a fool's musings
Fool, said my muse to me,
look in thy heart and write...
Warning: Adult Content
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08.30.02 - 1:24 p.m.
the last meme
Well, not the last meme ever, just the "last (thing you did)" meme. I was hoping to have more watchfic for you today, but since we're hoping to leave early (of course, to G that means 5:15 instead of 5:30 but... *g*), and I came in 90 minutes late, I've been trying to get some actual work done (nothing hard - just packages to mail out etc. And getting something notarized. Sigh. I can't wait until I have my stamp and seal and don't have to depend on anyone else). So no writing has been done, though suddenly today I remembered I'd completely forgotten about the cheesy fic, and also about the future tense thingy. I was reminded of that last night by the beautiful future tense, second person (I know!) fic by Sarah T. Based on Prufrock, no less. How could I not love that? I really will send feedback this weekend; to Sarah, to Liz, to torch, to the author of Lust Over Pendle and a couple of other fics I've read and haven't commented on. I've been falling down on the Feeback Now! thing lately. Anyhow, a meme: Last book you read: Pain Management by Andrew Vachss. Working on Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen and rereading Chamber of Secrets now. (I will not get sucked into writing HP fic, no matter how much Hermione and Ron call out to me. I will not.) Last movie you saw: Possession Last movie you saw on the big screen: Possession. Last phone number you called: er, internally - 9065 - the notary who's going to notarize this document for me, since I don't have a stamp and seal yet. *g* Last show you watched on TV: Nero Wolfe last Sunday night. What? It's summer. Last thing you had to drink: Iced coffee, black. Last thing you ate: Toasted poppy bagel with cream cheese. Last time you showered: Last night. Last time you cried: er, I came close Tuesday night at the shrink's office, talking about the old house and 9/11. Last time you smiled: This morning, talking to my niece and nephew on the phone. Last time you laughed: earlier today at one of my boss's remarks about wishing the baseball strike had happened. Last person you hugged: Mom Last thing you said: "Happy Birthday, Connie!" Last person you talked to online: via AIM? Bethy last night. Via email, er, DD and Beth. Last person you talked to on the phone: Jose the security guy Last thing you smelled: the fabric softener in my sweater gacked from snacky over on LJ, btw. eta: can you see this? e me. 'cause I can't. Waaah! ~victoria
[current mood: busy]
[current music: Paint It Black - Stones]
[random quote: I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky (Hey, you think Monty Burns is a Stones fan?*G*)]
~*~
08.29.02 - 10:42 p.m.
muzzyheaded
I had big plans for tonight.
First, the Giants game.
Washed out. Not that I mind not going and sitting two rows from the top of Giants' Stadium in the rain. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.
If it were an important game - a playoff or something, we'd have gone, but for preseason? Nah.
Then I was going to come home and watch the VMAs - or at least, watch Bruce on the VMAs, since no one else really matteres - and then do some writing and some other stuff that needs doing on my site and the redesign I'm working on (to make it match this diary in the Boreas version).
So what did I do?
I fell asleep.
And didn't get up until 10 pm.
Sigh.
Now I'm all drowsy and confused. I can't quite make the almost-smutty scene in the watchfic go where I want it to, which has Logan a little piqued. *g*
I'm getting way too into anthropomorphizing.
Still involved in the movie/comics discussion, but too muzzy-headed tonight to respond.
(as an aside, I just love the term "muzzy-headed". It sounds like exactly what it is. Mushad [sp?], punchy, foggy with sleep.)
Unanon does a good job of listing several of the X-verses, with a concrete example of how one character differs in all of them.
I'm on AIM should any of you be looking for me. In the meantime, I guess I'll help Logan in his quest to get Rogue's shirt off.
Or maybe not.
*snicker*
~victoria
[current mood: muzzyheaded]
[current music: the fan]
[random quote: \"I don’t slur, I mumble.” JH Brodie, HLotS]
~*~
08.29.02 - 2:06 p.m.
It's all been done...
OR at the least, I should be writing.
I know what happens in the watch fic, but work is interfering. Grrr...
