my love affair with everywhere was innocent; why do you care

[frith_in_thorns]

I can't be the only person who really loves filling prompts but just cannot ever think of any to leave for other people. Like, the only "prompts" I can think of are either the equivalent of a bingo card square or an incredibly detailed plot with no wiggle-room at all. And I don't feel that either of those things are particularly helpful to drop onto a comm/meme.

I sometimes feel rather guilty about this, actually. Like I'm going in and stealing all the prompts while leaving none in return XD I guess this is why I never have a problem with people posting lots and lots of prompts to a meme, which some people don't like? My reaction tends to be YESSS MORE PROMPTS EVERYWHERE rather than NO STOP PROMPTING UNTIL WE GET MORE FILLS. Which seems to be the stance that sherlockbbcfic and collarcorner take (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

There doesn't really seem to be a point I'm making. Just thinking aloud. What are other peoples' opinions on this?

- - -

I'm writing quite a lot of stuff at the moment. Yay! Although I looked through my notebook, and estimating 500 words per side (I actually fit slightly more on, but it's a good standard) I have 23,000 words to be typed onto the computer. UM. WHAT.

Also, this sort of conversation with helle_d is responsible for a lot of the fic I produce:
Me: Okay, so I've got this concept for the characters [explains].
Her: Yeah, I like that, write it.
Me: Well, I need to think of a plot to fit it into.
Her: Concussion.
Me: ...That's not a plot.
Her: Yes it is. It's a good plot. Write it!

So yeah.

- - -

Finally, just because I really like today's a softer world:


This needs a fic

Comments

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

Concussion is absolutely a plot.

[frith_in_thorns]

...I realise I don't really have any moral high ground here :P

[embroiderama]

I fall somewhere in the middle regarding comment-fic memes. I definitely think it's cool that some people are better at writing fills and some people are better at writing prompts, so I don't think there should be any pressure for any person to do both. However, I support putting limits on how many prompts a person can leave at one time. People in WC fandom seem entirely civilized about these things, but in other fandom comment-fic memes I've been a part of I've seen cases where there would be literally three pages of prompts that were all from two people, and they were variations on two or three themes. Coincidentally, people who do that kind of thing generally leave awful badfic prompts so it's really uncool. I've run a couple of fic memes and I think my rule has been no more than five prompts from each person to begin with, but if some of those get filled or some time goes by, then posting more prompts is awesome. :)

Also, yes, concussion is totally a plot.

[frith_in_thorns]

Oh yeah, I didn't really consider that aspect -- I think the (few) fic memes I've hung out on have been pretty well-behaved. Having basically the same prompt over and over would indeed get annoying fast.

I find prompts fun to read, even ones I have no intention of filling. They're a bit like tiny mini stories, except that they get posted more frequently than stories do :D

[sholio]

I don't think the prompt thing is something you should feel AT ALL guilty for! \o/ There are always way more prompts than writers in any promptfest, and in my opinion, someone who just wants to come in and fill prompts is worth their weight in GOLD. :D (Especially when they write awesome fills like the one you just wrote for me!)

Personally I kinda appreciate an occasional break in prolific promptfests (like CollarCorner) because there are usually a bucketload of prompts I want to fill, so sometimes I like to just stop and breathe and finish some of the fics that I already have started rather than having a whole new pile of prompts unloaded on me. *g* But I also have the attention span of a goldfish, and can't seem to come across a new promptfest without going "Ooh, I want to write THAT and THAT and THAT ..."

[frith_in_thorns]

Haha, I totally feel you on the goldfish-like attention span when it comes to fic-writing XD I am all SHINY NEW IDEA MUST START WRITING IT NOWWWW far too often :P But I also do really enjoy reading the prompts that people post, even ones that don't massively appeal to me.

But yeah, I think I've only posted about two prompts total to collarcorner, and one of them was pretty much exactly: "Neal is poisoned". Yeah, really not good at thinking them up :P Filling them is so much more fun for me!

(On the other hand, people who get me in fic exchanges probably hate me, since I can spend hours trying to think up required prompts and not come up with anything much better than the above...)

