![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blamebramptonBusiest week in months, up to my eyeballs in work, visitors arriving Saturday morning just as the city goes into lockdown (Why oh Why did I not organise to be in Wellington this weekend?), so what am I doing? I'm reccing fics.
(And writing 3000 words for the fic that no-one but GB reads, not that I'm bitter, and writing tips for writing ... what the hell is going on here? Fandom has eaten my brain.)
silentauror 's Graffiti and Insomnia is a witty, fast-paced fic set in the Ministry where both Harry and Draco work as adults. Communication is the key behind the action in this piece and it takes place in an unexpected yet perfectly traditional environment, for a given value of traditional. There is smut, there's humour, there's tastefully graphic boy-on-boy action, it's like HP meets QAF without the PSAs in the background. Best of all is the strong use of interior voice that creates a powerful personal narrative under the lighter action, using flippancy as an elegant cloak for revelation.
It's Our Choices bydumbys_baby was the first H/D fic I ever read, actually, it was probably the first fic I ever read. It's scenes from the life that Harry wold have led if he had shaken Malfoy's hand on the train to Hogwarts that first year. Short, fragmented, and yet oh-so revealing as an utterly different life is constructed. This story always makes me thing of Japanese calligraphy in its spare beauty, without being opaque in its underwriting. This writer is the Brampton I blame, BTW.
I was less certain of Cinnamon's Beautiful World, because I am Old, and therefore less about the Angst, and the opening of this story is All About the Angst, however once Malfoy came leaping into the narrative I was happy to give her another chapter or two to convince me, by which time the hooks were well and truly in. The set-up is bleak: Harry gives up on life, just in time to be told that it has essentially given up on him. Draco Malfoy, so used to defining himself in antithesis to Potter, finds himself trying to reconstruct the Potter that was; or else see what can be built from the remnants. It's hopelessly romantic in parts and full of High Drama, but the writing is so assured and so inventive that it sucks you back into the heady days of teenage madness and makes them seem natural, even beautiful. Long and worth the time it will take to read, it's not going to scare the horses if you're reading in a stable.
Finally,anthimaeria made my day with Unfinished Business, which starts off with the genius that is post-war Romilda Vane teaching Arthur Weasley's Ministry (!) about Muggle management techniques and ends with Draco Malfoy's hair-drying spells. In between there's a beautifully realised tale of wants and needs and working them out. I love her Harry and Draco (and yes, this fic also carries a smut warning), but it's the way she writes minor characters that really made this fic for me. So often writers let the support cast fade into the background but here she has them as distinct voices propelling much of the drama, and certainly hogging most of the best lines. I also enjoyed the fact that she has teenage Harry as a complete prick; it worked so well in the narrative structure of this piece and was a really authentic depiction.
On a completely unrelated note, some funny bugger has signed me up to the Pray For Bush mailing list. Because as an atheist Englishwoman living in the Antipodes, that makes sense, right? I've been keeping a track on the frequency of their mailouts, since Rove and Gonzales have gone, they seem to need less prayer at the White House. Maybe I've been reading this all wrong and that's what they've been praying for. If Cheney carks it and they stop mailing, I'll know I misjudged them all along.
(And writing 3000 words for the fic that no-one but GB reads, not that I'm bitter, and writing tips for writing ... what the hell is going on here? Fandom has eaten my brain.)
silentauror 's Graffiti and Insomnia is a witty, fast-paced fic set in the Ministry where both Harry and Draco work as adults. Communication is the key behind the action in this piece and it takes place in an unexpected yet perfectly traditional environment, for a given value of traditional. There is smut, there's humour, there's tastefully graphic boy-on-boy action, it's like HP meets QAF without the PSAs in the background. Best of all is the strong use of interior voice that creates a powerful personal narrative under the lighter action, using flippancy as an elegant cloak for revelation. It's Our Choices by
dumbys_baby was the first H/D fic I ever read, actually, it was probably the first fic I ever read. It's scenes from the life that Harry wold have led if he had shaken Malfoy's hand on the train to Hogwarts that first year. Short, fragmented, and yet oh-so revealing as an utterly different life is constructed. This story always makes me thing of Japanese calligraphy in its spare beauty, without being opaque in its underwriting. This writer is the Brampton I blame, BTW.I was less certain of Cinnamon's Beautiful World, because I am Old, and therefore less about the Angst, and the opening of this story is All About the Angst, however once Malfoy came leaping into the narrative I was happy to give her another chapter or two to convince me, by which time the hooks were well and truly in. The set-up is bleak: Harry gives up on life, just in time to be told that it has essentially given up on him. Draco Malfoy, so used to defining himself in antithesis to Potter, finds himself trying to reconstruct the Potter that was; or else see what can be built from the remnants. It's hopelessly romantic in parts and full of High Drama, but the writing is so assured and so inventive that it sucks you back into the heady days of teenage madness and makes them seem natural, even beautiful. Long and worth the time it will take to read, it's not going to scare the horses if you're reading in a stable.
