Started posting a lot of stories to the new site (http://archiveofourown.org/users/angelholme), including some that can't be posted anywhere else.
Which makes me happy.
Plus I have another idea (I am just full of ideas!) that might be something I can write quickly. With ScriptFrenzy starting on the 1st, I don't want to start a new long term story before then, but this might be a quick write one. Or at least, one I can spend time plotting, if not actually writing.
Showing posts with label Lost In Middle Earth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost In Middle Earth. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Pet Peeves : Bobmin!
So - the writers at bobmin.fanficauthors.net are very good. Sunset over Britain is a truly inspired story, and while Sunrise was far too long, a bit dull and nowhere near as good, that doesn't mean Sunset was bad.
But in their author's notes (which, by the way, since there are two of them should have the apostrophe after the s in Authors and not before it - the notes are from both authors, not just one) they write a section called Pet Peeves where - basically - they bitch about other people. Quite possibly just to prove how good they are, and how bad other people are.
One example is switching perspectives - from first person to third and back again. They say that it's rare you'll find a published book that does that (which I disagree with, not to mention the films you get that do it. Blade Runner for example, and some of the Thursday Next series), and that it's annoying.
Other complaints are about mistakes in the story (such as Author's). But since everyone is, at best, human, even the most perfect beta-reader might miss things sometimes. It's inevitable, and - quite honestly -as long as it doesn't confuse the story, I don't see why it matters. If I write "It was there belief that they would win" you still get what I mean? And while I'm not suggesting spelling and grammar don't matter at all, you have to remember a) some fanfic writers aren't writing in English as a first language, but they are doing it so we can read their stories, and b) no one gets paid to do this, and it's done in their spare time.
They object to Super-Powered and Equipped Harry. Why? It's a plot device. And - on a side note - Sunset has a Super-Powered Harry with a spectaral Dog he can use to attack people, a staff he can use to throw giants in to orbit and the ability to apparate within Hogwarts. How is that different from what they are complaining about?
And finally - they bitch about using adult language or not. If you are writing for a mature audience, they say, you should be willing to say so, but if you're not, you shouldn't try to use rude words or metaphors to explain what you mean.
Well - first there is Sunset, which is full of sex and is rated Mature, and yet they say Lucius "fouled himself". But in their Pet Peeves, they say "If you write shite, don't you think everyone is going to know what you mean?" Well - if you write "fouled himself", don't you think everyone knows what you mean as well?
Secondly - most (all) of my stories (for example) are G+ or PG-13 depending on the site you are on. This is because I am just not one to write for adults only. And while I am not going to write detailed sex scenes, and I am not going to use the more overt curse words (I think hell, damn, bollocks and bloody are about as far as I am willing to go), I think it is LUDICROUS to ignore the fact I have married couples in my stories, and that - as a rule - married couples are going to have sex. And that when Hermione comes home to find Luna's head hanging from her front door knocker, to think she would only say "Oh dear me" is an insult to the intelligence of my readers.
So I use metaphors. I use descriptions. I say ".....she suddenly realised her daughter was scrabbling at the buttons to Luna's dress....." to indicate that Hermione is going to boff Luna good and proper. And I say "As Hermione stared in disbelief at the bloody scene in front of her, she let out a stream of curses that would make a sailor blush". Both of which leave it up to the reader to decide what is going on. So the little kiddies (although very little kiddies shouldn't be reading my stories, as they are 13+ generally) can think Minnie is saying "bugger bottom willy and bum" while older readers might have a few more colourful words in mind.
And - on a final note - the opening chapter of Sunrise says "The international Wizarding community has decided that you are far too ugly to be allowed to travel outside of Britain and Scotland". And I would argue that while everything they list might annoy them, not knowing BASIC WORLD GEOGRAPHY is inexcusable. Especially for people who are so full of themselves they are happy to criticise tiny little faults in everyone else's stories.
This has been bugging me for a while, because I don't think it is their place to be insulting other people's work when writing notes about their own story. And yes, I have just spent about ten minutes insulting their work, except I'm not. I'm insulting the fact they are insulting other people's work, and pointing out how hypocritical they are in their insults. Plus this is not a story, this is a journal. It would never, ever occurr to me to write any of this in the author's notes for a story I wrote.
The only time I have come close was when I was bitching about The Lord Of The Rings movies, but they were truly crap and I was writing a parody of them in the world of HP, so it seemed fair that I should explain why I was taking the piss out of the films so much. And even then, I limited it to maybe one or two paragraphs of notes, and not three or four every chapter.
Plus I think anyone who is willing to write a story and put it on the web deserves some respect. Even if the story is utterly crap, they still had the guts to do it. And if it is crap, then you leave them a review (if you can), with constructive comments. You don't use the end of a chapter of your story to dump on them in front of the rest of the world. Because that is, basically, a shitty thing to do to people.
