Dear Yuletide Writer 2014
Oct. 25th, 2014 10:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thegirlwiththemouseyhair(I will probably tweak this letter in the next couple days, but am posting a mostly-finished one so I can link it in my sign up.)
Hello Yuletide writer,
First things first: thanks so much for signing up and being willing to write for me! I really appreciate the thought of getting a story and your efforts; I’m sure I will love your creation.
Second, if you have a story you’re just burning to write in any of these obscure fandoms/parent texts (it seems weird to even call a work like The Picture of Dorian Gray or Regeneration a “fandom” in the sense Harry Potter or something is), write it! I am sure it will be good and inspired, and I don’t want to cramp your style. However, if you want to get a sense of what I like and/or use my suggestions as prompts, then I hope the following letter will be helpful.
What I like in general
I love slash, and I love contrasts between characters in slash or het pairings - e.g. in temperament, appearance, background, etc. I love and often go to fan fic for character and relationship development. I also like angst., though angst with happy or at least hopeful endings is best. I realize, however, that these may not seem like the happiest or most hopeful source texts.
I don’t usually go for paragraphs and paragraphs of smut, and to be honest, the thought of a smut intensive prompt for ANY of these source texts except Velvet Goldmine makes me pretty uncomfortable. (Velvet Goldmine, of course, is so profoundly about sexuality that that fandom is fair(er) game.) Lastly, I’m a sucker for romance and deep emotional bonds between characters, particularly when you can just see how two people who care about one another balance each other out and work well together, or maybe don’t work well together.
Specific fandoms
Request 1: Velvet Goldmine
I’ve adored this movie for a long time and my obsession with it became particularly strong about two years ago, after a dormant period. I’ll be excited just to see more fan works for this movie to be honest. That said, I really ship Curt/Arthur. I guess they scratch that contrast-and-balance itch very well, and there’s so much scope for angst or happiness, post-movie or AUs/slice of life moments when Arthur’s younger, etc. Arthur’s the character I identify with most but I’d be happy to read Curt-centric stuff; I’d also love to see a good piece that explores Mandy more, possibly in connection with any or all of the other characters. While I’m less into Brian and the Curt/Brian ship, see above - I’d just be thrilled to see this fandom get more love.
Request 2: The Picture of Dorian Gray
This book absolutely changed my life; I both wrote and received a treat drawing on it last Yuletide, which was a great way to start seeing it from a slightly different perspective. That said, Oscar Wilde was just a phenomenal writer and I understand that competing with him right on his own turf (beautiful prose, witty and eternally quotable dialogue, etc) may be intimidating If you do this fandom, feel free to come at it sideways - contemporary retelling? Using the novel as a framing device for some parallel but different story? Who knows? Again, if sideways works for you that’d be awesome! A couple suggestions though: I absolutely adore Basil and his tormented, painful love for Dorian. I also agree with Basil’s assessment of Harry when he says that Harry is really not that bad (my interpretation is that he’s not nearly as evil and heartless as Dorian becomes, for example).
Regeneration
OK, I didn’t even think this would be a “thing” or a nomination until I saw it on the list and decided to reread the novel. I’ve become extremely interested in the WWI period, partly as a result of getting into Downton Abbey fandom and writing mainly season 2 inspired stuff (that's the season set during the War, I should probably mention), and partly out of general personal interest. This novel is heartbreaking, but absolutely fascinating; I particularly love the distrust of young soldiers or officers like Sassoon of the older generations and Rivers’s growing discomfort with his own support of the War, as well as the glimpse we get into the history of psychiatry and psychology and medicine more generally in a time of civilizational crisis and massive change.
Hello Yuletide writer,
First things first: thanks so much for signing up and being willing to write for me! I really appreciate the thought of getting a story and your efforts; I’m sure I will love your creation.
Second, if you have a story you’re just burning to write in any of these obscure fandoms/parent texts (it seems weird to even call a work like The Picture of Dorian Gray or Regeneration a “fandom” in the sense Harry Potter or something is), write it! I am sure it will be good and inspired, and I don’t want to cramp your style. However, if you want to get a sense of what I like and/or use my suggestions as prompts, then I hope the following letter will be helpful.
What I like in general
I love slash, and I love contrasts between characters in slash or het pairings - e.g. in temperament, appearance, background, etc. I love and often go to fan fic for character and relationship development. I also like angst., though angst with happy or at least hopeful endings is best. I realize, however, that these may not seem like the happiest or most hopeful source texts.
I don’t usually go for paragraphs and paragraphs of smut, and to be honest, the thought of a smut intensive prompt for ANY of these source texts except Velvet Goldmine makes me pretty uncomfortable. (Velvet Goldmine, of course, is so profoundly about sexuality that that fandom is fair(er) game.) Lastly, I’m a sucker for romance and deep emotional bonds between characters, particularly when you can just see how two people who care about one another balance each other out and work well together, or maybe don’t work well together.
Specific fandoms
Request 1: Velvet Goldmine
I’ve adored this movie for a long time and my obsession with it became particularly strong about two years ago, after a dormant period. I’ll be excited just to see more fan works for this movie to be honest. That said, I really ship Curt/Arthur. I guess they scratch that contrast-and-balance itch very well, and there’s so much scope for angst or happiness, post-movie or AUs/slice of life moments when Arthur’s younger, etc. Arthur’s the character I identify with most but I’d be happy to read Curt-centric stuff; I’d also love to see a good piece that explores Mandy more, possibly in connection with any or all of the other characters. While I’m less into Brian and the Curt/Brian ship, see above - I’d just be thrilled to see this fandom get more love.
Request 2: The Picture of Dorian Gray
This book absolutely changed my life; I both wrote and received a treat drawing on it last Yuletide, which was a great way to start seeing it from a slightly different perspective. That said, Oscar Wilde was just a phenomenal writer and I understand that competing with him right on his own turf (beautiful prose, witty and eternally quotable dialogue, etc) may be intimidating If you do this fandom, feel free to come at it sideways - contemporary retelling? Using the novel as a framing device for some parallel but different story? Who knows? Again, if sideways works for you that’d be awesome! A couple suggestions though: I absolutely adore Basil and his tormented, painful love for Dorian. I also agree with Basil’s assessment of Harry when he says that Harry is really not that bad (my interpretation is that he’s not nearly as evil and heartless as Dorian becomes, for example).
Regeneration
OK, I didn’t even think this would be a “thing” or a nomination until I saw it on the list and decided to reread the novel. I’ve become extremely interested in the WWI period, partly as a result of getting into Downton Abbey fandom and writing mainly season 2 inspired stuff (that's the season set during the War, I should probably mention), and partly out of general personal interest. This novel is heartbreaking, but absolutely fascinating; I particularly love the distrust of young soldiers or officers like Sassoon of the older generations and Rivers’s growing discomfort with his own support of the War, as well as the glimpse we get into the history of psychiatry and psychology and medicine more generally in a time of civilizational crisis and massive change.
