Dear Yuletide Author
I must be crazy for actually doing this, but anyway, here is my letter.
EEP!
Dear Yuletide Author,
First of all I would like to thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy life to write something for me. You're awesome and amazing and I hope you know how much I appreciate what you're doing.
This is my first time doing Yuletide and I'm incredibly nervous about it, but I think it's going to be great. Still, I completely understand how it's a bit daunting writing something for someone you don't know so I'd like to help you out with that as much as possible by telling you a little bit about myself. For starters, I'm a Canadian teacher who moved to London even though I'd NEVER EVEN VISITED. If you've poked around my lj at all it's probably clear that I love both Doctor Who and Gilmore Girls and that I'm pretty shippy and excitable. What's possibly not as clear, is that I have a wide variety of fandomy loves although I don't post about them all nearly as much as I should. A few years ago, I didn't have cable and I hardly watched any television at all, now I seem to be making up for it because my list of shows that I watch/love has grown to insane heights. I figured I'd list for you what those shows are since it'll give you an idea of the types of things I like, which hopefully will help you out when it comes to figuring out what you're going to write.
Current Shows:
Pan Am, Once Upon a Time, Hart of Dixie, Being Erica, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, Parenthood, Revenge, Ringer, Community, The Big Bang Theory, Vampire Diaries, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, Doctor Who,
Watching but am on the fence about whether I like them or not: 2 Broke Girls, The New Girl, Suburgatory
No longer on air but I've watched and loved:
The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Charmed, Roswell, Early Edition, Lois and Clark, Lost, Life Unexpected, Once and Again, Smallville, Friends, Sunset Beach, Road to Avonlea, Scarecrow and Mrs King, Sarah Jane Adventures,
I'm also a HUGE fan of romantic comedies and i'm a complete sap when it comes to anything remotely relationshippy. I get very invested, quite easily.
Okay, now that you've got a bit of background on me, here is a list of things I generally like in fic/books I read/shows I watch: character development, angst (as long as there's a happy ending), UST, interesting storytelling, comic relief, hurt/comfort, fluff. general, missing scenes. I'm not a big fan of violence or anything gory and I scare easily (I can't watch horror films and too much suspense can give me nightmares). I'm fine with smut so long as it's consensual and the characters are all overage and have been for the duration of the work (ie if they were portrayed as children for any length of time in the original work then I'm not going to want to read smut about them) I generally read and write mostly het relationships and I am typically someone who picks canon pairings.
Alright, that was all pretty general so let's get down to the specifics of my requests.
Fandom 1: Being Erica
I discovered this show relatively recently and watched three seasons of it in about two weeks. It's funny because shippy as I am by personality, there isn't really any one pairing in this show that I'm really drawn to. I quite liked Erica and Ethan at first, but I also really like Adam and Kai. I'm happy as long as she's happy, if that makes sense?
I think one of the reasons for this is that it wasn't shippiness that drew me into the show (which is unusual since about 80% of the time shipping is what keeps me watching something, the rest of the time it's great writing or a premise I find fascinating). Anyway, I really like shows that make me think and feel and Being Erica does that from the start.
Naturally, being a big Doctor Who fan, the Time Travel aspect of the show instantly appealed to me, but what hooked me and kept me watching was the way in which the story lines were written. I love that while on the surface the show seems to be about someone going into their past to fix their mistakes, in actuality it's about learning from those mistakes and becoming a better person because of it. I have genuinely enjoyed watching Erica's Journey as she's become more self aware, more compassionate, more understanding of those around her.
I've particularly enjoyed watching Erica get closer and closer to becoming a doctor herself, while still being very much the same person we met in the very first episode. I love how far she's come and I get really excited whenever the show reveals more about her new role.
Recently I've begun to really ship Julianne/Brent because they're utterly adorable together and I've always loved situations where characters don't get along because they're secretly in love. It makes me happy, I have no other explanation.
The dynamic between Erica and Doctor Tom though is really the heart of the show and I love their father/daughter like relationship. I love that Doctor Tom seems to be more personally invested in Erica than in his other patients. I've always enjoyed the episodes where we learn more about his background so I've been tickled by all the development this season.
