Dear Yuletide 2012 Writer
First of all, good luck! I'm all over the place once again and I will be truly amazed and grateful that I've got a match. (Or a pinch hitter! I've gotten pinch hitters before and I love you, too! You chose me! You brave, weird souls, you.)
So, first the big picture then a little more specificity on what I like about each request.
My Yuletide philosophy: this might be the only chance to get a story in a certain fandom. I'm not going to get too caught up in pairings and specifics. I'd rather get a good, solid, re-readable story to set the bar and attract more fans.
That said, I was a bit specific in my request details as to story prompts. If any of them spark something for you, great. If not, don't worry. What I've got listed here is more atmospheric; these are broader story elements and themes that I find attractive.
I like teamwork and competency and characters who are really good at what they do. I like seeing the toll being that good takes on them. I like snark and banter and loaded questions. I like life-and-death secrets. I like style and flash but never at the cost of substance. I like days-in-the-life and I like the fate of the world at stake. I like romance and subtext, slash and het and gen. I like characters who'll die for each other and live for each other and know each other better than anyone else and still have each other's backs.
I like show, not tell. Even the most thoughtful of these characters are people of action, used to making quick decisions and living with the consequences. Well, except for the vampires….
I like good grammar and a firm grasp of English. If I have to make a choice, I'll go with voice and atmosphere over plot -- again, this might be the only story I read in this fandom and I'd like something that truly evokes it. But I'm also greedy, so a kick-ass plot would be very nice. Please put it right next to the pony, the plastic rocket ship, and the keys to Tyler Hoechlin.
For purposes of Yuletide, I'd rather not see: fantasy and/or sci-fi AUs, PWPs, totally downbeat endings, character death -- okay, clearly with Salt that's not a hard and fast rule! Use your own judgment. I'm not a fragile flower. (And obviously the vampires can die….)
That said, I was a bit specific in my request details as to story prompts. If any of them spark something for you, great. If not, don't worry. In the end, I'm easy. I like good writing. Write a story that you enjoy, that you're proud of, that you're thrilled will be one the stories people point to when they talk about this little fandom. Write that story and we'll both be happy.
Salt (2010) (IMDb listing)
Character: Evelyn Salt
Oh, I love that this movie was written for a male lead and they basically didn’t change anything when Angelina Jolie signed on. I’m totally fine with an outside POV (existing character or original), omniscient, or deep inside Salt’s head. I just want to learn more about her. What’s it like to be turned into an agent as a child? How do you relate to the people in your life when you are lying about who you are? Where do you find stability when your life can turn upside down at any moment? What’s it like looking in the mirror and seeing a whole new face?
I want to see more of her being kick-ass and competent no matter what life throws at her. It could be before the movie during her childhood training with Orlov. Or her early days in the CIA working with Ted Winter. How about when she realized that she was actually in love with Mike? She didn’t kill the Russian president but if Orlov hadn’t killed Mike, would she have carried through on the original plan? What happened after Peabody let her escape? Nobody’s as paranoid as a double agent - does she have safe houses and caches of supplies?
In brief: spy hijinx and/or angst. :D
The Clairvoyant Countess - Dorothy Gilman (Amazon listing)
Character: Any
I love the growing family of psychics that springs up around Madame Karitska. I’d love to see them work together to solve a mystery, big or small. Or some slice-of-life, with one-on-one encounters. There’s Faber-Jones dealing with his comfortable middle-age turned topsy-turvy, Gavin bouncing back from the most horrible tragedy, Jan finding love after her near-death experience. And the countess herself slipping in and out of people’s lives, showing them what’s just beyond the turn of the kaleidoscope.
Despite the rather grim crimes (Murder! Suicide! Family annhiliation! Drug trafficking! Kidnapping! More murder!) it’s a light-hearted book. So I’d like to see that balance.
Vampire Party (Audi 2012 Game Day Commercial) (on YouTube)
Character: Any or world-building
Vampires who are clearly hipper, more attractive, and just way better than us mere mortals party in the woods (though I'm wondering about the street cred of the nerdy vamp fondling his cape -- maybe he wears ironically?), waiting for what is clearly the (probably self-proclaimed) Crown Prince to show up with more O positive.
But alas! He's driving an Audi with amazing daylight-emulating headlights, which soon reduce the entire party to ash. (Look, I'm not saying they were the smartest creatures of the night....)
So many questions! Will urban legends arise about the party in the woods that vanished leaving only their designer jeans and red solo cups behind? Is there a vampire council that might investigate the disappearance of a whole coven (or possibly give a sigh of relief that those idiots are gone)?
WAS THE AUDI A VAMPIRE SLAYER ON A MISSION?
