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Sep. 7th, 2011 04:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snitchnippedHooray! NFE Reveals are up!
I'll eventually post mine in other places, but here's the direct info, and a cut to my thoughts. Many, many double thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lady_songsmith for both the story and her brilliant story for me!
Title: Dichotomy
Recipient:turkeyish
Rating: PG-13
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Mild swearing, adult themes
Summary:
“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to
kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” —Carl G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1962
——————
Original Prompt:
What I want: Edmund-centric.
Something to do with Jadis haunting him (whether just in his head or otherwise). Fencing. The relationship between brothers. The comparisons and contrasts between Narnia and England. The dichotomy between time periods. As far as tone - something quiet, somber, but not without hope.
Prompt words/objects/quotes/whatever:
"...I will show you something different from either/Your shadow at
morning striding behind you/Or your shadow at evening rising to meet
you;/I will show you fear in a handful of dust." - T.S. Eliot
What I definitely don't want in my fic: Incest, slash, romance, sex, unhappy endings, OCs, Pevensie deaths, overt fluff or angst.
Well, I must say that this has been such an amazing experience. Having gotten back into fanfiction earlier this spring, I knew it was going to be a big leap to jump from just a casual reader to OMG LET'S WRITE A 20K FIC.
Granted, I had no idea what I was getting myself into at first, but after a week of deep thinking, I said, "Why not? Let's flex those muscles and see what happens" and boom! I signed up.
I don't know how prompts are lined up and selected, but the prompt I got fromturkeyish was so incredibly inspiring. At first I was a bit concerned, thinking I needed a prompt that was completely different and off-the-wall in order for my imagination to be challenged and inspired enough. But I couldn't help being excited. I love me some Edmund, and I loved digging around in his brain. Before I knew it, I was scribbling in my notebook, taking voice dictation on my loooong drives across town, and staying up 'til 3 AM typing away with the company of giant pots of tea. What was originally thought to be around 12K ballooned into what it is now. I hadn't written in a very long time and forgot what my writing "voice" was like, but it was coming back to me. And apparently, I can only write scenes in real time, hence the length!
Once I saw she was my recipient and went to check out her back catalog, I thought wow! We definitely are on the same page on who the Pevensies are and where they are going. All of the reviews were surprisingly lovely and fantastic (there was much squealing in pillows), but what she wrote to me was a goldmine. I was so happy that she loved the story, especially the England side, since most people tended to favor the Narnian side more.
But anyway, it's out there now, and I will eventually repost it—it's shocking how many errors I came across on the first read alone once it was posted. I went through that thing, like, 5 times with a fine tooth comb! Whether it will go on ff.net or somewhere else, who knows. Much to think about, and there's no rush.
In the meantime, my brain is chugging away. What at first were just offhand ideas and throwaway lines has quickly turned into "Well, now I want to know more about this and that." So last week, the sequel started. Gulp. While everyone on LJ was going on and on about camels and alligators, the thing on my mind was, "But what about those Elephants!" Tongue firmly bitten, I turned to Pages and started tapping away.
So, now what... the thing about the NFE is that it gives a writer a set goal to reach, the added pressure that you are writing it for someone else that you do not want to let down, a pretty hard deadline, and a guaranteed beta and audience. Now, with none of those guarantees in place, it makes things a bit trickier. What would mean the most is a deadline, and being a confirmed procrastinator, that will be quite the challenge. I could post continuous updates on here, but my method of writing is so schizophrenic and jumps around the timeline way more than it should, that it wouldn't make sense to put "out there" until it's done. This one is definitely more plot driven than character driven, too, so that's a switch. And it's going to be much. much. much. longer. (What have I done?)
In order for it to get done, and to add a little pressure, I'm putting this out to the world:
Sequel Info for Dichotomy
Working Title: Fuel to Fire
Ridiculously Basic Synopsis: The fabled elephants of Southern Archenland have always been elusive. Why are they there? Are they beasts or are they Beasts? Why all the sudden interest in them?
I won't go into much more. Yet. But this time, we're in both Edmund and Susan's heads, following their travels, adventures (and mis-adventures) while Peter takes a step back. In the meantime, Lucy is busy trying to pry as much information from the Lone Elephant in Narnia...who is rather fond of the beach, as it turns out.
And now, time for a bit of feedback to the feedback from Dichotomy. I need to talk, dammit!
