我要飞Faye

Pattern of fic starting sentences

2024-03-10T08:22:45Z

Starting off with a meme!

list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern

1. a question of time (Homestuck/Puella Magi Madoka Magica crossover)

Monday morning, and Dave Strider was already checking off several tropes.

2. Orange Crush in a Japanese Xmas set (Side story for the above crossover)

Dave should have realized that like everything that he’d experienced since he’d come to Mitakihara, Christmas in Japan only shared the same name as Christmas in the States.

3. all bets are off (when you're an honest liar (Zootopia, Nick stayed in the mafia!AU)

The bar, with mega fauna in high energy and rough housing each other, reminded Judy of the ZPD bull pen on Monday morning.

4. If I Knew You Were Coming, I'd Have Baked A Cake (Zootopia, Part 2 of the above Mafia!AU)

Everyone in the mob knew Koslov liked parties.

5. Mercy (Zootopia, Part 3 of the above Mafia!AU)

Nick had just barely rolled himself into his pull out bed like a lump of limp linen when his phone started buzzing.

6. the map that leads to you (such a heavenly view) (Zootopia/Star Trek crossover)

They had an unwritten rule in Comms - never get attached to Away teams.

7. true colours (burn those jet pack blues) (Sequel to the above crossover)

Judy Hopps had made many sacrifices when she enlisted for Starfleet.

8. Exorcist Blues (Wilde Spirit remix) (Zootopia AR where Judy Hopps is an exorcist)

"Is it evil spirits this time Mom?"

9. Wilde Spirit (The Karmic Shuffle) (Sequel to the Exorcist!AR)

Nick's repeated visits to Cliffside didn't make him like the place any better.

10. i carry your heart (i carry it in // my heart) (Part 3 of the Exorcist!AR)

Judy had grown up on her family farm.

Pattern: Holy BALD STATEMENT Batman! All my fics seem to start with a sharp statement that I either lean into in the next sentence, or completely contradict. But it makes me roll laughing with how short my sentences are.

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Ultimate Trope Showdown

2015-08-24T07:31:12Z

I tried the Ultimate Trope Showdown, and it is a filthy liar. I mean, alright, fine, I can imagine all the tropes that tie at No 1 for me going down in the same fic:

Rank Name
1 Sex Pollen
1 Hurt/Comfort
1 Fake Out Make Out

But then I get 14 TROPES tied at position 4, and yes I know I'm indecisive but I can't like ALL of them that much. (Also there's no way that I could fit all of them in one fic. Which would be half the fun.)

Edit: Ok apparently I clicked I like both too many times. This is a little more accurate, though there are tropes I would still smush.

( Tropes redo below! )

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Ageing in Fannish years

2013-12-23T07:00:05Z

Again stealing things from other people's memes, I found a topic from this post about fannish growing up where the poster is asked to write about how life and age and experiences has changed his/her taste in fannish stuff.

It fascinated me enough that I have to write about it myself.

I probably have been fannish my whole life, because I remember obsessing about books and Chinese drama like Justice Bao, but the age in which I remember being fannish in a significant life-style changing way was when I was 12. That was when the wave of Japanese manga/anime started becoming prevalent in my country, probably starting with Sailor Moon. They were all pre-dubbed/translated into Chinese.

The interesting thing about being where I live is that the Taiwanese version of translations came out the fastest. That meant that I got translations in a) my mother tongue, b) with the traditional script that I wasn't as familiar with, because I grew up with the simplified form of Chinese.

That was why when I first became "fannish", I was predominantly reading and writing (!!!) in Chinese. I wrote my first fic in Chinese. I also somehow managed to overcome the barrier and actually read traditional script (when I learned simplified), which is still pretty useful now. (I don't know why I didn't extend that power to Japanese boo hoo).

( Watch me morph over the years! )

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NaNo complete!

2013-11-29T13:00:04Z

Dear reader,

Today I completed NaNo for the second time at 50,094 words.

