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So, I haven't written fanfiction in over a year. At least, I haven't written anything I've posted, and I haven't written much besides that either. Reason: I fell in love, we broke up, lather, rise, repeat for a year. Then, I took a good six months, I suppose, to reconnect with myself and do a whole lot of theatre. Most recently, I was an ensemble member in a solo performance show where we each told ten-minute true stories from our own lives. Mine was "Potterotica." I outed myself as a writer of erotic Harry Potter fanfiction and explained how I got into it and why I do it. I liked the play a whole bunch, and if any of you would like to read it, let me know. Side note: I also read excerpts from my drabble collection, "Runed." I read these out loud. My grandma was in the audience. I read Harry Potter porn to my grandma. I want to start writing fanfic again. And while I WILL finish "A Time to Trust," I'm not ready to go back to it yet. I don't want to rush it like I did with the last third of "The Grim Mistress." What I really want to do is join an exchange. I want to write what someone else wants, and I want a deadline. I had soooo much fun doing the SSHG Exchange, and I really want to participate in some kind of gift exchange. Does anyone know of something going on now or in the near future that I could join? I've missed you all. And just because I stopped writing doesn't mean I stopped reading. In fact, I encourage you to check out Bambu's "Harbinger," which is up on Ashwinder. I'm loving the mystery and the inside jokes that lead to a slow-cooked romance. Another fic I'm reading is "The Problem with Purity." It's currently driving me nuts, but I'm totally addicted (even when I'm angry), and you can expect updates every Thursday with some bonus chapters. So, yeah. Hi. It's good to be here again, and if you know of a gift exchange coming up that I can join, please let me know. -Danielle/alphafemale/danistormborn |
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I have to start with a giant SQUEE! I interviewed on Saturday and received a job off today for an Events Coordinator position at an independent bookstore. I will be arranging all author events (signings, readings, etc.), writing all press releases and newsletters, and generally soaking up book goodness. The pay is fairly terrible, so I have to stay part-time at my other job while working full-time at the new one, but I don't care. This is amazing, and I loved the people I met there. And they bring in a lot of my favorite authors, which is extra exciting. In other news... last week seemed to be a big transitional period. I got a call for this job interview. I met a guy and we really hit it off. Got some work done on NFP paperwork for my theatre company, followed by late-night drinks and general sappiness with two of my closest friends. Good things. But everything seemed to sizzle out. The stuff with the guy is really up in the air - go figure, because it's been a long time since I actively liked someone. The people who interviewed me were concerned that I would be too busy to actually do the job. I felt all shaky and almost sick again (after being out of commission the week before due to that cold everyone seems to have). And this morning at work was really intense. Then, I got the phone call offering me the job and I couldn't stop smiling. Who cares if the guy disappears? And if I'm sick again, I'll get better. But I am about to start making a living (kind of - ha!) doing something that I really want to do and that I know I'll be able to do well. And I have four days to finish writing the fic I promised I would finish writing. I'm hosting a trivia night in a bar tomorrow. And I spent last night talking to two of my favorite people, which only proved that time and distance aren't as significant of deterrents to friendship as some might believe. Life is good. Happy New Year (nearly a month late)! |
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I saw a late showing of "Sweeney Todd" last night. I think I liked the play better, mostly because it's less... um... realistic. Not that the insane amounts of blood was realistic - seriously gushing, projectile blood spray - but overall, it was much more intense on the Big Screen. Anyway, the movie was incredibly well done. Really good. And I never want to see it again. Ha! It's an interesting movie phenomenon (like when one sees "Requiem for a Dream" and can't fathom living for a while, only this experience didn't go that far) when a movie is so well done that you have no desire to ever see it again. But it was joyous to see the Potter reunion! Seriously, there were so many Potter actors in this movie, it was unbelievable. And they were almost exclusively way creepy. Including Alan Rickman. Although - and if anyone else has seen it, feel free to chime in - I burst out in hysterical laughter when he kept repeating how Anthony was "gandering" at his ward, Johanna. Did you gander at her? I saw you gander at her. What makes you think you can... gander... at my ward? (Or something to that effect.) It was very, very, very Snape (the repetition and menace, hopefully not the creepy sexual dominance). It definitely made me want to do a "gander" drabble with Snape, but then he was too creepy in the movie and I can't quite manage to think about writing it without shivering. Oh well. It was hilarious in my head, at least. :) |
