my ear hurts
11 Oct 2004 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I wrote someone about an essay she'd posted back in the early summer, and all I got was attitude. "No, you can't archive my essay..." Snippy, snippy. Man, I know people complain about the GWing fandom, but I honestly can't think of a well-known (or even lesser-known author) in that fandom who would react with such attitude. I guess in a large fandom, you realize you're not all that, which is what this writer seems to think she is. Which is actually rather amusing, considering the essay, while thought-provoking, had a few holes.
habtiti, looks like I'm going to have to burn and send those FmA and Samurai 7 copies (probably today) and you can start kicking some ass on character analyses for FmA. Show 'em how it's really done, babe.
I am almost done with polishing the last few bits on my résumé, then it'll be time to send it off and see what pops up. Next, off to do the divergent future with Contraries, and start wrapping that story up. I know I'd planned to explore a Roy and Ed interaction further in a third part, but I think I may leave it with Alphonse's part and let that finish it. It's far more of an action piece, and the real challenge - take two incendiary (so to speak) characters who rub each other the wrong way, throw into room, and see who walks out in one piece...well, I've covered that. Now it's just a matter of wrapping things up so Alphonse can save the day, and hopefully Ed won't level the entire factory in the rescue process.
The next step in Tetractys is exploration of complex political games. One more chapter of Geburah, letting the nine Gundams wreck havoc on the world, and then we segue into Relena and Mariemaia taking center stage. At some point it'll be time to start exploring the issues of sexuality, which was one of the primary reasons for starting Tetractys. I wanted to play with the question of how people would react/deal with a situation that's a bit of a reverse of the traditional. If you think about it, for generations - whether for social or survival reasons - homosexuals have been getting married and having children in heterosexual relationships. In some cultures, they have lovers on the side; in others, they repress or be aware but still go without. Rather than tread that path again, I wanted to take preferentially heterosexual characters and put them in a situation where the only option for a sexual relationship is homosexual.
So the question has to be raised at some point, probably starting with Duo and Hilde, as to where each character's preference truly lies, and how that affects his or her perspective on things. I've not really tackled such questions before, and I'm curious how each character will explain his or her choices and actions. However, given the story's themes - another challenge, to write with a theme for four chapters and then switch - I suspect the conversations will be somewhat limited and part of the backdrop in Chesed. The sphere after Chesed is Binah, and that's where a great deal of compassion, understanding, 'great mother' themes will hopefully come to the forefront.
I am still getting reviews on that little one-shot for FmA, The Perils of Coffee. It's a wonderful pick-me-up, sometimes, to open your email in the morning and get two or three happy little reviews from folks who laughed their way through. I'm not really that good at comedy, I think; my humor is too dry sometimes, but it's good to know I can manage it for about two thousand words. Never will be my strong point, but it's all more play and practice, and besides, even when the reviews are misspelled and badly punctuated, it's still cool that someone took the time to review a story that's been posted for three or four months now. Sometimes I think fanfiction is a waste of time when I could be writing original fiction, but there's so much I've managed to explore in fanfiction that I don't think I would've tried in original fiction. Besides, CMS won best AU recently, and Jade and Drums won at Oiishi, and I've also been nominated for two stories over in Nanashi, which just rocked my socks off. It's nice to be recognized.
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I am almost done with polishing the last few bits on my résumé, then it'll be time to send it off and see what pops up. Next, off to do the divergent future with Contraries, and start wrapping that story up. I know I'd planned to explore a Roy and Ed interaction further in a third part, but I think I may leave it with Alphonse's part and let that finish it. It's far more of an action piece, and the real challenge - take two incendiary (so to speak) characters who rub each other the wrong way, throw into room, and see who walks out in one piece...well, I've covered that. Now it's just a matter of wrapping things up so Alphonse can save the day, and hopefully Ed won't level the entire factory in the rescue process.
The next step in Tetractys is exploration of complex political games. One more chapter of Geburah, letting the nine Gundams wreck havoc on the world, and then we segue into Relena and Mariemaia taking center stage. At some point it'll be time to start exploring the issues of sexuality, which was one of the primary reasons for starting Tetractys. I wanted to play with the question of how people would react/deal with a situation that's a bit of a reverse of the traditional. If you think about it, for generations - whether for social or survival reasons - homosexuals have been getting married and having children in heterosexual relationships. In some cultures, they have lovers on the side; in others, they repress or be aware but still go without. Rather than tread that path again, I wanted to take preferentially heterosexual characters and put them in a situation where the only option for a sexual relationship is homosexual.
