Happy Friday All!

We're going with more of a creative support group theme for this week's ATTF, talking about titles and summaries.

When do you decide on the title for a fic? Do you usually know at the start and build the fic around the title, or are you the kind of person who scrambles to find one after the fic is complete? How do you chose your titles or get inspiration for them? Capitals or lower case? What’s your favourite title that you’ve come up with?

What about other people’s titles, are there any that you especially like or that grabbed your attention? Are there any film, book etc titles that got you interested?

Summaries - how do you write them? Do you try to sum up the whole fic, or the general vibe? 'To quote or not to quote' something from the fic itself?

And not to leave out our artists and other creative types, how do you name your art/vid/fanmixes/creations? Do you caption it, or let it speak for itself?

Bonus: if you'd like to play, comment with ASK ME and a link to where people can find your creative works. People will then reply with one of your titles or summaries. Reply with where that title/summary idea came from, why you chose it, and your thinky thoughts!


Go here to suggest ideas for future ATTFs or sign up to host.

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

This Friday let's have a chat about all the things we'd love some help with when it comes to creating fanfic (and other works) and help we might be able to offer. One of the great things about fandom is how it's a hive of creativity :)

Back in 2012 we had a useful discussion about beta reading that led to a a beta directory being created. It's now out of date! Plus as well as beta reading there's a lot of other help available in this bar that it'd be good to share. And what better time than when we're in the middle of creating for Secret Santa? (And NaNoWriMo for some productive people!)

Step One - Discuss all things creative support on this post

Need a beta reader? Got questions about how to approach someone?
Stuck on a plot point? Want someone you can talk through ideas with?
Looking for someone to translate into a different language?
Not sure about writing a fight scene or a sex scene?
Need a cheerleader to help you meet a deadline?
Want to fact check something technical or medical or historical?
Want to talk about disabilities (ie. deaf Clint) or putting diversity in creative works?
Need other creative support help that you've just not been able to find?
Just want to talk about creating?!

2. Sign up to offer creative support help on this new Creative Support Directory !

Go!

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

We previously had a beta reader directory on the comm. This is the new and improved creative support directory - an up to date collection of beta readers and more!

1. How this works:

> Each creative support person will comment with a bunch of information that you can use to find someone/multiple someones that you think will work best for you. They're here because they like to help. In return please do check the information they provide and play nice. This is a ‘no offence given, no offence taken’ zone :) If at any point either of you feel your partnership isn't working out then that’s okay and feel free to say so. Let’s keep this in the spirit of The Best Bar.

> This is a directory for creative support in Marvel with a focus on the characters of Clint Barton and/or Natasha Romanoff. People may be willing to help with other characters and fandoms - please check their entry and feel free to ask, but be aware the answer might be no.

> Please don’t reply to the comments in this post, that way people can edit their information as and when they need to. Instead please contact creative support people by their preferred method.


2. Here’s an explanation of the information you can find on each beta for writers, and some hints for beta readers on how to comment (with a helpful form for betas to copy and paste into a comment at the end):

Username: Who you are! Especially if you have other online handles outside DW.

Contact: Your preferred method of first contact. This might be Private Message (PM), email, twitter, anything.

What kind of creative support you can offer: for example beta reading, cheerleading, dicussing ideas, Brit-picking or checking Americanisms, translations / beta reading in languages other than English, cheking particular types of scenes for realism ie. fight scenes or sex scenes, areas of knowledge that may be useful ie. medical or technical or historical, beta-ing fanart or fan vids or podcasts, basically anything way you can / like to help and encourage others in being creative!

Style: Do you prefer to IM in real time, discuss by email, talk on a particular platform? Do you check things once and that's it, or do you like to debate changes or do second checks, or...?

Speed: What kind of return/speed can a writer expect from you? Does it depend, such as on when the deadline is or fic length?

Flexibility: What kind of creative works are you happy to help with? Particular characters and fandoms? What are you not comfortable helping with? Treat this like a 'squees and squicks' section.

