Ficcy Stuff

[sigune]

I woke up this morning to find that I am now a validated author at Mugglenet. Just what this means to my posting practice I have yet to discover.

The news cheered me up, of course - whee, I can mod myself! - but actually I'm against the system of validated authors. Even people who generally write good stuff should be checked for quality; there will always be slip-ups big and small, and, for myself, I really want them pointed out to me. I usually have my stories beta-read by several people, but time and again, the severe SH mods pick up mistakes, as do the strict mods at OWL. (That alone, I think, is the reason why I made it to validated status at Mugglenet. I usually post there last of all, meaning that a) my minimum of two betas, b) the SH mods, c) my SQ beta and d) the OWL mods have all scrutinised the text. I get a lot of help, as you can see :D.)

Anyway - now I'll just have to wait until I get a review - at Mugglenet that tends to be ever so slightly problematic for me :).

As I am updating on my writing, I thought I'd also pick up where I left off about pr_snape. This is slightly embarrassing; having pointed out how many people check my regular stuff, I'm a bit annoyed about how quickly I write my PR entries and about how no one checks them at all *blushes*. But I just haven't got the time to polish them. Mostly it's "Come on, Sigune, time to whip up another one!" :/ But as long as they're fun, I continue.

The Spy’s Progress
Customer Relations
A Father’s Duty
The Eldest Snapeling
Paying the Piper (my favourite so far, together with Of Bad Books, Part II)
In London
Wolfsbane

These days, there is a lot of interaction between Snape and his daughter (the one he didn't have when JKR was asked, but has been conceived in the meantime :D). Snape cum family is really something very difficult to manage for me, and I'm not always sure whether I actually pull it off, but it's worth trying. At least, when Rowling kills him off, I'll know I gave Snape a future and can wander out of fandom with my mind at rest ;).

Comments

[lewlinx.livejournal.com]

when Rowling kills him off...

Do you think she'll kill him? I have serious doubts about that, plus I dont think I am ready to see him die, there are others way ahead of him on my list at least...then again, it is war and she might go into a killing rampage, who knows, if the woman can kill Sirius and still sleep at night without any remorse then anything can happen!

I'm a bit annoyed about how quickly I write my PR entries and about how no one checks them at all *blushes*.

*blushes Weasley red and feels like a complete Percy for not being a good enough mod to at least review. Promises to try harder but will not make unbreakable vow*

[sigune.livejournal.com]

LOL! I didn't want to make you feel bad or anything! :D
Frankly I'm not quite sure how the mod system at PR works :P... In the beginning, when SIW modded my entries, I sent everything to her first for her approval, but stopped when she told me that wasn't the idea. Obviously the mods can't be supposed to beta everyone's stuff. Now I don't know anymore, so I have taken to sending you silly e-mails about French names ;).

As for Snape, I thought he was toast as soon as I read he killed Dumbledore. I don't think it's in Jo's nature to leave that unpunished :(. Obviously I don't want him to die (NOOOOoOOOOOooo!), but...

[lewlinx.livejournal.com]

*glares at previos comment* I wasnt finished!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

for becoming a validated author! If I remember correctly it means your stories will post as soon as you submit them :D:D

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (also for coming back :D)

Oh! Immediate posting would be great... I think my stories tend to get lost in the flurry of validation at MNFF... Well, we'll see. I'm pretty proud right now ;).

[kaskait.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! That is a big deal.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

(I'm a little proud now :D...)

[redvelvetcanopy.livejournal.com]

Oh, I would definitely say that being validated is a great compliment.

That's how I would take it!

I am still due for moderation, sigh.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

LOL! Im am flattered indeed :).

(PS: That Snape of yours certainly has an athletic body... :D *fans self*)

[sophierom.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'm a pretty lousy friend ... I only just now realized that you're writing Snape LJ! I'm going to friend Snape. I've always dreamed of that, anyway. ;-D And congrats on becoming a validated author (even if you don't believe in them)!

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)!

