“Sit down and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuffs worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.”

--Sidonie Gabrielle

March 24, 2010

Soundtrack: "Angel" -- Massive Attack, "Drink to Get Drunk" -- Sia
Reading: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Mood: a little bit of everything, really
Dreading: this weekend
Loving: my favorite team being in the NCAA tournament :)

To make a long story short, I'm lame. I know. I won't make excuses. It's going on 2 years since my last ETTR update, and all I can tell you is that I'm trying. I have literally written at least 15 different drafts. Just when I feel confident enough to pick one and stick to it, I reread it and boom! I'm back to doubting it again. So what I'm doing is throwing out this preconceived format I had in mind and trying something a little different. Hopefully it will turn out well.

If you're kind enough to wonder about my personal life, well, let's just say that I haven't had much of one in the time that I've been away. I've been buried in school work as well as extracurricular crap, and I feel like I've aged 5+ years. I look forward to the days when I'll be able to relax and not have to worry about the uncertainty that comes with being a senior in college.

Also, I'd like to apologize to those of you who have PMed me and received no response. I didn't mean to ignore it, I'm just a huge procrastinator with a fucked up memory. I'll try to read and reply to your PM's ASAP.

XOXO,
Rissa

Currently Writing…

So, because people seem intrigued by my upcoming stories and whatnot, I’ve decided to expand this little section a bit. These are not listed by priority level, so don’t freak out if you’re anticipating Shiver and find it down around number five or whatever.

1) Exception to the Rule: Chapter 23 – chugging along
Brief Excerpt: “Love, I’m convinced, is the most peculiar emotion in existence.

Because of it, people behave in the wildest of ways, find enough inspiration to write poems and sonnets and literature, and deliver the corniest pick-up lines at the drop of a hat. It can make the most logical person irrational.

It can make people laugh for no reason or lose themselves in sorrow. It can make a person lie, cheat, steal or even take a life for someone they love.

As a lad, I secretly admired the steadfastness of my parents’ relationship. Back then, I was too young to know how deep their union ran, what it meant to love someone so fully, you would do anything for them.

Anything.

Complete and utter devotion.

But I knew that in order for a bond to last all of those years, it had to be great, exceptional. It had to be tethered together by more than just a lovely smile or a compassionate heart or even something so marvelously complex as magic.

Down through the years, I’ve learned my own abundant lessons about love. How it can bring out the best as well as the worst. How it can hurt with sharp words and it can heal with a soothing touch.

Either way, no one in his or her right mind would trade the feeling for anything else in the world. That said, it certainly does a number on the mind and body.

Like mine, for instance.”

2) Juxtaposed
Harry Potter, L/J
Genre: Romance/a little angst
Rating: T or M
Estimated Length: fluctuating, currently sitting at 30 pages in Word
Status: in progress
Excerpt: “That summer, James came over often…much, much too often for Mr. Evans’ liking.

Occasionally, he would stop by way too early in the morning just to pester Lily, or watch her wrench the covers over her head so he couldn’t see the hideous knots in her hair or catch a whiff of her rank morning breath.

Sometimes, he would drop in and they would go out to eat, or go to the cinema, or just take long strolls along the pavement and enjoy each other’s company.

But now and again…

They had extreme difficulties when it came to keeping their hands to themselves. It would start off as something moderately innocent, like an arm around her shoulder as they watched a show on her parents’ brand new telly, or a kiss on his cheek when he said something uniquely charming.

James, especially, made no secret of his lust. He took advantage of any opportunity he was provided to brush her cheek, stroke the length of her arm, or play with her hair because, well, he liked touching her – particularly since he knew he could do it without the dread of her slapping the piss out of him.”

3) Encounters– in which James is a little prick ;)
Harry Potter, L/J
Genre: General/Romance or whatever you want it to be
Rating: T
Estimated Length: dunno as of yet, just free writing
Status: In Progress
Excerpt: “For the biggest part, I was unsure of how to make her acquaintance. Under normal circumstances, I had no problem communicating with the female species. Ordinarily, all it took was a few ingenious words accompanied by a wink or two and what’s-her-name was mine.

I had a profound feeling that this girl, should I decide to go for it, would be drastically different.”

4) Providence
Harry Potter, L/J
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: T or M
Estimated Length: approximately 28 chapters
Status: -On Hold-

5) Shiver(title subject to possible change)
Harry Potter, L/J
Genre: Romance/Angst
Rating: M
Estimated Length: currently 9 pages
Status: In Progress
Excerpt: “She knew this was bad.

Very, very bad.

Had she kept him at arm’s length, refused to acknowledge his effect on her, not been so receptive from the beginning, they might not be in this position.

And what a delicious position it is.

