Dear Yuletide Goat...
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you for writing a story for me! I'm really looking forward to it - and please take these prompts as suggestions only, if there's a different story that you think you'll enjoy writing more, write that one. I generally (but not exclusively) read at the Gen and Teen level, and I'm not much interested in BDSM/various shades of kink stories. I really don't want a story with graphic violence or non-consensual or underage sex in it. On the other hand, I am Just Peachy with original characters turning up, and prequels and sequels and inbetween scenes. (Please treat all the characters I've requested as OR rather than AND if that works better for you.)
Postman Pat (2004)
Ah, Pat Clifton, loyal postie to Cumbria...
I've been watching this show a lot with my toddler, and it has much to recommend it - a children's show which can sustain an A and B plot, gentle humour, a truly fabulous collection of music remixes of the theme tune in different styles, and pop culture references to keep the grown ups happy (my favourite is the Indiana Jones pastiche in the episode where they get locked in the church and get chased by a giant rolling drum).
The story of my heart is a genre mashup where Pat Clifton is a mild mannered postie in a country village where everybody likes getting together to make nice things for the village children and also the resident detective in a sleepy village with a statistically unusual rate of 'accidental' deaths and disappearances. Did Peter Fogg, George Lancaster, Granny Dryden and Sam Waldron move away, or is that just what everyone thinks happened? There's a sign in the post office to visit Garnier Hall, but when's the last time anyone actually saw the Major, eh? There's a lot of hand touching and "More tea, Vicar?" going on between Dr Gilbertson and Reverend Timms, but when it comes to the crunch, it's PC Selby who takes her to dances and plays the banjo for her - is this a well established polyamorous triad, or a love triangle filled with unrequited feelings and simmering resentment. What do Lucy Selby and Sarah Gilbertson think about all of this? Mr Pringle seems a bit of a hunk to be a single teacher - is he a target for the village maidens of Greendale? And what happened to Charlie's Mum? And what about those tunnels under the church - are they linked to the drawing of Vitruvian Man in the playground designs? Is there a secret cult in Greendale? Curious minds want to know!
If this is not your thing, we're cool. How about a story from Jess' point of view? Lucy Selby seems a very sweet and shy child - there's always a risk of those kids being taken for granted. Does she have a day where she gets better at asserting herself? Or age up the characters and show what the children are doing after they've grown up and moved away for university and work?
Derkholm Series by Diana Wynne Jones
This series is a lot of fun, and it's got this incredible juxtaposition of a big scary problem that no one knows how to deal with smash in the middle of teenagers trying to work out who they are as people. It also has that very Diana Wynne Jones trait of wanting the protagonists to acknowledge their actions - to be able to say that maybe they did something for a selfish reason, or knew that they could have acted differently if they'd really wanted to, and *owning* that. I think that's a really powerful thing.
Possible Prompts:
I'd love to see how the relationships between Elda and Flurian, and Claudia and Blade, work out. The books end with this real sense of "I've found the girl I want and nobody else will do, except she's *way* too young right now." I think both Flurian and Blade would care a lot about not being creepy about it - how would they work that out? Would there be benign introductions to other fellows, just to be sure? What kind of feelings do Elda and Claudia have back? Are there good ideas for helping each other out that turn out to be rather more complicated than expected, with hijinks ensuing? Do people fall in love, or do they end up friends, and what has to happen for them to work out what that relationship is going to be? Other prompts - Elda and Claudia having girl time and bonding with each other; Flurian's backstory on the other continent; Blade's got a very old-fashioned magical education from Deucalion - how does he interact with the University trained establishment?
Imagine A Day - Rob Gonsalves & Sarah L. Thomson
This is a picture book my partner brought home from a trip to Oz many years ago, and it's just beautiful - serene scenes that turn into optical illusions as the world slowly turns on its axis and becomes stranger and richer with every moment.
I would like a story about being in that world. Maybe this is for characters who have always been able to forget how to fall, or use grace and daring to build a bridge. Maybe it's the day when everyone in the Real World suddenly opens their eyes that much more, turn a corner, and they step off the map into wonder.
Sprig Muslin - Georgette Heyer
Sprig Muslin was my First Ever Heyer novel, and quite set the standard for what should be expected of her as a writer. I love it for it's silliness and it's dancing around some very big emotions, and Lady Hester's deep stoicism that takes some ridiculously foolish young 'uns to lure her out of.
I would like a What Happens After story. Neil strikes me as a steadying influence on Amanda, but can even he keep up with her shenanigans? What would married life be like for Hester and Sir Gareth? Does Sir Gareth remain a parental figure in Amanda's and Hildebrand's lives? Is there (oh please let there be) another Grand Escapade that is Complicated To Explain and results in key participants going "Meh" lets just have a nice little holiday, all the mess will sort itself out later?
