where his civilizations, including our own

maidenjedi asked questions #5 & #15 about Oil, an X-Files genfic from the POV of the black oil alien, written in 2003.

5: What part was hardest to write?

I remember going through many revisions of the last few paragraphs. Knowing what note to end a story on is critical, and since this fic is so weird it wasn't easy. Some of the obvious choices for thoughts to end on wouldn't have worked. The main character as we've known it essentially ceases to exist by choosing to give up its individuality, but doesn't die. There's no concern for what happens to Krycek because in this POV humans are not very relatable. The alien doesn't end up caring much about those things. What stirs its emotions is something we don't consider a "being" but more of a process — Earth's water cycle — because the alien also exists as a process, so it feels kinship there. I considered that the heart of the story and wanted to leave the reader thinking so too, but I had a hard time putting it into words in the way I wanted, and was repeatedly told by beta readers to stop overexplaining and trust that readers would get it. As usual, they were right.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

A lot. I had so much less experience in writing at this point that I was still improving by leaps and bounds with every attempt. I remember bardsmaid patiently explaining how less can be more — how too many details are cluttering instead of clarifying. This took time to come to grips with ("what, you mean I have to take whole sentences out? but I just wrote those!") but became key to my writing style and process.

It was also a lesson in not being too wedded to early ideas or too proud to change them. The story actually has its roots in a piece of original fiction I wrote to Keladry's offhand prompt "The Life and Times of a Cherry Coke", which explored the concept of what it would feel like to exist as a liquid. I actually submitted the story to some literary magazines that published oddball stuff and was turned down. Fortunately I was able to overcome my dented ego enough to have the thought that maybe the story didn't work, but elements of it could still be salvaged and made into something better, and eventually that grew into "Oil".

The reason "Oil" works where the Cherry Coke story didn't is that intriguing concepts and pretty descriptions alone weren't enough; they needed a compelling character and situation, and something at stake. The oilien storyline in XF met that need perfectly and gave my earlier ideas direction, and to follow that direction I had to give up my attachment to something I'd already worked on to the point of submitting it profesionally, and be willing to basically start over. We all know you're supposed to kill your darlings, but I think this marked a turning point for me in putting that advice into practice.

More to come! If you want to check out the rest of the questions or pose one of your own, the original meme post is here.

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

It's been a joy to see so many people popping up and posting for the first time in a while, despite the less than optimal circumstances. I've been adding or adding back anyone whose name I recognize and/or who appears to be in fandom, and trying to comment a bit more than in the past. I'll try to be better about posting, too. Here, look: A post!

But posts about posting, while perhaps better than silence, may not be the best at holding people's interest. To get me going, would anyone like to try out this meme I saw at maidenjedi's place?

Pick a story of mine, choose a question from below, I will answer.

My stories.

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?
2: What scene did you first put down?
3: What's your favorite line of narration?
4: What's your favorite line of dialogue?
5: What part was hardest to write?
6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?
7: Where did the title come from?
8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?
9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?
10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?
11: What do you like best about this fic?
12: What do you like least about this fic?
13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?
14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?
15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

And in other news, I wrote another daily_deviant fest fill, just a quick little thing:

Love Letter (R, Ginny/Luna)
Prompt from carpemermaid: Character A likes to pet and stroke and tease Character B while they sit in their lap.




Both members and watchers are welcome!
Click the banner to go to our birthday card!

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

I wrote a thing for the daily_deviant 11th birthday comment fest:

Once (R, James Sirius/Lily Luna)
Prompt from tryslora: It'll be okay, just this once, right?


You too can fill prompts, or read fills, or whatever floats your boat!



Both members and watchers are welcome!
Click the banner to go to our birthday card!

