graycardinal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
graycardinal) wrote2014-07-13 11:04 pm
graycardinal) wrote2014-07-13 11:04 pm
Dear Scribbler: Fic Corner 2014
deep breath]
Whoof. All right, out from under prior deadline, caught up on sleep, several weeks out from next deadline. Time to actually write a Dear Writer letter...
First, and always most important: thank you. This exchange, more than most, is about fandoms long-loved and of long standing, and I really appreciate the chance to see a story in whichever of them the two of us happen to share. I know one of my favorite parts of this process is the chance to make someone's day with a new story in a really rare fandom, and I suspect I'm not alone in this. So thank you (as Linus Van Pelt said once) from the bottom of my socks, because the bottom of my heart isn't deep enough.
Now, then: first, you want to know what I like.
Pluses for me include strong characterization, well-written dialogue, wit/banter/snark, clever use of canon, well-developed AUs, UST (heavy on both the U and the T), and more. I'm neutral when it comes to matters of gen, slash, and the like -- if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind. I'm not into noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks, but have few other outright squicks as long as the relationship is age- and canon-appropriate; OTOH, I mostly don't read fanfic for sexual content -- and especially in the context of the present set of requests, romance is not necessarily a primary element in my love for the fandom. (Exceptions will be noted below.)
I will note in particular that I am a sucker for the clever and well-executed crossover -- not because I expect one (Optional Details Being Optional, and such things being well beyond the call of either duty or necessity), but because in one or two of these cases, the potential amusement and/or entertainment value would be particularly high if your writerly imagination should happen to wander in that direction.
For this year/exchange in specific: if you've been reading my past Dear [Whatever] letters, note that while several of these fandoms are long-standing requests of mine, I've recast the details for the present occasion.
Diana Winthrop series - Kate Chambers • (any character)
This is my nano-fandom and my Oliver Twist request -- which is to say, what I'm looking for is simply "more". Give me either casefic or a character moment for Diana and Brad, give me back story for Lydian (or build forward on what canon gives us of the relationship between Lydian, Diana's father, and Diana), give me something colorful and clever featuring Gran Culhaine...any of these will find me a very happy camper.
I don't think this requires much further amplification -- if you are one of the other eleven people who evidently read these books back in the day, you know their niftiness and recognize the characters. If you're not, I recommend the series highly even if it is incredibly obscure. As the prompts indicate, if -- beyond all odds -- you do know the fandom, I would not be opposed to Diana/Brad romance, or to canon-appropriate romance involving Lydian or Gran (there being definite hints at such in various of the books).
Oz - L. Frank Baum • (any character)
I deliberately picked my favorite second-tier characters when I nominated the Oz books, and I would be delighted with a story about any or all of this group. There's a lot of room for storytelling with all of these -- back story, solo adventures, character vignettes -- and I don't want to unduly restrict you. One particular note: as you may already be aware, I wrote a Trot-and-Glinda tale of my own for Yuletide some years back. If you're drawn to these characters, you should feel absolutely free *either* to build on that material or to ignore it entirely and go in your own direction.
I am mostly not looking for romance here, but wouldn't be opposed to Wizard/Glinda or Button-Bright/Trot (preferably not Glinda/Trot, which pushes my age-appropriateness buttons).
Planet Builders - Robyn Tallis • (any character)
This has been one of my perennial micro-fandom requests since my very first Yuletide -- but this time around I'm going general rather than specific. Give me light romance between one of the teen couples, give me either back story for Dr. Ives or perhaps his sardonic/amused behind-the-scenes observations on some moment in canon, give me an untold adventure, or imagine a moment somewhere long past canon into the future -- it's all good, and it's all most definitely welcome.
Here again, if you're among the all-too-small set of folks who've read these, you should pretty much have what you need. I have previously mentioned amplifying on Daphne's theatrical predilections, and I won't mind at all if you go there -- but at this point I want fic in general more than I want specific fic in particular. (Desperation will do that to you....)
Young Wizards - Diane Duane • (Carmela Rodriguez, Dairine Callahan, Irina Mladen)
I chose these three characters both because I like them individually and because canon gives us very little that puts them together with one another. Where Irina is concerned, that's not surprising given her role in canon; OTOH, I am a little surprised that we get as little interaction between Carmela and Dairine as we do -- even granting their age difference. Optional Details Being Optional, if you've only matched on one of these three I will be totally happy with a focus on that particular individual (and whatever canon character(s) you feel inclined to bring in as foils/adversaries/partners/etc.), but if you've matched on any two or all three, I would be especially interested in a tale that lets them work, play, snark, and/or play off of one another.
In general, with this set of characters I am not looking for romance (and any romance that does pop up doesn't seem likely to me to involve matching any one of these three with either of the others).
Night World - L. J. Smith • (Aradia, Raksha Keller, Maggie Neely, Galen Drache, Delos Redfern)
A couple of thoughts here. I nominated Aradia because we don't get a lot of her in the books, and I really would like to see a story where she's at the forefront, whether as a romantic lead or in her role as one of the Night World's central political/magical players. Alternately -- as my character picks may suggest -- I'm a fan of Smith's shapeshifters, and would be immensely pleased to see a story in which any or all of the four I've mentioned get to exercise their abilities either for recreational purposes or in the pursuit of Important Goals. (Romance in this case is a plus but not a requirement.) Further bonuses: follow-on material in which Delos' kingdom is dealing with the outside world at last; Raksha and/or Galen as Night World's equivalent of the Avengers (Steed and Peel, rather than Tony and Natasha and Thor).
Here, obviously, I am very open to romance -- best case, though is romance with extra!added!snark! (and adventure, a la the Steed/Peel citation above). I am, of course, still hoping that Smith eventually gives us the series finale, but I am not holding my breath, so feel free to move forward from published canon if the mood strikes you to do so.