Finally,
anthimaeria made my day with Unfinished Business, which starts off with the genius that is post-war Romilda Vane teaching Arthur Weasley's Ministry (!) about Muggle management techniques and ends with Draco Malfoy's hair-drying spells. In between there's a beautifully realised tale of wants and needs and working them out. I love her Harry and Draco (and yes, this fic also carries a smut warning), but it's the way she writes minor characters that really made this fic for me. So often writers let the support cast fade into the background but here she has them as distinct voices propelling much of the drama, and certainly hogging most of the best lines. I also enjoyed the fact that she has teenage Harry as a complete prick; it worked so well in the narrative structure of this piece and was a really authentic depiction. On a completely unrelated note, some funny bugger has signed me up to the Pray For Bush mailing list. Because as an atheist Englishwoman living in the Antipodes, that makes sense, right? I've been keeping a track on the frequency of their mailouts, since Rove and Gonzales have gone, they seem to need less prayer at the White House. Maybe I've been reading this all wrong and that's what they've been praying for. If Cheney carks it and they stop mailing, I'll know I misjudged them all along.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-08-30 02:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-30 03:08 pm (UTC)(And thank you for allowing me to rec your stuff. It's not as easy as I thought it would be to have a weekly three or four that I can sincerely say "This is good!" about.)
The thing is that lj is not normal. Flists are such an odd thing to get your head around. Mine at the moment is just the people whose writing I've enjoyed and who seem to be witty, kind, smart people that I would talk to if we were stuck on a train. It was odd enough adding the few of you without feeling like a champion stalker, though I did do the crazed happy dance when you and silentauror friended me. Because I am a sad, sad, mad old cat lady in the making.
And the oddest thing is that I still haven't told the original Ms Brampton that I'm here. Mostly because she will laugh and laugh and laugh ... She is very supportive that way.
Er, yes, finishing. So, somewhere around 2010 at the rate the bugger is growing. I am the woman who started with an idea for a picture book eight years ago and currently has a 564,000 word YA novel that explores the clash of Baltic pagan cultures with the Hanseatic League-led Crusades and their 14th century fallout. Admittedly, that's everything that happens along the way, which I needed to know, the final draft will be shorter ...
Archive's not a bad idea, though. However, I worry that what sounds good to me may well be cliched to fandom. Can I beg a favour and ask you to read the first chapter which was written as a stand-alone and has a real ending? No is a genuinely fine answer, but if you can, please DO point out madness, typos, blunders and anything just bleagh. I do know that there are some ideas in there that diverge from canon understandings, the bits that I *know* about were intentional ...
Must pop outside now and feed strays while quoting from King Lear and perfecting my high-pitched cackle. I believe that I shall affect a beret, or perhaps an opera cloak.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-30 03:50 pm (UTC)My flist is entitled "journals I read." Basically, I add people if I want to read their LJ and I usually leave a comment explaining why. Often, I add authors whose fics I like. Most people friend back, but if they don't, I keep them on my flist if their journals are worth reading. I recently added mistful who I am sure will never add me back, but I don't want to miss her posts. Also, there are some people who wait to add people back until they feel like they've gotten to know them- I've had the experience of being added back a year later. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't really get into the friending/defriending drama- I just friend the journals I want to read, and friend back most of those who friend me.
As far as your story- I'd be happy to take a look at it. I'm no canon expert, but I'll let you know if anything inconsistent jumps out at me. Hopefully I will have a chance tonight before things get too hectic with the move this weekend.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-30 04:46 pm (UTC)That's actually an excellent way of thinking about an Flist. I have another lj indentity that came about a while ago when my RL friends all started having ljs. I live far away from many of them, so it was an easy way to read and leave notes. But the difference is that I know each and every one of them.
