Yuletide letter for '12
Dear Yuletide writer,
Hi, and welcome to my little corner of the universe! This is my third year doing Yuletide, so I'm well acquainted with the ins and outs of the exchange. I'm a voracious reader, a reader who loves to read about all sorts genres and situations, whatever the author can pull out of their proverbial hat. I'm happily obsessed with the "what if" that results in fanfiction; I think exploring every canonical corner and crevice is a fun thing to do, and that's what fuels my own writing.
Stuff I Love:
* Romance. I'm a pathetic, hopeless romantic, and I love the process of watching people fall in love in a realistic, non-corny way. Something swoony'll always turn my head.
* Slice-Of-Life. I love it when characters interact. I love jumping into the headspaces of these characters post-canon and seeing what makes them tick. Therefore, I really enjoy watching characters go about their daily lives, hearing what they're thinking. Outlandish action epics are fun, but the ordinary staff of life I adore.
* True-to-canon portrayals. I don't cling to canon in any respect (AU is a friend of mine), but I love a story that explores characters from their portrayal within the movie/show/play/etc.
I also like slash, gen and het equally, and smut is a wonderful thing but absolutely not required.
Stuff I Dislike:
There isn't a lot that really disgusts me in a fic. In exchanges, I like leaving an author to create what moves them in a lot of ways; convincing writing in turn motivates my reaction. But the things that really tick me off are:
* Character bashing. I have no problem with villainous characters being called out for villainous behavior, and well-explained and thought-out negative actions by others. But "x-is-awful-because-he/she-gets-in-the-way-of-pairing-c" isn't my cup of tea.
* Rampant OOC-ness in non-AUs: Exploring the way a character might have turned out if they hadn't experienced some canonical event is just fine, but wildly-OOC behavior doesn't do anything for me.
* Angst without context. Angst when well-explained or thought out (or canonically works for a character) is just fine. Angst "just because" falls flat for me.
* Noncon. Some folks like it, but unless it's really well explored (IE: it explores how the event makes the person feel) it's not my thing.
I generally don't mind smut, but if you're writing Hobbes and Bacon, The Torkelsons/Almost Home or Once Upon a Mattress - Rodgers/Barer/Fuller/Thompson for me, I'd prefer to receive nothing over a PG.
Fandoms I Love (And Requested this year):
Once Upon a Mattress - Rodgers/Barer/Fuller/Thompson: This musical is beyond adorable. As my fandom plug says, it's the story of a prince with a meddling mother, the spirited girl who's determined to win him, the knight and lady in waiting yearning to marry (but can't because of that darn proclamation), and the contest that forces her to sleep on a mattress under which a single pea has been placed.
What I'd desperately like is futurefic. Winnifred's further badass adventures as Dauntless' queen, or Winnifred and Lady Larken being badass friends, or Agrivaine and Winifred making up and being friends. Questing! Coolness!
Enjoy the first part of the made-for-TV version of the musical. It generally follows the plotline of the play, which sadly doesn't exist in video on the web:
You and I - Lady Gaga: I love this song. I know exactly what it's about (One of Lady Gaga's now-dead relationships - with Luc Carl, a guy who owns a bar in New York among other activities), but I want to see what your interpretation of it is. Would you like to tell us more about the characters from the video - Joe and Gaga and Sayuri - or do you want to tell the story of a down home bartender and his world-traveling girl? After all, Gaga recorded many versions of the song that turns her "cool Nebraska guy" into a cool "Rhode Island," "Florida", "New York" or "LA Guy". I leave it open to speculation. Here's the video and an alternate version to get you started:
Hobbes and Bacon: I changed all of my requesting plans when I noticed this fanstrip had been nominated. The story is simple: Bacon, the daughter of Calvin and Susie Derkins, has Hobbes passed down to her by her dad. Adventures ensue in the most adorable way possible, as Calvin and Susie may be the adults but they sure haven't lost their childhood spirit!
I'd love to see any adventures Bacon has with Hobbes. More ANYTHING (I love that Calvin's a cartoonist - and I love his marriage with Susie - and I want to see more of them to together). How, for instance, does the family cope with visits from Calvin's folks?
The Torkelsons/Almost Home: This show still manages to get to me. A beautiful meditation on growing up, it's about an Oklahoma family of five struggling to make ends meet after their father abandons them, and the border they take in to accomplish that goal. It focuses on eldest child Dorothy Jane, who often has conversations with the 'Man in the moon' and dreams of a better life than anything Pyramid Corners can provide her with.
The second season halved the Torkelson family and resituated them in California, where Millicent became a housekeeper and nanny to a single father with two spoiled teenagers. The show was also retitled 'Almost Home'.
I really want to see how Dorothy Jane turned out. Does she ever go back to Pyramid Corners? Did she stay in LA? What happened to Stephen Floyd and Ruth Ann? Did she ever get to have a real relationship with Riley Roberts? Does she, at thirty, still talk to the man in the moon?
Below is the first quarter of the pilot - keep clicking through to watch both seasons:
I really hope I've helped you out! And I hope you have as much fun writing the fic as I'm sure I'll have reading it!
