volunteers?

[sage]

Pick a question, any question, and tell us what you think.

Guidelines are in all the prior volunteer call posts -- if you can post within a week or so, please step up! If you want to be next after that, just say so!

If you have questions to add to the list, please do so. :D

Comments

[llassah.livejournal.com]

I'm interested in bathsweaver's question:

Oh, I've got questions about setting up/casting AUs, what's kosher or not (given the assumption that everything is acceptable, but some things are more acceptable than others).

Names, for example. If you're setting up an AU in--ah, bah--the Irish Potato Famine (examples are hard!), does it really make sense to have characters with Italian and Polish surnames? And familial relationships--is splitting up/fusing characters' families (Vecchio and Smithbauer are brothers! Frobisher is RayK's dad! Turnbull and Thatcher are siblings!) simply not done?

Or a better question, is there a way to make it work, without asking too much indulgence from your readers?

as I'm in the process of writing an epic dS au, but appreciate that as I haven't posted any au stuff yet and might not be as experienced as you'd like, I'm sort of teaching grandmothers to suck eggs here. The offer's there, anyway, as I've had plenty of thoughts about the whole darn process of worldbuilding in a framework *faceplant*

[sage]

Oh, that would be fabulous! \o/

I think we learn best by doing, so it would be excellent to see what thoughts you've had while working on your epic. If you could post sometime within the next seven days or so, that would rock. :D

Thank you!!

[china_shop]

I'm willing to have a shot at one or the other of these:

How to write action scenes and chases and the like-- things that don't have much dialogue in them.

How to deal with so many "he"s in a sex scene without leaving the reader confused or sick of both character's names.

I probably couldn't post anything until next weekend, though.

[sage]

Woot! Okay, let's plan for yours to happen about a week after llassah's goes up? That should give you a fair bit of time. :D

Thank you!!

Suggestion

[ximeria.livejournal.com]

*scratches back of head*
I'd love to volunteer, but I keep getting stumped by having to go through the posted possible questions. Mostly because I'd have to browse back and forth to find out what's been done and so on, and truth be told I have the attentionspan of a gnat. Maybe more would sign up if there was an actual masterlist?

I've been wondering if I could contribute in any way. Any use for a multifandom non-english only-slightly-jaded fanfic writer? Perhaps on the perils of writing in a language other than one's own and having to get into the culture of a country one doesn't live in?

Re: Suggestion

[sage]

That is a great idea -- a master list is TOTALLY doable! I will get on that tomorrow or this weekend. :D

And I really like your question -- I think you should stick it on the list and then claim it as your own to answer! I know I've spent crazy amounts of time learning about Canada to write DS fic, and the reason why I still haven't dared any Doctor Who or Torchwood fic is that I don't know the culture, don't trust myself with their voices, and don't want to look like a typical dumbass American. :P (I'll do the research and get brave one of these days, maybe. Just not today.)

Re: Suggestion

[ximeria.livejournal.com]

*grins*
I'll go put it on the list and then claim it. It's definitely something I've gone through with every fandom I've been in -- there's just never anything set in Denmark, so everything has to be reaseached LOL

[ximeria.livejournal.com]

Writing in a language that isn't yours and a setting in a place you've probably never been to. How to still write it, avoding pitfalls and other crevasses.

I'd take this one -- and it can be done within a week, no problem. If you want it, just let me know when.

[sage]

Awesome! We're running on a schedule of about 5-10 days between posts (to give people time to discuss the most recent topic and to give the next writer time to put together their post), so if you could post around five-ish days after china_shop posts hers, that would rock! :D Thanks!

[omphale]

china_shop was just talking about this, and since *all* my narrators are unreliable, I thought I could give it a shot:

How to show that your narrator is unreliable.

[sage]

That would be fantastic! You'll be up right around a week (more or less, whatever works best for you) after ximeria posts.

Also, I meant to edit that question into the list last night when I saw china's post, but I fell asleep. I'll go do that now! *g*

[sage]

Heya! This is just a note to let you know that ximeria has posted, so if you wanted to do your unreliable narrators post sometime around the middle of next week, that would rock! \o/