Advent-ures in fanfic planning

[blamebrampton]

Right ... a confession. This year I have read about four fan fics I have not beta-ed or written. In fact, I'm not sure I read all the ones I wrote. I am hopelessly behind and will never catch up, but will, in a week or three, have space again to do some reading as I run out of Agatha Christies. Therefore, I come requesting recs.

I really only read Potter, though I suppose a spot of Merlin or some incarnation of Sherlock Holmes would be fine, too. A few criteria:

* Reasonably British -- I can live wholly with American English spelling and even gotten, but if people have therapists and want to talk about their feelings at length, it sends me on a hideous flashback to the time my mother was going out with a Californian psychologist and I will have to hide with a blanket over my head (no -- the blanket was NOT a repressed desire to return to the womb, it was the first convenient and effective hiding place, as I explained at the time.) Similarly, proms, obsessions with going on a date and the urgent need to be married and with child scare me and are likely to see a spot of blanky-reaching.

* PG is fine. I am not a big reader of smut, I tend to sort of skim it with my eyes semi-closed. Fully closed in the case of some art works. Just call me Sister Brammers ...

* Plot is lovely! As are any or all of the following: comedy, drama, politics, thrills, mystery, character studies, classic romance of the minimally mushy kind, adventure and even stories that spend oodles of time talking interestingly about something else, whether it be a country, cat or catamaran.

* Dark themes are fine, but preferably no sexual violence, unless it is something that is integral to a non-exploitative plot. I know that I am probably safe with my flist, but just in case, sexual violence as an expression of true love sends me into a frothing rant, as does sexual exploitation of children (obviously consensual sex with added pain or chain is a different kettle of fish entirely, as are fictional 15-year olds with each other). Incest themes just force me me make wholly inappropriate jokes about Tasmania, which causes treacle_tartlet  to thump me, and since she is an old RL friend, this is not to be encouraged. Before I learned about fandom, I would never have imagined writing the last two sentences ...

* Creature-fics and mpregs will be treated with suspicion, as will AUs, but you could convince me.

* Feel free to self-promote!

Comments

Bujold

[jekni.livejournal.com]

Of course this is not a fanfic rec but your para re plot etc. reminds me forcibly of my favourite author Lois McMaster Bujold. Have you read any of her series? - she has 3 in distinct genres - and I can recommend them all wholeheartedly. Her Vorkosigan series (space-opera, kinda) has all those qualities you listed and contains about 17 books. The Chalion series is historical/fantasy and currently has 3 books of which the second, Paladin of Souls, is my favourite book of all time. The Sharing Knife series is 4 books set in an analogue of frontier-time mid-West America. All her books have great characters and wonderful world-building - and a whole lot of fanfic has been written on all of them (even some HP crossover by AJ Hall) and there is an LJ community called bujold-fic. Pls excuse me if you've already read them and know all this.