You mean you're interested in the LJ? It's an rpg thing, but I have fun with it :D. Mind you: if you comment at pr_aerie you get a reply from "Snape" himself, so I must give a snark warning :P. You're not obliged to do that, of course. (In fact, I have been told by sscrewdriver that she's afraid of Snape's replies, so...)

Anyway - be my very welcome guest! (Whee!)

[kayleelupin.livejournal.com]

Hi Sigune,

Kaylee Tonks-Lupin here, found you on lj and hope you don't mind ^.^ Is that rpg group run by you or someone else? I'd love to join in rpg...you know I love our dear Theory Bay and I love RPG in general...as long as you don't mind a Lupin joining in the fun.

Yours, (not quite so severely)

Kaylee

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Hi! The rpg is not mine, but wvchemteach's. If you want to apply for it, I think you should contact him, for example via the link at pr_aerie (in the left hand corner).

I'm not sure there is space for another Lupin, though - you'd have to ask him... I only got Snape because someone else had quit; characters like the Lupins and Snape are always immediately filled in :/.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grainne_/]

Congratulations Sigune! I think I have similar feelings as you--the being able to post whenever you like is lovely; the idea that you don't have a bevy of eyes there to catch your mistakes before the general public do, is not. But if anyone is trustworthy where validation is concerned, it is you, as you set such a high standard for yourself.

Now, I confess to being stymied by these mysterious references you keep making to pr_snape. I've figured out that you are writing as Snape, but I'm fuzzy on the details. Is it a game? A round-robin story? Can I read your entries alone, or do they only make sense in some larger context? *begs forgiveness for woeful lack of knowledge regarding mysterious online worlds*

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Hee hee! The "pr" in pr_snape stands for Phoenix Rising - it's a roleplay game, and I'm writing Snape in the game master's overall plot. It's an ongoing story; I'm not sure the loose entries make a lot of sense on their own, though I don't think you need the stories from other characters' journals because Snape has so far not interacted a lot with other people, and I repeat the relevant stuff in his entries.

I am treating this as an exercise in sustained plotting, with the help of the other players (because, as you may know by now, I'm rather lousy at plotting). The separate entries are like the chapters to one large story, and I have to remember to pick up clues and connect loose ends :). It's fun, and quite new to me!

The story starts where HBP left off; the first entry is rather lengthy with a lot of telling because I came into the game later than most and had to do all my initial exposition in one go. If you feel like having a look at the pr_snape saga, I have to warn you that it's not nearly as polished as my stories because I can't afford to spend a lot of time on fic writing these days - I do it to keep my hand in ;). It's a sort of interlude (and an uncorrected one at that! you may catch some funny things, I think) until I have the time to continue and finish the Novel-Length WIP of Doom (which at least will be thoroughly beta-read, it's a promise!) that is currently languishing on my hard drive. PR has a few disadvantages for me, the main being that it has to be written in the first person; but I am quite happy with some of the things I've done so far :). I just wanted to warn you that it's not like my fics in terms of labour-intensity and, I fear, quality ::grins::. It may be very revealing, actually :D - "Sigune Without todayiamadaisy"...

Comments to the rpg normally go to pr_aerie, where you get a reply from "Snape" IC; but I wouldn't mind getting some for Snape's author with critical stuff and writing advice in it ;). sscrewdriver has taken to posting on her own LJ with that sort of thing, which is absolutely great, but comments to my own rpg update entries (or elsewhere on my journal) would be very welcome too. Still, there's absolutely no obligation, and you're not obliged to read it either :D! But right now it's the only ficcy stuff I have time for.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grainne_/]

This sounds intriguing (and perfect for a rainy day, which I've had a lot of lately). One more question: Who sets the overall rules/plot (or are you all riffing off one another's entries)?

where you get a reply from "Snape" IC

*giggles* Don't tempt me!

[sigune.livejournal.com]

*giggles* Don't tempt me!

Okay, I won't, because I don't think I'm a match for you! Though, well, I'm the first to admit that Snape can do with being taken down a peg or two from time to time :)...

