When someone says a story is "Book 6 Compliant", what does that make you think? And if someone says it is "Set after book six", does that invoke a different image in your head?
The good thing is, there is no set standard. Which is also a bad thing, but mostly it's good.
Compliance, to me at least, indicates that the key events in a book took place, but not necessarily exactly as they happened. And also that the key events of all the books previous to it took place, but again, they might have happened differently.
So - for example - a story that is Compliant to Book 5 would indicate that Voldemort is back, there is a prophecy about how to defeat him, and that The Order exists.
A story Compliant to Book 3 would indicate that the traitor was revealed (though not necessarily that it is Peter), and Book 2 would indicate that the Basilisk was freed, that someone was tricked in to doing it and that the diary was used to do it.
However, a story set after Book 3 would require it to be Peter, that Black was vindicated (though not publicly), and a story set after Book 2 would mean it would have to be Ginny.
This has apparently caused confusion, because I said a story was Book 5 compliant, and yet had some changes (albeit minor) in history that people felt were bad, evil and wrong in light of my "B5C" statement.
Book 1 : The Stone, A Possessed Teacher, Harry doing the hero bit.
Book 2 : Basilisk, Diary, Possession, Harry killing snake, Harry talking to snakes.
Book 3 : Traitor unmasked.
Book 4 : Tournament, Voldemort Returns.
Book 5 : Order, Prophecy.
Book 6 : Horcruxes.
Book 7 : Voldemort Dead, Deathly Hallows exist.
Those are what I consider to be compliances. Now - there might be more (for example there is no reason the prophecy can't be The Prophecy), but this is what I define as a minimum.
Monday 21 January 2008
Saturday 12 January 2008
Another new site to read (grin)
So - in my ever expanding effort to conquer the known world, I have submitted a story to another site. The terms and conditions seem okay - basically you can post anything as long as it is suitably covered by various warnings - so I am not going to have to remove stories in the future because I decide that I want to write about House-Elfs being enslaved.
(Note - that actually happened on a site I was writing on. They decided that mentioning slavery in any context was now against the TOS, and the way they justified it to themselves was that house-elfs are not enslaved, they are merely servants).
The address is www.foreverfandom.net/viewuser.php?uid=32408 for my stories, although there is only one (Peace Of Mind) at the moment (I plan to add a few more in the near future)
(Note - that actually happened on a site I was writing on. They decided that mentioning slavery in any context was now against the TOS, and the way they justified it to themselves was that house-elfs are not enslaved, they are merely servants).
The address is www.foreverfandom.net/viewuser.php?uid=32408 for my stories, although there is only one (Peace Of Mind) at the moment (I plan to add a few more in the near future)
Tuesday 8 January 2008
Death, Life and Cupcakes
Episode 4 (Death, Life and Cupcakes) of The Western Sky is now posted at ffdn, however if you are new to this series, I would advise reading Episodes 1 to 3 first, otherwise you will be utterly confused. (Also, it might be helpful to read the six Silent Trio stories, as TWS is a continuation of that story. So you have lots of homework to do!)
Of course, even after you have read 1 to 3 and 4, you might still be confused, but there isn't much I can do about that :)
Episode 5 will hopefully be done in around a week or so, pending other commitments and complications.
Of course, even after you have read 1 to 3 and 4, you might still be confused, but there isn't much I can do about that :)
Episode 5 will hopefully be done in around a week or so, pending other commitments and complications.
The Western Sky
This is mostly a test for my "spoiler" entries. Where-in I randomly discuss things I am planning, or plots that I abandoned, or just generally things I think should be let out and about in the real world just because they should.
The default colour of the blog is blue, and so if you see a massive block of this colour, that means there is something behind it that you should maybe think twice about reading. Above it will be an explanation of what it will spoil.
So - to demonstrate this (and to test it), the next block contains a plot idea I had for TWS, but ended up abandoning it because I could not figure out how to make it work. However, some of the plot devices still remain in the first series, hence the spoiler code.
My original plan was to have Harry and Sally arrested for TWS activities, along with Luna and Pansy (as the other four are all American and not under their jurisdiction), and them to go on the run at the end of the season. There would be various moves through the series (Dumbledore's suspicions about TWS, some of the Aurors getting involved etc), and the first episode of the second series would be about them clearing their names and dealing with those who did them wrong (if you will excuse the phrase)
I eventually scrapped it in favour of another season long arc, because, quite honestly - having Harry and Sally set up against Dumbledore for the season is just going over old ground, and I wanted to do something new.
