Dear Yuletide Writer Letter 2017
Oct. 8th, 2017 12:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elen_nareDear Yuletide Writer,
First, thank you so much for this! Here are things I like or dislike in general, and some ideas for each fandom. I know this looks rather long, I'm just trying to make it as detailed as possible in case that makes it easier for you. I adore each and every one of these fandoms, so getting fic for any of them will make me a very, very happy person!
General stuff:
Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I’m fine with (of age, consensual) sex scenes if that’s where the story’s going - though gen fic is equally awesome! I’m not too fond of highly detailed graphic violence, but if it’s absolutely necessary to your fic, go ahead.
Feel free to look through my journal for inspiration :) There's a (somewhat outdated) masterlist of fic and a link to tumblr on the sidebar, too.
A good plot, a character piece, an exploration of friendship or romance, an adventure, a quiet moment, a missing scene, a different POV to the canon... Any and all of these are great! Gen, het, slash, femslash, are all fine. I'm not a huge fan of AUs. With crossovers it depends on the fandoms; essentially, if there's a way they could realistically meet (same time period and universe) any fandom I know is fair game.
Things I like: friendship, friends helping each other out, humour, banter, nerdiness, science, happy (or happy-ish at least, not overwhelming despair) endings, worldbuilding, sibling love (and family interactions in general), found families...and a great many other things! These were just the first that came to mind.
Things I dislike: suicide - I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill any major characters (other than canon deaths, or to set the scene for a murder investigation maybe, but maybe murder an OC if that’s what you’re writing?), but if you absolutely must, please avoid suicide! - , noncon/dubcon, incest, gratuitous violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst, character/ship bashing.
Fandom specific:
Listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested (or stuck for ideas and wondering why you ever offered to write this fandom :P). Spoilers abound I’m afraid, so if there’s something on here you’re interested in reading/watching and haven’t yet, I’d avoid that section. Feel free to include any other characters, nominated or not.
The Red House Mystery - Antony Gillingham, Bill Beverly
I got this murder mystery from a family friend and loved it - and especially loved Antony and Bill. There’s practically no fic for this book, it’s currently a fandom of me myself and I, so anything will delight me!
A few ideas:
What I love about these characters: I love Antony’s brilliance, his determination to see the case solved, his melodramatic “I’m a genius - no, I’m an ass - no, definitely a genius” moments, his compassion for the murderer. I love Bill’s easygoing attitude, the way he plays the fool, his willingness to do anything to help Antony.
El Tiempo Entre Costuras - Felix Aranda, Sira Quiroga, Rosalinda Fox
There is literally no fic for this utterly wonderful series (except a fairy tale AU which I wrote!), so absolutely anything about these lovely three people would delight me!
A few ideas:
What I love about this fandom: I love Sira’s story, how she grows from a simple assistant seamstress in a struggling shop, through Rodrigo’s betrayal, to dressmaker for the richest and most influential people in Tetuan, and then into a spy! And both Felix and Rosalinda are crucial to that story and that growth. Also, I am always a sucker for anything WWII related.
What I love about these characters: I love Sira’s impulsiveness and bravery, her willingness to do absolutely anything no matter the risk to help those she cares about. I love Felix’s kindness, his snark and sense of irony, his occasional flair for the dramatic (like showing up to Rosalinda’s farewell party in mourning). I love Rosalinda’s intelligence, the way she moves in her world, how she knows the rules and just how far they can be played with; and her dedication to using her power and influence for good, from getting Sira’s mother out of Madrid to opposing Hitler. And I love how much all three of them care about each other, the genuine friendship between them.
Swallows and Amazons – Titty Walker, Dick Callum, Dorothea Callum
I love the friendship dynamic between these three, so I’d be delighted to see that. I’d be fine with it if the others show up (Roger is rather a part of this group too, so if you feel like having him be a co-star of the story, go for it!), I just want these three to get some of the spotlight. A few ideas:
What I love about this fandom: It’s one of my favourite book series ever. I love the way there’s never a sense of just “playing pretend” – they are (to themselves, at least) pirates or explorers or miners or an arctic expedition or martyrs or picts... I like how everyone works together, and how hard they work – how they all bring something to the team, and how they’re all valued. I like how they can be friends without having to be all the same; how they respect each other, even if they don’t see eye to eye on some things.
Why I love these characters: as an Astronomy student who loves to write, I may identify slightly with Dick and Dot ;). I love how close these two are, how they take care of each other. I love Dot's genuine concern for other people - looking out for Dick, making up Captain Flint's bed in the houseboat, offering to leave Beckfoot in P&M despite how excited she was to be there - and her storytelling. I love Dick's enthusiasm for whatever the latest hobby is, stars or rocks or birds; his methodical notes, his anxiousness to get things right. As to Titty – I love her imagination, both when it works for her and when (like with the wax GA) it terrifies her, and her courage.
