Continued Adventures: The Fanfic Thread

[Rumsy4]

Rumsy, give yourself a break and read the next chapter of Beyond the Horizon ;-)  Maybe you'll get your second wind after that, lol.

 

Adrift has an update.

 

Yeah... ;-) And those were good updates.

 

Rumsy -- How are you writing your stories? .... Also, just because you have a "six" theme now doesn't mean you have to stick with it. Perhaps as you write the story, you find a "ten" chapter theme emerge or something. I say write it and see where it leads you. That's half the fun anyway, right?

 

Lately, I've been have having separate files for each chapter. It's easier to keep track of word count that way. I also have a separate word document that has the outline for the story, and various jottings and dialogues written out as I get ideas for different parts of the story. I also tend to jot down things on my iphone, which I can then transfer to the "outline" document. 

 

I've pretty much decided to turn the CS story into a one-shot. I am going to flesh it out it a little more so it can stand alone. I just don't want to work on two long multi-chapter stories right now, you know? This'll free me up to work on shorter CS stories and my MC Captain Hook fic. I could always use that overarching theme I had in mind for a different story later on. Thanks for your helpful suggestions, everyone! :-) 

Edited August 30, 2014 by Rumsy4

[Rumsy4]

codependentrelationship made a fanart for my fic!!! 

[FanaticalWriter]

 I just don't want to work on two long multi-chapter stories right now, you know? 

 

You have much better sense than I do, Rumsy. I'm drowning in writing, because I let my workaholic little self get carried away. :/  I need to learn to say "no" to myself and put more project ideas in a file for later.

[sharky]

For those of you who are Captain Swanners, I stumbled across this on tumblr today. Looks like someone is trying to corral CS fic from across the web on one tumblr. I'm thinking I may join but it doesn't seem like there are many writers on there yet. Anyone see any glaring pros or cons to this?

[Rumsy4]

I don't see any cons! I think it's a good idea. I joined the CS writers network.

[FanaticalWriter]

There's also the group, The Jolly Writers, that one of my friends from Tumblr started. The focus of this group is more on improving writing, getting help with problematic scenes, and getting feedback. I'll probably be helping out now and then, as time and necessity allow.

Edited September 1, 2014 by FanaticalWriter

[sharky]

I also joined the CS writers network and am following the Jolly Writers. Yeah! Looks like both may be a good place for me to start for a beta once I finally get another fic done.

[Rumsy4]

I completed the CS story as a one-shot, and it is about 7500 words long. I am wondering if I should post it as a two-parter. Will people be put off by the word count if I post it as a single chapter? And if I do post it as a two-part story, should I leave a gap between posting part 1 and 2? Thanks for the help!

[sharky]

For me, if a one-shot is more than 3500 words, it seems daunting to read at once. Is there maybe a cliffhanger or a natural break that could make it two or even three parts?

[Lieutenant]

Sooo....not sure if it's already been mentioned (and I'm too lazy to look back up the tread, lol), but the newest chapter of "Bella Notte" has been added.  I'm rapidly becoming convinced that this is the best CS au since "Coach."  I just love it so much!

[Rumsy4]

For me, if a one-shot is more than 3500 words, it seems daunting to read at once. Is there maybe a cliffhanger or a natural break that could make it two or even three parts?

Makes sense. Just waiting on my beta now. Thanks for the help! I must say that this thread has been a great resource for all things fanfic! You guys are great!

[Rumsy4]

Part 1 of The Star of the North is ready to read on ff-net or Ao3. 

[sharky]

Anyone have a good recommendation for a beta or willing to be a victim of mine? I have a 22K fic that needs to have someone just look over it and tell me if there are any plot holes I'm not seeing. I know, it's long, which is my big problem. Figured I would ask here first since I know all of you!

[Rumsy4]

I can be a beta-reader, sharky! PM me if your interested, and I'll give you my e-mail address. I'm on a bit of a vacation for the next few days, so I may not be able to get back to you right away. 

[Rumsy4]

I am the bearer of bad news today--gp28 writer deleted all her fics. Catchlight won't be updated, and no more rereading Poetry Reading or any of her lovely modern AUs. Sad... :-/ Anyone managed to save any of it by chance?

Edited September 6, 2014 by Rumsy4

[daxx]

I am the bearer of bad news today--gp28 writer deleted all her fics. Catchlight won't be updated, and no more rereading Poetry Reading or any of her lovely modern AUs. Sad... :-/ Anyone managed to save any of it by chance?

Unfortunately no. I had it but deleted it as my ibooks was getting crowded and figured i could download it again with the next update. :( shame I was enjoying Catch Light.

