Signs of a Nico fic

[vilakins]

executrix and astrogirl2 already did this meme. I'm not very good at analysing my own stuff--I have no idea what works and what doesn't till I get feedback--so I could only come up with five seven things instead of the required ten.

Top five seven signs it's one of my stories

1. Vila's in it.
   
2. No matter how angsty it is, it has an upbeat ending: if not happy, at least hopeful.
   
3. No matter how angsty it is, it has humour, because RL does.
   
4. There's a lot of dialogue.
   
5. And semicolons; I like the little bastards.
   
6. [Edit] It often has an ensemble cast.
   
7. And it's gen.

That's all I can think of, sorry. [Edit] Thanks to hafren, I've added two more.

Comments

[hafren.livejournal.com]

I'd have added: it might well have an ensemble cast, and all the voices will be in perfect working order and instantly distinguishable. (But perhaps you were too modest!)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. My stuff doesn't rate much among most fans because it's gen. Ah, I forgot that. OK, that makes it seven, a good number.

[hafren.livejournal.com]

I think one of the most pernicious things in fanfic is the bloody classification habit. Mostly I only read mixed zines these days and I try not to read any pre-fic warnings, because I don't want to know at the outset if it stays gen or goes slashy or het or whatever - or indeed if it goes AU or anyone dies; I want to find out for myself!

What's far more important to me (apart of course from stuff like character voice, authorial voice and orthography; snob as I am, I cannot read anything ill-spelled) is a certain level of emotional involvement in the characters and relationships, and that's as possible in gen as in anything else. I always find it in yours.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I need a bit of encouragement right now. I'm worried about my finish-a-thon story, an overwhelmingly voted for angst fest, a sort of gen PWP.

I do read classifications because I like to avoid explicit sex and violence. One bores me, the other squicks.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

I'm another one who likes "gen" and know your stories will be entertaining. I don't avoid sex but violence is out. I hadn't realised just how much I disliked violence until I accidentally read one that was very squick.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

If it's part of a story or novel I'm reading, I just skip those scenes. If it's a major part, like PWP smut, I stay away. I like reading about interesting characters and how they relate, and pure smut doesn't usually leave much room for that.

As for me, I don't mind implying off-screen sex or violence, though I don't think I have, much.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

It's Greek tragedy, isn't it, that has the convention of all deaths happen off stage and are later reported? I think we have a good precedent there.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

:-) Not all my violence is off-screen, but I don't dwell on it and I never give graphic descriptions of it. I get bored with interminable fight scenes on the screen too, unless they're funny.

[kerravonsen]

But we didn't vote for it because of the angst, we voted for it because of the reconciliation! Well, I did, anyway. 8-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. Because that's what it mostly is. :-)

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

If you're trying to get to ten, may I suggest:

8. Someone realises how clever Vila is.
9. Someone realises how brave Vila is.
10. Usually Avon.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Ouch. I don't think 9 is true.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's an ouchy sort of thing; your stories very often do involve someone coming to a greater understanding or appreciation of Vila, particularly in those areas where he's canonically assumed to be deficient. And on 9, it's usually something that Vila doesn't perceive as brave but an outsider does, eg the one where Avon is trying to work out his phobia and is surprised to find Vila's first instinct in danger is to rescue him - which Vila doesn't see as brave because he knows how it relates to his phobia. And then there's the one where the spaceship captain sees him standing up for an old woman.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

He even stood up for the putative Cancer! I do try to base his behaviour on canon.

That's a relief, anyway. I was getting seriously worried about my finish-a-thon story as it's necessarily very much about Vila and Avon's relationship.