Dear Yuletide Author
Dear Yuletide Author:
Thank you for writing my request. I really hope you have fun with it, enjoying the prompts you received. I provided optional details, because I understand they can be helpful. If you prefer to write something different, I am sure I will enjoy that too.
Requests
Fandom: Stalky & Co - Rudyard Kipling
Characters: Any
Optional Details: There’s a female at the Coll (and it isn’t Matron)! The role of this female is your choice: perhaps a female teacher - perhaps female students? And, for once, Study No 5 is divided. If that doesn’t appeal please just write anything true to canon, for example: Stalky getting back at King in some way; breaking bounds and getting away with it; etc.
Fandom: The Sandbaggers - TV series
Characters: Any
Optional Details: Gen preferred - a nice twisty plot that shows Machiavellian machinations with a surprise ending please. Possible ideas: Jeff Ross comes into his own; or Wellingham teams up with Willie to manipulate Neil; or Marianne organises an op despite Neil’s opposition.
Fandom: The Mask of Apollo - Mary Renault
Characters: Thettalos and Nikeratos
Optional Details: Something set after the book about Thettalos’ work as a spy for Alexander the Great, preferably including some theatre scenes. Or (during the period of the book) letters back and forth between them when they are apart which give their personal non-political take on the great events of the period, and then how they are when they get back together, maybe after one has had a less than fortunate affair and needs a bit of comforting from the friend he knows will accept him and all his foibles. If you can work in Plato in some way (perhaps giving advice which is more philosophical and less than practical) so much the better but Plato is really an optional character. Gen preferred or sex alluded to rather than explicitly described, although I don’t mind the odd well-written slash story.
Fandom: The Last of the Wine - Mary Renault
Characters: Any
Optional Details: I really would like something that explores Phaedo; but having said that, if he is not the character that grabs your attention, that is OK as I would be really pleased with anything set in this universe. Some ideas: Anything which sheds a bit more light on Phaedo’s character. For example: how did he manage during the siege of Athens? Alternatively: explore the relationship Phaedo has with Sokrates. Or: what is Phaedo’s relationship with one or more of Sokrates’ other disciples (e.g. Plato or Xenophon) or other characters (e.g. Alexias, Lysis, Kritias)? Or: (post-book) how did Phaedo react to Sokrates’ death? Ideas for non-Phaedo stories: Lysis and Thalia - what was their relationship like? Tell us something from Arete’s point of view. Myron as a young man, friend to Alkibiades - what broke that friendship?
Fandom: The King Must Die Series - Mary Renault
Characters: Any
Optional Details: Ideas include: (1) Something about the trust between Theseus and the rest of the Cranes during their time with the Cranes; (2) a story that showcases Hippolyta as more than just an adjunct to Theseus; (3) How did Aithra feel as a representative of the Goddess when she realised she had born a son who would overturn the pre-eminence of Goddess-worship?
Fandom: The Praise Singer - Mary Renault
Characters: Any
Optional Details: Bacchylides, Aiskhylos, and Anakreon teach Simonides a thing or two.
Everything you may want to know (or not!) about my own stories, source material, and finding a beta familiar with canon
Examples of stories I have written within Mary Renault fandoms can be found in previous Yuletide collections and also in the community archive at maryrenaultfic. Although you need to be a community member to read stories posted there from September 2010 onwards, earlier stories I’ve written can still be accessed without joining. If you need a beta for a Renault fanfic, I recommend you contact that community’s moderators who should be able to help you find someone familiar with canon. Source material for Renault-universe stories is available on the wiki about Renault fan activities at: http://fanlore.org/wiki/Mary_Renault and Renault’s novels are easily borrowed from most public libraries.
An example of a Stalky story I wrote a couple of years ago for Yuletide is "here". If there is a Stalky (or Kipling) fan-community I’ve never found it, so I have nowhere in particular to point you for a beta. The story I wrote was beta’d by my sister, who can be found at http://greerwatson.livejournal.com. Whether she’d be willing to beta your story, given how busy she is, I have no idea. But she does know Kipling’s works very well, and is very thorough. As for source material: Kipling’s novel can be readily found in any public library.
Sandbaggers is a TV series from the late 1970s starring Roy Marsden and Ray Lonnen as British spies during the cold war. It has been dubbed the best spy series ever! All three seasons are available on DVD. An example of the Sandbaggers story I wrote for Yuletide 2011 is "here". There is a live journal fan community for Sandbaggers at http://sandbaggers.livejournal.com. If you need a beta who is familiar with canon, I recommend you ask there.
What I like:
• I like stories that are character-driven and also those that are plot-driven (though I prefer the former), but as long as something is well-written I usually like anything (so I suggest you just opt for what you like to write).
• I have no preference about the story being serious or humorous; I think that sort of decision is best left to the author. Witty repartee in dialogue does appeal regardless of whether the theme of the story is serious or funny.
• I generally prefer stories that are true to canon, but occasionally do enjoy a well-written AU.
• Although I rarely write sexually explicit stories, I have no objection to reading them. However, I prefer any sex to develop logically from the plot or exploring some aspect of character development.
