Why yes, I am still writing my hols fic ...

[blamebrampton]

Writing for fests makes Brammers crazy.[Poll #1314580]

Comments

[empress-jae.livejournal.com]

although i took it, i can't fully stand behind this poll. you should've you ticky boxes instead of radio buttons - how can you force me to choose ONE answer?? :D

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

I said "offputting" in the first question, but only because you said detailed. I have yet to come across a fanfic where detailed description of setting (where said setting is not integral to the storyline) didn't put me off. If you hadn't said "detailed", I would have picked "great for scene setting".

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

If the description is detailed, yet reasonably succinct or interspersed with dialogue/action, it's great for scene setting. If it goes on for pages, a la Tom Clancy, I find it offputting, and my eyes glaze over.

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

Hi, you! I just realised it's a month since Florence. How strange!

[absynthedrinker.livejournal.com]

Her non-Jewish/Catholic guilt alas, my dear there is no such thing.

I know the British are convinced as a race that there is but,......... NO! Sorry, and welcome to the tribe!

Peace,
Bubba

PS I wanted to answer with A and B for the second question but that wasn't an option.

[sassy-cissa.livejournal.com]

I feel your I'm not finished with my hd_hols fic pain - even tho I am...

But still I understand and have firmly placed my #1 resolution as NO MORE FESTS.

*cheers you on*

You can do it!!!

[astarael02.livejournal.com]

Maybe a strange thing to jump out at me when I read this poll, but- is pretentious really a britword?? O.o
Or have I just misunderstood that sentence completely? (Quite possible, I admit :) )

[melusinahp.livejournal.com]

"Writing for fests makes Brammers crazy."

Me too. Meh on fests. I'm going go severely cut back on my fest participation next year. Of course I said the same thing last year...

And I love real life details of British life in fics, as long as they are a believable part of the wizarding world. It's only when they are clearly Muggle details that I get tweaked.

[romaine24.livejournal.com]

Um, my usual answer for details, it depends on the fic. LOL

I saw Seshetta mentioned Clancy. My eyes glaze over.

I guess I personally love when details come out naturally. One thing I dislike is a history and whatever lecture that has little to do with the story. This seems to happen when h/d or any ship visits a museum, aquarium, or the like that the author has been to. A little can go a long way. A lot makes me skim it over.

Go write! Just think of your poor recipient opening up LJ every morning hoping their gift is posted. Yeah, I'm Catholic, too.

[vaysh11.livejournal.com]

I like to read particular things about the setting and characters of a fic, and I know you will write it naturally and not as a history or mentality lesson, so - I'm all for inclusion of odd British quirks and historical-cultural details.

And I feel your pain - I GOT MY STORY IN!!!!!!

I am all for "no fests perhaps one in 2009" but smaller non-deadlined, write-whatever-you-want fests. My guilt-ridden Catholic conscience is better when I know someone is actually waiting for a story. Needless to say, I've written more fic in one year in HP than in four years of LotR-fandom. The reason being: no fests in LotR, at least not back then.

My one go at Florcen fic will hopefully show up at the AS/S-fest any time now ... We should have a little H/D-Florence, no-deadline-stress fest in January.

You cannot imagine I shd pick any other choice.

[wemyss.livejournal.com]

Given that I spend my time urging the gospel of Britpicking on them that walketh in darkness. To little avail, I may add.

[gabe-speaks.livejournal.com]

I can't see anyone in HP world not appreciating the detail a writer gives us regarding brit life. I mean, that's part of the charm of the HP books [and the whole debate on how much they should have edited for Americans]. I know that's one reason i liked your Aussie story—wait, that was you, innit?—because part of my love for reading sis in being taken somewhere I haven't been or haven't been in a long time.

So... I welcome it... especially when it's done by the right people.

[mizbean.livejournal.com]

Cheers you on. I'm, er... still working on mine.

As to the topic at hand. I favor a sparser type of prose, but I do appreciate it when a writer can interject details into their fics so that the reader can get a real sense of location. It's something I cannot do since I'm not British and don't even try for fear of getting it all wrong. However, too much window dressing and my mind grows fuzzy. Then I start wondering where the porn is!

Also the Muggle-ness of some overly Brit-centric fics can drive me crazy sometimes. Yeah, you've got all the shops and tube stops in London properly named, but would Wizards even go there?

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

XD I think I'm in agreement with most of the other commenters: details are lovely, but only when not abused

[frantic-mice.livejournal.com]

I think there are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many things I don't knoe about it would be the worst kinda silly if I got bugged whenever I found one. SO! It's super dooper funtastic to read about ENGLANDS and places I've never heard about. Yeah, sex is coolness 'cause all metaphors for loveintimacypassion are teh coolness. BUT!! so is learning baout places. Not in a RLY pretentious OMGAWD I'm teaching all you lowly mortals! kinda way because yeah nobody wants to be spoken down to but in a way that is TOTES about sharing and being liek OMG GUYS LOOK AT THIS MAJORLY COOL SHIT I BRINGETH TO YOU IS THIS NOT HELLAFABULOUS?!?! so yeah.

[jadzialove.livejournal.com]

And to help you procrastinate further, I insist you go to this site and read the Twilight funneh: http://www.cracked.com/article_16878_if-twilight-was-10-time-shorter-100-times-more-honest.html

[thisgirl-is.livejournal.com]

Details, like everything in fic, are great when done well. It depends a bit on walking the line between scene-setting and info-dump. And also accuracy. I recently started reading (I almost always at least skim to the end, but this one got back-buttoned) an epically long fic which had all the HP names, eg Little Whinging, but was very clearly set in the American Mid-West. It even included the local Deputy Sheriff. (!!!)

Whereas you piled quite a lot of detail into Snatched, and it was glorious. So, when it comes to you, I vote for details. I caught a reference to Seven Days in June in the comments, and completely agree - in that context, including lots of details fit the story.

Question 2 definitely needed ticky boxes. I went for "Understand in context" but would have also ticked "Turn to Google" and "Pull out notebook". Holiday tips! :o)

[i-autumnheart.livejournal.com]

Many of us love your writing (and rather like you yourself a lot as well, of course) but I'm pretty sure you're allowed to not do the fests if they get too annoying...

Re. question 1, I will never say something can't work in a fic, because I know quite well that you can make any concept turn cartwheels if you so choose.

[maya231.livejournal.com]

I love the details, for richness and flavor, unless they take me out of the story. Question number two, I both understand in context (usually) and go for Google. I'm a bit obsessive that way.