|
|
Post by slwatson on Jan 31, 2006 16:23:08 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Cleolanta on Feb 2, 2006 7:19:37 GMT -5
Good stuff! (Sorry it took me until now to get around to reading them. :P) You have a very nice writing style...good at doing sentimental moments that are _juuuuust_ sentimental ENOUGH....without going into territory that would be too sappy for the show. You're also good at writing nice, tender moments with the characters but keeping them _in character_.
Of course, that's exactly the same thing I was trying for with "Transmission Difficulties" and other fanfics I've written--I try to go for the feel of the darker/more serious real episodes, but stay within the style boundaries of whatever show I'm writing for. (Such as with my two Darkwing Duck stories, and my Gargoyles one....in which I could have gone FURTHER with the "darkness" had I wanted to, actually.)
Stupid question...what exactly was the "colour-i-fic" challenge? I like fic challenges; I think they're interesting. Too bad it seems to have passed me by. Question: Does your site still have a messageboard, and if so, are there still people there?
...I guess technically that was two questions. :P
Anyway. I wish more people could write fanfic that got fannishly emotional but didn't go too far, and still kept the people _in character_. In-characterness is very important to me. If it seems like something I could honestly imagine that person doing, I'll "buy" a story, if not...
Oh, by the way, this is Cleolanta/Captain Chaotica/etc. in case you couldn't tell. I just have a modified name at the moment. :P
...Notorious
|
|
|
|
Post by slwatson on Feb 4, 2006 16:40:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind feedback. My style's evolved a lot over the years, and it's scary how much influence other authors have had on me -- Maclean and Keillor mostly. It's an interesting thing to attempt being sentimental like that with MST3K, but there are sooooo many opportunities for it.
You've got some great moments in your work, too. This part in particular really struck me:
If he had been back in his home town of Minneapolis, it would have been late fall--bitterly cold, nippy, and humid...really icky weather. People would be starting their Christmas shopping already, which would make traffic bad and parking even worse. And the fussy old radiator in his apartment would surely conk out several times a week, leaving him a choice: freeze, or call up his bad-tempered old grouch of a manager in the middle of the night? That place was falling apart, too, and the rent was way too high.
But up here, the internal life-support systems kept the Satellite at a nice, even temperature year-round, making a calendar the only way to tell what month it was. No snow, no slush, no overdone holiday hype.
God, he missed Earth.
I really like how he misses even the daily grind and inconveniences of his home world. It's very human, and kind of vulnerable, which is something Joel comes across as in subtle ways throughout the series.
...though there were a lot of really cool moments that made me grin. Your take on Dr. F's lightning incident was cool, and maybe even neatest of all was that Joel came back to Earth briefly only to get sent right back into space. And naturally, Mike's cameo just makes me happy.
It's a good tale. I love seeing other people's interpretations of things, so long as they're in character at least to some degree. Like you, I'm kind of obsessive about characterization in any fandom, but I'm positively rabidly protective of the MST crew. Nothing pisses me off like someone abusing or warping them.
I really hope you tackle some more fics. There still aren't enough authors in the fandom (at least, not enough authors in the fandom who actually pay attention to characterization and details ::snarls randomly at the teenage slashers and pets the ole woodchipper:: ) and we could use everyone willing.
As to the color_i_fic challenge, it's just a challenge to write a piece (anywhere between 100 and unlimited words) based off of a prompt for a fandom or a specific character (naturally, Mike's mine). The 'Shades of Gray' challenge is to take one of the listed shades of gray and write a story using it. 'Defying Logic' was for argent, 'October' was for frost. I have three more to do, and am debating on how to do it.
Go sign up for Joel! :-P And write more.
Thanks again!
|
|
|
|
Post by Cleolanta on Feb 5, 2006 3:07:52 GMT -5
Heh. I wish I _could_ "write more". I'm good at coming up with scenes, characters, jokes, interesting events, and random ideas...but NOT so good at actually _finishing_ full-out stories. :P
But anyway, I'm glad you liked my story, and it's great to hear feedback on _specific_ parts--that's the food of the gods to a writer, as you of course would know. The bit with Joel thinking about the weather starting to turn bad...I wrote that in 2003, and then in December of 2005 I _finally_ saw the episode "Santa Claus" for the first time.
As you can imagine, when it got to that scene with Mike talking about what he _really_ misses about Earth is the change of the seasons, putting on a sweater, etc., I just fell off the couch and went "AAAACCCK!" (cracks up) Oh my heck. Hilarious coincidence. People who don't know the timing are gonna assume I copied that episode on _purpose_, but hey...