I'll eventually post mine in other places, but here's the direct info, and a cut to my thoughts. Many, many double thanks to
lady_songsmith for both the story and her brilliant story for me!Title: Dichotomy
Recipient:
turkeyishRating: PG-13
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Mild swearing, adult themes
Summary:
“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to
kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” —Carl G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1962
——————
Original Prompt:
What I want: Edmund-centric.
Something to do with Jadis haunting him (whether just in his head or otherwise). Fencing. The relationship between brothers. The comparisons and contrasts between Narnia and England. The dichotomy between time periods. As far as tone - something quiet, somber, but not without hope.
Prompt words/objects/quotes/whatever:
"...I will show you something different from either/Your shadow at
morning striding behind you/Or your shadow at evening rising to meet
you;/I will show you fear in a handful of dust." - T.S. Eliot
What I definitely don't want in my fic: Incest, slash, romance, sex, unhappy endings, OCs, Pevensie deaths, overt fluff or angst.
Well, I must say that this has been such an amazing experience. Having gotten back into fanfiction earlier this spring, I knew it was going to be a big leap to jump from just a casual reader to OMG LET'S WRITE A 20K FIC.
Granted, I had no idea what I was getting myself into at first, but after a week of deep thinking, I said, "Why not? Let's flex those muscles and see what happens" and boom! I signed up.
I don't know how prompts are lined up and selected, but the prompt I got from
turkeyish was so incredibly inspiring. At first I was a bit concerned, thinking I needed a prompt that was completely different and off-the-wall in order for my imagination to be challenged and inspired enough. But I couldn't help being excited. I love me some Edmund, and I loved digging around in his brain. Before I knew it, I was scribbling in my notebook, taking voice dictation on my loooong drives across town, and staying up 'til 3 AM typing away with the company of giant pots of tea. What was originally thought to be around 12K ballooned into what it is now. I hadn't written in a very long time and forgot what my writing "voice" was like, but it was coming back to me. And apparently, I can only write scenes in real time, hence the length!Once I saw she was my recipient and went to check out her back catalog, I thought wow! We definitely are on the same page on who the Pevensies are and where they are going. All of the reviews were surprisingly lovely and fantastic (there was much squealing in pillows), but what she wrote to me was a goldmine. I was so happy that she loved the story, especially the England side, since most people tended to favor the Narnian side more.
But anyway, it's out there now, and I will eventually repost it—it's shocking how many errors I came across on the first read alone once it was posted. I went through that thing, like, 5 times with a fine tooth comb! Whether it will go on ff.net or somewhere else, who knows. Much to think about, and there's no rush.
In the meantime, my brain is chugging away. What at first were just offhand ideas and throwaway lines has quickly turned into "Well, now I want to know more about this and that." So last week, the sequel started. Gulp. While everyone on LJ was going on and on about camels and alligators, the thing on my mind was, "But what about those Elephants!" Tongue firmly bitten, I turned to Pages and started tapping away.
So, now what... the thing about the NFE is that it gives a writer a set goal to reach, the added pressure that you are writing it for someone else that you do not want to let down, a pretty hard deadline, and a guaranteed beta and audience. Now, with none of those guarantees in place, it makes things a bit trickier. What would mean the most is a deadline, and being a confirmed procrastinator, that will be quite the challenge. I could post continuous updates on here, but my method of writing is so schizophrenic and jumps around the timeline way more than it should, that it wouldn't make sense to put "out there" until it's done. This one is definitely more plot driven than character driven, too, so that's a switch. And it's going to be much. much. much. longer. (What have I done?)
In order for it to get done, and to add a little pressure, I'm putting this out to the world:
Sequel Info for Dichotomy
Working Title: Fuel to Fire
Ridiculously Basic Synopsis: The fabled elephants of Southern Archenland have always been elusive. Why are they there? Are they beasts or are they Beasts? Why all the sudden interest in them?
I won't go into much more. Yet. But this time, we're in both Edmund and Susan's heads, following their travels, adventures (and mis-adventures) while Peter takes a step back. In the meantime, Lucy is busy trying to pry as much information from the Lone Elephant in Narnia...who is rather fond of the beach, as it turns out.
And now, time for a bit of feedback to the feedback from Dichotomy. I need to talk, dammit!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-09-08 01:56 am (UTC)I adore the elephant idea and cannot wait to see how you develop it.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-09 04:26 pm (UTC)YOU ARE AMAZING, BTW.
I don't have time right now to go all out, but WE SHALL TALK OMG.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-10 05:23 am (UTC)This is all still so new, and I need all the friends/allies/idea-bouncers/nitpickers I can get!