If she had the will to discontinue, push him away, live her life as though he was never such a big part of it, she would.

But the truth is, she can’t, nor does she want to.

Because she knows he's watching. She can literally feel his eyes – no longer obscured by those atrociously appealing glasses – like knives marring her skin.

The next time she's alone or in his proximity, her thoughts will drift right back to him and this instant. Back to the lust and authority he doesn’t even try to bottle up, just as they've done so many times before.

What is most surprising is that she doesn't mind, not like she used to, not like the innumerable occasions where he tried too hard to earn any kind of look from her.

Not anymore.”

6) Want
Twilight, L/J
Genre: General/Romance
Rating: M
Estimated Length: currently 3 pages
Status: -Stuck-

10 Pet Peeves…

1. Misspelling the characters names.

2. Net-speak in the body of a story. I DESPISE that. In my opinion, it shows laziness and no pride for the quality of the work.

3. For HP f.f. writers: Sirius Black’s character having the IQ of a 5 year old. I really don't understand where that idea came from. In fact, I’m willing to bet that he must be quite intelligent to escape from Azkaban and evade the law.

4. People who flame without offering any constructive criticism. It's pointless. If you don't like the story or can think of suggestions, tell the author what you think they should improve and give them some motivation to do better. Not every one can accept harsh criticism, and outright bashing is lame. Please keep in mind that your words can offend whether that is your intention or not.

5. Stories that are pegged as one particular ship but have more OC/OC details. When I select L/J or B/E, I mean L/J or B/E, not 95 percent of the story written about another character's romance. I don't care for a little side action as long as it suits the plot, but too much will make me run away. Far, far away.

6. Bad grammar/spelling/punctuation. Nobody's perfect and spell check doesn't always pick up everything, that's the reality. Even the greatest real authors fall victim to such errors, which is why they have editors. In this scenario, we have betas. Some of them suck monkey balls (I'll address THAT in a sec), and then some are really reliable. Either way, they're accessible and if you're one of many struggling in the grammar/spelling/punctuation field, find a good one and request their help. That's why they're on here. And do yourself a favour: read through the draft before setting it loose on us unsuspecting readers. Read it out loud, hear if it sounds like a real scene or conversation.

I'm going to be honest: some of the stories I've read that have been 'beta-ed' are shit. Some of these people do not need to be helping other people since they obviously don't know what the hell they're doing either. There's more to beta work than just copying it onto MW, giving it a once-over for spelling and grammar mistakes, and sending it back to the writer with a smiley face. If you’re reading this and you don’t know what I mean by that, then you don’t need to be a beta.

7. Suddenly switching POV’s or tenses. And yes, I have that problem too. Doesn't make it any less of a peeve.

8. For the love of God, summaries. I've developed over the years a certain animosity toward summaries that go like this:"Uuhh, yahh, it's a storie abot the vamps and red it cuz it's rilly good! or this: Just read it, cuz I suck at summaries." Put some thought into the summary and, in turn, I will put thought into reading the story.

There is no bigger turn off for me to a story than seeing the line "I suck at summaries." Give me something, anything, about what the story is about. Even just the simple words: All Human, Alternate Universe, Canon Couples, OOC, IC, EXB, etc. tell me something about what I would find if I were to click on your story. You're being brave enough to put your story out there, I want to read it. Think of the summary as the hook that gets me interested.

9. People who violate this web site's rules by posting non-stories AS stories. Now I'm not a stickler for rules and I'm not the fanfiction.net policewoman, but it's damn common sense. If it's not FAN FICTION, don't post it as a fucking story! That's what your own personal profile page is for.

10. When authors misuse homophones (their/there/they're, your/you're, then/than). Even I struggle with these at times, but that – again – is where a beta comes in handy. I don't want to write or especially read a story and suddenly find, "And James grabbed Lily by her waste". That's just...yeah, you get the picture. I won't click the big 'x' over it (depending on how frequent the error), but it will make me cringe every single time.

Worth Reading

Below are the stories that I think are definitely worth your attention. I find myself reading these stories very often, they’re that good. If you love L/J fan fiction, you will surely enjoy these! I'll take recommendations, so PM me if you have any in mind :) In alphabetical order, here they are (most recent additions are in bold):

One-Shots or Shorts:

Harry Potter:

Adjectives by GhostOfBambi
Apples by Zayz
A Walk To Remember by IWantToMarryJames
Birthday Expectations by Beautifully Ugly
Caught by ellaminnowpea91
Caught in the Rain by whiteblossom143
Checkmate by tiger17lily
Falling by Saiph
Green by corny sloth
Fingers by random smilie
Gentleman by PotterSnitch7
He had changed by drowning goldfish
Intricacies by Beautifully Ugly
Leaning by Penciled In
Let's do something you're not supposed to by Oynnej
Off Your Feet by RHrFan315
Peter Pan by vague-as-fog
Rosebushes by ms james potter
Someone who fits my like you do by everblue3
Something Else by pinkdigi
Something More by pinkdigi
Tempest by Twerksie
That Tuesday by bella’amor
The Chase by theturtlemoves
The Way He by lotzaluv
Underhanded by GhostOfBambi

