Writing Meme and Secret Santa Fic

[dwgm]

It's blissfully pouring rain on us this morning, the hills are getting greener than green. No doubt there are numerous residents of Southern California worried about mudslides at this point. The pool is about 1/2" from the top of the tiles.

I went to Bingo with my Mom yesterday, at the Thousand Oaks Senior Center -- a very nice facility (of course: it's Thousand Oaks! Duh!). I had promised to go weeks ago and had not, so yesterday was the day. She won a game, which was nice. Went to Mimi's for an early dinner after, but didn't go to the Mall as it had started raining again by that time, and we just wanted to go sit in the cozy, Christmassy house.

Instead of working on my next chapter of Harry IV, I am doing Memes.



Gacked from celebdineb...

Copy this list of 10 authors. Remove the ones not on your bookshelves and replace each of them with ones that are (replaced authors are in bold).

1. Douglas Adams
2. Charles Dickens
3. J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Janet Evanovich
5. Jane Austen
6. J.K. Rowling
7. Georgette Heyer
8. Neal Stephenson
9. John Grisham
10. William Shakespeare

[Authors listed in no particular order.]

And now, the Writing Meme, gacked from viva_glora (and everyone should check hers out, and the marvelous stories contained therein--superb writing, truly!)...



Well, it was Pirate!fic, all the way...


1. Harry & the Pirate - Still surprises me that I was actually able to able to complete such a long story--or any story at all! Not finding exactly the sort of PotC story I wanted to read, I began writing my own at the tail end of '03. First it was just a scene here and there, but then the whole story started taking shape. I took the plunge and started posting it to ff.net on January 2nd of this year, just to see what would happen. What happened was that darling erinrua happened on it and was kind enough to rec it on her PotC website recs page, which was where I had been going to find good pirate!fic. Coulda knocked me over with a feather when I saw that, I kid you not. Recently, Beta Goddess tessabeth has been helping me get the Harry stories reedited and bits of them rewritten. The latter was especially needed in the case of this first story, and I'm really happy I finally got that done--there were little bits here and there that had bothered me for months--inconsistancies in detail, etc., word repetition (which I am notorious for, and drives me up the wall), etc. I spent a lot of time redoing chapter seven especially, as the POV switches around so much and I wanted to clarify that.

2. Harry & the Pirate II: Swann's Revenge - Actually parts of this, and Norrington's Choice were written even before I finished Harry I. It's my favorite of the three stories, as a whole. I just like the way it moves right along, from point to point.

3. Harry & the Pirate III: Norrington's Choice (Chapters 7 to 15 at ff.net only, as yet--still awaiting services of Beta Goddess tessabeth before posting these to Live Journal, although they don't need too much work, fortunately.) - Posted the first couple of chapters of this a couple of days after I'd finished posting Swann's Revenge, but it took me another four months to completely finish it. It came out pretty good, after all, and I had wondered at some points during those four months if it would. I had the beginning written back in January, and wrote the end early on, too, then took forever to fill in the middle bits. I wanted to include a little of everything in this one, so there are a lot of OC's, and fun plot twists, and really terrible cliffhangers in every chapter in the last half (which resulted in some hilarious reviews when I was originally posting it, a chapter every two weeks!).

4. The Elusive Norrington - When jackfan2 started her MSN group, Black Pearl Scrolls, one of the first things posted was a "Norrington Challenge": write something that puts the Commodore in a good light. Having been immersed in Sparrington since discovering it through firesignwriter's brilliant stories, I had no problem with this assignment. Being partial to h/c as well, the plot just sort of leapt to mind, fully formed. As for the title, we'd recently been watching The Scarlet Pimpernel for the umpteenth time, and I could definitely imagine Norrie as the cool secret agent type.

5. Mmmmmm...chips!: Part 1 and Part 2 - A Simpsons/PotC crossover. Cracked me up when I was writing it.

6. A Bit of Mending - For pirates500, this was the first time I'd written any Bootstrap Bill fic, and I found I liked it very much indeed. Also liked the structure, using flashes of the past to illuminate the present.

