Dear Yuletide Author
Hello!
Basically, I will be excited by anything you write. I'm not a difficult person to please. I like my fanfiction in gen, het or slash varieties; it can be clean as a whistle or as smutty as you wanna get. I'm fond of humor, family affection, romance based on friendship, wacky adventures, sex in unexpected places, good-natured competition and even the occasional inevitable heartbreak. The only things I would ask you to avoid are humiliation and cruelty. I don't dig them, even in fanfiction. Also, I like happy endings. All my fandom-specific prompts below are intended as guidelines; if something else moves you, go for it.
If you want to have a look at a fandom you don't recognize, the movies are available on DVD or through Netflix, etc. The books are pretty easy to find. The Mary Russell series is currently more than a dozen novels, but the specific characters I’m asking for appear together in the novel Justice Hall.
Fandom-specific guidelines, repeated from my signup form:
Brooklyn (2015) (Eilis, Tony, Jim)
I only just saw this movie, directly after reading the book. I loved the way Saoirse Ronan portrayed Eilis’s homesickness and passivity in the beginning, and then her determination as she began to find her feet. I liked the way the movie kept a lot of the work internal, regarding how Eilis feels about romance in general, and first Tony and then Jim in particular. I would delighted with a story that digs into her feelings, joys, and fears, either during or after the events of the movie. It would also be interesting to read an alternate universe where Eilis either doesn’t marry Tony before going back to Ireland, or where she does but decides to stay anyway. What would that life be like for her? I’m tagging in all three characters, but if one doesn’t fit the timeline or drift of your story, they don’t need to be included.
Mary Russell- Laurie R. King (Mary Russell, Iris Sutherland)
I really enjoy Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell mysteries in general, and one of the novels I return to again and again is Justice Hall (especially the excellent Jenny Sterlin narrated audio version.) I’m always a sucker for the type of English Country House setting which is used so effectively here, and the storyline just hits me like a punch to the gut every time. The character of Iris Sutherland (Hughenfort) is one of my favorite in Laurie King’s canon, and I have always regretted that she never shows back up (note: I lost interest in the series after failing to finish The Pirate King.) I would love a story about the relationship between Russell and Iris, like a piece from within the Justice Hall timeline, or an imagined friendship afterwards, or (if it floats your boat) maybe something romantic? If you are keen on the last suggestion, I’d prefer a non-adulterous story, like an understanding or open relationship kind of set-up.
Sliding Doors (1998) (Helen, James, Anna)
I'm not usually a big fan of romantic comedies, but this is one that I absolutely love. The style is really well done and it's cool to follow the doubled storylines, and I really like the ambiguity of the ending in terms of playing with the idea of fate. I'd love a future story about end-of-movie Helen and James; do they get together, are they happy, what are their lives like? I also enjoy the Anna character a lot and would be interested in getting a fuller version of her take on the events of the movie, from either or both storylines.
Three Men and a Baby (Peter, Jack, Michael, Sylvia)
I can’t even explain why I enjoy this movie so much. It’s just so much fun to watch, and I love how all of the adults are so different and yet they all love each other and they all ADORE Mary. (My longstanding crush on Tom Selleck doesn’t hurt either!) I'd be really happy with a "how they met" story, or something from during or after the movie showcasing the relationship between the main characters, romantic or platonic. You can use Three Men and a Little Lady as canon or ignore it. My one caveat: please don't make Sylvia a bitch or write her out of her storyline.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Betty Smith (Francie Nolan)
It's 1967 and Francie opens her envelope, the one she sealed fifty years before. Where has her life taken her in between? Did she marry Ben? Did she ever see Lee again? What's her relationship with her mother, with Neeley, with Annie Laurie? What does her future hold? A story about any of these questions would make me very happy.
Anyway, I hope that's enough to be getting on with. I'm going to cross-post this to my tumblr as well.
http://lyricalnights.tumblr.com/post/151363697208/dear-yuletide-author
Thanks and have fun!