Your very sane approach is a completely elegant solution to what was indeed a bit of a drama in my head. See! I would SO chat with you if we were ever stuck on a train. I'd probably open the conversation with: "Do you own a cat?"
I friended mistful, too. Mostly because she reminds me very much of my peer group 20 years ago. I fear she was in nursery at that time.
Off to embrace fandom a little more closely ... thanks again, you're like my fairy godmother of fandom. Let me know if you ever need Tim Tams or Berocca!
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 02:40 pm (UTC)There were only a very few things I would change. One would be the references such as "the blond boy" (Draco) and "the tall man" (Snape) These generic descriptions don't gibe with your POVs- all the characters are quite familiar with each other and wouldn't think of each other in those impersonal terms, which are better to describe characters who are unknown. Harry might see Draco as "his old rival," or "his lover" (for example) not as an anonymous blond.
Also, there is some POV switching between Harry and Draco mid-scene, which is all right but might be cleaner with sticking to a single POV. Just my two cents.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 03:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 03:30 pm (UTC)Heh, you've cunningly spotted where I wussed out on good descriptors. I will have to fix that, you're my idea of what a reader should be, and if it jumps out at you, it's bad.
And yes, I am a guilty and inveterate POV switcher; I blame growing up on French New Wave cinema, or Umberto Eco, or possibly my five-second attention span. Sorry, what were you saying? When this was a short story I didn't mind that, but I think now it has following chapters, I need to go back and reread and rethink whether I want to keep some choppiness, or let the narrative have more flow.
As to gruesome (or not so) details, I cannot write a graphic sex scene without sarcasm to save my life. And no one likes sarcasm in the bedroom or on the dining room table. Therein lies a tale of twentysomething woe in RL ... One too many years of the Literary Review's Bad Sex Prize and any possibilty of even tasteful detail is destroyed. If you have not encountered the Lit Review, it is a wonderful magazine run by bad, wicked people.
Thanks again, I'm quite buoyed by that. I'll tighten it up and then face my last frontier: the fic archive. The end of the larger occurred to me today, no multi-hundred-thousand word excursions for this story!
Good luck with the move. And after tomorrow night, I am free for any editing you may still require. (It's my cunning plan to read your stuff early, subtle, no?)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 03:51 pm (UTC)Empathic Siren pointed out a major scene that needs to be deleted and completely rewritten, so I still have some work to do on my fic and am not sure when I will finish. I will send it to you when done, though. (And that's often why I volunteer to beta- I love reading new stuff by my favorite authors!)
PS- if you're looking for new fics by writers you may not have heard of, my friend (actual)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 03:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 04:21 am (UTC)On a related note: Is there anywhere in fandom that is teaching the craft of writing? I ask because a lot of what I've read lately (from people not on my flist, which is wholly talented) has been so nearly good, but not. If any of those writers had had access to a good editor, or even a good guide to writing, I think they could have made nearly good into really good. As an editor, it breaks my heart to see so much imaginative passion poured out into the equivalent of takeway coffee cups, when it really deserves crystal and fine bone china.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 04:27 am (UTC)No, I rather doubt there is. Emma Grant runs a comm called writing_sex, I believe, which is meant to be a tutorial in that area, but otherwise I think it's basically too sensitive a subject. No one in the fandom wants to believe that some writers are better at it than others or want to take advice in the first place ("it's just a hobby!" is the rallying cry), and those that really are better writers are usually too busy/too modest to suggest it.
You're an editor? :) I used to edit, too. I was an assistant copy editor for my last university's now-defunct faculty publication. It was fun, if hair-pullingly frustrating at times! My father is a journalist (sports, alas! :P) and I've done some freelance writing with articles and restaurant/book reviews, etc. I like your analogy - imaginative passion poured out into the equivalent of takeaway coffee cups - nice! Very appropriate, and I quite agree.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 04:36 am (UTC)It's frustrating because, yes, a lot of the time the issues are as simple as the ones you outline above. Or the stompy boots of the exposition fairy, or the neck-cracking reversals of the Character Inconsistency Fairy (erm, I could explain, but it's easier to take it as read that I've gone a bit mad through years of sleep deprivation and time-zone changes). All these things are issues that people can be trained out of.