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

I realize belatedly that I never posted that I was leaving, since I hadn't been posting much anyway, but I'm back! For the last three weeks I've been visiting family/housesitting on the west coast. It was tremendous fun. It rained a lot... like really a lot, like most-rain-in-ten-years a lot. But it was a treat compared to the 9 million feet of snow that I guess we missed here in Vermont. And in a rain-free moment, hannelore got to fulfill her lifelong dream of hanging off the side of a San Francisco cable car. Pictures later, perhaps.

And now back to the real world, with its many put-off responsibilities and concerns. Though on the fun side, I do get to read all the rest of the Kinky Kristmas fics I haven't seen yet! I see that reveals have already happened, which I am guessing is why I've got a few new folks reading along. Welcome!

I also notice that a large number of people I've known on LJ forever have all friended me on DW within a few days of each other. Did something, uh... happen?

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

I'm glad to have a clear result that reflects the will of the voters, even though it disappoints me personally.

Though I'm worried the next four years will go badly, I hope that I'm wrong.

While I disagree with nearly everything he stands for, I don't hate him, and I don't hate the people who voted for him. It's one of my deepest beliefs that when we hate, we only hurt ourselves.

I love you guys.

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

The masterlist for severus_snape's annual fest is up! I wrote this ficlet:

By Now Should Be Antique (G, Filch & Snape) [AO3]
Argus doesn't know where Snape comes from anymore.

It's just a little thing, but I was pleased to be able to contribute. ♥

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

Thank you to those who sent cards! I received a lovely one with an ibis from someone whose RL name begins with M, but I'm afraid after racking my brain all day, I can't figure out who sent it. Help? :\

Very related: I am still having health problems. I've been to a lot of doctors but haven't found a definitive diagnosis so far, and at this point I'm reluctant to even say what the current theory is, because all previous theories have eventually been proven incorrect, and it starts to feel foolish to have to keep correcting myself. But whatever it turns out to be, the biggest issue right now is cognitive — I'm struggling with memory, concentration, and ability to do mentally strenuous tasks without becoming totally exhausted.

There are still rewarding things I can do with my time despite these challenges, and I'm grateful for that, but fandom is not really one of them. I'm trying to figure out a way to participate, because I miss you guys. I can still read my flist and comment sometimes, but I am afraid soon my comments will begin to be met with choruses of "who?" since I have disappeared otherwise. (My gaming friends, conversely, are probably getting sick of the sight of me, since actiony/repetitive tasks are something I am a champ at right now.)

In summary, I am really behind on everything AS USUAL, but I have a pretty good excuse this time!

I hope those of you who are celebrating holidays around this time are enjoying them, and I hope to be around more in the new year, if I can. ♥

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

So this was my dream last night:

It took place at Hogwarts, but it was a cartoon, not live action. Hermione said something implying that Slytherins were terrible, and Pansy overheard her.

Then cartoon!Pansy launched into an elaborate musical number called "I Will Dye My Hair Slytherin", singing about her Slytherin pride and magically turning her outfit (and hair) into various Slytherin designs as she danced all over the Great Hall.

I'm deeply sorry to report that I don't really remember how the song went. I think the tune was something along the lines of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year".

Unfortunately, the rest of the dream descended into the usual dreamlike incoherence after the musical number. But when I woke up I had the alarming sense that I might actually be a musical and/or animation genius, and only the insecurities of my conscious mind are holding me back from realizing my potential.

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

I am really, really, really behind on everything. I'm sorry! My health is only improving gradually and I've had to continue severely rationing the energy I'm spending on things, but I hope to catch up with online stuff soon.

Apropos of nothing, I was supposed to have a gold crown put on at the dentist last week. Supposed to. And almost did. Until the key moment when the dentist was about to fit it on, but lost her grip on it and dropped it directly down my throat, whereupon my swallow reflex triggered and the crown was gone for good. I didn't even register what was happening until it was over.

The dentist was extremely apologetic and offered to pay for everything, and the nurse I called assured me that swallowing a small piece of gold was very unlikely to be harmful. (Apparently gold is sometimes used as a supplement for arthritis sufferers?)

So that was my excitement for the month.

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.