Weekend update with ... my beta work. XD
Beta-schedule for this weekend:
SG : Done. Sent back.
VS : Almost done big doc. Remember to add global concrit @ end. Review crit. before returning.
HR : 3-4 docs left to do (1-5 pages each). 1 doc done, sent back. Need to comment on last ones, then review the others again before returning.
If I have time, I'm going to see if I can rip off more to the GP2 chapter I'm working on... but I want to write that one while I'm in my 'groove'. I wish I had the luxury of pulling all-nighters the way I used to... *Damn parental responsibilities. And laundry.*
On a positive side-note, both my "Breaking Dawn" and "Bitten to Death" pre-order books shipped today, so those are my rewards for when I finish beta'ing! XD Go-go-vampire-fun! (... and possibly inspiration for "Merits"?...)
Sidenote: "Merits" notes & inspirations: Don't read if you don't want spoilers/stuff that may imply future events:
These are some questions / reactions to some comments I've had for "Merits".
-was this a bit of a parody fic? Yes-- but I do take it more seriously now and do work hard at it.
-Some of this seems familiar... yes, there are references to many other vampire stories / lore / manga/anime, even other vampire fanfics.
-some of the (vampire) references: Jaz Parks, Twilight, LJ Smith/Nightworld, Bram Stoker, Vampire Knight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellsing, etc...
-are all the characters introduced yet? Not by a long shot.
-is there bending? No comment.
-is the 'legend' important? Would I have written it in if it wasn't...
-what is Zuko's interest in Katara? No comment (yet). I will say it is layered.
-Why was Long Feng after Katara? Was there a reason? Yes.
-how long is "Merits" going to be? ... I don't have a chapter-by-chapter breakdown...
-do you even know what you're doing? ... I have an outline, sometimes with very specific events/timelines, but nothing is set in stone. Future chapters have been written and are just waiting in the wings to be brought in once other events have been set in motion first. This is partly why my update-schedule is erratic -- sometimes I have a chapter ready, but need to write 2-3 chapters to get to it, then I'll update two chapters fairly close together.
-why were updates so frequent before April? Because the majority of what had been posted up until that point was written the year before...
-your updates suck since May. Yes, because I have a life outside fanfiction. I call it HEALTHY... sort of...
-were you making fun of fandom at times? Yes, but in a nice way. I made fun of myself a LOT more, in case you hadn't noticed...
-the first chapter doesn't make sense with the rest of the story. Imagine that you have three months of a story written out (chronologically) -- now take that last event at the end of the third month, and move it to the beginning of the first month, and let the rest of the story keep playing out. That's what I did. I know how I'm getting to that very first scene, but I put that scene there for a reason. If you see why I did it that way already, kudos. ;)
-Zuko's character should be more ________. Zuko's character (on ATLA) has had the single most personal/character development and yet single most inconsistent delivery of any character in that entire show. He and Katara are the hardest for me to write -- but I try. It's hard: Sometimes I want/need to use Season-1 Zuko in a scene, other times I find myself needing Season-3 Zuko pre-battle-of-Sozin but post-eclipse. Don't get me started on his hair -- I'm about ready to draw a little stick figure of him (with hair) to keep at my laptop to remind me of what 'Zuko' I'm physically portraying at times. XD
-Katara's character should be more _______. I honestly get really frustrated writing Katara--partly for how I need to portray her right now (she'll be changing, of course, as all characters change and develop)--but mostly for my lack of skill with characterization. Love her as a character on the show, but I can't seem to channel her the way I can, say, Toph.
-Why / how do you write Toph? I write Toph saying all the snarky things I have to keep my mouth shut for at work. Toph is me with a bottle of Tequila, but sober. Sort of.
-Sokka needs more love! Yes, I know, and it's coming.
-Are Sokka and Toph 'together' in "Merits" ? ... no comment... yet.
-do you look at reviews/comments to get ideas for the story? I have read every single review I've ever received--several times. (Seriously, you have no idea how much I need positive reinforcement these days. XD) So Yes, if I've seen something really neat that I wouldn't have thought of, I take note. But I usually ask the comment-maker if I can have their permission first before using their suggestion, or altering their suggestion to suit my purposes.