Thank you for writing a story for me! I'm really looking forward to it - and please take these prompts as suggestions only, if there's a different story that you think you'll enjoy writing more, write that one. I generally (but not exclusively) read at the Gen and Teen level, and I'm not much interested in BDSM/various shades of kink stories. I really don't want a story with graphic violence or non-consensual or underage sex in it. On the other hand, I am Just Peachy with original characters turning up, and prequels and sequels and inbetween scenes. (Please treat all the characters I've requested as OR rather than AND if that works better for you.)
Postman Pat (2004)
Ah, Pat Clifton, loyal postie to Cumbria...
I've been watching this show a lot with my toddler, and it has much to recommend it - a children's show which can sustain an A and B plot, gentle humour, a truly fabulous collection of music remixes of the theme tune in different styles, and pop culture references to keep the grown ups happy (my favourite is the Indiana Jones pastiche in the episode where they get locked in the church and get chased by a giant rolling drum).
The story of my heart is a genre mashup where Pat Clifton is a mild mannered postie in a country village where everybody likes getting together to make nice things for the village children and also the resident detective in a sleepy village with a statistically unusual rate of 'accidental' deaths and disappearances. Did Peter Fogg, George Lancaster, Granny Dryden and Sam Waldron move away, or is that just what everyone thinks happened? There's a sign in the post office to visit Garnier Hall, but when's the last time anyone actually saw the Major, eh? There's a lot of hand touching and "More tea, Vicar?" going on between Dr Gilbertson and Reverend Timms, but when it comes to the crunch, it's PC Selby who takes her to dances and plays the banjo for her - is this a well established polyamorous triad, or a love triangle filled with unrequited feelings and simmering resentment. What do Lucy Selby and Sarah Gilbertson think about all of this? Mr Pringle seems a bit of a hunk to be a single teacher - is he a target for the village maidens of Greendale? And what happened to Charlie's Mum? And what about those tunnels under the church - are they linked to the drawing of Vitruvian Man in the playground designs? Is there a secret cult in Greendale? Curious minds want to know!
If this is not your thing, we're cool. How about a story from Jess' point of view? Lucy Selby seems a very sweet and shy child - there's always a risk of those kids being taken for granted. Does she have a day where she gets better at asserting herself? Or age up the characters and show what the children are doing after they've grown up and moved away for university and work?
Derkholm Series by Diana Wynne Jones
This series is a lot of fun, and it's got this incredible juxtaposition of a big scary problem that no one knows how to deal with smash in the middle of teenagers trying to work out who they are as people. It also has that very Diana Wynne Jones trait of wanting the protagonists to acknowledge their actions - to be able to say that maybe they did something for a selfish reason, or knew that they could have acted differently if they'd really wanted to, and *owning* that. I think that's a really powerful thing.
Possible Prompts:
I'd love to see how the relationships between Elda and Flurian, and Claudia and Blade, work out. The books end with this real sense of "I've found the girl I want and nobody else will do, except she's *way* too young right now." I think both Flurian and Blade would care a lot about not being creepy about it - how would they work that out? Would there be benign introductions to other fellows, just to be sure? What kind of feelings do Elda and Claudia have back? Are there good ideas for helping each other out that turn out to be rather more complicated than expected, with hijinks ensuing? Do people fall in love, or do they end up friends, and what has to happen for them to work out what that relationship is going to be? Other prompts - Elda and Claudia having girl time and bonding with each other; Flurian's backstory on the other continent; Blade's got a very old-fashioned magical education from Deucalion - how does he interact with the University trained establishment?
Imagine A Day - Rob Gonsalves & Sarah L. Thomson
This is a picture book my partner brought home from a trip to Oz many years ago, and it's just beautiful - serene scenes that turn into optical illusions as the world slowly turns on its axis and becomes stranger and richer with every moment.
I would like a story about being in that world. Maybe this is for characters who have always been able to forget how to fall, or use grace and daring to build a bridge. Maybe it's the day when everyone in the Real World suddenly opens their eyes that much more, turn a corner, and they step off the map into wonder.
Sprig Muslin - Georgette Heyer
Sprig Muslin was my First Ever Heyer novel, and quite set the standard for what should be expected of her as a writer. I love it for it's silliness and it's dancing around some very big emotions, and Lady Hester's deep stoicism that takes some ridiculously foolish young 'uns to lure her out of.
I would like a What Happens After story. Neil strikes me as a steadying influence on Amanda, but can even he keep up with her shenanigans? What would married life be like for Hester and Sir Gareth? Does Sir Gareth remain a parental figure in Amanda's and Hildebrand's lives? Is there (oh please let there be) another Grand Escapade that is Complicated To Explain and results in key participants going "Meh" lets just have a nice little holiday, all the mess will sort itself out later?