Aug. 26th, 2010
It is time for my annual rant, I see
Aug. 26th, 2010 04:57 pmI participate in fic-exchanges a fair amount. I like writing for other people, and I live in hope of getting something awesome back. (The score so far would insult people who read this journal, but I have gotten awesome things back. I have also gotten meh or shitty things back. You win some, you lose some.)
You know what inspires the most fear in me when an exchange-mod sends me the details on who I'm writing for? "I don't care what you write with these two as long as it's believable and IC! :D"
Inevitably, they're lying. They may not realize they're lying, but they do care what they receive. They would not, for instance, want a fic of Jet and Zuko avoiding the fuck out of each other so as to avoid dealing with their issues when they're an avid Jetko shipper.
Making your writer research you in order to figure out what the fuck you actually mean by "I don't care what you write for me" is a shitty thing to do. Don't do it. Give details. Talk about the sorts of dynamics you like with the characters, any random story ideas you've always wanted to see done that would fit the exchange's format, what you don't like to see done with the characters.
Give some DETAILS.
(No, seriously, I rant about this almost every year.)
You know what inspires the most fear in me when an exchange-mod sends me the details on who I'm writing for? "I don't care what you write with these two as long as it's believable and IC! :D"
Inevitably, they're lying. They may not realize they're lying, but they do care what they receive. They would not, for instance, want a fic of Jet and Zuko avoiding the fuck out of each other so as to avoid dealing with their issues when they're an avid Jetko shipper.
Making your writer research you in order to figure out what the fuck you actually mean by "I don't care what you write for me" is a shitty thing to do. Don't do it. Give details. Talk about the sorts of dynamics you like with the characters, any random story ideas you've always wanted to see done that would fit the exchange's format, what you don't like to see done with the characters.
Give some DETAILS.
(No, seriously, I rant about this almost every year.)
This is for Charles.
Title: Jet and an EARTHBENDING TYRANNOSAURUS!
Characters: Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee, an earthbending tyrannosaurus
Rating: PG
Word Count: 800+
Summary: You need one? Really? Really?
( Jet and an EARTHBENDING TYRANNOSAURUS! )
Title: Jet and an EARTHBENDING TYRANNOSAURUS!
Characters: Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee, an earthbending tyrannosaurus
Rating: PG
Word Count: 800+
Summary: You need one? Really? Really?
( Jet and an EARTHBENDING TYRANNOSAURUS! )
(no subject)
Aug. 26th, 2010 08:30 pmA thought occurs to me...
How many AtLA pairings can I say "I've written that" to? (Or, hell, Transformers, but I know there are a lot more Transformers pairings I haven't done due to mainly only writing G1.)
Toss up five pairings, AtLA or Transformers, into the comments, and I'll answer (and link if I can find it) whether or not I've written that pairing.
You can play "stump the author" if you really want, but this is mostly for me to stare in horror at myself.
As a note, I'm linking to whatever example I happen to find first.
How many AtLA pairings can I say "I've written that" to? (Or, hell, Transformers, but I know there are a lot more Transformers pairings I haven't done due to mainly only writing G1.)
Toss up five pairings, AtLA or Transformers, into the comments, and I'll answer (and link if I can find it) whether or not I've written that pairing.
You can play "stump the author" if you really want, but this is mostly for me to stare in horror at myself.
As a note, I'm linking to whatever example I happen to find first.