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with sholio about someone coming in and mostly filling prompts - even in really good promptfests, comment fic memes, etc., there are always more prompts than fills, so you shouldn't feel guilty at all.

And I wouldn't worry about people hating you in fic exchanges. Different writers like different kinds of prompts, and there's totally room for a variety of styles. Personally, I'd rather get a bunch of very broad/general prompts than a bunch of "mini stories" if I'm writing for someone in an exchange. If the prompts are too specific, and I don't really connect with any of them, I find it hard to get going and worry about straying too far and disappointing the prompter. This is less of issue with promptfests and the like, as you can write to whatever prompts you want.

On a related note, what I don't understand is prompts which are so long and detailed that they pretty much are the whole story.

ETA: Here via a friend's friends page. :-)

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

what I don't understand is prompts which are so long and detailed that they pretty much are the whole story.

As a person who is guilty of posting one or two of these in the past (though...they haven't been that detailed, just a general plot description, and I always disclaim that the writer can go off-prompt if they like), I can perhaps shed light? For me, I post prompts like that because I have an idea for a story in my head that like...I really want to read, but I don't necessarily want to write it, because I am lazy/busy/have too many fics to write already. So I stick it up there like...an orphan story? All, "Hai guise! Fully-formed plot here! Just add characters! Ready-to-write!" and so on?

Sometimes I feel like I'm making things too hard for the potential writer who fills the prompt - but on the other hand, I figure that nobody has to fill it if they don't want to. So...heh?

[frith_in_thorns]

I like those prompts, I find it fun writing to specific constraints sometimes :)

[frith_in_thorns]

Hello! *waves* :)

Actually, when I'm writing for an exchange, I prefer the long, quite specific prompts - especially if I don't know the person I'm writing for, I'll be worrying about not writing what they want, so long prompts means it's easier for me to be able to do that. Which is probably why I assume that everyone hates my prompts XD It's good to remember that people like different things, I guess :)

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

You posted a prompt that I am in the process of filling! "Something Happens to Neal's Plane", I think? Man, I loved that prompt. So, you can prompt like a boss, when you need to!

[frith_in_thorns]

I'd managed to forget about that one XD WOOOO YOU'RE GOING TO FILL IT!!!! :D :D

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

YES I AM. I am just desperately trying to finish one or two of my almost-done-but-frustratingly-not-there-yet WIPs, and then that prompt is at the top of my list!!!! The minute I saw it I turned on Peter Gabriel's "I Grieve" and like…outlined it in about 20 minutes, though. So……:D

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Omg, I have the opposite problem to you. I have about 473845643756743865843657846 prompts, but I can only human fill so many at a time (especially since every time I go to write a "one shot" lately, it ends up as like...10K words or something D:). I love prompt memes because I can give away the hundreds of ideas I get that I can't use myself. :D

As far as you are concerned: YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO FILL AS MANY PROMPTS AS YOU WANT FOREVER AND I CAN GIVE YOU PERMISSION BECAUSE I AM THE BOSS OF THE UNIVERSE AND PLZ FILL PROMPTS NOW THX.

.....*cough* I mean: I love your fic, and have no problem with you "hogging" the prompts. XD

Also, I think concussion is a plot. I wrote a whole "drabble" (read: 1500 word fic) the other week, where concussion was the plot! XD

Also, I effing LOVE asofterworld. I have all my favourites saved to my hard drive. I want to do like...a WC fic fest where all the prompts are softer world comics.

ETA: I was just trying to think of a name for said fic fest, and had this train of thought:

"Hmm....we need like a portmanteau of "white collar" and "a softer world". ...How about "a whiter world"!?!?! ....Wait, no, that sounds like some kind of KKK thing. ...."A softer collar"?!?! ....No, that sounds like laundry detergent..."

[frith_in_thorns]

:D I also love your prompts! Please keep posting them!! I'm trying not to start new fics at the moment because argh wcpairings and whitecollarbb (they have to be long! I tend to max out at a couple of thousand words atm, so argh), but I have not forgotten that I promised you fics. I will get around to them eventually! once I stop making a million icons of Lin Bei Fong's face

Types of hurt are indeed plots! (And I loved your concussion fic!) But possibly not when the concept was a specific type of relationship dynamic :P :P Although it's wandering off into h/c now anyway, because I have no control over my stories or something.

