2017 - Year Review - Writing FanFic
Jan. 3rd, 2018 06:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nicholas_lucienI am just a little late in getting everything done in 2017, but I am catching up! I meant to have this done at the end of 2017 but I am near a computer while recovering from a tooth extraction and figured this would be a perfect time to write this. So what happened to me with writing fanfic this year:
First up: Gifts! I received 2 gifted stories this year!
Truth or Dare is a story frompj1228, and was written to a prompt from the 2016 FKFicFest. The story is about Nick having to attend Don's birthday party (without Nat, so Nick has to interact with other mortals and not just stay with her), and bring a thoughtful birthday gift along. Nick does manage to do so, so two mortal activities accomplished! The great twist to the story was an added relationship story with LaCroix (Unnamed Faction)! Completely unexpected, this additional layer to the story was a great gift as well!
The Siege of Hastingues was written bygreerwatson in response to a prompt from the 2017 FKFicFest. This story deals with the apparent canon conflict of Nick saying he saved Aristotle's life during the Battle of Hastings, which occurred in 1066, well before Nick even existed. One work around is that the Battle of Hastings Nick references was not the one in 1066, but another battle in an area with the same name. This story deals with what was occurring between the English and the French and their battle at Hastingues in 1377, which our main vampires get caught up in. Aristotle is also in this place, and was rescued/recovered by Nick. An adventurous tale that also takes care of a canon glitch. Perfect!
Second up: Prompted Story. I wrote 1 story for the 2017 FKFicFest fordlyt
An Orphan's Choice was written for the prompt of a competition ensuing for who would get to foster a young orphaned vampire. The story centers around Holly (a name referencing a woody plant and meaning 'to prick' or 'to pierce'), a female fledgling who was less than 24 hours old in the opening chapter. She and her maker were out for her first hunt (the taste of this first blood would seal whether she would become a regular vampire or a carouche), but instead they get caught by a Hunter who kills her Maker, making her an orphan. Eventually, Holly stumbles upon the Raven, bringing her to her new Community and bringing her to the attention of the Community, which cannot afford to let young vampires go about without any mentor. The story then focuses on different vampires and the different reactions to an orphan and the different reasons for wanting (or not wanting) to take on such a responsibility. The story ends with Holly's final decision as to whom she chooses. I liked it because the prompt got me thinking about possible Community rules and life and what would they do in such a situation. One theme that runs through each individual's interaction with Holly is they use her. Their various reasons for considering adopting are very self-centered and what they want, not necessarily what might be best for Holly. Not even I, the writer, am different. I gave Holly a name and a gender and really nothing else; I didn't need her to be anything else. So it is one of a few subtle threads I had running through the story.
Third up: Other stories. I wrote 5 stories
A Night in the Life of ... was like a writing exercise. I was trying a few different things, and set up a few general rules that each character had to do through their story. Then each chapter is a different individual and how their normal night went from just their perspective. Sometimes characters interacted with each other, so you can get a different interpretation of the same event. Originally I was going to show how Nick touched and was a part of each life, but I found I was writing a large portion for LaCroix, so he is also a part of each character's life that night. Interesting technical challenges: figuring out how long it actually would take certain activities so I could time events with other characters accurately; getting various parts of LaCroix's broadcast so every character hears a slightly different part (in hindsight, it would have been so much smarter to write LaCroix's part first, but lesson learned); aside from the broadcast, there is no dialogue which was difficult when I had characters interacting and talking with each other without actual words being spoken/written. But it was fun and allowed me to get into each character's head for a while and not switch back and forth like I usually do.
Consequences of Desire and Balancing Desire were the continuations of the story Hidden Desire. The first piece was an alternative story frompj1228's 2016 FKFanFic prompt. Not everything was resolved, so the story continued. At its core, it is a rekindling relationship story between Nick and LaCroix (Unnamed Faction again!), though by the end there is a touch of Nick/Nat. One main theme running through all the stories is the interweaving of various Greco-Roman (and some other) myths and ancient concepts, [had to go back through all of them to count] at least 19 different ones and some are referenced multiple times. One of my favorites is that Nat is very indirectly referred to as a Phoenix three times in Balancing Desire, a fun little addition referring to Catherine Disher's voice work on the X-Men animated series as Jean Grey, a character who made mental contact with, and is the physical entity housing, the Phoenix.
