Occasionally Snarky and Meta

So I have a winter project planned: I am going to write AND finish a novel-length fanfiction.

 Yeah, that's not happening. :P

However, I thought it might be fun to post some of the Harry Potter Christmas fanfic (one-shots/short stories) I've written over the years, partly for archiving purposes, partly because we could all use a little more fanfic in the world. (Especially these days...)

Behold, a "trailer." Image-only because I don't have video skills. Also, some images might be missing. :P

( Read more... )A Very Potterverse Christmas Anthology: On Author By Nightflix starting 1 December 2018.

So I saw another fic for a fandom I'm in, and it was an AU for the last installment, which admittedly the fandom almost collectively hated. (I think there's a few people who liked and even loved it.) I'm definitely in the "hated it" camp.
However, I'm not a big fan of "if book X hadn't happened" fics. I never used to mind them, I even tried to write one, but that may have been around the time I decided I didn't like them.

I'm not a big fan of AUs altogether, not because I have issues with the concept, but because the execution often ends up being more wistful than purposeful. Let's use Harry Potter. There were many AUs where Harry was Sorted into the Slytherin House. This opens up all kinds of possibilities; the problem is, fanfics that did this were usually more interested in opening up the possibility of a Harry/Draco pairing and maybe a bit of general Slytherin love. So it's not really about exploring the "what ifs" so much as it is a slightly more plausible way for Harry and Draco to get together. The same is true with AUs of the book the writer didn't like; it's a matter of wish fulfillment, as opposed to a look at what could have been.

I think my other problem with them is that the way I see it... certain installments, awful though they may have been (at least to you), happened. It's like the embarrassing Grandpa - you cringe at his old fashioned humor (sometimes not so funny) and ideas, but he's still your Grandpa and he still gets invited to Christmas dinner. There's no point in pretending he's not there.

I don't mind AUs by themselves. I don't even mind retellings, exactly - as long as they're about a true alternative perspective, as opposed to wish fulfillment.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

(Also, because this post is public, I'm omitting the name of the fandom in question as it's small. Although to many of you it'll probably be fairly obvious...)

[Poll #1901436]

I wrote this for the lovely lyras a while back, but never posted. She nudged me, so here goes. It's more of a rough draft, so feel free to beta in your review. And britpick. I am not British, no matter how much I wish I were, and I'm always concerned it shows. (Is American English spelling an Americanism?)

Title: The Guardians

Words: 1,976

Characters: The Order, Andromeda, Dora,Ted, Sirius

Summary: When Harry is left orphaned, two cousins attempt to step up to the plate - even though they're the last ones anyone thinks should.


( The Guardians )

I wrote this after witnessing a conversation wherein a woman relayed troubles with an abusive husband. This is not based on anything I myself am going through.

I have cut this for possible triggers. It's actually quite short.

Title: Okay

Author: author_by_night 

Genre: Original Flash Fiction

( Okay )( Okay )

At some point this past summer, not_last_resort requested a drabble. I wrote one, but for some reason it never got posted.

I found the drabble, but then I kept forgetting the notebook at work, and I don't really have LJ access at work anymore.

That's the story of the drabble never posted.

Onto the drabble itself!

Fandom: Firefly

Title: The Trouble With Wash: A Quartet

Author: author_by_night

Summary: When Mal meets a peculiar man named Wash, he is instantly pleased. He doesn't realize how quickly things will change.

Ships: Wash/Zoe.
( The Trouble With Wash: A Quartet )

Obviously by this I mean canon drabble/ficlet requests. The movie just got me in a very Half-Blood Prince writing mood.

I say drabble/ficlet because who knows how my writing might materialize. ;)

What I'm really looking for are missing moment requests, and/or alternative point of view moments, though I can also do characters discussing the events of something - or everything - that happened in HBP in TDH or even post-TDH.

If you haven't seen the movie, as I said last night, I highly suggest it. :) Just expect some significant changes from the books.

Writers are quirky, no doubt about it.

If you write, tell me some of your quirks. We all have quirky writing habits - whether it's how we write, how we get ideas, etc.

Anonymous commenting is allowed.

Go forth, but don't multiply, because writing and mathematics don't mix.

(... I'm weird, okay?)