Comments | sharkflip: Spirit of Winter: Notes

sharkflip

Spirit of Winter: Notes

Feb 11, 2010 19:10

Herein lay extensive, exhaustive Author's Notes for Spirit of Winter (you should of course read the story before reading the notes. Be warned: this is about 5,000 words without even any narrative.

( On Finland's Winter War )

#84, .notes - spirit of winter

Comments 15

lynny17 February 12 2010, 05:32:52 UTC

Okay--your research is longer that what I can write! I'm in awe!

sharkflip February 13 2010, 19:35:05 UTC

I reached the point in junior year when writing a 15 page paper was way easier than writing a 5 page paper. NOW LOOK AT ME.

I can't wait for more Chance Encounters; I love it so much because it's just so *sweet*. I usually like Katara/Zuko for the inherent conflict they have to overcome, but I'm loving the change of pace more than I thought possible.

lynny17 February 13 2010, 20:36:31 UTC

It's amazing how motivated one becomes when it's for a subject that you love (k/z). The Encounter one has been a change for me too--it's more emotional I guess for lack of a better word to write and I'm very glad that you've liked it so far! It just was a spur of the moment thing that came to me one night and has kind of wrote itself without any planning.

I have enough conflict going on in the other one (fireman one) I'm doing and it's just going to get worse before it get's better!

lynny17 February 13 2010, 20:37:52 UTC

Ooops! That's me up there--I forgot to login!

Thread 5

flowerflute February 13 2010, 02:52:23 UTC

.... Whoaoooooow. As I said before, HELLA research. You're awesome.
Am I racist if I automatically assumed Katara was of Sami ancestry?

floranna February 13 2010, 18:45:36 UTC

No, I personally thought when she commented on all characters would be Finns that Katara would be a Sami. It fits, doesn't it?

sharkflip February 13 2010, 19:32:37 UTC

I wanted to make Katara Sami, but I was so not willing to do another language barrier. *dies*

Plus I read about Suomussalmi before I read about Lapland, and that sort of clinched it.

flowerflute February 14 2010, 01:34:37 UTC

Not like Sami-Sami, but Sami ethnically, I mean. Delicious Katara melting-pot stew.

Ah, I see.

Thread 5

agitated_brains February 13 2010, 04:47:16 UTC

Awesome. I love a well researched story. This inspired me to get all my notes and time-lines and such organized for my own AU.

Random Sidenote: I have always wanted to write a avatar Vietnam war, or rather one that takes place in the US during and after Vietnam, Au but have never got organized enough. (also I remember reading a really great one a while ago [that I can't find now dammit] that I'm afraid of accidentally plagiarizing.) Spirit of Winter has pushed my imagination in that direction again.

sharkflip February 13 2010, 19:37:35 UTC

OMG. I will so love the shit out of an Avatar Vietnam War fic. I am so interested in seeing where you position all the characters in that scenario.

Just don't neglect Fighting from the Ruins -- I want more of that so very badly.

redrikki February 16 2010, 21:23:11 UTC

As an archivist and professional historian I found your dedication to research and your caveats about the usefulness of Wikipedia and encyclopedias in general to be the most unspeakably awesome thing I've seen all week, possibly all month. Seriously. People like you are exactly the types of people I love helping at my job. I too tend am a very big believer in the importance and joy of research and I loved this essay almost as much as I loved the story.

beyondthemoor February 17 2010, 04:49:48 UTC

Thoroughly seconded.

:)

sharkflip February 17 2010, 19:15:40 UTC

*blush* Aw shucks.

Lies My Teacher Told Me really made an impression on me -- why do people "hate history" when they can't get enough of old photos and stories and such? How do we make history (and anthropology) interesting to non-academics?

I think the realizations I tried to outline here -- about how research is less answering a question and more finding information about that question -- are some of the most profound I've ever had, and yet were technically a waste of time when it came to grade point averages and such. I'm glad I managed to figure out the falsehood in that, and hope to pass it on to other people.

My side of the heritage professions is all about subversive constructivist learning -- laying it out in such a way that people get it. I doubt anyone would willingly read "My Thoughts On Wikipedia As A Reliable Source Of Information" -- but lay out a historical narrative and then explain how we got there... well, that seems to interest people. I'm really hoping that someday I have inspiration to write fiction other ( ... )