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I just wrote the ending of A Time to Trust. I am very unnerved. On the one hand, I always knew what would basically happen. I mean, the details weren't 100% solidified in my head, but I had the general idea down. Then, I went on a researching spree earlier today, because it was time to get back to the more technical aspect of the story - time travel - for the chapters I'm currently working on. While reading about all these theories and seeing the ways they intersect or disprove or reinforce each other... the ending came to me. So I now have about half of the next chapter written, an outline for the rest of the chapters, and the end. This is actually part of a recent spree of ending-writing for me. Usually, I just write the story as it goes. While I might know more or less what's going to happen, I don't write later chapters before getting to them. For example, I always knew what was going to occur in the last TtT chapter, but I hadn't written it. For the most part, I prefer to let the story develop organically as I write it. It's just the way I work. But now, in both my exchange fic and in TtT, I wrote the ending before a lot of the middle. It's very strange for me. And kind of exciting. In case anyone is curious, there are approximately ten chapters left, give or take... and depending on what organically happens in the meantime. :) And in the meantime, I am IGNORING all the very intriguing challenges and such that my brain keeps drifting toward. I'm hoping that having concrete knowledge of what will happen in my story will encourage me to focus better on it. And no more plays for a couple weeks. Yeah, that should help, too. |
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As of yesterday, I am now - for the first time EVER - the proud owner of a library card. Really. When I was growing up, we always lived outside city limits, so library cards were too expensive. 90% of my books came from yard sales, or I would beg friends who lived in more reasonable locations to allow me to borrow books on their accounts. I think I may have been caught petting the card... Also yesterday, I saw the new Philip Seymour Hoffman movie, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Acting = superb. Movie = not so great. There are times when playing with narrative structures and timelines work. (See Momento.) This was not one of those times. I did not need to see the same scenes from a different camera angle, because new information (or even characterization) was not revealed through the use of this device. And when the movie - a fairly standard heist-goes-wrong plot with a few extra twists - spans 1:57 as it is... well, you certainly don't need to see the same scenes multiple times. Add to that the fact that while the characters are devastatingly pathetic, the audience doesn't manage to sympathize with them. Their lives were trainwrecks, but I wasn't particularly moved for things to get better for them. (Which is probably good, because everything that could go wrong, does. For them. For everyone.) In better news, the play went really well. We had possibly our largest ever crowd for a Friday night showing, which was exciting. And we definitely did our biggest dance number EVER. Which was really cool. And really hard. I'm still sore. (For the record, the two-minute play was titled, All You Need to Make a Good Play Is a Saucy Hat and Some Good Jazz. Sugarfoot, donkey kick, jazz hands, moves I'm still not entirely sure how to do, and a lot of saucy hat stealing - I got to "dance dirty" with the hat, according to the script.) And my Harry Potter play, Here, Jo, for You, went over well. Lots of people walked away with rings binding us to the fantasy. *sigh* And I got thanked by a nurse practitioner, a public health person, and a Planned Parenthood volunteer for writing a play about HPV (called PSA (with a side of veggies)). Which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I also had an Artistic Conundrum during the show. Each night, we do a "fresh play" that was written and rehearsed that day to start the show. Saturday night, one of the ensemble members wrote the fresh play, which was called, We Are People. We Have Power. Basically, the four guys in the ensemble each walk out and individually say, "I am a man. I have a cock. It gives me power." Then, the two women