-why are the characters in the story older/like adults when most readers prefer high-school AUs? I am an adult. (Chronologically speaking). I went through grad school. It's much easier for me to write something I'm familiar with... And I find there's a serious lack of (decent/realistically written) adult-ATLA fic. There are some greats out there, AJRayne, Vicki So, Kirschreich, thestatesman, renagrrl, loveroftheflame, hyperuu and Jimi'sLittleWing (iirc) all first and foremost -- but I wanted to write my own story with adults in it for once. Not that my writing is decent, or realistically written (modern vampire AU -- the last bastion of plausibility!), but I think I do better... than many on ff.net. Not most, but many. One of the most startling things about the Zutara fandom is how talented and professional many of its writers are -- I've found many that can / should / probably do write or work in publishing for a living. This is both an amazing motivator within the fandom, and I believe has been partly responsible for making Zutara seem practically canon, but has also led to a more mature shipping fandom (in some ways). Personally, I get pretty intimidated when I talk to other fanfic writers whose work I enjoy/admire since it makes me feel like an inadequate peon. These are friends sometimes, too, which makes me really embarassed about my fangirl-ish envy. Behold my childish insecurities! XD Luckily, every writer I've met has been an amazing person to talk to, too, and has become a friend. I still want to harvest their brains for their talent, though. Or burn everything I've ever written when I dare compare it to theirs. XD But... they've made some phenomenal contributions. I want to work towards that, too. I thought writing adults would be easier for me -- but I'm still finding it hard. Perhaps I should go back to writing the high-school stuff? Maybe I need that 'authority' so omni-present in high-school fics in order to push my characters into rebellious, hormone-ridden situations?... Meh.
-why is there a strong undercurrent of lousy humour in "Merits" & your writing? I'm fundamentally warped, that's why. And I take pride in making others suffer my terrible puns, too. ("The Gift Horse" was ripe with bad puns. Man I had fun writing that one...)
-Am I going to use spoilers from ATLA / the 3rd Season's finale? ... I do make reference to specific events / dialogue from ATLA from time to time. I don't plan on copying the finale -- but there's always a big conflict/climax, and resolution (or an open-ending) to any long, multi-chaptered fic. You won't find direct Sozin's Comet spoilers in "Merits", but there are some logical similarities regarding conflict and character development that are going to (and may already be) obvious before too long.
-Lastly, someone asked me in a PM what character I am most 'like' (personality-wise) in reality.
I asked the person who knows me best in the world, my fiance/hubby, who also happens to be an ATLA fan, and he said, without a moment's hesitation, "Azula."
... I think he meant her determination, her drive, that kind of thing, as I haven't mastered lightning-bending.
Yet.
This concludes Moor's Big? "Merits" Q & A -- Part one! Snark has been reduced due to my not wanting to laugh out loud too hard in the middle of the night... at myself.
SG : Done. Sent back.
VS : Almost done big doc. Remember to add global concrit @ end. Review crit. before returning.
HR : 3-4 docs left to do (1-5 pages each). 1 doc done, sent back. Need to comment on last ones, then review the others again before returning.
If I have time, I'm going to see if I can rip off more to the GP2 chapter I'm working on... but I want to write that one while I'm in my 'groove'. I wish I had the luxury of pulling all-nighters the way I used to... *Damn parental responsibilities. And laundry.*
On a positive side-note, both my "Breaking Dawn" and "Bitten to Death" pre-order books shipped today, so those are my rewards for when I finish beta'ing! XD Go-go-vampire-fun! (... and possibly inspiration for "Merits"?...)
Sidenote: "Merits" notes & inspirations: Don't read if you don't want spoilers/stuff that may imply future events:
These are some questions / reactions to some comments I've had for "Merits".
-was this a bit of a parody fic? Yes-- but I do take it more seriously now and do work hard at it.
-Some of this seems familiar... yes, there are references to many other vampire stories / lore / manga/anime, even other vampire fanfics.
-some of the (vampire) references: Jaz Parks, Twilight, LJ Smith/Nightworld, Bram Stoker, Vampire Knight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellsing, etc...
-are all the characters introduced yet? Not by a long shot.
-is there bending? No comment.
-is the 'legend' important? Would I have written it in if it wasn't...
-what is Zuko's interest in Katara? No comment (yet). I will say it is layered.
-Why was Long Feng after Katara? Was there a reason? Yes.
-how long is "Merits" going to be? ... I don't have a chapter-by-chapter breakdown...
-do you even know what you're doing? ... I have an outline, sometimes with very specific events/timelines, but nothing is set in stone. Future chapters have been written and are just waiting in the wings to be brought in once other events have been set in motion first. This is partly why my update-schedule is erratic -- sometimes I have a chapter ready, but need to write 2-3 chapters to get to it, then I'll update two chapters fairly close together.
-why were updates so frequent before April? Because the majority of what had been posted up until that point was written the year before...
-your updates suck since May. Yes, because I have a life outside fanfiction. I call it HEALTHY... sort of...
-were you making fun of fandom at times? Yes, but in a nice way. I made fun of myself a LOT more, in case you hadn't noticed...
