Dear Yuletide Writer
Hi, Yuletide Writer Person! Thank you in advance for writing for me! Between this letter and my sign-up "optional details" I've tried to tell you enough about what I like to be a useful guide to my ultimate Yuletide happiness, but not so much you feel claustrophobic. HOWEVER, please know that the thing that would make me happiest is knowing that you wrote a story that makes you happy, and had a good time doing it.
Vorkosigan
So, I love Miles and I love Gregor, and the thing that I love best is how they complement each other. I love Miles the strategist being smart and wry kind and loyal and getting into trouble, and I love Gregor doing that gentle, warm, mildly-amused, mildly-commanding thing he does. I really enjoy the way either of them could be "the smart one" at any given time. I'm a big fan of the humor of Bujold's writing, but I also like the drama and emotion and sincerity of it. I can be happy with an adventure, or a quiet conversation. And I can be happy with a slash story, or a gen story about their friendship - I'm easy that way!
The Dead Zone
I think Dead Zone started off in a great place and stayed pretty great for quite a while... but there was a point in the series where it became clear that Johnny/Sarah was the new end-game. I always felt like that was a shame - because in earlier seasons, the show had invested so heavily in the adult, kind, generous way Johnny, Sarah and Walt negotiated their weird family situation. I loved that Johnny and Walt were allowed to like each other -- to become friends and learn to trust and count on each other, and really value each other in spite of all the dynamics working against them. I'd love a story about that -- the two of them being friends (or more!) in spite of everything. If that could be accomplished without fridging or bashing Sarah in any way, all the better!
Hellspark
This is my first time requesting a Hellspark story - I don't even know what to ask for! Tocohl and Maggy are the heart of this book for me, but in all honestly I loved almost everything about it. I love the whole story of Maggy's sentience, and I loved how much she and Tocohl clearly loved each other. I loved the Tocohl's relationship with Om Im and how it was warm and close and clearly had potential, but never took over or overshadowed the mystery or the worldbuilding or Tocohl's other relationships. I loved Tocohl's competence and the entire concept of Hellsparks and Byword judges. I loved all the different cultures and how they clashed and came together. I loved the idea of the Festival of Saint Veschke, and the pins (high change! brave or crazy?!) and the way the universe felt ordered and limitless and exciting, all at the same time. Any story taking advantage of any of those things will make me wildly happy!
And all that said, here are some general things I like...
In romantic or slash stories, I like...
* happy endings
* stories with pining followed by a first-time and a happy ending
* stories with angst followed by a first-time and a happy ending
* stories where someone thinks they can't ever have the person they want... and then finds out they can
* hurt/comfort stories (if the hurt isn't too extreme; psychological hurt is fine too!)
In gen/friendship pairings, I like...
* happy endings
* stories that depend on the relationship to fuel the plot
* stories where one person admits how much they care about the other (and then vice versa) - not necessarily coming right out and saying "I care about you!" but in some way, by word or deed, showing it
* stories where they sacrifice for each other
* stories where they declare loyalty to each other -- to outsiders
In general, some things I like in stories are...
* stories that take people out of the show's natural environment. For people who work together, it can be fun to see them in their downtime, that kind of thing
* or, "case" stories that weave around the relationship plots, too
* I'm a major horror fan, so if you feel like scaring my socks off, have at it! :)
* stories where people comfort each other or stand up for each other
* and stories where people misunderstand each other / accidentally hurt each other, and have to work to make it better (and do, eventually, make it better!)
Some more general things that make me happy in any story:
* Smart people being smart
* Dialogue - I like people talking to each other
* Humor, when it's dry/wry/sarcastic
* Drama, when it's not soap-opera-ish
* People being good to each other
And then there's the stuff I DON'T like. I'll keep it short!
* death stories
* stories that involve maiming/permanently damaging my chosen characters
* stories that involve my chosen characters betraying each other
* abuse (current or past), rape, torture, extreme kink - I'm fairly vanilla, really
* character bashing (I like the ladies in my fandom; please be kind to them.)
* stories that could be described as "painful to read", "bittersweet", or "beautiful but sad". I really don't mind pain or angst in my stories -- I kind of like it, actually! -- but I like the pain to end and an unambiguously happy ending to be had for my people.
I know when I'm writing for exchanges, I like to have ideas of what my person likes, but I don't like to be too restricted, either. However, in case you're a person who thrives on prompt-type things, I thought I'd throw a few of those in, too. I throw these out every time I do Yuletide, so please don't feel like I'll be unhappy if you don't use any of them!
Things that can be fun:
* road trips (long space journeys???)
* haunted houses
* scary, big, old empty buildings with echoing hallways (creepy! but I really like creepy)
* big, dangerous storms
* power outages!
* insecurities
* nightmares
* serial killers
* urban legends
* "found" families (one member of pairing goes home with the other for a holiday, and is made to feel at home/happy in spite of initial discomfort with family; romance ensues! Or friendship ensues! whatever. =) )
Addendum:
Mostly, what I want is to make sure that you have fun writing for me! To that end, please please please, if what I've said here feels too restrictive, or if you have some other idea that you really like that doesn't seem to fit my style -- write the story in your heart. That would be the best gift I could get.
