rillalicious | Entries tagged with meme

Fanfic meme. Missed yesterday because of LJ being stupidpants, so, have two answers today.

8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.

I do write OCs, but generally not as main characters. I think maybe I'm afraid it would be harder for me to hold onto that canon universe if I built the story around a character who didn't exist there. I enjoy writing OCs, though, (Now, RPing was a very different experience for me with OCs. My three very favorite characters to RP were OCs. Then again, that was more of an original universe than anything.)

However, I absolutely love writing canon characters who are nearly OCs by virtue of very little canon about them being available. (My 17k

numb3rs_novella is one case of that.)

9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?

Hmm. I don't know if my answers are necessarily all that obvious. My favorite pairings to write aren't always the ones I write the most often. And my favorite pairings to write aren't always my favorite pairings to read. Plus, my favorite pairings to write have shifted and changed over the years. Sometimes I absolutely fall for a pairing and write a ton of them, then I lose interest, then something reminds me why I love that pairing and I'll write more. I guess for this one I'm going with my old standby pairings. These are the pairings that I consistently love to write. (Though in some cases I've only written them once or twice. Mostly the preceding paragraph applies to HP, I guess.)

( Fandoms and pairings behind the cut )

OK, just got home from an amusement park with the hellmonkeys and I'm dead tired and will catch up and post a proper update tomorrow. <3

Current Mood: tired

* It's absurdly stressful to live in a house that your landlord is selling. I get all the joy of keeping the apartment in viewing shape, and none of the satisfaction if they get an offer (at this point I'm blissfully pretending that anyone who buys the house will happily keep us as tenants).

* I've been putting together combinations of HP Lego people that make me laugh, a lot. ~~I may or may not have them acting out scenes from the luciusbigbang that I'm writing with ellensmithee.~~

* Weather is cooler today, and sunny.

* I've decided that I need to drop out of the

het_bigbang. Part of it is that I don't think this will be the same fic if I write it by myself, and part of it is that the deadline just feels looming, and I have more than 24k to write to meet the word count. So,

ellensmithee and I are still writing the Ian/Nikki (Numb3rs) multi-chaptered story, but we can't make promises to when we'll be done.

* Fanfic meme:

7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?

Oh, yes, yes, yes.

Way back when I was first getting into fandom, Chaos Rose's Algolagnia was probably the first fic that dramatically changed the way I saw characters. I never saw the dynamic between Lucius and Severus the same again. That story also changed the way that I've written fanon!Lucius since then (I don't necessarily consider the Lucius I write to be all that canon). Since then, I've come around on a lot of characters--characters I never would have realized I loved--through their portrayal in fic. It's what sold me on the HP next gen kids.

norgbelulah's Carol Johnson (Justified) really made me take notice of a character that I hadn't given much attention to in the series.

And I know as soon as I hit "post", I'm going to think of, like, a dozen more examples. Anyway, my point is YES. I think that the right writer can definitely change my view on the characters, for good or for bad.

* So, how are YOU on this lovely Sunday, flist?

Current Mood: artistic

* My thoughts are with Norway this morning. My heart goes out to the survivors and the rest of the country.

* Good luck to all the couples lining up at midnight to get their marriage licenses in NY. My city, in particular, is being awesome about accommodating people. Marriage might not be my gig personally, but anyone who wants to make it work should have the right to do it.

* Still have swollen glands up the right side of my throat and head, but other than that annoyance, I'm feeling much better. It's cooler today, and the farmer's market is going to be lovely.

* I think I had maybe forgotten how kind and awesome SS/HG readers are when it comes to reading WIPs. What sweet, thoughtful people. <3 to you guys.

* Fanfic meme for today:

6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?

I was going to give this my pad answer of "I prefer writing characters who interest me", but on second thought, I don't know how true that is. I think by and large I write more male characters, but they tend to be very specific characters, with qualities that I relate to (there's also a group of characters I like with qualities that I don't have, but that I admire, but I think that's a whole different discussion). So I think that the qualities that draw me in to a character and make me want to write that character are more often given to male characters in fiction/television/movies (which totally sucks in its own right). There are exceptions to this--Justified, for instance. Give me ANY female character in Justified and I could absolutely obsess over writing her.

