(no subject)
Stolen from pretty much everywhere, because all my stuff is in boxes and I need something to fill the hour before I go pick up the keys to my new place:
Post the first line from your 25 most recent fanfics and try to find a pattern.
1. People reacted to being told they were going to Atlantis in a variety of ways, ranging from squealing excitement to screaming terror: Never As Bad As Anticipated (Until It Is)
2. John’s not surprised, when he climbs out of his 302, to find Cam waiting for them, white-faced and grinning on his crutches: Straight Line Home
3. Cam’s in the conference room with Lorne, Zelenka, Keller and Caldwell when Chuck knocks very politely and steps inside to say, “I thought you might like to know, sir, the Daedalus just appeared on our sensors": Slow Road to Nowhere
4. “Please tell me you’re not planning on falling off that,” Rodney says from the porch, and John thinks they’re both lucky that his Air Force trained hyper-awareness hasn’t gone away yet, or he really would have fallen off the ladder: Saturday Afternoon
5. They’ve known each other for longer than John’s known anyone, except for his brother: 50 things about John Sheppard and Cam Mitchell
6. The letter’s three weeks old when it finally reaches Colby in Afghanistan, post-marked Colorado where he can’t remember ever knowing anyone: 5 crossovers Colby Granger was never in
7. “You’re late,” Kavanagh said when John finally made it to the jumper bay at three minutes past seven: Necessary Things (settling the balance)
8. “I see we’re going out with Major Lorne’s team again,” Dr Metcalfe says when Laura hands out the mission briefings at Monday morning team breakfast: A Very Small Nudge
9. From: Jake.Andrews@brownacreusa.com
To: j.sheppard@gmail.com
Subject: Women’s Personal Defense Training
Attached: Course Guide.pdf
------
Sheppard,
Give this a look, get it back to me by the end of next week: Never Going Home
10. Teyla does not know what to make of the Earth people at first: Finding the Shape of Me and You
11. When he’s writing his will, John knows that people won’t get it: 5 people John included in his will and what he left them
12. John recognizes the look on Dave’s face when he’s introduced to Ronon; he doesn’t need to hear the way Dave repeats ‘civilian contractor’ to know what he’s thinking: 5 things John would tell his brother if he could
13. John’s been through enough traumatic experiences in Pegasus that he’s actually managed to forget that he’s the only member of his team who’s never been swept up by a Wraith culling beam: Paid In Forward Motion
14. Someone was shaking him awake, a hand on his bare shoulder: Don't Have To Tell
15. Inara found Zoë in the kitchen, late into the night, when everyone was asleep, or at least in their own beds: Wedding Day (the Behind-the-Scenes remix)
16. It’s the Colonel’s first mission since he got captured and tortured by the Genii and Laura’s team is up to accompany them: Old-Fashioned Methods
17. There are days when Aiden could cheerfully strangle Dr McKay; days when the natives get a little too grabby over Atlantis' chief scientist and Aiden - well, he's too well trained to need to think before he gets between them and McKay, but he thinks about thinking about it: Squidge In
18. Evan dated the same girl all through his senior year in high school: Less Like Freedom Than You Might Assume
19. “Okay, stop.” Laura grabs Evan's arm, pulling him to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk: Promotion Day
20. “Some days, I really hate this planet,” John grumbles, pulling his hat further down over his ears: Affection Through Knitwear
21. Lorne gives it another three hours before he makes an executive decision that their Genii contact isn’t coming and dials Atlantis: 5 times someone on Atlantis wished they weren't
22. Rodney finds John at 1.30 in the morning, which is weird enough on its own, because John is always the one who comes to find him late at night, past the time everyone but the security patrol are tucked up in bed: Soon Be Safe And Warm
23. There’s a whole long list of things that John is finding hard about being back on Earth, but, honestly, most of the top few are too big to think about; the only one that doesn’t make him feel like he left behind something vital when he stepped through the gate is how it’s never quiet: Early Morning Freak-Out
24. “What do you want me to say?” Sheppard asked when Evan finished stumbling through an apology for locking up Teyla and nearly shooting Sheppard, his throat tight with guilt and shame: Two Weeks
25. They broke it off when they got back to Earth, the first time, by mutual agreement: Coming Around Again
Interestingly, the next story on this list would have been my last 14 valentines story, which means, vaguely scarily, that I've written 25 fics since the middle of February, not including the time-stamp ficlets from a couple of months ago. No wonder I never seem to have any time when I'm not sitting at a computer!
An awful lot of my first lines are set up lines, rather than dropping you into the middle of what's going on. Maybe because I often start with a first line that appears in my head with no context, and go from there; maybe because I'm not very confident when it comes to giving enough context for things to make sense if I start in the middle. And if things are starting in the middle, they tend to start with dialogue, I'm not sure why.
The one thing I really noticed is: I think of myself as someone who writes pretty much exclusively John/Cam. Actually, of the 25 fics here, 8 are John/Cam, 6 are SGA gen, 4 are John/Rodney, 2 are SGA femslash, both with Teyla pairings, 2 are Lorne/Mitchell, two are Numb3rs slashy gen, and 1 is Firefly. So really, actually, not so much.
