friend who can take me at my most intense and opinated, rather than someone I've just met. It must be the name 'Raederle' - the Riddlemaster series is one of my all-time favourites.

Yeah, I'm an entertainer, not a great 'Artiste'. If that flame weren't so intelligently written I would do as you suggest, but... they spelled everything right for starters. Ah well. Maybe the next one will embarrass themselves.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*grins* Ratchet that up a bit. Once I added 'Guy Talk', 'Skinny Dipping', 'Rising Sun' (my one and only Het piece) and 'Animagick' - it was nearly 400 pages.

I've seen your rec list. You've read a lot more fanfiction than that. *eyebrows raise in amazement*

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I'm catching little things now, that you'd only know if you'd read the other stories. I think this is going to work after all.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*pets air-headed cat, whom I remember as the 'kitten' from your Snape body-switch. ;)*

Well, I've added my recent stories... the page count is now up to nearly four hundred. And sitting on my computer is four chapters of 'Snape Manor', two chapters of 'Beg Me For It,' the beginning traces of my SSFF fic...

*smiles wickedly* I've only begun.

Icarus

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

Muahahaha!

You realise, of course, that this makes you the Heir Apparent of Prolificacy within the fandom when I retire from primarily writing fanfic. *eg* (Could be as little as two weeks to that, just depends how things go.) Now, your next task will be to break a quarter of a million words... ;)

*Baby flops down and purrs, showing no signs of deadly intent until she's already struck* I love my evil kitty. *grin*

[justacat.livejournal.com]

Well, at least my finely honed google skills are good for something ;) Glad I could help with the lyrics, and we did indeed have ourselves a Pink Floyd lyric-fest that night, didn't we? It's one of those things that can go on forever, if you let it - fun fun fun, and reminds me of my college days.

And the Riddle-Master series is one of my very all time favorites, too. I can't even begin to count how many times I've read it.

And finally - all I can say is that your flamer must be some bad-ass grammatician to find such flaws with your writing. I'm not perfect, and I don't know every single grammar rule cold, and I admit that I was born in '66 so maybe I'm too old to have proper grammar, but I tend to be pretty picky about that stuff, and your work has never struck me as anything other than extremely well written. (Look at that run on sentence! ;) FWIW.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I love your icons. *attempts to pet kitty, but she's not in the mood and shies away...*

I think that she just really hated my short, blunt sentence structure. That's what she mentioned first, and most emphatically. Then she noticed a grammatical inconsistency somewhere and added that to the fire.

I changed my writing style, made it a lot tighter and more present. Partially for the internet, and partially to imitate Rowling. Here's a sample from very first (utterly ignored) fanfiction, in the Lord of the Rings fandom:

The stone was cool under his feet, pleasant after the humid Gondor summer, and each turning was broken by deep blue slits in the walls, open to the sky. Peering over a ledge, he spied a rolling lush green in every shade, trees mere scattered dots beneath. A land like this recovered quickly from war. Gulls whirled and cried lazily about the rooftops below him, stirred by the fresh breeze that blew in from the south. It made the tower a fair wind tunnel, causing Merry to pause and blink as it ruffled his hair. The torches, in ornate brackets, were unlit, though it was hard to say if they had started the morning that way, or if this wind had snuffed them, one by one.
.
.
.
It's drastically different from how I write now. I think for Lord of the Rings I would still write very visual, low-penetration, lyrical prose. But it doesn't play well on the internet. Too big a bite, so to speak.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Retire? *eeep* Noooooooooo...

Waitaminute. That means the sequel to Civil War is almost done? (You should see me. My eyes just grew huge.)

The trouble with retiring from fanfiction is that often you never get to read your favourite author's original fiction. Promise you won't do that to us, that you'll occasionally give us a peek at original stuff in your LJ. From time to time. Please? If you've established a fan-base, you are duty-bound to us now to keep us informed of more recent works.