Also, there's a whole category of female characters I find really interesting whom I haven't written for one reason or another. Madeline and Fiona from Burn Notice, for example. I think I love every female character in Sons of Anarchy, but I don't know enough about either guns or bikes to write in that fandom. I've totally neglected the female characters in Numb3rs fandom even though I love them all, mainly because the David/Colby dynamic just speaks louder in my head. (Have I never mentioned how badly I wanted to write Millie/Alan?)

I don't know. I carry a lot of guilt over how much easier it seems to be for me to write male characters.

( The rest of the questions )

* And it's been a while since I've extolled the virtues of Johnny Flynn. No words for how I feel about this man and his incredible talent. Just none. Here, friends, have some music this morning:

Current Mood: chipper

* Good news! I did not succumb to my mystery illness during the night! And the migraine meds I took this morning have eased the headache a bit. Still, I would not recommend being feverish when the heat index is 115 and you live on the second floor without AC. /deep thoughts by Rilla

* I am behind on that fanfic meme, so here are yesterday's and today's:

( Behind the cut for those who don't care )

* I haven't mentioned it here yet, so I will do so now.

norgbelulah is working on an AMAZING Justified AU fic and I've had the privilege of getting glimpses as she goes and OMG, you guys. You all will HAVE to read it when she's done. So much love for this premise that I can't stand it.

* I still have a ton of reading to catch up on, but unfortunately this migrainy thing killed my ability to work yesterday, so I have to catch up on that first. Stupid grown up responsibility.

* I used my birthday Barnes and Noble gift cards to finally get copies of our own of Inkspell and Inkdeath (we've taken them out of the library so many times that I'm starting to feel guilty). Prepare for an upcoming diatribe on how I will never understand why these books didn't reach the levels of popularity of the Potter books. I adore them so much. I can't even tell you guys. Read them. Read them and love them. And if you have read them, I want to discuss them SO BADLY I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU.

* Way behind on summer TV viewing. I'm thinking of cutting my losses with a few shows and just trying to catch up on Burn Notice as I can. I still haven't seen every ep of last seasons H5-0, for goodness sake. This is why I went years without watching TV. I'm not good at it.

* Okay, we're off again to suck up some free air conditioning. I know I owe people comments and I swear I'll try to catch up this evening.

* So, let me know what's up with all of you, flist! <3

* Finally an SS/HG update from me. The next chapter of The Librarian's Debt is nearly finished and should be off to beta by this evening. I am enjoying the heck out of writing this one. It's been a lot of fun to get back to writing a WIP after posting nothing but finished fics for ages. And

scatteredlogic, I *finally* got a pulse on your birthday fic prompt request, but I have a feeling the finished product might be a little lengthy. I'm working on it, though! It was very much inspired by seeing DH pt 2.

* I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the fic that I need to catch up on reading.

numb3rs_novella and

teddy_fest started posting this week, I'm behind on reading at

nextgendarkfest, and the

crowley_bigbang will be posting soon as well. So much good stuff to read!

* Fanfic meme, day 3:

3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?

♥ Harry Potter - Charlie Weasley, Lee Jordan, Teddy Lupin, Luna Lovegood, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger.

♥ Boy Meets World - Eric Matthews, Shawn Hunter.

♥ Supernatural - Crowley is probably the only character I feel I'm really good at writing.

♥ Numb3rs - Colby Granger, David Sinclair, Nikki Betancourt.

♥ White Collar - Probably circa S1 Neal Caffrey, Alex Hunter, Sara Ellis (as she was when she was introduced, anyway).

♥ Justified - Winona Hawkins, Mags Bennett, Aunt Helen, Ava Crowder, Tim Gutterson.

♥ Psych - Shawn Spencer.

♥ Star Wars - Lando Calrissian.

Current Location: dining room table

* Thank you for the birthday wishes, flist! ♥ Had a lovely nearly-my-birthday weekend with DH pt 2, Shakespeare in the park, and gourmet cupcakes. Also got to see

thistle_verse and her wonderful family the other day. Had so much fun together. We miss them terribly.