So the question has to be raised at some point, probably starting with Duo and Hilde, as to where each character's preference truly lies, and how that affects his or her perspective on things. I've not really tackled such questions before, and I'm curious how each character will explain his or her choices and actions. However, given the story's themes - another challenge, to write with a theme for four chapters and then switch - I suspect the conversations will be somewhat limited and part of the backdrop in Chesed. The sphere after Chesed is Binah, and that's where a great deal of compassion, understanding, 'great mother' themes will hopefully come to the forefront.
I am still getting reviews on that little one-shot for FmA, The Perils of Coffee. It's a wonderful pick-me-up, sometimes, to open your email in the morning and get two or three happy little reviews from folks who laughed their way through. I'm not really that good at comedy, I think; my humor is too dry sometimes, but it's good to know I can manage it for about two thousand words. Never will be my strong point, but it's all more play and practice, and besides, even when the reviews are misspelled and badly punctuated, it's still cool that someone took the time to review a story that's been posted for three or four months now. Sometimes I think fanfiction is a waste of time when I could be writing original fiction, but there's so much I've managed to explore in fanfiction that I don't think I would've tried in original fiction. Besides, CMS won best AU recently, and Jade and Drums won at Oiishi, and I've also been nominated for two stories over in Nanashi, which just rocked my socks off. It's nice to be recognized.
no subject
Date: 11 Oct 2004 09:50 am (UTC)Man, I know people complain about the GWing fandom, but I honestly can't think of a well-known (or even lesser-known author) in that fandom who would react with such attitude.
I can think of a few. But a certain fandom is already rather infamous for its wankiness.
I know I'd planned to explore a Roy and Ed interaction further in a third part, but I think I may leave it with Alphonse's part and let that finish it.
Ah, I'm a little disappointed. I would have liked to see you finish the exploration of how they're growing close to each other. Still, I'm sure I'll like how you'll finish it up, and at least then I won't be on hooks for more. *grin*
no subject
Date: 11 Oct 2004 09:58 am (UTC)Oh, I can think of some who have their own opinions and are quite strong about it - I'm sure I'm probably in that category, depending on the topic - but still. There aren't too many who are currently active in the fandom who have such a...well, attitude. Self-entitlement, perhaps. Then again, I suppose it's just me, to see things as water under the bridge, and to be surprised to still get a cranky response. Like, it's been long enough. Get over it. Be mature. Move on.
On the other hand, sometimes I suspect that if there's such thing as winning or losing, the fact that I just spent a half-hour going through FmA sites and find my name all over the place with praise attached...guess I won. So, sore loser. This means I shall poke those I know to write better essays and character analyses for me. Nyah.
Ah, I'm a little disappointed. I would have liked to see you finish the exploration of how they're growing close to each other.
I'm hoping to have the chance to do that, but through Alphonse's eyes. He is far more introspective than Ed, in some ways; he takes the time to ponder where Ed acts first. I suspect the finale could be boiled down to a very simple interchange:
Al: So, you and General Mustang are good friends now.
Ed: ASD;FDFG;OI &(*&%^*(@!# CXWEROI!!!
Al: Like I said. Good friends.
Ed: *sulks* Maybe.
Heh, Ed's fun to write.
no subject
Date: 11 Oct 2004 02:50 pm (UTC)So, you once owned a bookstore, eh? Always thought that would be fun. Erm, not that the work part would be fun, but the interacting with customers (only the nice ones) and the opening boxes of new books (but not having to file them away, only read them) parts, except for the accounting, and the sweeping, and...
Hope you get the job, whatever it is, and that you find it moderately satisfying, such as jobs can sometimes be.
Peace.
*tries to organize thoughts, fails, and hits "submit" anyway*
Date: 11 Oct 2004 05:03 pm (UTC)buy us palaces and worship us as the creative gods we arepay us better. -_-;I got the postcard, by the way, on a really bad day I was having last week. It made me laugh, which was worth so much on that day it's not even funny. :D I love when unexpected things happen.
And I, too, am a bit disappointed that you're going to wrap up the story without really getting into the Ed and Roy interaction -- unlike most people writing about them, you're not lodged in perpetual fangirl mode, so it would be intriguing. But, hey, it's your story, and it's good anyway, especially with the larger role you've given Al. ^^
the postcard barrage!
Date: 11 Oct 2004 05:14 pm (UTC)Be prepared - more may come in the future, since I now have all these postcard stamps...and we can't let them go to waste, now, can we? ;D
I still dunno about Roy and Ed - we'll have to see. I'm trying to write ofic right now, but I'll come back around to Contraries. (And I keep forgetting the one-shots for Echoes, too.) Focusing on Real Job Nonsense just means less extra braincells for writing, but I'm plugging away...