WELP, HERE WE GO. "Guess who's back, back again? [Piano's] back. Tell a friend."* Your reviews reached me, and so it looks like we are starting up again! Thank you so much for your words. They were really kind and made me feel great. I'm kind of afraid that I'll start up again, it won't be as good, and I will let you guys down, but I guess all I can do is try and hope for the best! When I wrote the first chapter of this fic, I did not expect anything near the reviews it received. I did it for fun, late one night, in one straight shot and didn't expect any more than that. So, again, thank you for your enthusiasm and responses.
I have started writing the second official chapter, but it is slow going. I am off for the summer, so I should have time, but for a number of reasons, this story seems like it will be difficult. Please look for the next installment sometime in the next seven days.
I am hoping it will turn out to be substantial.
When I had the movie to use as a frame of reference, the story flowed out almost too easily. It was wonderful, smoothed out and published in a few hours late one night. Now that assistance is gone, so it's up to me to balance description of new settings and characters if necessary with the speaking style of our beloved originals. (Don't worry, I don't predict much involvement of original characters. After all, the characters we have already go together like rama-lama-lama-ka-ding-ity-ding-de-dong.)
Please also let me know in the reviews whether or not you'd prefer one point of view over another. I was leaning toward a solid Kenickie POV, but then I started writing again and thought that perhaps I need Rizzo to step in and explain a few things for the sake of the readers. Betty is more insightful than Walter in some ways. (Can you imagine someone calling Kenickie by "Walter" or "Wally?" He'd die! I smell a chapter, but who his age would be brave enough to do it to his face?)
Kenickie is more difficult than some other characters for me to write because I feel he'd tend to lean toward shorter, simpler sentences with a very verbal feel, whereas my own natural tendency is to write longer and more complicated sentences that vary in structure and length. He's smart, but also rough. He's snarky but simple. In very real ways, I have changed my writing style to fit their personalities. It's unnatural for me, so I worry it sounds off, but I guess if it did not before than it will not now. Kenickie also slurs his words or cuts them off in very specific ways and under very specific circumstances. In example, sometimes it's puttin' and sometimes it's putting, sometimes it is to and sometimes it is ta'. It seems random, but it all has to do with context. And the appropriate 1950s slang! My head! *hehe*
Initially you might find Kenickie too "sweet" to be in character. I figured that he'd still be in "daddy-shock-mode" with Rizzo in the beginning at least, "manning up" and whatnot, providing. Naturally, Rizzo will eventually have a problem with that if she feels it isn't genuine, which she very well may because she is fairly insecure.
But now, enough with my insecurities! I suppose I will get on with the show… BACK TO MY WORD DOCUMENTS!
*Eminem owns his own songs, obviously.