And a big Yay for the MTYG reveal
Jan. 6th, 2008 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnestYay for MTYG! And a wholehearted THANK YOU to everyone who made it happen, with particular approbation for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
archie_gremlin, who probably doesn't even read the stories... The rest of you lovely peeps have the pleasure of knowing that you occasioned more than 80 fresh new popslash fics, and of reading them!
Anyway.
My first, abortive assignment was either Lance/Chris or Lance/AJ. Ah well.
Next one turned up either Bassez or Joey/Brian. Hmm. A modicum of research into my recipient's preferences suggested very strongly that the Nsync pairing was the way to go. Naturally, therefore, I got an idea for a Joey/Brian on-the-road vampires first-time story, but never mind.
It took a surprisingly long time for me to figure out what to write, I don't know why. However, eventually I worked out that it'd be neat to do a then-and-now, with Lance's youthful crush on JC, and much secrecy, and JC kissing Lance and running away, contrasted with Lance being out and proud for the reunion tour, etc. So then it was just a matter of writing the scenes and making them work, and as I wrote, I found I couldn't do the NSA bits at all, dunno why. Thus do stories evolve. As I got into it I had more and more fun, and found out more and more about them all. Isn't it funny how stories just go where they want to go, and what comes out from under your fingers can be such a surprise... It turned into 'A Tale of Dreams and Asses', iffy title, though it was very nearly, and perhaps should have been, called 'The Magnificent Traveling Yenta Guys'.
Ended up very pleased with it, although it lurched along a bit and didn't get finished until a few hours before submission deadline! Thanks tomadame_d for all sorts of useful information (I describe it as 'homeopathic research' on my part, in that about a molecule's worth of information showed up in the story despite the magnificent input of details) and to both her and phaballa for the time-pressured beta checks and cheerleading!
Then, I felt bereft with no story to write, so I signed up for pinch-hitting, and noticed that someone I'd been mentoring was on the list. Okay, so. Failing to notice that my recipient didn't much care for AUs, I embarked on an idea I'd been saving for SeSa, sparkly casting them in an advertising agency. I worked for a radio station and then a newspaper company early in the 1980s when I had to earn a living, so I had a fair idea how ad agencies worked (but if anyone reading the story actually works for an ad agency, particularly a British one, I'm sorry!) and what the 'trade papers' are. No research at all (no time!), except at the very end, when I subscribed to Campaign online to pick up some writing style for the Epilogue. In my mind, LPA is somewhere around Covent Garden, and the pub Chris takes Justin to is somewhere off Fleet Street, probably around where the Sun used to be, but it's all rather nebulous.
Had no idea whether there was a plot or not, just wrote a few scenes, realised they didn't work, and started again. It's amazing how much you can write in two days if you have to. (I think my haste shows, as it really needs a bit more time taken over it.)
Re-reading my emails, I noticed about half-way through that my recipient would *really* have liked angsty, hurty Timbertrick, because she'd told me so. Augh! Wavered a bit—should I scrap the entire fic? But as I cannot write good, hurty Timbertrick to save my life, decided to press on with the AU. Thanks torandomling and nopseud for catching, would you believe, the Americanisms in my writing (!) and pointing out what was missing. It was very odd, having the freedom to use colourful British abuse, because I found I was so accustomed to having my boys use the handful of American terms I'm sure of, I had difficulty figuring out what the British versions would say! Anyway, that was the genesis of 'It Pays to Advertise'.
Happily for me, both recipients were obviously really pleased. *win*
I should also mention that
(a) the story written for me is lovely; it's "Year of the Bull", and what I most love about it are the details so perfectly packed into every sentence, without ever poking the reader in the eye and saying "look, I'z clever!" Thank you again,hurricanemegan.
Also, (b) that I thought there were a *lot* of really good stories. I've managed to express my pleasure in feedback to *most* of them, but not all. And I need to let them settle for a lot longer before I can decide which are ultimately my favourites.
I'd say that MTYG made a most impressive debut. Of course, it had the example of DWNOGA to work from, but it's still an impressive achievement, and I think the Reader accounts for feedback, and the longer anon time, are both excellent innovations. Long may it continue.
