Current and Future Fanfic Projects

Since things keep slipping my mind, I thought I'd make a list. This way hopefully I'll be shamed into writing. :)

Current:

Shadow of the Dragon King - My mega-long political drama leading up to the ill-fated war meeting and Zuko's exile. So seriously procrastinating on this; will start editing the newest chapter today for upload.

Everybody Loves Ty Lee - A series of short stories that all involve Ty Lee. This is my "break fic," the one that's my go-to when I want to get away from writing other stuff, but of course I'm procrastinating on this, too. Sigh.

Future: 

King and Lord (working title) - Inspired by FairLadyZ2005's story Kings' Crossing, I want to expand the parallels between Zuko and Kuei into a short three-parter. I need to research the symptoms of PTSD and Qing palace ceremonies for this one.

To Steal a Bride - Inspired by discussions with FLZ about a possible Iroh/Xian wedding story, since the two are married by the time of Iroh Meets His Match. (Incidentally, the "match" in the title is not his wife.) To Steal a Bride will be about Aang ritually bride-napping Katara. I posted the results of the research for this story on Eskimo bride capture here.

Scorned (working title) - This is about Mai breaking up with Zuko post-series. Inspired by a discussion with Kimberly T. about her story A Zutara is Worth a Thousand Words. I came to realize I can't really conceptualize Mai apart from Zuko and decided to remedy that. In some ways it explores the same theme as Amy Raine's Prisons of Choice, and revolves around Mai making a different choice. The Firelady in Scorned might or might not be Katara, but it won't matter since I'm not going to give her a name; a small act of karmic balance to all those Zutara stories where Mai is shipped out on a bus never to be seen again. :P

10 Ways to Tell You're Reading a Story by Lunatique

I learned about this meme when Kimberly T. replied to my review to her fic Promises to Keep, and I thought it was so awesome I wrote my own tells.

10 Ways to Tell You're Reading a Story by Lunatique

10. The story is long, sometimes excruciatingly so. Even short stories run to thousands of words, and some chapters are as long as complete chaptered stories by other, less long-winded authors.

9. Description pr0n. Every single new place gets some description, and sometimes there will be paragraphs and paragraphs of it. This contributes greatly to No. 10.

8. Lots of HIGH-HANDED DRAMA. Lots of little pauses, lots of characters looking into each others' eyes, and lots of HIGH-HANDEDLY DRAMATIC declarations of what a character will or will not do.

7. Everything is political in the end. Even if it's about a dead kitten or cute girls kissing and cuddling. Or cute girls kissing and cuddling with a dead kitten, whatever.

6. Luna's Law of Politics: Nobility are evil, except the ones that pal around with commoners. Commoners are nice, except the ones that pal around with nobility.

5. Long chaptered stories are usually about a teenage boy starting out happy and innocent, or at least innocent, only to be dragged down into despair and depravity (not that sort, you pervs) through evil machinations, conniving relations, conflicting desires, well-meaning friends, the character's own abiding flaws, and of course, much HIGH-HANDED DRAMA.

4. The prettiest girl in the story cries a lot.

3. Children under 18 get into weirdly adult situations, whether it's political intrigue (see No. 7) or straight-out sex and violence. The children usually end up handling these situations more maturely than most adults. (To be fair, it is Avatar fanfic.)

2. The stories often focus on Atoners, or at least prospective Atoners (see no. 5). Sometimes characters who don't seem to have much to atone for are shoehorned into this role.

1. Numerous animals are harmed in the writing of the story.


Agree? Disagree? I would love to read other peoples' lists, too. :D