*Reaches for softly purring kitty. Loses hand. Kitty continues to purr.*

~Icarus

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

Yep, and there'll be more to write whenever I get into a slump on original and have to go back to my roots. *grin* My version of retirement is similar to my dad's: his card may say retiree engineer, but that doesn't stop him from spending entire weeks in power plants for $75 an hour. ;)

I don't think I could ever break from it entirely, at least not yet. Too many fics to read, too many to write. (Hell, I haven't even gotten around to why Emily and Remus got/had to get married, and the wedding is a hoot.) Peeks at original stuff will be few and far between, if ever, because I'm so protective of it it's sickening. However, I'll rant, bitch, whine, rave, and generally harass my characters as ever, and you'll definitely know when I finish something and/or get it published. On that front, I don't think I *could* shut up. *eg*

Hee, good kitty! Taking someone else's hand in addition to Mommy's! ;) *shows off scars*

[justacat.livejournal.com]

You are so kind about my icons! It inspires me to keep making more! (As for not-in-the-mood kitty: my own cats have taught me well that a kitty's moods are beyond the ability of mere humans to predict or understand, and certainly must always be indulged ;)

I won't even bother to comment on the silliness of a "grammatical inconsistency" as grounds for flaming, but as for your "blunt" style, though I do not profess to be an expert on prose/literary style or in lit crit for that matter, it does work for me, particularly in HP. I am impressed that you were able to change your style - as someone whose prose would tend toward the lyrical (at least I like to think so; perhaps better words would be "wordy" or "verbose" or "long-winded," but self-delusion is a wonderful thing!) if I wrote prose, I can appreciate the self-discipline required to tighten up.

That said, based on your example, I think I would also be quite fond of your visual, lyrical prose - maybe it's just because the books are in my head now, but I am actually finding it somewhat reminiscent of Patricia McKillip's style in the Riddle Master books. But what exactly do you mean by "low-penetration"? (And perhaps more to the point, is it something I want from my slash ? I admit I have more than an iota of smut-slut in me!)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*contemplates learning how to do everything left-handed*

Sigh. Just tidbits? To keep people interested? I really think that fanfiction can work as a sort of grass roots marketing. You build a readership, then use that to prove to your agent (and subsequent publishers) that people will read what you write.

This is me being a marketing geek again, but it seems to me that you could publish on livejournal and the internet a couple one-off stories from a world you've created (nothing you'd sell, but something to get people interested in the new world). Then you could tell your agent, "look, I've heard from 435 people so far and they want more. There is a market for this universe, and I am already known." I think it could make the difference between something that the publishers will read, and something they won't.

I'd ask Cassandra Claire, since you guys hit it off, if she parlayed her current fanbase into something that would convince the publishers to give her a shot. Because she does have a short story coming out in an anthology.

In my opinion, the publishing world does not know yet what a goldmine they have in the internet for marketing. They're still relying on old-fashioned 'blurbs', which more and more established writers are refusing to do. They could take the stories they're interested in, insist that the writers provide a 'teaser' that they drop on their website. Then they track which teasers get more (unique IP address) traffic. Aside from the upload, the work's all on the side of the author. That gives them the kind pre-publishing sizzle you would normally get from a series, and it's free.

Oh, by-the-way, I got curious late last night and added it up: I'm at 166,000 published words. Snape Manor would tip me over the 1/4-mil mark, easily.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

How's it going? I understand if you don't have as much time as you meant to. Whatever you can do will be great.

Icarus

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

I know this reply is late, but here is a piece of advise from a weird experience I just had.

If you haven't responded to this person yet. DO. Email them and thank them for their review, for their "helpful" suggestions, and their concern for your development as a writer. Or whatever fits the email. Actually, having waited awhile, this will probably make it sting more, because it seems like you have more important things to do than bother with their petty complaints.

Be very very nice.

Chances are, this person knows they were acting like an arse and this action will make them feel horrible. I did this to a little girl who flamed be back in the fall. Recently I checked up on her bio at ff.net and she mentioned it, admitted to flaming, and said it made her feel terrible.

Mwa ha ha. Long live Slytherin.

If you already responded, just keep this in mind for the next time you're flamed (knocks on wood) by someone gutsy enough to leave their email and feel like doing something evil.