Hah, I have a page in my scriver file which is my favourite pieces of text that I transcribed from asw comics, and I use them as prompts sometimes. There was a fest like that a while ago, called "a softer meme", but it was general. A WC one would be awesome!

P.S. I have just seen the fic you posted and it looks WONDERFUL but I have to go out in a few minutes :( I shall read it later, with tea.

*pretends you didn't leave this comment like….3 days ago, ahem*

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Awww, TY! :D But dude, don't be sorry about no fics - any fics from you are good magic! I am excited to see your BB etc, eeee!

(also, ha, every time I see "BB" I think "Breaking Bad", which I am also pretty obsessed with - and I get confused, then excited about a WC/Breaking Bad Crossover, and then I'm like "….Ohhhhh, no, BB is that thing I have to write that huge fic for. …..ohgod." XD)

Apparently someone on collarcorner is filling two of my prompts in the one story, though, which makes me very excited. :D

And, djskdjks. I may have to create that ficfest once a couple of the big deadlines are past and WC fandom can breathe again. I could call it "a collared world"? XD

And, awwww, thank you! God, it is epic and depressing, so don't hurry. Or…like, feel pressure to read it at all. *cough*

Re: *pretends you didn't leave this comment like….3 days ago, ahem*

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Oh, and….um, my last boyfriend was kind of like a walking concussion? In that he made my head hurt really badly and I threw up a lot when he was around, and he may have caused me permanent brain damage? XD

….Okay, I do get your point. Maybe concussion is a limited-scope plot, relationship-wise.

[frith_in_thorns]

I'm sorry for not replying before to any of your comments in various places, I've had such a bad week :S But I am now trying to work my way through all the things on the internet I should have been doing. "Will eventually get it done" should be my life motto, or something.

I've heard good things about Breaking Bad, but I never really felt that much inclination to watch it, I'm not all that sure why. Although my TV preference seems to be for either not-too-dark procedurals, and sci-fi. So, there's that.

I also didn't realise you were writing for the big bang. I'm now excited about that! What sort of thing are you writing? Does it have Neal being hurt?

I am amused at you calling your ex a concussion. (I mean, that sounds like it was totally shit to experience, but the comparison is amusing.) I'm not quite sure what mine would be, possibly the sort of depressive episode that makes you think you're not quite a real person. (I am still pretty bitter about being dumped by email right before my Finals, lol.)

Btw, "a collared world" sounds like it's for a D/s AU :P Possibly this is a lasting legacy of the Sherlock meme, which was really full of these. (And werewolves.) But you should run it! It will be really fun! :D (I'm loving the latest asw strip.)

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Not at all! I never expect…people to reply to me? Haha, especially since I go on a lot. Don't even begin to worry about it. <3

You know, I heard about Breaking Bad when it premiered - and didn't watch it until this year? I had the same reluctance to watch. And then I was like "OH FINE" after a friend told me it was amazing, and put the pilot on - and….ended up watching the entire first season in one night. And then the second season in one day. Etc. It's ADDICTIVE, much like the meth it centres around, haha. That said, I like my stories darkdarkdark, and BrBa (hee! BromineBarium - even the abbreviation is all chemistryish) is as dark as it gets - though, it has a lot of black humour in it, too. If you're intrigued, I recommend you watch this video (http://youtu.be/fYBTX_GmSM8) (it has some spoilers, but they're mashed up and without context mean nothing) - it's what convinced me to watch the show, and apparently the entire cast of the show loved said fanvid so much they put it on their Twitters and stuff. If you have a science background you'll probably get more out of it than the average person, because it's nerdariffic. :D

Interestingly, one of the main attractions to Breaking Bad for me is the relationship between the older guy and the younger dealer guy? In much the same way as White Collar. Except like...Walt/Jesse go in a totally different direction to Peter/Neal - whereas the latter is on an upward trajectory (generally), the latter is on a downward trajectory (that is - Neal is better off for having met Peter, but Jesse would be better off if he'd never met walt) - it's hilarious to be a fan of both, because you end up comparing and contrasting. ...And wanting to write crossover fic. *cough*