<b>Username:</b> <b>Contact:</b> <b>What kind of creative support you can offer:</b> <b>Style:</b> <b>Speed:</b> <b>Flexibility:</b>


3. And some things you might want to tell your creative support helper when you first contact them:

- how long your creative work is
- if it's completed, a work in progress, intended to posted all at once or if you want a chapter beta read at a time
- if it’s for something, like an exchange, and when the deadline is
- the rating and warnings/triggers that your work may have
- a brief summary
- what you’re stuck on, if there’s something specific

You can also feel free to post to the whole community asking for creative support help :)

Happy creating!

This weekend let’s talk about titles!

When do you decide on the title for a fic? Do you usually know at the start and build the fic around the title, or are you the kind of person who scrambles to find one after the fic is complete? How do you chose your titles or get inspiration for them? Capitals or lower case? What’s your favourite title that you’ve come up with? Artists, how do you name your art?

What about other people’s titles, are there any that you especially like or that grabbed your attention? Are there any film, book etc titles that got you interested?

In today's ATTF:

a) post a comment chatting about any or all of the above. Let's have some conversations!

b) here's a thing that I found with a 'twenty titles for a writer' exercise. Pick one of your fics/peices of art/vids etc - either finished and already posted, or something new that you're working on - and have a go at this exercise. Post the results in a comment. Everyone else, which titles do you think work best?

Artists: here's an art of the title selection that's fun! Maybe pick a title - even a title from this weekend's ATTF - and play around with how you could make it look?

c) comment with ASK ME and a link to where people can find your creative works. People will then reply with one/some of your titles. Reply with where that title came from, why you chose it, your thoughts behind it.

d) ALL THE THINGS! This is, after all, entitled All The Things Friday ;)



You can sign up to host an ATTF, suggest ideas for future ATTFs, and see what's coming up in ATTFs HERE

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

Posting with the mods' permission, thanks a mill, ladies!



( Read more... )

Today's submission is from icecream_junkie. To see your fic featured here, send a 500-1000 word snippet to bc.unfinished@gmail.com. Please remember to include a rating, warning, and your LJ name!


Rating: PG-13
Warning: Beware of the kiss – blink and you might miss it. ;)

Author’s note: This story was inspired by this lovely picture and has been sitting on my hard drive for a while now, because I just don’t know how to continue. All I know is that I do not want to turn this into PWP and would like a happy ending for our two assassins, but other than that I have no idea where to go with this. Therefore thoughts, comments and constructive criticism are very welcome. :)

( Natasha slammed to door shut behind her. )

Greeting citizens of the bar! Ladies, Gentlemen, and Assassins of all ages, alas, Promptathon 2013 has ended. So, obviously, now it's time to party :D Bring your squee, your picspams, your gifts, your drink recipes, your best dancing shoes, BRING IT ON *showers you all with glitter*.

Of course, if you're anything like me you're still writing/creating fills for prompts. And want to fill more. (And wish you could have left just a few more prompts. Because prompts!) Don't despair: you can still use prompts from promptathon. Here's how: write/create. Post to your journal or AO3 or ff.net and post a link on this community, or post directly to this community, however you usually do it. Tag using the 'promptathon' tag. Done :) Be sure to mention which prompt you used and who left it, so that person can all excited at having a post-promptathon fill.

(Please DO NOT post late fills on the main promptathon thread. They won't count and will not be added to the Masterlist. 'Cause I ain't tracking that post anymore *eyes post of 703 comments you crazy wonderful people*. Please DO feel free to carry on commenting and chatting on that thread though!)

If you'd like some encouragement in finishing your currently unfinished and late fills, why not share your ideas and snippets here? How about which prompts you wish had been filled but weren't? The prompts that you wish you'd left but the deadline passed or you missed it? ANYTHING PROMPTATHON RELATED, BRING IT ON.

And thank you, for a fantastic summer of Promptathon!
DRINKS ALL 'ROUND!

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

It's been a while, guys!

As always, to get your fic featured on UFW, send 500-1000 words to bc.unfinished@gmail.com. (Be sure to include a rating and warnings!)