See you all again at Christmas!
archie_gremlin, who probably doesn't even read the stories... The rest of you lovely peeps have the pleasure of knowing that you occasioned more than 80 fresh new popslash fics, and of reading them!Anyway.
My first, abortive assignment was either Lance/Chris or Lance/AJ. Ah well.
Next one turned up either Bassez or Joey/Brian. Hmm. A modicum of research into my recipient's preferences suggested very strongly that the Nsync pairing was the way to go. Naturally, therefore, I got an idea for a Joey/Brian on-the-road vampires first-time story, but never mind.
It took a surprisingly long time for me to figure out what to write, I don't know why. However, eventually I worked out that it'd be neat to do a then-and-now, with Lance's youthful crush on JC, and much secrecy, and JC kissing Lance and running away, contrasted with Lance being out and proud for the reunion tour, etc. So then it was just a matter of writing the scenes and making them work, and as I wrote, I found I couldn't do the NSA bits at all, dunno why. Thus do stories evolve. As I got into it I had more and more fun, and found out more and more about them all. Isn't it funny how stories just go where they want to go, and what comes out from under your fingers can be such a surprise... It turned into 'A Tale of Dreams and Asses', iffy title, though it was very nearly, and perhaps should have been, called 'The Magnificent Traveling Yenta Guys'.
Ended up very pleased with it, although it lurched along a bit and didn't get finished until a few hours before submission deadline! Thanks to
madame_d for all sorts of useful information (I describe it as 'homeopathic research' on my part, in that about a molecule's worth of information showed up in the story despite the magnificent input of details) and to both her and phaballa for the time-pressured beta checks and cheerleading!Then, I felt bereft with no story to write, so I signed up for pinch-hitting, and noticed that someone I'd been mentoring was on the list. Okay, so. Failing to notice that my recipient didn't much care for AUs, I embarked on an idea I'd been saving for SeSa, sparkly casting them in an advertising agency. I worked for a radio station and then a newspaper company early in the 1980s when I had to earn a living, so I had a fair idea how ad agencies worked (but if anyone reading the story actually works for an ad agency, particularly a British one, I'm sorry!) and what the 'trade papers' are. No research at all (no time!), except at the very end, when I subscribed to Campaign online to pick up some writing style for the Epilogue. In my mind, LPA is somewhere around Covent Garden, and the pub Chris takes Justin to is somewhere off Fleet Street, probably around where the Sun used to be, but it's all rather nebulous.
Had no idea whether there was a plot or not, just wrote a few scenes, realised they didn't work, and started again. It's amazing how much you can write in two days if you have to. (I think my haste shows, as it really needs a bit more time taken over it.)
Re-reading my emails, I noticed about half-way through that my recipient would *really* have liked angsty, hurty Timbertrick, because she'd told me so. Augh! Wavered a bit—should I scrap the entire fic? But as I cannot write good, hurty Timbertrick to save my life, decided to press on with the AU. Thanks to
randomling and nopseud for catching, would you believe, the Americanisms in my writing (!) and pointing out what was missing. It was very odd, having the freedom to use colourful British abuse, because I found I was so accustomed to having my boys use the handful of American terms I'm sure of, I had difficulty figuring out what the British versions would say! Anyway, that was the genesis of 'It Pays to Advertise'.Happily for me, both recipients were obviously really pleased. *win*
I should also mention that
(a) the story written for me is lovely; it's "Year of the Bull", and what I most love about it are the details so perfectly packed into every sentence, without ever poking the reader in the eye and saying "look, I'z clever!" Thank you again,
hurricanemegan.Also, (b) that I thought there were a *lot* of really good stories. I've managed to express my pleasure in feedback to *most* of them, but not all. And I need to let them settle for a lot longer before I can decide which are ultimately my favourites.
I'd say that MTYG made a most impressive debut. Of course, it had the example of DWNOGA to work from, but it's still an impressive achievement, and I think the Reader accounts for feedback, and the longer anon time, are both excellent innovations. Long may it continue.
See you all again at Christmas!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-08 07:12 pm (UTC)