a fool's musings

Boreas by Waterhouse
Fool, said my muse to me,
look in thy heart and write...

Warning: Adult Content

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02.20.03 - 5:45 p.m.

Blood Remembers posted in the LJ

Blood Remembers, the Eomer/Eowyn fic, is up in the LJ.

Feedback always appreciated.

*g*

Quote of the day: “Finding love is like solving the perfect crime. You look at every shred of evidence; you talk to every witness; follow up every lead; but more often than not, what wins in the end is pure dumb luck. And you my friend, are just not lucky.” Frank Pembleton, Homicide: Life on the Street

~victoria



link

[current mood: rushed]
[current music: Don't Bring Me Down - ELO]
[random quote: \"There's nothing I won't do, but some things are gonna cost you extra.\" ~Mike Kellerman, H:LotS]

~*~

02.20.03 - 12:32 p.m.

crise de nerfs, or, on style yet again

There’s a discussion going on on zendom about style and multi-fandom writing and it’s got me thinking.

(everyone buckle up.)

To paraphrase Ms. Liz, there’s often a generalization made about multi-fandom authors, that all their characters are the same, regardless of whether they’re writing Logan, Lex or Legolas (to pick three of mine *g*).

And she mentions that she feels some stories from her multi-fandom days feel a little hollow, like they have no heart. (Which we all know I consider one of the most horrible things you can say about a story, so I want it clear that Liz said this about her own stuff. I did not.)

So I’ve been thinking about my ::snicker:: oeuvre, and I have to say, I think most of my Buffy fic is inferior to my other stuff, simply because I didn't -- and *don't* -- have a grasp of the idiom in which the characters speak (I really like Catching Sunlight but it’s a drabble and so probably shouldn’t count. Probably the other really good BtVS fic I’ve written is Comfortador, because Xander! Saved the world! Squee!). I *know* these characters, but they don’t speak to me, so I find it harder to write them, because I can’t hear them in their own voices.

Angel is a little easier because the dialogue is less slangy, less stylized. Because of that, I was able to, in the one really good Angel fic I wrote (In the Service of the Queen) capture the essence of the show (in my opinion, of course, and of the show as of mid-season 2, not as it is today).

It's taken me three years (and a four day Sports Night marathon) to write West Wing fic of any decent quality, and still I've only managed to produce one finished story and one WIP. Because the writing of the source material is so stylized, it's harder to grasp and takes longer to slip on. It doesn’t help that Sorkin is often unconcerned with characterization/character arcs in his quest to preach to the choir. But that’s neither here nor there. *g*

Then Liz asked:
Does anyone here really, truly, honestly feel like they have noticably different styles and forms of characterization across fandoms?

My initial answer was, I do.

I've had to.

Admittedly, the bulk of my fic is written in XMM, which is set in modern-day America, and there are no real style issues in the source text, and while I tend to be drawn to characters who *don't* emote and don't share, but I don't think you'll confuse my Logan in XMM with my Lex from Smallville. I’m not sure about my Rogue and my Chloe -- that's where the danger lies for me. Because two young, smart, feisty women pining for the superhero they can’t have – yeah, they’re probably more alike than they should be.

::winces::

Maybe not so much as I thought, huh?

I’ve written so many versions of Rogue, though, that I can’t necessarily say that I have one particular Rogue, that she’s readily identifiable as having been written by me, if you take a random sampling of my stories. (If anyone wants to try this experiment out and post the results here in the comments or in my LJ comments, or just via email and I’ll post it, let me know.)

Whereas Chloe, Chloe’s pretty much the same Chloe in From the Outside In as she is in Another Auld Lang Syne.

But –

Now I'm on a LotR kick and it’s very, very different. While I've experimented with style and voice in other fandoms, to *me*, LotR fic has to match the tone of the books, even if I'm writing based off events of the movies that didn't even occur in the books (see: Aragorn, cliff, over; Éomer, banished; or Boromir, likable *g* [and notice my remarkable restraint at not even mentioning, “The Ring goes to Gondor.” Whoops. Scratch that. *eg*]).

So even though Éowyn is a strong woman, I don't think she'll be mistaken for Rogue or Chloe or well, anyone else, and the style I've written the stories in is much more in the spirit of Tolkien (if not in actual fact as clunky as his writing is, I hope) - trying to capture some of the more lyrical modes in which he wrote, as well as the inverted Anglo-Saxon sentence structure and the occasional flight into alliteration. Avoiding as many overtly French-derived words as possible (Arwen is Aragorn's betrothed, never his fiancée; Háma is a doorwarden not a major domo, etc.).