Novel Length/Mini Series:

A Simple Affair by Alura Labeztieh (in progress)
Airplane by LilyPrincess
Beautiful Contradictions by drowning goldfish (in progress)
Commentarius by B.C. Daily (in progress)
Just So You Know by Beautifully Ugly (in progress)
Kaleidoscope by Crystal Kisses (in progress)
Memento Mori by Lexie-H
New Perspectives by Crystal Kisses (in progress)
Quiet Summer by Wilhelmina Willoughby (in progress)
Petal In The Rain by pratty-prongs-princesse (in progress)
Philologus by P.P.V.V.
Optivus by P.P.V.V. (sequel to 'Philologus', in progress)
Prelude to Destiny by brainchild
Princess Hours by RoMaNTiCiLLuSioNS (in progress)
Serious by solitaireclay07
The Beautiful Game by koonelli
The Curtain Call by Amelia Bedelia
The Dead Poets Society by DisorderlyandPunk (in progress)
The Devil Wears Quidditch Gear by HeyLookTheSnitch
The Ugly Sister by HalfBloodHannah
Women and Wives by Wilhelmina Willoughby (in progress)
Wind and Waves by HeroOfTheCastleOfMarble
Wizarding Betrothal by pasmosa
Worth Marrying by HalfBloodHannah

Twilight

Shorts:

To Dance by nativewildmage
Deathbinders by Maramune's Song (rated M, a little AU)
Feel Like A Woman by newfoundlove (rated M)
Mine by Jen's Wordsong (rated M)
Now Or Never by ronOReds (rated M)
Persuasion by Amabel
Pick Me Up by ronOReds
This Year's Love by ronOReds
Torture by Amabel

Novel-Length:

Rated T:
A Brand New Pain by Mandi1 (AU, AH)
A Child of the Night by l'heure bleue
Across the Ocean by Annilaia (AU, AH)
Bellatouille by cookybabe (AU, AH)
By Moonlight by LaBellaBella (AU)
Dangerous Affections by wishimight (AU, AH, in progress)
Dark Eyes by Angeliss (AU)
Enslaved by Irish Froggy (AU)
Forever Young by Mirrorbay2000 (AU, AH)
For You I Will by -Xo-SARCASTIC-oX- (AU, AH)
Ignorance Is Not Bliss by bibliocrazed (AU, AH, in progress)
I'm Not Falling For You by ronOReds (AU, AH)
Innocent, Vigilant, Ordinary by Oxymoronic8 (AU, in progress)
Kaleidoscope by lalalanerd (AU, in progress)
Midnight Mansion by CarribbeanLady (AU, in progress)
My Personal Valentine by ronOReds (AU)
Scared by Lon-Dubh (AU, AH, in progress)
Stop, Drop, and Roll by Bronzehairedgirl620
The Girl With the Books by scenezz (AU, AH)
The Inevitable by Endlessly Drowning (AU)
The Thin Line Between Loathing and Loving by hyacinthgirl18 (AU, AH, in progress)
The Wild and Wacky Adventures of Edward in PE! by LindaRoo (AU, in progress)
This Lullaby by jojoStarr (AU, AH)
War by LaBellaBella (AU, AH, in progress)

Rated M:

A Heart's Savior by newfoundlove (AU, AH)
Bad Boys and Book Nerds by MPants (AU, AH, in progress)
Bella's Bachelorette Bash by LindaRoo (AU, in progress)
Blind by Jayeliwood
Campus Liasons by Isabel0329
Checkmate by iamvamp (AU, AH, in progress)
DID by dollegirl (AU, AH, in progress)
Going for the Gold by bethaboo
I'll Eat You Alive by Mezzanottex3 (in progress)
Into The Wild by ronOReds (AU, AH)
Lost and Found by gemmabobella
Midnight Desire by Twilightzoner
Only Human by Amethyst Jackson
Passion Fish by qjmom (AU, AH)
Past and Present by GiveUsAKiss413 (AU, in progress)
Piano Lessons by withthevampsofcourse (AU, AH, in progress)
Scotch, Gin, and the New Girl by jandco
She's Royal by halojones (AU, AH, in progress)
Sleeping with a Prince by Mirarie (AU, AH, in progress)
The Antidote by jandco
To Love and Protect by Jayeliwood
The Arrangement by manyafandom (AU, AH, in progress)

Happy reading!