A couple of memes
Gacked from a_t_rain:
The Fanfic Writer's Meme
Keyboard or biro?
I'm all about writing things out longhand. I swear I think differently when I write on paper than when I type. Occasionally, if I know I'm only going to write a very short scene or two, I'll type it from the start--ditto for short papers at school, or ones I don't particularly care about--but most of the editing that I do happens when I'm typing up something I've handwritten, so if I want a fic or a paper to get edited, y'know, at all, I hand-write it first.
Beta or no beta?
Beta, for sure.
Plot?
Like I'm actually capable of writing anything without it. The only one-shots I've ever managed have either been deleted scenes from a longer fic that just happen to stand alone well, or could very well be the beginning to an extremely plotty chaptered fic. (See Any Means Necessary for the latter.)
Title?
Definitely. I try not to make them suck, but it's hard to ignore the fact that my first (and ongoing!) WiP has a lame-ass foreign language title. I began writing it four years ago, when I was new to fandom and unwise, but nonetheless.
Smushy or smutty?
A little of both? It really depends on the fic.
Summary?
Again, definitely. And again about trying to make them not suck.
Funniest fic?
This long, chaptered fic I cowrote with a friend, but cannot mention the name of here, as we are trying to be sneakily anonymous. Tragic.
Most popular fic?
Same as above, by a long shot. The most popular fic I've written alone? Crepúsculo.
Best and Worst?
Best: In spite of the fact that I started writing it long ago and there are sections of it that are really rough, I've got to say, I really like Crepúsculo. Worst: A one-shot called Malfoy's Feet. I don't think it's bad, per se, but it's not exactly good, either.
Coulda been Contenders?
Hmm. I've had this fic in my head for a long time, where Harry gets killed off in Continental Europe and Hermione has an affair with Draco but doesn't realize it's him (he's Polyjuiced or something), but every time I try to write it (with my co-partner-in-fic-writing-crime, of course) it comes out all wrong. Eh well.
Strengths
Plottiness, character development, and the occasional burst of ridiculous humor.
Weaknesses?
Losing plot-threads along the line, trying to force the story in ways it doesn't want to go (I'm trying to get better at this), and sometimes going over the top with the humor. The first fic I ever co-wrote comes to mind, although parts of it I still think are hilarious.
Dirty Little Secrets?
I'm a huge slash fan but I still kind of like Draco/Ginny. Shhh.
Which, in my case, should really be called the "Post Less Than Five Sentences from Your WiPs Meme"
from Chapter Eight of Crepúsculo, which Currently Sucks and Shall Be Rewritten: She thought she’d forgotten these nightmares long ago, or at least banished them, but they’d returned no less potent for their years of absence. In them she would awaken and find him sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her.
from the currently untitled but almost finished lameos_maximus fic: Harry had been at work for less than thirty seconds before the first memo of the day accosted him. Almost a new record, he thought grumpily.
from the seventh year epic that will eventually get written: Ten minutes before midnight on June the fourth, Draco Malfoy was huddled under a bridge in Sunderland. It was pouring rain and he hadn't eaten anything in the better part of two days, but he wasn't paying much attention to his shivering or to his stomach. His eyes were fixed firmly on his watch. In exactly ten minutes, it would be his seventeenth birthday.
The Fanfic Writer's Meme
Keyboard or biro?
I'm all about writing things out longhand. I swear I think differently when I write on paper than when I type. Occasionally, if I know I'm only going to write a very short scene or two, I'll type it from the start--ditto for short papers at school, or ones I don't particularly care about--but most of the editing that I do happens when I'm typing up something I've handwritten, so if I want a fic or a paper to get edited, y'know, at all, I hand-write it first.
Beta or no beta?
Beta, for sure.
Plot?
Like I'm actually capable of writing anything without it. The only one-shots I've ever managed have either been deleted scenes from a longer fic that just happen to stand alone well, or could very well be the beginning to an extremely plotty chaptered fic. (See Any Means Necessary for the latter.)
Title?
Definitely. I try not to make them suck, but it's hard to ignore the fact that my first (and ongoing!) WiP has a lame-ass foreign language title. I began writing it four years ago, when I was new to fandom and unwise, but nonetheless.
Smushy or smutty?
A little of both? It really depends on the fic.
Summary?
Again, definitely. And again about trying to make them not suck.
Funniest fic?
This long, chaptered fic I cowrote with a friend, but cannot mention the name of here, as we are trying to be sneakily anonymous. Tragic.
Most popular fic?
Same as above, by a long shot. The most popular fic I've written alone? Crepúsculo.
Best and Worst?
Best: In spite of the fact that I started writing it long ago and there are sections of it that are really rough, I've got to say, I really like Crepúsculo. Worst: A one-shot called Malfoy's Feet. I don't think it's bad, per se, but it's not exactly good, either.
Coulda been Contenders?
Hmm. I've had this fic in my head for a long time, where Harry gets killed off in Continental Europe and Hermione has an affair with Draco but doesn't realize it's him (he's Polyjuiced or something), but every time I try to write it (with my co-partner-in-fic-writing-crime, of course) it comes out all wrong. Eh well.
Strengths
Plottiness, character development, and the occasional burst of ridiculous humor.
Weaknesses?
Losing plot-threads along the line, trying to force the story in ways it doesn't want to go (I'm trying to get better at this), and sometimes going over the top with the humor. The first fic I ever co-wrote comes to mind, although parts of it I still think are hilarious.
Dirty Little Secrets?
I'm a huge slash fan but I still kind of like Draco/Ginny. Shhh.
Which, in my case, should really be called the "Post Less Than Five Sentences from Your WiPs Meme"
from Chapter Eight of Crepúsculo, which Currently Sucks and Shall Be Rewritten: She thought she’d forgotten these nightmares long ago, or at least banished them, but they’d returned no less potent for their years of absence. In them she would awaken and find him sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her.
from the currently untitled but almost finished lameos_maximus fic: Harry had been at work for less than thirty seconds before the first memo of the day accosted him. Almost a new record, he thought grumpily.
from the seventh year epic that will eventually get written: Ten minutes before midnight on June the fourth, Draco Malfoy was huddled under a bridge in Sunderland. It was pouring rain and he hadn't eaten anything in the better part of two days, but he wasn't paying much attention to his shivering or to his stomach. His eyes were fixed firmly on his watch. In exactly ten minutes, it would be his seventeenth birthday.