Dear Yuletide Author, 2011 Edition
Dear Yuletide Author...
You write things, I am filled with glee. Simple? Simple. I ramble a lot in the optional-details-are-optional section, but if what I'm rambling about doesn't strike your fancy, then just write what you want. I'll be happy, I can pretty much guarantee it.
This is largely a rehash of last year's letter, but things haven't really changed at all since then.
I feel like my Yuletide letter is always completely unhelpful, but I'll write it anyway.
In re: ships, I am okay with anything. Het, slash, gen, whatever. I love porn but I love plot more, so don't feel like you need to write fic with Lots of Gratuitous Body Parts if it's not you or it doesn't fit the fic. (Conversely, I am just fine with PWP, if that's what your brain creates for Yuletide.)
In re: plot, go wild. I love big, long, plotty things, and some fandoms clearly lend themselves more towards intrigue and wacky hijinx than others do. I love AUs and twists on the universes and "what would happen if..." sorts of things. Really, the most important thing is having the fic feel true to its source. Characterization, voice are key. My favorite fics are the ones where I feel like I could print them out and stick them seamlessly into the original canon.
In re: content, in general, I am okay with just about anything. I don't like crack fic or things that are vastly OOC. My only no-gos are real heavy BDSM, torture or extreme physical violence, things involving bodily fluids, bestiality, and mpreg. I don't know how any of these things would come up, but being in HP fandom has made me neurotic about listing these things. If you write the Kushiel's fic, I know some of these things may creep in, which is okay in moderation, but again, it's all about tone and keeping true to source. Things I especially love: women being badasses, snark, missed connections, unrequited love, forbidden relationships, quaint but humorous series of misunderstandings, cuddling, hurt/comfort, angst, exploration, spur of the moment sex, public could-get-caught-at-any-moment sex, quiet moments, realistic relationships (you just know that someone hogs all the bed and forgets to do the dishes). Feel free to check out my fic journal (_regarde) or my AO3 profile to get a glimpse of what I've written, since that may give you a better idea as to what I like to read.
In re: my requests:
Newsflesh Trilogy - Mira Grant
From the request:
Let's get this out of the way first. I totally ship Shaun and George. If you do, that's great, and you can hint at that or be as blatant in your fic as you'd like, and I'll be okay with it. If you don't ship them, that's okay too, and don't feel obligated to write anything like that.
I'll take anything George and/or Shaun-centric, but what I was thinking was perhaps some scenes that take place pre-book. Growing up together, dealing with the Masons, taking their tests to get their journalism licenses, etc. I really just like their interactions with each other, so anything that requires them to be snarky BFFs is great.
George Mason might just be one of my new favorite fictional characters. She's a total badass but it's also a total front sometimes, as evidenced by a lot of her "unpublished" blog posts. If you don't want to write continuing-adventures-of-George-and-Shaun fic, then anything focusing on one of them would be just fine, too.
I'll keep spoilers out of this post, for the benefit of anyone passing through who hasn't read them (do it! There's only two books right now and both are very quick reads), but I've read both Feed and Deadline, and so feel free to use the info that we glean at the very end of Deadline as you wish in your fic.
Kushiel's Legacy - Jacqueline Carey
From the request:
Alright, what I'd really like is Phedre/Joscelin/Hyacinthe, but Hyacinthe apparently isn't a nominated character this year. :( So! If you'd like to write him anyway, read on. If not, skip to the bottom of the optional details!
This is a repeat from last year, but what I'd really like is Phedre/Joscelin/Hyacinthe (who apparently isn't a chosen character). They are my OT3 to end all OT3s, and I would love to see something that puts the three of them together. They clearly wouldn't just fall into bed, particularly Joscelin, so I'd like a fic that works out what it takes for something like that to happen. (No cheating and getting Joscelin drunk or using weird magic to make it happen.)
I've always disliked how Hyacinthe is abruptly shuttled off to Alba at the end of the original trilogy, and would love to see a different take, maybe, one where Hyacinthe stays instead of goes. Or maybe something set during the Imriel trilogy, where there is plenty of time unaccounted for as to what Phedre, Joscelin, and Hyacinthe are up to.
If that's not your bag, then just a friendship fic, where they have some sort of grand adventure. That would be okay, too! Or, anything with the characters from the original trilogy would make me joyful. Phedre/Joscelin, Phedre/Hyacinthe, Phedre/Melisande... hell, if you feel very adventurous, I'd love to see someone come up with Joscelin/Melisande. They don't have to be shippy/explicit/smutty/whatever fics. It can just be an adventure, a conversation, a meeting, working together to solve some sort of intrigue, etc.