Bad characterisation is a lot harder, though. I agree with you that it's probably the first thing to break trust between a writer and a reader.
And yes, editing is my lot in life, or at least has been on and off, and solidly for the last 10 years or so. From homewares mags to news rooms, fantasy novels to gardening journals ... and people wonder why I simultaneously am the Goddess of Trivial Pursuit and have no idea where I left my other shoe. Brain full. Keep up the greelancing, it's a great source of leads for other jobs when you need a change, and a bit of money never hurts. And some of my best friends are sports journos!
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 05:09 am (UTC)Bad characterisation cannot be cured. There's just a fundamental lack of ability to see accurately what has been created in the first place, and that's nigh impossible to fix! I was once approached by an author who shall remain nameless (and I do use that term rather dryly), who had just finished writing a story and was dissatisfied with what she perceived as its less-than-stellar quality. She wanted me to help her re-write it, but better. Insert headdesking here. You're thinking, OMG, you didn't DO it, did you??? I did. I asked for a first chapter to see what I was getting myself into before committing, and it was... terrible, in a word. The characters were scarcely recognisable, the plot was cliched (and, as I later discovered, wholly stolen from someone else) and Not Good, and there were strange gaps in the writing. Here is a sample of a bit of similar-but-made-up dialogue:
"Why not?" Ron said. He was confused.
"SHUT UP!" Harry screamed. A wall sconce wobbled dangerously.
"HARRY GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Hermione screamed repeatedly, wishing he wasn't up there.
(cont'd)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 05:09 am (UTC)I stopped beta-reading after that one, though. :P What can I say, it was a rather souring experience!!
I do like the freelancing. I just moved to a new city not three days ago, so I'll be looking for connections here! And btw, the "Character Inconsistency Fairy" makes perfect, absolute sense to me. No need to explain!!
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 05:44 am (UTC)I really, really wish right now that we were in the same city so that I could have seen the hand gestures that go with that story. I'd have broken out the good china and made at least two pots of tea ...
I think the whole beta thing is so couragous most times, especially when it's often between strangers. I've offered exactly twice, both to writers who I know to be sane, talented and just needing a good copy edit and perhaps the tiniest of tweaks. Even in RL, there can be enormous blow-ups, I have been known to hide under my desk when I hear one writer is in the building, he's never forgiven me for not letting him put a city in the wrong state, and arguing my point.
I'm thinking about just writing up essays on technique, I've started on one series here, but have a few in mind, then posting the completed versions somewhere useful. It's stuff that I do all day in RL, and have done in my previous career incarnations, too (academic, trainer, etc), so I feel happy putting it out there.
As to critting a bad story, I just don't. A couple of times I have made critical comments on stories that I thought were either great but could have done with a little shift of paragraphs or perhaps a tiny word-choice change, or else had a few copy errors (usually factual ones), but only to writers where I can see enough talent that I know they won't be fazed.
How to deal with people like your muppet ... I wouldn't be able to. You deserve a prize from the internet for not doing something very bad such as encouraging her to write more and publish under her own name.
And "Angel"?! Well, if we're going with a Sidney-esque Lucifer, maybe, but even then, I'd still see Snape as a flaming sword-wielding archangel sneering as he rained vengeance from on high, no misting!
Your writing style is great, so I'm sure that you won't need it, but good luck with the connections in your new town.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 05:56 am (UTC)he's never forgiven me for not letting him put a city in the wrong state, and arguing my point.
Ahahahaha, OMG, I know this pain! There was a biochem prof who kept attempting to publish words spelt quite incorrectly. I would fix them and the day the paper came out, he would inevitably call if one of his articles had appeared. We would have conversations like this:
Me: Hello?
Him: Ms. MyName?
Me: *sigh* Yes. Dr. HisName?
Him: *accusingly* You did it again!
Me: Which word did you have an issue with this time, sir?
Him: You changed my spelling of the word "molecule". It's incorrect now.
Me: ... Actually, sir, that's the correct spelling.
Him: Not according to MS Word.
Me: *gritting teeth* It's the correct spelling.
