Comments on writing and in general

[lls_mutant]

Ugh. Where has my talent gone? It couldn't have gone far. :P The past week or so I haven't been able to write for shit. ANYTHING. I just stare at the screen.

Okay, that's exaggerating. I did finish my Keeping the Faith review, and I'm relatively pleased with it. The thing about Keeping the Faith is there's SO much I could say on that movie, but you do have to let people actually find some stuff out by watching it. I think I hit a pretty good balance- I didn't go into too much detail about the plot, but I rhapsodized for ages about the relationships. It's occurred to me that the Jake-Brian friendship has to be one of my favorite relationships ever, and don't be surprised if there's much more James-Sirius in AiL this time. (Although I was already half-planning that.) Those deep-as-brotherhood friendships are really fun (and are why I can see people not slashing Sirius and Remus. They're fun as friends, too.)

AiL seems to be revving up again, which is good. However, the femgenficathon fic and the Lost Years fic need to be finished. ::sigh:: And I don't expect to get tons of writing done this week, because hubby is HOME! :):):) (I'll take that over writing any day!)

Speaking of AiL, can someone please tell Frank and Remus that, no matter what's going on in my head, they're NOT sleeping together? PLEASE? There's two excellent reasons for it: 1.) I don't like writing marital infidelity, and while Sirius and Remus are far from married, Frank IS married. 2.) I want Sirius to suspect Remus for reasons that have nothing to do with their relationship or with sex. I want him to suspect Remus because of how Remus is acting, and more than that, I want him to have a damn good reason. That's all there in my head. I know why Sirius suspects Remus. But I feel like making Remus act weird because he cheated on Sirius is a cheap way out, and really ignores the dynamics that were likely there. The frustrating thing- and the little serpant in my head keeps whispering- 1.) I could do this, and do it well. (Which kind of scares me.) The guilt and all plays in later, too, to when Remus leaves town long before the Longbottoms are tortured, and explains WHY he didn't have Frank to lean on. (Although it's still easy to do that, and again, I don't want to give up the non-sexual reason.) and 2.) When people write Remus and Sirius in their decline, if they write cheating, they ALWAYS write Sirius cheating. I don't think Sirius would be the one to cheat. Sirius would be the one to stick it out, because he's stubborn and loyal and honest. Remus would be the one to cheat, because he looks for the easy way out and he's much more willing to give up, and on some fronts he's weaker than Sirius. So why is it always Sirius would cheat or poor ickle innocent Remus? But while I enjoy bucking conventions with AiL, I think this is one of those times that bucking the convention would harm the story I'm trying to tell.

Guess I should get back to writing. Oh- had the three hour gestational diabetes test yesterday. We'll see what the results are in a few days, I imagine. My mother is 100% convinced I've got it. Thanks, Mom ;)

Comments

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Huzzah for hubby being home! And I definitely agree about Sirius and the cheating and whatnot, which makes me excited to see the new chapters of AIL. :)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

It will be a while, but I've given up holding off on writing it. I'll write whatever comes into my head these days. :P Thanks :)

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I totally know the feeling. I just got into my new apt and got my computer set up and all so now getting back into writing things is like being the tin man on no oil. Hard and loud. Hehe.

[nassima.livejournal.com]

Why not keeping the Remus cheating on Sirius plotline for a separate one shot? And even write it now, if it helps you get it out of your system? Because I'd love to see your take on it, for the reasons you exposed here.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I might have to give it a try. It would be interesting, at least. See what the muse dictates! But the idea of a one-shot is a good one. Hmmmm.

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

I like nassima's idea, because that would be a great story, but it doesn't really fit in AiL.

Also -- just a thought -- but "damn good reason" isn't the same thing as "explained in perfect detail so that there are no questions." This is one of those things that most R/S writers explain way too much, as if anything less than a perfect, flawless, logical reason for Sirius' suspicion isn't good enough. I don't think you'd go that far, but it might help to worry a little bit less about the reasons and just write how the men are behaving. Chances are, if their actions are believable, the reasons will be apparent anyway, especially if you know and just follow your instinct.

Wow, I'm full of unwanted advice this morning. I think I'll have some more coffee.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree with you about the show/don't tell the reasons things. The reader should be perfectly able to figure it out.