7. Harry & the Pirate I Outtake: I'll Show You Mine - Written for a "Scars" drabble challenge, except it's somewhat longer than a drabble really.

8. Captain's Log 1690 - Another crossover drabble challenge resulted in Captain Sparrow meeting Captain Kirk. This was a fun one to write, too.

9. Pilot Wanted - Written in my best imitation of Gibbs' voice, his first meeting with Jack.

10. Pockets - a short attempt at a Sparrington jail!fic.

11. Last Night - For pirates500. Jack visits Will on the night before the wedding.

12. Harry & the Pirate III Epilogue: Nap Time - There were readers who felt that Norrington's Choice ended too abruptly, so I wrote this short story, to clean up some loose ends.

13. Harry & the Pirate III: Blancmange - This is set after Norrington's Choice, too, and was written per torn_eledhwen's request to me on the Drabble/Ficlet Challenge Meme.

14. Lost and Found - I wrote this in Las Vegas, a 500 word justification for writing stories in a J/E plotline I'd been working on. I don't think you can stay true to canon and discount Elizabeth's long-standing regard for Will, and I'm not really inspired to write J/W/E, though I've read some fantastic stories by others using that pairing. So I went down another road entirely.

15. Blue Moon - A W/E story, written for fabu, per her request to me on the Drabble/Ficlet Challenge Meme.

16. Peace Offering - A 500 word ficlet on "It's the thought that counts", featuring Norrington.

17. Harry & the Pirate I Outtake: Second Night - I started this clear back in February, but didn't finish it up until September. Fairly mild, smutwise, but I didn't think so back in February, which is why it took me so long to post.

18. Seven Holy Virtues/Seven Deadly Sins - Fourteen drabbles written in one day, for khohen1's challenge.

19. The Parrot and the Pearl - Written for the "Tertiary Character Ficathon" at torn_eledhwen's request, this was the first story for which I had a beta reader--or two, actually. hija_paloma very kindly volunteered to be my Beta Goddess for this one, and tessabeth gave me some suggestions, too. Helped immensely.

20. Jealous - A story in the Lost and Found J/E plotline, this is the only real smut I've posted (so far). This was for the First Line Meme, using one of fabu's openers.

21. Stowaways - This is pretty fluffy (well, most of my stories are pretty fluffy, but this is moreso than most). However, I think it could evolve into an interesting plotline. Maybe after I get Harry IV finished.

22. Bloody Hellish and Rumor of Heaven - Both written for the pirates500 "Sick" challenge. My first use of the 'F-word' in any of my stories. Justified, however, I think.

23. Slow Dance - The first of two J/A fics I've written. Got a lot of feedback on this--apparently there aren't that many J/A fics being written lately.

24. Harry & the Pirate IV: The Chalice of St. Francis - Originally I had intended to pound this out for NaNoWriMo in November. Hahahahaha. I got the Prologue and four chapters written, at least. Then in December I got sidetracked by Christmas fics. I'll be getting back to it, though, now. I have an outline, of sorts. Definitely a WIP, although I think what I have so far is pretty OK.

25. Best Intentions - for the pirates500 Individuality challenge, a little Sparrow Description.

26. The Christmas Guest - Another story in the J/E Lost and Found plotline, I wrote the outline for this in the half hour I had at home for lunch one day. I just put in all the lovely, comforting things I could think of about home and Christmas. It was a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. I had fun putting in some Christmassy graphics, too. My deepest thanks, again, to Beta Goddess hereswith.

27. Under the Mistletoe - The second of my J/A fics, a "Wishkiss" for gryphons_lair

28. Drabbles of the Caribbean - I've posted to my ff.net drabble archive 33 times this past year, though a few of the drabbles are longer than 100 words, and the Justice drabble is actually a set of five. As I've said before, it's almost like doing a puzzle, getting what you want to say down to just a hundred words. Some of these have been posted on Live Journal, but the earlier ones have not.

29. Lady Errant - I wrote this for normadesmond, my recipient for the Secret Santa story exchange at Black Pearl Sails. It is, as per her request, J/E, and written in the Lost and Found plotline, backstory for a J/E drabble I wrote a while back, which actually comprises the last portion of the story. I rather like the way it turned out, as it has that drabblish economy of expression throughout. Since normadesmond and the other group members all saw it and commented there, I'm going to post it here and now, as my final offering for 2004. Again, thanks to hereswith for her beta help--truly appreciated.

