hrhrionastar: (Default)
I know a reasonable amount about both Western astrology, with the twelve sun signs of the Zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Saggitarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces), and Chinese astrology, which also has twelve signs but measures by year rather than by (approximately) month.

And one of the ways I classify and try to understand characters in media is by figuring out their astrological sign.

About Western sun signs )
A few characters and their signs, or my best guess anyway:

Characters from several fandoms and their signs )

I am happy to discuss or argue any of these (some characters I know right away, but others it's taken me ages to decide what sign they are).

I was going to put in a bit about relationships, since I'm a water sign and that is therefore my forte (or at least something in which I'm deeply interested), but that would make this post really long, so suffice it to say people of the same element (fire or earth or water or air) tend to get along, and that water and earth go well together and fire and air go well together. Also, people of the same sign always have an interesting vibe, whether positive or negative (and two Leos nearly always get along wonderfully). But those are generalizations—specific cases may vary.
hrhrionastar: (nicci)
As some of you may know, we, [info]meridian_rose and [info]hrhrionastar, have a new comm, [info]palaceprophets, for our collaborative fanworks.


We're now doing some decorating, and we'd love your opinion on our new header. Please help us choose by voting in the poll over at the comm: vote here
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23+24, 25+26, 27, 28

29 – What is your current project or projects?

Princess Rahl, Some Kind of Miracle, and the story I'm working on with [livejournal.com profile] meridian_rose, as well as any fests I end up signing up for, the hiatus challenge on [livejournal.com profile] legendland, and the bits and pieces of stories I'm still hoping will coalesce into some kind of finished product someday.

30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!

I like almost all of my stories (with a few notable exceptions). Some of the most fun I've ever had while I was actually writing was for The Unravelling or the Perils of Powerful Magic; intellectually I found Lady Rahl and Undone to be important, since I feel they explore issues and themes I thought were implied in the show without being stated; Master and Killing with Kindness were both really hard for me because they're so dark, but they wouldn't leave me alone until I'd written them; Wedding Anniversary was hard because it was my first real NC-17 fic...(okay, so that's kind of a lot...)

My current favorite is probably Hope. During this meme, I've mentioned how the best stories are the ones that insist on being written, for whatever reason. As soon as I saw the prompt, the idea for Hope was in my mind, but it took me awhile to be able to articulate what I wanted to do even to myself, and then it was quite hard to write, to the point where I was convinced it wasn't any good at times - and I was terrified of not being a good enough writer to realize my vision. (This probably sounds silly to non-writers, but it was a real struggle for me.) So that's the story of which I'm most proud.

(I also wrote quite a bit for Harry Potter; Evans the Mudblood is probably my favorite of my HP fics - it's second person, which was difficult, but worth it, I think.)
hrhrionastar: (Default)
I'm having some kind of weird problem with my connection (there was a storm yesterday that might have caused it), and so I'm not going to be on as much for awhile, I think.

(It's incredibly frustrating - I just keep getting error messages.)
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23+24, 25+26, 27

28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?

[livejournal.com profile] meridian_rose and I have done some collaborating - we have a project going on right now, in fact. We have a new joint comm for our stories, too, [livejournal.com profile] palaceprophets. It's a lot of fun to work with someone else, particularly someone who shares some of your interests and who you can talk to. As she said, we beta for each other as we go, which is also good since I have a hard time asking people to beta for me.

[livejournal.com profile] dorothydeath has done some art inspired by my story, Princess Rahl, and I've done fic inspired by art, most notably for the [livejournal.com profile] lotseekerfic Reverse Mini Bang. I'm not really a very good graphic artist myself, but I do think art and writing are connected. I often make headers for my stories. A picture is worth a thousand words, after all ;D
rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
I find these quiz things irresistible, so I snagged this from [livejournal.com profile] meridian_rose. Like her, I assumed I'd be in Ravenclaw; like her, I was Sorted into Slytherin ;)

Your result for The Sorting Hat: A Comprehensive Harry Potter Personality Assessment [Test/Quiz]...

Slytherin

52% Ravenclaw, 48% Hufflepuff, 53% Slytherin and 50% Gryffindor!

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

 

 

Slytherin's cardinal traits are ambition, cunning and determination. Like the Gryffindor House, Slytherins are emotionally volatile. In contrast, however, Slytherins are much less dominant and assertive, and less extraverted in general. Rather than expressing these emotions outwardly, Slytherins direct them inward or act in a passive aggressive manner. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin are much more driven to succeed than the other two houses: Gryffindor out of pride and Slytherin out of ambition.