So what kind of fic would I like to see for this fandom? I'd love something where Sarah was Erica's patient, or something where Erica had to take on a patient entirely on her own (with full time travelling abilities). Or a glimpse of Erica in the future, or something in her past. Anything to do with Leo is always gut wrenching but fascinating, and so are the dynamics between Erica and her family. Another thing I'd love to see would be Erica telling Julianne the truth about what she does - I think her reaction would be fascinating. To throw in one last curve ball, I've always kind of wondered what would have happened if Erica had let herself "go there" with Cassidy.
Really, I'm pretty open when it comes to fic for Being Erica. There's so little of it out there that literally anything would make me happy.
*ETA: Just to clarify, I am fully caught up on this show and will be keeping up right until the finale, so there's no need to worry about spoilers (Someone pointed out that whether I've seen S4 is ambiguous from this post).
#####
Fandom 2: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Another recent discovery for me though the show is far from recent. Sure, it was made in the 80's so most of the fashions are completely out of date and the quality isn't near what I'm used to but that doesn't matter because at it's heart are two remarkably wonderful characters with so much chemistry it practically explodes from the screen. I grew up on 80's cop dramas/murder mysteries, so the format of the show was pretty familiar and formulaic, but what I really loved was how shippy the show went. Really, SMK is a shippers dream, isn't it?
I adore Amanda and Lee and I think that for the most part, the show got every note of their relationship down perfectly - at least until the final season when they had to juggle things around Kate Jackson's illness. But aside from that, this show is an absolute treat for shippers. They never resort to contrived story lines to keep them apart, nor do they draw out the built up for longer than was necessary. They let it build naturally and it worked so well.
Beyond the dynamic between Amanda and Lee, I also love the shenanigans involved in keeping the secret from her family. Anytime Dottie get's involved, or starts talking about Amanda's love life while Lee is hiding in her garden usually gets a laugh out of me.
My fic wish list for this fandom is also pretty general. Obviously I'd want it to be Amanda/Lee, but in terms of story I'm going to be pretty easy to please. Anything that has to do with the UST between them before they get together would tickle me immensely, particularly something where they're separated through some unfortunate circumstance or one of them is ill/injured/in danger (so hurt/comfort I suppose). Another thing I'd love to read about would be a story in which one or the other or both of them come to realise their feelings for each other. If you want to do something post getting together I'd love to read a take on the early days of their relationship, or the after affects of the events of either Stemwinder or Night Crawler. It always both amused and infuriated me that they didn't tell her family or their friends about their marriage, and I was so sad when I finished watching the series and that still hadn't really happened so anything to do with those unresolved issues would also be fabulous. Anything where Lee interacts with Dottie or the boys is made of win in my eyes!
#####
Fandom 3: Anne of Green Gables.
Ahh Anne. Growing up she was one of my most beloved fictional characters and to this day she still is. I love Anne for so many reasons I'm not even sure where to begin. For starters, I was always envious of her red hair! I also love how brave and imaginative she is and how self sufficient. I love her strength and how some of the things that as a child were flaws became her strengths as an adult. I love how her unique outlook on the world gradually changed the way the people around her saw the world and I especially love how she managed to enchant pretty much everyone she ever came into contact with - even the most curmudgeony of people!
Being the shipper that I am, I am also utterly in love with Anne and Gilbert. Theirs is the type of relationship I love and I've found that a lot of my other ships since have had a lot of similarities with Anne and Gilbert. I love the back and forth between them. The obviousness with which the reader/viewer can see that Gilbert likes Anne which is why he picks on her in the first place and Anne's resolute stubbornness in forgiving him are things that I've always loved about them. And then of course there's Anne's continued denial of her feelings.
As far as fic goes I'll be happy with just about anything that gives me another little taste of Anne's world, be it a random experience in her childhood, an exploration of her relationship with Marilla or Matthew, a glimpse of some part of her romance with Gilbert… any and everything would make me happy. I love both the books and the movies, (though I generally forget/ignore the fact that the 3rd movie exists), so I'm not picky about which 'canon' you decide to go with so long as it's consistent.
#####
Phew, well, I think that about covers it. Thank you again for taking the time to do this for me. I can't wait to see what surprises are in store for December. Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
LorelaiSquared
EEP!