[Rumsy4]

I am seriously going to download every single fic I love. haha But yeah--shame about Catchlight.

[Rumsy4]

Here's the second (and fina) part of The Star of the North, Thanx for reading! :-) Read at ffnet or Ao3.

[FanaticalWriter]

Jeez. Again? I feel bad for her if it's stressing her out, or if she's feeling pressured, because goodness knows I'm there right now with my own writing, and stuff going on in my personal life is only fueling that, but some warning or a notice would be nice before this sort of thing happens. Not required or owed by any means, but still nice, you know--instead of just wiping things out of existence without warning?

 

Kind of glad I didn't let myself get invested much in her writing this time around. Once burned, twice shy, and all of that. But at least she didn't leave Tumblr this time, so she's still around to talk to, thankfully. 

Edited September 9, 2014 by FanaticalWriter

[Rumsy4]

Apparently she could get fired if they traced her fics to her irl. I get that fear (that's why I'm terrified of posting anything steamy). But yeah--a warning would've been nice. Good thing she didn't disappear completely this time. Oh, Catchlight...

Edited September 9, 2014 by Rumsy4

[daxx]

Yes, I have changed my process now, don't delete from the iPad until the update and I have the new updated Fic downloaded...

I wish I had downloaded for pony's fics. I would love to reread those...

Edited September 9, 2014 by daxx

[Rumsy4]

I have saved D&D, and M&M. PM me your e-mail, daxx. I'll send it to you. Those are two of my favorite fics. She's putting out her book sometime this month, I believe.

[sharky]

What are D&D and M&M? I don't know if I remember those. It's nice to know that at least someone in the fandom is succeeding as a writer. Of course, that's like my pipe dream that will never come true but whatever. :)

[FanaticalWriter]

But how would anyone even know, unless she's advertising the fact that she writes it, or she's working on it during work hours? Now, I can see it mattering if one is being professionally published, and publishers want stuff pulled so there's no appearance of infringement, but some publishers are starting to relax on that a bit, as long as you're not A)trying to profit from fanfic, and B) writing under a pen name that's not connected to your published name. But again, it depends on the publisher.

For what it's worth, I never thought anything gp28 wrote would qualify as steamy, but I haven't kept up with her newer stuff, either. And again, who cares if it was? It's not anyone else's business, unless it's somehow interfering with her job. What people do on their own time is their own business (with obvious exceptions of course).

[Souris]

I don't know what her job is, but there are certain things I can't do because of my job and would get fired if I did them. I'm not sure how fanfic would affect someone's job, but who knows what somebody might have in their contract. I can understand erring on the side of caution when it comes to one's job.

[FanaticalWriter]

I know what she does. And while it's possible her contract changed and there's new language in there that gave her cause for concern, or something, I'm still not sure how anyone would know about her fanfic, unless she talks about it, or she's been working on it during work hours. Why would they think to look for anything otherwise, much less do the necessary digging to find her pen name, fics, etc.?

It just doesn't make logical sense to me. But then, I don't know the real situation, either. I just hope no one has unnecessarily scared her out of writing fanfic for flimsy reasons, or because someone is overstepping their bounds, you know?

[Rumsy4]

I operate under the rule that nothing online really stays private. I'm sure some people I know in real life could put two and two together if they stumbled across my tumblr. And you know, laptops can get stolen, etc.. There's barely any personal stuff on her tumblr, I grant you, but who knows...

[Rumsy4]

What are D&D and M&M? I don't know if I remember those. It's nice to know that at least someone in the fandom is succeeding as a writer. Of course, that's like my pipe dream that will never come true but whatever. :)

 

They were Enchanted Forest Captain Duckling AUs. The Daring and the Devious was the first, and Of Mirrors and Marionettes was the sequel. And you never know, sharky--that pipe dream may come true some day. 

[FanaticalWriter]

Of course nothing online is completely private (hello there, NSA), and sure people lose personal stuff sometimes. I'm not really arguing that. I'm just saying it's unlikely anyone would randomly go looking to see if she writes fanfic, without reason to, so on the surface, it seems like a weird reason to delete things without warning.

In all reality, something in her contract may have given her food reason to worry and do so, I don't know.

And now I'm going to stop talking about this, because I'm probably coming across as a suspicious meanie, and that's not my intent all. It's just that it happened without warning--again--and I guess I'm trying to make sense of things in my own head, so I can move on, because that's how I tend to react to stuff like this, but really it's just one of those things you'll never have neat little answers for. Oh well, that's life.

[Rumsy4]

I seem to be haunting the fanfic thread a lot these days--lol. 

 

karmacanary's new CS fic has been posted! 