And I'm also in the process of putting together an apologia for Logan/Rogue, so I can put it up on my site and just say, "Go here." when people start questioning it.
'Cause I'm tired of explaining. I'm tired of the false age objections and the ridiculous need some comic fans have to drag comic canon into the movie.
It's a WHOLE DIFFERENT UNIVERSE.
Why is this so hard to understand?
They get AOA and 616 and Ultimate and Elseworlds and all that shite readily enough, but they can't seem to get a handle on the idea that all the movie is, is another X-verse, and THINGS ARE DIFFERENT THERE.
Why can't they just accept that the movie isn't tied to comics canon, and that you can't make any assumptions that anything beyond the mere basics of people's powers are going to be the same.
I mean, Bobby Drake is a student instead of one of the first X-Men, while Scott is a teacher. St. John is a student instead of a Brotherhood member, and Rogue is a scared runaway instead of a stone killer raised by Mystique.
I'm thinking that screwing around with the pairings is a lot less confusing once those changes are accepted.
And I'm sounding like a broken record, but it's come up on GO, and I'm trying to explain that yes, I know enough of the generalities to understand the differences between the movie and the comics, and why can't people who read the comics do the same?
Not all people, obviously, but enough that I run into this fairly frequently (though not as often as in the past), but I'm thinking that the sequel is going to make things even murkier, both by using comics canon and also straying from it even more (I hope).
Hell, maybe Storm will even get some action in the movie this time. *snerk*
And I've had this window open for over an hour as I've composed my answer for GO, swapped drinking stories with FNG and YNG, and generally goofed off.
Now I need to head to lunch before the caf closes.
~victoria
link
[current mood: ditzy]
[current music: there must be some misunderstanding, there must be some kind of mistake]
[random quote: i waited in the rain for hours, you were late...]
~*~
08.28.02 - 2:45 p.m.
Watch fic - Logan's POV
Logan collapsed onto the bed in relief.
While he'd been away, he'd managed to forget how young she was. Even their occasional phone calls hadn't been enough to stave off the fevered fantasies he'd concocted to pass long, cold, lonely nights camping out in the wilds of northern Canada.
Reality hit him hard upon seeing her.
She was beautiful, but she was young -- too young for the likes of him, even if he was only as old as he looked.
Add onto that his lack of a past, and his fucked-up present, and he knew that not only was he too old for her, he was no good for her.
He buried his face in the pillow, inhaling her scent -- Marie, youth, pain and jasmine. God, he couldn't live like this. He knew he was going to fuck it up, make her hate him, and he didn't want that.
She'd flirted with him all too easily in the dining room, and up until Jean showed up, he'd forgotten that it wasn't all right. It had felt good -- *natural* -- to have her in his arms, until Jean's remarks reminded him that it wasn't. It couldn't be.
He tortured himself by sleeping on the bed without changing the sheets that first night, but his dreams of her were so vivid that he almost wished for the return of his nightmares.
After that, he stripped the bed and tried to air the room out.
He knew she knew what he was doing, and that it was hurting her, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't live like that.
He spent the next few days avoiding her, and was successful for the most part. He had meetings with Xavier to take up a good deal of his time, and since Scott had shown him the Danger Room, he'd spent hours in there, taking out his frustrations on simulacra.
When he wasn't in the Danger Room, he was out in the woods surrounding the mansion. While the kids liked to tell tales of bears and other dangerous predators, he knew the biggest animals this close to civilization were deer, and they knew what he was, and kept away.
He was lying on his back in the woods, trying to block out the hurt looks Rogue had been throwing his way the past two days, when he caught her scent. He could hide from her without difficulty, but the idea of being chased off his own turf by a slip of a girl with sad eyes and a bright smile stung his pride.
He tracked her progress easily, and sat up when she finally arrived, leaning back against the trunk of an old maple tree. She nearly tripped over his booted feet, so he drew his legs up and rested his elbows on his knees.
"You sound like a herd of elephants, tramping around like that," he said.
"I didn't want to startle you," she replied, her chin lifting.