Lady Errant

She was in the crow’s nest. Again.

Muttering dire but toothless threats of retribution, he climbed into the morning light, sure and agile, and finally pulled up beside her.

“Good morning!” She smiled, not noticeably abashed.

“Is it? This seems to be becoming a habit with you, disobeying orders. I distinctly remember telling you to stay on deck.”

“I’ll be more careful this time. The weather is so very fine, and just look at the view. How could I resist?”

He did look. The sea spread out in a vast circle around them, the light wind rippling the water to a sheet of silver and gold, the sky a dome of pale blue. The coast of Africa was barely a smudge on the horizon, even at this height, and the Canaries now lay far astern, fading much faster than the memory of French Leave On Lanzarote featuring E. Swann in the lead role, with AnaMaria playing the Willing Accomplice. A fortnight in the galley would straighten Ana out. As for the Young Missy…well, raking her over the coals of his considerable displeasure was obviously an inadequate penalty.

“That’s all well and good…” he began, and then suddenly broke off. He pulled the spyglass from his pocket, extended it, and held it to his eye.

“What is it?”

“A ship.” Bloody hell.

“Pirates?”

“Maybe.”

“But, that’s all right, is it not? We’re pirates, too.”

He gave her a Look, then set the glass to his eye again. “There’s pirates and pirates,” he said, grimly. “Some o’ these fellas that ply the coast of Africa ain’t the sort one wants to socialize with, if you get me drift. Looks like we’ll be crossin’ paths soon, about noon, I’d say.”

“Is there no way to avoid them?”

“Take us days out of our way. Maybe they’ll be nice fellas, an’ bugger off when they see we’re a similar breed. It’s happened before.” He put the spyglass away, and turned to her. “Where’s Mitchell?”

“I told him I’d keep watch and sent him down.”

Jack glared at her. “Mitchell would’ve seen ‘em an hour ago: that’s why he’s assigned here.”

“Oh.”

“Oh!”

“You won’t punish him? It was my fault.”

“I should punish you! A rope’s end to that sweet backside of yours, p’rhaps.”

She chuckled.

He snapped, “Aye, you’re laughing now! We’ll see if you, or any of us, find the humor in it later. Let’s get down there. Carefully!”


o-o-o


“What? What do you mean I must hide?” she said angrily. “I fought alongside you five years ago, and you made no objection!”

Jack rolled an exasperated eye toward Elizabeth, and the glimpse of Gibbs’ subdued but obvious amusement did nothing to abate his annoyance.

“That was different!”

“It wasn’t!”

“It was!” he snapped, in a voice that brooked no argument (though there seemed little chance of her paying heed to this warning). “Barbossa and company was a known quantity, and there was no real choice in any case!”

“It’s because we’re lovers now, isn’t it?” She tilted her chin at him, eyes narrowed.

His own eyes widened, and he flinched inwardly at the chuckles that went ‘round the table. “What?” he exclaimed, then added quickly, “No, don’t answer that! We all heard you the first time. Now you listen well, Miss Elizabeth Bloody Turner, it don’t matter a whit whether you understand or agree with my orders, I’m the Captain and you’ll do what I tell you to do or there’ll be hell to pay, savvy?”

He could see her grinding her teeth.

Jenkins burst in. “Captain! They’ve raised their colors!”

“Bloody hell!” Jack turned back to his wayward guest. “Are you going to get below, as I told you, or shall I have you tied and gagged and carried down?”

She gave him a look that should have felled him then and there.

But she went.


o-o-o


It had been an interesting negotiation, culminating in a short, pitched battle that had stained the decks of his precious Pearl, mostly with filthy Algerian blood, praise be. The devils had sounded the retreat quick enough after their leader was thrown to the sharks, though, and could now be seen limping away in their crippled brig, headed toward the coast.

“Gibbs! Let’s lay on canvas and show ‘em our backside. And set a couple of the lads to cleanin’ up this mess.”