* Making plans to see DH pt 2 in the theatre again soon. Gah, it's difficult to plan these things around 4 hellmonkeys when you have virtually no childcare.

* Speaking of hellmonkeys, they and the boyfriend got together and made me an adorable little Lego Weasley garden with Molly and Arthur and Fred and George for my birthday. ♥ I shall fill it with Weasleys and love. ♥

* My bare wall saga! I am framing art and getting it up on the walls. I will post pictures soon.

* It's hot and sticky. This is not news. But you guys. Summer is half over. How did that happen already?

* Writing. I have two SS/HG docs open at the moment. Huzzah!

* Tonight I'm finally going to watch Crazy Heart, which I bought myself for my birthday.

* Fanfic meme, Day 2:

2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.

( Behind the cut because this got long )

* Have a happy, happy Tuesday, flist!

Current Mood: grateful
Current Location: dining room table

So I've seen this meme all over the place, and I told

zagzagael that I was game if she was. So here it goes.

1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?

The first fanfic that I wrote was technically 21 Jump Street. 1987-ish, I think. I had no idea there was such a thing as fanfic or fandom. (I was 11.) I'd write stories out on index cards, and then make all my neighborhood friends act them out with me. I think there's a decent portion of my flist who wasn't even born at that point. Hee.

Anyway, I was working in a bookstore when Goblet of Fire came out (the book, not the movie), and I was pregnant with eldest hellmonkey and I read all the HP books so I knew what to tell people when they had questions and loved them. Sometime between GoF and OotP (maybe 2002?), I was looking up more information online and stumbled across the sweetest Harry/Hermione h/c fic and I read a whole bunch of trio-centric fics, then sort of forgot about it. A friend of mine from other activities wrote Buffy slash, and even though I was never a Buffy fan, I read her stuff and adored it.

Then OotP came out, and I remembered fanfiction and went looking for it, and found McAmy's site. I got totally hooked on SS/HG. That summer was wickedly hot and I was pregnant with Newbaby v.3.0, so I spent the whole summer down in the basement with my computer, reading and writing (terrible!) fanfiction. By the fall, I had this amazing little group of friends and it really, truly felt like a community. Over the next few years my interests spread out quite a bit and I got to meet wonderful people from many corners of HP fandom.

Took a break for personal reasons in 2007 but kept in touch with many of those friends. Then I discovered Numb3rs in early summer 2010 (I know, right after it was cancelled. *sob*) and just couldn't keep myself from seeking out the fandom. It reminded me of everything I loved about fandom, and even though some of that original group had moved on due to RL or other interests, there were still a lot of people around, and I've been slowly making my way back in ever since.

I think I love the community of fandom, and the give and take that comes with reading and writing and sharing fic, and that's what draws me back in every time. I'm a pleaser by nature, and I think fanfic provides a healthy outlet for that--writing to please someone else. That's what I love most about fic exchanges. And there's also the outlet there to write things that please only me. What's not to love, really?

( The rest of the 30 questions )

And stay tuned for a panicked call for hand-holding and beta reading later today. <3, flist.

Current Location: dining room table
Current Music: TMZ, Weird Al

rayvyn2k posted this cute meme, and it looks like a fun way to get to know my flist a little better.

Comment with "Come at me, bro," and:
- I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
- Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
- Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

1. How did you get into HP fandom?
Hmm, let's see. I first read the books around the time Goblet of Fire came out, because I was working at a book store and people had SO MANY questions about them, and really, once I started, I was hooked. I went to look something up online and stumbled across Harry/Hermione fics and read a ton of them, then I had eldest hellmonkey and sort of forgot about it. Then OotP came out, and I remembered fanfic, wanted more, and found McAmy's fics. I was immediately addicted to SS/HG. I read all everything I could find, and started writing myself. This was back in the days of aff.net and yahoo groups and OMG, my first fics were TERRIBLE Mary Sue garbage. I've erased them from the internets as much as possible. Then a friend wrote a fic where Snape and Hermione used livejournal to communicate, and she commented in the A/N about how great LJ was for community building, and I joined LJ and have been here (mostly) ever since. Odd bit of trivia, I have never posted a fic on FF.net. I don't even have an account there.