But in their author's notes (which, by the way, since there are two of them should have the apostrophe after the s in Authors and not before it - the notes are from both authors, not just one) they write a section called Pet Peeves where - basically - they bitch about other people. Quite possibly just to prove how good they are, and how bad other people are.
One example is switching perspectives - from first person to third and back again. They say that it's rare you'll find a published book that does that (which I disagree with, not to mention the films you get that do it. Blade Runner for example, and some of the Thursday Next series), and that it's annoying.
Other complaints are about mistakes in the story (such as Author's). But since everyone is, at best, human, even the most perfect beta-reader might miss things sometimes. It's inevitable, and - quite honestly -as long as it doesn't confuse the story, I don't see why it matters. If I write "It was there belief that they would win" you still get what I mean? And while I'm not suggesting spelling and grammar don't matter at all, you have to remember a) some fanfic writers aren't writing in English as a first language, but they are doing it so we can read their stories, and b) no one gets paid to do this, and it's done in their spare time.
They object to Super-Powered and Equipped Harry. Why? It's a plot device. And - on a side note - Sunset has a Super-Powered Harry with a spectaral Dog he can use to attack people, a staff he can use to throw giants in to orbit and the ability to apparate within Hogwarts. How is that different from what they are complaining about?
And finally - they bitch about using adult language or not. If you are writing for a mature audience, they say, you should be willing to say so, but if you're not, you shouldn't try to use rude words or metaphors to explain what you mean.
Well - first there is Sunset, which is full of sex and is rated Mature, and yet they say Lucius "fouled himself". But in their Pet Peeves, they say "If you write shite, don't you think everyone is going to know what you mean?" Well - if you write "fouled himself", don't you think everyone knows what you mean as well?
Secondly - most (all) of my stories (for example) are G+ or PG-13 depending on the site you are on. This is because I am just not one to write for adults only. And while I am not going to write detailed sex scenes, and I am not going to use the more overt curse words (I think hell, damn, bollocks and bloody are about as far as I am willing to go), I think it is LUDICROUS to ignore the fact I have married couples in my stories, and that - as a rule - married couples are going to have sex. And that when Hermione comes home to find Luna's head hanging from her front door knocker, to think she would only say "Oh dear me" is an insult to the intelligence of my readers.
So I use metaphors. I use descriptions. I say ".....she suddenly realised her daughter was scrabbling at the buttons to Luna's dress....." to indicate that Hermione is going to boff Luna good and proper. And I say "As Hermione stared in disbelief at the bloody scene in front of her, she let out a stream of curses that would make a sailor blush". Both of which leave it up to the reader to decide what is going on. So the little kiddies (although very little kiddies shouldn't be reading my stories, as they are 13+ generally) can think Minnie is saying "bugger bottom willy and bum" while older readers might have a few more colourful words in mind.
And - on a final note - the opening chapter of Sunrise says "The international Wizarding community has decided that you are far too ugly to be allowed to travel outside of Britain and Scotland". And I would argue that while everything they list might annoy them, not knowing BASIC WORLD GEOGRAPHY is inexcusable. Especially for people who are so full of themselves they are happy to criticise tiny little faults in everyone else's stories.
This has been bugging me for a while, because I don't think it is their place to be insulting other people's work when writing notes about their own story. And yes, I have just spent about ten minutes insulting their work, except I'm not. I'm insulting the fact they are insulting other people's work, and pointing out how hypocritical they are in their insults. Plus this is not a story, this is a journal. It would never, ever occurr to me to write any of this in the author's notes for a story I wrote.
The only time I have come close was when I was bitching about The Lord Of The Rings movies, but they were truly crap and I was writing a parody of them in the world of HP, so it seemed fair that I should explain why I was taking the piss out of the films so much. And even then, I limited it to maybe one or two paragraphs of notes, and not three or four every chapter.
Plus I think anyone who is willing to write a story and put it on the web deserves some respect. Even if the story is utterly crap, they still had the guts to do it. And if it is crap, then you leave them a review (if you can), with constructive comments. You don't use the end of a chapter of your story to dump on them in front of the rest of the world. Because that is, basically, a shitty thing to do to people.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
My stories have character. Quite a lot of then, it appears
I have spent the past three nights collating all the characters in the various fanfictions I have written. The main reason for this is that I think I am starting to reuse names, without realising it.
So I used the local fiction site I set up (using eFic on my computer upstairs), I have created lists of characters for each fandom (Harry Potter, Charmed, Buffy etc), and started assigning them to stories.
That way, if I need an Auror in TWS, I can look through all Auror characters, and pull one out (eg Miss Sally Jones).
But what I didn't realise is HOW MANY characters there are. And how many characters appear in some stories. Deathly Silence - one of the shortest and simplest stories - has 27 different characters in. So does Nineteen Years Later, which is only three chapters long. And Lost In Middle Earth has over 40!