Dear Yuletide Author,
First of all I would like to thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy life to write something for me. You're awesome and amazing and I hope you know how much I appreciate what you're doing.
This is my first time doing Yuletide and I'm incredibly nervous about it, but I think it's going to be great. Still, I completely understand how it's a bit daunting writing something for someone you don't know so I'd like to help you out with that as much as possible by telling you a little bit about myself. For starters, I'm a Canadian teacher who moved to London even though I'd NEVER EVEN VISITED. If you've poked around my lj at all it's probably clear that I love both Doctor Who and Gilmore Girls and that I'm pretty shippy and excitable. What's possibly not as clear, is that I have a wide variety of fandomy loves although I don't post about them all nearly as much as I should. A few years ago, I didn't have cable and I hardly watched any television at all, now I seem to be making up for it because my list of shows that I watch/love has grown to insane heights. I figured I'd list for you what those shows are since it'll give you an idea of the types of things I like, which hopefully will help you out when it comes to figuring out what you're going to write.
Current Shows:
Pan Am, Once Upon a Time, Hart of Dixie, Being Erica, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, Parenthood, Revenge, Ringer, Community, The Big Bang Theory, Vampire Diaries, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, Doctor Who,
Watching but am on the fence about whether I like them or not: 2 Broke Girls, The New Girl, Suburgatory
No longer on air but I've watched and loved:
The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, Pushing Daisies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Charmed, Roswell, Early Edition, Lois and Clark, Lost, Life Unexpected, Once and Again, Smallville, Friends, Sunset Beach, Road to Avonlea, Scarecrow and Mrs King, Sarah Jane Adventures,
I'm also a HUGE fan of romantic comedies and i'm a complete sap when it comes to anything remotely relationshippy. I get very invested, quite easily.
Okay, now that you've got a bit of background on me, here is a list of things I generally like in fic/books I read/shows I watch: character development, angst (as long as there's a happy ending), UST, interesting storytelling, comic relief, hurt/comfort, fluff. general, missing scenes. I'm not a big fan of violence or anything gory and I scare easily (I can't watch horror films and too much suspense can give me nightmares). I'm fine with smut so long as it's consensual and the characters are all overage and have been for the duration of the work (ie if they were portrayed as children for any length of time in the original work then I'm not going to want to read smut about them) I generally read and write mostly het relationships and I am typically someone who picks canon pairings.
Alright, that was all pretty general so let's get down to the specifics of my requests.
Fandom 1: Being Erica
I discovered this show relatively recently and watched three seasons of it in about two weeks. It's funny because shippy as I am by personality, there isn't really any one pairing in this show that I'm really drawn to. I quite liked Erica and Ethan at first, but I also really like Adam and Kai. I'm happy as long as she's happy, if that makes sense?
I think one of the reasons for this is that it wasn't shippiness that drew me into the show (which is unusual since about 80% of the time shipping is what keeps me watching something, the rest of the time it's great writing or a premise I find fascinating). Anyway, I really like shows that make me think and feel and Being Erica does that from the start.
Naturally, being a big Doctor Who fan, the Time Travel aspect of the show instantly appealed to me, but what hooked me and kept me watching was the way in which the story lines were written. I love that while on the surface the show seems to be about someone going into their past to fix their mistakes, in actuality it's about learning from those mistakes and becoming a better person because of it. I have genuinely enjoyed watching Erica's Journey as she's become more self aware, more compassionate, more understanding of those around her.
I've particularly enjoyed watching Erica get closer and closer to becoming a doctor herself, while still being very much the same person we met in the very first episode. I love how far she's come and I get really excited whenever the show reveals more about her new role.
Recently I've begun to really ship Julianne/Brent because they're utterly adorable together and I've always loved situations where characters don't get along because they're secretly in love. It makes me happy, I have no other explanation.
The dynamic between Erica and Doctor Tom though is really the heart of the show and I love their father/daughter like relationship. I love that Doctor Tom seems to be more personally invested in Erica than in his other patients. I've always enjoyed the episodes where we learn more about his background so I've been tickled by all the development this season.