-the first chapter doesn't make sense with the rest of the story. Imagine that you have three months of a story written out (chronologically) -- now take that last event at the end of the third month, and move it to the beginning of the first month, and let the rest of the story keep playing out. That's what I did. I know how I'm getting to that very first scene, but I put that scene there for a reason. If you see why I did it that way already, kudos. ;)
-Zuko's character should be more ________. Zuko's character (on ATLA) has had the single most personal/character development and yet single most inconsistent delivery of any character in that entire show. He and Katara are the hardest for me to write -- but I try. It's hard: Sometimes I want/need to use Season-1 Zuko in a scene, other times I find myself needing Season-3 Zuko pre-battle-of-Sozin but post-eclipse. Don't get me started on his hair -- I'm about ready to draw a little stick figure of him (with hair) to keep at my laptop to remind me of what 'Zuko' I'm physically portraying at times. XD
-Katara's character should be more _______. I honestly get really frustrated writing Katara--partly for how I need to portray her right now (she'll be changing, of course, as all characters change and develop)--but mostly for my lack of skill with characterization. Love her as a character on the show, but I can't seem to channel her the way I can, say, Toph.
-Why / how do you write Toph? I write Toph saying all the snarky things I have to keep my mouth shut for at work. Toph is me with a bottle of Tequila, but sober. Sort of.
-Sokka needs more love! Yes, I know, and it's coming.
-Are Sokka and Toph 'together' in "Merits" ? ... no comment... yet.
-do you look at reviews/comments to get ideas for the story? I have read every single review I've ever received--several times. (Seriously, you have no idea how much I need positive reinforcement these days. XD) So Yes, if I've seen something really neat that I wouldn't have thought of, I take note. But I usually ask the comment-maker if I can have their permission first before using their suggestion, or altering their suggestion to suit my purposes.
-why are the characters in the story older/like adults when most readers prefer high-school AUs? I am an adult. (Chronologically speaking). I went through grad school. It's much easier for me to write something I'm familiar with... And I find there's a serious lack of (decent/realistically written) adult-ATLA fic. There are some greats out there, AJRayne, Vicki So, Kirschreich, thestatesman, renagrrl, loveroftheflame, hyperuu and Jimi'sLittleWing (iirc) all first and foremost -- but I wanted to write my own story with adults in it for once. Not that my writing is decent, or realistically written (modern vampire AU -- the last bastion of plausibility!), but I think I do better... than many on ff.net. Not most, but many. One of the most startling things about the Zutara fandom is how talented and professional many of its writers are -- I've found many that can / should / probably do write or work in publishing for a living. This is both an amazing motivator within the fandom, and I believe has been partly responsible for making Zutara seem practically canon, but has also led to a more mature shipping fandom (in some ways). Personally, I get pretty intimidated when I talk to other fanfic writers whose work I enjoy/admire since it makes me feel like an inadequate peon. These are friends sometimes, too, which makes me really embarassed about my fangirl-ish envy. Behold my childish insecurities! XD Luckily, every writer I've met has been an amazing person to talk to, too, and has become a friend. I still want to harvest their brains for their talent, though. Or burn everything I've ever written when I dare compare it to theirs. XD But... they've made some phenomenal contributions. I want to work towards that, too. I thought writing adults would be easier for me -- but I'm still finding it hard. Perhaps I should go back to writing the high-school stuff? Maybe I need that 'authority' so omni-present in high-school fics in order to push my characters into rebellious, hormone-ridden situations?... Meh.
-why is there a strong undercurrent of lousy humour in "Merits" & your writing? I'm fundamentally warped, that's why. And I take pride in making others suffer my terrible puns, too. ("The Gift Horse" was ripe with bad puns. Man I had fun writing that one...)
-Am I going to use spoilers from ATLA / the 3rd Season's finale? ... I do make reference to specific events / dialogue from ATLA from time to time. I don't plan on copying the finale -- but there's always a big conflict/climax, and resolution (or an open-ending) to any long, multi-chaptered fic. You won't find direct Sozin's Comet spoilers in "Merits", but there are some logical similarities regarding conflict and character development that are going to (and may already be) obvious before too long.
-Lastly, someone asked me in a PM what character I am most 'like' (personality-wise) in reality.
I asked the person who knows me best in the world, my fiance/hubby, who also happens to be an ATLA fan, and he said, without a moment's hesitation, "Azula."
... I think he meant her determination, her drive, that kind of thing, as I haven't mastered lightning-bending.
Yet.
This concludes Moor's Big? "Merits" Q & A -- Part one! Snark has been reduced due to my not wanting to laugh out loud too hard in the middle of the night... at myself.