He raised an eyebrow. "Darlin', I could smell you from a mile away. You'll never be able to hide from me."
Her mouth opened in a silent 'oh' and she blushed.
He let the silence stretch, knowing she'd break it eventually.
She slipped to the ground next to him and met his eyes. "I know you've been avoiding me," she said finally. "But I don't know why."
He dropped his gaze. "Been busy," he mumbled, feeling guilty.
"Please don't lie to me. I won't ask you for anything else, but please, never lie to me."
He looked up to see her eyes darken with pain and her forehead crease with worry.
"Sorry, kid." He hunched a shoulder. "I'm just not used to living with so many people."
She nodded, and expectant look on her face. "And?"
"And what?"
"And-- that's it?"
"Yeah. That's it. I'm just getting used to all these kids and stuff."
She gnawed at her lower lip for a moment, not content with that answer. "Is it me? Did I do something?"
He winced at the worry in her voice. "Nah, kid. It's just -- it's me."
"We're friends, right?"
He ran a finger down the white streak on the right side of her face. "Yeah."
'And that's all,' he told himself firmly.
She rose up on her knees and pulled something out of her pocket.
"Here," she said. She held a small, lumpy package wrapped in garish red and blue paper.
"What's this?"
"A gift."
"Rogue, you don't have to give me anything."
"I know I don't have to, silly. But I want to." She leaned forward, holding it out to him again. "That's why it's a gift."
He took it reluctantly and slipped it into the pocket of his shirt. He had to get away from her, or he didn't know what he'd do. Her scent was intoxicating, her warmth, nearly overwhelming. She was so close, so touchable. So -- kissable. He weighed the prospect of being knocked unconscious against the possibility of tasting her again, while she was awake and alive. The third possibility, that she would never speak to him again, was rapidly being drowned out by his hormones.
"Aren't you gonna open it?" Her voice broke into his thoughts. "Please?"
He grumbled but took it out and tore the paper.
"It's a watch," she said helpfully.
"I can see that." It had a black leather band and a bulky bevel, with a black face and all sorts of doohickeys on the dial. It looked like the kind of watch he'd seen on some mercs and black ops guys -- the kind that was water tested to two hundred meters and counted down how much oxygen you had left in your tank. He knew it must have cost a pretty penny, which made him shift uncomfortably.
The corner of her mouth twitched, but she managed not to laugh at his grumpy response. "I heard this commercial, 'There's no present like the time,' and I thought of you.
He blinked, a warmth he'd never felt before flooding his chest. "You thought of me?"
She nodded, her hair bouncing like a living thing. "Yeah. See, you're searching for your past. It's a present, and it'll help you in the future--"
That caught his attention.
"The future?"
"The future." She nodded decisively. "I know time must get away from you, when you're all alone and you know, you don't -- well, you don't get older, really, so it's hard to notice the time passing. So this watch can remind you that you're not alone. You have friends. And I'd -- we'd -- like to be involved in your future."
"My future?" She'd really put a lot of thought into this, he realized. And she seemed to know somehow that his future was here, with her. But she shouldn't know that. She couldn't know that, because he couldn't tell her, not until she was older, ready to make those kinds of decisions.
"My future?" he repeated.
"Uh huh." She scooted closer, still on her knees. "C'mere." She took his right hand in both of hers, and strapped the watch onto his wrist. It was heavy, but the weight felt right, as if he'd once worn a similar watch. "There. Now you can keep track of how long you've been away, and the last time you called me. And, well, you'll show up on time for your classes." It all came out in a rush and he had trouble absorbing it. His mind was stuck on the idea of the future, a future. A future with Marie.
He'd lived day-to-day, hand-to-mouth for so long, searching for the past that the future was just another meaningless word. But now -- now he had one, and he looked forward to it. 'She won't be eighteen forever,' he reminded himself.
"Logan?" she asked, and he could smell her anxiety. "Don't you like it?"
He squeezed her hand. "It's, it's great kid. I just never --" The other thing she'd said suddenly penetrated. "Classes? What classes?"
