Hello,
First FF, I've done, ever--canon, behind-the-scenes, PG-13, character study. First draft complete, now polishing mostly. It's a simple premise: Tara gives Willow a manicure. Yes, sounds kind of lame, but I'm just trying to get my feet wet here.
I'm trying to more or less stick to canon (season 4), except the timing is a little off, set after New Moon Rising but before Yoko Factor and it's about a month between the two episodes here. It doesn't bother me, hope it doesn't you.
This draft is fairly polished as far as spelling/grammar. I have issues with my style (being prolix, which has been pointed out to me by many an English professor), so you may too.
There are issues that I'd like specific responses to if any of you would be so kind. In no particular order:
1. Code/programming tech talk in first section - I took BASIC in high school about 20 years ago and had my fill. I don't get all this newfangled hi-tech mumbo jumbo the kids are spouting today (that creaking you hear in the background is my rocking chair) but I at least want the first 2 paragraphs to be credible.
2. Manicure mechanics - I've never had a professional one, so this is all based on personal experiences. You can tell me I'm doing it wrong, I won't crumble and gnash my teeth.
3. Characterization - the biggie. I've only been into the show for 6 months or so and I kind of took the Willow-Tara pairing as a convenient way to explore more universal lesbian issues without having to create a lot of backstory (yes, I'm lazy). But I still want it to be true to the characters themselves.
4. Tara's speech patterns - Does she stutter correctly? At the right times?
5. The ending - doesn't seem enough to me, but I wanted to wrap things up. I wrote 10 pages on someone getting a manicure, for godsakes.
Or anything else that you want to respond to, really. Like I said, I'm new at this, looks like most of you are not, so I'm open to suggestions for becoming better at this genre. My writing has been criticized by professionals, so I've got pretty thick skin. You can let me have it! (ouch!)
BTW, feel free to email or PM me if you'd prefer. Unfortunately, I'm not online a lot and sometimes I come home too tired from work to browse the boards myself.
Thanks,
binky