“Aye, Captain.”

But as Gibbs began to roar out his orders, Ana came to Jack, blood on her hands, looking grim.

“Are you all right?” Jack demanded, startled.

“It’s Elizabeth, Jack.”

He felt his heart stop.


o-o-o


When he finally saw her, quite alive, but her whole arm bloody from a vicious cut across her beautiful shoulder, his temper didn’t snap so much as explode. She sat there, disturbingly quiescent under the onslaught of words and his hands as he unwrapped the makeshift bandage. When he paused for breath, she put in, “But I only went up to get a knife from the arms chest. I needed something! Ow. That hurts!”

“Of course it bloody hurts, you bloody little fool! Christ almighty, your father’s like to murder me if he sees this. And if you think it hurts now, just wait ‘til Gibbs starts sewing it up. A dozen stitches to close it. Maybe more!”

There was a great deal more in the same style, and she sighed, and was silent.


o-o-o


She was not quite silent, later, though the laudanum helped. He held her hands tight, and watched Gibbs do his work, carefully, carefully, and kept talking to her throughout, as much to comfort himself as her. As the wound was bandaged, he wiped her tear-stained cheeks with a damp cloth, and was pleased to see that his hands were steady, even if his heart was not.



o-o-o


She slept fitfully, and he dosed her with laudanum again to get her through the night with some degree of comfort. The next morning she refused it, though.

She was a little feverish that day, uncharacteristically quiet and lacking in appetite. However, toward evening he was able to leave her, to man the helm for a few hours and center himself, again, with the aid of his dark lady, while his golden one fell at last into a more natural sleep.

Or so he’d thought. His cabin was empty when he returned to it. Muttering, he fetched his flask, took a short swig, and went looking for her.


o-o-o


He found her, blanket-wrapped and pale, watching the sea and infinite stars.

“All right?” He sank to the deck beside her.

“No. It hurts.”

“Stitches do. Here.” He pressed the flask into her hand. She grimaced. “Drink it! That’s an order.”

She colored. Uncorked, sipped, a little, then more. Coughed.

He slipped his arm around her. She leaned into him. “Next time, you’ll obey orders, and you won’t be hurt, eh?”

“Still scolding?” she complained.

He kissed her.

As they settled back, a star fell, hissing across the sky, startling both.

Then she said, “It’s Will. Laughing.”

“Aye.” He smiled.




~.~

ETA: Oh, yeah. Here's the rest of that writing Meme...

Best Fic: Harry & the Pirate II: Swann's Revenge

Favorite Fic: Harry & the Pirate III: Norrington's Choice - it just has a lot of fun stuff in it.

Sexiest Fic: I suppose I'd have to say Jealous.

Most Appreciated: I've had more reviews for Harry & the Pirate III: Norrington's Choice than anything else, and consistantly good ones, too.

Most Underappreciated: Pilot Wanted

Hardest to Write: Harry & the Pirate II: Swann's Revenge - omg, the angst! Although the action bits of Harry & the Pirate were difficult, too. It takes sooooo long to write action sequences, and then they just fly by.

Most Telling: The Christmas Guest, which has all my favorite things in it, and maybe Harry & the Pirate IV: The Chalice of St. Francis. And also Harry & the Pirate I Outtake: I'll Show You Mine, as I borrowed the scar on my knee for Harry.

Fic I Reread The Most: Bits of Harry & the Pirate

Worst Fic: I don't know! If they were really bad, I wouldn't post them. Maybe Stowaways for excessive fluffiness.

What's Next: The rest of Harry & the Pirate IV: The Chalice of St. Francis, and then, who knows?

Comments

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Heyer was nothing short of genius, in my opinion. Her use of language, her brilliant way of drawing minor characters, her wit...I could go on and on. I've read all her historical works numerous times (except for The Great Roxhythe, which is very hard to find--though I must check Amazon again for a used copy). I've borrowed so much from her writing in doing my Harry stories, her estate could definitely sue me.

Re: new icon--yes, I was playing with Photoshop a couple days ago and made that one. I needed one with Jack smiling. ;)