I’ve attempted a similar lyrical style on occasion in the other fandoms in which I’ve written, and I think my ‘default’ style is in evidence in the one shots –A Probable Impossibility in WW, Thirst in HP, Childish Things in SW, even my first LotR fic, Absolution – but I don’t know that you could switch Sam for Snape for Obi-Wan for Boromir.

::looks over stories::

Maybe I’m kidding myself. Maybe I’m telling the same story over and over, in the same exact way.

Oh god, I’m gonna go lie down now.

victoria
having a crise de nerfs



link

[current mood: unsure]
[current music: Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles]
[random quote: Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter, little darling, it feels like years since it's been here]

~*~

02.19.03 - 10:45 p.m.

Howling on the Radio

Anyone else having trouble getting to LJ?

Grrr...

Liked West Wing, though it could have been better.

Can Charlie please hit the poncy Prince now? Jed was hilarious. "Tell those poncy hairdressers I'll shove a loaf of bread..." "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States!"

Sam needs a haircut.

That guy who plays the guy who Jed fired? He always plays that guy. The smarmy guy nobody likes. He's pretty good at it.

I wish I could answer comments over in LJ, but it's not letting me in at all. Stupid "Cannot Find Server." I have a freaking permanent account. I oughta get some consideration from those freaks. Er, folks.

Grrr...

So, a survey:

First Movie you ever saw in the theatre:

Something Disney - Sleeping Beauty. I also remember a Luv Bug movie at the drive in.

And Star Wars, of course, was the first movie I saw without my parents.

Fav movie as a kid:

Star Wars.

Movie you have seen the most times:

Star Wars. Closely followed by Raiders, Matrix, X-Men and Speed.

Biggest Movie Star crush as a kid:

Matt Dillon

Fav 80's teen Movie:

Either Ferris Bueller's Day Off or Breakfast Club

Fav song from a movie:

This is one I can't answer. It could be "Summer Lovin'" from Grease, or "Well, Did You Evah?" from High Society, or "As Time Goes By" or "Mrs. Robinson" or "Stayin' Alive" or "The Way We Were" or "Gee Officer Krupke" or "Stay (I Missed You)".

So I'm going to choose two classics no one can argue with: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "White Christmas".

Fav Love/Romance Movie:
Princess Bride

Fav Horror Movie:
Warlock

Fav Drama:
Casablanca

Fav Sci Fi movie:
Star Wars

Fav Fantasy movie:
Fellowship of the Ring

Fav Musical Movie:
How to choose... er, this could change at any moment, but for now, we'll go with Silk Stockings

Fav Comedy Movie:
Beetlejuice

Fav Action/Adventure Movie:
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Speed, Matrix, Terminator/T2, Lethal Weapon (1), Die Hard (1)

Movie that Scared You as a Child:
Pinocchio. Still does. ::shudder::

Movie that makes you cry every time you see it:
Little Women

Worst movie you ever saw:

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Movie you walked out on in the theatre cause it was so bad:
see above, except we didn't walk out, we had a popcorn fight and annoyed everyone around us

Most sexual movie you ever saw (non porn):
Wild Things

Most disturbing movie you ever saw:
Triumph of the Will

Movie that supposedly sucks but you love it:

Major League

Favorite actors:

Gene Hackman
Humphrey Bogart
Harrison Ford
Sean Connery
Peter O'Toole
Cary Grant
Gregory Peck
Johnny Depp
Ewan McGregor
Richard E. Grant
Sean Bean
Anthony Hopkins
Christopher Walken
Kurt Russell
Hugh Jackman
Ian McKellen
Patrick Stewart
Michael Caine
Jimmy Stewart
Tom Hanks
Clint Eastwood
Ed Harris

Favorite actresses:
Audrey Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Lauren Bacall
Barbara Stanwyck
Jodie Foster
Sigourney Weaver
Christina Ricci
Susan Sarandon
Goldie Hawn
Natasha Richardson
Maggie Smith
Rene Russo

Movie you wanted to see the most as a child but were not allowed to:
Grease

Sexiest movie star of all time (male):
Gregory Peck

Sexiest movie star of all time (female):
Audrey Hepburn

Movie that could/might as well been written about your life:
The Truth About Cats and Dogs, except without the happy ending

Favorite villain in a movie:
Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty
Hannibal Lecter

Last movie you saw on TV/rented:
Signs

Last movie you saw in theatre:
The Quiet American

Movie that you really, really wanted to mention, but just couldn't find a category for it:
So many:

Stalag 17, Silence of the Lambs, Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, It's a Wonderful Life, Goodfellas, The Usual Suspects, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, To Kill a Mockingbird... the list goes on

I'm once again listening to "August and Everything After". I seem to be on this kick again. It happens every few months. This album or "Achtung Baby" or "Vitalogy" or "Pretty Hate Machine" will just get stuck in my CD player, and not be dislodged for weeks.

