WIP Challenge Day 14, Monday

[jagnikjen]

What's going on with your fic??

~ Is it growing?
~ Is it waiting patiently for you to get back to it?
~ Is it growing moldy?

Have you been...
~ writing
~ editing/revising
~ beta reading
~ refreshing the muse (which means ignoring your fic and reading or watching TV/movies, etc)
~ or something else? (Please share.)

Discussion topic...
How do you feel about AUs?
Do you read them?
Do you write them?
Are there specific types of AU that you just can't abide by? (For example, for me, it's the BBC's Robin Hood gang in modern times going to high school. That's just wrong. No matter how brilliantly written that story might be, I won't even open it.)

Comments

[jagnikjen]

My fic has been waiting patiently for me since last week. :) This morning I got all caught up on my beta reading/critiquing, and now I'm ready to work on my own fic for a little bit. YAY!

My fic is in the writing/editing/revising mode, at the moment. I currently sit at 1614 words (of a brand new beginning). I have most of the middle part finished (about 85% I think), I just had to figure out the beginning, which I did with help from my critique partners weekend before last. I have a bit more to go on the beginning bit and then I can transition back into the middle part of the story.

As for AUs--I will read them if the premise sounds good/interesting. I have written them, too.

[elistaire]

I love when I get caught up on other commitments and finally have time to sit down and write what I want.

[littlebutfierce]

I've been trying to hastily fit in one last Kaleidoscope Treat. I just finished canon refresh tonight & have written some scribbles. I need to start making sense of them! I have until Saturday night but I'm not a fast writer -- I need a lot of time to let things stew in my brain -- so we'll see.

I generally dislike AUs. I've enjoyed a couple but most leave me feeling a little cold, or they don't even sound interesting to begin w/.

[elistaire]

How do you know which AUs to give a try? Is it the summary? I always think my summaries are less than spectacular, and wonder if I wrote them in a more exciting way that it would interest more readers. Or is it just the tags and warnings?

[jagnikjen]

A combination of both, probably. If the premise sounds interesting, then I'll give it a chance. So there's impetus to write the best summary you can without giving away the whole plot. :) Though, easier said than done, I know.

[littlebutfierce]

I think it's the summary, but it's... not necessarily a question of the summary being written well or not, I think? I mean, if I see a summary that says it's about a setting that sounds funny or interesting to me, I'll give it a try even if the summary is v. simple (the way most of mine are :D ) or even a little awkwardly written. But if it's not a setting that intrigues me, I think probably most summaries wouldn't entice me.

[lilly_c]

Before my phone dies...

My fic is both growing and waiting paitently. I managed to write a bit more for it between lectures today, will be typing the new bits in the next day or so.

I don't mind reading AUs but they have to really grab though. I've never really written one but I have used AU elements in some of my fics from time to time.

[lacerta]

I've started on my overdue remix. After reading through the original story again and talking to the author, I have a pretty good idea where I'd like to go with it. Also, author and me seem to be very much on the same page, and everything is super exciting \o/

And because the story is soon going to get heartbreaking enough anyway, I decided to use Written? Kitten! for today's happy scene. Kitties!

Writing again

[elistaire]

After a bit of a dry spell, I actually got some words down today, and I liked what I wrote. It wasn't much, a few hundred words, but it was lovely to have something come out of my fingertips!

AUs. Love them. I write a few--more in one fandom than another. One fandom (XMFC) seems to thrive on AUs. Highlander hardly has a one of them in sight on any given day. Some don't strike me as interesting, so I pass them by, but for the most part, I generally love the change up. But I also love canon-compliant stories, and always hope to see more of them. I guess I am just terribly greedy and want more, more, more.

[taelle]

I, ah, started a new fic yesterday. An AU. And now I (a) worry about not showing it to anyone ever, since it's silly and not realistic, and (b) feel guilty for pausing in working with ongoing work. Because I'm weird like this.

But it's fun! At least, the idea is fun *wants to skip ahead to even more fun parts, since I'm not showing it to anyone ever anyway*

I love AUs. I find them intriguing - even the modern high school ones, at least in theory - they need actually to be done well (with this fandom I'm AUing right now, I also had a Harry Potter AU fusion idea, and even wrote tiny bits, but had plot problems).

[linaewen]

I've got one that's growing a bit (at least with ideas and outlining, if not actual words), one that's waiting patiently, and two that are pretty moldy. As is my wont, I have too much on my plate, I think! :-D

Today I did some brainstorming, but didn't get time to actually start writing, but at least it was something writing related!

As for AU's -- I love them. I read them (most of them) and I write them. Much of my writing is actually AU, though not all of it. I prefer AU that is close to canon, but only has a few key elements changed -- if it's too wild and unbelievable, I'm not interested. I agree with the AU that takes place in a modern day high school scenario; for the most part, it just doesn't work, and I won't even check it out to see if it does.

[lacerta]

Heh, your plate looks very similar to mine, then.

[xpaperplanex]

I'm working hard writing after posting twice over the weekend 8O

I have mixed feelings on AUs. I write them occasionally, but generally stick to tweaking canon details. I write for the fandom I do because I like the world. I don't feel any great need to transplant the characters somewhere else or anything like that. But if it's well-written and interesting, I'll give reading it a shot. That said, high school AUs are a no. Maybe it's just me, but I just don't get the point of wanting to read/write about your high school days. I didn't hate high school, but really!

[bay_alexison]

I had finished up revising the fourth chapter and editing my fifth chapter of my Big Bang fic before sending them to my beta. I still got some time tonight which I might use for canon/history research before head diving to the final chapter of my fic, which I plan to write tomorrow.

I too have mixed feelings on AUs as the fandoms I write for I already love the world in it. There might be times I'll change canon stuff a bit, but that's rare.

[lacerta]

Yay for getting to the final chapter! It sounds like your big bang is coming along really well.

[bay_alexison]

Thanks. A little iffy over how I'll do the last chapter as I mentioned last check in one of the ideas I had in mind might be unrealistic and unneeded, but I can always edit the last chapter later if that's the case.

[krait]

Are there specific types of AU that you just can't abide by?

There are AU types that I can't abide; high school AUs are one. Cyberpunk doesn't do much for me, either. However, there are no AUs that I can't abide by, because I don't sign up for AU fests, and therefore their rules don't apply to me.

*grin* Sorry, I just couldn't resist poking the grammar! :D

More relevantly: I do read AUs, and I can take or leave them depending on a lot of things, including genre and fandom, but mostly it comes down to well done/not well done. The whole premise is quite tricky, because environment influences character, so if you're putting characters into a radically different environment you must make changes (because someone with 1990s morality walking round in Ancient Rome is going to be jarring and pointless), but must also find ways to keep the characters recognisable in spite of the changes.

Erm. That is, assuming we're talking the "massive changes" sort of AU, as you mentioned Robin Hood versus modern-day school systems. As a product of Phantom Menace fandom, though, I tend to think of those as "AR"s -- alternate realities -- whereas an AU is something set in the canon world, but with one or more things (big or small) altered, e.g. Luke and Leia's mother didn't die (fairly small) or the Empire never existed (large).

[jagnikjen]

*grin* Sorry, I just couldn't resist poking the grammar! :D

No--great catch! :)