That kind of says it all. Don't feel obligated to write Hyacinthe, since he wasn't
Texts From Last Night
From the request:
This is sort of my crack suggestion, but go at it.
* Pick a text at random. Tell the story behind it.
* Pick a bunch of texts at random and work them all into one crazy night/intertwined story/something.
* Bonus points if you set the above two in the area code where the text is from.
* Extra bonus points if you pick Chicago area codes (312, 773) and set the story here.
* Pick texts at random; make them into a crossover with another fandom. (Will provide list in my Dear Yuletide Author letter.)
Possible fandoms that may interest you in using for this, which may or may not be Yuletide-eligible (I'm never totally sure how crossovers work with Yuletide):
Harry Potter, X-Men: First Class, Inception, Community, Parks and Recreation, The Walking Dead, Arrested Development, The X-Files, Brothers & Sisters, District 9, Splice, Kushiel's Legacy series, Newsflesh trilogy, Fingersmith, the new British folk movement (Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Johnny Flynn, etc.), Parasol Protectorate series, the music of the Mountain Goats, American Vampire, Morning Glories, Fell (Templesmith/Ellis comic), Wormwood Gentleman Corpse, Andrew Bird, Rufus Wainwright and family and friends, The Time Traveler's Wife, Her Mysterious Symmetry, the Hunger Games trilogy, To Kill a Mockingbird
Tallahassee (Album)
From the request:
Wikipedia describes the album thusly: "Tallahassee is completely devoted to two of Darnielle's recurring characters, a married couple constantly on the edge of divorce."
Tell their story. The songs give a pretty clear picture of the couple, but I'd love more. Explore their dysfunction. Show me why they loved each other enough in the first place to get married. Use the songs; don't use the songs. Look at them in happier times, or look at them in the darkest of dark moments. ("I hope you die, I hope we both die.")
This album means a lot to me. I'd love to see someone write about it. I don't know what I want to read, just *something* that does justice to John Darnielle's lyrics.
This should be fairly easy to bang out if you can channel your original fic leanings. The lyrics are helpful, and John Darnielle is a master storyteller. All you need is laid out before you already. You can probably find all of the songs on Youtube to give them a whirl for inspiration.
You write things, I am filled with glee. Simple? Simple. I ramble a lot in the optional-details-are-optional section, but if what I'm rambling about doesn't strike your fancy, then just write what you want. I'll be happy, I can pretty much guarantee it.
This is largely a rehash of last year's letter, but things haven't really changed at all since then.
I feel like my Yuletide letter is always completely unhelpful, but I'll write it anyway.
In re: ships, I am okay with anything. Het, slash, gen, whatever. I love porn but I love plot more, so don't feel like you need to write fic with Lots of Gratuitous Body Parts if it's not you or it doesn't fit the fic. (Conversely, I am just fine with PWP, if that's what your brain creates for Yuletide.)
In re: plot, go wild. I love big, long, plotty things, and some fandoms clearly lend themselves more towards intrigue and wacky hijinx than others do. I love AUs and twists on the universes and "what would happen if..." sorts of things. Really, the most important thing is having the fic feel true to its source. Characterization, voice are key. My favorite fics are the ones where I feel like I could print them out and stick them seamlessly into the original canon.
In re: content, in general, I am okay with just about anything. I don't like crack fic or things that are vastly OOC. My only no-gos are real heavy BDSM, torture or extreme physical violence, things involving bodily fluids, bestiality, and mpreg. I don't know how any of these things would come up, but being in HP fandom has made me neurotic about listing these things. If you write the Kushiel's fic, I know some of these things may creep in, which is okay in moderation, but again, it's all about tone and keeping true to source. Things I especially love: women being badasses, snark, missed connections, unrequited love, forbidden relationships, quaint but humorous series of misunderstandings, cuddling, hurt/comfort, angst, exploration, spur of the moment sex, public could-get-caught-at-any-moment sex, quiet moments, realistic relationships (you just know that someone hogs all the bed and forgets to do the dishes). Feel free to check out my fic journal (_regarde) or my AO3 profile to get a glimpse of what I've written, since that may give you a better idea as to what I like to read.
In re: my requests:
Newsflesh Trilogy - Mira Grant
From the request:
Let's get this out of the way first. I totally ship Shaun and George. If you do, that's great, and you can hint at that or be as blatant in your fic as you'd like, and I'll be okay with it. If you don't ship them, that's okay too, and don't feel obligated to write anything like that.