Him: How does the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) spell it?
Me: "M-O-L-E-C-U-L-E".
Him: ... How did I spell it?
Me: Not like that.
Him: ... Are you sure that's right?
Me: Quite sure.
Good times had by all!!
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 06:00 am (UTC)Here's a confession: I usually don't use a beta, and rarely have. At most, I'll have someone look my story over for obvious typos or missing words. I type really quickly, but I do occasionally skip a word here or there nonetheless. I prefer not to have people critique actual content, as I don't feel that's their job. The archive mod was basically trying to pressure me into using him as my beta reader, since I had openly told him that I didn't use one at the time. But I wasn't about to have a person whose grasp of the language was so clearly inferior to mine telling me what to do with my fic, you know? I haven't taken a lot of English grammar (some, though) and I've certainly never taken creative writing (lots of literature critique, but not writing itself), but I've taken a lot of other languages, and after awhile, grammar itself becomes a language that you can speak, as it were. I've taken six years of German, three years of French, three years of Latin, basic Italian and basic Arabic. I'm a singer, so I also get to experience Russian and Czech on a regular basis. So I guess it is a bit of a double standard for me to say that I think that everyone should use a beta reader, but the fact is that not everyone should write, period. I may have characterisations that don't jive with some people, but other people's characterisations rarely work just perfectly for me, too. It is a rather subjective thing, in the end. In terms of style, same deal. Some people like more commas than others, for instance. According to the general rules of grammar, there are certain places where commas are required, and that's less subjective, in my opinion. In my opinion, JKR uses far too many ellipses, but can I say that it's incorrect? Or just a somewhat juvenile writing style? :P An extremely well-known author was kicked off the same archive mentioned above for refusing to capitalise the word "Galleon", as it's not capitalised in the US publication of the books (which she owned). Furthermore, she claimed that JKR capitalised too many things, and that that wasn't her style. Was she right? Were the archive people right? I don't know, but I tend to lean toward the author having some right to style, even in the murky world of fanfic. I'm totally rambling. It's my rambly time of night, sorry! :D I'm glad you like my writing style. That means a lot to me, especially coming from an editor. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 06:21 am (UTC)As to the whole beta thing, you've identified so many of the traps for young players. Between grammar being a dying art and language being shrunk down to a small set of cliches* it's so difficult for young writers these days. Some are still lucky in that their passion for language hasn't been kicked out of them, but others have no language to define what is good, so instead they focus on little rules and half-understood maxims. Your sort of education is what everyone deserves, but it's increasingly rare, more's the pity.
I too, prefer to self-edit, but by crikey am I rubbish at picking up my own typos ... (JKR memorial ellipsis)
Anyway ... Stop hitting the desk with your head, get some sleep, or at least tea.
* It's the anti-Shakespeare effect; I had a horrible moment during the World Trade Center attacks where I wanted to hit the commentators who kept repeating rubbish. Half of my brain was telling me to shut up, this was too serious to complain about journalists who could say nothing more than 'oh my god', but the other half of my brain was saying "But this is what will define how people go on, what's said now will be important. The Blitz was responded to with fortitude and courage because the language of the Blitz called for that; the Hindenberg touches us still because we connect with 'humanity'. They need words!"
A month later I was in San Francisco being introduced to an American friend's friend. "You're British!" he exclaimed. "I want to thank you so much for your Prime Minister, he had the words that our President didn't have that day. What he said was what needed to be said, and he made all of us feel as though we could take some comfort."
I had underestimated Americans, of course. Needing words, they looked for the ones that would give them solace. He couldn't quite understand why I needed a little personal moment at that point, but let me just say: legitimate misting!
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 06:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 06:05 am (UTC)*headdesk*
no subject
Date: 2007-10-08 01:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-08 01:34 pm (UTC)Bet2 You cassino On-line
Date: 2013-04-03 10:58 am (UTC)エルメスバッグ販売 --いたくなくて.この涙
Date: 2013-09-04 03:12 am (UTC)http://www.maytime.co.nz/hermes.html (http://www.maytime.co.nz/hermes.html)
http://www.scribo.fr/miumiu.html (http://www.scribo.fr/miumiu.html)
http://www.ffst.fr/miumiu.html (http://www.ffst.fr/miumiu.html)