dorsetgirl

So, November.
 
National Novel Writing Month.
 
But not for me.
 
Sorry, I’ll stop channelling Ian Wylie now. Anyway, I worked out several years ago that if I typed at my normal speed for fifty percent of the minutes I had available during the month, I might just make the 50K. That’s assuming I can think at the same rate I type. Not normally a problem, but I guess fifty thousand words need some kind of joining thread if they’re not going to become totally random, and that involves Plot.
 
I don’t do plot - I can never think of anything for the characters to actually do, and besides, I get bored. I get them in a situation and then start to think, “Oh for fuck’s sake, sort it out for yourself.” I’m not the kind of writer who wants to “convey a message” in my fic; I’ve only ever done that once, and it worked, but I just don’t have it in me to want to tell other people how to live their lives or what they should be thinking about. All I ask is that no-one tells me what to do or what to think. (This could be why I totally refuse to do Hallowe’en: all those supermarket shelves full of pumpkins and ghouly cakes and stupid costumes simply make me think “Don’t tell me what to do just because it's the end of October.")
 
( Getting to the point of this ramble: No NaNo for me, so I've signed up for WriSoMiFu - Write Something you Miserable Fuck - which I'm hoping is more my style. )

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The challenge was to enter the name of your road into google images, and write a drabble inspired by the first image. Mine turned out to be a "Welcome to < Town Name >" sign at the side of the road. My enduring love of Green Day delivered the first line without discernable pause for thought, but it turned out there was more to say than would fit in a drabble.

Posting in a hurry before I have to go out, so do let me know if I've missed any typos etc.

( Turning Point )

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Author: DorsetGirl
Rating: White Cortina
Word Count: 330
A/N: No warnings. It struck me some time ago that even Sam’s “modern day” is now five years in the past. Many of the things we take for granted are after Sam’s time.


( Twitter )

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Author: DorsetGirl
Fandom: Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz
Pairing: Alex/Yassen
Rating: No Warnings Required
Word Count: 700 words approx
A/N: Yassen faces a painful truth.

( It Started With a Kiss  )

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Author: DorsetGirl
Fandom: Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz
Pairing: Alex/Yassen
Rating: PG
Word Count:950 words approx
A/N: halotolerant posted a wonderfully atmospheric story called In the Club. Posted with her permission, this is a sequel to that story.

( The First Step )

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Definitely an experiment, this one! Based on characters in the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz, and totally inspired by suzie_shooter whose fantastic fics introduced me to this pairing. (Please note that this fic is not to be compared to hers, which are much better!) 100 words. White Cortina / No Warnings Required.

( The Life of a Man )

Title: Decision
Author: DorsetGirl
Warning: RPS
Rating: PG
Pairing: Billie/Mike
Notes: Going through my WIP folder and found this. Just a drabble.
Disclaimer: Not real. Just my fevered imaginings based on the boys’ stage personae.

( Decision )

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Author: DorsetGirl
Rating: White Cortina with added “strong language”
Word Count/Length: 380 words approx
Warnings: None
Summary: You know it’s all gone to fuck when you don’t know what year it is.
A/N: Lack of time and – dammit – inspiration has meant I’ve managed drabbles at best for most of this year, but driving home yesterday I was listening to Green Day and remembering the Sam I wrote in Broken Dreams. Thinking around the idea of Sam on his own led to this little fic.



( A Lingering Taste of Soap  )

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This post started life as a fic rec, so I’ll do that bit first:

Round And Round by janszy is a wonderful story of what happened to Gene after the final scene of Ashes to Ashes (spoilers, obviously). It’s extremely well written and although I hadn’t seen the author’s work before, it was immediately plain that she was an experienced writer. Do go and read it – it’s masterful, truly.

So that brings me on to the next bit – a comm rec. I know a lot of people have moved on from Life on Mars by now, and by no means everyone stuck it out to the end of Ashes, the early stages of series one being what they were, but if you want to write LOM-fic where it is known whether Sam is mad, in a coma or back in time, or Ashes fic where Sam and Annie are mentioned, there is only one comm – as far as I know – that you can post it to. That comm is ashes2life.

