strangepromises (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
strangepromises) wrote2009-11-28 02:15 pm
strangepromises) wrote2009-11-28 02:15 pm
Dear Yuletide Writer
Fandoms: Neal Stephenson - The Baroque Cycle, Pamela Brown - Swish of the Curtain, Northern Exposure, Antonia Forest - Marlows books
Wah, just wrote loads and lost it to browser weirdness. ANYWAY.
A note if you're pinch-hitting: the Pamela Brown would be the easiest to pick up in a hurry, being as it is only one book.
Thank you for volunteering to write one of these fandoms! I am v excited about it already. You should of course feel free to ignore all the prompts etc: write something that grabs you and it'll be a better story than one written to fit my ideas.
Having said that: I tend to prefer fics that at least end positively (angst en route is fine!), gen in most of these fandoms (particularly the Pamela Brown & Antonia Forest books, both of which are childhood favourites for me), & slash rather than het if doing non-gen. I really love character interactions, character reactions to things, and people dealing with new stuff, changes, or difficulties -- those things that make us have to rethink the way we model the world.
I'm not enthusiastic about detailed descriptions of major mental/physical distress (if someone gets hurt & it's plot-relevant then fine, but whumpage for the sake of it not really my thing), misogyny, or racism.
Neal Stephenson - The Baroque Cycle
Prompt: (Characters: any). I love the richness of this universe, and the feeling of how much is going on at any one time. I'd love to read something about what happened to Eliza afterwards, or some of what Daniel was getting up to in the gaps. Or what about more of Jack's future? Basically, I'd love anything you feel like writing!
There's so much in this universe that even thinking of ideas for prompts is a little paralysing... I'm particularly fond of Daniel and of Eliza, but really, it's all good. I'd love for it to have something of the rich, complicated feel of the books, and to be reasonably historically accurate (within canon, which obviously has a couple of major historical inaccuracies!).
Pamela Brown - Swish of the Curtain
Prompt: (Characters: any) I loved this book, although I've lost my copy now. What happened to them all later -- did they achieve their dreams, or did they change as they grew older (if they changed, please let it be positive rather than over-angsty!). Or what about a story of another of their performances. I'd prefer gen in this fandom (or at most a little flirting). I do have a particular fondness for Maddy and for Jeremy, but I'd love anything about any of these characters.
This book just makes me feel happy, and basically I just want more of that! Futurefic would be kind of cool, as I'd love to see where they go when they're a little older, but missing scenes or only-barely-post-book is also fine. I'd be a bit weirded out, even in futurefic, by anything graphically non-gen (this is a childhood favourite book), but hey, I can see that non-gen might work quite well, so feel free to ignore that!
Northern Exposure
Prompt: (Characters: any) Everyone in this is awesome, and there's so much scope for missing scenes and extras and backstory. Anything that grabs you would be great. I'm particularly fond of Ed, Ruth-Ann, & Shelly & Holling, but it's the interactions between everyone in the show that I really love. (Preference for gen, please!)
I think what I really like about NE is the sense of community -- that everyone manages to make allowances for each other and to get on, even if sometimes they're all a bit peculiar! Also the humour is kind of essential, here, I think. But yes, lots of scope for anything you feel like writing.
Antonia Forest - Marlow series
Prompt: (Characters: Lawrie Marlow/Nicola Marlow/Rowan Marlow/Thalia Keith aka Tim.) What I always really loved about these books was the way that they're real people who screw up and experience the consequences of those screwups. Rowan is seriously awesome, and I always liked the Nick/Lawrie/Tim thing (with all its occasional tensions.). Feel free to include anyone else you fancy. Maybe something about later school life for Nick & Lawrie - how did they carry on growing together & apart in their twin-ness? Or Rowan on the farm with the twins home one holiday. (How would Tim get on down there?) What happens to Nick & Lawrie after school? (I know that some of those suggestions don't entirely lend themselves to all 4 characters, so I'm happy with a mention of or reference to one or two of the characters to cover the requirement! :) ) Gen, please.
I love the fact that the characters in this feel like real people -- not just the making mistakes, but that they can be bitchy, and unreasonable, and selfish, and all those other things that we all do from time to time. Nick is probably my favourite character, but I'm fond of all the others mentioned as well. Mild preference for school-era, I think, but if futurefic grabs you then go for it!
