Sketch: Sunshine Challenge, Prompt 1

[paulamcg]

Prompt 1: Red
Red is a strong color that is associated with a variety of things including: courage, power, glory, love, passion, inner strength, romance, sensuality, defiance, tenacity, violence, life, pleasure, fire, and revolution.

This challenge has made me do something outside my comfort zone. I've never before posted a picture on DW. (EDIT Or on AO3, where I've managed to get this a day later./EDIT)

And I've never shared (or made) a piece of fanart. This is just a sketch based on a scene I've been composing when rewriting an old fic about Remus Lupin in Paris in 1984. My Remus is an artist, and just yesterday I wrote about him painting with red, wearing this red jumper borrowed from a lover.

Comments

[bemused_writer]

Of course! It's awesome seeing some HP stuff both fan art and fanfic. ^^

Ahh, the past tense is just because it's been so long since I've read the series. ^^" Remus is still a favorite. ^^ I've been meaning to do a reread this year (I've been slowly collecting the UK edition), so this could serve as some inspiration for it! ^^

[paulamcg]

Thank you for still commenting! I'm happy if I – or the challenge? – can contribute to your getting inspired to read... at least some Remus fanfic! :) I reread the series a couple of years ago, then all my old fanfic, and in February last year I started writing again after an eight-year hiatus. (All my fics follow only the first five books in the series and belong to the same story of Remus's life, although every fic can be read separately as well.)

[bemused_writer]

Definitely the reminder of Remus helped. ^^ I had quite a bit of a fanfic-writing hiatus myself (got back into it in 2018 when my last fic was from 2012 and with how much I've written lately I can only assume I'm trying to make up for lost time).

Rereading our old fic and still enjoying it--and wanting to add to it!--is such a great feeling. So glad that's how it went for you. ^^

[paulamcg]

It's lovely to hear you've been happily and prolificly back after so many years. I was surprised how meaningful it suddenly felt to keep adding to the story I'd thought I'd completed in 2010 (when finishing a long chaptered fic set after OotP). In 2019 I wrote 24 short stories, 121 000 words altogether. But now I'm slowing down – when I'm finding more people to spend time on talking to.

(I subscribed back yesterday – before reading your profile – and also gave you access, as I give to everybody, even though I've so far made no locked posts. If I ever make any, they're likely to be drafts for fics, as I hardly ever post about real life.)

[bemused_writer]

I've been having a great deal of fun with it. ^^ And I've met a lot of people through writing as well, so that's been really cool! Sounds like you wrote up a storm there; that is awesome. ^^ Getting back into the swing of it and finding it even more fun and meaningful than before is part of what's kept me at it, too.

As for my access list policy, there's no worries. I'm always flattered when people add me to theirs. ^^ Real life stuff, fandom stuff, it's all good. When I say I don't want to see nonstop negativity, we really are talking like... bucketloads of it. ^^" That can be rough. But a little venting here and there is no problem; I think we all do that.

[paulamcg]

The chance to meet people – more exactly to interact with other writers and readers – was the reason I became a fanfic writer. Before my hiatus I developed some great writerly relationships. After returning to post fic on my Livejournal, I was surprised I persisted without any interaction for nine months, too busy writing fic (and really a lot of it, by my standards, as I've always been a slow writer) to look around for activity on other platforms. Since December I've written mainly for fests. It's lovely to find out that I'm not the only one – and perhaps crazy trying to get back what my fandom life used to be – and that it makes sense we're here, because we're finding it even more fun and meaningful than before.

Thank you! It's good to know that an occasional brief complaint (for instance about not being allowed to work from home) won't bother you :) I also try not to mention too often that a fic having got no attention makes me sad, and to focus on these happy occasions of sharing.