individually walk out and say, "I am a woman. I have a cunt. It gives me power." The four guys then each hold up a letter spelling C-U-N-T. Now, I don't use that word. Um... ever. Except clearly now, because I am describing the play. Adam, the guy who wrote the play, later put on a Harry Potter ring (even though he does not like the series) as appreciation for me doing his play, even though he knows I don't use that word. I told him that it actually bothered me for a while, because in this particular play series, the ensemble play themselves. When I am on stage, I am Danielle. Not Hermione Granger or Jack Bauer or the Queen of the Damned or whoever. And if I would not use that word, then I have an artistic conflict with saying it on stage. But ultimately, I decided the play was saying that Language Is Power. Now, THAT is a statement I wholeheartedly support. Therefore, I could do the play with that in mind. Anyway... With the play out of the way, I will hopefully be able to find some more time to return to writing. The next chapter of Time to Trust is going to be difficult to write. And the one after that, too. Daunting! Thanks for reading this rather long post. :) |
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'Tis play season again. (For the record, "play season" happens something like 5-10 times a year.) So, I'll probably be performing some sort of Great Disappearing Act for the next week. But before I go away, I happily get to report that A Time to Trust has been updated to chapter sixteen! The chapter contains an ANGST ALERT, and the only summary I'm giving is: "Severus, please." And just for fun, I thought I would post here a play that will be in Drawn & Quartered IV. D&Q is a recurring play series done by the Immediacy Theatre Project wherein six ensemble members write, direct, and act 35 two-minute plays performed in an order chosen by the audience. There are no characters, no budgets, and no rules. Behind the cut is a play I wrote for it, called "Here, Jo, for You," which is a little bit about my frustrations with JK Rowling and a lot more about the way I feel about the Harry Potter universe. Thanks! ( Here, ) |
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Yikes! I have an interview on Monday for a writer/editor/proofreader position at a small publishing company. I'm really excited, but I don't have much interview experience. (I've always known someone at the company, and I've only had one "adult job" since graduating from college.) Anyway, if you have an ideas/tips/advice/anything, please let me know. Thanks! |
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I finally have an icon that's not a bunch of grapes! I'm progressing. Thanks to junewilliams7 for the making the icon with the pun on my pen name. Score!And thanks to septentrion1970 for directing me to some really cool icons that I can't wait to use, too. Beta takes care of me. :)Back to actual work now... |
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So... updates! I can finally report that Time to Trust has been updated to chapter fifteen: Fire. Chapter quote: It had come to him as swiftly and deadly as spattergroit. One moment, he was fine; the next, he was covered in spots. Only these spots were the kind that some well-intentioned Hufflepuff would have labeled as “showing his true colors.” Unfortunately, Severus happened to agree. Story summary: A Time-Turner accident involving Dobby sends Hermione back to June, 1980. She encounters twenty-two-year-old Severus Snape at a pivotal point for him. His trust in her and her faith in him lead Severus to make the decision that will redefine his life. Yay! I finally updated. I win! And er... some more drabbles... because I can't not write drabbles. (I actually write like three drabbles a day that I don't ever post just because the drabble bunny likes to nibble on my fingers unless they're being used for typing.) Let's see, what can I link here: Mighty and Dreadful, Thou Art Not So Summary: A Howler insinuates death is not what it seems. Beer's to Blame Summary: Just something silly on the AU side. Living as a Muggle and drinking too much beer, Argus Filch stumbles across some familiar faces. This was written for the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} grangersnape100 Oktoberfest and Caught by Filch challenges.A Little Bit of Torture Goes a Long Way Summary: Is there anything wrong with wanting to torture Umbridge? This was written for the grangersnape100 Scream challenge. Even though the plot bunnies are being very generous (read: rabid), I don't feel like a proper fanfic writer, because I don't have a super-cool squee-worthy icon. So, I would like to throw out some humble begging for anyone who might like to make/give/lend me an icon. I would love you forever. I know NOTHING about icons, so you might have to teach me, too. But I would really, really appreciate it and spend much time talking about your awesomeness. :) |