It's a day early to boot! This experience was really very different from my last NaNo experience. I used to think that writing 2,000 words at a go was too hard, but that became my average towards the end. Which was good, because I had some very awful days in the middle of the month when I was too sick to write.

The methods that I used to write this round were very interesting. I more or less had a routine on workdays that went something like this:

( Daily writing process )

I also have to say I love technology. I wouldn't have been able to do this if I hadn't been able to load Evernote on my tablet, smartphone and office computer that I couldn't install anything on. There was sufficient web functionality for me to keep my versions straight, but also let me peck out words while the connection was bad without worrying too hard about losing stuff. I think the only exception was when my work computer couldn't connect to the internet for a good few days, but then I typed discreetly on my smartphone.

Weekends bizarrely weren't times for writing a lot, but instead for making sure that I kept my story straight. The idea of a puppy pound was also such a godsend.

I'm going to take a break by WRITING NOVEL RELATED PR0N. Which won't make it into the story itself, because I think that as much as I love pr0n, I don't want it to detract from the rest of my story. So it will only be as treats to myself =)

As for next month, I think I will focus on finishing the story. I'm up to Chapter 10 and one major reveal, but there's one more to go and a possible tonal shift in the final section. Other plans are: do a read through to fix grammar and spelling; start looking at reference images to bulk up descriptions and/or store for a novel related tumblr; record myself reading the novel aloud, and listen to it while editing to make sure there aren't any awkward bits.

We'll see how much of the last para gets done. ^_^

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31_days DONE

2013-02-01T00:05:10Z

I haven't been posting here, since I've been rushed off my feet, but I can officially say that I wrote for (almost) every day of the 31_days challenge! GO ME.

Now I just have to write picfor1000 and trope_bingo. WILL THE FUN NEVER CEASE.

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31_days Jan 2013: 13. Never again will I lose anyone I love.

2013-01-13T17:46:40Z

As I was writing this, I could sense I was getting tired. I'm not sure whether it's because of writerly burn out, or just that the theme wasn't speaking to me.

School starts tomorrow, and I've got a bunch of themes that I have no ideas for. We'll see whether I manage to get to them.

Title: neither rhyme nor reason can say how much
Day/Theme: 13. Never again will I lose anyone I love.
Series: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Characters/pairings: Homura, Kyouko, Mami
Rating: PG
Content Notes: Kyouko, Mami and Homura have different reasons for making their team work. Set post series, spoilers for the entire series.

( Homura causes her team to worry )

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31_days Jan 2013: Theme 12

2013-01-12T16:15:28Z

Title: so I stayed in the darkness with you
Day/Theme: 12. you've been the song playing on in the background all along but you're turning up now.
Series: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Characters/pairings: Sayaka, and Madoka. Brief appearances by Hitomi
Rating: PG
Content Notes: Sayaka has an old-new best friend. Spoilers for the entire series.

( I knew that somehow I would find my way back )

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Meme March: Success!

2012-04-02T02:16:50Z

A bit late, but I'm proud to say that I finished my Meme March challenge. I didn't want to announce it yesterday in case you thought it was an April Fool's joke. XD

It was tough going, but there were enough challenging memes on bakerstreet and memebells to keep me going. There were some ideas that never even crossed my mind until I saw it in the memes! You all should check these comms out.

I also have HARD PROOF that I finished my challenge. I have a shiny new badge on my 750 words page~

( This picture is too awesome to look at without prep )

The list of stories should be going up on DW soon, even if they're all cracky crossovers.

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Day 30 of Writing Meme

2010-08-02T15:14:42Z

( Days 1 to 29 )

30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!

Well, this person requested to be tagged, so I tag firehawk05. What I like about firehawk05 is although she's new to writing, she's not ashamed to try it out. And she likes writing for 31_days so she's pretty handy with prompts.

Also, I tag the REST OF THE F-LIST. I know a lot of really good writers are on my f-list (even if I don't comment =PPP) and I'll love to see what some of you have to say about your own writing!

