Who needs a chaptered fic when you can have a series?

[shimotsuki]

So the thing is, I started (sporadically) working on my Grand Saga of R/T a full year ago, intending to write a multi-chaptered, internally coherent fic about how Remus and Tonks meet, agonize, and finally get together. It was the first major fanfic plan I ever hatched, even though I've written and posted (several!) other things since starting this eternal WIP.

But then last January I started posting parts of the Grand Saga, and/or writing up parts of it especially to post, at rt_challenge. Okay, fine, think of them as teasers, and incorporate them back into the coherent chaptered thing at a later time, right? Sure.

Only, then came the spring challenges at metamorfic_moon. Now I've got R/T stories that are part of the same time period (and character development trajectory) as the Grand Saga, but for POV reasons they can't be anything but stand-alone pieces. Hrmm. And meanwhile, I've been coming to the conclusion that I may be more cut out for ficlets and one-shots than large fics, at least given my current opportunities for writing.

Then it hit me: I should do the Grand Saga as a series! Then I can write up and even post pieces of it out of order, as inspiration strikes or challenge prompts become relevant. And I can indulge my love of short fics while still making progress on my overall story arc. Ah...I feel so free...

So, let me present: Kaleidoscope. There's nothing new there yet (except for its Official Status as a Series), but the ficlets I'm working on for the Showdown at metamorfic_moon will fit right in, so I will actually (*gasp*) make progress on the darn thing in the next week or two. Yippee!

Comments

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

Go you! I think that is s most excellent idea! (I would think that, having done it myself, LOL.) Seriously, it's really freeing to do it that way. You can just write whichever you're in the mood for. And real novel-writers do it all the time when they're putting books togetyer, so why not fanfic writers? Cannot wait to read what you've got next!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I think that is s most excellent idea! (I would think that, having done it myself, LOL.) -- Hee hee! Yep, you and jncar were my inspirations for this approach.

And real novel-writers do it all the time when they're putting books togetyer, so why not fanfic writers? -- Exactly! I was writing the Grand Saga out of order, anyway, and this way I don't have to wait until I get all the parts (or at least all the early parts) done before I post.

I'll probably take another page from your book and revise the series once the whole thing's been written, but I'll worry about that step later...

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

And the R/T community is glad not to have to wait to read all the parts! :)

I'll probably take another page from your book and revise the series once the whole thing's been written, but I'll worry about that step later...

Yes, focus on the writing before the re-writing. It gets so easy to just re-write things to death and never move forward...Though of course once you're moving on to the next project, it's tricky juggling both. ;)

My current dilemma with the writing out of order thing is that now it's crept into my WIPs -- when I got my Showdown bunny I thought it wouldn't hurt to jump into the future, but then I realized I couldn't do that in such a vastly different timeframe, so I went to the flashbacks, and now I'm giving away all the pivotal moments in Magical Creatures verse, which I do mean to extrapolate and put into the fic linearly...Oh well...

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

when I got my Showdown bunny I thought it wouldn't hurt to jump into the future, but then I realized I couldn't do that in such a vastly different timeframe, so I went to the flashbacks

LOL. I think the flashback structure is working out really well in Serpents, but I have to admit I did wonder if you had originally planned to write the intervening episodes linearly. I'm sure you can still do that later -- maybe you'll even think of further things to add and expand on...

The same thing basically happened to me with the Showdown. One of my prompts is a great Dumbledore quote that wouldn't stop shouting at me to do The Post-Hospital Wing Scene (hackneyed though it is as a fanfic scenario, it does have to be in my series!). But I really had to establish more about the nature of the pre-HBP relationship, since I'm doing that in a slightly unconventional way -- hence not one but two prequels. Now I just hope I can get to the hospital wing scene, but thanks for letting me know I can still have that fic listed at Meta even if it doesn't get done in time for the challenge!

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

OL. I think the flashback structure is working out really well in Serpents, but I have to admit I did wonder if you had originally planned to write the intervening episodes linearly. I'm sure you can still do that later -- maybe you'll even think of further things to add and expand on...

I'm glad you think it works; I'm surprised at how much I like the structure and effect it has, and I only hope they still work and that people want to read them when I pull them out. There's really no element of surprise now, lol. I did go weak on the internal monologue for them, though, because I wanted the flashbacks to be more snapshoty, so I guess that'll be a different touch later on.

One of my prompts is a great Dumbledore quote that wouldn't stop shouting at me to do The Post-Hospital Wing Scene (hackneyed though it is as a fanfic scenario, it does have to be in my series!). But I really had to establish more about the nature of the pre-HBP relationship, since I'm doing that in a slightly unconventional way -- hence not one but two prequels. Now I just hope I can get to the hospital wing scene, but thanks for letting me know I can still have that fic listed at Meta even if it doesn't get done in time for the challenge!

Nah, it's not hackneyed; I never get tired of reading well-written post-hospital scenes, and I think it's sort of a must-write for R/T writers, isn't it? It's just so crucial, what happened between the robe-shaking and the hand-holding?? But you're so right about needing to establish the pre-HBP stuff. So very eager to see what you've done for your fic-verse!

Actually Transfigured Hearts blossomed out of a post-hospital fic called "Defense Against Broken Hearts," which I completely plotted out, only to realize it wasn't quite right and I needed more background. So then I wrote the break-up first, which really makes no sense at all, lol, then Caught, then Think Too Much, and then it all spiralled out of control from there and by the time I got back to post-hospital, it was all wrong...

Isn't the writing process endlessly fascinating?

[katyhasclogs.livejournal.com]

I think it's sort of a must-write for R/T writers, isn't it?

It's unavoidable! The R/T shippers equivalent of national service lol.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I did go weak on the internal monologue for them, though, because I wanted the flashbacks to be more snapshoty, so I guess that'll be a different touch later on -- That'll be neat to see. And it makes total sense that a flashback would be like a snapshot.

I think it's sort of a must-write for R/T writers, isn't it? It's just so crucial -- Definitely. It's obviously a really important turning point in their relationship, so it's pretty much got to be addressed in any version of the R/T-verse. And as you say, I do like reading different takes on these pivotal scenes!

Isn't the writing process endlessly fascinating? -- Yes! Writers always say in interviews that their characters go and do surprising things, or that their stories take themselves off in their own directions, and now that I'm dabbling some myself I find that that is totally true.