[Fic update] Prefects

[shimotsuki]

The second and last chapter of Prefects, a Marauder-era genfic about Lily, Remus, and the furry little problem, has just gone up at PhoenixSong.

This is my first attempt at writing the Marauders at school, and (okay, this is obvious, but) I found it really interesting trying to write younger versions of Remus and Sirius after writing mostly post-GoF stories. They shouldn't be completely the same as their older versions, but they should be recognizable. I'm not sure I managed that, but it was fun to try.

Comments

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

I couldn't leave you a review on the site (because I'm not registered there - although I was looking for a new archive site for my stuff - would you recommend it?), but I really liked Prefects. I thought you captured the characters really well - and so few people do when it comes the the Marauders and Lily. I loved how you drew the relationships - with James and Sirius' rather blokey way of showing concern and affection, and Lily cming to realise what it means. Lovely stuff.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the comment! I was nervous about trying to write "blokey", so I'm delighted to hear you thought it worked all right.

As for PS, I'm a little shy about evaluating archive sites because I don't have that much experience, but I do like it so far. I decided to start submitting there because it looks like the Sugar Quill won't be having a new-author submission period anytime soon, if ever again, and I find the quality of the stories archived at PS to be comparable to the Quill. The posting rate is generally no more than three or so per day, so new-story links stay visible for a good week.

A potential drawback is that for romance fics, only canon ships are allowed. I'm mostly interested in writing genfic and R/T, so that's fine for me, but it might cramp some people's style.

All stories at PS are betaed, and normally each author consistently works with a specific beta. I'd never worked with a beta before, but my PS beta interactions have been very supportive and helpful. So far, most of the changes I've been asked to make have been small wording and punctuation changes rather than plot or characterization suggestions, but this may change when I try writing things longer than two chapters!

(By the way, I'm looking forward to reading Over, but I see there are already a few chapters, so I'll probably need to save it for after the 10th. I ripped a good chunk out of my Jumble ficlet last night because Remus wasn't being Remus, so I've got some more work to do on that...)

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

I hope the fic turns out OK - I'm really looking forward to reading all the entries - at Meta last time, we had some really, really great fics, and some of those Love Hearts were really just begging to be R/t-ed ;).

I like the sound of PS - I'm not crazy about the idea of beta readers at all, but I really think it's something I'm just going to have to get over, and if all they're going to do is point out typos, then I can probably get over my control enthusiasm and deal with it ;).

Just FYI - Over is the sequel to Under The Table - I think it makes sense as a stand-alone fic, although so far no-one has really tested that premise.... So if you fancy it, read Under (which you can read at ff.net should you so desire - link is in my sidebar called Bracknell Fanfic, I think) first - basically it deals with the idea that Tonks and Remus didn't really hit it off straight away, and how they got over that. And there's tequila in it.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I hope the fic turns out OK -- Yeah, me too, heh. I think I got it pretty well done last night, but I like to let a fic sit for a day or so and ferment. Sometimes odd wordings or logical lapses show up better that way. I'm really excited about Meta; from what I've seen, there are great things posted there. I've been trying to resist the urge to read everything -- at least, not all at once. Job! Sleep!

I'm not crazy about the idea of beta readers at all -- Yeah, I felt like a hypocrite myself, wanting to archive at a mandatory-beta site because the overall quality there is good, but then wishing I didn't have to undergo the betaing. I was afraid of relinquishing control over my writing. But now that I've tried it, I've really enjoyed working with my PS beta; she's been open to negotiation, and the changes she's suggested have been useful ones. I also like the idea of having a beta if it means getting the kind of insightful, helpful concrit I've seen flying around at rt_challenge and Meta, which, boy do I appreciate.

Over is the sequel to Under The Table -- I had a quick look at Ch 1 of Over last night (being caught by students in bars! *snort* -- this is why I appear on fic sites strictly under a pseudonym!!) and more or less realized that. Which is good, because it means more things to look forward to reading.

[jdbracknell.livejournal.com]

Oh - I always like to let a fic stew for a bit if I can. I think you see things you didn't see before if you let things sit for a bit. And thoughtful feedback is always much appreciated - I'm lucky enough to have a group of reviewers (most of whom are at Meta) who always leave me the kind of reviews you dream of getting - not because they say nice things, but because they've evidently given what you've written some real thought.

I actually think that the process of beta-ing can't be nearly as frightening as I think it is - and that I should probably just take the plunge and see what happens - but old ideas and contro, freaker-y takes a while to die ;).

[jncar.livejournal.com]

Hi! I just popped over to PS to check out "Prefects."

It's a cute little fic. I've always been fond of the idea that Lily befriends Remus before learning to like the rest of the Marauders, and you did a good job illustrating that.

I liked her reaction when she finally clues in to the nickname, and thinks of them as "subtle prats."

And for some reason I got a kick out of the scene where they were all giving him notes from the classes he missed and they talked about Slughorn going on about his WWN friends instead of teaching. That was a cute and funny nod to his canon persona.

Thanks for sharing. :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!

It was interesting to try to flesh Lily out; almost the only canon we have for her is the Pensieve scene. (The "subtle prats" bit was supposed to be sarcastic, but I may not have done that very well...) I like the idea of Lily maybe not being quite as fond of ol' Sluggy as he apparently was of her -- Harry saw through him, so surely Lily would have.