2. What is your favorite thing to do to relax?
Write. Sitting somewhere quiet with my laptop and a cup of coffee or a glass of wine is my very favorite thing in the world.

I have four hellmonkeys, so you can imagine how often that actually happens.

3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Oh, that's a good one. There are so many places I'd like to go. India, Ireland, Greece and Prince Edward Island are at the top of my list. PEI is infinitely more doable than the rest. And not to be predictable, but the "why" for that one is definitely Anne of Green Gables.

4. What (or who) inspires you?
Books inspire me a lot. I've noticed recently that my writing style tends to change when I'm absorbed in another author's work. I've been back on an Alice Hoffman kick lately, and I'm writing a lot more narrative than usual.

Real life things inspire me a lot too. It always struck me as funny that so many people thought I was writing a war story with In the House of Fallen Angels (though I'm glad it came across that way, since it is a story that takes place during war), when it was really loosely based on my grandmother's experience in a nursing home.

And music. Dar Williams, Johnny Flynn, Laura Marling. Listening to them is a always a surefire way to kickstart my muse. (I've given SO MANY of my fics/chapters titles from Dar Williams songs.)

5. Who is your favorite HP minor character?
Lee Jordan. Hands down. And book 7 just firmed that up for me. I adore Lee's character so much. He has a pet spider. Spiders are cool. I'm not outgoing at all IRL (I have some pretty heavy social anxiety issues), and I always admired that about Lee. He's funny, and brave, and I love how JKR left his reaction to the twins leaving him behind at Hogwarts wide open. Clearly, by DH they're close again, but I love contemplating those middle years. I love the early hints that he was badgering Angelina for a date at Hogwarts, and then she goes on to marry his best friend. And then there was Lee's radio show during DH. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH, OMG.

My other favorite minor characters: Charlie Weasley (a pretty close second, but he's just not as much of a presence in the books as Lee, so it's fanon Charlie that I've come to love), Neville, Luna, Tonks, Minerva...

Honestly, though? There's not a single character in these books that I dislike. I love them all like they're friends. (Or, er, enemies, I guess, LOL!)

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: dining room table

1. Comment with "the odds are ever in your favor."
2. I will give you a letter.
3. Post the names of five fictional characters and your thoughts on each.

norgbelulah gave me B. I am sure she will by shocked by my first choice.

( Five characters whose names begin with B )

Current Mood: busy

Stolen from

thistle_verse and

zagzagael.

1. Make a list of 5 things that you can see without getting up.

I can see almost everything in the house from here. Bookshelves, my tea mug, all four hellmonkeys, the nature table, chalkboard.

2. How do you style your hair?

Hahahahaha. Style? Hahahahahahaha!

3. What are you wearing now?

Jeans, long sleeved t-shirt, short sleeved t-shirt (it reads "ART AS ACTIVISM"), oversized cardigan, socks and slippers. I'm a chilly alpaca today.

4. What's your occupation?

At the moment? I moderate some online message boards.

5. What do you hear right now?

Some horrible Disney channel sitcom.

6. Who was the last person you hugged?

Newbaby v4.0

7. What is/was for dinner?

Various kinds of chicken over a bed of green salad for the meat eaters. Probably kale and rice for me, and maybe some tofu.

8. What's the last tv show you watched?

General Hospital.

9. Dog person or cat person?

Dog person all the way.

10. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

I like the anonymity of my real name. I'm never the only one in the room with it (something I hated as a kid). If I had to change it, I dunno. Maybe Veronica?

11. What was the last thing that you bought?

Groceries, yesterday.

12. If you could afford to go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Ireland. Australia. New Zealand. Iceland. (I did not even have to change

zagzagael's answers.)

13. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hopefully in a house house.

14. Favourite book?

"The Great Gatsby" by a mile.

15. What are you doing this weekend?

Reading, I hope. I got the second Stackhouse book and "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht.

16. If you could play any musical instrument, which one would you play?

The harp.

17. How are you?

A little grouchy and dissatisfied, though I'm working on that.

18. What are you doing tomorrow?

Making a crapload of important phone calls.

19. What are you looking forward to the most?

Writing, tonight, after the kids are in bed.

Current Mood: anxious
Current Location: dining room table