Dear Author, let me thank you right up front for the story you are going to write. I hope this letter will prove helpful.

I've put some suggestions below. However, if none of those prospects appeals, then I am certainly open to your writing me something different. On the whole, I'd prefer a story that is more-or-less gen—though that depends, of course, on what characters are included during which period in their lives. I certainly don't want canon ignored; it's more a question of focus. Backstory, missing scene, an exploration of characters often overlooked....

I'd prefer something canon-compliant in terms of setting and characterization. However, as some of my suggestions indicate, futurefic would obviously be okay, also some mildly divergent AUs.


General Guidelines:

As far as general guidelines are concerned, I seem to say pretty much the same thing for every gift exchange. (Which makes sense, I guess.)

What I Like:
* Plot and/or character (both being the ideal, of course!)
* A sense of humour and being able to recognize the ridiculous when it pops up; also wit and wordplay, if the story calls for them. Having said that, I totally leave it up to you whether you write a serious or comic story—or a serious story with comic interludes.
* Stories that are true to canon (though I've certainly enjoyed some flat-out AUs).
* Background accuracy, esp. for stories with an historical setting, which is certainly true of The Charioteer.
* Rating: no higher than PG13, please.

What I Dislike:
* Poor spelling, bad grammar and punctuation, and blatant Americanisms uttered by British characters, unless they're aware of what they're doing, which is another matter entirely. (Mind you, given present company, I doubt if this point even needs saying.)
* Explicit sex, especially if long and detailed. No objection to hints, but I'm not into plumbing.

My Own Writing
If you want to have a look at some of my own stories, you can find them on my website.


Suggestions

I requested the following characters: Matron, Mrs Timmings, Bim Taylor, Sandy Reid, Andrew Raynes, Alec Deacon, Ralph Lanyon, and Hugh Treviss. Mind you, I'm not asking you to write all of them in the same story.

• I'd be interested to read about Matron's perspective on the E.M.S. hospital beyond what little Renault tells us. The woman can hardly be a conscript from what we know of her background: did she volunteer, then? And why? While you may well work in other characters from the book, nurses are probably more likely to be relevant than patients. (I'm not looking for a story focusing on Matron's p.o.v. on Laurie.)



• Mrs Timmings must have her own perspective on the Odells. Laurie, of course, has always been away for much of the year. What is his mother like to work for? Mrs Odell's courtship by the vicar must be the talk of the village, quite apart from its potential effect on Mrs Timmings' own future. There is also the question of her own personal life: is there a Mr Timmings?
  
  
• I know a lot of Renault fans are also into World War II history; so here are a couple of possibilities that might intrigue:
  • Bim Taylor was shot down. However, what if initial reports of his death proved unfounded and he finished up at a P.O.W. camp?
  • Sandy Reid shares a surname with Pat Reid, who was Escape Officer at Colditz. Obvious crossover material: maybe they're cousins?


• I'm curious about possible futurefic at the end of the war: what if Andrew Raynes is in Europe with the Friends' Ambulance Unit and encounters Alec Deacon, who is a surgeon with the army? This could be slash, but doesn't have to be: I'm actually more interested in their different reactions to what is going on in 1945.



• If backstory is of interest, perhaps a school story about Ralph Lanyon and Hugh Treviss? They were clearly close friends long before the crisis of Chapter Two. I don't see their relationship as slash (or why Ralph/Hazell, after all). So this could be a straight school story, if you like. Nevertheless, Hugh may have guessed more than Ralph ever realized.



• A bit of a longshot: I'm curious to get someone else's perspective on the Bridstow scene and/or the events of Alec's birthday party and its aftermath. We have quite a few possibilities: Peter and Theo, Toto Phelps, or even Claude's bit of rent. (Now there would be an insider-outsider view of the Bridstow scene!) Most of these aren't nominated characters; but, if you fancy having a go, I'd be delighted.