Writing Meme
Feb. 11th, 2011 06:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mark_asphodelI found out today that a combination of diligence, honesty, and virtue screwed me over when it comes to this year's annual bonus thanks to stupid accounting tricks and the adorable concept of "non-billable time". But, as my most excellent spouse reminded me, most people don't even get a bonus. It's not the money that galls me so much as that I fell into a loophole that punishes people for doing extra work for the company.
And since I am still doing extra work, I will be screwed over with the bonus next year, too... so I would potentially make more money by refusing extra responsibilities (that somebody has to take) and just collecting a paycheck.
@_@
Anyway, since I have failed at the meme where you sum up your 'fics in two lines of dialogue, here's a different meme that is going around. Stolen from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
raphien and myaru and sacae and sailorvfan10 .
What do you want to see me start doing more of in fiction? (eg. origin stories, myths, romance, fight scenes, etc.)
What do you want to see me stop doing / do less frequently? (examples = same as above)
Have at it.
And since I am still doing extra work, I will be screwed over with the bonus next year, too... so I would potentially make more money by refusing extra responsibilities (that somebody has to take) and just collecting a paycheck.
@_@
Anyway, since I have failed at the meme where you sum up your 'fics in two lines of dialogue, here's a different meme that is going around. Stolen from
raphien and myaru and sacae and sailorvfan10 .What do you want to see me start doing more of in fiction? (eg. origin stories, myths, romance, fight scenes, etc.)
What do you want to see me stop doing / do less frequently? (examples = same as above)
Have at it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 11:51 pm (UTC)More? I'd like to see more of the heavily political stuff, myself, for any universe. And definitely keep up the Archanea stuff - even though I have no clue what half of it is, it seems like a really tiny facet of the fandom, and that bites - especially given Marth's popularity in SSB and the release of Shadow Dragon and all.
Less? Hmm, this is so hypocritical coming from me, but I think from what I've seen you almost jump too quickly to that subtle psychological torment "war is horrible" kind of story. Which of course I love, but it would be nice to see how you'd do something more uplifting, or pre-war, or what have you.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 12:42 am (UTC)More: I love your Archanea stuff and I am going to be greedy and say MOAR MOAR MOAR, but not just that. I'd like to see more, uh, uplifting things for Archanea. I know it lends itself to a lot of depressing things and I love it because of that, but something uplifting would be nice :D
Less: Hmm. Hmmmmmmmm. I can't think of anything, really. I love you just the way you are <3
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 02:44 am (UTC)Ahh, reminds me of a bitter time at work when, because I was one of the best workers in my area, I got moved. I'm still bitter that being a good worker-- or working hard-- gets you the short end of the stick so very often. It's a load of crap.
More: This is tough. Everything you write turns out so well! LOL. I'd love to see some "earned a happy ending" type of stuff...when it works.
And as for less of, I'll agree with Raphien that a few less "war is terrible" stories would be good-- just now and then, though. Because you do write them well and there aren't many in the fandom.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 08:20 am (UTC)More:
- complex but basically functional (or even happy) romantic relationships.
- you already do this, but complex politics FTW. That's one of my favorite things about your work.
- pre-war instead of post-war fic.
- perhaps the distant past, or mythology, of Archanea or Magvel?
- more fucked up Marth/Nyna. Lots more.
- do you ever do dedicated canon AUs? As in, "this is what would have happened if Marth married Nyna" (I swear the example is a coincidence, not an obsession)?
Less:
- I don't know what to say here. Uh. Fewer unfinished works, or works that were not meant to be finished. I'm every so slightly bitter about the awesome potential I saw in the fics I read for Review Santa. :P
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 02:32 pm (UTC)I'd go one deeper and say you can sum a lot of it up with "people are horrible." But, yeah, offer me a prompt and I'm likely to put the worst plausible spin on it.
but it would be nice to see how you'd do something more uplifting, or pre-war, or what have you.
Uplifting? Moi? Heh. I'll have to look that word up in my dictionary.
Pre-war, OTOH... I've tried quite a few of these and never finished them. Maybe I should dust them off.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 02:33 pm (UTC)Y'all will have to feed me topics or prompts if you want this "uplifting" stuff going on, because I don't know where to start.
:D
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 02:35 pm (UTC)Thanks. I mean, part of the reason I do write "war is terrible for children and other living things, dammit!" stories is that I was really, really sick of reading "war is a meet-cute" and "war is like band camp!" stories.
But, yeah... gotta branch out at some point. I have some wackier idea that I've just never seen through because it didn't feel like anyone would want them.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 02:45 pm (UTC):D
pre-war instead of post-war fic
I have a couple of these that I abandoned. Maybe I should dig them out.
perhaps the distant past, or mythology, of Archanea or Magvel?
