transposable_element (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
transposable_element) wrote2015-10-20 11:56 am
transposable_element) wrote2015-10-20 11:56 am
Dear Yuletide Writer
First, thank you! I'm looking forward to this so much, and I hope you'll have fun writing.
As for what I like and don't like, mostly the answer is "it depends." There are very few things I would say a flat-out no to: graphic torture; prolonged graphic violence; incest; rape. But even these, if necessary for the story, character, or setting, might be okay. So some of the prompts include exceptions (e.g. to allow canon-typical levels of violence). What I really don't like to see is violence and cruelty normalized or justified. My attitude about explicit sex depends on the fandom, as noted in the prompts. In general, I prefer sex not to be the raison d'être of a story.
Things I especially like:
As for me, I'm a middle-aged woman who likes to read children's fiction; I'm a scientist who likes to read about magic; I'm a physically inactive person who likes to read about adventures and derring-do. My interests are broad and the polite description of my education would be "eclectic." I started off writing Narnia fic, and that's still the setting for the bulk of my fics, but I am trying to branch out! All of my published fics are here. If you want a general idea of the kind of thing I write, I suggest The Little Sea (Narnia), Giddy (Swallows and Amazons) and/or Pensing (Green Sky).
Notes on specific prompts
I have written a lot more on some of the prompts than others. That is not because I am more interested in receiving a story based on those prompts! It's mainly just the difference between a) a standalone novel vs. a series, and b) newly published work vs. a work that's been around a while.
Green Sky
[For the uninitiated: YA science fiction trilogy by Zilpha Keatley Snyder published in the 1970s. Often categorized as fantasy, even by the author, but canonically it takes place on a low-gravity forest planet settled by refugees from war-torn earth.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Any Character
There is so little fic for this fandom that nearly anything, about any character, would be great! Feel free to focus on characters not included in the tag set (except Neric, who annoys me). Genaa is my favorite character in the series. Feel free to introduce OCs!
What I'd like: This is the fandom where I'd most like to see a love story, especially a Kindar/Erdling pairing. I'm also interested in continuation of the social and political upheaval of the series.
What I don't want: Since violence in Green Sky is deeply shocking I prefer to see it used sparingly, if at all. Please, no incest.
The first thing about Green Sky that captured my imagination is the setting. (I suspect this is true for most fans of the series). I'm nervous about heights, and I still love the idea of gliding around in the trees like a flying squirrel. I love the sense of spaciousness and air, and all of the details about living in the heights.
One of the things I like about the series, especially coming back to it as an adult, is that the aims of the founders of the society make sense. It is a flawed society, but there are a lot of good things about it; it's not a dystopia. In so much YA sf/fantasy, especially socially engineered dystopias, you have to wonder why anybody would set things up this way (at least I do). But in Green Sky, even though things went wrong, you can see what the founders wanted to achieve and why they thought it was a good goal.
Canon issues:
I have never played the computer game based on the books. From what I have read about it, however, Zilpha Keatley Snyder was involved in its creation and thus it is considered canon by fans. The main difference is that in the video game Raamo is alive after his fall into the abyss and can be rescued. As far as I'm concerned, either the book ending or the game retcon is legitimate.
The Erdlings are portrayed as being conservative/restrictive about sexuality, but it's easy to imagine Kindar having much more varied and fluid sexuality than what is portrayed in the books. It seems that Kindar typically become sexually active with age mates at about age 14, so I take that as the age of consent in Green Sky.
I have a lot of head canon, some of which is hinted at in my own Green Sky fics, but you don't need to abide by it. For various reasons I think the Erdlings are probably a very small minority (no more than 5% of the population) at the time the series takes place. But again, that's my head canon, no need to agree with it.
Story ideas:
Queen's Thief
[For the uninitiated: In-progress YA fantasy series by Megan Whalen Turner that takes place in a sort of Mediterranean-ish secondary world setting. So far four books have been published. Two more are promised.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Character: Costis
A Costis-centric fic, please. Hairsbreadth escapes, court intrigue, clash of cultures, skullduggery, Medes! Love/sex/romance is fine, but I prefer it not to be the main focus of the story. Feel free to use any other characters from the series, including those not listed in the tag set, but please make Costis the main character.
