From zulu, Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you. (Please note: If you simply wish to comment on something I've said but don't want to participate in the meme, that is fine. I will only give you five words if you specifically comment with 'Words!')

So, my words were: crossovers, humour, ST:TOS:RPS, computer science, Sheppard's 11.

( And off we go )

Have started remixing! And I like my idea! Though I don't know how well it holds up in practice. I have about two pages of rambling at the moment.

Did you know that strings take up a lot more space in memory than integers do?

aka

Parrot forgets to go after the obvious solution when trying to cut down on memory usage.

So, I just want to say that I really like being able to write out a first draft by hand and then type it up, but for longer stories, it gets really stressful because I can't make anyone read it when I get halfway through and going crazy and need someone to tell me that no, it's not complete crap.

So yes, betas are important! Not just for removing all those unnecessary commas, but for managing all those writerly breakdowns when you get to the third page of your 'Spock Prime is everyone's gay uncle!'* crackfic and start a second-guessing downward spiral regarding whether or not all that fecal humor was really necessary. I think this is a greatly under-appreciated aspect of the beta process, and we should really talk about how important it is to just have someone there at every stage of the writing process. So that you can bounce ideas off someone! So that someone's there to remind you that you shouldn't bother worrying about how crappy it is yet! So that you can give people random word-count updates and cheer you on!

Every one of you who has been there for me at some point, thank you. So much. You guys rock.


* Additionally, I think this story is the greatest idea ever, and if it has been written, someone should give me a link right now.

Life has been chill and good. I love summers! And also Spock.

I have been wanting to write more TOS fic, but mostly, I have been reading epic amounts of kinda bad Kirk/Spock fic instead.

I really should be focusing on remix.

Anyway, here's an instructional video on how badass Shatner and Nimoy still are:




Interviewer: 0, Old fogies: 1 bazillion.

Today is my sixth fandom birthday!

Six years ago, a wee parrot decided she was going to try her hand at this 'fanfic' thing she was reading so much of. It could have been great! It could have been epic! She could hear the reviews already: A fresh new voice with unmistakable talent! Stylistically adventurous with a dash of realism! A story that makes some sort of sense and doesn't make you want to gouge your own eyes out!

Needless to say, it was none of those things.

For those of you who are too afraid to click the link, it contains: bad formatting; short, really crappy paragraphing; horrific dialogue; even worse characterization; structural trickery that I was not good enough to handle; and just general n00bishness.

What can I say? I was young and foolish! And maybe a little clueless and too full of myself! It happens! Besides, that fandom was not writing the stories I wanted from it, so I had to do it myself. You can't judge me for that!

So, how about you guys? What was the first piece of fic you ever wrote? Did it suck? Were you really fucking amazing? Does is it still on the internet or have you made a concerted effort to destroy every copy in existence? Did you post it to a mailing list? Do you even remember mailing lists? Did it get published in a zine? Are you a lot fandom-older than me? Do you still occasionally reread your first fic to remind yourself how far you've come? Do you occasionally repost it in your journal to remind everyone else how far you've come?

C'mon, flist! Tell me all about your own embarrassing (or not so embarrassing) first fics so we can all commiserate.

It'll be fun. No, really.

I have like 9 Dreamwidth invites. Do any of you want them? Because I'll just start handing them out elsewhere if you don't.

Fun fact, you guys: Comments are HIGHLY addictive.

0.

The Iranian election fallout is just sort of insane and amazing and I don't even know. I am inclined to believe that it was rigged, but I think that's sort of a less-important issue than the way the government has been reacting to the dissent and protesting, as well as the eventual outcome of this much anger. I have to say, the bravery of the protesters is awe-inspiring, and the tweets have been giving me chills.

The revolution will be posted on the internet, indeed.


1.

This open letter to Pixar made me sob a little. I'm going to see Up tomorrow, and I'm sure I'm going to love it, but at the same time, I remember how much it meant to me, growing up, to see spunky girls in my movies and on my television. Yeah, just go read it.

2.

Kings this week, I don't know. This show is remarkably uneven for me. I will say that I was surprised and pleased that Michelle annoyed me far less than Jack this week, but I wish that they'd make Jack a lot less incompetent in general.

3.

Python is still my favorite.

4.

So I did some martial arts training for the first time in like two years yesterday, and now my body is punishing me. Ow. Ow all over.

5.

I need to start reading more books this summer. I have like, three that are just sitting on my shelf, and I have a library full of awesome that I would want to use. At some point.

6.

Wrote Forgetful a Doctor Who Rose/Martha porn battle ficlet. Kinda a rush job, but there it is.

Hey, you guys, why is writing so haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard?

Like, why can't I think up a premise and it all gets plotted out and written for me, just the way I like it? Is that asking the universe for too much?

At the moment, I have (a) a porn battle ficlet where my brain keeps freezing on the porn (everything else is fine, it's just the porn) and (b) a longer fic where I have NO IDEA what the ending is or what it looks like. I've tried nudging the characters in certain directions, but they are not cooperating. Instead, they are kinda deadlocked at the moment. And hating me.

I have not really started thinking about Remix yet. Whoops.

Blah.

Title: Four Times Kirk Noticed Spock And One Time Aliens Made Him Do Something About It (Sort Of)
Fandom: Star Trek: TOS
Pairing: Kirk/Spock
Rating: PG
Word count: 5,300
Summary: James T. Kirk is pretty in touch with his emotions. Except for when he isn't.
Notes: Much love goes to queenzulu for betaing and to hannahrorlove for listening while I was wrestling this thing into shape.