"What?" It was her turn to look confused. "Didn't the Professor tell you?"
He shook his head. "No."
"Oh." She stuck her lower lip out, lost in thought, and he swallowed hard, reminding himself that he couldn't just reach out and lick it. "They want you to teach self-defense. Fighting. Boxing. Like that."
He nodded absently, mesmerized by the way the sunlight, filtering through the leaves, dappled her skin, highlighting the arch of her cheek and the slim, white column of her neck.
She seemed to be expecting a response, so he said, "I could do that."
"That's what I thought." He raised an eyebrow. "I mean, they asked me and the you in my head -- well, it seemed like something you'd be good at, and maybe even like."
She leaned forward, closing the distance between them even more, and allowing the dog tag to dangle freely between them. It dawned on him that not only was she giving him a gift, she was marking her territory, the way he'd marked her as his with the dog tag. He found he didn't mind at all.
She pressed a soft kiss to his mutton-chopped cheek, where it was safe, and he inhaled sharply.
***
And that's as far as I've gotten.
But I know what happens next.
*eg*
As always, questions, comments and brilliant perceptions are welcome.
***
In other news, the lovely and talented Maveness recs The Advenures of Han and Logan!
*Whee*
::vic does the dance of being recced::
~victoria
link
[current mood: giggly]
[current music: Lonesome Day - Bruce]
[random quote: You see I was once a bad ass vampire but love and a pesky curse defanged me and now I'm just a big fluffy puppy with bad te]
~*~
08.27.02 - 5:45 p.m.
books and Burke
Headachy again.
No writing got done today, as I actually had work to do.
Sigh.
Dr.'s appt at 6:45, so I won't be home until 8 or so.
I'm tired.
Had an interesting conversation with FNG (who really isn't new anymore and hasn't been for months, but it's a nice shorthand. I suppose the guy next to me will be Young New Guy, or YNG, since I can't use Neighborly New Guy as NNG is Needy New Guy (who also isn't new anymore. Sigh.) and I guess his direct supervisor, about bad '70s television.
See, FNG is not from this country, so he had no idea what "Welcome Back, Kotter" was, but we edumacated him.
*snerk*
Then we talked about "Miami Vice," which led to "Nash Bridges," which led to Cheech, which led to "Tin Cup," which led to Renee Russo (who can do no wrong in my book. God, I love her.). That, naturally, led to "The Thomas Crowne Affair," which led to Pierce Brosnan as Bond, and my theory that Clive Owen or Hugh Jackman should be the next bond.
They didn't really know Clive Owen, and they thought HJ was too young and too physical, too rough-edged, to play Bond yet, but I disagreed. Of course, he is a little callow compared to Connery (the One True Bond), but give him 4-5 years, and he could do it.
Clive Owen has the physicality as well, and I'm sure he could smooth out his rough edges. Plus, he'd look damned fine in a tuxedo.
*swoon*
Though I'd like to see him as Sirius first.
I say we all write to Chris Columbus and let him know he's got the perfect Sirius right under his nose.
*g*
I know, I'm getting a little obsessive about this, huh?
I still need to send feedback on the three HP stories I've read recently.
And perhaps dig out my copy of "Prisoner of Azkaban" to reread (and am I the only one who refers to it as "Prisoner of Azbakan"? I don't know why I do that, but I reverse the K and the B all the time. Weird.).
POA was the best of the four books, and damn... the Aurors, the Dementors, Mad-Eye Moody...And of course, Padfoot and Moony.
Definitely gonna have to reread it.
I read "The Talisman Ring" by Georgette Heyer on Saturday. Huge fun. Sarah Thane was a hoot.
I just began reading "Pain Management," the latest Burke book, this morning.
I'm so drawn into it. The short sentences. The prison lingo. Even if Burke is a Mary Sue (and I see Te's point, though I don't mind it much at this point, after reading along through the whole series), i just love the rat-a-tat-tat of the prose, and the way things build and build into that inevtiable and violent climax.
Awww... yeah...
Still don't like Gem, but then, I don't think I'll ever forgive Burke for fucking up his chances with Wolfe. Sigh.