Hope this is all helpful -- and just to reiterate the point about already looking forward to reading whatever you want to write!
Wah, just wrote loads and lost it to browser weirdness. ANYWAY.
A note if you're pinch-hitting: the Pamela Brown would be the easiest to pick up in a hurry, being as it is only one book.
Thank you for volunteering to write one of these fandoms! I am v excited about it already. You should of course feel free to ignore all the prompts etc: write something that grabs you and it'll be a better story than one written to fit my ideas.
Having said that: I tend to prefer fics that at least end positively (angst en route is fine!), gen in most of these fandoms (particularly the Pamela Brown & Antonia Forest books, both of which are childhood favourites for me), & slash rather than het if doing non-gen. I really love character interactions, character reactions to things, and people dealing with new stuff, changes, or difficulties -- those things that make us have to rethink the way we model the world.
I'm not enthusiastic about detailed descriptions of major mental/physical distress (if someone gets hurt & it's plot-relevant then fine, but whumpage for the sake of it not really my thing), misogyny, or racism.
Neal Stephenson - The Baroque Cycle
Prompt: (Characters: any). I love the richness of this universe, and the feeling of how much is going on at any one time. I'd love to read something about what happened to Eliza afterwards, or some of what Daniel was getting up to in the gaps. Or what about more of Jack's future? Basically, I'd love anything you feel like writing!
There's so much in this universe that even thinking of ideas for prompts is a little paralysing... I'm particularly fond of Daniel and of Eliza, but really, it's all good. I'd love for it to have something of the rich, complicated feel of the books, and to be reasonably historically accurate (within canon, which obviously has a couple of major historical inaccuracies!).
Pamela Brown - Swish of the Curtain
Prompt: (Characters: any) I loved this book, although I've lost my copy now. What happened to them all later -- did they achieve their dreams, or did they change as they grew older (if they changed, please let it be positive rather than over-angsty!). Or what about a story of another of their performances. I'd prefer gen in this fandom (or at most a little flirting). I do have a particular fondness for Maddy and for Jeremy, but I'd love anything about any of these characters.
This book just makes me feel happy, and basically I just want more of that! Futurefic would be kind of cool, as I'd love to see where they go when they're a little older, but missing scenes or only-barely-post-book is also fine. I'd be a bit weirded out, even in futurefic, by anything graphically non-gen (this is a childhood favourite book), but hey, I can see that non-gen might work quite well, so feel free to ignore that!
Northern Exposure
Prompt: (Characters: any) Everyone in this is awesome, and there's so much scope for missing scenes and extras and backstory. Anything that grabs you would be great. I'm particularly fond of Ed, Ruth-Ann, & Shelly & Holling, but it's the interactions between everyone in the show that I really love. (Preference for gen, please!)
I think what I really like about NE is the sense of community -- that everyone manages to make allowances for each other and to get on, even if sometimes they're all a bit peculiar! Also the humour is kind of essential, here, I think. But yes, lots of scope for anything you feel like writing.
Antonia Forest - Marlow series
Prompt: (Characters: Lawrie Marlow/Nicola Marlow/Rowan Marlow/Thalia Keith aka Tim.) What I always really loved about these books was the way that they're real people who screw up and experience the consequences of those screwups. Rowan is seriously awesome, and I always liked the Nick/Lawrie/Tim thing (with all its occasional tensions.). Feel free to include anyone else you fancy. Maybe something about later school life for Nick & Lawrie - how did they carry on growing together & apart in their twin-ness? Or Rowan on the farm with the twins home one holiday. (How would Tim get on down there?) What happens to Nick & Lawrie after school? (I know that some of those suggestions don't entirely lend themselves to all 4 characters, so I'm happy with a mention of or reference to one or two of the characters to cover the requirement! :) ) Gen, please.
I love the fact that the characters in this feel like real people -- not just the making mistakes, but that they can be bitchy, and unreasonable, and selfish, and all those other things that we all do from time to time. Nick is probably my favourite character, but I'm fond of all the others mentioned as well. Mild preference for school-era, I think, but if futurefic grabs you then go for it!
Hope this is all helpful -- and just to reiterate the point about already looking forward to reading whatever you want to write!