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I just have to go crazy for a moment. I am super-excited because I managed to finish the next chapter of Time to Trust, start the chapter after that, post some drabbles, AND pound out the second draft of my exchange fic. I am queen of the world! ...Except now I have to go clean the bathroom, because I haven't done my weekly chores due to all this writing... It seems like a punishment. Still, can't seem to contain a little *SQUEE* of accomplishment for finally, finally catching up a bit. |
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So... I've been writing. :) I think it's actually a reaction to NOT writing for Drawn & Quartered, which is a play series that ITP does for which I usually write. Instead, I'm training a new director on the process. So, I have all these pent up plot bunnies (and you know how they get when you don't let them run around enough). So, here is a drabble that I just wrote for grangersnape100 One Last Challenge. Title: Runed Team Name: D to the E Word Count: 100x24 Rating: NC-17 Challenge: One Last Characters: Hermione/Severus, Hermione/Ron mentioned Summary: Hermione indulges in an unhealthy hobby with both amazing and awful results, thanks to Severus. Authors Notes: Thanks to septentrion1970 for the beta work and advice! Small warning: This Hermione is a little unstable. Other warnings: DH Spoilers, SEX All the information on runes came from http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meani Thanks for reading! ( Runed ) I also updated Marked. Here's the info.: Rating: R (Wanton on Ashwinder) Characters: Hermione, Severus, Stubby Boardman, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Draco, and Fleur Pairings: Hermione/Severus eventually and others Summary: A story on the dark side with each chapter following a specific character's point of view. Everyone is marked - by Voldemort, by the war, by the choices they have made, and by each other. http://ashwinder.sycophanthex.com/views The two most recent chapters belong to Neville and Draco. I actually have another six or so chapters written, but I've been slow on the posting because there hasn't been much of a response. Granted, frequent updates tend to encourage readers. (I know that I will sometimes start reading a story whenever I see it's being updated often.) Also granted, I tend to update quickly for a while and then fall into month-long or so slumps, which is not very nice. But anyway, that's the reason updating has been slow there. And if you think this is a shameless plug for reviews... you're probably right. :) I'd like to know if I should focus on it, get rid of it completely, or keep slowly adding stuff as the mood strikes. I'm just not sure how much attention I want to pay to it right now. Oh well. I would like to say there's another chapter of Time to Trust, but there... isn't. I'm almost finished writing it. Really. Oh! I do have a small drabble collection that I don't think I mentioned here: The Way It Might Have Been Pairing: Hermione/Severus Summary: Twisting the nine lives expression, this is a collection of drabbles presenting nine possible deaths of Severus Snape. http://ashwinder.sycophanthex.com/views OR ( The Way It Might Have Been ) THANK YOU! And I hope you enjoy these. |
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Two little drabbles or something like that, if anyone is interested. They are also on Ashwinder: http://ashwinder.sycophanthex.com/viewu Completely silly: Summary: After being bitten by Nagini, Severus finds himself in a slippery situation. This could be considered a fractured sort of fairy tale. For something a darker shade: Summary: Severus's thoughts while dying in two 100-word drabbles. DH-compliant. Enjoy! |
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After nearly a year of not posting here, I have decided to take it up again... mostly, because I want to be a part of all these amazing fic communities. How did I miss all that before? Silly me. In case anyone is somehow interested, the only fanfiction story of mine that has been recently updated is A Time to Trust. The story (which is up to chapter fourteen) can be found at http://ashwinder.sycophanthex.com/views And if you didn't know, my penname on ashwinder is alphafemale. I should have made the lj name the same but I... didn't. Oops. In other news, I work for a not-for-profit theatre company, and in about two weeks, we are deciding our schedule for the 2008 season. I will be proposing an idea for a solo-performance show called Skinned, which will involve 8-10 writers creating and performing solo plays relating to the body: body parts, functions, images, etc. I think these might be assignment-pieces wherein they have to talk to someone else about their bodies, problems, etc. But there will also be a personal note to all of it. Anyway, without going into too much detail, that's the plan. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Or if anyone lives in the St. Louis (or St. Louis Metro East) area and would like to get involved, let me know that, too! |