And I love the references to Wesley in every book.
Wesley is who I have in mind when I think of Logan as an assassin. The best. A whisper, a ghost, a name that only gets mentioned in the darkest corners, that no one believes really exists anymore, the silent killer.
Of course, I miss Mama and Max and the Mole. And New York. I really miss reading about places I know (and some I don't) in the city, because I know Vachss knows the city, unlike some writers, who seem to have picked up everything they know about New York from watching "Friends."
But that's a different entry.
*eg*
I still have a headache, and I haven't typed up what I wrote last night on the watchfic.
When I get home, I guess.
Sigh.
~victoria
[current mood: headachy]
[current music: If I Had a Million Dollars - BNL]
[random quote: If I had a million dollars, I'd buy your love...]
~*~
08.27.02 - 1:52 p.m.
Buffy, meet Logan.
My unfinished Buffy/XMM crossover is up in the LJ.
Lunch now.
~victoria
link
[current mood: hungry]
[current music: For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield]
[random quote: there's something happening here what it is ain't exactly clear...]
~*~
08.27.02 - 12:33 p.m.
yet another fanfic survey
Fanfic survey, stolen from Alara
Do ideas come in little tiny pinpricks and then get expanded, or do they start great big and scopy and then get refined?
Usually in pinpricks - a scene, a line of dialogue - a conversation. Occasionally, big ideas show up (Logan in Nam or the whole of All That You Can't Leave Behind, which is more complex than I'd like to think about), but usually the longer stories started out small and grew (Consumption).
Why do you choose to write in the tenses you do (present tense, or first person POV, or third person) and how do you choose particular styles for particular stories?
Present is for short character vignettes - I like it best with third person. My default is past with a limited third - it just feels right.
Generally I only consciously think about tense after I've begun writing, if it feels off or if I start in one tense and start to drift into another, I know something's not right, so I go back and look it over.
I don't make the decision beforehand usually, though on occasion I've tried experimenting and saying, I'm going to write in X tense from Y POV. That's generally less successful for me than letting it happen organically.
I'm a big believer in writing first, editing for technical details later. (I do edit while writing in regard to word choice, but other stuff is done later)
Do you have music that inspires your writing? (That you listen to while writing, or certain songs that remind you of certain characters.)
I don't listen *while* writing, but I do have music that inspires me beforehand. I've listed it before, but Achtung Baby by U2, anything by Springsteen, August and Everything After by Counting Crows. Inspirational songs include "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, "The Space Between" and "Crash Into You" by the Dave Matthews Band, "Thunder Road" and "She's the One" by Bruce, "Untouchable Face", "Gravel", "As Is", "32 Flavors" and "Shameless" by Ani DiFranco, "Love's Recovery", "Closer to Fine" and "Galileo" by Indigo Girls, "Nightswimming" by REM, "Gold Dust Woman", "Rhiannon" and "Silver Spring" by Fleetwood Mac, "Sour Times" and "It Could Be Sweet" by Portishead, "Overfire," "Need to Destory" and "Dip" by THC, "Ain't No Sunshine and "Time After Time" by Eva Cassidy...
I could go on, but I'll stop.
How do you brainstorm what comes next in a story?
Uh, chatting with friends/betas via AIM and email. Mostly just thinking about it in the shower and on the train and before I go to sleep.
What do you do when you hit a road block?
Cry like a baby. Work on something different. Walk away. I've discussed this before.
How often do you end up deleting a whole bunch of already-written stuff, and how hard is it to let that stuff go?
Oh, it's hard. I hate it.
I generally don't delete anything, I just move it into another file and hope to be able to use it somehow in a different story.
I do rewrite, and take scenes in different directions if I don't like the way they went, but I save the original in case it turns out I liked that better.
But if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit.
I've having Johnny Cochran flashbacks.
::shudder::
What if you really, really want to include something but part of you is saying it's not right for that particular story?
I'll check with my betas, and if they say no, it's probably out.