And that concludes my test. If it worked. If it didn't, then ooops.
The default colour of the blog is blue, and so if you see a massive block of this colour, that means there is something behind it that you should maybe think twice about reading. Above it will be an explanation of what it will spoil.
So - to demonstrate this (and to test it), the next block contains a plot idea I had for TWS, but ended up abandoning it because I could not figure out how to make it work. However, some of the plot devices still remain in the first series, hence the spoiler code.
My original plan was to have Harry and Sally arrested for TWS activities, along with Luna and Pansy (as the other four are all American and not under their jurisdiction), and them to go on the run at the end of the season. There would be various moves through the series (Dumbledore's suspicions about TWS, some of the Aurors getting involved etc), and the first episode of the second series would be about them clearing their names and dealing with those who did them wrong (if you will excuse the phrase)
I eventually scrapped it in favour of another season long arc, because, quite honestly - having Harry and Sally set up against Dumbledore for the season is just going over old ground, and I wanted to do something new.
And that concludes my test. If it worked. If it didn't, then ooops.
Glinda
For most of the time I have been writing fanfiction, I have been doing it by hand. I have a set of pens (ones that I really like), and a set of notebooks, and I write the story out, chapter by chapter, with crossings out and so forth, until it's done.
Then I typed it up, and posted it wherever I was posting it. The typing up would also act as beta-reading for the story - I would correct spelling mistakes, fix sentences that made no sense whatsoever, and sometimes rewrite parts of the story if they are utter bollocks (which - by the way - happens more often than you would think).
The only exceptions to this were "quickie" stories - Lost In Middle Earth, Deathly Silence and Peace Of Mind (for example). Ones that I just started writing for no apparent reason, and decided to continue cause they were fun.
The main reason I did this - the writing by hand thing - was because I liked writing in front of the TV, and in bed, and on the train (I do a lot of train travel for work). It was relaxing, and - especially on the train - it passed the time quickly.
But last August, I acquired Glinda, a shiny new laptop. Which changed the way I write stories quite a lot, since I can now write them directly in to the computer in front of the tv, in bed and on the train. The last chapter I hand wrote was "Shades Of Gray" from "The Curse of Exum"
So the first change is that stories are now coming out faster than they used to, since I no longer have to write them then type them up. And I am now re-reading the same chapter three or four times - as I type it, before I post it, once I have posted it and after I post it - as a substitute for beta-reading.
But the largest change is that I am now posting incomplete stories, or rather I am posting stories a chapter at a time (generally - sometimes I write the first two chapters of a story at once, and more often than not, the last two at once), rather than posting a complete story after it is finished.
This has brought its own problems to my story writing. Before, I could write chapters 1 to 5, then, if I wanted to modify something in C1 to fix with chapter 6, I could.
But now, of course, I can't. Once I post a chapter, it is "canon", and I have to stick to it. Which makes it harder to improvise, but easier to stick to the plot I worked out previously. So - swings and other swings.
On the whole, I would say Glinda has made writing stories easier, and more fun. Because while handwriting them is very entertaining, typing them up directly means I don't have to set aside time to do it later.
So - that's Glinda. My writing partner in crime :)
Then I typed it up, and posted it wherever I was posting it. The typing up would also act as beta-reading for the story - I would correct spelling mistakes, fix sentences that made no sense whatsoever, and sometimes rewrite parts of the story if they are utter bollocks (which - by the way - happens more often than you would think).
The only exceptions to this were "quickie" stories - Lost In Middle Earth, Deathly Silence and Peace Of Mind (for example). Ones that I just started writing for no apparent reason, and decided to continue cause they were fun.
The main reason I did this - the writing by hand thing - was because I liked writing in front of the TV, and in bed, and on the train (I do a lot of train travel for work). It was relaxing, and - especially on the train - it passed the time quickly.
But last August, I acquired Glinda, a shiny new laptop. Which changed the way I write stories quite a lot, since I can now write them directly in to the computer in front of the tv, in bed and on the train. The last chapter I hand wrote was "Shades Of Gray" from "The Curse of Exum"
So the first change is that stories are now coming out faster than they used to, since I no longer have to write them then type them up. And I am now re-reading the same chapter three or four times - as I type it, before I post it, once I have posted it and after I post it - as a substitute for beta-reading.
But the largest change is that I am now posting incomplete stories, or rather I am posting stories a chapter at a time (generally - sometimes I write the first two chapters of a story at once, and more often than not, the last two at once), rather than posting a complete story after it is finished.