Now that it's over, I have to admit that I haven't actually thought that much about my own writing! Even though some of the questions are annoying, it has helped realise some of my preferences, and maybe make writing a less instinctive process for me. Hopefully, that would help me in avoiding pitfalls in what I write. *crosses fingers* Or get me to write more. *hides face in hands*

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Day 29 of Writing Meme

2010-08-01T06:55:29Z

( Days 1 to 28 )

29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?

All. The. Time. I've always got the writer brain humming in the background, working on something so that when I check back on it I'll have the full scene in my head. I tend to plot in images, so when I come back to it it usually unfolds as a clip or a specific scene.

That's why I can't pinpoint a single thing IRL that reminds me of my story/characters. It's such a subconscious process to begin with that I can't really trace the origin of everything. Sometimes it's cool clothes I see. Othertimes it's a piece of music. Sometimes it's just rewatching a series and thinking "wouldn't it be cool if - ?"

The latest example is Hitohira no Hanabira, since I plotted an entire story around the lyrics in that song. But it's moving very slowly.

Tomorrow! - 30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!

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Day 28 of Writing Meme

2010-07-31T06:36:43Z

( Days 1 to 27 )

28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there's nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.

(This is a really insensitive question but bear with me)

I guess only Toph counts, since she's already blind in canon. I don't purposely set out to write characters with mental or physical disabilities because:

a) I think it's very insensitive since I write characters based on the plots I want to see them in, and to set out with a plot that requires a character to be disabled is just weird;

b) It requires a lot of research, which is the last thing I'd be doing when I write fanfic. It's for my squee, not the next big novel;

c) While I dig h/c, I don't dig that particular type.

That doesn't mean that I won't read a good story with a character with disability. I'd like to list Spellhorn as a good example of a book with a blind main character (even thoug she ends up sighted for a while). It had a huge impact on how the story unfolded, and it was an accepted fact that had to be worked around. I like those stories.

Also there is no such thing as a small disability - it's big enough to the person experiencing it.

( Days 29 to 30 )

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AUs and Day 27 of Writing Meme

2010-07-30T06:48:11Z

To make me happy, please give me prompts for the next meme!

The Hypothetical AU Meme: Take any one of the fandoms you know I write in, and give me a type of AU (space opera AU, pirate AU, superhero AU, Ancient Rome, Regency England, circus AU, Lovecraft, etc). Edit: More suggestions of AUs from au_bingo! I will then explain what story from your chosen fandom I would write for your chosen type of AU.

( List of fandoms I've entertained fic thoughts of )

And now for the writing meme:

( Days 1 to 26 )

27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.

Oh yes. The advantage of being in a manga/anime fandom is that there's a glut of fanart, so I usually don't have to draw anything myself. I have a hyoooooooge fanart folder that I sometimes refer to when I want an image of a character in say, plain clothes. And well, I'm a mental fashion designer so I'm always on the look out for clothes my characters can wear. The appearances are usually again, plot-driven, though I try to have a formal dance scene as far as possible, because I love gowns. =) Having said that, the toughest clothes for me to think up of are always men's clothes though - until now, I still do not understand the subtleties of formal wear for men. I know that the cutting makes a difference, and I know that certain types of shoes are much better than others, but I really really can't grasp it.

Casual wear I get though. I do sneaker shopping and there are some trousers/jeans cuts that make the looker go mmmmmmmmmm. Also I have a weakness for T-shirts with words.

( Days 28 to 30 )

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Day 26 of Writing Meme

2010-07-29T14:14:49Z

Close to the end of meme.

Tired.

( Days 1 to 25 )

26. Let's talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!

I write for series that have a lot of fanart floating around, and I've browsed some of them in order to get fic ideas. That being said, I'm a writer, not an artist. I do sketch, but I don't think I'm very good at drawing any character.

No drawings of OCs at all, I'm afraid. They don't stay still in the headspace for me to draw them.