When I say "damn good reason", I'm not saying that it should be obvious why Sirius doesn't trust him or any of that from Sirius's point of view. I'm saying I really want Remus to be acting in a way that makes him look genuinely suspicious. Most R/S writers fall back on "Peter did it", taking the blame entirely off Remus. Well, I am certain Peter helped a lot, but if Remus was not at all acting in a manner that could be questioned, Peter would have never been able to succeed in using Remus as a red herring. There had to be something more there, and that's one of the things I think an R/S writer- especially one that has them live together pre-1981- must consider. Remus being a werewolf, vague missions (because Sirius can't tell what he's doing, either, in theory) and Peter isn't enough. Why would Sirius, who is no idiot, REALLY suspect Remus over Peter in a case like that? There's got to be something more... something at the root of it to make Sirius truly believe that Remus could go over and betray James like that. (Probably the best version I've read of that that I can remember off hand is nyxfixx's Feast In Azkaban version.)

That said, I know exactly what it is that Remus is doing- exactly what Sirius is observing- to make Sirius suspect him. And it's far from innocent, but has nothing to do with sex and cheating. I'd love to get the reader to suspect him, too, but then I come up against the hard and fast wall of canon- unless you subscribe to the Lupin-is-really-evil theory (which I can't possibly take seriously), you'll never believe that Remus is a double agent. We all know he's not, and I don't think I can overturn that notion. (Too bad. I'd be tempted to try, but I don't think I'm remotely good enough that I could succeed- it's too ingrained that Remus is innocent.)

So yeah, I'm actually not worried about the reasons at all. I just don't want to take away from them with something like sex.

When will you ever finish AIL

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

so that I can start reading it? Because I know if I start reading it now, something will happen to you so that the story will be unfinished.

See, I'm not reading for both our sakes! But it's so difficult.

Can't help you with Remus/Sirius though... sorry! Like you, I think nyxfixx's version is the best take on it, and every thing else is just sad, but yeah, not sex. That's a tired and tacky way of what happened.

Re: When will you ever finish AIL

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

LOL. I am working on it. In fact, that seems to be what's coming best at the moment.

I'm actually not worried about the reasons Sirius doesn't trust Remus- I've known them since before I began this. I just don't want to add in this additional one. Stupid boys. :P

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

Speaking of AiL, can someone please tell Frank and Remus that, no matter what's going on in my head, they're NOT sleeping together? PLEASE?

Frank! Remus! No matter what Lissa thinks you do NOT sleep together! Ever! (Swats both offside the head for good measure)

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

You are absolutely right on the cheating bit. It's too easy a way out and it cheapens the impact. In a way Sirius and Remus are married--at least there's a bond as strong as marriage.

Since you have Remus and Regulus interacting very closely though, why not play off that instead of Remus/Frank? Not in a sexual way either because that's just--wrong--but perhaps in a friendship-sort of way? Because surely Regulus' death will impact both of them but for different reasons, and that could help plant the seed of suspicion? Especially if Damien sees Regulus and Remus together for something...

I agree with nassima and ignipes, if you do write the cheating, do it as a one-shot. Sometimes those little bunnies don't want to hop away and you have to shoot them before they eat all the food in the garden. I agree, Remus would be the one to cheat.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

In a way Sirius and Remus are married--at least there's a bond as strong as marriage.

Heh. Not that they know it :) They don't quite see it that way.

I'm actually pretty set for the reasons Sirius doesn't trust Remus. I've known them from the beginning- it's part of what made me go past part 3. That's why I'm so adamant I don't want Remus cheating. I don't want infidelity- even if Sirius never knew about it- to play into it. The reasons I have for Sirius suspecting Remus would be there if Remus and Sirius were sleeping together or not- that's actually kind of been one of the trademarks of AiL. One of my rules is that everything that happens in canon must happen for reasons that don't have to do with the sexual/romantic side of Sirius and Remus's relationship, and preferably not with too many OCs. (It's not like there's a lot that happens in canon that we know of yet! ;) )

But yeah, I might have to do a oneshot at some point. Just to shut them up.

[elsie.livejournal.com]

The reasons I have for Sirius suspecting Remus would be there if Remus and Sirius were sleeping together or not- that's actually kind of been one of the trademarks of AiL.