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Woo-hoo! More updates! The LAST chapter of the Grim Mistress has been posted. Chapter 19: Inter-house Cooperation can be found at: The third chapter in Time to Trust has also been added to the Ashwinder archives. Read it at: If anyone wants to talk about the ending of Grim Mistress (and/or possible epilogues/sequels), post it here. I'd love to discuss the reasoning behind the ending, as well as anything that may happen in the future. Thanks for reading! |
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More updates: Chapter 18 of Grim Mistress has been added. You can read it at: http://archive.sycophanthex.com/viewsto Chapter 2 of Time to Trust has also been added. You can read it at: http://archive.sycophanthex.com/viewsto The next chapters for both of those stories (the LAST for Grim Mistress) are in queue. So, those should be posted in a week or so. Otherwise, in life the saga really does continue. It seems that I'm at some sort of transitional point. Some things are the same: a play is going on, issues with friends continue, work is work. But either there are new facets to these issues or my feelings about them have altered. I'm not in the play. I'm still working in the theater every night, but I'm not in the play. It's strange. And strangely liberating. And more and less satisfying simultaneously. I'm writing plays again. This next Drawn & Quartered, I'm going to try an ongoing play theme. Actually, I'm going to try two. I have decided to explore two very personal facets of my life and integrate them into my writing as a series. I'm going to write two series (is that the plural?) leading up to DQI: childhood plays and dream plays. Each will be titled as part of a sequence: Childhood Play # 1, Dream Play #87. Then, if any of those plays wind up in the show, they will still have their original title. So, I could wind up doing Childhood Play # 26 and Dream Play # 2. And maybe it will lead to questions from curious audience members as to what happened to the rest. Maybe eventually I'll work something like this into fanfiction... Drabbles probably. I'll still write other plays, too, but I'm definitely going to challenge myself with this framework... just to see where it takes me. Situations with friends are strange right now... And transitions are happening, some that I welcome, some that I don't, and some that I accept. I'm reinstating bonds with an old friend and his new wife. To that end, I've been attending religious-oriented events with them: church, Damascus Road, Bible study (which I haven't attended yet, but will be freqenting starting soon). I am not religious. I've always been spiritual in some way, but never religious. But then I had this dream... I won't go into it here. (It is, however, Dream Play #2.) But it made me wonder if maybe I'm at a transitional point spiritually. I don't know. I guess I figure I'll continue exploring and learning and trying to be open to new possibilities. I'm not going to Boston. Not yet. I don't have the money. At all. Money is scary, scary, scary right now. Hello, Student Loans. I don't want to leave ITP. Yes, I know I could still be in ITP from Boston. But it wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't be working on as many shows, and I certainly wouldn't be helping shape where the company is going. Because it, too, is in a transitional period. I don't want to start over again. I'm not brave enough. Yet. And all the WRITING I've been doing lately has made me question rather or not I really want to do PUBLISHING at this point. Maybe I should explore the former before moving into the latter. But I will go. One way or another. Someday. Some day that isn't now. Someday... the most contradictory word in the language. |
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And yet more exciting news! My newest fic, A Time to Trust, has been posted on Ashwinder, too. A Time to Trust A Time-Turner accident sends Hermione back to June, 1980. She meets Snape at a pivotal point in his life. They learn about trust while uncovering Horcrux secrets, making ties that will last forever, and setting the wheels in motion for future events. Read it at: http://archive.sycophanthex.com/viewsto That's just the first chapter. The second is in queue. Here are my current writing plans: -Dirty Dozen Challenge: I've written most of this one-shot. It's not MY usual pairing. Although I've explored Charlie/Hermione before, it doesn't move me like the infamous WIKTT pairing does. But the twelve words issued by the challenge sparked this story for me. Sorry, Sev! Anyway, once it's posted, there will be a hippogriff, some fluffy slippers, nine other