[bemused_writer]

The interaction that can come from fanfic is a lot of fun. ^^ I love the reviews, but I've been amazed at the level of interaction with meta (which I've taken up doing with a lot more frequency as well)! That has been a great deal of fun. ^^ I've started doing fests with more frequency (I signed up for my first Big Bang ever this year) and I've been enjoying it a great deal. Prompts really do help spark some ideas and get me talking about stuff I might not have thought of otherwise.

I really don't think you have to worry about it. ^^" I really am thinking of a very specific kind of negativity onslaught rather than talking about the day-to-day or fanfic and such. I'll work on the wording in my Profile! ^^

[paulamcg]

I love discussing fics (and not only mine), but since my return I've got a lot more interaction with other than fic posts.

I've never signed up for big word counts, and I rather try to keep my fest fics short, partly because I think it's more likely that the other participants give a chance to a short fic despite not knowing the writer. Besides, I've felt no urge to compose another chaptered fic after my very first fic turned out a novel which took seven years to complete. It's interesting to hear that, you, too, do fests more often than before. Back when I was working on the novel, I did very few fests.

Oh, no worries about changing the wording in your profile. I just got overly cautious afterwards because I'd hurried and added you without reading it first. The negativity statement's about locked posts, after all, and I don't even lock any posts! :) Thank you for responding to all my concerns!

[bemused_writer]

Big word counts can be tough with a deadline, that's for sure. And after writing so much, I can see why you'd like a bit of a break! For me, one of the reasons I didn't do fests so much before was because I was very unsure of my ability. XD A lot of those nerves are gone nowadays, so it's much more manageable. ^^

Of course! I'm glad I could clarify it. ^^

[paulamcg]

Oh, I'm sorry I failed to reply earlier to this further comment on my fanart post!

Yes, I guess I've always been at least a bit unsure of my ability to reach a certain wordcount (above 5000 words or so) when writing with a deadline, as I'm a slow writer. Besides, because I want every fic I write to be consistent with and also meaningful in my single "universe" of the characters' lives, I still always check that there is a suitable prompt or a chance for self-prompting before I sign up.

But I wouldn't call this a bit of a break, really! I had an eight-year break, after all. :) After that I've written (among others) a couple of 9k-word fics, one of 11k words, and one 19k-word fic, which I guess could be called a novella (but I didn't make even that one chaptered).

It's good to hear you find fests so much fun now – and I guess a little bit of nerves is part of the thrill. :)

[bemused_writer]

No worries! And very true. ^^ Ahh, long oneshots such as your 19k one are some of my favorites.

[paulamcg]

Thank you for the reassuring comment! I've thought that long oneshots are the hardest to get readers for, but there must be all kinds of preferences. Perhaps you mean your favourites to write… In any case, if you want to have a look at this one, you'll find it here: The Angel of Charity, or This Awfully Long Month.

[bemused_writer]

Oh, I mean both. :D It can be hard to get people to read them, but I've found that those who do usually like them a great deal more? At least, that was the reception I got for the two Vanitas no Carte fics I did that were around that length (Dealing with Monsters and When We Fall Asleep). I will definitely take a look; sounds interesting!

[paulamcg]

I love those titles you mention! It's a pity I don't know that canon you write for at all, and I suppose when reading a long oneshot, it can be more important to know the canon – than when reading a single intimate scene, I mean. Is there something suitable you'd like to self-rec for me to read?

I'll be thrilled if you have a look at that Remus-pov fic, perhaps also let me know what you think, even in case you don't have the time to read all of it. It's one of those I wrote last year when I wasn't in contact with anyone in the fandom.

[bemused_writer]

It's my ongoing goal to get more people into Vanitas no Carte whenever possible. XD It's a great manga.

As for what I'd recommend of mine... Hmm, I'm actually not sure what our mutual fandoms are outside of HP! And the only thing I have uploaded that I wrote for that was when I was a teen, so not a very good representative of my current writing. I've written for several manga/anime, some video games... Some of the more popular titles would be The Untamed, Good Omens, and Voltron if you're into any of those series?

I'll definitely leave a review when I read; I try to be on top of that kind of thing. (^^)