Dear Yuletide Writer - 2014
Dear Yuletide Writer,
First off, thank you for agreeing to do this! I love getting (and giving) stories, and this is my sixth Yuletide. I hope the assignment doesn't give you TOO many fits.
Warning: I am one of the long letter-writers. Optional details are optional, but I tend to be one of the people who always wants MORE information, so I provide plenty. Also, in case this isn't enough, previous letters can be found under the "dear yuletide writer" tag. Also of interest may be my "recs" tag.
General wants/don't wants: Stories don’t need to be super sappy and sugary/fluffy, but please don’t get all grim and dark. Bittersweet can work if there are hopeful tinges. I like humor, and I don't think I do a good job of writing it - sparkling snappy dialogue always works! Holiday-themed is fine if that’s where the story takes you, but not required. I generally prefer het or gen. I'd rather not have too-explicit sex for Yuletide, but romance is always in - ESPECIALLY if you're going a holiday route because I love Christmas and mistletoe. (That being said, most of this year's prompts aren't really romance-oriented) The "fade to black" or implied sex is fine, or making out. I'm a fan of AU, but prefer canon-divergence or "what-if" scenarios, rather than "all the charcacters are in High School together" types. Stories where problems are solved by feminine insight/intuition are also a theme in this year's requests.
For the mystery-related prompts, I am a huge fan of "seemingly unrelated group of people trapped somewhere and discover they a) have something in common and b) can't just leave" - see Clue, see And Then There Were None. This could be really fun with #4 or #3.
I will be upfront and tell you that one of these is a long-running request BUT if we didn't match on it, it's all right - I know I will still love whatever you write for me! Fandoms are simply in the order I put them in the form.
If you're down for the Misses Clause challenge, all of my prompts/requests should be good for you!
1. Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew, Helen Corning
Story focused on Nancy Drew and Helen Corning - original Nancy, yellow spine Nancy, or Files Nancy
Helen Corning - the sidekick before George and Bess came on the scene, last seen as a married woman in Nancy Drew #46, The Invisible Intruder. Where has she been?
She’s pretty plucky, and generally up for assisting Nancy with an investigation as well as being social and decorative. I miss her. I like Bess and George, but I enjoy Helen more. (Please don’t bring Bess and George along.)
So, what I am looking for here is one of three things:
An adventure in the “original Nancy” era (1930s) - a time when the books were rife with bad cultural, ethnic, and racial stereotypes, but Nancy was a little more kick-ass and take charge, she was one of the social “betters” and she knew it
A return to the yellow spine days of sheath dresses and flower arranging with Nancy and Helen being suitably social girl detectives (preferably pre-Helen’s wedding, but that’s not described in the books so you could even work with that)
Update Helen Corning to the 1980s Nancy Drew Files (and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Supermysteries) universe. I don’t think she appears in any of them.
A story about Helen’s wedding would be cool, but only if they have some kind of mystery attached.
A return to Lilac Inn (either original or revised) would also be great - it’s my favorite book with Helen in it. She's also good in #2.
I also had kind of a throwaway thought about how Helen would make an excellent candidate for the debutante/secret heroine badass type of role.
If you want to stick with the original or yellow-spine, a story where Helen becomes a career girl (think Cherry Ames and Vicki Barr) would also be fun.
Feel free to drag the other characters in the tag set in as needed. I’m a Nancy Drew/Frank Hardy shipper (hey, bring him along too if you like!), so please avoid Ned Nickerson.
Romance for Nancy or Helen is not a requirement - although as long as it’s not Ned Nickerson, I won’t complain. There’s also an extra candidate for possible romance in Lilac Inn - you’ll know him when you see him.
This is a (fifth time) repeat request, but please don’t feel bad if we didn’t match on it!
2. The Scoop - Detection Club
Beryl Blackwood, "Mr. Tracey
I just want fic in this universe, with either Beryl or "Mr. Tracey" as a focal point.
All right, so there is a computer game and the novel, but the two are very close. It's written by the London Detection Club, and is very focused on the newspaper business in 1930s-ish London. The game is available at Abandonia if you need something to goof off on. I had the computer game in 1990, and might have actually written my first (very bad) fanfic for it.
For "Mr. Tracey" (Hemingway), the book/game ends with him slipping and falling to his death. Give me another ending, preferably one with a big showy trial that the papers can cover! (Or even give me another killer who is framing him...) Or tell me about "Mr. Tracey" and his double life - maybe he gets caught before killing her. I prefer for him to be covered as "Mr. Tracey". If you want to do something more focused on him, it's okay to leave Beryl out.
For Beryl, the best storyline to work in on her would be the big showy trial.