Lately, it's been the OMWF soundtrack, but that changed over the weekend.

~victoria



link



[current mood: irritated with LiveJournal]
[current music: Ghost Train - Counting Crows]
[random quote: Love is a ghost train, howling on the radio]

~*~

02.19.03 - 11:12 a.m.

Legolas/Gimli snippet

Last night's BtVS really screwed with my subconscious.

I had a BtVS/LotR crossover dream.

I woke up just as Oz found Aragorn, who was heading for the Paths of the Dead.

::shakes head::

Joss really shouldn't *do* that to me.

So, I have this little bit of nothing, I don't think it'll ever be a fic. I'm blaming hossgal, because of something she said in her lovely beta of the E/E fic.

Sometime on the road, after Lorien.

Legolas POV.

Gimli is short.

No two ways about it.

He's short, he snores terribly, and he cannot sit a horse to save his life.

Yet...

He is kind, and warm, and smarter than I would have expected. He has a dry wit I find quite appealing and--

Appealing.

That is no word for an Elf to use about a Dwarf.

Gimli is a Dwarf, first and foremost. I must never forget that. We are reluctant allies at best, and our peoples have been bitter rivals in the past.

And yet...

Without hesitation, I call him friend. Would call him even more perhaps, if...

I rise from where I've lain, shaking my head. Elves do not sleep in the manner of mortal folk, but I begin to wonder if I've gotten lost in some strange, waking dream.

Gimli is a friend.

I admit that.

He is a boon companion, a comrade in arms -- all of this is true, and it pleases me to call him 'friend.'

So why, in the cold hours of the night, do I find myself wondering if he can ever be more?

***

Gimli POV

Legolas is an Elf.

He reminds us of it in every action he takes, even though he speaks but rarely.

We have grown close, he and I. We are friends. Our time in the Golden Wood sealed a friendship forged in peril and loss. All of us in the Fellowship are closer than brothers, now.

But the Elf and I...

I cannot even bring myself to think it. It is not possible.

It is one thing to have gained the favor of the Lady of the Wood. I will call nothing fair unless it be her gift to me. But Legolas is ... dear.

He is dear to me, with his dry wit and his silent support. He sees the beauty in the world, even as it is destroyed. He both celebrates and mourns it, as is the lot of the Elves.

While I am considered handsome by the lights of my people, I know that I cannot match the sheer beauty of even the homeliest Elf, should it be possible that any Elf were homely. Which they would have us believe is not so.

But I wonder, as I watch him range far ahead, scouting our way, I do wonder if he might see in me more than my outer appearance. If he might see clear into my heart, and the secret hope I cherish there.

He smiles for me, though not with the same ease or frequency he grants those treasures to Aragorn.

But I am not jealous. I know they spent many years in each other's company, long before they knew any of us.

He calls me friend and I return the favor, glad of the bond between us, the first step toward peace between our peoples, perhaps.

But sometimes, in the twilight, before I sleep, I wonder if there will come a time when I can reveal my true feelings, and cling to the slim hope that some day, they may be returned.

***

That's it. That's all I've got so far.

I am *so* not sure of Gimli's voice. And Legolas from first POV is no picnic either.

I don't even know if this is the beginning of something worth pursuing, or just my mind wandering at 1am last night.

Ah well, back to editing the E/E fic. Which I'm at least somewhat sure of, because I feel at home in Eowyn's skin and head. I really am pondering a Five Things fic about her. I just have to figure out exactly what the changes would be. I mean, one or two of 'em are easy-peasy. It's the major one that I can't seem to work out the logistics of. Unless she and Faramir knew each other before RotK. If it's completely AU, I can make that work, because I still can't believe that he and Boromir didn't at least know Theodred and Eomer. So... using Faux!Faramir, instead of a mighty gift for his father, what if he brought a mighty gift to his beloved, so she would turn her heart from Aragorn and love him?

Hmmm...

Must think some more on this.

~victoria



link

[current mood: puzzled]
[current music: Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple]
[random quote: \"You are so full of hate and loathing. Can I just tell you, I love it.\" Lorelai, Gilmore Girls]

~*~

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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.

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