The reveal for the Renault Exchange was this weekend; and I received two gifts. That I had been assigned to write for my sister (and vice versa) was no secret. She always does guess—I say "always" since it has happened before, twice in rarewomen and again in fic_corner. She is rather better at lying to me than I am to her. However, I've been posting our ITOWverse stories to AO3, which means using her log-in for her stories; and there it was in black-and-white: her sign-up and recipient.

So I wrote a story for her. And she wrote two for me.

My official gift—one can tell from the posting date—is "Bicycle": a series of vignettes, of varying lengths, involving sundry characters from The Charioteer with bicycles, in one fashion or another. Of course, petrol-rationing being in full force, it was a common mode of transportation during the war. This is not a formal "Five Things" story; but it's a similar format.

My treat is "Coach", a charming short story focusing on Hugh Treviss—a minor character from The Charioteer whose fanon existence depends on putting together the "Treviss" who coached Laurie in fencing for the school play and the "Hugh" who was Ralph's best friend at school: canon, certainly; but the references in the book are minimal, though much can be developed from them, in the way fans so adore. Here we get Hugh's impression of Ralph, with intimations of what he may or may not guess.

Flo had prompts for several of Renault's modern novels; but, as I only offered one of them, I naturally wrote to that prompt. She therefore got "A Letter from Abroad", in which Alec writes Sandy about a letter that Ralph has received from Bim, who (uncanonically, but reasonably plausibly, I hope) survived being shot down and was sent to a P.O.W. camp in Germany.

This now also has a page on my website. In a vague sort of way, the background was picked to give an impression of the sea—or the English Channel, I suppose, to be more accurate. For this, unlike the AO3 edition, I was able to separate the two pages of the letter and actually leave a space at the bottom of the first, as Alec says he did. For all its good points (not least of which is that fact that so many exchanges are run through it), AO3 has its disadvantages, too; and formatting can sometimes be a nuisance. Still, your basic prose can usually be cross-posted in a reasonably straightforward way.

Dear Author, let me thank you right up front for the story you are going to write. 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.

( Read more... )

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.

( Read more... )