( Days 27 to 30 )

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Day 25 of Writing Meme

2010-07-28T13:33:02Z

Late cos of need to hustle.

( Days 1 to 24 )

25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.

No. Which is funny since I've always wanted a pet myself, but since I don't have one - no.

OK I lie - Ichigo housesits a place with a cat in one of my fics, but that's because Ten and I dreamed it up together. That's about it, honestly.

( Days 26 to 30 )

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Day 24 of Writing Meme

2010-07-27T05:45:24Z

( Days 1 to 23 )

24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?

*tilts head* I write about people who are already dead, does that count? I did do a comment fic which started with Ichigo from Bleach truly dying and ending up in Soul Society permanently, but he's already half dead so whatever mental qualms I have about that should be pretty muted. Besides the poor boy was already that badly injured in canon - I just tipped the scales a bit more to kill him off completely. But I didn't write the death scene, so I still think it doesn't count.

No interesting ways for killing people, except maybe in that Bleach horror fic that I've been trying to write for several years now. Does death by Hollow count as interesting?

( Days 25 to 30 )

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Day 23 of Writing Meme

2010-07-26T01:53:59Z

( Days 1 to 22 )

23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?

Are we talking about average or the extremes? And how long is a fic?

On average, if we're talking a normal competition fic it would take about 3 weeks - 1 week to sit on the idea and turn it over, 2 weeks for writing, inclusive of trial and error. Beta might vary, but under competition circumstances the turn around is a day.

Shortest I've ever done is 2 hours for a drabble, especially if the prompt fires my imagination. The longest to date is the Avatar fic, which I've mulled on for 5 years before putting pen to paper. It really depends on how tightly the idea grabs me, and how much detail needs planning. Not to mention that I've actually (mentally) torn up the premise of Avatar fic and started on a new track.

This reminds me of how I found it so hard to do first drafts in school (which were mandatory when you are wee) because my first drafts were all in my head. I used to get back comments saying that I didn't revise my first drafts enough. But they didn't see that I couldn't, because I'd honestly dwelt on the idea and phrasing so long that I couldn't figure out any other way.

( Days 24 to 30 )

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Day 22 of Writing Meme

2010-07-25T09:43:18Z

( Days 1 to 21 )

22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you've never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.

This is extremely rare as I usually talk through any ideas I have with the ladies - it helps me figure out what it would eventually look like in words and iron out anything that's weird in there.

But well, I've got a scene meant to be fic for hallowd, just that I am fighting with the structure. Rather than tell you about it, have a snippet! Set in the Desert Rangers verse:

( the river of all night's dreaming )

( Days 23 to 30 )

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Day 21 of Writing Meme

2010-07-24T07:14:51Z

( Days 1 to 20 )

21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?

I CERTAINLY HOPE NOT they are all rather young. OK except for maybe Byakuya and Hisana from Bleach. And the Justice League. But in canon (read: all types of canon for Bleach, cartoon canon for JL), these characters did not have children. That uh, didn't stop me from writing some little snippets where Byakuya and Hisana DID have a kid, because the fangirl theory that Hisana died in childbirth tickles me.

I'm not too sure how well I wrote the kid-OC, but I will say that I had a lot of fun writing him, which is what my main aim usually is. Especially since it's not published fic.

Come to think of it, I have written a fic from the pov of an IchiRuki kid as a gag. Don't think I continued that though.

( Days 22 to 30 )

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Day 20 - Late

2010-07-23T08:52:59Z

Busy busy busy.

( Days 1 to 19 )

20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?

Banter. I don't care whether or not the characters are romantically involved, but I love the spark that has to be there for a good banter. The characters have to be on some basis of understanding (e.g. friendship, shared interests, etc etc) in order for the banter to really work. Not only that, the basis of understanding has to be apparent enough to the reader so that the banter would be better understood.

Given the above complexities, I quite like writing banter. And it can be used for any character, which makes it an easy means to connect. Plus, my humour tends to be a bit more wry so banter is easier for me.

