Ask "why?"

[veronica_rich]

For a friend in POTC fandom who has been asking me of late, "Why can't we ask why anymore?" - here's a chance to ask "why?" At least about fanfic. For anyone seeing this.

If you have any questions about any story I've written, go ahead and ask me. It can be "where'd you get that idea?" or "why the hell did you do that?" Or any variation thereof. If you don't like something and are curious, ask. To be honest, I can't promise I'll be able to answer - if it's been long enough, I may just not remember - but I'll try. All I ask is that you be civil.

(My stories are among Memories here and here. These are all ratings, including NC-17/M, so please be of age to read these.)

Comments

[danglingdingle.livejournal.com]

Why did you introduce Jack's daughter in Contradictions? Is there any possibility to learn more of the past of Contradictions!Jack?

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Well, actually, he has two daughters. (That he knows of, anyway.) At the time, I'm sure I probably knew exactly why I did it and how I came up with them. I know I wanted opposites.

First, a little reality: It's unlikely Jack wouldn't have fathered at least one child in his life. Maybe he practices safe sex, but it's unlikely. I made him at least somewhat part of these kids' lives because I want to think Jack wouldn't just completely abandon his own progeny (especially considering one of them is a "legitimate" child with his former wife). I also wanted them to be daughters because it seemed at the time - to me, anyway - that so many writers enjoyed giving popular male characters sons to carry on their appearance and name. I thought girls would be a nice change.

Partly, I made Ivy up because I wanted an opportunity for Will to see Jack with his child, to catch sight of a different side of him. (I made David up to cast Will in a father-like role, for the sake of doing just that. The only reservation I have about J/W slash is that it is likely going to leave Will with no children, and I believe he would make an excellent father.) Ivy is in such a regulated social setting, I came up with Liana to be the "fun" tomboy who got to do some of the things Ivy likely wishes she could (basically, I mentally made Elizabeth younger and split her in half - sort of). I don't know if it would interest you, but I also figured that years down the road, Ivy and David would end up together, likely captaining the Black Pearl in Jack's old age, while Jack and Will had a smaller vessel for just them to make short excursions out from a beachfront home on land, while Will made himself occasionally invaluable as the local metalcrafter and teacher of same.

[pigeongirl99.livejournal.com]

Contradictions is still one of the few Potc fics that are to me, The fics of this fandom.

I'm just curious, as it's been a few years since you wrote this- is there anything that you wish you'd included that you didn't think of at the time, or couldn't shoe-horn in?

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

The fics? Holy cow, that's kind of a compliment - I think of a lot of people as The Writers of this fandom from way back, who set a standard, but they seemed more complex than me and somewhat darker. I'm pretty simple and I stick to simple things, even though I do like reading the dark and the complex.

So maybe that's my answer: There's no plot point I'd want to shoehorn in, or characters, but I wish I could do "dark" like some really good writers of the fandom - I just can't stand to make them hurt TOO much, but someone who does it well is really talented. I also think there were times in the series that I made Jack a little more "wibbly" than I would now, over Will *G* - but, it's romance and pr0n, so what the hell, eh?

[pigeongirl99.livejournal.com]

Oh definitely one of The fics for me. I can count the others on one hand that have made it to The status.

Personally I found Contradictions to have a lot of dark & complex- but unlike many of us you didn't go down the route of melodrama and fandom cliches.

Personally I'd love to be able to write something that wasn't so blessedly dark! :)

- nb- with reference to your comment below about others doing this meme? I thought about it, but I've done ones like this before and only had my best friend reply (who already, scarily enough, knew the inner workings of my mind) just to humour me, so I don't tend to do these anymore. I just get embarrassed after a while!

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

Agree with pigeongir99. Anything you'd have done differently?

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Refer to above. More complexity, maybe. I envy writers who can keep more than one or two balls in the air at a time. My stories are pretty simple.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I was hoping other people might do this (but I didn't want to say, "hey, yo, go do this"). One person did copy and post this to her own LJ, and you should do the same so your regular readers can see it and know to ask, as well! :-)

[compassrose7577.livejournal.com]

I have every intention of doing that!

Be careful what you wish for, eh?

[almost-maybe.livejournal.com]

I've always been a huge fan of your work, although a silent one, but I've always admired the way you make your work so believable.

Like what the others have said, Contradictions is one of the fanfics that just got me addicted to Turrow, hook, line and sinker. I would stay up until 2 in the morning, completely engrossed by it even if my eyes were watery from strain. (Haha, fangirl much?)

Anyway, I've always wondered what your inspiration is in writing POTC stories. Do you have any tips you can share? Do you draw out plots from personal experience or is it more from your imagination?

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

First, I have to say - wow. If you've been following for that long, I appreciate it. (I can write a story, but I can't find good enough words to say that, other than "I appreciate it a LOT" LOL.) Your ficlet I read earlier wasn't so bad itself - you should post it around, and write more.

As for inspiration - there's no one thing. I read other stories and sometimes they do it; sometimes fandom discussion gives me an idea. If I had to point to any one thing and say "I get more ideas from this than any other source," I'd have to be cheesy and say ... well, songs.

/iz sheepish

Seriously, pop music, rock, some 80s and 90s artists - you name it. If I like a song enough, I can listen to it a few times and get ideas out of it. (I wrote something recently about Will and Calypso negotiating, underwater, about his role as captain of the Flying Dutchman. My source for that was Madonna, "4 Minutes." I kid you not. LOL) But I don't do songfic. I'm kind of weird. :-)

I also like filling in missing scenes or doing after-movie stories about what might have happened or what will happen next. So I get a lot of ideas from watching the movies or seeing screencaps.

So how did you get the idea for your latest story you posted in your LJ?