WORD. Good plan.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Remus doesn't necessarily strike me as the one who wants the easy way out. Nothing in his life has been easy - he seems like the kind who does what has to be done because ... it has to be done.

I also like the idea of a possible Frank/Remus AU spinoff. Another idea would be perhaps to have one of them have an uncomfortable dream about the other, which would leave you to write it without it REALLY happening. You could even write the spinoff of such a thing happening back in AIL after that night they'd kind of flirted with each other, before either one was seriously/permanently hooked up. They flirt, they go home, they have a WHOA OMG dream and dither about it and then ... decide to leave well enough alone. No one cheats. Just a 'missing scene' sort of thing.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I think he's more likely to take the easy way out than Sirius. Honestly? in my world and in my head, I can't see either of them cheating. But that's because I have issues with marital infidelity a lot anyway :)

The dream idea is interesting- heck, that could even work now. I think everyone comes across someone they're attracted to, married or not. It's the decision to do anything that's really important.

[aome.livejournal.com]

I don't like marital infedelity in fics either, unless there's a REALLY good reason for it. (ceilidh recently wrote a decent fic wherein Lily and Sirius have one-time sex (while she's married to James), which while still not a GOOD thing, had an interesting and believable reason for it.)

[gunderpants.livejournal.com]

Word to Lupin and cheating. He's uberdodgy.

And hope your diabetes test went well, good luck for the results.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

He can be :) Lupin in Accidentally In Love is pretty honorable, at least to the point where he wouldn't cheat on Sirius too realistically. Not that he's perfect. Just that he wouldn't cheat. Lupin in another setting, however... I can't help but wonder if the man likes to be liked so much, wouldn't that possibly indicate that he could be quite the slut when he chose to be?

And thanks! Hopefully I'll find out in a few days!

[wickedevra.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see that plot bunny as a spin-off. I can see how it would take the focus off where you're heading in AIL, but the dynamics of that scenario would be so fascinating! *crosses all conceivably-crossable appendages for test results* ((((Lissa))))

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

It would be. No one ever writes Remus cheating. It's always Sirius (and Remus always takes it).

Thanks! :)

[aillil.livejournal.com]

LJ just ate my comment. Ahem... Luckily I copied it. :)

:( on the diabetes thing, though I keep crossing my fingers for you that it'll turn out right after all.

I'm probably the thousand-and-first person to say this, but: Why don't you do a take-out, a what-if take-out, though, with the Remus/Frank thing? Writing it would get it out of your system, and then you could go back to the 'real' story. Maybe it wouldn't even turn out that well with the infidelity and everything after all, so you could just toss it to some corner of your hard drive and not feel drawn to it all the time?

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I think that's probably what I'll do, should I ever get around to it. Hope I do!

[shaggydogstail.livejournal.com]

You are so right about the cheating issue. Gryffinwhore!Sirius bugs me at the best of times, but the idea of Sirius being a cheater is so preposterously unbelievable it isn't true. Yet it seems so popular, and not only do fic writers have him as cheating, they tend to make him thoroughly nasty about it as well. I actually had to stop reading an otherwise perfectly good fic only this morning because it featured 'Sirius sleeps with five million girls while he's with Remus and doesn't even care if it upsets him.' It makes me so angry.

I agree that while Remus is also unlikely to be unfaithful, it seems more possible that he would be. In my experience cheats are often weak rather than malicious, because they aren't very good at saying 'no' to people. Yet I can't think of a single fic in which Remus is cheating on Sirius, though a couple come close (i.e. multiple partners but no cheating, or Remus is cheating with Sirius). It's a tricky one, but it really ought to be done.

Oh, and if I can jump on the Remus/Frank enabling bandwagon...it could work rather splendidly as a one-off between Halloween and the Longbottoms being caught by Bellatrix et all. Not really cheating on Remus' part, but deliciously angsty. Just saying.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah- Sirius is so not a cheater. Where this idea comes from is actually kind of insulting- Sirius is good-looking therefore he must cheat? (Seems to be the best I've found.) Sirius is occasionally inconsiderate of Remus's feelings (particularly when they're 15), but he's not inconsiderate in any way that teenaged boys AREN'T inconsiderate and insensitive- even to their friends. (I think we were sort of having this discussion on FAP?)