Link to the game: http://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-scoop-if
The book is available from Amazon (actually a novella)
3. Twilight Zone
Captain Farver, Janie Braden, Second Officer Wyatt
What happened to Flight 33 (from the episode "The Odyssey of Flight 33"? Did they ever land?
This is one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes. I know it has sort of a Flying Dutchman feel, but do they ever land? Does the flight get all Groundhog Day? There's an excellent novelization of it as well, available on Kindle in More Stories from the Twilight Zone. They're in the wrong area for the Bermuda Triangle (which I also find interesting) - so where did they go? You can go with either one of the men, but I definitely want Janie in there (her last name comes from the novelization).
I have included a few highlights that help define more of what I'm after:
The problem is simply that the plane is going too fast, and there is nothing within the realm of knowledge or at least logic to explain it. Unbeknownst to passenger and crew, this airplane is heading into an uncharted region well off the beaten track of commercial travelers - it's moving into The Twilight Zone.
They don’t talk about the flight much anymore-at least the pros don’t. On occasion a vastly theoretical article will appear in a Sunday supplement or mention will be made in a book on air disasters but, by and large, the world’s day-to-day catastrophes are sufficient in scope and number to take even the loss of a giant airliner off the agenda. But with the pros it’s different. It isn’t that other flight talk takes precedence. It’s simply that Flight 33, and what did or didn’t happen to it, carries a chill. Even now, just eleven months later, you never hear it mentioned in the Ops Rooms, where the pilots chain-smoke and watch the weather reports, nor in the control towers, when the tense and tired men who talk the planes down get a respite for a quick cup of coffee and a smoke. There are other cases of disappearing aircraft on record, of course.
There was the mysterious case of the two British airliners, the Star Ariel and a sister ship the Star Tiger. Tiger vanished over that sea of weeds called Sargasso which lies in the Atlantic off the Bahamas. Thirteen days later Ariel followed her into oblivion. No trace of either plane was ever found. But Flight 33 was different. It was a jet airliner. Beautiful, graceful, full of incredible power, as safe as any plane could be. And it simply had no business disappearing. It was too fine an aircraft. And whatever yanked it out of the skies was a power that couldn’t be reckoned with on a design board or in an engineer’s manual. That’s why you rarely hear of it where pilots and crews congregate. Call it superstition, vestiges of black magic. Call it that strange and unspoken mysticism that somehow, incongruously, is to be found among the highly scientific body of men who fight gravity for a living. But whatever you call it, don’t ever ask a captain, a first officer or any crew member to talk about the Trans-Ocean flight that disappeared between London and New York on a quiet, otherwise uneventful June afternoon They’ll pretend they didn’t hear you.
She was a Trans-Ocean jet airliner on her way from London to New York, on an uneventful June afternoon in the year 1961. She was last heard from six hundred miles south of Newfoundland, then somehow she was swallowed up into the vast design of things, to be searched for on land, on sea, and in the air by anguished human beings, fearful of what they’d find. You and I, however, know where she is. You and I know what happened. So if some moment … any moment … you hear the sound of jet engines flying atop the overcast … engines that sound searching and lost … engines that sound desperate … shoot up a flare. Or do something. That would be Trans-Ocean 33 trying to get home … from The Twilight Zone.
4. Two Minute Mysteries
Haledjian, Octavia
Okay, so what DO these characters do when Haledjian's not showing off how superior he is? Does Octavia ever get to eat dinner without a gruesome story? Does she ever solve a mystery?
First off, I am not expecting a pithy Two-Minute Mystery style mystery capped off with an obscure fact that "everyone" knows. (However, if that is something you want to do, go for it!) I'm more interested in off-stage interactions - Who are these people? Why does Haledjian have so many friends who use him to test alibis? Do people dread his "Jessica Fletcher" factor? (ie, when he comes to visit, dead bodies show up). If you want to modernize the crew and bring cell phones into play, go for it.
An idea would be a mystery that Octavia solves, especially if it requires a feminine touch.
This one is pretty open.
5. Perry Mason - Erle Stanley Gardner
Della Street
I want something focused MOSTLY on Della - how Della views Perry, her interactions with Paul, the cases, office minutia.
Keep in mind that I requested the books, but am also a fan of the show. I like the books because they had more space for intricate plots involving switches and traps to play out, and I like Perry's harder edge in the books. I love when Perry consults Della on female clients, and as above, appreciate problems solved with the feminine touch. I like the Perry/Della dynamic, but I also love the interactions between the three of them. Feel free to bring Paul and Perry along.
This one is also pretty open - I want the focus on Della Street.