[almost-maybe.livejournal.com]

Yeah, songs have that effect don't they? I remember playing the piano when I was younger and learning the song "When The Saints Go Marching In". The lyrics were there along with the notes, but I kept imagining it was a song about unfaithfulness because of the interaction of the notes. But I'm amazed that something like "4 Minutes" sparked that idea from you. :)

When you do get an idea, do you do additional research? Like when you wrote Contradictions? And nautical terms? (Sorry for these questions, from what I can gather I'm younger than you and the notion of coming up with a realistic POTC plot full of twists still escapes me. And this is were being an Asian is hindering. Terms and all.)

Thank you for commenting on my first shot at the Jack/Will fandom. I'm not a fanfic writer in particular, so this is unfamiliar ground I'm in. But thanks, I'll keep writing and doing my best to get better. :)

As for the idea for my story, Jack's line there is something I've been wanting to tell my bestfriend but only in the most platonic manner and intention. I thought, Hey why not that? :)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I've had to look up some things online and in a few books I have, but no, no heavy research. To be fair, I don't think the POTC filmmakers did all that much research - there's a great cobbling-together of many elements of piracy and sailing and history, especially the romantic aspects. So I don't feel too bad about not being an expert in it myself. :-)

[almost-maybe.livejournal.com]

Aaah, I see. The wonders of creative minds. :-) Thanks for answering!

[ainsoph15.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, I get to ask you something I've always wondered about!

The hand-licking, in 'Contradictions'. Is Will just being the most outrageous flirt, or something else? I always wondered if that was Will making a play for Jack, and Jack was all 0_o, so Will just turned it down a notch or two after that, thinking Jack wasn't interested.

(I think I might post this as well. Good idea, my friend.)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to have to refer this to my esteemed co-writer, who helped me in a few spots on that series, and that was HER idea. Basically yes, I think he was flirting with Jack - and poor Jack, bless him, was surprised and sort of hampered by a child, so he couldn't have done much about it. *G*

We'll get back to you. ;-)

[metalkatt.livejournal.com]

*embarrassed cough*

Ah, yes, the "just a taste" scene was my fault. The image is actually something I remember from some movie my mother watched at some indefinable time in the past, at least ten years or so ago, that had Whoopi Goldberg in it. Two little girls in the 50's/early 60's in the South--one white, one black--who don't understand the concept of prejudice. The one thought the other must taste like vanilla, and the other thought the one must taste like chocolate. A lick later, they realised that skin was just skin, no matter how much pigment it has.

However, the impact of such an act outside of a children's friendship and in the context of two adults attracted to each other is definitely a form of flirtation. How often is temptation seeded with "just a taste," and germinated from there? In Contradictions, Will was no expert at flirtation. Hell, even now, he's not that good, no matter the confidence he's developed. It's just not something he ever thinks about. For him, it was a very bold and forward gesture, and (in the long draft that we worked on to explore motivations behind things, but which proved superfluous for the POV of the piece) when it seemingly went by unnoticed or it was rejected, he slid into a soft sort of melancholy that could be explained by their predicament.

[ainsoph15.livejournal.com]

I think the film might have been 'The Colour Purple'. I'm sure I vaguely remember that happening now.

Yes, true that, about Will not being much good at flirting. But hey, he doesn't really need to be - his mere existence is alluring ;)

I love that scene in Contradictions, and thought it was a very bold move on Will's part, but then, they have just made their escape, and, knowing Will, he'd become more of a 'carpe diem' sort of chap by then. Better to make some sort of move, than never have the opportunity again, hmm?

Thanks for the explanation, darling *hugs*

[metalkatt.livejournal.com]

If that scene were to be written with Will as he exists in my head today, he would have been a bit bolder and made sure he was being clear in that he was offering a promise, rather than just a tiny torment.

[roguedemon.livejournal.com]

Referring to your comment above, I feel that your writing has improved in that your characterizations are more real -- to be blunt (like I would be anything else) I agree with you that your previous Jack was too wibbly, and I also felt he was too into talking about his feelings. (This is not too say that contradictions wasn't a great story, it was). I feel that you have pretty much nailed him and Will now, and I have to say that I have been so anxious for you to continue writing your current story because you just keep developing as a writer. How have you developed your skill at characterization re: Jack and Will? What lets you know that a character is behaving 1) In a fashion consistent with canon 2) In a manner befitting the historical time period 3) In a way that is true to the way real people act in relationships?
4) The way a person would, period?

Er, you don't have to write me an essay, I was just trying to organize my thoughts for once ;).

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I used to actually feel like I "heard" Jack better than I do now, which just goes to show you shouldn't be too confident about anything, I think. :-) Still, if you think Contradictions was OK, it makes me happy.

As far as writing them now, I believe I think more about their reactions than I used to - lines of dialogue, expressions, actions. Not every single one, but enough that I've erased entire passages and started over if it felt "blech." I think a little OOC is going to happen just because I'm writing J/W and that's not a canon relationship, but I don't mind a little OOC in my reading, so I figure it's normal for writing, too. I honestly don't think much about the historical time period - I think if I get anything right, it's just because I've read so much other stuff better researchers have written (I do minimal research) and sort of go off that. I also try to stick to really general descriptions of land and nautical things, you may notice.

As for the last two things - I'm not in a romantic relationship, I haven't been for a long time. I watch people though, and sort of go off what I see there. I also have an abnormally high number of people who want to tell me the problems they have in their relationships - I don't know if that's normal for single people to hear or not, LOL. (I don't mean really bad problems, just normal things that drive them crazy.) But people period, it's sort of my job to watch how they act and try to figure out if they're telling me what I need to know - I don't always get it right, but often enough that I feel good about being able to guess them sometimes.

Anyway, I don't know if this answered anything, but you made me feel good by asking. :-)