Happy New Year! and story reveals

[kassidy62]

It seems as if 2010 has been hard on a bunch of us, so I'll raise a glass to my flist and hope you have a truly wonderful 2011.

Ha! I was wondering if my ASJ was written by hardboiledbaby! Yesss, I was right. ASJ is such a small fandom that I figured it likely to get a writer I knew, and I wonder if that affected the writing? For me as a recipient, it made the gift even more lovely, that someone who knows me and likes me was writing for me:) Thank you so much, and for helping me learn the Yuletide ropes!
Catch her story here: Absence of Fear

I'd read The Long Walk (Stephen King) before as a teenager and loved it, and once in a while I'll pull it out again and re-read - it's one of those I'll never tire of, brutal and full of heart. I loved the characters, so distinctive, so alive and dying senselessly one by one. (Not my favorite ending, however). It has a near non-existent fandom, but the people who do love it seem pretty fervent about it. So I was ridiculously excited when I was gifted with Ask for Anything by Ellidyay (dancinbutterfly). I've read it three times now - the characters are so well-rounded and the heartache so pronounced, and I thank Ellindyay so so much for the gift.

The stories I wrote: 
Salt of the Earth for lordessrenegade - this is the one I whined about. It's for The Long Walk, the last story I wrote. I wasn't going to, then I was, then I wasn't, but it wouldn't go away! I had NO TIME to do this and I edited it the most because I was so unsure of it. The voices in The Long Walk are HARD to write, IMO. Pete's a big-hearted, complicated, mocking, self-loathing fellow, and I find him very hard to write and sound like and remain sympathetic sounding, which he very much was in the book. Ray's the POV straight man of the story, decent, nice neighbor next door boy with maybe sexual identity issues - complete with a memory that fills him with shame. More for the threatened punishment at such a young age than the act, I think. Anyway, you know me - I had to have them take that step and manage some sort of intimacy. Not an easy thing, not when they have to walk or DIE, literally.

Anyway, turned out the recipient hadn't gotten notice of the gift! She found out about it today and commented, seemed very happy with it. I know she's a huge fan of the book and of Peter McVries (who is my favorite).

All my angst about it was really more about the fact that I wrote it last, fast, wanted so badly for it to be worthy of the source and was unsure it was (still some of that going on, and maybe rightfully so - but it's time to let it sit and read it after a month or two, see what I think then).

I also wrote a short story, under 1,000 words (and so in the Madness Collection rather than Yuletide) called Always Our Protector for Nyssa23 for the fandom (such as it is) of  Låt den rätte komma in | Let the Right One In (2008) (there's been a remake at the end of 2010 called LET ME IN by Hammer Films). I just watched this nearly a month ago, a vampire girl and a boy and their friendship, and what struck me most was that it was a story of friendship much more than of vampire goings-on. The big US film makers would never make a film like this - it's slow-moving and not afraid of meaningful silences. (And to tell the truth: it did move slowly for me, even as I recognized the need for it.) 

Finally the last one, and really the most successful to judge by rec lists and comments - Wild, Wild Zombieland for lady_match for the fandom (again, such as it is)  Lonesome Dove: The Series. I just saw her prompt and was filled with happiness and wrote it, simple and easy, because hell, Gus and Call slaying zombie cows is just too damn much fun. The idea was the story, very simply, and unlike Long Walk, their voices were RIGHT THERE on tap.

The story I was actually assigned to write: A Snake, a Blue Blazer and a Girl Once Lost for tryslora - so much fun, writing these characters in a threesome. I love this show and was at least glad to see it ended in a way I could live with. You know how it is with so many shows you love, you get no real ending, but this one ended with no cliff-hangers and enabled suppositions that the team walked happily off into the sunset. The very best part of doing this story was how happy my recipient was. She seemed totally gleeful and it made me feel GREAT.

And check this out! ilaria84 made a header that I used with the story -

Isn't it gorgeous?

And that's the fun I had at Yuletide, my first year at it:)
 

 

Comments

[greenlady2.livejournal.com]

"...Anyway, turned out the recipient hadn't gotten notice of the gift!"

Ah! There you go! :-)))

[greenlady2.livejournal.com]

"...I wasn't going to, then I was, then I wasn't, but it wouldn't go away! I had NO TIME to do this and I edited it the most because I was so unsure of it..."

I just re-read your post and this struck me. That's what I was ranting about on my own LJ a few moments ago. Though maybe 'ranting' is too strong a term. IMO, the best stories come from a situation in which the story won't 'go away', and keeps you awake at night. IMO, a story that comes from the heart or the soul or whatever, will grab the reader and involve them as much as the writer. I find that kind of fan fiction sadly lacking in fandom these days. Hmmm. I don't know the novel you reference, and I've never been a fan of King, to say the least, but maybe I'll go read the story, nonetheless. :-)))

[hardboiledbaby]

Aw, you're welcome, babe. *hugs*

So glad your recipient finally responded! And, go you for writing four--count 'em, four--stories in four different fandoms! *iz suitably impressed* The banner is indeed very pretteh.

Yay for Yuletide and spreading the squee! :)

[kassidy62.livejournal.com]

thanks, Baby. Yeah, I should have just sat back a bit longer before going Butt Hurt, but ... oh well. Yuletide was awesome, and I'd never ever have thought I'd managed 4 stories, participating in it (and frankly doubt I'll ever pull THAT one off again).

hey, and also, no worries on whatever you want to edit about the story - think maybe you could let me in on when it's done to your satisfaction so I can go re-read?

Yeah, I was definitely wondering about you as my author, and then I wondered some more after we talked and you said your recipient had recommended it:)

[clarelondon.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year!
(and I love both that header and your vampire icon...*g*)