And, I signed up really late! ….And now have to produce a fic in like 2 weeks, whoops? Although, considering I wrote a "one shot" tonight that came to 8851 words, I'm not concerned about making the limit, haha. I'm using my "Peter is secretly being drugged and becomes insanely paranoid" idea - so there is Nealwhump! But…secondary to Peterwhump? It's a doublewhump. :D I'm excited for your BB too! Even though I'm not sure what it's about - everything you write is amazing. :D If you're looking for Nealwhump though, I wrote a spectacularly miserable BB-length (actually, I think it's too long to qualify for BB) NealWhump last week?

And, ahem! I was totally laughing at the idea, don't worry - I am a scumbag magnet, so a concussion ex is the least of my worries. He actually stalked me by sending me pictures of kittens (like…passive-agressive "HOW DARE YOU DUMP ME" kitten pics, lol wtf). So he's no loss. I'm so sorry about yours, though. What a jerkass. D:

And, lmao, it does sound kinky. I might make it after I finish making horrorbingo. *coughcoughcough* I seriously like…need to finish one project before I move onto the next one. O.o

[frith_in_thorns]

Passive-aggressive...kittens. I HAVE NO WORDS. He sounds like a real winner :| At least mine was just... massively focused on her own stuff, to the extent that she didn't even tell me why she was suddenly breaking up with me. (The email was literally, I've decided being in a relationship with you is bad for me, but I hope this won't affect our friendship.) I don't think she at all gets why I can't bear to speak to her since.

Lol, I was actually reading your long fic when I got this comment reply :P I meant to read it when you posted it, but then a lot of things went to hell at once in RL, and I decided to wait until I was in a better mind-place. But I love it to bits. All the bits. (Not sure why it would be too long to qualify for BB, though? :S There's a min of 10k words, but no max iirc.)

I like the sound of yours, and I shall look forward very much to reading it! :D Mine's based on a prompt sholio made, where Peter's in trouble and Neal goes off-anklet to save him because the FBI won't let him do things his way. Also doublewhump :P Although I've kind of stalled, argh. I used to be able to write long fics...

Also, horrorbingo looks really great! :D *waits avidly for it to open*

[saphirablue]

Well, I always feel bad when I leave prompts because I can't write and therefore give back. So, I don't prompt on memes (except in my own) and inflict my "bunnies" on my f-list instead when they get too pushy.

In general I'm thinking - the more prompts the better because the writers/artists have more prompts/options to choose from. :) But I understand when big (multifandom) comms/memes say: Only x prompts per prompter please; because I think these would explode with prompts otherwise and would be even more difficult to navigate.

[frith_in_thorns]

Aww, you should definitely leave prompts! You could always leave them anonymously if you were worried :) At least in small fandoms, more prompts are definitely better, in my opinion :)

[leesa_perrie]

As someone whose writing is still hit and miss, I prefer commentfests that don't require you to fill as well - but I only leave a few prompts because I don't want to be greedy, and also, probably won't be filling any!

On the white collar h/c comm there was a commentfest for art and fic recently, but all the prompts were fic, so I couldn't fill them - that was annoying, as I wanted to fill at least one but really struggled to find even one I could interpret with photo manip type artwork! Oh well!!

Not sure this really answered anything...

Btw, concussion is so a plot!! :D

I'm sorry for my lack of replying lately!!

[frith_in_thorns]

I think all of the commentfests/memes are open for art fills as well as fic? There don't really seem to be many people in WC fandom who do art sort of things, so I guess it's not something that occurs to people when they're leaving prompts. But I'm sure people would welcome any sort of art interpretation! :)

Re: I'm sorry for my lack of replying lately!!

[leesa_perrie]

I think next time I'll just take one.more of the characters mentioned in the prompt and make a wallpaper, rather than try to interpret the plot idea in some arty way! Probably overthinking it - thanks!