My one big caveat is that I don't like Costis/Gen as a pairing. Costis with a one-sided crush on Gen is fine, but I don't think that Irene's threat to cut off Gen's other hand if he takes a mistress has an escape clause for a male lover. Violence consistent with what's in the series is fine, but I prefer nothing extended or gratuitous. Please, no rape.
When I started reading The King of Attolia, my first thought was, "Costis? Who is this Costis person? Where is Gen? I want Gen!" But then when I started reading A Conspiracy of Kings it was, "Sophos? I don't care about Sophos! Where is Costis? I want Costis!" (And then of course I fell in love with Sophos, too. I fully expect to be charmed by the viewpoint character of the next book, which MWT does seem to be working on! I predict Eddis.)
So anyway, in case it's not perfectly clear, I want Costis.
Ideas:
Melendy Quartet
[For the uninitiated: A tetralogy of children's books by Elizabeth Enright originally published in the 1940s and 50s. Vignettes about a family of kids with diverse interests and the adults who care for and guide them.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Any Character
One of the things I love about the Melendys is the way nearly anything (going to the circus, learning to ride a bike, canning tomatoes) can turn into an adventure. I like to think that the characters carry that sense of possibility with them into the future. What are the characters doing in two or five or ten years? I would be happy with a story about any canon character, including those not listed in the tag set.
Please, no incest. That includes pairing Mark Herron with any of the Melendys. Romance is fine, in moderation, but I prefer no explicit sex. Violence should be limited to Rush socking someone, or the equivalent. :-)
For me this is a real childhood favorite, one I read over and over again as a kid and came back to many times over the years. I love all the characters, especially Randy, Rush, Martin Melendy, and Willy Sloper. I love the connection to nature and the landscape. I like the interactions among the kids, the teasing affection, the basic good-heartedness.
In general for this prompt I would prefer something like an extension of the narrative. What happens next? Or backstory, possibly using the device so often employed in the books, an adult telling a story from their own childhood. As long the story respects the spirit of the books, I will love it.
A note on canon: The Saturdays very clearly takes place in 1940-1941 (there are references to the bombing of London, but the U.S. is not yet at war). This places The Four-Story Mistake in 1941-42 and Then There were Five in the summer of 1942. The date of Spiderweb for Two is not as clear, but it seems to be one or two years after the end of the previous book, which would make it 1943-44 or 1944-45. The issue with canon is that Enright is inconsistent; like a lot of writers of children's series, she seems to set each book in the same year it was written/published rather than sticking with an internal chronology. So in The Four-Story Mistake (published in 1942) the U.S. already seems to be at war; there's a lot about Christmas preparations, but no mention of Pearl Harbor and the US entry into the war, for example. In Spiderweb for Two, which was published in 1951, the war is long over. Anyway, I prefer sticking to the internal chronology! :-)
Ideas:
The Lie Tree
[For the uninitiated: standalone YA fantasy novel by Frances Hardinge, set in the Victorian era. Science, women living in the chinks of the world machine, the metastatic power of lies.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Any Character
"Faith had always told herself that she was not like other ladies. But neither, it seemed, were other ladies."
Ahh! So many backstories waiting to be told! Feel free to use any canon characters, including those not listed in the tag set.
Violence should be consistent with the level of violence in the book. I prefer no explicit sex.
I've only read this book once and haven't had a chance to reread it, but it really struck a chord with me. I am a big fan of the author, of her fertile imagination and vivid writing. There is so much background to wonder about here. For example, how did Faith's parents marry when they seem so mismatched? I would love to see something from Myrtle's point of view. And then there are all the fascinating ladies living their surprising, hidden lives, like Mrs. Vellet and Miss Hunter, and of course Agatha Lambent. I wrote the prompt to focus on the female characters, but if you have your heart set on a story about Paul Clay or one of the other male characters, that's fine, too!
