Gundam Wing Addiction Archives

28-Oct-2004
edited: 19-Nov-2004

 

 

Author's Note about the Stories

 

Every now and then, I get asked: what were you thinking? In fact, nearly every story has been written as a challenge to myself, to tackle a style, character, or (often clichéd) storyline. Listed in roughly chronological order.

Drums of Heaven.

  1. Write a Heero that isn't an unfeeling automaton;
  2. Write Duo as dark and cynical as the one in the series could be;
  3. Write a Quatre who does more than offer tea or places to stay;
  4. Have a significant thriller-suspense plotline with twists;
  5. Force Heero to question his oath in EW.

Behind the Scenes / Drums Omake.

Halted once the main story got so thick the commentaries started containing spoilers.

Of Cats and Wolves.

  1. write comedic, light-hearted story;
  2. answer various fantasy clichés where G-boys are part-animal.
Katikat wrote the one-shot that got me considering this challenge seriously.

Meeting Beatrice.

I thought deconstructing Shakespeare would show me one way it can be done. Lesson learned: I suck. Shakespeare's comedies require that we believe one or more characters can be utter morons, and I couldn't push myself to be that OOC. This is one of the few stories I'd willingly wipe from my memory and any archives. Read at your own risk.

Cinnamon, Mint, and Smoke.

  1. Write Duo;
  2. Use first-person POV;
  3. Write AU;
  4. Have non-traditional pairings.
It's won a few awards since, and seems to be a perennial favorite, so I guess something in it works.

Twenty-Five Years.

  1. Write a believable deathfic that makes people cry;
  2. Write contest fic.
This warning isn't on most versions of the story, however, as the point is that death comes unbidden and unexpected.

All of Me.

I couldn't bring myself to list lyrics at random points in the story, but wove the song into the story. So this is my version of a songfic (and still a favorite story of mine).

After Words.

One Moment.

  1. Write about the 'sidekicks' after the war;
  2. Get more practice at short stories, which require a very different skill set from writing full-length novels.
  3. Write challenge fic.

Of Cats and Wolves II.

Lesson learned: do not start a sequel if you don't love the new story as much as the original.

Broken Jade.

  1. Write a believable non-traditional pairing;
  2. Answer all those slave fics where Duo's a slave and learns to like it;
  3. Be realistic about the process of healing;
  4. Focus on POV and feelings of those around the survivor.

Find the Moon.

(I won't write a sequel, but I set it up for one simply because I like that kind of 'what happens next?' ending.)

Nothing Like the Sun. (Originally titled 'The Worst Thing'.)

  1. Write Quatre-centric story;
  2. Use first person POV in full-length story;
  3. Write non-traditional pairing for 03.
The last one didn't happen. Things don't always work out like the author plans.

Monster Trucks, Roadside Weeds, and the Art of Seducing Duo Maxwell.

  1. Write a get-together fic where Heero is the one pining, and Duo's clueless;
  2. Write it from someone else's POV.
Making it a comedy does mean characters get warped (I learned that from Beatrice) but I still like this Trowa.

Before the Beginning Series.

Try it Just This Once.

Utterly for fun and the sake of making people crack up on Sunday morning at Otakon.

And Takes Away.

  1. Write something spooky;
  2. Write 'happy ending' deathfic;
  3. Write contest fic.
Didn't quite manage the spooky element. The 'ghost' is so subtle as to be more a product of dreams. The two interweaving timelines ended up being the real challenge.

Echoes and Postscripts.

  1. Explore POVs that weren't expressed in Drums;
  2. Write non-linear storyline.
Still in progress, but not abandoned.

Tetractys.

  1. Put the G-girls in mecha;
  2. Tackle issues of sexuality and identity;
  3. Explore Newtypes;
  4. Write a full-blown war;
  5. Have Meiran as a major character who's not dead.

A Most Despicable Thing.

  1. Write sap;
  2. Make Saro cry.
Well, Saro didn't cry, though she did squeak in horror. And I did get a slew of angry emails telling me that someone had spoofed my email address and posted a horrible story under my name. I feel vindicated.

To Be Determined.

  1. Write a short-story entirely in present tense;
  2. Write a 1+2 get-together;
  3. Distill Heero's interactions with other pilots;
  4. Write contest fic.
  5. Write fluff.
I failed on the last count.

Trace.

  1. Write a more traditional deathfic;
  2. Write a Duo/Wufei interaction;
  3. Demonstrate continuity with the Trowa/Duo tension from the series;
  4. Write contest fic.

Michelangelo.

  1. Write a Heero self-exploration story;
  2. Explore a post-1+R angle;
  3. Write friendship genfic between pilots.

Baltimore.

  1. Write songfic;
  2. Write from OC POV;
  3. Write sidestory to Nothing Like the Sun, concerning Trowa

Kingfisher.

  1. Use fairy tales as metaphor;
  2. Tackle 'amnesia fic' cliche;
  3. Write multi-parter in present tense;
It was not planned as a deathfic; in fact, it was supposed to be substantially longer. Realizing the way it was heading, I had to revise massively, far more than usual, especially considering the entire story was only 10K words. However, the impact on the readers was pretty substantial, and the fairy-tale metaphor of Scheherazade seemed to have worked quite well, so I consider it a success.

Tissues & Cobblestones.

  1. Write something happy;
  2. Parody the feminine gene habit of crying at sad movies, and male reactions;
  3. Attempt a PWP.
I'm not sure I managed the last one, but it's about as close as I'll probably ever get.

Howl.

  1. Tackle the 'werewolf fic' cliche;
  2. Deal with questions of population control and religion;
  3. Mix and match as many pairings as possible, in one fic.

 

 

Now you know the purposes behind the stories, and what I was trying to achieve. Not all of them worked, and some of them worked only insofar as a writer would qualify them as a 'success.' Even if some aren't much fun for the readers, enough worked that I'm mildly pleased with the majority.

(:./sol/notes1)

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