Dear Yuletide Writer (2009 edition)
Dec. 2nd, 2009 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyvyolaHuh.
Usually I just post the same "philosophical" letter because my requested fandoms are, shall we say, thematically related. The elements I enjoy in one are pretty much the elements that attract me to the others and I think from my details it's obvious those things are.
Not so this year. I'm all over the map.
So, first the big picture then a little more specificity on what I like about each request.
My Yuletide philosophy: this might be the only chance to get a story in a certain fandom. I'm not going to get too caught up in pairings and specifics. I'd rather get a good, solid, re-readable story to set the bar and attract more fans.
That said, I was a bit specific in my request details as to story prompts. If any of them spark something for you, great. If not, don't worry. What I've got listed here is more atmospheric; these are broader story elements and themes that I find attractive.
I like teamwork and competency and characters who are really good at what they do. I like seeing the toll being that good takes on them. I like snark and banter and loaded questions. I like life-and-death secrets. I like style and flash but never at the cost of substance. I like days-in-the-life and I like the fate of the world at stake. I like romance and subtext, slash and het and gen. I like characters who'll die for each other and live for each other and know each other better than anyone else and still have each other's backs.
I like show, not tell. Even the most thoughtful of these characters are people of action, used to making quick decisions and living with the consequences.
I like good grammar and a firm grasp of English. If I have to make a choice, I'll go with voice and atmosphere over plot -- again, this might be the only story I read in this fandom and I'd like something that truly evokes it. But I'm also greedy, so a kick-ass plot would be very nice. Please put it right next to the pony, the plastic rocket ship, and the keys to Jensen Ackles.
For purposes of Yuletide, I'd rather not see: fantasy and/or sci-fi elements in the "mundane" fandoms (hey, I only have one of those this year!), PWPs, totally downbeat endings, character death -- okay, clearly with Jurisdiction and Slevin and Jekyll that's not a hard and fast rule! Use your own judgment. I'm not a fragile flower.
Really, though, in the end, I'm easy. I like good writing. Write a story that you enjoy, that you're proud of, that you're thrilled will be one the stories people point to when they talk about this little fandom. Write that story and we'll both be happy.
1. Fandom: E E Doc Smith and Stephen Goldin - Family d'Alembert series
Characters: any
Details: I really would be thrilled with anything in this fandom. It's a space opera with bigger than life characters with fast spaceships and pretty clothes. So light, bright and bantery is totally cool. Or if you want to, amaze me with dark depths barely hinted at in the text. Have fun! *g* Tell me how Paul Fortier deals with suddenly working with the highest levels of society. What were the earlier, "easy" assignments that Jules and Yvette went on? What was it like for Aimee to go from being (aging) flesh and blood to being Lady A? Maybe a story from Etienne's youth, when he had his hand and Zander still had hair.
I love this universe because it's fun and bright even as catastrophe hits. It's a hand-wavy '30s sci-fi pulp mash-up of men's series and fashion mags, where everyone's got a heavy-duty blaster on their hip -- their silk-satin-velvet-covered hip, tastefully accessorized with fist-sized rubies and diamond-encrusted chains. It's the circus! In space! Run by superheroes! Wearing jewels!
You know who else loves this universe? My brother, the world's gayest straight man (TM his wife). And my father, age 73. What's not to love?
2. Fandom: Jekyll (2007)
Characters: Eddie Jackman, Harry Jackman
Details: We learn so little about the boys in the series; I'd love to find out more about them. We know that they can switch places intentionally and that the confinement that stabilized Tom as Hyde didn't have the same effect on them. So what's next? Do Claire and Tom tell them about their legacy? What's adolescence like for them? First love? First hate? First day of school? *g* Are they really two (four?) separate people? Inquiring minds want to know! Feel free to ignore/gloss over the last scene of the series if you'd rather not deal with whatever happened after Tom visited his mother.
This is such an awesome take on the RLS tale. Love = the most terrible force in the world. Yearning so strong it's encoded in your very DNA. I think the twins are unprecedented in this world and I'd love to see that explored. I love the morbid humor and the scenery-chewing. I love the quiet moments of love between Tom and Claire. I love the idea of the big corporate conspiracy running their lives -- and totally losing control.
