Comments | vilajunkie: Forays into Ozzy Fanfic

vilajunkie

Forays into Ozzy Fanfic

Feb 28, 2009 21:35

I don't think any of you, my LJ friends, know that I write some of my own stories, including stories about Oz. Well, I may have hinted so here and there, but I've never made it explicit. Anyway, I realized that I need some beta-readers for my work, and who better than fellow Oz fans and rp/fanfic writers? Comments and suggestions are highly ( Read more... )

oz, writing

Comments 13

odyssey_bold March 1 2009, 16:22:27 UTC

haha, thought this was Ozzie Osbourne fanfic at first and steered very clear ( ... )

vilajunkie March 1 2009, 20:15:32 UTC

Thanks, Oddy! I didn't expect you to reply to a story about Oz, so I'm pleasantly surprised. I'll take your suggestions into consideration. I'm glad you enjoyed some of the zany playfulness of the story; that's one of the charms of fiction set in the Oz universe, at least with the "official" authors.

ozma914 March 3 2009, 07:21:15 UTC

Sincer every Oz writer seemed to add more and more odd characters in every book, This was just a small sampling of how many names there are!

odyssey_bold March 3 2009, 07:53:09 UTC

Oh gosh

When younger I had issues with the Redwall series (in middle school?) because there were just too many characters for me to recognize. I looked again a few years later and the number of funny names and characters was still too unpleasant, and I've never gotten very far.

Thread 5

vovat March 1 2009, 19:39:19 UTC

It's a good start. I think the writing is a little choppy at first, and the description of Ozma sounds too similar to some of Baum's own, but it hits its stride once the knight comes onto the scene. His refusal to remove his helmet does sound like you're setting up a mystery, but I don't know that it would work too well to make him an established character. Maybe he's under some kind of curse. And I think the constant repetition of "a small but noble province" after the name of the knight's home is a good comedic bit, and I liked Bungle's making fun of it. One thing I have to wonder is why no one has really tried to directly address Sol, since it's typical for animals to talk in Oz, but maybe that can be saved for a later chapter.

If I may pick a nit, Bungle is presented as female in the Oz books, and there's no S at the end of her name.

vilajunkie March 1 2009, 20:21:03 UTC

Thanks for your commentary Nathan! I agree that there needs to be more of a build-up, I think, before the Knight gets onto the scene. I let Sol talk at length in the next chapter, and you'll see his true feelings of the Knight show. For the record, Sol is not what he seems either. The Knight may not be an established character, but I certainly use an established country as to his real identity.

I'll change Bungles to Bungle, but I was unsure about his/her gender. I thought it switched at some point. or am I wrong?

By the way, what did you think of my deviation of Jellia Jamb from some of the more standard, Caucasian-centric views?

vovat March 1 2009, 21:24:50 UTC

The Knight may not be an established character, but I certainly use an established country as to his real identity.

"Established country" as in the Munchkin, or a smaller country than that?

I'm pretty sure Bungle has been referred to as both "she" and "it," but never as "he."

By the way, what did you think of my deviation of Jellia Jamb from some of the more standard, Caucasian-centric views?

I think caramel-colored skin fits for Jellia. Then again, caramels come in different colors, don't they?

vilajunkie March 2 2009, 00:31:22 UTC

"Established" country as smaller than the Munchkin Country. I was meaning to ask you, what non-Baum FF are in the public domain? That may help me decide on who and what to add in future stories.

Hmm, I suppose you're right about that! What makes you think caramel (light to medium tan I suppose) fits Jellia?

Thread 5

ozma914 March 3 2009, 07:19:10 UTC

The Gloomy Knight of Thumpkinguddlesquashshire seems like an interesting and worthy addition to the Oz pantheon!

vilajunkie March 3 2009, 21:22:42 UTC

Thanks Mark! Just to let you in on a secret: He's not exactly who he claims to be (hint: he's lying, for a good reason) and I don't know how much we'll see of him after this story is finished; he may be a one-time-only character. However, Jellia and several other "minor" Ozites play a big part in this story--bigger than they usually get!

ozma914 March 4 2009, 07:08:41 UTC

Oh, I already figured out there was more to him than he said -- I'm looking forward to the mystery! I'm also looking forward to the minor characters getting their day in the sun -- it's something I try to do with my Buffy fanfics.