What was your "Breakthrough Fic"?

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Jezebel Jinx
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Re: What was your "Breakthrough Fic"?

Post by Jezebel Jinx »

I got a couple/few fics that I would consider my breakout fics.

The first is AWA: Journey of Discovery because of the amount of feedback I've gotten on it and usually if I get e-mails asking me when I'm going to update a fic it's almost always about that one.

These few others are breakout in terms of my writing. Giving In, I didn't get a lot of feedback on this one but I was still very proud of it because I felt I took Liz to a place that I hadn't written before. Liz is raped by Angelus a couple weeks into meeting him and instead of emotionally (or physically) fighting back, which is what I normally write, she retreats and as Angelus's power over her grows she separates herself more from the group until, in her mind anyway, he is the only thing she has left. She is hugely dependant on Angelus and her relationship with him is one where she has little to absolutely no power. Liz feels like Angelus is the only one worth anything and he becomes everything to her, no matter how twisted it is he's her everything. Although going as dark as I did wasn't the original idea for GI my muse was pointing me in that direction and I completely followed. There were moments where I was wondering if it was too much and I decided to not care, I was going with my muse wherever she took me on that one, no matter how dark it got.

Another is The One Left Behind, usually I try to get the main couple I have in mind for a fic together fairly quickly however with this one Liz still hasn't met Dean yet. Liz is going through the death of her parents and she's not bouncing back for a while and I wanted to write that part of her journey before meeting Dean. I wrote a fairly tight outline for TOLB, which I rarely do, and besides a few minor changes here and there I'm following the outline closely, again something I rarely do.
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hauntedd
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Re: What was your "Breakthrough Fic"?

Post by hauntedd »

Oh wow, this is a great topic.

I think there were two very different periods of writing that I went through in my time in the fandom and they both dealt with two different ships -- Michael/Liz and Michael/Tess. However, both are very Tess-positive, which shouldn't come as a shock, since I've written an entire essay on how to write Tess better and she is definitely my favorite character.

1. Hell and Bliss. I'm not really sure what I can really say about this fic that hasn't been said in certain circles already. Honestly, I was 15 when I wrote this and there are lots of things I would change if I reworked it now (but, it's been 10 years, so that'll happen) -- but I'm proud of it in context and I wish I'd finished it. I mean, it's definitely not the best-written thing structurally (which I can admit now b/c I've got the benefit of hindsight and I've improved a lot as a writer), however it was I think the first time, as a fic writer, that I'd managed to include a pretty detailed plot in a fic, and I think there was a lot of innovative stuff in it.

Most notably, at the time it was written (mid-late season 2), it was extremely rare to see Tess portrayed favorably, even in polar fics, and I'd made a point to include that POV in the fic, because it would be interesting to see how it worked out. And it did work out, really, really well as she was well received in H&B and started this awesome trend of polar writers being kinder to my girl, Tess.

Obviously, there are other things that make the fic a bit more notable, including the death scene, which was extreme, and also kind of funny at the time. It was right around the time Max was becoming irrational and kind of a douche in season 2, so it was kind of cathartic. Would I change it now? No. I would, however, rewrite some parts of it to make the emotions even raw-er.

2. Analecta.

This is my favorite fic. I loved every minute of writing this, even though it started as a dare/threat during a chat with my lovely Polar Mafia while I was drunk. There's a lot of drunk chatting that goes on in mafia-conversations. I'd thought for a good, long, while that Michael and Tess were well suited for one another and it grossed some of my fellow polarists out.

So, I wrote a fic (Firewalker) to see who was right. It turned out, I was and after I wrote Michael & Tess it was basically over for me. I loved the couple, and had to write a multi-parter to show how they could work, even based on what we were given in the show's context.

Thankfully, other people got on board. I'm always humbled when people try out a ship they might not have thought of at first and are open to the experience. So my little army of Mental Vibrators hold a special place in my cold, black heart, because it's my little Roswell ship that could.

Since then I've done lots of other MV stuff, but Analecta remains my favorite. It was hard and it took forever and sometimes they didn't agree with me and sometimes Tess and Michael wouldn't shut up (causing 20+ page parters that had to be split up), but I'm proud of the end result.
polarattraction.net because I don't go to sleep to dream :)
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KatnotKath
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Re: What was your "Breakthrough Fic"?

Post by KatnotKath »

I don't know whether I can say that I'm that well known on the board (especially after having been gone for over a year). However if I look over my stories, two stick out as far as I'm concerned:

Family Connections - A story which is still going strong years later. This seems to be a fic which people remember even if they drift in and out, loosing it for a while and then coming back. I also liked the freedom. When I started it, it was the first time I had strayed from cannon really, exploring slightly different possibilities with the characters. I loved the idea then, and still do now although I probably should have wound it up a long while ago rather than taking it further...now I keep digging myself into a hole (although trying to get out of it can be fun).

When Love and Loss Collide - It was an idea which hit me and simply wouldn't leave me alone. I had to write it! I wrote 10 first draft chapters in the first week, and continued writing ahead throughout. It was my first venture into angst, and what a venture it was! My writing took on a completely different dimension, going from being generally easy and fluffy to anything but! It pushed me a long way out of my comfort zone but I'm so glad I did it. I know it was a rollercoaster, and many people wanted me to recify things sooner, but when I look back, I'm really glad I stuck to my guns and continued as had already been written.

Right now of course, any writing is breakthrough :), it's been a long year and I'm delighted to be back writing at all.
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
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memory_echo
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Re: What was your "Breakthrough Fic"?

Post by memory_echo »

I finally have enough fics posted to write about breakthroughs. ;)

For me, "Hell's Gate" was my breakthrough fic. It was a very dark and troubled story, one I thought was simply going to be ignored on the board, but it got a good amount of attention and feedback from readers. It turned out to be a wonderful experience for me, because it never once crossed my mind that a story about Tess and Liz could gather such a readership; I never imagined other readers would be willing to make that journey with me! :D
∞ Max & Liz – The most sublime Love story ever told! ∞

Here's my latest fic, written for all devout Dreamers out there: Everloving.
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