Hi, and welcome to my little corner of the universe! This is my third year doing Yuletide, so I'm well acquainted with the ins and outs of the exchange. I'm a voracious reader, a reader who loves to read about all sorts genres and situations, whatever the author can pull out of their proverbial hat. I'm happily obsessed with the "what if" that results in fanfiction; I think exploring every canonical corner and crevice is a fun thing to do, and that's what fuels my own writing.
Stuff I Love:
* Romance. I'm a pathetic, hopeless romantic, and I love the process of watching people fall in love in a realistic, non-corny way. Something swoony'll always turn my head.
* Slice-Of-Life. I love it when characters interact. I love jumping into the headspaces of these characters post-canon and seeing what makes them tick. Therefore, I really enjoy watching characters go about their daily lives, hearing what they're thinking. Outlandish action epics are fun, but the ordinary staff of life I adore.
* True-to-canon portrayals. I don't cling to canon in any respect (AU is a friend of mine), but I love a story that explores characters from their portrayal within the movie/show/play/etc.
I also like slash, gen and het equally, and smut is a wonderful thing but absolutely not required.
Stuff I Dislike:
There isn't a lot that really disgusts me in a fic. In exchanges, I like leaving an author to create what moves them in a lot of ways; convincing writing in turn motivates my reaction. But the things that really tick me off are:
* Character bashing. I have no problem with villainous characters being called out for villainous behavior, and well-explained and thought-out negative actions by others. But "x-is-awful-because-he/she-gets-in-the-way-of-pairing-c" isn't my cup of tea.
* Rampant OOC-ness in non-AUs: Exploring the way a character might have turned out if they hadn't experienced some canonical event is just fine, but wildly-OOC behavior doesn't do anything for me.
* Angst without context. Angst when well-explained or thought out (or canonically works for a character) is just fine. Angst "just because" falls flat for me.
* Noncon. Some folks like it, but unless it's really well explored (IE: it explores how the event makes the person feel) it's not my thing.
I generally don't mind smut, but if you're writing Hobbes and Bacon, The Torkelsons/Almost Home or Once Upon a Mattress - Rodgers/Barer/Fuller/Thompson for me, I'd prefer to receive nothing over a PG.
Fandoms I Love (And Requested this year):
Once Upon a Mattress - Rodgers/Barer/Fuller/Thompson: This musical is beyond adorable. As my fandom plug says, it's the story of a prince with a meddling mother, the spirited girl who's determined to win him, the knight and lady in waiting yearning to marry (but can't because of that darn proclamation), and the contest that forces her to sleep on a mattress under which a single pea has been placed.
What I'd desperately like is futurefic. Winnifred's further badass adventures as Dauntless' queen, or Winnifred and Lady Larken being badass friends, or Agrivaine and Winifred making up and being friends. Questing! Coolness!
Enjoy the first part of the made-for-TV version of the musical. It generally follows the plotline of the play, which sadly doesn't exist in video on the web:
Click to viewYou and I - Lady Gaga: I love this song. I know exactly what it's about (One of Lady Gaga's now-dead relationships - with Luc Carl, a guy who owns a bar in New York among other activities), but I want to see what your interpretation of it is. Would you like to tell us more about the characters from the video - Joe and Gaga and Sayuri - or do you want to tell the story of a down home bartender and his world-traveling girl? After all, Gaga recorded many versions of the song that turns her "cool Nebraska guy" into a cool "Rhode Island," "Florida", "New York" or "LA Guy". I leave it open to speculation. Here's the video and an alternate version to get you started:
Hobbes and Bacon: I changed all of my requesting plans when I noticed this fanstrip had been nominated. The story is simple: Bacon, the daughter of Calvin and Susie Derkins, has Hobbes passed down to her by her dad. Adventures ensue in the most adorable way possible, as Calvin and Susie may be the adults but they sure haven't lost their childhood spirit!
I'd love to see any adventures Bacon has with Hobbes. More ANYTHING (I love that Calvin's a cartoonist - and I love his marriage with Susie - and I want to see more of them to together). How, for instance, does the family cope with visits from Calvin's folks?
The Torkelsons/Almost Home: This show still manages to get to me. A beautiful meditation on growing up, it's about an Oklahoma family of five struggling to make ends meet after their father abandons them, and the border they take in to accomplish that goal. It focuses on eldest child Dorothy Jane, who often has conversations with the 'Man in the moon' and dreams of a better life than anything Pyramid Corners can provide her with.
The second season halved the Torkelson family and resituated them in California, where Millicent became a housekeeper and nanny to a single father with two spoiled teenagers. The show was also retitled 'Almost Home'.
I really want to see how Dorothy Jane turned out. Does she ever go back to Pyramid Corners? Did she stay in LA? What happened to Stephen Floyd and Ruth Ann? Did she ever get to have a real relationship with Riley Roberts? Does she, at thirty, still talk to the man in the moon?
Below is the first quarter of the pilot - keep clicking through to watch both seasons:
I really hope I've helped you out! And I hope you have as much fun writing the fic as I'm sure I'll have reading it!