Wayward Children series - Nancy Whitman, Jack Wolcott, Jill Wolcott, Loriel Youngers
First and foremost, please don’t feel you have to bring all four characters into the fic! I’m not sure how possible that even is, I’m just fascinated by all four of them and couldn’t pick one. A few ideas:
What I love about these characters: I love how Nancy gets to introduce herself, textually, explicitly, as asexual, and people accept it, that’s important to me. I like how she clings to her hard-won stillness, how it’s sometimes a weakness and sometimes her saving grace. Jack, Jack my darling mad scientist who is so very tried by the world, who has such impossible choices laid on her shoulders, I love Jack so much. Jill is a fascinating character, especially when you combine the two books, you can see how she got to where she did - and can you really tell a story about Jack without Jill? They echo and feed into each other so much. Loriel - I think what really captures me about her is her Webworld, more than any of the others described, it just resonates with me.
First, thank you so much for this! Here are things I like or dislike in general, and some ideas for each fandom. I know this looks rather long, I'm just trying to make it as detailed as possible in case that makes it easier for you. I adore each and every one of these fandoms, so getting fic for any of them will make me a very, very happy person!
General stuff:
Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I’m fine with (of age, consensual) sex scenes if that’s where the story’s going - though gen fic is equally awesome! I’m not too fond of highly detailed graphic violence, but if it’s absolutely necessary to your fic, go ahead.
Feel free to look through my journal for inspiration :) There's a (somewhat outdated) masterlist of fic and a link to tumblr on the sidebar, too.
A good plot, a character piece, an exploration of friendship or romance, an adventure, a quiet moment, a missing scene, a different POV to the canon... Any and all of these are great! Gen, het, slash, femslash, are all fine. I'm not a huge fan of AUs. With crossovers it depends on the fandoms; essentially, if there's a way they could realistically meet (same time period and universe) any fandom I know is fair game.
Things I like: friendship, friends helping each other out, humour, banter, nerdiness, science, happy (or happy-ish at least, not overwhelming despair) endings, worldbuilding, sibling love (and family interactions in general), found families...and a great many other things! These were just the first that came to mind.
Things I dislike: suicide - I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill any major characters (other than canon deaths, or to set the scene for a murder investigation maybe, but maybe murder an OC if that’s what you’re writing?), but if you absolutely must, please avoid suicide! - , noncon/dubcon, incest, gratuitous violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst, character/ship bashing.
Fandom specific:
Listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested (or stuck for ideas and wondering why you ever offered to write this fandom :P). Spoilers abound I’m afraid, so if there’s something on here you’re interested in reading/watching and haven’t yet, I’d avoid that section. Feel free to include any other characters, nominated or not.
The Red House Mystery - Antony Gillingham, Bill Beverly
I got this murder mystery from a family friend and loved it - and especially loved Antony and Bill. There’s practically no fic for this book, it’s currently a fandom of me myself and I, so anything will delight me!
A few ideas:
- The story of any of their previous meetings, they sound fun!
- There aren’t many missing moments in the book itself that I recall, everything happens in a pretty short timeframe - but if you find one you like, or would like to expand something, I’d love that.
- Maybe they turn detectives again at a later date? Constant murders would be rather hard on their friends, but there’s plenty of other crimes too.
- I rather ship them - I know Bill talks about Betty on one hand, but on the other he and Antony will just spend hours strolling about arm-in-arm complimenting each other… and the Holmes and Watson nicknames, too!
What I love about these characters: I love Antony’s brilliance, his determination to see the case solved, his melodramatic “I’m a genius - no, I’m an ass - no, definitely a genius” moments, his compassion for the murderer. I love Bill’s easygoing attitude, the way he plays the fool, his willingness to do anything to help Antony.
El Tiempo Entre Costuras - Felix Aranda, Sira Quiroga, Rosalinda Fox
There is literally no fic for this utterly wonderful series (except a fairy tale AU which I wrote!), so absolutely anything about these lovely three people would delight me!
A few ideas:
- That beach day with Marcus Logan doesn’t look as if it’s the first time they’ve had expeditions like this together, they seem so comfortable with each other. Tell me about other days like that?
- Felix and Rosalinda coaching Sira in some interaction with Tetuan’s fashionable set - dressmaking for some eccentric aristocrat? Dealing with the different national groups?
- Sira and Rosalinda rescuing Felix from his mother, and taking him off to have fun with them.
- The three of them together at some social event - a dance? An art show where Felix is displaying his work? A social evening at Rosalinda’s?
- Perhaps Marcus wasn’t the first time Rosalinda (with Felix to help) tried to set Sira up with someone, either - were there other attempts? Probably to Sira’s mixed amusement and exasperation...
- Or perhaps Rosalinda and Sira try to set Felix up with some nice man? He’s lovely and he deserves to be happy!
- A reunion (in Tetuan? Spain? Portugal?) after the end of the series, catching up together (if you go for this, I’d rather Marcus didn’t feature too much as I’m not a huge fan of his, I find him rather on the useless side for a supposedly wonderful spy! I’d rather you didn’t bash him either, but he can be busy elsewhere or something).
- Epistolary fic - we know Rosalinda wrote to them after she and Juan Luis had to return to Spain.
