Pen's Nest

Well. Yes. Hmm. Not outright hair-tearing, but a certain amount of omgwtf, not at all mitigated by the fact that my *first* assignment was, well, just about ideal. Sigh.

But hey, it's a *challenge*. And it could have been a Whole Lot Worse. This time, I didn't actually *scream* when I read my assignment!


Hi!

I'm going to assume that you're here because you're hoping I'm going to give you a clue what to write... Yes, I know *exactly* how that feels!

Well. Hm. I suppose the most important thing to say is, that I'd rather have the story you can write best. Trickyfish is my heart pairing, but there ought to be more AJ/Joey in the world and I'd like to read it. So, really, if you find Lance impossible to write but you *know* you can give me AJ, go for it!

You can stop reading now if you want to. But I thought about this and came up with entirely too much verbiage, so you can read on if you want, too.

What do I like?

I like snarky, soft-centred Lance and irritating, vulnerable Chris. I like a Joey who's strong, gentle, easygoing, and an AJ who's tough, abrasive and vulnerable. But hey, I've liked so many versions of these boys... If snark and wit and humour come easily to you, yay! But if you do angsty, emotional, serious stories best, also yay!

I like stories that stick strictly to canon, stories that skim across the surface of canon like stones over a lake, and stories that take a canon situation but don't worry about details (all those 'on the bus' stories!). And 'alternate timelines'. I like realistic stories. I like not-exactly-realistic stories, where everyone's a lot funnier than is possible in real life. I also like 'magical realism' stories, you know, where someone turns into a girl, or a cat, or they swap bodies, or one of them's really a kelpie, or whatever. Crack that takes an impossible premise and follows through seriously. I'm okay with AUs, so long as they are well thought through and believable, from alternate lives in this world to SF to fantasy* (but not 'high' fantasy, please—no elves, unless they're, hmm, untraditional elves). Oh, and sex is delightful, but not essential to my Christmas happiness.

This probably isn't very helpful—but what I mean is, I've loved so many different stories, for so many different reasons, that it doesn't matter what kind of story you like to write, because I don't think there's a genre that I haven't enjoyed.

Perhaps it'd be easier if I were to point out a few things that I don't like. I don't enjoy character-bashing (not even if it's Justin!). The boys are all adorable and flawed, and it's fine to notice the flaws, but don't forget what makes them adorable, please. I'd rather read an AU or an 'alternate timeline' in which there's no Kelly than a story in which Kelly is a complete bitch who died. Also, I'm not particularly keen on vampires or other 'horror' elements.

In case you'd like a prompt or two, how about these: throwing; prestidigitation; haze. And, um, reunion stories are always good... However, if you have an inspiration completely unrelated to these, go with it. I'm not wedded to anything in particular. I just love stories. Write the one you can do best.


* One big stipulation: if it should occur to you to write something in my Chronicles universe - please don't. I haven't finished it yet, and I know where it's going next, and I'll get all confused.

Also, my Beast is home again! And tomorrow, I depart! Poor Beast.