( Days 21 to 30 )

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Day 19 of Writing Meme

2010-07-22T02:19:22Z

( Days 1 to 18 )

19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!

Hisana from Bleach. I wanted to write J'onn, but he's not exactly a minor character - just a very marginalised major character. Hisana is like the poster girl for minor characters - we see her in a flashback, she's dead by the time canon comes around, we know nothing about her except what other people have said (and her dying words *wibble*)

Yet I like writing her. Part of it is because I like the characters that she's associated with: Byakuya and Rukia. There's also the issue of coolness by proximity - how did such a character make an impact on Byakuya and Rukia's lives? Plus she's pretty much a blank slate - there isn't much canon on her so it's easy to take the various possibilities and see how far I can spin it out.

( Days 20 to 30 )

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ART Week 2 Round Up and Day 18 of Writing Meme

2010-07-21T02:02:50Z

So here's my ART Week 2 round up, a few days late. I wanted to say RL blinded me with SCIENCE, but actually it just blindsided me in the latter half of the week, which made it impossible to get into the proper mindset for writing Iroh. Still managed to get 800 over words from him, so I'm still counting that as a triumph

I also pecked a little at Lunar Eclipse and Sam/Faye, and that's the real reason why I can announce my total word count as 1,234 words (I KID YOU NOT), which works out to an average of 205 words over 6 days.

Ten assigned me a penance prompt anyway, and I nattered at voices in my head for 500 over words. WISH ME LUCK IN WRITING MORE STUFF! =D

In the meantime, writing meme!!

( Days 1 to 17 )

18. Favorite antagonist and why!

Is it cheating if I say Hollow Ichigo from Bleach? =) In a way it is, because Hollow Ichigo is basically the evil version of the main character of Bleach. Only you know, he's in Ichigo's head. And is a source of power he badly needs in order to win his current fights.

What makes him my favourite is that he's a physical manifestation of all the dark parts of the hero that make him who he is. To me, he isn't some bad guy that is simply defeated, or that Ichigo can run away from. He IS Ichigo, he IS the hero, if the hero is allowed to be petty and hurtful and not care about who he hurts.

I'm also a big fan of storylines where the hero isn't perfect and has to accept his imperfections. Right now Ichigo is so far on the other spectrum of accepting this that it isn't funny. And that's part of the reason why Lunar Eclipse keeps bugging my brain - I want Ichigo and his internal antagonist to work together. They're literally two sides of the same coin. Which means that Hollow Ichigo keeps bugging my head, and I have to like him. *grins*

Also, on a completely shallow front, I find him cute. =D

( Days 19 to 30 )

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Day 17 of Writing Meme - I don't need a hero

2010-07-20T02:36:35Z

( Days 1 to 16 )

17. Favorite protagonist and why!

Note: for the next three questions I'll be answering this in terms of the series I write fanfic for, as opposed to characters in my own stories.

The easier answer would be Rukia from Bleach, but as you all know she's my favourite character to write, so that would be just repeating myself. Instead I'll talk about Harry Potter and how he captured the imagination of myself (and plenty of my friends).

( Harry Potter babble )

Too bad I don't write more HP fanfic, other than the stories for my friends. =)

( Days 18 to 30 )

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I REGRET NOTHING

2010-07-19T03:34:59Z

So I don't have an ART challenge summary for last week.

Correction, I don't have an ART challenge summary for last week YET because in 3 days I watched two movies, had two 10 course dinners and one class gathering. I don't THINK I've made the wordcount, but as the post title says, I REGRET NOTHING.

( WHY NO REGRETS? )

Also if you are in Singapore, and like miniature food, Takashimaya is selling Megahouse sets for $25, which is seriously cheap considering a) they usually sell for $85, and b) some of these sets are old and might be discontinued! In addition to the two sets I bought, I saw more cakes, a dog cafe, ice cream and candy.

And now to bloat this up further, WRITING MEME.