things, and, of course, the vibrator. If anyone wants to beta this, let me know. I could always use another pair of eyes. -A Time to Trust: I need to finish writing chapter four. Two is in queue. Three will go up after that. I've written about half or 2/3 of the chapter, and my lovely beta, Sophi, has fixed my errors up to that point. But it's turning out to be a HARD chapter to write. Oh well, it's next on the agenda anyway. -Grim Mistress: Write the supposed last chapter. Yikes! After working on this fic for TWO YEARS (off and on), I'm scared to finish it. It got a lot of hype once upon a time, and then I put it on a long hiatus. Now, I feel like I have to make it worth the readers' time to come back to it. And then I'm just going to STOP? It feels strange to stop so quickly after returning. Oh well... It'll be exciting to have this fic done. It has meant a lot to me. But I'm not going to finish it until the other stuff I mentioned is done. I guess I'll savor it for a while. Thanks for reading. Enjoy! |
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Wow. SycophantHex is REALLY overworked. My story sat in the queue for 10 days. That is a LONG time. But Grim Mistress has been successfully updated! You can read yet another cliffhanger chapter at: http://archive.sycophanthex.com/viewsto Whew... The next chapter is in queue, and then there should only be ONE left after that. Yikes! |
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I recently submitted a story to a couple of archives. I haven't heard back from one of them (my favorite archive which is currently has a VERY full queue). The other declined my submission at this time. The reason my story wasn't validated was mostly due to tense issues. I had sent Hermione back in time to June, 1980. The story was told in the past tense, which is typically the story tense. My problem was that Hermione had to think both of the events as they were happening in June, 1980, and those events that had transpired to bring her to that time frame. So, there is the story tense (told in the past tense) combined with not only the present day (Hermione's recent past) but also with the past events that had led up to the present day circumstances, which are in her recent past, as the story is occurring "now" in the actual past. Yeah, it's a little confusing. So it seems that I had not delineated between the "pasts" clearly enough. There were suggestions made: possible tense shifts and use of italics for present-day past (i.e. things that had happened in Hermione's real time to lead up to the accident that sent her back to the past). I didn't do the italics, because these are not separate time frames for Hermione. She's not flashing back. We don't need to relive those experiences. The reader just needs to know what events transpired to bring her to this point. But that's all beyond the point. They were right about the tenses being confusing, but since my beta and I understood what was happening in the story, we didn't catch it. The real point is that it made me wonder... What is the best tense to use when telling a story? I'm curious about thoughts on this. So, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. The French have an entire tense dedicated to storytelling. I wonder if that says anything about our cultures. Something about us being too grounded in reality. Something about them being too interested in fantasy. Something about us equating fantasy and reality perhaps, something about trying to merge fantasy with our world because we need it. I don't know. Maybe... something... Maybe not. For kicks, I think I'm going to try writing my next story in the historical tense (which is pretty much the present tense if I remember correctly). Then, at least the past will be clear. And I suppose it will be a bit of a challenge. |
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This is my first foray into the LJ community. Once upon a time, I wrote some Harry Potter fanfiction. Then, life got in the way. (And my Pisces dream world, which is a fancier version of describing it as a fantasy world, took a turn for the worse.) But then this magical thing happened... I started writing Something Else. That Something Else was plays. And then another less-magical-but-actually-quite-necessar I still love writing plays, and I will be writing plays starting later this month. But the fanfiction writing is also here to stay, and the muses have been kind. (We've been drinking Riesling together, and we all know the muses could never resist the temptation of those vines.) But I'm lonely, and I want to talk about what I'm writing and what other people are writing. And as it seems every author in fandom has a journal, I figured this was the place to go. So here I am, glass in hand and ready to get all tangled up in the vines of plot bunnies and pitfalls. Time to pour! |
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