What is Yuletide for if not to deal with this sort of thing?
Go crazy!
This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/162125.html.
So, first the big picture then a little more specificity on what I like about each request.
My Yuletide philosophy: this might be the only chance to get a story in a certain fandom. I'm not going to get too caught up in pairings and specifics. I'd rather get a good, solid, re-readable story to set the bar and attract more fans.
That said, I was a bit specific in my request details as to story prompts. If any of them spark something for you, great. If not, don't worry. What I've got listed here is more atmospheric; these are broader story elements and themes that I find attractive.
I like teamwork and competency and characters who are really good at what they do. I like seeing the toll being that good takes on them. I like snark and banter and loaded questions. I like life-and-death secrets. I like style and flash but never at the cost of substance. I like days-in-the-life and I like the fate of the world at stake. I like romance and subtext, slash and het and gen. I like characters who'll die for each other and live for each other and know each other better than anyone else and still have each other's backs.
I like show, not tell. Even the most thoughtful of these characters are people of action, used to making quick decisions and living with the consequences. Well, except for the vampires….
I like good grammar and a firm grasp of English. If I have to make a choice, I'll go with voice and atmosphere over plot -- again, this might be the only story I read in this fandom and I'd like something that truly evokes it. But I'm also greedy, so a kick-ass plot would be very nice. Please put it right next to the pony, the plastic rocket ship, and the keys to Tyler Hoechlin.
For purposes of Yuletide, I'd rather not see: fantasy and/or sci-fi AUs, PWPs, totally downbeat endings, character death -- okay, clearly with Salt that's not a hard and fast rule! Use your own judgment. I'm not a fragile flower. (And obviously the vampires can die….)
That said, I was a bit specific in my request details as to story prompts. If any of them spark something for you, great. If not, don't worry. In the end, I'm easy. I like good writing. Write a story that you enjoy, that you're proud of, that you're thrilled will be one the stories people point to when they talk about this little fandom. Write that story and we'll both be happy.
Salt (2010) (IMDb listing)
Character: Evelyn Salt
Oh, I love that this movie was written for a male lead and they basically didn’t change anything when Angelina Jolie signed on. I’m totally fine with an outside POV (existing character or original), omniscient, or deep inside Salt’s head. I just want to learn more about her. What’s it like to be turned into an agent as a child? How do you relate to the people in your life when you are lying about who you are? Where do you find stability when your life can turn upside down at any moment? What’s it like looking in the mirror and seeing a whole new face?
I want to see more of her being kick-ass and competent no matter what life throws at her. It could be before the movie during her childhood training with Orlov. Or her early days in the CIA working with Ted Winter. How about when she realized that she was actually in love with Mike? She didn’t kill the Russian president but if Orlov hadn’t killed Mike, would she have carried through on the original plan? What happened after Peabody let her escape? Nobody’s as paranoid as a double agent - does she have safe houses and caches of supplies?
In brief: spy hijinx and/or angst. :D
The Clairvoyant Countess - Dorothy Gilman (Amazon listing)
Character: Any
I love the growing family of psychics that springs up around Madame Karitska. I’d love to see them work together to solve a mystery, big or small. Or some slice-of-life, with one-on-one encounters. There’s Faber-Jones dealing with his comfortable middle-age turned topsy-turvy, Gavin bouncing back from the most horrible tragedy, Jan finding love after her near-death experience. And the countess herself slipping in and out of people’s lives, showing them what’s just beyond the turn of the kaleidoscope.
Despite the rather grim crimes (Murder! Suicide! Family annhiliation! Drug trafficking! Kidnapping! More murder!) it’s a light-hearted book. So I’d like to see that balance.
Vampire Party (Audi 2012 Game Day Commercial) (on YouTube)
Character: Any or world-building
Vampires who are clearly hipper, more attractive, and just way better than us mere mortals party in the woods (though I'm wondering about the street cred of the nerdy vamp fondling his cape -- maybe he wears ironically?), waiting for what is clearly the (probably self-proclaimed) Crown Prince to show up with more O positive.
But alas! He's driving an Audi with amazing daylight-emulating headlights, which soon reduce the entire party to ash. (Look, I'm not saying they were the smartest creatures of the night....)
So many questions! Will urban legends arise about the party in the woods that vanished leaving only their designer jeans and red solo cups behind? Is there a vampire council that might investigate the disappearance of a whole coven (or possibly give a sigh of relief that those idiots are gone)?
WAS THE AUDI A VAMPIRE SLAYER ON A MISSION?
What is Yuletide for if not to deal with this sort of thing?
Go crazy!
This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/162125.html.