Cuckoo Song
[For the uninitiated: standalone YA fantasy novel by Frances Hardinge, set in the 1920s. Changelings; aftermath of the Great War; the effects of certainty and modernity on the uncanny; mortality.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Characters: Trista Crescent, Violet Parish
"Trista's eyes stung with dust, and joy, and the cobweb tears that she was beginning to accept. Her lungs and mind were full of life - life as it was, not as anyone said it should be.
"This second is mine, and this, and this, and this.
"There was an invisible necklace of nows, stretching out in front of her along the crazy, twisting road, each bead a golden second. She had no idea how many there were. Perhaps a hundred million of them, perhaps fewer than ten."
I love the idea of Trista surging newborn into the future, with Violet as her mentor/big sister/role model.
Any violence should be consistent with the level of violence in the book. I prefer no explicit sex. I was going to specify keeping Trista and Violet's relationship nonsexual, but when I thought about it I decided it could be interesting if done well. Still not my preference, though.
The amazing thing about Trista as a character is that she's so new. She is almost a blank slate, and she's one of a kind, so she has to invent herself. I'm fascinated by the relationship between Trista and Violet at the end. Where do they go? What do they do? Violet seems like just the right mentor for Trista, but eventually they will have conflicts of some sort. The setting is 1920s, but it's not quite our 1920s. So, what's out there waiting for them?
As for what I like and don't like, mostly the answer is "it depends." There are very few things I would say a flat-out no to: graphic torture; prolonged graphic violence; incest; rape. But even these, if necessary for the story, character, or setting, might be okay. So some of the prompts include exceptions (e.g. to allow canon-typical levels of violence). What I really don't like to see is violence and cruelty normalized or justified. My attitude about explicit sex depends on the fandom, as noted in the prompts. In general, I prefer sex not to be the raison d'être of a story.
Things I especially like:
- backstory, for both characters and setting
- underdogs
- outsider perspectives
- characters being in character
- appealing but flawed protagonists
- a setting that feels rich and real
- unexpected or incongruous friendships
- romance that goes against gender and/or sex stereotypes
- actually, anything that goes against gender and/or sex stereotypes
- non-sentimentalized parent-child relationships
- people working through difficult problems together
- respect for the original source (which can include being critical)
- slice of life stories
- endings with a sense of forward motion
- good grammar and spelling
- things I wouldn't think of myself (like what? I don't know!)
As for me, I'm a middle-aged woman who likes to read children's fiction; I'm a scientist who likes to read about magic; I'm a physically inactive person who likes to read about adventures and derring-do. My interests are broad and the polite description of my education would be "eclectic." I started off writing Narnia fic, and that's still the setting for the bulk of my fics, but I am trying to branch out! All of my published fics are here. If you want a general idea of the kind of thing I write, I suggest The Little Sea (Narnia), Giddy (Swallows and Amazons) and/or Pensing (Green Sky).
Notes on specific prompts
I have written a lot more on some of the prompts than others. That is not because I am more interested in receiving a story based on those prompts! It's mainly just the difference between a) a standalone novel vs. a series, and b) newly published work vs. a work that's been around a while.
Green Sky
[For the uninitiated: YA science fiction trilogy by Zilpha Keatley Snyder published in the 1970s. Often categorized as fantasy, even by the author, but canonically it takes place on a low-gravity forest planet settled by refugees from war-torn earth.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Any Character
There is so little fic for this fandom that nearly anything, about any character, would be great! Feel free to focus on characters not included in the tag set (except Neric, who annoys me). Genaa is my favorite character in the series. Feel free to introduce OCs!
What I'd like: This is the fandom where I'd most like to see a love story, especially a Kindar/Erdling pairing. I'm also interested in continuation of the social and political upheaval of the series.
What I don't want: Since violence in Green Sky is deeply shocking I prefer to see it used sparingly, if at all. Please, no incest.
The first thing about Green Sky that captured my imagination is the setting. (I suspect this is true for most fans of the series). I'm nervous about heights, and I still love the idea of gliding around in the trees like a flying squirrel. I love the sense of spaciousness and air, and all of the details about living in the heights.
