Dirty Thoughts About Feedback and Fic

[schmevil]

Dirty Thoughts Not About Snapeboy

Spent the afternoon with a friend who will soon be leaving the country (it's like a plague, I swear). She wanted to see Mean Girls and I indulged her, despite wanting to see Denzel lose his shit in Man On Fire (dammit!). She went on and on about how incredibly hot Lindsy Lohan is and after seeing the movie, I agreed. Then she revealed that LL is in fact sixteen.

omgdirtythoughtsiamunclean!

This is the second most traumatising ogling of my life. Runner up to the time I hit on a coworker who turned out to be fifteen and was still interested. So interested she gave me her number, told me to call her and gave me fuck-me eyes. x_X

Mean Girls, btw, is, moment for moment, the slashiest movie I've seen in ages.

Snapeboy is moving to France next month and we decided that it would therefore be a good idea to not see each other. Not seeing each other seems to consist of seeing each other several times a week, and scrupulously avoiding personal bubble contact, except when we don't. This is so like the last year of my sex life that I wouldn't notice the difference if it weren't for the increasingly irritating sexual frustration. He kills my zen in a (not) good way.

Feedback In Fandom

artimusdin posted a Snarry pic in hpart. Snape looks vaguely Asian and Harry has brown hair. saeva makes a few comments on characterization and canon accuracy. The thread quickly devolves into a discussion of what does and does not constitute constructive criticism, and the limits of artistic freedom.

I die. The laughter kills me.

Fic

Here's my remix of lifeinwords's Holes, and while I'm happy with what I did in terms of remixing it, I'm not sure that I did the material justice. It cannot stand alone - you've got to read the original, before or after, or the remix is painfully obscure. And while I never intended it to be read (exactly) as a standalone, that pains me. A remix should be a completely separate fic, but I thought it would be more interesting to write a kind of supplement to the original, looking at the idea of holes. I would do that by not talking about stuff like why Draco and Harry are locked in the dungeon. I'd leave clues and the reader would have to think about the nature of the holes in the characters. I'm kind of thinking that I ended up with some blandly, pretentious verbiage. So now I'm thinking extended remix, featuring Bellatrix, Snape and Dumbledore in memories. Any helpful thoughts to share?

I'm having the worst time finishing fics right now. I have several half-finished one-shots, a multitude of vignettes in need of polish and a couple of chapters with gigantic holes in them. I know exactly where I want to go, but not where I need to go. This is worse than total block. I've tried making plans, charts and lists but no dice. What do you do when you're having trouble finishing up a fic? What are your tricks?

Comments

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Snapeboy is my ex-boyfriend. Simply fuck the dear, and kiss him goodbye when he goes to France. You will feel better, and he will be further traumatised.

*hugs you, so glad that you are fine*

[tinderblast.livejournal.com]

I know exactly where I want to go, but not where I need to go. This is worse than total block. I've tried making plans, charts and lists but no dice. What do you do when you're having trouble finishing up a fic? What are your tricks?

I wish I could help, but I don't know. Have you tried just writing out a whole draft, no matter how much it sucks, and then working to improve this skeleton? Maybe having a concrete basis to work from might help, but I'm not sure.

That said, I really, really enjoyed your story. it's incredibly atmospheric and moving, it's visceral and moves along at a really intersting pace. I don't know if you're right about it being completely dependent on the first story for meaning, but I think you might be right in the sense of it not having a specific meaning/outcome without knowledge of the first story. Maybe it's because there's not the same sense of it building to a punchline, to a final shock - yours is much more about the journey and the impact than the revelation of the spell. But that also makes it more mysterious, makes the reader work a little more, so I don't think it's a bad thing. I think it could definitely be read alone.

-brodie

[fizzingpop.livejournal.com]

My lord. I was just reading over the thread about Harry's brown hair and constructive criticism, and I was floored. People in fandom have some of the worst type of idiots- the idiots who think they are smart. Horribly annoying.

MHC, wherever you are...

[mctabby.livejournal.com]

Hope you're having a happy birthday. *offers absinthe and chocolate*

Re: MHC, wherever you are...

[schmevil.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I forgot I still had comment-emails turned on. *g* Between school, work and family there hasn't been much time left for fandom. I heard that you took a break as well recently.

Re: MHC, wherever you are...

[mctabby.livejournal.com]

I vanished for two months. RL batshit-insane. You know how it is, I guess. :)

Miss you madly, Slytherclaw.

*waves and Disapparates*