30 Day Fanfic Writing Meme, Day 20

[hrhrionastar]

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 legendland or the 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.'

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?

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?

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

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?

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?

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

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

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

29 – What is your current project or projects?

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

Comments

[dorothydeath.livejournal.com]

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.

Oh wow! :D I've never thought of that before but it's true for me too! :D
I often have these "Oh no, it's all wrong! I have to fix it" cravings. :D
About the LotS canon especially. ;)

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

About the LotS canon especially. ;) Oh, yes. Definitely. Undone is probably my most straightforwardly 'fix it' fic; leaving things up in the air with Dahlia and Cara's son really bothered me.

And then Lord and Lady Rahl is more a reaction to the fandom as well as canon - when I wrote it, all the fanfic I could find about Reckoning put the emphasis on how unbearable it would be for Kahlan to let Darken Rahl touch her, she was thinking of Richard the whole time, etc. Which I feel neglects and trivializes much more important issues for her, such as the shock of losing Richard and the conflict between her training and her emotions over Nicholas, the male Confessor and her son. (Of course, we've discussed Reckoning a lot by now, but back then I hadn't met all the wonderful Darklings :D)

[brontefanatic.livejournal.com]

From the very first time I saw "Reckoning" I was haunted by the ramifications of Kahlan's plans for her child. It really bothered me - a lot.

For months I felt as if I was the only one who struggled with this plot point. I'd bring it up in discussions and be met with total incomprehension.

I am so glad that I have people to discuss that episode with now who "get it" insofar as seeing Kahlan's intentions as presenting a serious moral issue.

In the early days (1 year ago),all the "Reckoning" fic I could find was focused on how horrible Kahlan's life must have been, how noble and self-sacrificing she was, how any child of Darken's was doomed to be a monster regardless of whether or not he was a Confessor, etc.

When I read "Lady Rahl" fic I was so pleasantly surprised that someone was finally looking at the episode from another angle and asking some interesting questions about it.

Again - It's so great to have so many Darklings to discuss this episode with, and to imagine all the different ways it could go.

(OT - is anyone else still having problems posting an entry? I've been trying to post a new fic all evening and keep getting a serivce error.)

[meridian_rose]

Still having problems viewing my flist, and having major problems posting comments - fingers crossed this goes through

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, not again! I had such hope LJ was cured...:(

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

I know that a lot of people assume, as Kahlan assumes, that any daughter of hers will be so morally aligned with Kahlan's cause of 'Light and goodness' that she will gladly sacrifice her entire existence - but, as you know, I don't agree. Not only does it seem downright fantastical to think Kahlan Jr. would have so little regard for her own life, it isn't clear to me she would be such a terrible evil that Richard would be justified in erasing her, with or without her cooperation. In the show, we neatly sidestep this issue because Nicholas is actually a Complete Monster, but this I find problematic in a different way, since it seems so sexist (partly a leftover from the books, but the whole male Confessor thing is such an issue).

But in some ways it's the characterization of Kahlan that most people seemed to believe that bothers me most, and which compelled me to write Lady Rahl. It belittles her legitimate sorrow over Richard to assume what she's most worried about is sleeping with Darken. Right after Richard disappears, I doubt she's thinking about anything besides that. When she finds out there's a way to get him back, of course she doesn't hesitate to do it - it's literally her last hope.

And yet...how could the intervening years not change her opinion, both of Darken and of Nicholas? She can't be on her guard all the time, and it certainly looked like she was getting to do her share of raising Nicholas. Unfair, to blame Nicholas being evil solely on Darken, when he must have been subliminally picking up on Kahlan's fears and expectations of a male Confessor.

I see her, even in canon, as being wracked with indecision - in deciding to kill Nicholas, for example, she goes against the more cold-blooded plan of letting him be evil and live, on the grounds that Richard can get back and erase everything. And I think she does have faith that Richard will be able to convince an unwilling Nicholas to help. Certainly, if there are no more Confessors by the time Richard appears, there really will be nothing he can do to erase the timeline.

There are so many ways Reckoning could play out, and I love that we discuss and write about them at such length over at PP (and look, I've started yet another Reckoning discussion...). I almost always portray Kahlan as conflicted because, short of being crazy, I don't know what other state of mind she can be in.

Certainly if any child of Darken's would be a monster, by the same reasoning Richard ought to be one, as a child of Panis Rahl. (What really gets me is that some people seem willing to accept the Trimack version of Panis as a weak man just trying to do the right thing. Overgenerous, I think.)