One of the things I like about the series, especially coming back to it as an adult, is that the aims of the founders of the society make sense. It is a flawed society, but there are a lot of good things about it; it's not a dystopia. In so much YA sf/fantasy, especially socially engineered dystopias, you have to wonder why anybody would set things up this way (at least I do). But in Green Sky, even though things went wrong, you can see what the founders wanted to achieve and why they thought it was a good goal.
Canon issues:
I have never played the computer game based on the books. From what I have read about it, however, Zilpha Keatley Snyder was involved in its creation and thus it is considered canon by fans. The main difference is that in the video game Raamo is alive after his fall into the abyss and can be rescued. As far as I'm concerned, either the book ending or the game retcon is legitimate.
The Erdlings are portrayed as being conservative/restrictive about sexuality, but it's easy to imagine Kindar having much more varied and fluid sexuality than what is portrayed in the books. It seems that Kindar typically become sexually active with age mates at about age 14, so I take that as the age of consent in Green Sky.
I have a lot of head canon, some of which is hinted at in my own Green Sky fics, but you don't need to abide by it. For various reasons I think the Erdlings are probably a very small minority (no more than 5% of the population) at the time the series takes place. But again, that's my head canon, no need to agree with it.
Story ideas:
- A Kindar and an Erdling are lovers or bond partners. What is their first argument like?
- How would an outsider (ordinary person not involved in the main events) perceive the events of the trilogy?
- Femslash: Teera/Pomma or Teera/Genaa.
- Characters explore the world outside of the region the Kindar and Erdlings have colonized. What do they find?
- Green Sky: the next generation.
Queen's Thief
[For the uninitiated: In-progress YA fantasy series by Megan Whalen Turner that takes place in a sort of Mediterranean-ish secondary world setting. So far four books have been published. Two more are promised.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Character: Costis
A Costis-centric fic, please. Hairsbreadth escapes, court intrigue, clash of cultures, skullduggery, Medes! Love/sex/romance is fine, but I prefer it not to be the main focus of the story. Feel free to use any other characters from the series, including those not listed in the tag set, but please make Costis the main character.
My one big caveat is that I don't like Costis/Gen as a pairing. Costis with a one-sided crush on Gen is fine, but I don't think that Irene's threat to cut off Gen's other hand if he takes a mistress has an escape clause for a male lover. Violence consistent with what's in the series is fine, but I prefer nothing extended or gratuitous. Please, no rape.
When I started reading The King of Attolia, my first thought was, "Costis? Who is this Costis person? Where is Gen? I want Gen!" But then when I started reading A Conspiracy of Kings it was, "Sophos? I don't care about Sophos! Where is Costis? I want Costis!" (And then of course I fell in love with Sophos, too. I fully expect to be charmed by the viewpoint character of the next book, which MWT does seem to be working on! I predict Eddis.)
So anyway, in case it's not perfectly clear, I want Costis.
Ideas:
- Costis is a Big Damn Hero.
- Costis and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (I got this idea from a comment I saw online, but I can't remember who or where it was)
- Irene is in labor. Costis baby-sits Gen.
- Costis meets Sophos. What do they talk about (other than Gen)?
- Costis on a Sekrit Mission to the Medes.
Melendy Quartet
[For the uninitiated: A tetralogy of children's books by Elizabeth Enright originally published in the 1940s and 50s. Vignettes about a family of kids with diverse interests and the adults who care for and guide them.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Any Character
One of the things I love about the Melendys is the way nearly anything (going to the circus, learning to ride a bike, canning tomatoes) can turn into an adventure. I like to think that the characters carry that sense of possibility with them into the future. What are the characters doing in two or five or ten years? I would be happy with a story about any canon character, including those not listed in the tag set.
Please, no incest. That includes pairing Mark Herron with any of the Melendys. Romance is fine, in moderation, but I prefer no explicit sex. Violence should be limited to Rush socking someone, or the equivalent. :-)
For me this is a real childhood favorite, one I read over and over again as a kid and came back to many times over the years. I love all the characters, especially Randy, Rush, Martin Melendy, and Willy Sloper. I love the connection to nature and the landscape. I like the interactions among the kids, the teasing affection, the basic good-heartedness.
