Featured Story of January: Lessons and Obsessions

Jan 16, 2011 13:20

Hello H&V!

Wow, this is so unexpected! I hadn't prepared a speech.

Well, needless to say I'm quite honored. I've finally reached the point where the time since I finished Lessons and Obsessions has almost met the time that it took me to write it. Having been away for it this long, it's such a treat for it to be brought back to my attention in such a ( Read more... )

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elainemalfoy January 16 2011, 21:18:22 UTC
Hello and Congrats on being featured! I'm really intrigued by your writing process. It appears that you put a lot of time and thought into your writing, and I really admire that.

I unfortunately have not read Lessons and Obsessions yet because I'm not a registered member at Hawthorne and Vine and I'm not sure if anyone can just join, or if it's posted somewhere else. (I really need to find a way to get to it though, haha.) I did, however, read your Ron/Draco fic, Hard Knocks, from the dracobigbang and I thought I'd snag a chance to gush to you and pick your brain a little if that's okay with you(and if it's allowed). I'm both a huge Dramione and Ron/Draco fan because I also am really interested in the dynamic between characters who dislike eachother. That said I was blown away by your characterization in that fic, I think it's some of the best I've seen in the pairing. It was realistic and consistent from start to finish I could just imagine Draco and Ron acting the way they did if put in that situation.

I do have an actual question on a related note; characterization I feel is one of my personal weak points as an author because I think I get caught in the trap of caricatures. What is your process of fleshing the characters out and capturing the nuances? I'm really sorry, this turned out to be much longer than I expected! :)

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lennanightrun January 16 2011, 21:53:15 UTC
Hi and thanks!

If you're interested in reading it, links to all my fic, including L&O can be found on my journal, here: http://lennanightrun.livejournal.com/56747.html

Another person who's read Hard Knocks! I'm so happy! That dynamic between characters like Hermione/Draco and Ron/Draco is exactly why I've chosen those pairings to write. I chose Ron for DBB as a challenge to myself, and man was it challenging! But I ended up being very happy with it in the end, and it's great to know that other people liked it, too :)

"That said I was blown away by your characterization in that fic, I think it's some of the best I've seen in the pairing."--You could not give me a bigger compliment! I am grinning from ear to ear right now. You're going to make me blush!

As to your question (and no worries, long is good :)) :

That's a really daunting problem to deal with, and I can totally see why it can be tough. I guess the way I approach it is to try to start from canon, and then slip into that "what if" process. If it helps, you could even make a list of major characteristics each character has in canon (I tend to do this in my head unconsciously). Then, take a pairing like Draco and Ron:

I started chapter one with the first crucial "what if" scenario: What if Ron was attracted to Draco? Well, some things that might be on the list are that Ron is very insecure because he's living in the shadow of five pretty successful brothers plus his best friend is Harry Potter. That's really intimidating. We know that he's also insecure about the fact that his family is really poor, and thus in canon loathes Malfoy for always making digs about that to get under his skin.

So where does the "what if" come in, considering that information? Ron hates Draco and is ridiculously insecure about how much Draco has compared with him, and how he's always rubbing that in his face. So being attracted to him is going to be torture. The attraction might also even stem from that insecurity in some way; maybe a part of him idolizes Draco for having all the things that he wants? It doesn't help that Draco is devilishly handsome ;D

Then in my loose plot when they end up back at school together, tensions are going to be very high. Ron thought he'd finally escaped Draco, and now things are like they used to be. Ron, with his newfound perspective from the war, tries to be nice to Draco. When he's met with the same ridicule and anger that he used to be, he reverts and gets angry, too. And because Draco's got a lot of baggage from what happened to him during the War, it all spirals from there. The jibes and the violence come back.

Then the second "what if" comes into play: What if Draco was attracted to Ron?" If you're going to have a story build around a relationship between two people who dislike/hate each other, those two questions are going to be central to your characterization. The violence between the two of them in this case eventually made everything boil over, so you end up with that kiss.

A third "what if" option could be anything from "What if Draco regrets doing it?" to "What if Ron gets too insecure about it to try to get more?" to "What if something happens that would make them kiss again?"

And you go from there.

I hope that's helpful. I think that if you just take it slow and give yourself time to consider all of the options, it gets easier. It may seem like it comes easily to me, but it really doesn't a lot of the time. I had to throw out a lot of scenes because they felt out of character.

Best of luck, and thank you again for the compliments! :)

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elainemalfoy January 16 2011, 23:11:04 UTC
Oooh thank you for the link, I'm adding it to my faves :)

And thank you so much for all of your helpful advice. I really appreciate that, you're amazing.
<3

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lennanightrun January 16 2011, 23:17:35 UTC
I really hope it helps! Like I said, it's definitely harder than some people make it seem.

Definitely let me know your thoughts on my other stuff if you have time to :)

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elainemalfoy January 17 2011, 00:47:34 UTC
I am sort of working on a Dramione at the moment, and I'm definitely going to take a step back and take those things into account. As I've started to attempt writing longer fics, I'm realizing it is absolutely harder than it seems. It makes me appreciate authors who do it right and make it look effortless twice as much!

I will definitely let you know (be prepared for more gushing). I'm always so excited when I find a good author who writes my favorite pairings :D

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lennanightrun January 17 2011, 00:54:57 UTC
Well, you won't see me object to gushing!

Definitely consider making some lists of characteristics if it's not a pain. I think it could really help. You can also find good resources online like wikis that can give you helpful info.

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elainemalfoy January 17 2011, 01:14:22 UTC
I definitely will, do you mind if I add you btw? :)

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lennanightrun January 17 2011, 01:18:25 UTC
Don't mind at all! You seem to possess a high awesomeness quotient :D

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elainemalfoy January 17 2011, 01:22:12 UTC
Lol, as do you!

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