Basically, I will be excited by anything you write. I'm not a difficult person to please. I like my fanfiction in gen, het or slash varieties; it can be clean as a whistle or as smutty as you wanna get. I'm fond of humor, family affection, romance based on friendship, wacky adventures, sex in unexpected places, good-natured competition and even the occasional inevitable heartbreak. The only things I would ask you to avoid are humiliation and cruelty. I don't dig them, even in fanfiction. Also, I like happy endings. All my fandom-specific prompts below are intended as guidelines; if something else moves you, go for it.
If you want to have a look at a fandom you don't recognize, the movies are available on DVD or through Netflix, etc. The books are pretty easy to find. The Mary Russell series is currently more than a dozen novels, but the specific characters I’m asking for appear together in the novel Justice Hall.
Fandom-specific guidelines, repeated from my signup form:
Brooklyn (2015) (Eilis, Tony, Jim)
I only just saw this movie, directly after reading the book. I loved the way Saoirse Ronan portrayed Eilis’s homesickness and passivity in the beginning, and then her determination as she began to find her feet. I liked the way the movie kept a lot of the work internal, regarding how Eilis feels about romance in general, and first Tony and then Jim in particular. I would delighted with a story that digs into her feelings, joys, and fears, either during or after the events of the movie. It would also be interesting to read an alternate universe where Eilis either doesn’t marry Tony before going back to Ireland, or where she does but decides to stay anyway. What would that life be like for her? I’m tagging in all three characters, but if one doesn’t fit the timeline or drift of your story, they don’t need to be included.
Mary Russell- Laurie R. King (Mary Russell, Iris Sutherland)
I really enjoy Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell mysteries in general, and one of the novels I return to again and again is Justice Hall (especially the excellent Jenny Sterlin narrated audio version.) I’m always a sucker for the type of English Country House setting which is used so effectively here, and the storyline just hits me like a punch to the gut every time. The character of Iris Sutherland (Hughenfort) is one of my favorite in Laurie King’s canon, and I have always regretted that she never shows back up (note: I lost interest in the series after failing to finish The Pirate King.) I would love a story about the relationship between Russell and Iris, like a piece from within the Justice Hall timeline, or an imagined friendship afterwards, or (if it floats your boat) maybe something romantic? If you are keen on the last suggestion, I’d prefer a non-adulterous story, like an understanding or open relationship kind of set-up.
Sliding Doors (1998) (Helen, James, Anna)
I'm not usually a big fan of romantic comedies, but this is one that I absolutely love. The style is really well done and it's cool to follow the doubled storylines, and I really like the ambiguity of the ending in terms of playing with the idea of fate. I'd love a future story about end-of-movie Helen and James; do they get together, are they happy, what are their lives like? I also enjoy the Anna character a lot and would be interested in getting a fuller version of her take on the events of the movie, from either or both storylines.
Three Men and a Baby (Peter, Jack, Michael, Sylvia)
I can’t even explain why I enjoy this movie so much. It’s just so much fun to watch, and I love how all of the adults are so different and yet they all love each other and they all ADORE Mary. (My longstanding crush on Tom Selleck doesn’t hurt either!) I'd be really happy with a "how they met" story, or something from during or after the movie showcasing the relationship between the main characters, romantic or platonic. You can use Three Men and a Little Lady as canon or ignore it. My one caveat: please don't make Sylvia a bitch or write her out of her storyline.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Betty Smith (Francie Nolan)
It's 1967 and Francie opens her envelope, the one she sealed fifty years before. Where has her life taken her in between? Did she marry Ben? Did she ever see Lee again? What's her relationship with her mother, with Neeley, with Annie Laurie? What does her future hold? A story about any of these questions would make me very happy.
Anyway, I hope that's enough to be getting on with. I'm going to cross-post this to my tumblr as well.
http://lyricalnights.tumblr.com/post/151363697208/dear-yuletide-author
Thanks and have fun!