And that's EXACTLY why I think Remus would be more likely to cheat (although not remotely likely- just MORE likely)- because he's weaker, not malicious. The way I see it happening between him and Frank is Frank making a move at a bad time, when Remus is hurt and insecure, and Remus thinking he should say stop and not actually saying it until the moment is over and they've actually slept together. And then both of them (because my Frank isn't a total asshole, either!) immediately regretting it horribly.

I'll have to consider your last sentence. There is an attraction there.... ;)

[shaggydogstail.livejournal.com]

Yeah- Sirius is so not a cheater. Where this idea comes from is actually kind of insulting- Sirius is good-looking therefore he must cheat?

It really is ridiculous, but I think a lot of what is said about Sirius' character has more to do with his looks than his behaviour. Actually, I've been thinking about writing an essay about perceived sluttiness (if that is a word?) in Potterverse, and this is a part of it. The sexually attractive = sexually active = slutty equation has traditionally been a rather nasty stereotype attached to girls. When I was at school--and I went to a lot of schools--the girl that the most boys fancied was always labelled a 'slapper' regardless of whether she was promiscuous or not. I find it interesting that what I've always seen as a sexist stereotype is applied to a male character, and one who is generally perceived as particularly 'masculine' to boot. Huh, it's not my idea of progress.

I remember the 'inconsiderate' discussion we had on FAP. Hmm, I'm probably a bit over-defensive on this one, largely because of the amount of time I've spent discussing it on another forum (I mean obessively, to the point where I think I could quote the whole of Snape's Worst Memory verbatum if required *g*). Yeah, of course Sirius is a bit inconsiderate sometimes. Like you say, it's not exactly unusual. I don't think his wishing it was full moon was being inconsiderate, partly because Remus describes his transformations at this point as being 'the best times of [his] life,' but mainly because in my mind Remus really liked that his friends weren't overly considerate about his lycanthropy, because it made him feel more normal. Sympathy can be a terrible thing to receive, and I can imagine he got heartily sick of being fussed over by his parents, whatever quacks they took him to trying to find a cure, and Madam Pomfrey, so for his friends to talk about it lightly was a relief more than anything. Or maybe he's just inconsiderate in a good way?

Blimey, I do go on, don't I? *g*

And *poke, poke* on Remus/Frank. Think of the angst! The bittersweet comfort! The oh-so-hot desperate, slightly angry sex. Oh yes.

[elsie.livejournal.com]

When people write Remus and Sirius in their decline, if they write cheating, they ALWAYS write Sirius cheating. I don't think Sirius would be the one to cheat. Sirius would be the one to stick it out, because he's stubborn and loyal and honest. Remus would be the one to cheat, because he looks for the easy way out and he's much more willing to give up, and on some fronts he's weaker than Sirius. So why is it always Sirius would cheat or poor ickle innocent Remus?

I definitely agree with you that Sirius would not cheat, because loyalty to those he loves is such an important part of his personality. I can see the inconsiderate bit, but I can't envision or write Sirius cheating. The one Sirius/Remus I've written, Remus was the one to leave (not cheat, but leave) and Sirius was the one hopelessly in love. So that's my Sirius.

But I don't see the weakness or willingness to give up on Remus's part. In fact, I see unwillingness to give up being as integral to his character as loyalty is to Sirius's. Ditto for strength. But perhaps I'm thinking of personal strength rather than moral. Sirius is someone who I think would have uber-strong moral convictions (and yuck, that c-word is hopelessly attached to President Shrub in my subconscious). And Remus, while having strong ethics IMO, perhaps has less determination to follow through on them. He has determinatio to endure through hardship, but perhaps not an unbreakable moral determination. Or maybe this is just me using my own personality to fill in the "canon blanks" in Remus's. Or maybe I really am that much like him!

That said, I don't think Remus would cheat either, but if I had to pick one of them to cheat, Remus would seem more plausible.

And, that said, NO REMUS/FRANK. Because...just...NO!

[elsie.livejournal.com]

Hm...and now that I've worked all this out in my brain, I think I will write Cheater!Remus. Just for you, ya know. Because you so obviously want to see it!