ratherastory (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ratherastory) wrote2014-06-17 05:55 pm
ratherastory) wrote2014-06-17 05:55 pm
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Dear summergen author
Dearest, darlingest summergen writer,
I am so excited you are writing for me! Summergen is far and away my favourite challenge of the year. So many wonderful stories come out of it each year, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.
So, have you seen my prompts and promptly panicked? Have no fear, dear writer, you may at any point in time toss all those prompts out the nearest window and start from scratch, if that's what you feel you need to do in order to satisfy the muse.
Here is a quick Guide to Making![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ratherastory a Happy Camper:
1- Include h/c. Lots of it. No, really. Whump is my favourite flavour of story. Go ahead and toss people off cliffs, hit them with cars, give them pneumonia, whatever. It doesn't even have to have a happy ending, so long as there is at least an attempt at the "comfort" part of the equation. Even an unsuccessful attempt. ;)
2- I am a Sam!girl who adores Dean. Having both brothers in the story is great and what I generally look for in my fanfic, but if for some reason you only want to write one, well, my preference would be for Sam.
3- That being said, I love many of the recurring cast, too, particularly Cas and Jody, as you probably noticed from my prompts. Anything that explores their headspace, especially Castiel's, is always super interesting for me. After all, Cas' mind doesn't work the same way as humans' at all: he's literally an alien being who is thousands of years old, and whose experiences we can't even begin to understand.
Have you seen Thor, dear author? Someone once pointed out that the reason Thor doesn't get human tech is not because he's primitive, but because Asgardian tech is so much more advanced than our own. It's like one of us being dumped 10,000 years in the past and having all the cavemen laugh at us because we can't make fire by rubbing two sticks together.
So, yeah, give me alien!Cas whose understanding of human ways is not because he's a simpleton (the way it's often portrayed), but rather because he's just too advanced for the world and can't quite dumb himself down to humanity's level.
4- I am a huge fan of Outsider POV, especially for current canon. What must the Winchesters look like to the average person these days? At first glance they must cut terrifying figures these days, seeing how much they've changed after everything they've gone through. Dean is no longer the charming, boyish rogue from Season 1, nor is Sam the floppy-haired, doe-eyed kid that everyone instinctively trusted. And yet, they help people, and that must cause some serious cognitive dissonance, am I right?
5- I have yet to meet a fanfic in 1st Person POV that I thought truly captured the character's voice when it comes to SPN. I don't find that the show, the characters or the subject matter lend themselves well to it. So, overall, I'd prefer to not receive something written in that POV, but if you have a brilliant idea that is eating your brain, then don't let this deter you.
6- If you like writing about other angels, that is totally fine. I prefer them as secondary characters, however, rather than the focus of the story, or as antagonists.
7- I am happy with a very wide range of tone, from fluffy crack all the way to grimdarkangstomg. You can write death!fic if you want, or 1,000 words of schmoop. Hell, have Sam and Dean cuddle platonically throughout the whole story if that's what works for you. If you do choose to have the brothers at odds with each other (the show does seem to enjoy doing that), then I would ask that there is at least some movement toward understanding and reconciliation during the story. I love my boys together much more than I like them apart. :)
And I think that should about cover it!
Thank you again, dear author, and I look forward to reading your story!
I am so excited you are writing for me! Summergen is far and away my favourite challenge of the year. So many wonderful stories come out of it each year, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.
So, have you seen my prompts and promptly panicked? Have no fear, dear writer, you may at any point in time toss all those prompts out the nearest window and start from scratch, if that's what you feel you need to do in order to satisfy the muse.
Here is a quick Guide to Making
ratherastory a Happy Camper:1- Include h/c. Lots of it. No, really. Whump is my favourite flavour of story. Go ahead and toss people off cliffs, hit them with cars, give them pneumonia, whatever. It doesn't even have to have a happy ending, so long as there is at least an attempt at the "comfort" part of the equation. Even an unsuccessful attempt. ;)
2- I am a Sam!girl who adores Dean. Having both brothers in the story is great and what I generally look for in my fanfic, but if for some reason you only want to write one, well, my preference would be for Sam.
3- That being said, I love many of the recurring cast, too, particularly Cas and Jody, as you probably noticed from my prompts. Anything that explores their headspace, especially Castiel's, is always super interesting for me. After all, Cas' mind doesn't work the same way as humans' at all: he's literally an alien being who is thousands of years old, and whose experiences we can't even begin to understand.
Have you seen Thor, dear author? Someone once pointed out that the reason Thor doesn't get human tech is not because he's primitive, but because Asgardian tech is so much more advanced than our own. It's like one of us being dumped 10,000 years in the past and having all the cavemen laugh at us because we can't make fire by rubbing two sticks together.
So, yeah, give me alien!Cas whose understanding of human ways is not because he's a simpleton (the way it's often portrayed), but rather because he's just too advanced for the world and can't quite dumb himself down to humanity's level.
4- I am a huge fan of Outsider POV, especially for current canon. What must the Winchesters look like to the average person these days? At first glance they must cut terrifying figures these days, seeing how much they've changed after everything they've gone through. Dean is no longer the charming, boyish rogue from Season 1, nor is Sam the floppy-haired, doe-eyed kid that everyone instinctively trusted. And yet, they help people, and that must cause some serious cognitive dissonance, am I right?
5- I have yet to meet a fanfic in 1st Person POV that I thought truly captured the character's voice when it comes to SPN. I don't find that the show, the characters or the subject matter lend themselves well to it. So, overall, I'd prefer to not receive something written in that POV, but if you have a brilliant idea that is eating your brain, then don't let this deter you.
6- If you like writing about other angels, that is totally fine. I prefer them as secondary characters, however, rather than the focus of the story, or as antagonists.
7- I am happy with a very wide range of tone, from fluffy crack all the way to grimdarkangstomg. You can write death!fic if you want, or 1,000 words of schmoop. Hell, have Sam and Dean cuddle platonically throughout the whole story if that's what works for you. If you do choose to have the brothers at odds with each other (the show does seem to enjoy doing that), then I would ask that there is at least some movement toward understanding and reconciliation during the story. I love my boys together much more than I like them apart. :)
And I think that should about cover it!
Thank you again, dear author, and I look forward to reading your story!