Thank you for writing my request. I really hope you have fun with it, enjoying the prompts you received. I provided optional details, because I understand they can be helpful. If you prefer to write something different, I am sure I will enjoy that too.
Requests
Fandom: Stalky & Co - Rudyard Kipling
Characters: Any
Optional Details: There’s a female at the Coll (and it isn’t Matron)! The role of this female is your choice: perhaps a female teacher - perhaps female students? And, for once, Study No 5 is divided. If that doesn’t appeal please just write anything true to canon, for example: Stalky getting back at King in some way; breaking bounds and getting away with it; etc.
Fandom: The Sandbaggers - TV series
Characters: Any
Optional Details: Gen preferred - a nice twisty plot that shows Machiavellian machinations with a surprise ending please. Possible ideas: Jeff Ross comes into his own; or Wellingham teams up with Willie to manipulate Neil; or Marianne organises an op despite Neil’s opposition.
Fandom: The Mask of Apollo - Mary Renault
Characters: Thettalos and Nikeratos
Optional Details: Something set after the book about Thettalos’ work as a spy for Alexander the Great, preferably including some theatre scenes. Or (during the period of the book) letters back and forth between them when they are apart which give their personal non-political take on the great events of the period, and then how they are when they get back together, maybe after one has had a less than fortunate affair and needs a bit of comforting from the friend he knows will accept him and all his foibles. If you can work in Plato in some way (perhaps giving advice which is more philosophical and less than practical) so much the better but Plato is really an optional character. Gen preferred or sex alluded to rather than explicitly described, although I don’t mind the odd well-written slash story.
Fandom: The Last of the Wine - Mary Renault
Characters: Any
Optional Details: I really would like something that explores Phaedo; but having said that, if he is not the character that grabs your attention, that is OK as I would be really pleased with anything set in this universe. Some ideas: Anything which sheds a bit more light on Phaedo’s character. For example: how did he manage during the siege of Athens? Alternatively: explore the relationship Phaedo has with Sokrates. Or: what is Phaedo’s relationship with one or more of Sokrates’ other disciples (e.g. Plato or Xenophon) or other characters (e.g. Alexias, Lysis, Kritias)? Or: (post-book) how did Phaedo react to Sokrates’ death? Ideas for non-Phaedo stories: Lysis and Thalia - what was their relationship like? Tell us something from Arete’s point of view. Myron as a young man, friend to Alkibiades - what broke that friendship?
Fandom: The King Must Die Series - Mary Renault
Characters: Any
Optional Details: Ideas include: (1) Something about the trust between Theseus and the rest of the Cranes during their time with the Cranes; (2) a story that showcases Hippolyta as more than just an adjunct to Theseus; (3) How did Aithra feel as a representative of the Goddess when she realised she had born a son who would overturn the pre-eminence of Goddess-worship?
Fandom: The Praise Singer - Mary Renault
Characters: Any
Optional Details: Bacchylides, Aiskhylos, and Anakreon teach Simonides a thing or two.
Everything you may want to know (or not!) about my own stories, source material, and finding a beta familiar with canon
Examples of stories I have written within Mary Renault fandoms can be found in previous Yuletide collections and also in the community archive at maryrenaultfic. Although you need to be a community member to read stories posted there from September 2010 onwards, earlier stories I’ve written can still be accessed without joining. If you need a beta for a Renault fanfic, I recommend you contact that community’s moderators who should be able to help you find someone familiar with canon. Source material for Renault-universe stories is available on the wiki about Renault fan activities at: http://fanlore.org/wiki/Mary_Renault and Renault’s novels are easily borrowed from most public libraries.
An example of a Stalky story I wrote a couple of years ago for Yuletide is "here". If there is a Stalky (or Kipling) fan-community I’ve never found it, so I have nowhere in particular to point you for a beta. The story I wrote was beta’d by my sister, who can be found at http://greerwatson.livejournal.com. Whether she’d be willing to beta your story, given how busy she is, I have no idea. But she does know Kipling’s works very well, and is very thorough. As for source material: Kipling’s novel can be readily found in any public library.
Sandbaggers is a TV series from the late 1970s starring Roy Marsden and Ray Lonnen as British spies during the cold war. It has been dubbed the best spy series ever! All three seasons are available on DVD. An example of the Sandbaggers story I wrote for Yuletide 2011 is "here". There is a live journal fan community for Sandbaggers at http://sandbaggers.livejournal.com. If you need a beta who is familiar with canon, I recommend you ask there.
What I like:
• I like stories that are character-driven and also those that are plot-driven (though I prefer the former), but as long as something is well-written I usually like anything (so I suggest you just opt for what you like to write).
• I have no preference about the story being serious or humorous; I think that sort of decision is best left to the author. Witty repartee in dialogue does appeal regardless of whether the theme of the story is serious or funny.
• I generally prefer stories that are true to canon, but occasionally do enjoy a well-written AU.
• Although I rarely write sexually explicit stories, I have no objection to reading them. However, I prefer any sex to develop logically from the plot or exploring some aspect of character development.