On the Eve of Totality was written because I was thinking of the total solar eclipse that would be visible across the USA this year and how vampires would react to that. The story is current and a flashback, both to Nick and LaCroix interacting hours before the total eclipse. I originally though it would be a Nick story, but after writing it I found it more a LaCroix story, since his character seemed to be the one that changed and grew the most over time. The piece is a short one and a slice of life. Interestingly, I tried to make this one a drabble, I was just off by 1854 words. One of these days I will get a drabble done!
Halloween Night was written because I wanted a story associated with a major holiday and I wrote a Christmas one last year, so I picked Halloween this year. This story takes place before season 1, and Nat is trying to get Nick to engage in common mortal activities. Most of the story is from Nick's perspective and Nat is only there at the end. It is also a slice of life and cuts off before the end of the night. I chose to do a pre-season story because I have been thinking a lot lately about Nick's first interactions with Nat and since my mind was stuck in that time frame, I just stayed with it.
For this upcoming year:
I have quite a lot of little ideas floating around. I write them down as they come, these little scraps that will be grown into whole stories. I don't even bother counting how many ideas or pieces of paper: I measure by inches now. I write on copy paper, front and back, in very small handwriting. The stack is currently almost 2 inches (5 cm) high, so I have a bunch of stories to work on and will keep me busy. I will soon be starting a series of Nick's life (hence all the re-watching of the episodes I will be doing) though I don't know when I will actually post the first one, I have no set time for that. There will also be a few shorter stories that I'll post in the meantime; one is almost done (last minute ideas to a story require so much re-writing) though that will not post until I start and finish another little one that is marked as a higher priority. I have a rough idea for a short Nick/LaCroix piece. I also want to try writing a songfic; this should be interesting given AO3's rule about how much of the lyrics you are allowed to post (you can't post the whole song). And hopefully there will also be enough interest for a FKFicFest this year!
First up: Gifts! I received 2 gifted stories this year!
Truth or Dare is a story from
pj1228, and was written to a prompt from the 2016 FKFicFest. The story is about Nick having to attend Don's birthday party (without Nat, so Nick has to interact with other mortals and not just stay with her), and bring a thoughtful birthday gift along. Nick does manage to do so, so two mortal activities accomplished! The great twist to the story was an added relationship story with LaCroix (Unnamed Faction)! Completely unexpected, this additional layer to the story was a great gift as well!The Siege of Hastingues was written by
greerwatson in response to a prompt from the 2017 FKFicFest. This story deals with the apparent canon conflict of Nick saying he saved Aristotle's life during the Battle of Hastings, which occurred in 1066, well before Nick even existed. One work around is that the Battle of Hastings Nick references was not the one in 1066, but another battle in an area with the same name. This story deals with what was occurring between the English and the French and their battle at Hastingues in 1377, which our main vampires get caught up in. Aristotle is also in this place, and was rescued/recovered by Nick. An adventurous tale that also takes care of a canon glitch. Perfect!Second up: Prompted Story. I wrote 1 story for the 2017 FKFicFest for
dlyt An Orphan's Choice was written for the prompt of a competition ensuing for who would get to foster a young orphaned vampire. The story centers around Holly (a name referencing a woody plant and meaning 'to prick' or 'to pierce'), a female fledgling who was less than 24 hours old in the opening chapter. She and her maker were out for her first hunt (the taste of this first blood would seal whether she would become a regular vampire or a carouche), but instead they get caught by a Hunter who kills her Maker, making her an orphan. Eventually, Holly stumbles upon the Raven, bringing her to her new Community and bringing her to the attention of the Community, which cannot afford to let young vampires go about without any mentor. The story then focuses on different vampires and the different reactions to an orphan and the different reasons for wanting (or not wanting) to take on such a responsibility. The story ends with Holly's final decision as to whom she chooses. I liked it because the prompt got me thinking about possible Community rules and life and what would they do in such a situation. One theme that runs through each individual's interaction with Holly is they use her. Their various reasons for considering adopting are very self-centered and what they want, not necessarily what might be best for Holly. Not even I, the writer, am different. I gave Holly a name and a gender and really nothing else; I didn't need her to be anything else. So it is one of a few subtle threads I had running through the story.