 

Slytherins are also much more pragmatic than the other houses and more adept at manipulating people. A key trait would be a low level of agreeableness: Slytherins are more pessimistic, more distrustful than most, and more likely to attribute negative motivations to people. So although Slytherins experience a wide range of emotions, due to their distrustful views of people and skeptical worldview, they are less expressive and more likely to appear cold or distant unless provoked.

A Slytherin's ambitious nature comes out in different ways depending on what is important to the individual person. It could lead them to try to achieve top marks (if intellect and schooling is important to them) but it could also be directed at social settings or towards athletic endeavors.
Take The Sorting Hat: A Comprehensive Harry Potter Personality Assessment [Test/Quiz] at HelloQuizzy
hrhrionastar: (team kahlan)

banner by [livejournal.com profile] tequilajuju
[livejournal.com profile] legendland is an interactive community for Seeker fans. We play games, write fic, make art, and have fun! Join [livejournal.com profile] team_seeker, [livejournal.com profile] confessors, or [livejournal.com profile] mistress_cara today! Apply here, and don't forget to tell them I sent you!
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23+24, 25+26

27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?

I like to write on the computer best, because I can type a lot faster than I can write by hand, but I keep a notebook in which I jot down ideas and occasionally try and plan out a plot. There are some fragments of stories that I only have in handwritten form.

Writing on the computer is also easier because if I want to change the phrasing of something I can go back and edit it, whereas when I'm writing in my notebook I just have to wait until I type it up later to fix any major errors. Once, though, I did get through an entire ~2000 word fic just writing it down in my notebook. It was during a thunderstorm, and I heard you're not supposed to use your computer then; plus, I think the storm actually inspired me ;)

rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23+24

25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?

Sometimes. I like music, but I'm not very good at it - not a singer, don't play an instrument or anything. I do need to get into a certain mood to write, frequently different moods for different kinds of fic, too, but music sometimes helps and sometimes doesn't. I like show tunes, rock and roll, Lady Gaga...

26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?

I often research things like how old a child is when they typically learn to walk and talk. Or canon details, like the name of Cara's brother-in-law. I also frequently search for quotes to go with fic ideas, or fic ideas to go with quotes, if that makes sense.

rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?

I have a new plan, in relation to this: I'm going to try posting everything to my LJ journal, my AO3 archive, my DW journal, and my FF.net page, if age appropriate. I'm ashamed to say I haven't always done a good job with that, and it is somewhat time consuming to post everywhere at once, but it saves having to import stuff or tediously update everything.

My August resolution ;)

24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?

I'm afraid to ask people to beta for me - if I post something, it's up to the reader whether or not to click on the 'read more...' link, but having a beta means asking someone to read my work, and what if they don't think it's any good? Plus, when I write for fests or something with a deadline, I may barely finish in time myself, and it doesn't seem fair to ask a beta to work under a time constraint. (And then sometimes I just want to post what I've finished right away, before I lose my nerve.) 

Still, I've certainly gotten a lot of wonderful unofficial advice and ideas from other writers, and I'm always glad for their help. So maybe I should have another August resolution ;)

rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19, 20, 21

22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?

Until I fell in love, or at least obsession, with Legend of the Seeker and got an LJ account, I didn't even know what fests and Big Bangs were. Since then, of course, I've signed up for every one I can find and feel I have a reasonable chance of completing - the Feelings Fest on [livejournal.com profile] lots_femslash, the [livejournal.com profile] seekerrarepair exchange, the Reverse Mini Bang on [livejournal.com profile] lotseekerfic, [livejournal.com profile] dark_fest, and at least one mini big bang alt on [livejournal.com profile] legendland. My favorite experience...probably a tie between
The Unravelling or the Perils of Powerful Magic
, for [livejournal.com profile] legendland, which was just plain fun to write, and most recently Hope, for the [livejournal.com profile] lotseekerfic Reverse Mini Bang, which was intense, but which gave me things to think about that I'm still trying to fully process.

In some ways, having a prompt and a deadline like that can be such a blessing, because it helps motivate me to actually finish. And at least one of my [livejournal.com profile] dark_fest stories I wrote after a mini dry spell, the first thing I'd felt really positive about in what felt like forever. (I started typing and literally didn't stop until I finished - it was emotional.)