So what kind of fic would I like to see for this fandom? I'd love something where Sarah was Erica's patient, or something where Erica had to take on a patient entirely on her own (with full time travelling abilities). Or a glimpse of Erica in the future, or something in her past. Anything to do with Leo is always gut wrenching but fascinating, and so are the dynamics between Erica and her family. Another thing I'd love to see would be Erica telling Julianne the truth about what she does - I think her reaction would be fascinating. To throw in one last curve ball, I've always kind of wondered what would have happened if Erica had let herself "go there" with Cassidy.
Really, I'm pretty open when it comes to fic for Being Erica. There's so little of it out there that literally anything would make me happy.
*ETA: Just to clarify, I am fully caught up on this show and will be keeping up right until the finale, so there's no need to worry about spoilers (Someone pointed out that whether I've seen S4 is ambiguous from this post).
#####
Fandom 2: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Another recent discovery for me though the show is far from recent. Sure, it was made in the 80's so most of the fashions are completely out of date and the quality isn't near what I'm used to but that doesn't matter because at it's heart are two remarkably wonderful characters with so much chemistry it practically explodes from the screen. I grew up on 80's cop dramas/murder mysteries, so the format of the show was pretty familiar and formulaic, but what I really loved was how shippy the show went. Really, SMK is a shippers dream, isn't it?
I adore Amanda and Lee and I think that for the most part, the show got every note of their relationship down perfectly - at least until the final season when they had to juggle things around Kate Jackson's illness. But aside from that, this show is an absolute treat for shippers. They never resort to contrived story lines to keep them apart, nor do they draw out the built up for longer than was necessary. They let it build naturally and it worked so well.
Beyond the dynamic between Amanda and Lee, I also love the shenanigans involved in keeping the secret from her family. Anytime Dottie get's involved, or starts talking about Amanda's love life while Lee is hiding in her garden usually gets a laugh out of me.
My fic wish list for this fandom is also pretty general. Obviously I'd want it to be Amanda/Lee, but in terms of story I'm going to be pretty easy to please. Anything that has to do with the UST between them before they get together would tickle me immensely, particularly something where they're separated through some unfortunate circumstance or one of them is ill/injured/in danger (so hurt/comfort I suppose). Another thing I'd love to read about would be a story in which one or the other or both of them come to realise their feelings for each other. If you want to do something post getting together I'd love to read a take on the early days of their relationship, or the after affects of the events of either Stemwinder or Night Crawler. It always both amused and infuriated me that they didn't tell her family or their friends about their marriage, and I was so sad when I finished watching the series and that still hadn't really happened so anything to do with those unresolved issues would also be fabulous. Anything where Lee interacts with Dottie or the boys is made of win in my eyes!
#####
Fandom 3: Anne of Green Gables.
Ahh Anne. Growing up she was one of my most beloved fictional characters and to this day she still is. I love Anne for so many reasons I'm not even sure where to begin. For starters, I was always envious of her red hair! I also love how brave and imaginative she is and how self sufficient. I love her strength and how some of the things that as a child were flaws became her strengths as an adult. I love how her unique outlook on the world gradually changed the way the people around her saw the world and I especially love how she managed to enchant pretty much everyone she ever came into contact with - even the most curmudgeony of people!
Being the shipper that I am, I am also utterly in love with Anne and Gilbert. Theirs is the type of relationship I love and I've found that a lot of my other ships since have had a lot of similarities with Anne and Gilbert. I love the back and forth between them. The obviousness with which the reader/viewer can see that Gilbert likes Anne which is why he picks on her in the first place and Anne's resolute stubbornness in forgiving him are things that I've always loved about them. And then of course there's Anne's continued denial of her feelings.
As far as fic goes I'll be happy with just about anything that gives me another little taste of Anne's world, be it a random experience in her childhood, an exploration of her relationship with Marilla or Matthew, a glimpse of some part of her romance with Gilbert… any and everything would make me happy. I love both the books and the movies, (though I generally forget/ignore the fact that the 3rd movie exists), so I'm not picky about which 'canon' you decide to go with so long as it's consistent.
#####
Phew, well, I think that about covers it. Thank you again for taking the time to do this for me. I can't wait to see what surprises are in store for December. Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
LorelaiSquared