Yeah, I had fun writing out my version of Clay's lightning accident...and the bit with Mike, that was a case of "I just could not RESIST", you know, one of those too-cute little winks at the fans that sometimes writers just _have_ to indulge in, cheesy as they are. ;)
As for coming down to Earth for a second...originally, my idea was to have a somewhat-longer-than-normal host segment at the end of one of my KTMA-style MSTings (I've written a couple, as an experiment) in which the Mads explain that there's something wrong with Joel's ship, and he _calmly_ and with his full knowledge walks over to the new one, the SOL we know and love.
...but where's the drama in THAT? :P
(It also doesn't explain how and why the 'bots look so different between Seasons 0 and 1, or why the new uniform..or the _Mads'_ new outfits, or how/why they moved into Deep 13 and got a cable deal, etc., etc...)
So then I realised it would have to be against his will/involve some kind of emergency, and the more I thought about it, the more elaborate it got. That's when it morphed from host segment to an actual full-out fanfic. Along the way, I also got the opportunity to tell more about the Mads' story and give them their own whole subplot. So it's just as well that this _didn't_ stay in mere host-segment form.
Anyway. I will go..."sign up" Joel, although I'm still not exactly sure what I would have him, well, DOING, or saying, in Subreality, and look into the colour fics or whatever, just for myself even if the "challenge" is out of date by now, and that will be...that.
Be seeing you! (salute)
...Notorious
|
|
|
|
Post by slwatson on Feb 6, 2006 17:06:46 GMT -5
Oh, you don't have to sign Joel up for anything really. Subreality's a free for all, and the color_i_fic challenge isn't mine to begin with. It was just a random notion.
It doesn't particularly ring odd to me that Joel would miss some of the same things Mike mentioned. They're only human. That really struck a chord in me when Mike was lamenting, in part because he is such a normal guy (at least early on) and it rings true for Joel as well.
Nothing says you have to really write long stories. Scenes are just fine, you know? I mean, everyone acclaims my 'Homecoming', but I think my favorite MST story to date would edge closer to 'October'. So just write short pieces. That might feel easier and lead to longer things.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cleolanta on Feb 6, 2006 23:34:37 GMT -5
....yeah...the problem is, the "scenes" I come up with are usually the type that would only make SENSE in context with the plot before and after them. I suppose I _could_ just write them seperately and let them be mysterious, but...
Case in point: The first scene I wrote for my Star Trek: Deep Space Nine story was one in which a version of Odo from the future, who has learned how to make himself look completely human (or actually Bajoran, in this case) and a young Cardassian Starfleet ensign...accidentally start a barfight in Quark's and Odo ends up getting arrested by HIMSELF.
(laughs)
Fun stuff, but would leave the audience going, "What the heck was THAT?!" if it was alone, don'tcha think? :P
Then there's the B-Movie story, which was started from within a much longer round-robin but became an _almost_ seperate storyline of its own. Again, lots of creativity and work, but can't quite stand on its own as a seperate story. (It also needs to make up its mind as to whether it's an actual MST fanfic or not...)
Poor little Sandy Corman, who was once voted as the Best New Character of the Year on the website where I created this story...languishing in obscurity...
...anyway. Yeah, Mike and Joel would probably think the same thing at that time of year, and it's that "ordinary-guy-ness" that makes both of them so lovable. Still, the similarity of that scene to the bit in my story did startle me the first time I saw the episode. I was like, "Whoah!"
I might still drop by Subreality, but bear in mind, I'm not very good with _starting_ things, unless I have something in mind that I very strongly want to say at the moment. Usually, I'm better at continuing and replying--put something out there to spark my imagination and I'll riff off of it, but otherwise...
...Notorious
|
|
|
|
Post by Blurryeye on Feb 9, 2006 17:10:10 GMT -5
Very nice little pieces, Slwatson. I really like your writing. You keep it simple, but strike close to home with the emotions and moods. Simple sentence structure is very good for telling a story well. And you reveal things gradually, not all at once.
|
|
|
|
Post by slwatson on Feb 10, 2006 13:48:40 GMT -5
Thanks! And call me Steff; pretty much everyone else does. I'm glad you enjoyed the stories, and hopefully my wayward Muse will do his job and get me through the rest of the color_i_fic challenge before taking his vacation.
|
|