Generally speaking, it comes out if it's not right, though I've snuck lines in on occasion that probably could have been cut. Never whole scenes though.
Do you take notes longhand, and if so, when?
Notes? Yeah, when I'm doing research away from the computer. I also write in longhand when on the train or away from my computer.
Do you use challenges by other people to inspire you?
Yeah. Challenge in a Can is a blessing. So are the opening line challenges Khaki throws out occasionally.
I've got tons of ideas, but a challenge can sometimes break me out of a rut I'm in, or make me look at things differently, whether it's a character I don't normally write or a mood or whatever.
Do you do anything in particular to get you into the right mindset to write a certain character or characters?
No.
If it's a character I'm not real sure of, I rewatch the source material, but that's it.
Which characters are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
Rogue. Because I identify with her. Scott, for the same reason. Chloe, too. Logan, because while I'm not just like him, I *get* him. I get Clark also. Lex, not so much.
Which ones are hardest, and again, WHY?
Jean, Storm and Xavier.
Because I don't get them.
They seem so serene so, controlled, so perfect. That's foreign to me.
Which characters are most like you emotionally?
Rogue. Chloe. Scott.
How often do you feel like what you're writing is fulfilling some emotional need - ie, when you're writing comfort, is it because you often feel that you don't get it IRL?
Uh, some of the more over-the-top romance stuff is because I don't get that in real life, but who does?
What about writing smut - do you find it easy, difficult?
Difficult.
Always got to keep track of all the parts, make sure it sounds sexy but feels real emotionally.
Also, I don't want people thinking, "Oh, *that's* what she wants" or "*That's* what she's like," though of course, I can't help what people think.
What kinds of smut are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
Well, I've gotten used to Rogue/Logan smut, so that's probably the easiest.
It's also easier to write over-the-top raunchy PWP stuff that doesn't mean anything to a story or is not emotionally engaging, but that's not *good* smut, so why bother?
Which of your stories is your favorite and WHY? Least favorite?
Gah.
I can't choose just one favorite!
Soiled Dove, I guess. Because it *works* - it's a good Elseworlds story. Everyone is in character. There's a plot. It's actually kind of a good, twisty plot, and it's almost exactly as I had it in my head.
It's also the type of fiction I'd like to write if/when I write original fiction.
Least favorite?
I'm not fond of either of the sex romps - Trust And Other Games, and Catching Up, though Catching Up has that last section I'm really proud of, after all the sex is over.
I'm sure there are others, but those two come to mind readily.
Oh, Xander Steps Up, which is my Mary Sue story. And Ties That Bind, which is sort of urghy - clunky and awkward, cliched and telegraphed.
Which of your titles do you like the most/least, and why?
I love most of my titles.
The Very Sickness of My Heart is a good one. So is The Soiled Dove. Gilded Cages, Broken Wings. Trust and Other Games We Play is a good title, even if the story sucks. I like Jim Morrison's Dead and Chasing the Blast, also. I wish the story Burn in the Fire of Love lived up to the title. I like the title. Comfort Me With Apples is a great title, as well, and I like the story a lot.
Least favorite?
Crossing Canada. Boring. This poor story gets picked on all the time. Along with Xander Steps Up, which is another groaner of a title.
In Plain Sight. I ended up sticking that on because whatever the working title was didn't work anymore.
Things Change. Gee, could you vague that up for me?
I use a lot of one word titles, but as long as they fit the story, I'm okay with that.
How do you choose titles for your stories?
Usually the story comes with a title.
I use a lot of song titles, or phrases from songs, poems or quotes. Or something from the story just seems to fit - like "Enough for Now."
Sometimes I write the story just because I like the title. Cicatrix was like that. Also, All Summer in a Day, though that's not my title; I just chose it from my favorite short story in the Bradbury Challenge.
I want to write a story called Hard Eight, just 'cause I like that title. Gambling has all sorts of evocative terms, no?
It's rare that I don't already have a title I love picked out, though Absolution was "Requiescat in Pace" up until the moment I posted it and changed it to Absolution.
Like Water came from a quote in an interview about Natalie Portman.
