Tell your Master I no longer serve him.

Title: The Grand Tour
Pairing (though the term is misleading): Richard/Kahlan/Cara
Other characters: Jennsen, Denna, Darken, Chase, Emma, Anna, Grace, Sirian, Ella, Dahlia, Nicci, Brigid, Mark, Dennee, Zedd
Rating: PG-13
Length: 7364
Warning: vomit, some violence
Spoilers: through Tears
Summary: Written for a legendland challenge: RKC wake to find someone has stolen their weapons, and they have to travel the three territories to get them back. On the way, they learn that there's more amiss in the world than stolen weapons, and that they may be on the brink of another war not of their seeking.

 

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18

19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?

It depends - I can get ideas anywhere, and I may not be able to start writing right away, or even to jot down the idea. When possible I like starting as soon as I think of something, but sometimes I get a picture in my head that isn't the first scene, and usually isn't the last scene either, that the fic will be working towards, and then I don't necessarily know how to begin.

Often, at least for relatively short fic, I get the idea and then I race to write it before it loses its urgency. I have lots of bits of plot, random scenes or lines of dialogue that have never, or at least have never yet, made it into their own story. It's not so much that I lose the inspiration - though that can happen - as, if I don't start writing immediately, I may not be finished before I get the next, even more exciting idea, and it can be hard to go back.

I worry about finishing fic, for this reason, although I've found with longer stories the inspiration, the drive to write the scene to its conclusion, comes and goes. I just have to wait for that particular idea to come around and leave me no peace again - as long as that keeps happening, the story keeps flowing.

( rest of the days )

I just managed to actually post something to legendland - can it be that LJ is working again?

I feel like I've been holding my breath (metaphorically, anyway) all week, waiting for this moment - now to actually click 'post' and see what happens ;)

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15

16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?

I think the summary is one of the most important things the author does, after the fic itself of course. It can give the tone for the story, as well as being a kind of unofficial way to warn for content or genre - in the mood for Richard/Nicci fluff? Cara angst? Look no further!

The hard part about summaries is giving just enough away to get a reader's attention, without spoiling the plot of the story. I find it helps to pick a line, often of dialogue, and use that instead of 'read more...' as a sort of supplement to the summary.

17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?

I wouldn't go so far as to say titles are the easiest part of the fic for me, but I always use them, including for chapters of a longer story. Like the summary, the title helps frame the story, letting the reader know which things are important. I often base titles on song lyrics or quotes I find interesting or profound, to present the main dilemma of the story. (I get a lot of these from Lois McMaster Bujold's books, which I strongly recommend, especially the whole Vorkosigan series.)

It can be fun to set up a classic saying, like 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger' or even, say, a book quote, 'enemies are the price of honor' and see where it takes the characters, whether or not they agree...

( rest of the days )

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?

There are some fanon things that just make sense to me, from fun stuff like how Richard rescues kittens and Darken cleans dishes by magic, to more serious things about the political structure of D'Hara and the Mord'Sith. It's hard not to create your own fanon details when writing, and I try to keep mine reasonably consistent; and our discussions at PP lead to certain hive mind type ideas and conclusions.

When I feel like I can't get a good picture of the characters or the situation in a particular story, though, I do go back to canon, and sometimes that helps keep everyone in character.

Writing has definitely changed my inner vision of both LotS and Harry Potter, I think - but mostly it's just clarified what my intuition already told me. It's rare for my entire opinion of a character to change.


( rest of the days )

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?

Not yet. I had a whole plan to set Legend of the Seeker in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the fandoms might be just too different. Right now I'm considering LotS adapted to Glee, possibly with some Buffy - inspired 'high school is hell' stuff...I doubt I'll manage the songs, though ;)

( rest of the days )

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?

I wrote for a surprisingly long time before I realized that in general, I write action/adventure. Possibly I didn't even figure it out until the LotSeekerFic Awards nominations. I set out to write romance - somehow, it turns into action/adventure. I set out to write angst - same thing.

That said, I also write a lot of dark fic - twisty mind games stuff, or apocalyptic everything goes wrong stories - and I love parody and humor. And nearly everything I write is AU, if only my version of post-series.

( rest of the days )

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9

10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?

Yes and yes. It's a threesome rather than a pairing, but I love Richard/Kahlan/Cara and have trouble actually writing it, possibly because it's not that far from canon, and canon pairings are actually more difficult for me to write (particularly Hero/Heroine). Similarly, I like Clark/Lois, with the same problem.

I often try writing pairings I don't like, or just can't really imagine working out, for a challenge or a prompt response, and that can be a lot of fun - I like seeing if I can make it believable. I don't like Harry/Ginny, but have managed to write them (although it was a struggle), and I wasn't expecting to find Zedd/Cara as believable as it is.

Also, despite shipping various threesomes involving them and loving both characters, I don't really ship Cara/Kahlan, but I have written it.

I like to think I'm willing to try to write any pairing, but it's definitely easier if it's one I find inspiring/hot/interesting.

( rest of the days )

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8

9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?

Only three pairings? This was a struggle - I had to exclude threesomes ;)

Legend of the Seeker: Darken/Kahlan, Darken/Nicci, Richard/Nicci
Harry Potter: Lucius/Narcissa, Severus/Lily, Draco/Astoria
Smallville: Lionel/Lillian, Lex/Lana, and Lionel/Martha (which I haven't written, but want to)

Honestly, though, just as with my favorite characters to write, I tend to think about the fandom more in terms of the whole family, not just one character or pairing (the Rahls, the Malfoys, the Luthors). A fic centered around a particular pairing will, for me, usually draw in other family relationships as well.

( rest of the days )

Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7

8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.

I rarely write fic with an OC as a main character, for two reasons: first, if the story is about my OC, it's not really fanfiction so much as disguised original work, and second, people are a lot less likely to read it.

The one exception to this for me is next gen characters - I love next gen, and will almost always write something with them as the main characters. I like thinking about what the canon characters would be like as parents, and what issues/strengths/weaknesses they would pass on to the kids, and how the family dynamic might change, and so on.

Mary Sues tend to hijack the story - not only are they perfect physically, but they usually have more power than any canon character, and combine all the strengths of the canon characters with none of their weaknesses, so that everyone else looks pathetic next to them.

I think OCs are necessary to flesh out almost any story - there are always innocent bystanders, servants, classmates, etc - but I try to make sure all my OCs have flaws, and that there's something a canon character does better than they do.

(My basic test for Mary Sue-ism is the name - if there's a character named Ebony Glorianhallana Prancilnineah von Lorenzo, I may refrain from reading/writing about her.)

( rest of the days )