I haven't even got to the Silent Trio series yet - I am somewhat scared!
All in all, it was quite an eye opener.
So I used the local fiction site I set up (using eFic on my computer upstairs), I have created lists of characters for each fandom (Harry Potter, Charmed, Buffy etc), and started assigning them to stories.
That way, if I need an Auror in TWS, I can look through all Auror characters, and pull one out (eg Miss Sally Jones).
But what I didn't realise is HOW MANY characters there are. And how many characters appear in some stories. Deathly Silence - one of the shortest and simplest stories - has 27 different characters in. So does Nineteen Years Later, which is only three chapters long. And Lost In Middle Earth has over 40!
I haven't even got to the Silent Trio series yet - I am somewhat scared!
All in all, it was quite an eye opener.
Monday, 30 June 2008
Something I don't understand.....
http://www.ficwad.com is the new site I have started posting to. So far "Lost In Middle Earth" is the main story, along with Gemini Software (http://www.ficwad.com/story/100403) and The Archive (http://www.ficwad.com/story/100467), but there is something that confuses me.
The character list has a character named Malcolm Baddock (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Malcolm_Baddock), who, as far as I can tell, appears in one book. One, single book. In one chapter of one book. In fact, he gets sorted, and I think that is the last we hear of him.
But the character list doesn't have Cedric Diggory. Who, if you remember, does play rather an important part in the series. And who appears not only in one more book, but more than one chapter of more than one book.
So on the one hand we have a character who no one seems to know, but who you can include in the story as a "major character" (they limit you to six characters, so you have to pick the major ones), and on the other hand we have one of the single most important characters in the whole series, who doesn't apparently exist according to them.
It's a tad confusing :)
The character list has a character named Malcolm Baddock (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Malcolm_Baddock), who, as far as I can tell, appears in one book. One, single book. In one chapter of one book. In fact, he gets sorted, and I think that is the last we hear of him.
But the character list doesn't have Cedric Diggory. Who, if you remember, does play rather an important part in the series. And who appears not only in one more book, but more than one chapter of more than one book.
So on the one hand we have a character who no one seems to know, but who you can include in the story as a "major character" (they limit you to six characters, so you have to pick the major ones), and on the other hand we have one of the single most important characters in the whole series, who doesn't apparently exist according to them.
It's a tad confusing :)
Monday, 23 June 2008
Another new site
I have started posting some of my original stories at http://www.ficwad.com/author/69837. This is mostly in an attempt to get away from FictionPress.com - a site that is run by the same ass-hats who administrate FanFic.net, but also an attempt to spread the original fiction to more people.
But I am also posting one or two HP stories there - the ones I think people will like. And Lost In Middle Earth seems to be going down well. Which is nice.
But I am also posting one or two HP stories there - the ones I think people will like. And Lost In Middle Earth seems to be going down well. Which is nice.
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Lost In Hyrule?
TWS and 19YL are not really going anywhere. Well - that's not true. They are going places, just not very quickly.
And last night, as I was falling asleep, I had an idea about a new story, the next part to Lost In Middle Earth.
Set in Ocarina of Time, it would have Harry and Hermione (again), or possibly Harry and Luna, staring as Link and Navi, with various other HP characters as members of the Hyrule cast, including Zelda, Darunia, Saria, Impa and company, as well as the Big Temple Bads and (well duh) Ganon.
My biggest problem is not the casting (although I have no idea about that), but how to tell the story. Do I go through each Dungeon, or just do the highlights of each? (Finding the fairy slingshot, fighting the boss etc).
I will give this more thought, and maybe write one or two chapters, just to see how it goes. Plus I have to work out the cast before I start. Though I am pretty sure that Ron would be Darunia if Harry is Link, and even if it turns out there is a female link (Minnie or Luna), Ron could still be the Goron leader.
So - what do you think? Can I do it? Should I even try?
And last night, as I was falling asleep, I had an idea about a new story, the next part to Lost In Middle Earth.
Set in Ocarina of Time, it would have Harry and Hermione (again), or possibly Harry and Luna, staring as Link and Navi, with various other HP characters as members of the Hyrule cast, including Zelda, Darunia, Saria, Impa and company, as well as the Big Temple Bads and (well duh) Ganon.
My biggest problem is not the casting (although I have no idea about that), but how to tell the story. Do I go through each Dungeon, or just do the highlights of each? (Finding the fairy slingshot, fighting the boss etc).
I will give this more thought, and maybe write one or two chapters, just to see how it goes. Plus I have to work out the cast before I start. Though I am pretty sure that Ron would be Darunia if Harry is Link, and even if it turns out there is a female link (Minnie or Luna), Ron could still be the Goron leader.
So - what do you think? Can I do it? Should I even try?
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