tell me a story

[hedda62]

So here's a question for the fic writers, in the Writers Are Egotistical What A Surprise department.

If you had the chance to give one of your stories to a source creator (which is by way of saying book author, or writer/actor/director/producer/whatever in visual media) to read, which one would you choose? You are allowed to resurrect people from the dead for these purposes; you're also allowed to say no thanks.

I am uncomfortable myself with the idea of doing this with visual media fics, possibly because as implied creative responsibility is so fractured and also because I feel at more of a distance. I mean, I get book authors. I get actors, too, but the idea of handing Laurence Fox a copy of "And Love Itself Have Rest" freaks me out no end; Clare Holman and "Dear Stephen," maybe, but she probably doesn't care a fig for Patrick O'Brian in real life.

So I think we're looking at the Vorkosiverse here, not surprisingly. I actually had a second-hand report ten years ago that Lois Bujold had read one or more of my Snape crossovers, and had positive things to say, but I can't verify that. I do know that she read my essay on plants and gardening, and mentioned it on her blog (IIRC she said it was "nice in all the meanings of the word" or something similar).

So that's one of the reasons I'd point her to "The Emperor's Garden." Other reasons: It's good. :) I'm proud of how it turned out; the prose is accomplished; the story is coherent; it's constructed interestingly (being a fic about Ekaterin that never uses her POV); it has lots of characters in it, including minor ones (Tsipis!), and I think they are all in character; it's got funny bits and touching bits and long and lyrical bits. It's very me. It has one of the highest hit counts of all my fics, and the highest kudos count, despite being a story about garden design. It does not have sex in it, aside from Miles kissing Ekaterin's neck, so no squirming while wondering if the author thinks I'm debauching her sloth beloved creations. I would not be embarrassed if she read "Imperial Bedrooms," or even "L'oiseau qui vole," but I wouldn't want to know ahead of time. Also, it is set post-canon (I believe she's said she won't write anything chronologically past Cryoburn) and therefore is more or less legally safe, although for the purposes of this question I'm waiving that requirement. But I think that might help make the exercise easier for both of us, as long as reading something where Aral's dead isn't overwhelmingly uncomfortable.

So that's my choice, for this extremely hypothetical situation. :) Anyone else want to chime in with choices from their own oeuvre?

Comments

[mmegaera]

I think I've read The Emperor's Garden, and remember enjoying it, but I've lost the link. Pretty please?

The only fanfic I've ever written was a single page years ago which was Baz's proposal to Elena from her POV, and a Thing written while being tossed back and forth between an email pal pre-Winterfair Gifts, about an affair between Ivan and Taura [g].

I wouldn't show either one of those to Lois on a bet.

[hedda62]

http://archiveofourown.org/works/309937, and hee.

[mmegaera]

Thanks!

[philomytha]

Oh, crumbs. I'm closer to the 'no thanks' department, at least in the sense that I would not actively choose to present LMB with any of my fics. I think that if I were ever in a position to have people write fic on my work, I would be seriously torn between raging curiosity as to what they were writing about, and strongly not-wanting to know because while the cross-pollination of ideas works great from one fic writer to another, it doesn't work at all the same way in the vertical.

But if I had to choose one... really, I have no clue. Most of what I've written is fleshing out backstory, one way or another, and so probably not of vast interest to her (or crackfic, ditto). I suppose Vorkosigan's Day is a fairly powerful story on its own, and also she never really makes the Aral-Duv parallel, so it might be kind of interesting to show it to her; plus, I'm rather proud of that one. For other contenders: The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is very much an expansion of the motherhood-changes-you theme of 'Barrayar', which she would hopefully take as a compliment, and I'm quite pleased with that one too. Asking her to read AVD - which is by far the most me of my fics and contains everything I could think of that was clever or interesting or good - would seem rather arrogant given how long it is.

[hedda62]

I am going to bet she'd love AVD, but the length is a little daunting for a first choice, true. So much of your stuff is great but I can see the filtering of choices (I find it really fascinating, actually).

And admittedly I have moved on a little in my thinking to the murky future in which people write fic for my novels, and while I wouldn't likely read it (cross-pollination not being such a good plan as you say, and more specifically in any way that can get a writer sued) I would be interested to send out spies and have them report back. :)

[philomytha]

Even aside from the being-sued thing, it's just impossible not to cross-pollinate even if you don't mean to. At least, it would be for me, maybe other people can make big bright compartments in their head and put what they read on one side and what they write on another, but I can't. Everything I read affects what I write, and I would either read some brilliant fic and then get it confused with my own thoughts, or read some dreadful fic and feel the urge to make it perfectly clear that this is the Wrong Interpretation.

Once you were sure you'd finished a series, maybe, then's the time to go and read all the fic in an orgy of self-indulgence. Probably best done with a glass of something fairly strong to hand. In the meantime, as you say, spies are the way to go. Judging by the books, I can't imagine LMB's spies haven't told her all about the Ivan/By contingent of the fandom!

[avanti_90]

Or the Aral/Jole contingent?

Vorkosigan's Day, yes, and I think 'Reflections' would be a nice one to show too. But yes, I see your point - I'd feel very awkward if an author were to see something I'd written that was very close to her work, the way most of your fics are close to canon. Things like crackfic, crossovers and art would be much more comfortable to talk about.

[hedda62]

I think that's why I picked a post-canon fic that, while not cracky, is not something LMB would ever write herself. And actually, a lot of filling-in-the-cracks fic fits in that category too - just too out of a plot's mainstream to be something she'd tackle.

[hedda62]

a glass of something fairly strong to hand

Oh golly yes. Because, no matter how many times I had said "I wholeheartedly approve of fanfic, go to it, write anything you want and I won't whimper, oh and George/Halsey in particular please," actually reading some of the resulting tripe (or, maybe worse, supremely excellent homage) would be difficult. Spies. Spies are essential. (But we knew that.)