I'll take anything George and/or Shaun-centric, but what I was thinking was perhaps some scenes that take place pre-book. Growing up together, dealing with the Masons, taking their tests to get their journalism licenses, etc. I really just like their interactions with each other, so anything that requires them to be snarky BFFs is great.
George Mason might just be one of my new favorite fictional characters. She's a total badass but it's also a total front sometimes, as evidenced by a lot of her "unpublished" blog posts. If you don't want to write continuing-adventures-of-George-and-Shaun fic, then anything focusing on one of them would be just fine, too.
I'll keep spoilers out of this post, for the benefit of anyone passing through who hasn't read them (do it! There's only two books right now and both are very quick reads), but I've read both Feed and Deadline, and so feel free to use the info that we glean at the very end of Deadline as you wish in your fic.
Kushiel's Legacy - Jacqueline Carey
From the request:
Alright, what I'd really like is Phedre/Joscelin/Hyacinthe, but Hyacinthe apparently isn't a nominated character this year. :( So! If you'd like to write him anyway, read on. If not, skip to the bottom of the optional details!
This is a repeat from last year, but what I'd really like is Phedre/Joscelin/Hyacinthe (who apparently isn't a chosen character). They are my OT3 to end all OT3s, and I would love to see something that puts the three of them together. They clearly wouldn't just fall into bed, particularly Joscelin, so I'd like a fic that works out what it takes for something like that to happen. (No cheating and getting Joscelin drunk or using weird magic to make it happen.)
I've always disliked how Hyacinthe is abruptly shuttled off to Alba at the end of the original trilogy, and would love to see a different take, maybe, one where Hyacinthe stays instead of goes. Or maybe something set during the Imriel trilogy, where there is plenty of time unaccounted for as to what Phedre, Joscelin, and Hyacinthe are up to.
If that's not your bag, then just a friendship fic, where they have some sort of grand adventure. That would be okay, too! Or, anything with the characters from the original trilogy would make me joyful. Phedre/Joscelin, Phedre/Hyacinthe, Phedre/Melisande... hell, if you feel very adventurous, I'd love to see someone come up with Joscelin/Melisande. They don't have to be shippy/explicit/smutty/whatever fics. It can just be an adventure, a conversation, a meeting, working together to solve some sort of intrigue, etc.
That kind of says it all. Don't feel obligated to write Hyacinthe, since he wasn't
Texts From Last Night
From the request:
This is sort of my crack suggestion, but go at it.
* Pick a text at random. Tell the story behind it.
* Pick a bunch of texts at random and work them all into one crazy night/intertwined story/something.
* Bonus points if you set the above two in the area code where the text is from.
* Extra bonus points if you pick Chicago area codes (312, 773) and set the story here.
* Pick texts at random; make them into a crossover with another fandom. (Will provide list in my Dear Yuletide Author letter.)
Possible fandoms that may interest you in using for this, which may or may not be Yuletide-eligible (I'm never totally sure how crossovers work with Yuletide):
Harry Potter, X-Men: First Class, Inception, Community, Parks and Recreation, The Walking Dead, Arrested Development, The X-Files, Brothers & Sisters, District 9, Splice, Kushiel's Legacy series, Newsflesh trilogy, Fingersmith, the new British folk movement (Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Johnny Flynn, etc.), Parasol Protectorate series, the music of the Mountain Goats, American Vampire, Morning Glories, Fell (Templesmith/Ellis comic), Wormwood Gentleman Corpse, Andrew Bird, Rufus Wainwright and family and friends, The Time Traveler's Wife, Her Mysterious Symmetry, the Hunger Games trilogy, To Kill a Mockingbird
Tallahassee (Album)
From the request:
Wikipedia describes the album thusly: "Tallahassee is completely devoted to two of Darnielle's recurring characters, a married couple constantly on the edge of divorce."
Tell their story. The songs give a pretty clear picture of the couple, but I'd love more. Explore their dysfunction. Show me why they loved each other enough in the first place to get married. Use the songs; don't use the songs. Look at them in happier times, or look at them in the darkest of dark moments. ("I hope you die, I hope we both die.")
This album means a lot to me. I'd love to see someone write about it. I don't know what I want to read, just *something* that does justice to John Darnielle's lyrics.
This should be fairly easy to bang out if you can channel your original fic leanings. The lyrics are helpful, and John Darnielle is a master storyteller. All you need is laid out before you already. You can probably find all of the songs on Youtube to give them a whirl for inspiration.