3. Fandom: Lucky Number Slevin
Characters: Mr. Goodkat, Slevin Kelevra aka Henry
Details: They're such a functional dysfunctional family! How did Goodkat manage to raise Henry/Slevin so that he could actually make an emotional connection with Lindsey while still being ice-cold and on-target as an assassin? What was Henry/Slevin's training like? Who was his first kill? Was it his idea or Goodkat's to take out the Boss and the Rabbi? What happens after the movie? Character or caper, the focus is up to you.
I love this movie because the director kept Josh Hartnett in a towel for a third of it. ::is shallow::
I like structure of the film, with flashbacks and voice-overs and hidden clues. I like the slickness, the facile banter, the attitudes that the characters project deliberately, each of them knowing that they are characters in the movie of their life. Half of them don't even have real names, just titles or pseudonyms. Oh, they know they're putting on a show.
I'm fascinated by the Henry/Slevin-Goodkat relationship. Goodkat shoots Lindsey as a matter of routine, just because she's seen his face. He's raised Henry/Slevin in his own image, with a bent for revenge. But Henry/Slevin truly loves Lindsey and when Goodkat sees that connection he lets them go off together. I need to know about the family that slays together!
4. Fandom: Susan Matthews - Jurisdiction series
Characters: Andrej Koscuisko, Chief Stildyne, Joslire Curran, Robert St. Clare
Details: Joslire dies before Stildyne appears in the series, so what I'm really asking for is a story with three of the characters -- Andrej, Robert, and either Joslire or Stildyne. Emotion, emotion, emotion! The bonds between the characters are what attract me to this series and that's what I'd like to see explored. I'd love to see something that really plays into the palpable homoerotic subtext of this series without going over the explicit edge. The fandom lends itself to dark but there's room for the lighter side, too -- getting through a regular day while living in close quarters, negotiating through the cultural differences, etc.
Yeah, IDEK. Let's not look too closely at why I've re-read this series about a torturer and his entourage of slaves, servants and junior officers. One thing that intrigues me is the structure and formality that they have to deal with, imposed from within and without, just to get through basic interactions. How sometimes giving someone no choice is the kindest thing you can do, and sometimes giving them a choice is the only thing you can do.
Hope that helps and doesn't add to the inevitable, and traditional, Yuletide pressure!
Usually I just post the same "philosophical" letter because my requested fandoms are, shall we say, thematically related. The elements I enjoy in one are pretty much the elements that attract me to the others and I think from my details it's obvious those things are.
Not so this year. I'm all over the map.
So, first the big picture then a little more specificity on what I like about each request.
My Yuletide philosophy: this might be the only chance to get a story in a certain fandom. I'm not going to get too caught up in pairings and specifics. I'd rather get a good, solid, re-readable story to set the bar and attract more fans.
That said, I was a bit specific in my request details as to story prompts. If any of them spark something for you, great. If not, don't worry. What I've got listed here is more atmospheric; these are broader story elements and themes that I find attractive.
I like teamwork and competency and characters who are really good at what they do. I like seeing the toll being that good takes on them. I like snark and banter and loaded questions. I like life-and-death secrets. I like style and flash but never at the cost of substance. I like days-in-the-life and I like the fate of the world at stake. I like romance and subtext, slash and het and gen. I like characters who'll die for each other and live for each other and know each other better than anyone else and still have each other's backs.
I like show, not tell. Even the most thoughtful of these characters are people of action, used to making quick decisions and living with the consequences.
I like good grammar and a firm grasp of English. If I have to make a choice, I'll go with voice and atmosphere over plot -- again, this might be the only story I read in this fandom and I'd like something that truly evokes it. But I'm also greedy, so a kick-ass plot would be very nice. Please put it right next to the pony, the plastic rocket ship, and the keys to Jensen Ackles.
For purposes of Yuletide, I'd rather not see: fantasy and/or sci-fi elements in the "mundane" fandoms (hey, I only have one of those this year!), PWPs, totally downbeat endings, character death -- okay, clearly with Jurisdiction and Slevin and Jekyll that's not a hard and fast rule! Use your own judgment. I'm not a fragile flower.
Really, though, in the end, I'm easy. I like good writing. Write a story that you enjoy, that you're proud of, that you're thrilled will be one the stories people point to when they talk about this little fandom. Write that story and we'll both be happy.
