Did I write that?

[icarus]

Did I write that?

Have you ever reread a story of your own, long after the fact, and been surprised by it? Left wondering ... huh, did I write that? Seeing it as a reader would.

I just got a review on a story of mine. Realized I only vaguely remembered the plot. So I read it.

This is a touching, gentle story about two men who are helplessly in love, though they don't want to be. It's rather sad, and funny in places (John and Rodney are like little kids). But General Hammond as the person who doesn't understand but cares about them anyway is a stand out. I don't see this Hammond very often. And just when I thought everything had worked out for the best, Jack O'Neill reminds us that he was forced into an imperfect solution.

Colony Atlantis, SG-1/SGA crossover, Jack/Daniel, with plenty of John, Rodney, Elizabeth, but most of all, Hammond.

"Now I'm not one of those who think that they have the right to pass judgement on other people. That's God's responsibility, not mine, and I for one am glad of that. It seems a rather heavy burden."

Between one breath and the next Jack thought that only George Hammond would have empathy for God. He waited for the other shoe to drop.

What story have you written that's surprised you later? Go back and look at the ones you can't quite recall.

Comments

[green_grrl]

Wow, you really didn't remember Colony Atlantis? It's one of my all-time favorites of yours--maybe the all-time favorite! "J/D retire to Atlantis" is one of my favorite storylines. Add in John jealous of Atlantis loving Jack, quickly followed by John and Jack playing video games, and your super-realistic portrayal of Hammond's reaction to J/D, and it's a winner. (Of course in my head John and Rodney hook up eventually. ;-)

I don't know that any of my stories can surprise me--I've written so few I pretty much remember them all. :D For the most part, when I revisit them, I like the stories, although I twitch to edit them a little.

[quinfirefrorefiddle]

I have a Snapefic that I write another paragraph of about once a year- I'll finish it when I'm eighty or so- that includes my favorite OFC of mine ever, and the reason I only write it that often is because I always forget it exists.

I also rediscovered my Doctor Who/Torchwood piece a couple months ago, that was weird. It was better than I had remembered though, which was a nice surprise.

[icarus]

I remembered it, but in a general sort of way. I remembered more about the process of writing it, actually.

[green_grrl]

Oh, yeah, I definitely have all the little backstories for each one of "I sweated bullets to get this one out" or "this one just flowed out of me" or "my beta told me this thing that I've never forgotten."

[icarus]

Oh yeah, the beta backstory on Colony Atlantis is that Stellahobbit kept telling me the ending didn't work. Another beta said, eh, it was good enough -- which meant it didn't work.

I originally ended it on the scene with Hammond, the three of them chatting about the SGC. I went through three rewrites before that final scene worked and Stellahobbit was happy.

And I went back to Stellahobbit as a beta every time I could.

[green_grrl]

She is a gem of a human being, for sure! And I'm glad she pushed for more ending. J/D's relationship with George was an important plot piece, but not the central plot piece. Plus, I adore Teal'c's Socialist Jaffa!