Whoof. All right, out from under prior deadline, caught up on sleep, several weeks out from next deadline. Time to actually write a Dear Writer letter...
First, and always most important: thank you. This exchange, more than most, is about fandoms long-loved and of long standing, and I really appreciate the chance to see a story in whichever of them the two of us happen to share. I know one of my favorite parts of this process is the chance to make someone's day with a new story in a really rare fandom, and I suspect I'm not alone in this. So thank you (as Linus Van Pelt said once) from the bottom of my socks, because the bottom of my heart isn't deep enough.
Now, then: first, you want to know what I like.
Pluses for me include strong characterization, well-written dialogue, wit/banter/snark, clever use of canon, well-developed AUs, UST (heavy on both the U and the T), and more. I'm neutral when it comes to matters of gen, slash, and the like -- if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind. I'm not into noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks, but have few other outright squicks as long as the relationship is age- and canon-appropriate; OTOH, I mostly don't read fanfic for sexual content -- and especially in the context of the present set of requests, romance is not necessarily a primary element in my love for the fandom. (Exceptions will be noted below.)
I will note in particular that I am a sucker for the clever and well-executed crossover -- not because I expect one (Optional Details Being Optional, and such things being well beyond the call of either duty or necessity), but because in one or two of these cases, the potential amusement and/or entertainment value would be particularly high if your writerly imagination should happen to wander in that direction.
For this year/exchange in specific: if you've been reading my past Dear [Whatever] letters, note that while several of these fandoms are long-standing requests of mine, I've recast the details for the present occasion.
Diana Winthrop series - Kate Chambers • (any character)
This is my nano-fandom and my Oliver Twist request -- which is to say, what I'm looking for is simply "more". Give me either casefic or a character moment for Diana and Brad, give me back story for Lydian (or build forward on what canon gives us of the relationship between Lydian, Diana's father, and Diana), give me something colorful and clever featuring Gran Culhaine...any of these will find me a very happy camper.
I don't think this requires much further amplification -- if you are one of the other eleven people who evidently read these books back in the day, you know their niftiness and recognize the characters. If you're not, I recommend the series highly even if it is incredibly obscure. As the prompts indicate, if -- beyond all odds -- you do know the fandom, I would not be opposed to Diana/Brad romance, or to canon-appropriate romance involving Lydian or Gran (there being definite hints at such in various of the books).
Oz - L. Frank Baum • (any character)
I deliberately picked my favorite second-tier characters when I nominated the Oz books, and I would be delighted with a story about any or all of this group. There's a lot of room for storytelling with all of these -- back story, solo adventures, character vignettes -- and I don't want to unduly restrict you. One particular note: as you may already be aware, I wrote a Trot-and-Glinda tale of my own for Yuletide some years back. If you're drawn to these characters, you should feel absolutely free *either* to build on that material or to ignore it entirely and go in your own direction.
I am mostly not looking for romance here, but wouldn't be opposed to Wizard/Glinda or Button-Bright/Trot (preferably not Glinda/Trot, which pushes my age-appropriateness buttons).
Planet Builders - Robyn Tallis • (any character)
This has been one of my perennial micro-fandom requests since my very first Yuletide -- but this time around I'm going general rather than specific. Give me light romance between one of the teen couples, give me either back story for Dr. Ives or perhaps his sardonic/amused behind-the-scenes observations on some moment in canon, give me an untold adventure, or imagine a moment somewhere long past canon into the future -- it's all good, and it's all most definitely welcome.
Here again, if you're among the all-too-small set of folks who've read these, you should pretty much have what you need. I have previously mentioned amplifying on Daphne's theatrical predilections, and I won't mind at all if you go there -- but at this point I want fic in general more than I want specific fic in particular. (Desperation will do that to you....)
Young Wizards - Diane Duane • (Carmela Rodriguez, Dairine Callahan, Irina Mladen)
I chose these three characters both because I like them individually and because canon gives us very little that puts them together with one another. Where Irina is concerned, that's not surprising given her role in canon; OTOH, I am a little surprised that we get as little interaction between Carmela and Dairine as we do -- even granting their age difference. Optional Details Being Optional, if you've only matched on one of these three I will be totally happy with a focus on that particular individual (and whatever canon character(s) you feel inclined to bring in as foils/adversaries/partners/etc.), but if you've matched on any two or all three, I would be especially interested in a tale that lets them work, play, snark, and/or play off of one another.
In general, with this set of characters I am not looking for romance (and any romance that does pop up doesn't seem likely to me to involve matching any one of these three with either of the others).
Night World - L. J. Smith • (Aradia, Raksha Keller, Maggie Neely, Galen Drache, Delos Redfern)
A couple of thoughts here. I nominated Aradia because we don't get a lot of her in the books, and I really would like to see a story where she's at the forefront, whether as a romantic lead or in her role as one of the Night World's central political/magical players. Alternately -- as my character picks may suggest -- I'm a fan of Smith's shapeshifters, and would be immensely pleased to see a story in which any or all of the four I've mentioned get to exercise their abilities either for recreational purposes or in the pursuit of Important Goals. (Romance in this case is a plus but not a requirement.) Further bonuses: follow-on material in which Delos' kingdom is dealing with the outside world at last; Raksha and/or Galen as Night World's equivalent of the Avengers (Steed and Peel, rather than Tony and Natasha and Thor).
Here, obviously, I am very open to romance -- best case, though is romance with extra!added!snark! (and adventure, a la the Steed/Peel citation above). I am, of course, still hoping that Smith eventually gives us the series finale, but I am not holding my breath, so feel free to move forward from published canon if the mood strikes you to do so.