Also, I enjoy things like that because they help me feel part of a larger community, and overcome my shyness about posting things I'm not quite sure about. (The downside being when I sign up for too many projects at once, of course.)


rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (rahl)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19, 20

21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?

I wrote a sequel to Master, but I'm not sure that counts, because it was really more like part 2 of the same story...I have trouble with sequels, because first you have to successfully finish something, which is a lot harder with long fic, and then there's the paralyzing doubt - somehow, the previous story got written, and it's in a certain world and style, and the sequel has to be in the same world and style. What if it doesn't live up to the first installment? What if the readers who liked the first story hate the sequel? It happens all the time to published authors, after all.

So I'm nervous about writing sequels - nonetheless, unless you kill all the characters at the end, there's always room for a sequel, and I do have bits and pieces for some, I admit - Love is Cruel was originally going to get a sequel, and still may - I enjoyed making Nicci the heroine, after all ;) But if I ever manage to write a proper sequel for a chaptered story, it would have to be for Destiny Swap. Of all the things I've written, that is the only story that begs for a sequel - I felt like I was stopping in the middle, and I do have some ideas for season 2 in this AU. (I'm hesitant about saying this; I really don't know if it'll ever happen. But it's a world that still interests me.)

rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17, 18, 19

20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?

Yes. I participate in a number of things where that's actually the point, like inspiration tree challenges on [livejournal.com profile] legendland or the [livejournal.com profile] lotseekerfic Reverse Mini Bang; comments and discussions can also be a great place to get inspired, as there're lots of smart people in my fandoms, and they make me see canon in new and interesting ways.

Actually, though, one of the most inspiring things, in my experience, is when I read something that tackles an important issue from a point of view I don't happen to agree with, or that makes an assumption, even just as an aside, that I find troubling or interesting. I write, for the most part, because I'm passionate about the subject, and disagreement can actually generate a lot of that passion. Just as a 'mistake' in canon can inspire me to write 'fix it' fic, so another author can make me want to tell it (and this sounds a little conceited, I'm afraid) 'right.'

rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
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 )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14+15, 16+17

18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?

I'm going to quote [livejournal.com profile] meridian_rose here, and say EVERYWHERE. Things people say, lines of dialogue or a particular phrase in a book, prompts, fic, character discussion, places - as in, outside under a tree, on the beach, in the attic, etc - anything. Sometimes it's even the old standby, ie, 'what's the worst thing I can do to character So-and-So?' (Although I usually back off of that a bit.)

Also, I ship a lot of rare and non-canon pairings and triads, which can lead to 'how can I possibly get character x and character y (maybe with an option on character z) together, in a way that's actually believable and interesting?'

Alternately, there's 'our heroes may have neatly sidestepped this particular issue, but what if reinforcements hadn't gotten there in time?' or 'What if So-and-So hadn't spotted that convenient plot point?'  (or 'what if So-and-So had spotted that convenient plot point much sooner, when it would actually have done some good?')

The oddest thing, though, is not when I'm working out the details of an idea or inspiration on purpose, but when something clicks in my head and then won't leave me alone. I think that experience is both one of the best and the most unsettling about being a writer. I keep thinking about the story until I write it (and I don't always get it right the first time), and I'm all distracted and out of touch with everything else. But those are the best stories, I think - the ones that demand to be written.

rest of the days )

Cured?

Jul. 28th, 2011 10:51 pm
hrhrionastar: (Default)
I just managed to actually post something to [livejournal.com profile] 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 ;)
hrhrionastar: (Default)
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 )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
Day 1, 2, 3, 4+5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?

I've never been shocked at the eventual rating of a story. Of course, I don't tend to rate anything G, even stuff that maybe could be - to stay on the safe side, I tend to use a minimum rating of PG-13. A lot of the darker stuff I write is R, and I have written NC-17, but I wouldn't say I feel that confident about it.

15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?

This is a related question for me, since what I mostly warn for is violence. Character death, non-con, and dub-con seem to be the main things people warn for, but I think graphic or even just strongly implied violence is just as serious. I also warn for torture, and for incest.

Since I write about things that strike me as potential triggers, I also use a blanket term, 'disturbing concepts' or 'dark themes' to refer to something one might not warn for, but that strikes me as serious, like discussion of infanticide, or Stockholm Syndrome.

Thus I don't have a fun, weird thing I've warned for - although I will sometimes note something is intended as a parody, which is a sort of round about warning for silliness and light treatment of serious topics.

rest of the days )
hrhrionastar: (Default)
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 )

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