In general for this prompt I would prefer something like an extension of the narrative. What happens next? Or backstory, possibly using the device so often employed in the books, an adult telling a story from their own childhood. As long the story respects the spirit of the books, I will love it.
A note on canon: The Saturdays very clearly takes place in 1940-1941 (there are references to the bombing of London, but the U.S. is not yet at war). This places The Four-Story Mistake in 1941-42 and Then There were Five in the summer of 1942. The date of Spiderweb for Two is not as clear, but it seems to be one or two years after the end of the previous book, which would make it 1943-44 or 1944-45. The issue with canon is that Enright is inconsistent; like a lot of writers of children's series, she seems to set each book in the same year it was written/published rather than sticking with an internal chronology. So in The Four-Story Mistake (published in 1942) the U.S. already seems to be at war; there's a lot about Christmas preparations, but no mention of Pearl Harbor and the US entry into the war, for example. In Spiderweb for Two, which was published in 1951, the war is long over. Anyway, I prefer sticking to the internal chronology! :-)
Ideas:
- A vignette from before the series starts, when Mrs. Melendy is still alive.
- Backstory for any of the adult characters
- Randy leaves home to go to college (or art school, or the corps de ballet, or...).
- Rush continues his musical education and copes with having peers.
- Mark Herron: environmental activist!
- This may be a long-shot, but if you know Swallows and Amazons, I would love to see a crossover. (Note that the S&A characters are approximately ten years older than the Melendys). Obviously this would involve some transatlantic travel. Maybe Dick is a visiting professor in the U.S., and Oliver is one of his students.
The Lie Tree
[For the uninitiated: standalone YA fantasy novel by Frances Hardinge, set in the Victorian era. Science, women living in the chinks of the world machine, the metastatic power of lies.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Any Character
"Faith had always told herself that she was not like other ladies. But neither, it seemed, were other ladies."
Ahh! So many backstories waiting to be told! Feel free to use any canon characters, including those not listed in the tag set.
Violence should be consistent with the level of violence in the book. I prefer no explicit sex.
I've only read this book once and haven't had a chance to reread it, but it really struck a chord with me. I am a big fan of the author, of her fertile imagination and vivid writing. There is so much background to wonder about here. For example, how did Faith's parents marry when they seem so mismatched? I would love to see something from Myrtle's point of view. And then there are all the fascinating ladies living their surprising, hidden lives, like Mrs. Vellet and Miss Hunter, and of course Agatha Lambent. I wrote the prompt to focus on the female characters, but if you have your heart set on a story about Paul Clay or one of the other male characters, that's fine, too!
Cuckoo Song
[For the uninitiated: standalone YA fantasy novel by Frances Hardinge, set in the 1920s. Changelings; aftermath of the Great War; the effects of certainty and modernity on the uncanny; mortality.]
For reference, here's the prompt:
Characters: Trista Crescent, Violet Parish
"Trista's eyes stung with dust, and joy, and the cobweb tears that she was beginning to accept. Her lungs and mind were full of life - life as it was, not as anyone said it should be.
"This second is mine, and this, and this, and this.
"There was an invisible necklace of nows, stretching out in front of her along the crazy, twisting road, each bead a golden second. She had no idea how many there were. Perhaps a hundred million of them, perhaps fewer than ten."
I love the idea of Trista surging newborn into the future, with Violet as her mentor/big sister/role model.
Any violence should be consistent with the level of violence in the book. I prefer no explicit sex. I was going to specify keeping Trista and Violet's relationship nonsexual, but when I thought about it I decided it could be interesting if done well. Still not my preference, though.
The amazing thing about Trista as a character is that she's so new. She is almost a blank slate, and she's one of a kind, so she has to invent herself. I'm fascinated by the relationship between Trista and Violet at the end. Where do they go? What do they do? Violet seems like just the right mentor for Trista, but eventually they will have conflicts of some sort. The setting is 1920s, but it's not quite our 1920s. So, what's out there waiting for them?