Bookreview: Nefertiti
2 weeks ago
Sunday, November 29, 2009
November Challenge - Christmas Cards #3-7
Here are my cards for the November Challenge of Christmas Cards All Year Round. The pictures are not so great, because I took them in the evening. The challenge this month was for 5 christmas cards with only one layer of paper (one extra on top of the base card was allowed)with brads, buttons, lace and ribbon the only embellishments that you could use. Here's what I made:
Monday, November 16, 2009
Christmas Card # 2
My second Christmas card of the year. I wasn't completely satisfied with how it turned out, but over all it's not that bad. It's got a simple embroidery pattern and a 3D picture on it.
Supplies
Blue cardstock (Bazix)
Pale yellow carstock (Studio Light)
Vellum with Christmas text on it (Studio Light)
Paper ribbon (Studio Light)
3D picture (Studio Light)
Chrismtas red embroidery thread (Mettler)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Christmas Card # 1
My first Christmas card of the year. It's a really simple one, with a 3D pyramid picture and some stickers. I'm quite happy with how this one turned out.
Supplies:
Red and green cardstock (bazix)
3D pyramid picture (Le Suh)
Gold corner stickers
Gold text sticker Vrolijk Kerstfeest (translation: Merry Christmas)
Monday, September 28, 2009
Writing Projects and Goals
Project: An Emerald Alliance
Description: An Emerald Alliance is the sequel to A Past of Emerald Shadows. Both are Harry Potter fanfictions. A Past of Emerald Shadows was my interpretation of how Harry could have reacted after book five, and also my take on de-aging stories. Looking back, I can say it was probably a bad idea to start this sequel. I'm faling in cliches and artificially feeling scenes when writing, mostly because the substance of the plot was badly formed when I started writing. For my readers, who like the story, I will finish it, but I don't have any real enjoyment in writing it.
Progress: Working on the fifth chapter out of ten.
Writing goal: Finish before end of the year (1750 words/week; roughly 250 words/day)
Project: The Other End of Time
Description: The Other End of Time is the first story in a planned series of seven. It's a time-travel story in the Harry Potter realm, and my main challenges when writing this story are keeping out the cliches (for time-travel stories are abundant in the HP fandom), and keeping the plot straight. I did an experiment with the viewpoint in the first few chapters, but my readers really didn't like it, so I went traditional after the first four chapters. This sotry is fun to write, even though it's a challenge.
Progress: working on chapter ten, total number of chapters has yet to be determined.
Writing goal: one chapter a month (750 words/week; roughly 110 words/day)
Project: HP/Stargate crossover
Description: This as of yet unnamed story is my first story in the Stargate universe. I like to read well written crossovers between Harry Potter and Stargate but they are hard to find. So when I had an idea for a crossover, I decided to write it. The science fiction element is a great challenge, as is writing a believable crossover, because the science and magic are sometimes hard to integrate.
Progress: the prologue is finished, I'm working on the first chapter of an unspecified number of chapters. This story won't be posted until it is finished.
Writing goal: chapter three finished before the end of the year (700 words/week; 100 words/day)
Description: An Emerald Alliance is the sequel to A Past of Emerald Shadows. Both are Harry Potter fanfictions. A Past of Emerald Shadows was my interpretation of how Harry could have reacted after book five, and also my take on de-aging stories. Looking back, I can say it was probably a bad idea to start this sequel. I'm faling in cliches and artificially feeling scenes when writing, mostly because the substance of the plot was badly formed when I started writing. For my readers, who like the story, I will finish it, but I don't have any real enjoyment in writing it.
Progress: Working on the fifth chapter out of ten.
Writing goal: Finish before end of the year (1750 words/week; roughly 250 words/day)
Project: The Other End of Time
Description: The Other End of Time is the first story in a planned series of seven. It's a time-travel story in the Harry Potter realm, and my main challenges when writing this story are keeping out the cliches (for time-travel stories are abundant in the HP fandom), and keeping the plot straight. I did an experiment with the viewpoint in the first few chapters, but my readers really didn't like it, so I went traditional after the first four chapters. This sotry is fun to write, even though it's a challenge.
Progress: working on chapter ten, total number of chapters has yet to be determined.
Writing goal: one chapter a month (750 words/week; roughly 110 words/day)
Project: HP/Stargate crossover
Description: This as of yet unnamed story is my first story in the Stargate universe. I like to read well written crossovers between Harry Potter and Stargate but they are hard to find. So when I had an idea for a crossover, I decided to write it. The science fiction element is a great challenge, as is writing a believable crossover, because the science and magic are sometimes hard to integrate.
Progress: the prologue is finished, I'm working on the first chapter of an unspecified number of chapters. This story won't be posted until it is finished.
Writing goal: chapter three finished before the end of the year (700 words/week; 100 words/day)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
On Writing Fanfiction
The definition of fanfiction as found on wikipedia: Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. Fan fiction, therefore, is defined by being both related to its subject's canonical fictional universe and simultaneously existing outside the canon of that universe.[1] Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.
It is often said that writing fanfiction isn't real writing, that it is cheating. In a way, of course, it is cheating. You're using the world and characters someone else has created. Still, that's only taking a shortcut, for when it comes to writing good fanfiction, all the rules for normal writing still aply.
You have to write a believable story, within the constraints of the original world. That can be harden than if you write the whole world from scratch for your story. Say for instance that you want to write a Harry Potter fanfiction in which you want Severus Snape to mentor Harry Potter, taking place after the fifth book, you have a lot of work before you. Without changing the fundaments of the characters, you have to show events taking place that either brings them together, and more importantly, keep them there. Of course, the characters will change from how they are in the original books, but they have to change because of the events in your story, not for them to be able to happen.
And if you extrapolate the world of the original books, which you do each time you place the characters somewhere they haven't been yet, you have to invent the place, but stay within the rules set up for the world that's in the books.
You can add a whole layer of complication if you write fanfiction based on a tv-series, especially a science fiction series, like Stargate. Things, like alien technology, which is easy to show on tv, gives complications when writing about it. You don't want to drag your story down with a lot of description, yet you have to describe the technology in a realistic, simple, but compelling way, because so often it is a vital part of the story.
In conclusion, you can say that writing fanfiction is a great way to practise your writing skills without having to spend lots of time researching and building your world. And it's a lot of fun!
It is often said that writing fanfiction isn't real writing, that it is cheating. In a way, of course, it is cheating. You're using the world and characters someone else has created. Still, that's only taking a shortcut, for when it comes to writing good fanfiction, all the rules for normal writing still aply.
You have to write a believable story, within the constraints of the original world. That can be harden than if you write the whole world from scratch for your story. Say for instance that you want to write a Harry Potter fanfiction in which you want Severus Snape to mentor Harry Potter, taking place after the fifth book, you have a lot of work before you. Without changing the fundaments of the characters, you have to show events taking place that either brings them together, and more importantly, keep them there. Of course, the characters will change from how they are in the original books, but they have to change because of the events in your story, not for them to be able to happen.
And if you extrapolate the world of the original books, which you do each time you place the characters somewhere they haven't been yet, you have to invent the place, but stay within the rules set up for the world that's in the books.
You can add a whole layer of complication if you write fanfiction based on a tv-series, especially a science fiction series, like Stargate. Things, like alien technology, which is easy to show on tv, gives complications when writing about it. You don't want to drag your story down with a lot of description, yet you have to describe the technology in a realistic, simple, but compelling way, because so often it is a vital part of the story.
In conclusion, you can say that writing fanfiction is a great way to practise your writing skills without having to spend lots of time researching and building your world. And it's a lot of fun!
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