dear yuletide writer

[3pipeproblem]

First of all, please accept my profuse apologies for taking so long to come back to this letter. RL hijinks, email nonsense, and (mild) illness all conspired to keep me from updating in anything approaching a timely fashion. And since it's been so long, please know that I'll be happy with anything you write me—feel free to use this letter as a source of inspiration if you're feeling stuck, but don't stress over anything in it. I can roll with pretty much anything, story-wise.

As far as your specific questions go, I'm absolutely fine with both canon divergence (in fact, I'd be super into it) and character death.

If you want more information about my personal preferences, read on! If you're already in the groove or have finished my fic (lol), ignore!

A lot of this can probably be inferred from my taste in canons, but I enjoy: stories with a strong sense of place/stories where the setting almost functions as a character; that (bitter)sweet spot between comedy and drama (and moments that tip from funny into tragic); a good simile; characters giving terrible advice; unnecessary semicolons; characters struggling to define themselves/reconcile seemingly conflicting aspects of themselves (AS WELL AS people who don't get along because they remind each other of themselves); dramatic irony; unreliable narrators and deep dives into a character's unique perspective. I like when—even if they're doing the right thing—characters have to make hard choices that have unavoidable consequences. Flawed people in complicated relationships are my jam, and if you can somehow further complicate things with, say, canonical technological developments/plot points, so much the better.

As for dislikes, I'm not terribly fond of 2nd person narration or on-the-nose meta humor (a character being told they look like the actor who plays them, for example), but neither of these are deal breakers.

So, that's pretty much it! I hope this letter was helpful (or at least entertaining). If you're worried about including sensitive subject matter in your fic, know that if it appears in canon, I'm fine with it (as long as it's not amped up to the point of gratuitousness or used to character bash).

Happy writing, and I can't wait to read what you come up with!

Comments

[morbane]

Hello 3pipeproblem, if you're still planning to update this letter, could you let us know please when you have done so? There are also a couple of questions we sent you by email - your author would appreciate you including the answers to those. Thank you! Understood if you wish to delete this comment after updating.

[3pipeproblem]

Hi Morbane, I'm so sorry, I somehow overlooked or didn't receive your email--would you mind resending it to alanshore at gmail (or just replying to me here with the questions)? Thank you!

[morbane]

I've forwarded them. Thank you very much for the reply!

[3pipeproblem]

Got them, thanks!