MTYG

[pensnest]

MTYG authors being now revealed, I can see it was Hurricanemegan who wrote my wonderful story, Barking Mad. She also wrote my 2007 story, Year of the Bull, so she obviously knows exactly what I like! Thanks again - xxx!

My own story, The Pussycat and the Porcupine, written for Jacie, was supposed to be C-Bass with a side of Chris/Howie, a reward for Chris playing Cupid for his friends. However, Chris took over a bit (he does that) and it ended up being definitely a two-pairing story, and given the structure, C-Bass was probably the second pairing, even though I hadn't intended it that way. I had quite a struggle writing it, and probably rewrote from scratch every section in the first half of the story at least once, but by the end I knew where it was going—and the puppies arrived, and then Howie came up with the porcupine idea (so I had to go back and make Chris more prickly) and it all worked out.

The writing experience was quite a contrast to last year, because my recipient, like me, didn't ask for anything very specific. I remember my wrath last year because my recipient asked for post-apocalyptic vampires, which it would never have occurred to me to write—yet it was a great challenge to do something so different from what I generally do. This year's recipient request was more general (I didn't really get enough cuddling into the story, I think), and while in many ways that makes things easier, it also means I had to think 'what shall I write?' rather than 'how shall I write this?'. A different experience.

So I'm thinking, perhaps next year I should give a specific prompt? Hmm, except that I've been really lucky with MTYG stories so far—only my first SeSa year was disappointing, back in 2005, since then I've had a really good run of stories received, so maybe my requests are fine...

What do you prefer your recipient to do? Is it easier or harder to write for someone you know quite well? And who else has had a specific request you found *very* challenging?

rikes guessed my story correctly, so—what do you want me to write for you?

Comments

[rikes]

YAY! Now I'm exactly the kind of person who leaves completely unhelpful prompts. :D Trickyfish or my new favourite pairing Chris/Brian, please! Your optional word prompts are: suspenders, camera, cleaning. Thank you! :)

[pensnest]

Okay! Interesting - no, those are probably helpful prompts. I'll have a think.

[llamabitchyo.livejournal.com]

I think I'd prefer more specific requests. Or at least, if someone's going to do a Dear Santa letter, it would be nice to actually _make it useful_. Dear Santas that are simply "I'll love anything" are frustrating. Maybe a very specific request would be confining, but also, you can choose to disregard bits. I think wondering "how in the world am I going to accomplish A, B, & C?!?" is a lot stressful than hunting all over for clues about an unknown recipient with a locked or non-existent journal and no one who knows them and a very open request and worrying that you could be doing things completely wrong for them.

Of my four MtYG fics, the glitter fic and the alienMPREG were the least stressful in the "will they like it?" way. (Oh, they were all stressful in the needing an extension way.) For the glitter fic, I dug up a reference in the recipient's LJ to two of her favorite fics for that pairing and I studied those fics and gained a lot of confidence. And for the alienMPREG, well... I was lucky. :D

[pensnest]

You know, there is much to be said for the specific. I always go for the 'whatever you write best' approach, because it strikes me as a better bet to have great crack from a crackwriter, or something wrenching from an angst specialist, etc, than to get something the author has to struggle with.

And also, because there's never (so far) been anything really specific that I've longed to read. I'm greedy with story prompts—if I think of something that'd make a cool story, I'm usually going to want it for myself!

But it *is* nice to have a place to start, even if it leaves me baffled and afraid. Hmm. Something to ponder for next time.

[nopseud]

I like more specific requests...unless it's a really hard request, and then I don't :-)

Especially if it contains the letters AU. AU's are haaaaaaaaard, dude. Surely, surely I'm due a non-AU request next year?.

[pensnest]

Heh. It is a *challenge*, after all.

I'm going to have to find the right balance for next year's request... Hmm.

[solariana.livejournal.com]

It was so very perfect for me, Many thanks and I do still owe you some real FB rather than my babbling *OMG this is awesome*!!! *hugs you tight*

I tend to give more general requests. I'm always afraid that if I give more specific stuff, I'll stress out my writer and wind up disappointed (Hmmm, I often threaten to request Justin in a pink tutu *evil grin*). This turned out super fabulous, and of course you know I have great affection for kittens!

The one year we got the *wrong* recipients, I had a request asking for HOT HOT SEX and was like, OMG I will never be able to make this person happy. Then I got a different request and breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.

I personally would likely be more stressed by getting someone I knew or one of the *A* list writers, because I don't think I'll write something they'll like. I do tend to do what I can to gear my stories to the recipient (and their request) and that tends to occasionally include things that make NO SENSE to anyone other than the recipient. Which, as long as the recipient gets it, I'm happy with that.

I do prefer to get a story where my request fits in rather than having it seemed *forced* in or ignored. (i.e. the first SeSa written for me was a good story, but had nothing to do with my request (other than the pairing) until the last paragraph which TOTALLY shifted gears in the story and seemed rather *tacked on* to the end and really, the story was better without it.)

[pensnest]

You know, I always give rather general requests too, because there isn't usually anything very specific that I'd want to receive—I mean, I always say I'd rather have a story the writer *wants* to write than a story written 'to order', and that's *true*, really. My Santa letter this year included a bit more of 'things I don't want' than before, but didn't go as far as to give anything specific.

And I was *so* frustrated last year with my very particular AU request... and yet, in retrospect, it was good to have the *challenge* aspect going on. With all my fretting about my post-apocalyptic, vampire-infested universe I didn't have time to worry that I'd not written the pairing before! And in the end I was very pleased with the story that turned up, perhaps because it's not something I'd ever have thought to write without the MTYG prompt.

So I conclude… that it's impossible to figure out what kind of prompt to give! (And, MTYG authors are never satisfied.)

I think with your story, I ended up feeling I'd put a bit more emphasis on the Chris/Howie than I'd really intended, and that's probably because it's a less obvious pairing, one which I'd only written a couple of times before, so there was more of a challenge in making it happen. Whereas Lance/JC is one of those pairings where they just work so easily! Funnily enough, I'd decided the story should have a cat in it, but the puppies just introduced themselves. And Howie thought up the porcupine, not me! (I just had to go back and make Christ pricklier.)

Anyway, I'm very glad you were pleased with it. :-D That's always the most important thing about the SeSa challenge.

[solariana.livejournal.com]

I think, too, I also kind of like to have a *surprise* story rather than asking for something really specific. It's cool just to see where the writer takes it! ;)

[pensnest]

You know, that is a very good point. It's particularly wonderful to be surprised by something that is exactly what you didn't know you wanted—I've been really lucky with my SeSa stories, several of which have done this.