( Days 1 to 15 )

16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing? ;)

*wry* Do I ever! I think I do pretty well with those, for all that I like writing couples too emotionally constipated to really be open about their relationship. It mostly works because even if they aren't romantically involved in canon, they have a deep enough bond to bring them into close contact and have sufficient rapport to build a possible relationship. It does however make the regular dating milestones kind of hard, since my characters have an atypical relationship to begin with. It's part of why I wrote Swallowing Hot Chocolate - I wanted Ichigo and Rukia from Bleach to do normal stuff, but they're so far out of normal that it... almost doesn't work. *grins*

How far? ha ha ha I write married couples does that count??? Oh that's not what you're talking about? *grins* I'm not a shrinking violet - I started out with yaoi when I was 13, so norms don't really bother me. I'm usually more worried about whether it is something that the character would do, and when you have a largely asexual boy who's afraid of boobs (I'm looking at you Ichigo) there is pretty much a challenge there. But I'm also weak to the hot, so that challenge is something I'm willing to handle. Also I stalk kink memes.

But I also have to admit that apart from the physical aspect I also like my characters to get emotionally close. I'm personally a fan of the soulmates concept in fic, although when it comes to real life I'm a lot more iffy on it.

( Days 17 to 30 )

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Inception and Day 15 of Writing Meme

2010-07-18T02:07:09Z

I went to watch Inception yesterday, which I would have done soon or later because I am big on the dream hopping thing (had an OC based entirely around that concept). My general reaction can be summed up as thus:

- Awesome despite being confusing
- Guys, guys, whose mind do I have to hack in order to get some Eames/Arthur/Ariadne fic??? Because HOT DAMN. (And no, I do not want to write it myself, I have 39 items on my list *weeps*)

We return to your regular schedule of the writing meme.

( Days 1 to 14 )

15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!

Diane Duane and PTerry, hands down. While I've only followed one series of each (So You Want to be a Wizard and Discworld), these authors have been the most consistent in writing characters and stories I adore. I've copied the most quotes from these two authors.

What do I admire about them? Diane Duane I admire for the images that she paints with words. In her first book, she wrote about a freaking Apocalypse, and still made it beautiful. She also makes the reader care about her characters. E.g. Fred! FRED ALWAYS MAKES ME CRY omg. She's also the only author who excels in describing both technology and nature without sounding stilted in one or the other. I also was very impressed by her description of the Fair Folk (even if the other stuff in the book made me raise an eyebrow, but still).

PTerry I admire for his humour. It's so much a part of his universe (Discworld is a flat world borne by 4 elephants on a tortoise moving through space!) that it lends itself easily to parodies and amusing descriptions. Also because I have a deep abiding love for Death and Susan. Omg. <3 Thief of Time is still my favouritest story EVAR. like EVAR. *sighs happily*

( Days 16 to 30 )

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Day 14 of Writing Meme - I find the map and draw a straight line

2010-07-17T02:43:01Z

( Days 1 to 13 )

14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?

I don't. Although I can read maps (something that I'm very proud of) I don't really draw maps. Besides, all my fics have been pretty concentrated in one locale, so I haven't had the need for maps. That doesn't mean I don't know how to appreciate them though! Besides, other people draw maps for the fandoms that I am in, so why do I need to draw maps for myself.

The only exception, I think, has been the flat of one of my OCs. It was kind of necessary because I needed to know where the doors were in relation to everything else. Also because I like to read Ikea magazines, and the latest version I read had a bitching kitchen island. Which tempted me to put one in the apartment of my OC - I could imagine my OC having something like that in her studio apartment, where she'd sit and watch the news while eating her breakfast. It makes sense, she doesn't need a table since she doesn't have many guests over.

But a kitchen island isn't common, and the mental image above implies that there isn't a solid wall between the hall and the kitchen. So mental mapping it was. I'm not too sure if such a flat can exist though, but hey it's in my head. =D

( Days 15 to 30 )

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