I actually had a draft of a distant-past Archanea story. Magvel... maybe the adventures of Nada Kuya, heh heh.
[Oh, yes-- over on your journal, I should've asked you for MORE MYTHS!]
more fucked up Marth/Nyna. Lots more.
I think we can do that.
do you ever do dedicated canon AUs? As in, "this is what would have happened if Marth married Nyna"
Yes. It was the follow-up to the canon divergence in "The End of Love"/"Love Is Not A Victory March" and dealt with a way-different post-FE11 scenario (Elice married to Hardin, Maria attempting to bring back her very dead brother with Aum, the broken Starsphere still posing a problem). But writing 'fic based off 'fic seemed like an exercise in wankery at the time, so I threw it out the window.
Also, I did make a stab at Hitomi's AU idea for the War of Darkness, in which Marth doesn't survive the initial attack on Altea and everyone else has to band together and save the world. But that was a TON of work and I never got very far. [That one also went Elice/Hardin]
I'm every so slightly bitter about the awesome potential I saw in the fics I read for Review Santa. :P
Heh. FE12... ruined a lot of my plans. That's all I can say. Maybe I will come to terms with it and get back and write in my pet fic-universe, but FE12 just knocked the wind out of me. But, yeah, there's a lot out there that needs to be finished.
Thanks for the feedback!
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 02:47 pm (UTC)Pre-war yessssssssssss you should.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 10:10 pm (UTC)...Oh God. Well, now that you mention it, that's more the feeling I get than that people make things seem to "modernized". I mean, the games' speech patterns are fairly modern for the most part. But the BAND CAMP bit is definitely what I see a lot of.
"Hey, we're at war here! Teehee did you notice Oswin staring at Serra? HEY I KNOW LET'S GET THEM HOOKED UP!" Yeahno. Not that people wouldn't...do that, but a lot of times they do it at the expense of other people and/or actually make battles harder. Seriously, who would do that? Nobody in a battle, is going to put everyone at risk because they want to see two other people hook up. No. Just no. They'd be too busy trying to stay alive. -_-
Wackier ideas are always good, but I understand the feeling that nobody would want them. I feel that way about some things. Usually things I don't write that are actually different from my norm, too.
Oh, also, FE11 and 12 pretty much lend themselves to depressing stuff no matter how you look at it.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 10:13 pm (UTC)in which Marth doesn't survive the initial attack on Altea and everyone else has to band together and save the world
...I would...be all over that. I mean ALL. OVER. that.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 03:24 am (UTC)It's hard. Really hard. Getting the paths of these characters to cross, and getting them to cooperate based on something more than "Marth's special and people trust him and shit" is... hair-tearing. Like, who decides to bust Maria out of house arrest, and how do they manage it? Does that go to Hardin and his army, or does George pull that one off?
I really, really want to write it, but I almost want a collaborator for it.
Also, the first chapter is really brutal, but it's probably the worst (most depressing) thing in the story. If people can handle the execution/murder of an unarmed fourteen-year-old, the rest of the war should be a cakewalk.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 03:28 am (UTC)Actually I find the murder/execution of an unarmed 14-year-old to be just nasty shit in general, but seeing as how warring countries kill innocent people and babies were used like canonballs and for target practice during the holocaust, I can handle some unarmed 14-year-old death. :/
But I understand what you mean. Sounds like a major pain. That's kind of why I flopped at an alternate ending/beginning take on Rose of Versailles. Juuuuust so hard to write. I don't blame you if you try to find a collaborator. I wouldn't blame you if you found just what I like to call an idea-bouncer-- someone who will let you bounce ideas off of them and in turn maybe give their opinion and some ideas of their own. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 03:33 am (UTC)Honestly, there'd be a lot less of the romance and a lot more of people having cathartic "gonna die tomorrow" sex in the bushes. Not that I'd write that, but I think it's faaaaar more likely that people are going to be acting on certain impulses instead of playing matchmaker.
Because, seriously, from some FE7 'fic, you'd think the most pressing question facing all of them is "Who gets to bang Priscilla?"
[This is something I love about Marth and Caeda-- they know how to conduct themselves during wartime, even when they're formally engaged. There's stuff you just don't do in the middle of a battle.]
Oh, also, FE11 and 12 pretty much lend themselves to depressing stuff no matter how you look at it.
Valencia offers a lot more happy times, but seriously... about two people want to read Valencia stories. Maybe three. There is no audience for that. This is a fact. If something's burning in me to write, I write it anyway, but I'm not going to sit around dreaming up Valencia stuff that no one will read just to write something not-depressing.