我要飞Faye

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! )

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. ^_^

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 )

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.

( 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!

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 )

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 )

( 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 )

( 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 )

( 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 )