Good luck and good writing!
DV
First off, thank you for agreeing to do this! I love getting (and giving) stories, and this is my sixth Yuletide. I hope the assignment doesn't give you TOO many fits.
Warning: I am one of the long letter-writers. Optional details are optional, but I tend to be one of the people who always wants MORE information, so I provide plenty. Also, in case this isn't enough, previous letters can be found under the "dear yuletide writer" tag. Also of interest may be my "recs" tag.
General wants/don't wants: Stories don’t need to be super sappy and sugary/fluffy, but please don’t get all grim and dark. Bittersweet can work if there are hopeful tinges. I like humor, and I don't think I do a good job of writing it - sparkling snappy dialogue always works! Holiday-themed is fine if that’s where the story takes you, but not required. I generally prefer het or gen. I'd rather not have too-explicit sex for Yuletide, but romance is always in - ESPECIALLY if you're going a holiday route because I love Christmas and mistletoe. (That being said, most of this year's prompts aren't really romance-oriented) The "fade to black" or implied sex is fine, or making out. I'm a fan of AU, but prefer canon-divergence or "what-if" scenarios, rather than "all the charcacters are in High School together" types. Stories where problems are solved by feminine insight/intuition are also a theme in this year's requests.
For the mystery-related prompts, I am a huge fan of "seemingly unrelated group of people trapped somewhere and discover they a) have something in common and b) can't just leave" - see Clue, see And Then There Were None. This could be really fun with #4 or #3.
I will be upfront and tell you that one of these is a long-running request BUT if we didn't match on it, it's all right - I know I will still love whatever you write for me! Fandoms are simply in the order I put them in the form.
If you're down for the Misses Clause challenge, all of my prompts/requests should be good for you!
1. Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew, Helen Corning
Story focused on Nancy Drew and Helen Corning - original Nancy, yellow spine Nancy, or Files Nancy
Helen Corning - the sidekick before George and Bess came on the scene, last seen as a married woman in Nancy Drew #46, The Invisible Intruder. Where has she been?
She’s pretty plucky, and generally up for assisting Nancy with an investigation as well as being social and decorative. I miss her. I like Bess and George, but I enjoy Helen more. (Please don’t bring Bess and George along.)
So, what I am looking for here is one of three things:
An adventure in the “original Nancy” era (1930s) - a time when the books were rife with bad cultural, ethnic, and racial stereotypes, but Nancy was a little more kick-ass and take charge, she was one of the social “betters” and she knew it
A return to the yellow spine days of sheath dresses and flower arranging with Nancy and Helen being suitably social girl detectives (preferably pre-Helen’s wedding, but that’s not described in the books so you could even work with that)
Update Helen Corning to the 1980s Nancy Drew Files (and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Supermysteries) universe. I don’t think she appears in any of them.
A story about Helen’s wedding would be cool, but only if they have some kind of mystery attached.
A return to Lilac Inn (either original or revised) would also be great - it’s my favorite book with Helen in it. She's also good in #2.
I also had kind of a throwaway thought about how Helen would make an excellent candidate for the debutante/secret heroine badass type of role.
If you want to stick with the original or yellow-spine, a story where Helen becomes a career girl (think Cherry Ames and Vicki Barr) would also be fun.
Feel free to drag the other characters in the tag set in as needed. I’m a Nancy Drew/Frank Hardy shipper (hey, bring him along too if you like!), so please avoid Ned Nickerson.
Romance for Nancy or Helen is not a requirement - although as long as it’s not Ned Nickerson, I won’t complain. There’s also an extra candidate for possible romance in Lilac Inn - you’ll know him when you see him.
This is a (fifth time) repeat request, but please don’t feel bad if we didn’t match on it!
2. The Scoop - Detection Club
Beryl Blackwood, "Mr. Tracey
I just want fic in this universe, with either Beryl or "Mr. Tracey" as a focal point.
All right, so there is a computer game and the novel, but the two are very close. It's written by the London Detection Club, and is very focused on the newspaper business in 1930s-ish London. The game is available at Abandonia if you need something to goof off on. I had the computer game in 1990, and might have actually written my first (very bad) fanfic for it.
For "Mr. Tracey" (Hemingway), the book/game ends with him slipping and falling to his death. Give me another ending, preferably one with a big showy trial that the papers can cover! (Or even give me another killer who is framing him...) Or tell me about "Mr. Tracey" and his double life - maybe he gets caught before killing her. I prefer for him to be covered as "Mr. Tracey". If you want to do something more focused on him, it's okay to leave Beryl out.
For Beryl, the best storyline to work in on her would be the big showy trial.