Today's submission is from franztastisch
Rated: PG
Warnings: the standard canon-compliant Shitty Clint Barton Backstory

Notes: The reason this is here is because of oresteia's ATTF about crossovers and fusions. And because I like this story, dammit, and I want it to actually get somewhere. As far as over arching plots go, this doesn't yet have one. This is based more off an idea I had about Clint meeting an owl in the support struts of the big top, and a desire (that I later realised, because I am that kind of person) to work out some magical countries in North America. Some things are worked out though (e.g. later than what you've got here, Darcy will muscle her way into Clint's life and force him to get friends and have a social life oh the horror. Natasha turns up in about Clint's third year. I think.) Of course, because I am an idiot, I'm attempting to span the whole seven years, which is filling me with a creeping horror and a lot of self doubt. And could also make this the longest thing I've ever written. If I can get it finished. Which I'm sure will happen, it'll just take about four years.

ANYWAY. Any feedback is much appreciated; I'd especially like to know if Clint actually sounds like an 11 year old, because I can't really tell. And ideas for, y'know, actual plots would also be gratefully received. And, if you do click through the link, any ideas for names would also be super helpful. But mainly I sort of want cheerleading and people to pester me. :)

OH and I am not American. Everything here is round about knowledge, Google Maps and Wikipedia.

( When he’s not needed anywhere else, Clint spends most of his time up in the catwalks and support beams of the big top. )

Hoping someone can help me... I'm a pinch-hit artist on a bigbang and the art's due at the end of the weekend.

I'm looking for a screencap from Bourne Legacy: specifically, the photo of Kenneth Kitsom (the former Aaron Cross) in his Army Dress uniform.

Otherwise, anyone know where I can get a picture of Jeremy in a 1940's suit, or a suit that's classic enough to pass for it? (Corresponding pic of Scarlett would be appreciated too.)

I can work on another idea or two in the meantime, but I'd really like to do a Blackhawk themed piece.

Greetings, Denizens of the Hawkeye/Black Widow Bar, also known as the place where cool people hang out, aka the best bar on earth, aka our ship is a yacht, and hundreds of other names. How’s your Friday? Good? Oh, you got that promotion/gift basket/thing you've been waiting for in the mail? Excellent! I’m so happy to hear that. Me? Oh, I’m good, too. The mods have let me loose in the bar to host today’s All The Things Friday.

Anyway, the topic I picked is something I know we all wake up thinking about with giant smiles on our faces in the morning: Research!

Yes, I know. Usually we focus on Clint or Natasha and head-canons and aww-inducing stuff, and research is boring compared to that. But I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that nobody here is a spy or a marksman employed by a well-funded shadowy government organization. So, really, “write what you know” isn’t going to help you much when writing from Clint’s perspective or from Natasha’s. In fact, you probably need to do a little research to get the details right. I mean, you could make everything up—and a lot of writers do—but chances are, you take pride in what you’re writing and want it to be a little factually accurate. A story with good world-building has a few details salted throughout to “ground” it, to make it dynamic and interesting.

So here’s the question—how much research do you do? And, for that matter, how do you research? A typical Clint and/or Natasha story might have a myriad of topics with which we’re unfamiliar: geography, military tactics, weaponry, surveillance protocols, anecdotal data specific to a character. If it’s an AU, even, all bets are off the table. Going down the research rabbit hole can start with you looking up the capital of Peru and end with you, three hours later, reading about the number and skill of knots on ropes given out for Brazilian Capoeira (I may be speaking from experience here).

We live in a digital age, which makes it easier to find research and that’s fantastic, but it can be daunting to even begin, especially when it’s a topic that’s completely unfamiliar to you.

So we have this post! I’ve gathered some links that have been helpful during my times of going down said research rabbit hole. In addition, I know we’ve got a diverse and eclectic community of wonderful people right here at this bar, pill baristas and traveling diplomats, technical writers, needlework genii, and people from all over the world that might know something about the topic you’re writing about, whatever it is. So I thought this post could serve as a great resource to everybody in the community. Chime in with any links you’ve found super-handy over the years, and what you can answer questions about!