Again, thanks so much! I hope you have a blast with this; I know I'll love whatever you come up with.
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comments ]
Vorkosigan
So, I love Miles and I love Gregor, and the thing that I love best is how they complement each other. I love Miles the strategist being smart and wry kind and loyal and getting into trouble, and I love Gregor doing that gentle, warm, mildly-amused, mildly-commanding thing he does. I really enjoy the way either of them could be "the smart one" at any given time. I'm a big fan of the humor of Bujold's writing, but I also like the drama and emotion and sincerity of it. I can be happy with an adventure, or a quiet conversation. And I can be happy with a slash story, or a gen story about their friendship - I'm easy that way!
The Dead Zone
I think Dead Zone started off in a great place and stayed pretty great for quite a while... but there was a point in the series where it became clear that Johnny/Sarah was the new end-game. I always felt like that was a shame - because in earlier seasons, the show had invested so heavily in the adult, kind, generous way Johnny, Sarah and Walt negotiated their weird family situation. I loved that Johnny and Walt were allowed to like each other -- to become friends and learn to trust and count on each other, and really value each other in spite of all the dynamics working against them. I'd love a story about that -- the two of them being friends (or more!) in spite of everything. If that could be accomplished without fridging or bashing Sarah in any way, all the better!
Hellspark
This is my first time requesting a Hellspark story - I don't even know what to ask for! Tocohl and Maggy are the heart of this book for me, but in all honestly I loved almost everything about it. I love the whole story of Maggy's sentience, and I loved how much she and Tocohl clearly loved each other. I loved the Tocohl's relationship with Om Im and how it was warm and close and clearly had potential, but never took over or overshadowed the mystery or the worldbuilding or Tocohl's other relationships. I loved Tocohl's competence and the entire concept of Hellsparks and Byword judges. I loved all the different cultures and how they clashed and came together. I loved the idea of the Festival of Saint Veschke, and the pins (high change! brave or crazy?!) and the way the universe felt ordered and limitless and exciting, all at the same time. Any story taking advantage of any of those things will make me wildly happy!
And all that said, here are some general things I like...
In romantic or slash stories, I like...
* happy endings
* stories with pining followed by a first-time and a happy ending
* stories with angst followed by a first-time and a happy ending
* stories where someone thinks they can't ever have the person they want... and then finds out they can
* hurt/comfort stories (if the hurt isn't too extreme; psychological hurt is fine too!)
In gen/friendship pairings, I like...
* happy endings
* stories that depend on the relationship to fuel the plot
* stories where one person admits how much they care about the other (and then vice versa) - not necessarily coming right out and saying "I care about you!" but in some way, by word or deed, showing it
* stories where they sacrifice for each other
* stories where they declare loyalty to each other -- to outsiders
In general, some things I like in stories are...
* stories that take people out of the show's natural environment. For people who work together, it can be fun to see them in their downtime, that kind of thing
* or, "case" stories that weave around the relationship plots, too
* I'm a major horror fan, so if you feel like scaring my socks off, have at it! :)
* stories where people comfort each other or stand up for each other
* and stories where people misunderstand each other / accidentally hurt each other, and have to work to make it better (and do, eventually, make it better!)
Some more general things that make me happy in any story:
* Smart people being smart
* Dialogue - I like people talking to each other
* Humor, when it's dry/wry/sarcastic
* Drama, when it's not soap-opera-ish
* People being good to each other
And then there's the stuff I DON'T like. I'll keep it short!
* death stories
* stories that involve maiming/permanently damaging my chosen characters
* stories that involve my chosen characters betraying each other
* abuse (current or past), rape, torture, extreme kink - I'm fairly vanilla, really
* character bashing (I like the ladies in my fandom; please be kind to them.)
* stories that could be described as "painful to read", "bittersweet", or "beautiful but sad". I really don't mind pain or angst in my stories -- I kind of like it, actually! -- but I like the pain to end and an unambiguously happy ending to be had for my people.
I know when I'm writing for exchanges, I like to have ideas of what my person likes, but I don't like to be too restricted, either. However, in case you're a person who thrives on prompt-type things, I thought I'd throw a few of those in, too. I throw these out every time I do Yuletide, so please don't feel like I'll be unhappy if you don't use any of them!
Things that can be fun:
* road trips (long space journeys???)
* haunted houses
* scary, big, old empty buildings with echoing hallways (creepy! but I really like creepy)
* big, dangerous storms
* power outages!
* insecurities
* nightmares
* serial killers
* urban legends
* "found" families (one member of pairing goes home with the other for a holiday, and is made to feel at home/happy in spite of initial discomfort with family; romance ensues! Or friendship ensues! whatever. =) )
Addendum:
Mostly, what I want is to make sure that you have fun writing for me! To that end, please please please, if what I've said here feels too restrictive, or if you have some other idea that you really like that doesn't seem to fit my style -- write the story in your heart. That would be the best gift I could get.
Again, thanks so much! I hope you have a blast with this; I know I'll love whatever you come up with.
[ Optional: Reply at Dreamwidth |
comments ]