The rules and plot are mostly set by wvchemteach, who tells me things like when Snape has to meet Lucius (the only playing character with which I have been dealing so far), and where we are going in the end. I can negotiate with him about specific points (such as: Lucius gives Snape this or that order - how is Snape going to react?), and so far I have been allowed a lot of freedom. It's also the case that people post entries that have an effect on Snape and of which I haven't been informed, so there can be surprise bits to which I have to react.

It's possible that you can see a difference between entries I "have to" write because I need to incorporate one of the game master's plot points and those I write for my own pleasure. Also, when another writer's character has dialogue in one of my posts, I usually ask them to fill in that character's words in the way they like - hoping, of course, that they will return the courtesy when the time comes ;).

To be quite honest, I'm dreading the moment when I will have to collaborate closely with other writers. We all seem to have our very own ideas of how things ought to be written and even what a specific kind of magic can do :/. It's something of an adventure :)...

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

Be afraid! Be very afraid becasue I noticed that you added me to your friends list, and now I had add you to mine! *cackles*

I wasn't aware that Mugglenet validates authors. Congrats, especially considering their validation queue was among the longest I've even experienced. But, of course, that was waaayyyy back when I was actually producing things that were non PR-related (something I'm itching to do again..SOON).

I have to agree with you about PR entries. Mine are riddled with typos; it's extremely embarassing. a However, with the pace of the story and the fact that many group posts rely on other authors (truthfully, I'm probably one of the worst), I sometimes find myself writing right up to the posting time. *cringes* Nothing like a little pressure to produce.

I decided to join because I wanted to interact with more authors, improve my writing speed, play around with character development/characterization, and get some feedback on my writing so I could improve. Three out of my four goals have been satisfied beyond my expectations. The other authors that I interact with are terrific and very supportive of PR writing as well as other projects. It's been a wonderful experience to wade around in such a deep pool of creativity where ideas are traded freely. I also use it to dump some of my extraneous HP-related ideas that I know I won't be able to find a home for elsewhere (I think of it as the garbage dump of ideas!).

The only thing that I found curious was that early on I discovered that reivews for PR are to be strictly "positive" and are to be address to the characters. Although, it hasn't been explictly said that reviews FROM OTHER PR AUTHORS are prohibited from include anything dedicated to improving writing itself, I got the impression that it wasn't part of PR protocol. So, I have to agree with you there - that is somewhat disappointing as well as the very limited readership (or I should say, "reviewership"). I think there is some excellent talent running around at PR, yourself included, and it would be nice to get more constructive criticism from external reviewers. I'm all for ways to improve what I'm doing (or trying to do).

**Group posts aren't as scary or horrible as they appear to be (usually). Hopefully, your experiece will be relatively painless. Bring on August! LOL! :)

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Hi! :D

I have no experience with other RPGs, so I don't know what the comment policy is like in those places... I was told to reply IC to comments at the Aerie - and sometimes that causes problems, like that time when you left me a glowing review that wasn't addressed to Snape and I didn't know how to reply :/. Personally, I would much prefer comments on the writing rather than on what is happening in the game. If people tell Snape, "I am surprised by what you did there", do they mean I'm writing him OOC, or do they think it makes sense? I would also like to know what works and what doesn't. Too much dialogue? Too predictable? Boring? I won't know unless I'm told.

I'm also a bit disappointed with the small readership, and by the fact that even my fellow writers (except you) seem to have given up on Snape :(. How are they going to know what's going on in the Horcrux hunt if they haven't read my set-up? It's a bit discouraging. On the other hand, I'm aware that my RPG work is not my best writing (I agree with the garbage dump of ideas - I'm using stuff that's very experimental for me), so maybe I shouldn't mope :D.

As for the group posts, it's very annoying that comments can't be edited. I do a lot of editing in my entries, correcting typos. That, and I'm also worried that I won't be able to keep up with the other writers. There is the time difference, the fact that I can't write on command, and August will be horribly busy as well. Bleh. At least the plot is fun! :D