Anyone who has spent any time at The Railway Arms, lifein1973 or a2ashes, will know that what might have been seen as the captive audience for A2A – the LOM fans – were by no means unanimous in their verdict on the new show, and that the Gene/Alex fans who bought into series one of Ashes were in some cases quite visceral in their hatred of Sam.

So if you’d like to discuss Sam without some Galexer telling you that the very mention of his name is insulting to Alex, or you want to talk about Ashes without someone who’s only seen two episodes complaining that it’s badly acted (oh please - 2.07? 3.08?) , do it at ashes2life!

Also, if you want to write an Ashes fic where Gene/Alex is not inevitable and OTP – one where Gene actually remembers Sam, for example; or a LOM-fic which alludes to the nature of the universe as defined by Ashes to Ashes; or a fic where Alex and Maya meet (oh, somebody please write that!); you might be wanting a comm to post it in, and that comm is ashes2life.

Set up and maintained by lozenger8, the comm is there for all the good stuff that would get flamed or deleted at the series-specific comms.

(By the way, in my personal and humble opinion, it’s best not to worry too much about the - to me at least - intimidatingly intellectual flavour of the user-info page. You don't have to write brilliant meta to qualify, although it would be great if someone did. While fanfic is the very last thing mentioned in the community profile, it is definitely allowed and welcome!)

To sum up: if you’ve seen both shows and are happy to buy in, occasionally at least, to the idea that LOM and Ashes both take place in the same universe, ashes2life is the place to go.

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Title: Ars Longa, Vita Brevis Est
Author: DorsetGirl
Fandom: Life on Mars
Rating: White Cortina
Word Count: 240 approx
Pairing: Sam/Gene
Summary: Sam takes up Art
A/N: I had intended this fic for my occasional Topical and Seasonal Drabble Challenge (feel free to have a go, by the way), but I decided that rather than cut it down to 100 words I quite liked it as it was. Also posted here at lifein1973


( Ars Longa, Vita Brevis Est )

Three simple prompts this week, and sorry about the fail last week and the previous week:


Budget

So much to do, so little time

Or if you’re feeling a little more intellectual:

Ars longa, vita brevis est


Post your drabble as a comment to this post, and if you have any ideas for future seasonal prompts, let me know by PM. I may also use the occasional completely random prompt if something occurs to me.

The rules are minimal - One hundred words exactly, and be polite when commenting!
You can write any fandom or original fiction, any pairing or none.
You don’t have to write in English if you don’t want to.

Please note that if you do choose to write in another language, I can't promise to comment beyond a simple "Thank You", although I will do my best via Google! A rough translation would be lovely, but is not essential. The translation does not have to be 100 words, nor does it need to be polished or “good English”. Just the gist is fine, to put across the idea.

So long as you are confident that your response meets one of the prompts, that’s good enough for me.

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Title: Coronation Day (also posted here at ashes2life)
Author: DorsetGirl
Rating: White Cortina
Word Count: 1,500 words approx
Fandom: Ashes to Ashes
Spoilers for Ashes to Ashes episode 3.08
Warning: It’s impossible to give a warning without 3.08 spoilers, so please check out the title. If you don’t understand from the title exactly what I’m warning for, it’s best you don’t read this until you’ve watched 3.08 (Please note that this is written from the pov of someone who wasn’t there, so there are no details at all and certainly nothing graphic).
A/N: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place in the late morning on 2nd June 1953. Those people who could afford a television invited friends and neighbours in to watch the ceremony with them. Afterwards, there were street parties to celebrate.

My apologies to people who are waiting for replies from me; half term is over and the kids are back at school today, but the idea for this hit me yesterday and I just had to write it before I did anything else.

( Coronation Day - spoilers for Ashes 3.08 )