[daxx]

Guess I just need to think of catchlight as one of those abandoned fics I follow forever in the hope of an update.

I have been rarely surprised with an unexpected update, but occasionally I am. :)

Still waiting on The Secret of Drowning...and When Doves Cry...

Edited September 10, 2014 by daxx

[Rumsy4]

Catchlight was so darn good you know! At least she could have finished it, I whine selfishly. Oh well... I was so happy when Just Because It Burns and God Only Knows updated after months! But yeah--I've given up hope for Secret of Drowning and Bested Thrice. At least we can commiserate together. :-p 

[daxx]

Yes, I was shocked when God Only Knows updated. Happily so. I suppose there is still hope on others.

[sharky]

And that's why I write my entire story before I start posting it. I never want to be one of those people that takes forever to update and have people hate me! ;)

[Dani-Ellie]

I usually start out a couple chapters ahead but end up catching up with myself eventually. I try to work relatively quickly, though, because abandoned/really-slow-to-update fics bother me as a reader and I wouldn't want to do that to my readers.

[Lieutenant]

Ugh.  "Beyond the Horizon" just keeps getting better and better.  I need more!!  Thankfully said author has been very good at updating almost weekly.

[Dani-Ellie]

So, my "Watch Over Me" hit 200 favorites overnight. Part of me is all, "Holy freakin' shit!" and part of me is all, "Please tell me what exactly y'all liked about this so much because I'll totally try to do it again!"

Edited September 11, 2014 by Dani-Ellie

[Souris]

I read All Roads Lead Me Back To You last night, and it's awesome. Still in-process, but it seems to have been updated regularly.

[RadioGirl27]

I read All Roads Lead Me Back To You last night, and it's awesome. Still in-process, but it seems to have been updated regularly.

It's one of my favourites right now.

[Crimson Belle]

So, my "Watch Over Me" hit 200 favorites overnight. Part of me is all, "Holy freakin' shit!" and part of me is all, "Please tell me what exactly y'all liked about this so much because I'll totally try to do it again!"

 

Emma being helpless and being forced to let her parents take care of her is a lot of it.  She doesn't show weakness often at all on the show, so that's what people enjoy about your stories I think.  At least I do.

[Dani-Ellie]

Thanks. :) That side of Emma is fun for me to play with, too, because I truly feel that somewhere deep inside her is a scared and lonely little girl who just wants to be loved. She just doesn't know how to allow it. Putting her in a position where that little girl is allowed to come closer to the surface is a lot of fun, writing-wise.

[daxx]

I read All Roads Lead Me Back To You last night, and it's awesome. Still in-process, but it seems to have been updated regularly.

I haven't tried this one yet. Maybe I should. Not that I need more right now.

[sharky]

And now you have 200 follows because I never read Watch Over Me before.

 

As for All Roads, how much of a Merlin crossover is it? Will I get it if I don't watch the show?

 

And yes, Beyond the Horizon! Sooo good! That's one of those where you could rename the characters, sell it as an original novel, and I would consider reading it.

[Rumsy4]

I don't watch Merlin either, but have been enjoying "All Roads..." a lot. Each chapter is from a different PoV, so it's hard between updates, but overall it is well-written.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Rumsy4

[YaddaYadda]

Sharky, I think you'll get it.  I watched Merlin.  All you need to really know is that Morgana turned into a really evil witch, priestess of dark magic who wanted to take over Camelot because she believed it was hers and Merlin (Emrys) was the most powerful sorcerer who was basically in her way. It's the more simplistic way of putting it but it's a bit more complicated than this obviously since the show ran 6 seasons, but I think you'll be fine.

 

I think some of us on the board did watch Merlin so if you ever need help...

Edited September 11, 2014 by YaddaYadda

[regularlyleaded]

So, my "Watch Over Me" hit 200 favorites overnight. Part of me is all, "Holy freakin' shit!" and part of me is all, "Please tell me what exactly y'all liked about this so much because I'll totally try to do it again!"

Emma being helpless and being forced to let her parents take care of her is a lot of it.  She doesn't show weakness often at all on the show, so that's what people enjoy about your stories I think.  At least I do.

ITA, Crimson Belle. That's a big part of it for me, and I would add that for me, another part of the appeal of your stories, Dani-Ellie, is that you also have Snow and Charming recognize that there are reasons Emma is the way she is. The way she reacts to situations, such as being hesitant (or afraid) to open up to her family, is based on her life experiences. It's not just Emma being contrary or aloof for the hell of it. There's a lifetime of hurt that has made her who she is and how big a step it is for Emma to let them in. I really like that you acknowledge that in the scenes you write between Snow and Charming, and also when you write for their inner voices as they start to really understand where Emma is coming from. Unlike the show, you actually have Snow and Charming discussing Emma, and because of their interactions with Emma they start to really understand that the tragedy of their family isn't just that they lost 28 years of Emma's life, but that those 28 years were painful for Emma and filled with traumas that, in some ways, she is still trying to recover from.