Strange, the things you remember. *G*
If I'm ready to post and I don't have a title, then I panic and come up with a string of them, and start asking people.
Do you write differently with a cowriter than you do alone? Is it easier or harder?
I don't do the co-write thing well. I've co-authored two stories, unless you count the silly meta-fics, which are a different thing entirely.
I have participated in Round Robins, but because I like to have control, I try to enforce my vision of events and characters, and that's not good for collaboration.
Do you write original fic differently from fanfic (if you write it at all)?
Well, you have to start almost completely from scratch with original fiction, so of course it's different, but once I'm in the swing of a story, the writing itself isn't any different.
For series and long works, do you decide a goal in advance to stop at or are they open ended? If you do choose a goal, how often do you stick to it?
Huh.
Ask me when I've finished one. *g*
The longest things I've finished have both been based on other scripts (Casablanca and the Princess Bride) so they had endings built in.
Achin' to Be was my first set of stories, and it got away from me. I see that now. *G* I know how I want it to end, I just haven't written it, because I'm really not in the same place as a writer - I don't see the characters that way anymore, so it's hard. I've decided to cut out two of the stories I sort of had planned, just because I can't really remember what was supposed to happen.
Off the Corner has a finite ending; it could, in fact, end where it is now and I'd be happy, but I'd like to do a coda where Logan gets revenge for Marie's injuries.
Grief and Healing also has a finite ending I'm working toward, as does All of Heaven Away. Each has two stories that need to be written to finish the whole story.
Consumption... sigh. I know how it ends, but getting there is killing me.
A Game of You, also, I know how it ends - I know how the whole thing goes really, it's just a matter of sitting and writing it.
All That You Can't Leave Behind and Eyes That Lied are trickier. They're the only two stories that have outlines, because they require a great deal more plot than I usually deal with, but I sort of know all the major scenes that need to be written, it's just a question of writing them.
Amnesiac!Rogue is more vague in terms of getting from point A to point B, but I know how it goes once I've gotten to point B.
Meaning, I just need to get Logan and Rogue through the six years they're separated, and make all the experiences they have believable. Sigh.
How do you deal with character plinkage (i.e, the characters develop a mind of their own)?
Let 'em have their heads.
You can't force it. Readers can tell.
When a scene feels forced, what are the first few tricks you try to fix it?
Rewriting it from another POV. Rewriting it altogether. Skipping over it and telling it as a flashback.
Are most of your fixes deletions or additions?
Hmm.
On longer stories, additions, definitely. I go back and seed things in that I find I'm going to need later on.
I also tend to be elliptical, so I have to go back and clarify by adding in details. Also, adding in physical description and such, that I often forget about the first time around.
So adding, I guess.
How long does it usually take you to write a story? How many revisions do you go through?
Depends.
I tend to rewrite as a I write, so how does that count? If I hand write and then revise as I type, is that two drafts?
Generally, at least two revisions, even for stories that don't get a full beta.
If it's something long or new, 3 or 4 or 8 or 9 depending on what it is, how many people I want to look at it.
I've posted stories written in 30 minutes. I have stories I've been working on for 2 years.
Do you use beta readers?
Hell, yeah.
Except for those short under 1000 word pieces that don't necessarily need them. I mean, if everybody's busy, I'm confident enough that I can post a short fic without having it betaed, as long as I've done a hard (paper) edit and run spellcheck.
(Buffyverse specific) How do you name your demons?
Hee!
German.
Use the German, babe.
And Hebrew and Yiddish.
Foreign languages, or starting with a foreign word and changing a couple of letters.
Also, anything with "K" in it is good.
Lots of harsh sounding syllables and apostrophes - M'Klir, K'rikkur - like that.
Heh. That was fun.
Long, but fun.
~victoria
link
[current mood: busy]
[current music: A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum]
[random quote: we called out for another drink, the waiter brough the tray, and so it was much later when the miller told his tale...]
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The painting is "Boreas" by John William Waterhouse. Again, not a muse, but I like her. She suits the color scheme.
The quote is from Sir Philip Sidney.
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