(Also, graphics resources are awesome and should be shared, by all means)

( Some of the Links I've Found Useful Over The Years )

Anyway, I'll kick things off: my name is Frea, and I'm well-researched into dealing with fraudulent activity, falconry, how to juggle, and the greater St. Louis area, which is why watching Defiance sometimes makes me grit my teeth. What about you? What's your research pattern like? Do you outline or use a program like Scrivener to keep it together? Any tricks or great links or things you can provide help on?

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

Welcome to this week's ATTF with your hosts anuna_81 and shenshen77. Although we'd decided on this theme months ago, we'd never thought that we both would need some cute and cuddly so much this week.

Both anuna as well as I had a really horrible, no good week, and I'm sure we're not the only ones. So please shower us and yourselves with love and cuddles :)

Assassins being cuddly, puppies, kittens, babies, team feels, Clint and Tasha being kids, all the feels - everything that makes you go "awww" when you read it or look at it - bring it all.

• Is there anything you read or looked at that made you go massively "AWWW"??? We'd love your recs for fics and art!


• Or have you written something really cute and cuddly yourself? We'd love to know about it!


• You can post a pic spam, it's always nice to look at all the pretties :) (But remember the rules below ;))


• Last but not least - How about a little impromptu comment-ficathon of cute???? Let everyone know what adorable little scene you've always wanted to read, maybe someone else will be inspired. Did you have an awful week too? Try some therapeutic writing, lord knows everything I've tried to write this week was toothachingly sweet ;)

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

Hello, patrons of This Bar!

Today being Wednesday, brings us a snippet of unfinished fic from alphaflyer!

(To be featured on unfinished fic Wednesday, sent 100-1000 words of fic to bc.unfinished@gmail.com, which your LJ name, warnings and a rating!)

Anyway, Alpha (Ms. Flyer if you're nasty) has this to say:

Usually once I start something I finish it, but this one .... has been eluding me. I started it based on a prompt by Anuna_81 for the Valentine promptathon; the quote intrigued me to no end, and so I decided to expand on a little blip concerning a past mission that I mentioned in at least one story. The link will be obvious, I think.

Here's Anuna's prompt: "That is the problem with people today. They've lost faith, and in that loss they don't know who they should fear any more."

And here's the line from my story that was to be the basis for the mission: "She’s thinking of the time they’d found those half-starved girls chained to a pipe, in the basement of a cult leader they’d taken out in Montana. After that, he’d shot arrow after arrow into a dead tree, because the one he’d put into the wannabe prophet’s eye just hadn’t been enough. Natasha had watched, then gone and printed out some photos off the internet and pinned them to the tree. Later, she’d pulled out all the arrows and stuck them back in his quiver. Reduce, reuse, recycle. No point wasting well-fletched ammo on scum."

Dark and cynical, a bit like bits of "In the Service". But since an indictment of the false prophecy business isn't really Valentine material, I tried to lighten it up -- but then the tone wouldn't do the theme justice. Or could it?

For now the thing is trapped in a twilight world of too dark/too light/and do I actually want to write this anymore? Any suggestions (including "drop it!") would be gratefully appreciated.

rating: likely M, albeit not for sex
warnings: none for this snippet, later probably violence and darkish themes -- non/con will likely be referenced but not depicted
( Clint's voice, which can grate at the best of times... )

Greetings, B_Cers, and welcome to another Unfinished Fic Wednesday!

As a reminder, send snippets of fic (with rating and warning, as per comm rules!) to bc.unfinished@gmail.com if you'd like to be featured!


Today's submission is from ittykat, who says:
Below follows an excerpt from the middle of what I've written. It was originally a fill for a prompt at the promptathon, where Natasha works for SHIELD and Clint is still in the circus, but after a few days of writing madly with inspiration real life got in the way and I've had trouble coming back to it. I know it'll be a mediumish length plotty thing. I need some encouragement, or speculation, or suggestions, con/crit, anything that might help spark the muses into working again.

Rating: PG
Warnings: nothing for this section. Other sections include graphic violence and language
( Four Days Ago... )

With the disclaimer that life is kicking my ass there are still 15 minutes in Wednesday, today's submission is from folie_lex.

Send your unfinished fic to bc.unfinished@gmail.com.