Third up: Other stories. I wrote 5 stories
A Night in the Life of ... was like a writing exercise. I was trying a few different things, and set up a few general rules that each character had to do through their story. Then each chapter is a different individual and how their normal night went from just their perspective. Sometimes characters interacted with each other, so you can get a different interpretation of the same event. Originally I was going to show how Nick touched and was a part of each life, but I found I was writing a large portion for LaCroix, so he is also a part of each character's life that night. Interesting technical challenges: figuring out how long it actually would take certain activities so I could time events with other characters accurately; getting various parts of LaCroix's broadcast so every character hears a slightly different part (in hindsight, it would have been so much smarter to write LaCroix's part first, but lesson learned); aside from the broadcast, there is no dialogue which was difficult when I had characters interacting and talking with each other without actual words being spoken/written. But it was fun and allowed me to get into each character's head for a while and not switch back and forth like I usually do.
Consequences of Desire and Balancing Desire were the continuations of the story Hidden Desire. The first piece was an alternative story from
pj1228's 2016 FKFanFic prompt. Not everything was resolved, so the story continued. At its core, it is a rekindling relationship story between Nick and LaCroix (Unnamed Faction again!), though by the end there is a touch of Nick/Nat. One main theme running through all the stories is the interweaving of various Greco-Roman (and some other) myths and ancient concepts, [had to go back through all of them to count] at least 19 different ones and some are referenced multiple times. One of my favorites is that Nat is very indirectly referred to as a Phoenix three times in Balancing Desire, a fun little addition referring to Catherine Disher's voice work on the X-Men animated series as Jean Grey, a character who made mental contact with, and is the physical entity housing, the Phoenix. On the Eve of Totality was written because I was thinking of the total solar eclipse that would be visible across the USA this year and how vampires would react to that. The story is current and a flashback, both to Nick and LaCroix interacting hours before the total eclipse. I originally though it would be a Nick story, but after writing it I found it more a LaCroix story, since his character seemed to be the one that changed and grew the most over time. The piece is a short one and a slice of life. Interestingly, I tried to make this one a drabble, I was just off by 1854 words. One of these days I will get a drabble done!
Halloween Night was written because I wanted a story associated with a major holiday and I wrote a Christmas one last year, so I picked Halloween this year. This story takes place before season 1, and Nat is trying to get Nick to engage in common mortal activities. Most of the story is from Nick's perspective and Nat is only there at the end. It is also a slice of life and cuts off before the end of the night. I chose to do a pre-season story because I have been thinking a lot lately about Nick's first interactions with Nat and since my mind was stuck in that time frame, I just stayed with it.
For this upcoming year:
I have quite a lot of little ideas floating around. I write them down as they come, these little scraps that will be grown into whole stories. I don't even bother counting how many ideas or pieces of paper: I measure by inches now. I write on copy paper, front and back, in very small handwriting. The stack is currently almost 2 inches (5 cm) high, so I have a bunch of stories to work on and will keep me busy. I will soon be starting a series of Nick's life (hence all the re-watching of the episodes I will be doing) though I don't know when I will actually post the first one, I have no set time for that. There will also be a few shorter stories that I'll post in the meantime; one is almost done (last minute ideas to a story require so much re-writing) though that will not post until I start and finish another little one that is marked as a higher priority. I have a rough idea for a short Nick/LaCroix piece. I also want to try writing a songfic; this should be interesting given AO3's rule about how much of the lyrics you are allowed to post (you can't post the whole song). And hopefully there will also be enough interest for a FKFicFest this year!