This has brought its own problems to my story writing. Before, I could write chapters 1 to 5, then, if I wanted to modify something in C1 to fix with chapter 6, I could.
But now, of course, I can't. Once I post a chapter, it is "canon", and I have to stick to it. Which makes it harder to improvise, but easier to stick to the plot I worked out previously. So - swings and other swings.
On the whole, I would say Glinda has made writing stories easier, and more fun. Because while handwriting them is very entertaining, typing them up directly means I don't have to set aside time to do it later.
So - that's Glinda. My writing partner in crime :)
A somewhat typical first post
So, my name is Angelholme, and I write fanfiction (and sometimes original fiction, but that is less common).
At the moment, I am heavily buried in the world of Harry Potter, because it is just such a fun place to write stories about. However I also have a somewhat vague plan to continue a story I stared a while back - the eighth series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, set in a town called Covenston. I abandoned it a while back because I was having characterisation troubles, but recently, and after writing a lot for HP, I think I might be able to pull it off.
I write mainly at three sites - fanfiction.net (under the name Angelholme), hpfandom.net (under the name SammyWrae) and my own site (http://angelholme.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/), although this needs updating pretty badly.
I tend to write three types of stories.
The first is "arc" stories, or sagas. They generally have one or two major plot arcs, and a number of minor ones. Examples of these are "The Silent Trio" series and "The Western Sky".
The second is single arc stories. They have either one or two parts (generally one), and are based around a single idea. Examples of these are "Project Darkling", "Nineteen Years Later" and "Return To Grace".
The third is parodies/comedies. These I mostly write when the mood strikes me, or when I have an idea that just won't go away. Examples of these are "Lost in Middle Earth", "The Smartest Witch" and "Harry Potter and The Deathly Silence".
There are also one-shots, but these generally come from the first or second type of stories, and I just run out of ideas as to how to write them the way I want them.
Mostly I am going to use this for news about story updates - what chapters are up, what stories are close to completion, and ideas for new stories.
Currently, Nineteen Years Later is up to chapter 4 (and is no where near finished), and I am writing Episode 1x04 of The Western Sky (the first series has fourteen episodes, so it is about a third of the way through).
And honestly, that is about all I have to say for now. I could tell you all about me, but since I am not one for publishing personal information on the web, that seems unlikely. I could tell you all about my fanfic history, and I might do that in the future. I could tell you all about my sweetheart, but again - personal information and so forth.
I will update this as often as is necessary, or as often as I feel like. So, until then, have a nice day.
"Nothing crushes us"
At the moment, I am heavily buried in the world of Harry Potter, because it is just such a fun place to write stories about. However I also have a somewhat vague plan to continue a story I stared a while back - the eighth series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, set in a town called Covenston. I abandoned it a while back because I was having characterisation troubles, but recently, and after writing a lot for HP, I think I might be able to pull it off.
I write mainly at three sites - fanfiction.net (under the name Angelholme), hpfandom.net (under the name SammyWrae) and my own site (http://angelholme.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/), although this needs updating pretty badly.
I tend to write three types of stories.
The first is "arc" stories, or sagas. They generally have one or two major plot arcs, and a number of minor ones. Examples of these are "The Silent Trio" series and "The Western Sky".
The second is single arc stories. They have either one or two parts (generally one), and are based around a single idea. Examples of these are "Project Darkling", "Nineteen Years Later" and "Return To Grace".
The third is parodies/comedies. These I mostly write when the mood strikes me, or when I have an idea that just won't go away. Examples of these are "Lost in Middle Earth", "The Smartest Witch" and "Harry Potter and The Deathly Silence".
There are also one-shots, but these generally come from the first or second type of stories, and I just run out of ideas as to how to write them the way I want them.
Mostly I am going to use this for news about story updates - what chapters are up, what stories are close to completion, and ideas for new stories.
Currently, Nineteen Years Later is up to chapter 4 (and is no where near finished), and I am writing Episode 1x04 of The Western Sky (the first series has fourteen episodes, so it is about a third of the way through).
And honestly, that is about all I have to say for now. I could tell you all about me, but since I am not one for publishing personal information on the web, that seems unlikely. I could tell you all about my fanfic history, and I might do that in the future. I could tell you all about my sweetheart, but again - personal information and so forth.
I will update this as often as is necessary, or as often as I feel like. So, until then, have a nice day.
"Nothing crushes us"
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