Rating: PG-13
Warnings: This author has chosen not to use warnings.
( This is the part that he hates. )

Guys, are you as stoked about the secret santa reveals as I am? Well, take a break from answering your comments and hugging each other until you turn blue, and check it out! It's Unfinished Fic Wednesday!

(and this is where the theme song goes... it goes la la la... something about spies... submit to bc.unfinished@gmail.com... sexy spiiiies!)

Today's submission comes to us from ashen_key who says:
As you guys were helpful for cheerleading on my de-aged Nat fic, here is another WiP of mine. It's the obligatory Budapest!fic, and I'm planning on writing it when I'm stuck with the upcoming chapters of de-aged Nat so I actually, uh, get it done. Hopefully. Inspiration is taken from the idea that MCU is totally the kind of world where things involving Mad Science like Jurassic Park would actually take place, and so "you and I remember Budapest very differently" means dinosaurs. But I've been having trouble with audience expectations on the tone (mostly serious-ish with snark and some black humour - much like JP itself, really), and just generally being uninspired and unsure about how interested people would be. So, here is about 1000 from the start to see what people think. Contains POV death of an OC.

( By 3am, Oszkár was back at the brightly lit foyer. )

So we have no fic submissions to post this week. Really, unless Youtube is trying to tell me something. (Google ships Clint/Natasha?)

SO SEND US YOUR FIC, PLEASE AND THANK YOU. I PROMISE IT WILL HELP MOTIVATE YOU!
bc.unfinished@gmail.com

So this week, I'm pulling something from my own archive of Fics I Badly Need To Finish. This is the beginning to the sequel of The Only Soldier Now Is Me, which was always intended to have a sequel, but I have been stuck on it forever.

This picks up where the other stops, and probably will not make a whit of sense if you haven't read the first one. (Though if you choose to look at this blind, you'll need to know that Lev=Bucky, it's the name they gave him when he became the Winter Soldier.)


( Lev doesn't remember. )

hiya everybody! i know it's already thursday in some places, sorry this is so late. i'm pinch hitting for _salamander today and yeesh, life is BUSY nowadays, eh? anyway, we could always use more material for our creative support group on Unfinished Fic Wednesdays! send stuff from 500 - 1000 words to bc.unfinished.gmail.com

alright, let's get down to business to defeat the huuuunnnnnnnn today's submission comes from cybermathwitch who said...

And... then there was this one. Which is at about 7000 words right now, may end up with two different endings, and is probably fairly close to done? It's at the stage of all those fiddly changes/rewrites/etc. and I just can't seem to work up the oomph to do them.

Angsty fic is angsty. And for once not actually some kind of universe-meshing AU. (Though for certain values it *is* still technically AU from the main movie timeline. Maybe. We don't know.)

( Read more... )

Welcome again to Unfinished Fic Wednesdays, where everything is made up and the points don't matter!

I mean...

No, that's what I mean.

Today's snippet comes from hufflepuffsneak who did not give any preamble, so in it's place I will remind you to send all your fic to bc.unfinished@gmail.com so we can love up on ya.

And now, without further ado, the fic:

( Natasha and Clint arrived at Natasha’s apartment in Chicago at three at the morning, still on Indonesian time. )

submissions of 500 - 1000 words of fic are welcomed at the bc.unfinished.gmail.com account (sorry, i got that wrong last week, eep. this is the correct address.) FEED ME, SEYMOUR.

today's submission hails once again from cybermathwitch who said:
A/N: There was a prompt-a-thon prompt for a Hunger Games AU (by nessataleweaver) here.


This is the beginning. (And can you tell the prompt-a-thon was good for my muses? And that they like to write AUs apparently.)

( Read more... )

we could use more submissions for this creative support group at bc.unfinished.gmail.com. please remember to also include your lj user name. today's submission comes from topaz119 (please contact me so we can include your lj handle if this is your entry.)

::waves:: So, this is the first part of what is looking to be a pretty long story, one that I would dearly love to actually finish but is moving at a glacial pace. Post-movie, all those spoilers, etc, Clint/Natasha, moving into a not-restricted-to-just-partners relationship, really very rough, but here goes nothing:

( Read more... )