Must be funny.

[apollinav]

I must be funny.  Brilliant happy funny.

How the hell am I going to manage this?

It started with the realization that Ch 23 is absurdly short.  Then realizing that four straight moody/broody and slightly depressing chapters wear heavily on the fic.  Funny needs to be thrown in there.  A little levity to break things up. 

I can do funny.  I think I can do funny.  Emphasis on the 'think.'    But funny usually takes place when I'm not trying to be funny.  Monday I sat down to remedy the problem... and wrote something decidedly NOT funny.  Fuck.  It's still short.  I have to try harder to be funny.  Yes, that's it.

Damn it.

At least I have a prompt already written in the chapter to bounce off of : Snape with a Slinky.  That ought to be funny, but I haven't been able to manage anything even close.

My one consolation is that if I can't manage funny I might be able to throw in some decent limes.  It seems at any point in time, smut is always appreciated.



Oh... and the chapter needs to be posted by Friday.  No pressure.  No, none at all.


I can only imagine I'll be asking Christev20, my beta, to look at something last minute.  She is going to kill me.  No, she probably won't because she's a ridiculously nice person.  But she really ought to kill me.


Does anyone have any thoughts/advice?  How 'bout ideas for Snape with a Slinky?

Comments

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

You could try for wry. It's often a good place to start.

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Point taken. I agree. Hmm... now I just need to sound smart to carry off wry.

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure you need funny. I mean, sometimes I have a feeling in my gut and I just know "this needs to be funny" and then deal with that because I believe it deep inside the part of me that actually does the creating. (Um, so now I'm claiming my gut creates my fanfic. Well that explains too much, doesn't it?)

Anyway, if this is an analytical, arbitrary "ooops, need funny" I'm not sure you're right. If this is a "I know deep inside that the next moment needs to be funny in order to express my creative vision," then that's different.

How Muggle is he? Has he ever had a slinky before, seen one? Or would he be pondering what hidden motives she had for giving him this thing, and trying to figure out its purpose?

[chillit.livejournal.com]

Yes! I agree!! Figuring out the purpose of a slinky could be rather funny ;) LOL Unless he tosses it against the wall due to frustration ;)

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but ideally the author shouldn't get bloody depressed by the story. There's a tip off that things aren't going in your favor. I dunno. I guess it just seems lackluster to me at the moment, and I'm not proud to post it.

In the early part of the chapter he asks her what a slinky is as part of a short conversation and she says she'll bring him one. That's probably what I need to write.

[chillit.livejournal.com]

Don't feel pressure to post if its not ready! I love your story - and I would far rather wait for something that you're happy with than read something that was thrown together to meet a deadline!! :)

Your work is great!!

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I live in fear that if I don't stick to posting schedule, or if I take a few extra days for this, I might keep putting it off. A schedule helps me avoid my incredibly wide procrastination streak.

Then again, I'm not proud of this as is.

[dressagegrrrl.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I overcaffeinate myself in order to reach the manic/crazy phase where I convince myself I'm funny. Have you tried that yet?

And, although self-imposed deadlines are great, don't push yourself so hard it sucks all your creativity out. The fandom is important, but I'm sure we'll all forgive you if you want your next chapter to be the best it can possibly be. :)

Here's a funny icon to inspire you.

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

You know, I did get a Hookah for Chanukah. Tobacco only m'dear, but if I surround myself in a fog of Vanilla tobacco I get giddy. It might be good. Or could suck. Maybe I'm looking for an excuse to play with my Chanukah-hookah.

Stop tentacle porn? Fantabulous. Not nearly as ridonkulous as stopclownpornnow(dot)com

[elise-wanderer.livejournal.com]

I agree completely with the advice to ignore the deadline and focus on getting something you are happy with.

And I'm not terribly sure you need to worry about funny just at this stage of the game. You've gotten him relieved to have done a bit of confession, and she has his gift (what could it be? what could he make/get for her in prison?). I think you've set him up for a bit of backlash, actually--Snape at his snarkiest as he compensates for unburdening himself so much to her. That might, in fact, be where the Slinky comes in (though where is he going to get a staircase to use it properly?).

I mean, he's still got a long way to go before he can really believe he's NOT guilty and doesn't deserve more punishment. And I doubt that any more outright denial from her will do the trick. Maybe she needs to come back in a clown suit, being as sarcastic as possible, forcing him, even for a moment, out of his maudlin self-pity.

They're at a rather tricky point in their relationship--which is why I have been having a tough time leaving a review for the chapter you just posted--I was afraid of tipping things in the wrong direction. You've created a very delicate balance here, and you've done it very well, so don't rush the next step.

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

You're right. I'm not happy with it as-is. I wouldn't be proud to put my name on it and post at present. And though I want to post, I might have to wait until Monday. I can't give myself too long or else I'll just take forever because I procrastinate.

It is complicated. I like complicated. Mostly because things are oversimplified in most fics. Which is one of the hallmarks of romance in general.

Hmm... you make a lot of good points here. I need to think about things. Don't worry about the reviews, I'm not a demanding diva. Though I love the contrary opinion. It gives me more to mentally chew on.

[elise-wanderer.livejournal.com]

And I didn't mean to imply that I didn't like what you posted this last time out--just that I was having a hard time figuring out what to say about it.

I think you're doing a bang-up job of complicated--which I also happen to like, too!

I look forward to Monday.

love, w

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Oh actually, I did get that you meant you didn't mean to imply you didn't like the story. I just worded that sentence awkwardly, and it doesn't reflect what I was trying to convey. Bad writer! Bad! I do love contrary opinion. That thought was meant to be an independent statement of fact. I like contrary opinion, not assuming it was coming from you or anyone in particular. Sorry, but like everyone else, I also find 'Nice fic, please post soon' is not helpful. I think a lot of people shy from concrit to avoid the reputation/stigma that they're flaming. But how else am I supposed to learn what works and what doesn't. I'd much rather prefer someone's IMHO than an ego-rub. Eh, sorry for the tangent.

[elise-wanderer.livejournal.com]

Me too! (Tangent and all!)

[mischievous-t.livejournal.com]

I've been faithfully following the story and think it's coming along great. It never occurred to me that there should be something 'funny' now. As a matter of fact, a lot of Snape just being Snape IS funny.

The only time I've ever been left feeling like something is missing is in the chpts where there is no interaction between HG & SS. Maybe I'd feel differently if the chpt was solely SS - because his snarkiness is so entertaining on it's own.

Don't get too far in your head over it - this is a GREAT story you've written so far. Yeah you!!!

*T