As it stands now in the show, the writers ended S3 by basically laying all the problems of Emma's relationship with her parents squarely at Emma's feet instead of recognizing that there are big problems on BOTH sides of that relationship (which I won't get into here because we've already covered (in the Relationship and Emma threads) what a load of crap the show is putting out with that ending). So I like that you put that recognition in your stories; that there are two sides to that relationship. As much as Emma needs to work at letting herself be open with Snow and Charming, Snow and Charming need to recognize that they've gotta work with her and that if they keep at it Emma does respond to it (even in the show we've seen this in S1 and tiny bits of S2 with Emma's relationship with Snow). And IMO I think that's the key to that relationship. If Snow and Charming want to have a close relationship with Emma they are gonna have to be active about it and put a lot of work into their relationship with her. Emma won't be the one to initiate it because what experience she has in that department is hampered by layers of abandonment and trust issues.

 

I guess that's basically what it comes down to for me. I like seeing them all work through it and you put the effort into writing that; from taking the time to write for Emma's inner voice (which I love, love, love) and writing scenes where Emma allows herself be cared for and loved by her parents (which, again, I <3 x 1000), to also writing the other side with Snow and Charming learning how to get through to Emma and connecting with her (but especially Snow, because once upon a time, Emma and Snow/Mary Margaret's relationship was my favorite and the Do-Over-Baby!/Who's Emma? storyline the show is currently peddling sucks hardcore). And that as frustrating as it may be for Snow at times, when Emma responds positively to it all and let's them in, it makes it all worth it and then some. IMO, it's not only good for Emma but it's good for Snow and Charming as well. And that's something you did in Watch Over Me (as well as some of your other stories - Operation Ladybug springs right to mind) and in Snowbound. It's basically what I was hoping to see in S2 and IMO the show failed (and continues to fail) to deliver. I would watch, DVR and buy the blu-ray editions of a show of just Emma, Snow and Charming trying to figure it all out if that show were to ever air.

 

(On an slightly irrelevant note, I can't stand the baby's name. It drives me up the wall and down the other side and the only way I was able to continue reading any stories that include the "Baby Who Shall Not Be Named" was by writing a browser script that changes his name to something else wherever it appears. My current name substitution option is Snowflake but sometimes I change it to "Squishy" because it amuses me.)

Edited September 12, 2014 by regularlyleaded

[Dani-Ellie]

Wow, thank you so much. The stuff I write is the stuff I really wished we could have seen, those moments of these four people (because I include Henry a lot as well ... I find writing for kids fun, haha) just figure out how to be together. The breakneck speed of the plot on the show doesn't allow for the reflection and the quietness and the time it would take for the adults to figure their way around each other, and I think it's clear by now that the show has little to no interest in making the time for it.

 

But in order for me to see Emma as healing, I need her to have opportunity to do so, and what the show is doing in terms of this family relationship is not at all conducive to it. I really need for show!Snow and show!Charming to understand where Emma's coming from, and I honestly thought we were getting that with the fight on the Jolly Roger and in "Lost Girl" (but then the rest of the season completely torpedoed that, which I've ranted about at length). Emma's life experiences are so vastly different from her parents' that she might as well have grown up on Mars. And they need to understand that she's hard to reach not because she doesn't want to let them in but because she's built those walls of hers brick by brick, and each brick was laid through some painful, terrible experience. (And now I've got the Dan Rydell "a wall whose bricks are made of pain and whose mortar is made of tears" monologue from Sports Night in my head. :P) My point was, she's not like this because she wants to be. She's like this because every time she's put herself out there, it's gotten her nothing but hurt.

 

There are things in my stories that I'm taking from my own family's experiences with my nephew (and dramatizing them, of course ... that bit in "Operation Ladybug" about Wee Emma not wanting to leave David's side long enough to go sit on the couch to wait for him came from my nephew following me into another room when I'd told him I'd be right back; after being left alone so much in his mom's care, he didn't want to be alone, even for the thirty seconds it would have taken me to do what I needed to do in another room). Watching that little boy transform from sad and lonely two-year-old to giggly and thriving four-year-old is one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed, and it's one of those things that made me really understand how important love and support truly is in someone's emotional well-being.