- I’d be happy to see most of the other characters if you wanted to bring them in. In Tetuan, especially, I’m very fond of Candelaria and her no-nonsense attitude, and of Comisario Vazquez and his willingness to give people a second chance (even if he sometimes has to look very very hard the other way to do so).
What I love about this fandom: I love Sira’s story, how she grows from a simple assistant seamstress in a struggling shop, through Rodrigo’s betrayal, to dressmaker for the richest and most influential people in Tetuan, and then into a spy! And both Felix and Rosalinda are crucial to that story and that growth. Also, I am always a sucker for anything WWII related.
What I love about these characters: I love Sira’s impulsiveness and bravery, her willingness to do absolutely anything no matter the risk to help those she cares about. I love Felix’s kindness, his snark and sense of irony, his occasional flair for the dramatic (like showing up to Rosalinda’s farewell party in mourning). I love Rosalinda’s intelligence, the way she moves in her world, how she knows the rules and just how far they can be played with; and her dedication to using her power and influence for good, from getting Sira’s mother out of Madrid to opposing Hitler. And I love how much all three of them care about each other, the genuine friendship between them.
Swallows and Amazons – Titty Walker, Dick Callum, Dorothea Callum
I love the friendship dynamic between these three, so I’d be delighted to see that. I’d be fine with it if the others show up (Roger is rather a part of this group too, so if you feel like having him be a co-star of the story, go for it!), I just want these three to get some of the spotlight. A few ideas:
- Childhood adventures at the lake? A missing moment from any of the books would be lovely… Titty helping the Ds sail the Scarab? Going up to the mine again to see how it’s progressed? Another trip to Secret Water?
- Or a bit later on, when the elders are already adults and it’s just them at the Lakes ...is Titty Captain and Roger Mate of the Swallow now? Is anyone sailing the Amazon? (Who's doing the cooking without Susan and Peggy?!)
- As adults, pre, during, or post war – what do they do, how does the war affect them? I can see Dick and Dorothea at Bletchley Park, Titty in the Wrens or nursing perhaps? Or any of them in the SOE?
- If you’re pulled in a shippy direction, I generally write Dick and Titty, but I can also see Titty and Dorothea together.
What I love about this fandom: It’s one of my favourite book series ever. I love the way there’s never a sense of just “playing pretend” – they are (to themselves, at least) pirates or explorers or miners or an arctic expedition or martyrs or picts... I like how everyone works together, and how hard they work – how they all bring something to the team, and how they’re all valued. I like how they can be friends without having to be all the same; how they respect each other, even if they don’t see eye to eye on some things.
Why I love these characters: as an Astronomy student who loves to write, I may identify slightly with Dick and Dot ;). I love how close these two are, how they take care of each other. I love Dot's genuine concern for other people - looking out for Dick, making up Captain Flint's bed in the houseboat, offering to leave Beckfoot in P&M despite how excited she was to be there - and her storytelling. I love Dick's enthusiasm for whatever the latest hobby is, stars or rocks or birds; his methodical notes, his anxiousness to get things right. As to Titty – I love her imagination, both when it works for her and when (like with the wax GA) it terrifies her, and her courage.
Wayward Children series - Nancy Whitman, Jack Wolcott, Jill Wolcott, Loriel Youngers
First and foremost, please don’t feel you have to bring all four characters into the fic! I’m not sure how possible that even is, I’m just fascinated by all four of them and couldn’t pick one. A few ideas:
- Nancy’s time in the Halls of the Dead - either her first visit, or her return, or both.
- The rest of Nancy’s term at the school - how do she, Kade, and Christopher deal with the aftermath of everything that happened?
- Loriel’s world is one that especially fascinates me from the glimpses we get of it, I’d love to see more of her adventures there.
- Jack and Jill - what happens after they return to the Moors? Does Jack manage to bring Jill back, and if so how does Jill deal with not being able to become a vampire now? How have the Moors changed during their year away, are there new foundlings? Or their first visit to the Moors - I loved ‘Down Among the Sticks and Bones’, anything in that time would be great.
- Less ‘story idea’ and more ‘musing’: there are echoes and similarities between their storylines sometimes, like the importance of certainty - Nancy’s sent back to be sure, and Jack and Jill’s door said ‘be sure’...
- … Or how they search for their doors: Loriel is looking everywhere as hard as she can, while Jack claims to be searching for ‘the formula’, but really has always had it - the question was what to do about Jill; Nancy is waiting for the Lord of the Dead to open hers, while Jill pretends to be waiting for her Master to (maybe at first she genuinely is?) but then decides to build her own skeleton key.
What I love about these characters: I love how Nancy gets to introduce herself, textually, explicitly, as asexual, and people accept it, that’s important to me. I like how she clings to her hard-won stillness, how it’s sometimes a weakness and sometimes her saving grace. Jack, Jack my darling mad scientist who is so very tried by the world, who has such impossible choices laid on her shoulders, I love Jack so much. Jill is a fascinating character, especially when you combine the two books, you can see how she got to where she did - and can you really tell a story about Jack without Jill? They echo and feed into each other so much. Loriel - I think what really captures me about her is her Webworld, more than any of the others described, it just resonates with me.
