(no subject)

[pensnest]

Last night, I had a bowl of raspberries picked from my garden, with clotted cream. Meanwhile, Beast's Tauran avatar was fighting a giant armoured hippo.

I win, methinks.

There seems to be a writing meme on the go - the idea is that you pick a question and I'll answer it. Anyone want to play?

(found via torch)

A. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.
B. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?
C. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?
D. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?
E. Share one of your strengths.
F. Share one of your weaknesses.
G. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.
H. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.
I. Which fic has been the hardest to write?
J. Which fic has been the easiest to write?
K. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?
L. Is there an episode section of canon above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?
M. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?
N. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?
O. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?
P. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?
Q. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?
R. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?
S. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?
T. Describe your perfect writing conditions.
U. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?
V. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).
W. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?
X. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?
Y. What do you look for in a beta?
Z. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?
AA. How do you feel about collaborations?
AB. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.
AC. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?
AD. Do you accept prompts?
AE. Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?
AF. How do you feel about smut?
AG. How do you feel about crack?
AH. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?
AI. Would you ever kill off a canon character?
AJ. Which is your favorite site to post fic?
AK. Talk about your current wips.
AL. Talk about a review that made your day.
AM. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?
AN. Write an alternative ending to a fic you've written (specify by title, link or general description].

(Some of the answers will turn up on LJ.)

If anyone wants to check up on any of the stories referenced in my answers, the fanfic is best reached from this page.

Comments

G. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’

[pensnest]

He was hot and sweaty by the time he achieved his goal, and took off his top layer. Looking back, he didn't seem to have come so very far, but his legs assured him that the distant woods where he'd emerged into dragon country were a long way off. He probably shouldn't go any further, but he shouldn't need to. This was a great vantage point for dragon-spotting. He shivered, suddenly cold.

*CURIOSITY* filled his head, a huge and foreign curiosity which was certainly, certainly coming from someone, something—he looked around and didn't see any—oh, oh, the shadow on the ground around him was… He looked up.

The golden dragon was hovering high above, and its attention was plainly focussed on him. There was puzzlement in its thoughts, surprise, a hint of disapproval at his bizarre stunted shape—*NO WINGS?*—but mostly there was a relentless pressure of *CURIOSITY*.

Lance scrambled to his feet. "Hello?" he said, and bowed uncertainly.

*SURPRISE*

The dragon wafted gently down. It was enormous. Its head was as long, Lance reckoned, as he himself was tall. Its wings, spread to gentle its descent, would have done a Napoleonic battleship credit, and one of its mighty talons could eviscerate him easily.

It did not seem to be considering evisceration. It seemed baffled, not at all sure what this puny earthbound creature might be. Its huge head snaked forward, and eyes like molten cauldrons surveyed him unfathomably. For all that he'd imagined this moment, Lance had no idea what to do. He wasn't sure he could do anything—his legs seemed unwilling to support him, and he honestly didn't think he could move. His head throbbed from the pressure of the dragon's thoughts.

The dragon examined him for a few moments longer, and then appeared to lose interest. *SMALL*, it thought, and something that felt like *UNIMPORTANT* but might have been *SAVE FOR LATER*, and it reared back, bunched its mighty hind legs and took off into the sky. Lance's legs gave up the struggle and he collapsed to the ground, and his mind was filled with *FLY*JOY*POWER* as the dragon spiralled up into the azure sky. He had never seen anything so magnificent. He watched it and felt its entirely unhuman pleasure pounding like distant kettledrums in his head, and his heart hurt with delight.

And then it was gone. Lance had no idea how long he'd watched the dragon fly—not long enough—but it was gone, and time was still passing, and he must go home. He was cold, he realised, and hurried to put his jacket on. The sky was fading, perhaps because there was no longer a dragon in it, but he didn't want to spend the night here, he wanted a hot bath and his comfortable bed and he wanted, he really, really wanted to be able to tell somebody, anybody, that he had seen a dragon, that he'd had a, well, not exactly a conversation with a dragon, but communication. If only there was someone he could tell.

*

This is from 'Dragon Country', my recent dragon big bang story. The story has quite a lot of not-dialogue going on, and I'm pretty pleased with most of it. Not that it is because I crafted my prose with particular attention, or anything (mostly I just write), but sometimes it comes out right, and I discover as I'm writing how the characters *are*. I knew Lance wouldn't have an entirely comfortable time at his first meeting with the dragon, but that he'd be delighted at meeting it anyway, but I discovered quite a bit about how the dragon thinks as I was doing this part. And it isn't precisely foreboding, but it isn't precisely nice either. What I wanted to get across was the fact that the dragon isn't anywhere near as fascinated with Lance as Lance is with the dragon, and its thought processes are not like human thoughts. Eh.

*

There's also Joey didn't even remember hearing JC scream. In fact, he couldn't remember hearing any commands after the go order, only the enemy under his guns and the bright disintegrating ships. which is from 'The White Room'. I hope it conveys Joey's (and Chris's, and Lance's) state of mind. It's also much better than trying to describe a space battle!