Link to the game: http://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-scoop-if
The book is available from Amazon (actually a novella)
3. Twilight Zone
Captain Farver, Janie Braden, Second Officer Wyatt
What happened to Flight 33 (from the episode "The Odyssey of Flight 33"? Did they ever land?
This is one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes. I know it has sort of a Flying Dutchman feel, but do they ever land? Does the flight get all Groundhog Day? There's an excellent novelization of it as well, available on Kindle in More Stories from the Twilight Zone. They're in the wrong area for the Bermuda Triangle (which I also find interesting) - so where did they go? You can go with either one of the men, but I definitely want Janie in there (her last name comes from the novelization).
I have included a few highlights that help define more of what I'm after:
The problem is simply that the plane is going too fast, and there is nothing within the realm of knowledge or at least logic to explain it. Unbeknownst to passenger and crew, this airplane is heading into an uncharted region well off the beaten track of commercial travelers - it's moving into The Twilight Zone.
They don’t talk about the flight much anymore-at least the pros don’t. On occasion a vastly theoretical article will appear in a Sunday supplement or mention will be made in a book on air disasters but, by and large, the world’s day-to-day catastrophes are sufficient in scope and number to take even the loss of a giant airliner off the agenda. But with the pros it’s different. It isn’t that other flight talk takes precedence. It’s simply that Flight 33, and what did or didn’t happen to it, carries a chill. Even now, just eleven months later, you never hear it mentioned in the Ops Rooms, where the pilots chain-smoke and watch the weather reports, nor in the control towers, when the tense and tired men who talk the planes down get a respite for a quick cup of coffee and a smoke. There are other cases of disappearing aircraft on record, of course.
There was the mysterious case of the two British airliners, the Star Ariel and a sister ship the Star Tiger. Tiger vanished over that sea of weeds called Sargasso which lies in the Atlantic off the Bahamas. Thirteen days later Ariel followed her into oblivion. No trace of either plane was ever found. But Flight 33 was different. It was a jet airliner. Beautiful, graceful, full of incredible power, as safe as any plane could be. And it simply had no business disappearing. It was too fine an aircraft. And whatever yanked it out of the skies was a power that couldn’t be reckoned with on a design board or in an engineer’s manual. That’s why you rarely hear of it where pilots and crews congregate. Call it superstition, vestiges of black magic. Call it that strange and unspoken mysticism that somehow, incongruously, is to be found among the highly scientific body of men who fight gravity for a living. But whatever you call it, don’t ever ask a captain, a first officer or any crew member to talk about the Trans-Ocean flight that disappeared between London and New York on a quiet, otherwise uneventful June afternoon They’ll pretend they didn’t hear you.
She was a Trans-Ocean jet airliner on her way from London to New York, on an uneventful June afternoon in the year 1961. She was last heard from six hundred miles south of Newfoundland, then somehow she was swallowed up into the vast design of things, to be searched for on land, on sea, and in the air by anguished human beings, fearful of what they’d find. You and I, however, know where she is. You and I know what happened. So if some moment … any moment … you hear the sound of jet engines flying atop the overcast … engines that sound searching and lost … engines that sound desperate … shoot up a flare. Or do something. That would be Trans-Ocean 33 trying to get home … from The Twilight Zone.
4. Two Minute Mysteries
Haledjian, Octavia
Okay, so what DO these characters do when Haledjian's not showing off how superior he is? Does Octavia ever get to eat dinner without a gruesome story? Does she ever solve a mystery?
First off, I am not expecting a pithy Two-Minute Mystery style mystery capped off with an obscure fact that "everyone" knows. (However, if that is something you want to do, go for it!) I'm more interested in off-stage interactions - Who are these people? Why does Haledjian have so many friends who use him to test alibis? Do people dread his "Jessica Fletcher" factor? (ie, when he comes to visit, dead bodies show up). If you want to modernize the crew and bring cell phones into play, go for it.
An idea would be a mystery that Octavia solves, especially if it requires a feminine touch.
This one is pretty open.
5. Perry Mason - Erle Stanley Gardner
Della Street
I want something focused MOSTLY on Della - how Della views Perry, her interactions with Paul, the cases, office minutia.
Keep in mind that I requested the books, but am also a fan of the show. I like the books because they had more space for intricate plots involving switches and traps to play out, and I like Perry's harder edge in the books. I love when Perry consults Della on female clients, and as above, appreciate problems solved with the feminine touch. I like the Perry/Della dynamic, but I also love the interactions between the three of them. Feel free to bring Paul and Perry along.
This one is also pretty open - I want the focus on Della Street.
Good luck and good writing!
DV