 

Emma does need to learn to let people in, but I think Snow and Charming are the ones who need to take that first step, because Emma's not going to believe it's okay to let them in until they give her reason to do so. And what I've been trying to do is break down Emma's walls brick by brick, not with some magic epiphany but just in the simple act of being together. Because in my estimation that's what's going to make the difference and that's how they're all going to learn. And it's totally how I wish this whole thing had played out in-show.

 

(I also dislike the baby's name, like a lot ... why else do you think I have Emma call him "squirt?" ;))

[regularlyleaded]

Emma does need to learn to let people in, but I think Snow and Charming are the ones who need to take that first step, because Emma's not going to believe it's okay to let them in until they give her reason to do so. And what I've been trying to do is break down Emma's walls brick by brick, not with some magic epiphany but just in the simple act of being together. Because in my estimation that's what's going to make the difference and that's how they're all going to learn. And it's totally how I wish this whole thing had played out in-show.

I think that comes through clearly in how you write the stories and I think that's where Watch Over Me really just hit all those notes so well and really focused on that dynamic. You had Emma in a situation where she had to rely on Snow and Charming because she really wasn't capable of helping herself, and that vulnerability lead to Emma revealing some things from her past that helped Snow (and Charming 'cause he was eavesdropping ;) understand why Emma was behaving the way she was. It was such a nice moment and really struck me because for once, Emma allowed herself to be emotionally vulnerable, and instead being met with derision or condescension or indifference, she was met with understanding and the love of someone who cares enough to tell her it's okay because this time she's not alone.

 

I mean, the way you wrote that was the complete opposite of Snow's S2 stupid ass diner speech. In that scene from S2, Emma is trying to get Snow and Charming to understand that she wants to use the magic bean to get everyone out of town because she doesn't want to risk Henry being left behind and completely alone like she had been, and that is such a revealing moment to Emma's emotional state. In that moment, Emma was very much wearing her heart on her sleeve (something she rarely, if ever, does) in hopes that Charming and Snow would understand. But what she gets in return is Snow basically saying, "Shut it. No one cares because we have to save Regina, the woman set this disaster into motion and was the reason you grew up without us!" It was all just so unbelievably tone deaf and the show has repeatedly written Snow like that since then (with the exception of Lost Girl).  For me it got so bad that by the end of S3 I just wanted to smack Snow upside the head whenever she opened her mouth. So really, I can't emphasize enough how refreshing Watch Over Me was in light of the rancid tripe we've been served in the show.

 

(I also dislike the baby's name, like a lot ... why else do you think I have Emma call him "squirt?" ;))

Hehe, I figured as much :) But seriously, if you want a good laugh, before you post your next chapter do a quick "search and replace" for baby Snowflake's name and change it to "Squishy", then read back through the chapter. It's really rather funny. I can just hear Dory from Finding Nemo in my head saying, "And I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy." It's amusing and 1000% better than that other name the show gave him which makes me automatically hate the baby -- automatic loathing brought to you by name association (which I realize is somewhat irrational, but there it is). I will forever hate you for it, Show. There's no coming back from that one. You are dead to me, 'ya hear. DEAD.

Edited September 12, 2014 by regularlyleaded

[Dani-Ellie]

It was all just so unbelievably tone deaf and the show has repeatedly written Snow like that since then (with the exception of Lost Girl).  For me it got so bad that by the end of S3 I just wanted to smack Snow upside the head whenever she opened her mouth. So really, I can't emphasize enough how refreshing Watch Over Me was in light of the rancid tripe we've been served in the show.

 

Thank you very much. In my head a lot of the time is trying to "fix" Snow and Emma for myself, because I just cannot stand what the show has done to them. Like, honestly, I cannot reconcile how Mary Margaret, who was absolutely wonderful both with and for Emma, has become Snow, who is oftentimes so dismissive of Emma that I want to jump through my TV, pull Emma into a crushing hug, and scream obscenities at Snow. And I could understand if they were using some kind of "we are both" mingling of Snow and Mary Margaret and using that to make her flounder, but where Mary Margaret was so good with her previously, it feels to me like Snow is either consciously or unconsciously ignoring all the parts of Mary Margaret that could help her with Emma. Somewhere inside her, she does know how to connect with Emma because she's done it before. And I just want to shake her by the shoulders all, "Look what you're doing to your baby girl. She needs to understand that you're different than all the people who've come before you, and she won't understand that unless you show her."

Edited September 12, 2014 by Dani-Ellie

[daxx]

I read All Roads Lead Me Back To You last night, and it's awesome. Still in-process, but it seems to have been updated regularly.

Just read this one. It really is very good! Thanks for the rec.

she really gets both Emma and killian's voices correct most of the time. It is rare someone can successfully write both convincingly.