1. Fandom: E E Doc Smith and Stephen Goldin - Family d'Alembert series
Characters: any
Details: I really would be thrilled with anything in this fandom. It's a space opera with bigger than life characters with fast spaceships and pretty clothes. So light, bright and bantery is totally cool. Or if you want to, amaze me with dark depths barely hinted at in the text. Have fun! *g* Tell me how Paul Fortier deals with suddenly working with the highest levels of society. What were the earlier, "easy" assignments that Jules and Yvette went on? What was it like for Aimee to go from being (aging) flesh and blood to being Lady A? Maybe a story from Etienne's youth, when he had his hand and Zander still had hair.
I love this universe because it's fun and bright even as catastrophe hits. It's a hand-wavy '30s sci-fi pulp mash-up of men's series and fashion mags, where everyone's got a heavy-duty blaster on their hip -- their silk-satin-velvet-covered hip, tastefully accessorized with fist-sized rubies and diamond-encrusted chains. It's the circus! In space! Run by superheroes! Wearing jewels!
You know who else loves this universe? My brother, the world's gayest straight man (TM his wife). And my father, age 73. What's not to love?
2. Fandom: Jekyll (2007)
Characters: Eddie Jackman, Harry Jackman
Details: We learn so little about the boys in the series; I'd love to find out more about them. We know that they can switch places intentionally and that the confinement that stabilized Tom as Hyde didn't have the same effect on them. So what's next? Do Claire and Tom tell them about their legacy? What's adolescence like for them? First love? First hate? First day of school? *g* Are they really two (four?) separate people? Inquiring minds want to know! Feel free to ignore/gloss over the last scene of the series if you'd rather not deal with whatever happened after Tom visited his mother.
This is such an awesome take on the RLS tale. Love = the most terrible force in the world. Yearning so strong it's encoded in your very DNA. I think the twins are unprecedented in this world and I'd love to see that explored. I love the morbid humor and the scenery-chewing. I love the quiet moments of love between Tom and Claire. I love the idea of the big corporate conspiracy running their lives -- and totally losing control.
3. Fandom: Lucky Number Slevin
Characters: Mr. Goodkat, Slevin Kelevra aka Henry
Details: They're such a functional dysfunctional family! How did Goodkat manage to raise Henry/Slevin so that he could actually make an emotional connection with Lindsey while still being ice-cold and on-target as an assassin? What was Henry/Slevin's training like? Who was his first kill? Was it his idea or Goodkat's to take out the Boss and the Rabbi? What happens after the movie? Character or caper, the focus is up to you.
I love this movie because the director kept Josh Hartnett in a towel for a third of it. ::is shallow::
I like structure of the film, with flashbacks and voice-overs and hidden clues. I like the slickness, the facile banter, the attitudes that the characters project deliberately, each of them knowing that they are characters in the movie of their life. Half of them don't even have real names, just titles or pseudonyms. Oh, they know they're putting on a show.
I'm fascinated by the Henry/Slevin-Goodkat relationship. Goodkat shoots Lindsey as a matter of routine, just because she's seen his face. He's raised Henry/Slevin in his own image, with a bent for revenge. But Henry/Slevin truly loves Lindsey and when Goodkat sees that connection he lets them go off together. I need to know about the family that slays together!
4. Fandom: Susan Matthews - Jurisdiction series
Characters: Andrej Koscuisko, Chief Stildyne, Joslire Curran, Robert St. Clare
Details: Joslire dies before Stildyne appears in the series, so what I'm really asking for is a story with three of the characters -- Andrej, Robert, and either Joslire or Stildyne. Emotion, emotion, emotion! The bonds between the characters are what attract me to this series and that's what I'd like to see explored. I'd love to see something that really plays into the palpable homoerotic subtext of this series without going over the explicit edge. The fandom lends itself to dark but there's room for the lighter side, too -- getting through a regular day while living in close quarters, negotiating through the cultural differences, etc.
Yeah, IDEK. Let's not look too closely at why I've re-read this series about a torturer and his entourage of slaves, servants and junior officers. One thing that intrigues me is the structure and formality that they have to deal with, imposed from within and without, just to get through basic interactions. How sometimes giving someone no choice is the kindest thing you can do, and sometimes giving them a choice is the only thing you can do.
Hope that helps and doesn't add to the inevitable, and traditional, Yuletide pressure!