Post the first line from your 25 most recent fanfics and try to find a pattern.
1. People reacted to being told they were going to Atlantis in a variety of ways, ranging from squealing excitement to screaming terror: Never As Bad As Anticipated (Until It Is)
2. John’s not surprised, when he climbs out of his 302, to find Cam waiting for them, white-faced and grinning on his crutches: Straight Line Home
3. Cam’s in the conference room with Lorne, Zelenka, Keller and Caldwell when Chuck knocks very politely and steps inside to say, “I thought you might like to know, sir, the Daedalus just appeared on our sensors": Slow Road to Nowhere
4. “Please tell me you’re not planning on falling off that,” Rodney says from the porch, and John thinks they’re both lucky that his Air Force trained hyper-awareness hasn’t gone away yet, or he really would have fallen off the ladder: Saturday Afternoon
5. They’ve known each other for longer than John’s known anyone, except for his brother: 50 things about John Sheppard and Cam Mitchell
6. The letter’s three weeks old when it finally reaches Colby in Afghanistan, post-marked Colorado where he can’t remember ever knowing anyone: 5 crossovers Colby Granger was never in
7. “You’re late,” Kavanagh said when John finally made it to the jumper bay at three minutes past seven: Necessary Things (settling the balance)
8. “I see we’re going out with Major Lorne’s team again,” Dr Metcalfe says when Laura hands out the mission briefings at Monday morning team breakfast: A Very Small Nudge
9. From: Jake.Andrews@brownacreusa.com
To: j.sheppard@gmail.com
Subject: Women’s Personal Defense Training
Attached: Course Guide.pdf
------
Sheppard,
Give this a look, get it back to me by the end of next week: Never Going Home
10. Teyla does not know what to make of the Earth people at first: Finding the Shape of Me and You
11. When he’s writing his will, John knows that people won’t get it: 5 people John included in his will and what he left them
12. John recognizes the look on Dave’s face when he’s introduced to Ronon; he doesn’t need to hear the way Dave repeats ‘civilian contractor’ to know what he’s thinking: 5 things John would tell his brother if he could
13. John’s been through enough traumatic experiences in Pegasus that he’s actually managed to forget that he’s the only member of his team who’s never been swept up by a Wraith culling beam: Paid In Forward Motion
14. Someone was shaking him awake, a hand on his bare shoulder: Don't Have To Tell
15. Inara found Zoë in the kitchen, late into the night, when everyone was asleep, or at least in their own beds: Wedding Day (the Behind-the-Scenes remix)
16. It’s the Colonel’s first mission since he got captured and tortured by the Genii and Laura’s team is up to accompany them: Old-Fashioned Methods
17. There are days when Aiden could cheerfully strangle Dr McKay; days when the natives get a little too grabby over Atlantis' chief scientist and Aiden - well, he's too well trained to need to think before he gets between them and McKay, but he thinks about thinking about it: Squidge In
18. Evan dated the same girl all through his senior year in high school: Less Like Freedom Than You Might Assume
19. “Okay, stop.” Laura grabs Evan's arm, pulling him to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk: Promotion Day
20. “Some days, I really hate this planet,” John grumbles, pulling his hat further down over his ears: Affection Through Knitwear
21. Lorne gives it another three hours before he makes an executive decision that their Genii contact isn’t coming and dials Atlantis: 5 times someone on Atlantis wished they weren't
22. Rodney finds John at 1.30 in the morning, which is weird enough on its own, because John is always the one who comes to find him late at night, past the time everyone but the security patrol are tucked up in bed: Soon Be Safe And Warm
23. There’s a whole long list of things that John is finding hard about being back on Earth, but, honestly, most of the top few are too big to think about; the only one that doesn’t make him feel like he left behind something vital when he stepped through the gate is how it’s never quiet: Early Morning Freak-Out
24. “What do you want me to say?” Sheppard asked when Evan finished stumbling through an apology for locking up Teyla and nearly shooting Sheppard, his throat tight with guilt and shame: Two Weeks
25. They broke it off when they got back to Earth, the first time, by mutual agreement: Coming Around Again
Interestingly, the next story on this list would have been my last 14 valentines story, which means, vaguely scarily, that I've written 25 fics since the middle of February, not including the time-stamp ficlets from a couple of months ago. No wonder I never seem to have any time when I'm not sitting at a computer!
An awful lot of my first lines are set up lines, rather than dropping you into the middle of what's going on. Maybe because I often start with a first line that appears in my head with no context, and go from there; maybe because I'm not very confident when it comes to giving enough context for things to make sense if I start in the middle. And if things are starting in the middle, they tend to start with dialogue, I'm not sure why.
The one thing I really noticed is: I think of myself as someone who writes pretty much exclusively John/Cam. Actually, of the 25 fics here, 8 are John/Cam, 6 are SGA gen, 4 are John/Rodney, 2 are SGA femslash, both with Teyla pairings, 2 are Lorne/Mitchell, two are Numb3rs slashy gen, and 1 is Firefly. So really, actually, not so much.