( Four Times Kirk Noticed Spock And One Time Aliens Made Him Do Something About It (Sort Of) )

Things I have watched lately:

1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - I loved this quite a bit. It did have much more of a TNG than a TOS feel, and I did have a hard time watching Kim Cattrall without going "omg it's Kim Cattrall!" But it was sweetly earnest and hopeful! And the Shakespeare quotes became too much by the end, but I did love the way the title tied into the themes of the movie. And the last line! Gaaaaah, so much love. *draws little hearts around everyone*

2. Star Trek I: The Motion Picture - oh, god. The uniforms suuuucked. And while the long shots of fake!space were quite heartwarming at times, I stopped paying attention halfway through in favor of typing up TOS fic (which just needs to be edited a bit more before I can post it!), but the Kirk/Spock emoporn was as emoporny as I was lead to believe. Also, Shatner looked like the missing link between young!Shatner and old!Shatner, which are two completely distinct entities in my head. It was very disconcerting. And I found Nimoy's hair extensions on Vulcan HILARIOUS.

Stuff I wrote:

I wrote something for trek_rpf_kink, Promises which is a Voyage Home-era Shatner/Nimoy ficlet.

And also for porn battle, Shore Leave, which is a Kings/Star Trek XI crossover, featuring Jack/Kirk.


Stuff other people wrote:

Second Asian Women Blog Carnival! As always, full of really fucking amazing writing. Go and read!

Have moved into new apartment for the year!

And now that I have a couple of bookcases and a pretty sweet table, I gotta say that I, for one, welcome our new cheap Swedish furniture overlords.

I know you all want to take part in my HIGHLY APPROPRIATE AND SCIENTIFIC poll.



I have been holding off on writing the Shatner/Nimoy epic roadtrip fic that lives in my brain, mostly out of shame. But then I remembered that I've written Clinton/Obama fic. I have no RPF shame. Seriously.

However, at the moment I'm hacking my way through TOS fic. (Which is going well! I am almost ready to type up a first draft and cry over how much editing needs to be done!) So there's that. Roadtrip epic will have to wait.

So as many of you know, I visited fair Canadia recently, and so now you guys get pictures. I'm sure you're all excited.

( not dial-up friendly at all )

So I've been reading waaaaaaaay too much TOS fic, which is not necessarily a bad thing, except I'm definitely one of those new skool readers who feel that the old skool fic was good for what it was, but thank god the melodrama has taken a back seat these days. I like my romances less tragic and overwrought, thankyouverymuch. Well, except for Kirk/Spock, I guess. Their romance is tragic and overwrought enough in canon that I just want more overwrought tragicness from the fic.

Things I have spent a lot of time reading that I would probably never touch with a ten foot pole in other fandoms:
1. Soul bonding - Have I told you guys lately how much I loathe soul bonding? Arguably, it's canon, but normally I can't stand blahblahblahmadeforeachothermysticalconnection bullshit. But in this fandom, I will let it go! And like, I will read it happily if it doesn't get too obnoxious.

2. Pseudo-Shakespearian dialogue - Also canon, also very annoying. The use of 'thee' and 'thy' and 'thou' makes me want to cry.

3. First-person POV - This is something I would simply backbutton immediately without any mitigating factors, mostly because first person is tricky and hard to get right, and quite frankly, I just don't like to be that close up and personal with the characters.

4. Spock crying - No, seriously. I have read it. All the way to the end.

5. Loving descriptions of Spock's alien penis - Seriously, it's like the writers are having a "how weird can we make Spock's genitals?" competition. I think the tentacle thingies win, but the apparently common double-headed cock thing is still in the running. Or even the retractable penis. Or the constant use of 'jade' as an adjective.



In addition, I spent a lot of time in Canada thinking about what sort of songs would make awesomely trashy Kirk/Spock Lord King Bad Vids. My winner so far seems to be "I Will Always Love You" which is clearly about Spock's decision to go to Gol and all the stoic manpain that came with that decision. There could even be Star Trek XI footage!

It is possible that I may have just lost my mind.

Disappearing for a few days to visit Canada, but not to see zulu, unfortunately.

See you all again on Thursday (and don't do anything too interesting without me).

Man, I love flouncy writer wank if only because it acts as a reminder that I should keep my own flouncy writer tendencies in check. I think a lot of us have been there, getting defensive at crit, being upset when SOMEONE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND OUR PURE GENIUS SOULS, emoing when someone gives you less than stellar feedback. But the trick is to remember that those reactions are flouncy writer tendencies and are not to be listened to.

Also, I got to listen to Fareed Zakaria be smrt today and sat around in a nylon solar panel. With a hat. No, I'm not officially graduated yet.

I should pack.

Oh, snap. I graduate on Sunday.

Also, Galaxy Quest is the best Star Trek movie, ever. Yes, even better than the new one.

And finally:

THE ANONYMOUS WRITING FEEDBACK MEME

Have at it, if you so desire.

Title: Beginnings
Fandom: Star Trek XI
Pairing: Spock Prime/Kirk
Rating: PG
Word count: 1760
Summary: This new planet is not Vulcan. The mountain caves have not been mapped, and the wide deserts have not been crossed.
Notes: For yahtzee63's Journey To Drabble Challenge and the prompt 'Spock Prime and Kirk, clarification'. Many thanks to queenzulu for audiencing.

( Beginnings )