Wow, another long Reckoning comment... ;)

I haven't had that much trouble posting since LJ started working for me again (knock on wood). Now I'm off to read your new fic :D

[brontefanatic.livejournal.com]

There can never be too many "Reckoning" discussions! :D

I agree that the key is Kahlan and her emotions and conflict. Like you, I understand why she grabs at the chance to get Richard back when Shota reveals his location in the dungeon. Kahlan is desperate, that's the only hope she has and she clutches onto it like a drowning woman. I don't blame her.

What irks me is how she acts later. We see Kahlan right before she gives birth and Darken is telling her, seemingly very sincerely - and rather pathetically -, that she's made him happier than he's ever been. Minutes later Kahlan is telling Alice that Darken will kill her as soon as he has a Confessor child. Why? If for no other reason, wouldn't it have occurred to her that Darken might want more children?

Then after she gives birth Kahlan berates Darken for not wanting to kill their son - calling him a fool to his face. Yet he still reacts quite mildly, telling her that she will be involved with the boy's upbrining. From everything we see later, Kahlan IS very involved. It's only on the eve of Darken sending Nicholas away that the crisis occurs.

As you know, I also have all sorts of problems with what Kahlan expects of her child, which is why I love to consider what might have happened had their child been a girl.

IMO, no sane human being, no matter how much they love their parent, would sacrifice themselves, as well as their own children, for an abstract idea pushed upon them by their mother. The instinct for self-preservation is too strong, the the stakes are too nebulous.

Not to mention that the child would probably have some tender feelings for her father - whose life she would also be destroying.

It's Kahlan's rock-hard determination to hate Darken through the years without adjusting her course or without concern for her child or grandchildren that bugs me.

There's no question that Kahlan begins her married life with Darken in a very real sort of Hell. However, after being provided with so much evidence of her importance to him, she refuses to bend or to consider other alternative. She destroys her own chance for any sort of happiness or contentment.

Maybe - Richard's destiny lies in the future. Maybe that's were he was intended to be in order to fulfil prophecy. Yet Kahlan never questions the very odd set of circumstances that sent Richard 58 years away.

To go the route that Kahlan goes in the episode is to go the route of insanity. That's what I did in StaST because I wanted to focus on her child, and for that plot I needed Kahlan to remain inflexible.

To go another route is to examine how Kahlan might change, agonize over growing feelings for her husband and child, and adjust - which is fascinating to me.

That's why I love reading your Kahlans, and why I'm exploring a somewhat softer, gentler, more conflicted Kahlan in my little Nicholas one-shots.

Whoa! Right back at you with a long "Reckoning" comment.

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

IMO, no sane human being, no matter how much they love their parent, would sacrifice themselves, as well as their own children, for an abstract idea pushed upon them by their mother. The instinct for self-preservation is too strong, the the stakes are too nebulous. Agreed - and something I find it hard to understand how Kahlan could fail to predict. But maybe she believes so strongly in Richard returning and saving everyone that it doesn't seem that nebulous to her.

Not to mention that the child would probably have some tender feelings for her father - whose life she would also be destroying. This I think Kahlan ought to be able to anticipate. After all, after Nicholas is born, she says something about how a daughter will love and respect Darken, while a son will destroy him. The latter is borne out by the episode; why not the former? And children go out of their way to rationalize evil or mistaken things their parents do. If Kahlan's daughter were willing to collude with Kahlan to murder her own father, she could hardly be the sweet, good savior Kahlan seems to expect, anyway.

She destroys her own chance for any sort of happiness or contentment. Yes, and yet the whole issue is made more complicated by the fact that Nicholas is a male Confessor. If Kahlan is right and he's certain to be evil, she has more cause to be unhappy than losing Richard and marrying Darken. But I find it hard to believe Nicholas's morality is so set in stone as an infant. It's as though Kahlan deliberately sabotages any chance she has at happiness, in order to assuage her guilt at sacrificing Nicholas for Richard's return. After all, if this reality is bad enough, Richard will have no choice but to erase it.

Actually, that might be why Kahlan is so insistent that Darken will kill her - I think part of her wants him to, both to validate her negative opinion of him, and so that she won't have to face these impossible questions herself.

Excellent point that Darken might want more children - the fact that there's only Nicholas in canon always seemed to me to indicate that Darken didn't insist Kahlan return to his bed.

(Slightly off-topic: Birth control in a time of magic and medieval-ness: I never know whether they have it or not, or how readily accessible it is...)

Sometimes, I think we could keep talking about Reckoning forever ;)

[meridian_rose]

'Yes. I participate in a number of things where that's actually the point' I hadn't thought of those :D

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

They can be a lot of fun :D