Progress Report

[lomonaaeren]

3/3: This is something I’ll be trying to do on a weekly basis from now on, partially because I often lose track of the date when something was posted, partially because I sometimes feel impatient with the pace at which I write stories and it would be good to have something to remind me of what I have actually accomplished in a week. (Also, next week I’ll be going on a trip and I really won’t get a chance to work on the stories for six days or so).



Inter Vivos: Nine chapters to go, one posted this week so far, on Monday. This continues to be challenging, partially because it’s an AU, partially because for some reason the chapters are extremely long. At least I have a plot set up for sixth year now.

Siege Mentality: Two chapters to go, one posted this week so far, on Sunday. (I do hope to have this one finished before I leave). Now I just need to accomplish the resolution without a lot of talk-talky-talking.

hd_worldcup fic: Technically finished, but still in the process of polishing. Needs to be finished by the end of this week.

“The Nightingale and the Kingfisher”: One-shot, a much-belated birthday fic. I hope to get this finished this week, but unfortunately I don’t really know how long it will be. If 10,000 words, as I’m hoping for, then it will be doable, as I would be about halfway through.





“Viper”: Vampire fic, sequel to Mongoose. The plot continues to give me fits. I know what most of it consists of, but not how to get Harry and Draco—immovable object and irresistible force as they are in this universe—to respond positively to it. For any value of “positive.”

Intoxicate the Sun: I described this novel here. I’ve decided on it as my next novel-length work after Inter Vivos finishes, which will probably be sometime in April. I wouldn’t plan on it that soon, except that I know the ending now.





“Idyll”: Harry has tried to recover from the war with the help of Mind-Healers and various potions. It didn’t work. He’s discovered a spell that he thinks will help, by transporting him to a quiet green place where he doesn’t have to do anything and can recover absolutely at his leisure. But for the spell to work, he has to attain a Zen-like state of mind and withdraw from most of his connections with other people. He thinks he’s managed it by working hard for the happiness of his friends and loved ones, so that they won’t need him while he’s gone—except for Draco Malfoy, who wants a friend, and whom Harry has a life-debt to.

“Said the Tortoise to the Hare”: This would be a Draco-centric story. He’s interested in Harry, but he sees the way Harry reacts to the people who want to date him after he breaks up with Ginny, and knows that he won’t get what he wants by pressure and coercion. The moral of the story, of course, to fit with the title, is “Slow and steady wins the race,” and Draco gets to have fun watching a few people make complete fools of themselves in front of Harry, while he himself slowly gains Harry’s trust and friendship.

“Loved I Not Honor More”: Short, angsty one-shot, about which I can’t say more for fear of ruining the plot.

“Power and Pleasure”: Will probably come closest to a PWP of anything I’ve written, in that it does have multiple sex scenes within a fairly small amount of words and it is focused on sex as a means of expressing character. Harry and Draco are both frustrated after the war: Draco because he can’t connect emotions with fucking, Harry because there’s always some problem when he tries to go to bed with a woman. They find the answer in each other. (Of course). Will include lots of description of foreplay and desire, which I often find sexier than actual sex.

“Virgin Revelry”: AU from the end of HBP, in which Hermione determines that the only way Harry can successfully defeat Voldemort is if he a) undergoes a certain magical ritual and b) swears to remain a virgin the rest of his life. Harry does this, Voldemort disappears, and Harry does his best to live with it and to sit back and laugh at the marriage proposals and such that he receives. Then Draco gets in contact with him and tells him that, by undergoing that ritual, he actually made himself the perfect vessel for a virgin sacrifice to ensure Voldemort’s return. But the problem’s not going to be as simple as having sex, since Hermione is also right that Harry needs to remain a virgin or Voldemort will come back. So how are they going to solve this one?

Comments

[hogwartshoney.livejournal.com]

Excellent!!!! Wrrrrrite themmm!!!!!!!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Oh, I will! Just...eventually.

[hogwartshoney.livejournal.com]

And, uh, Virgin Revelry sounds like an interesting plot. Really interesting. Am interested to see how you pull that one off.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thanks! At the moment, the idea I have is kind of vague, and I'm not sure it would work.

[weasleywench.livejournal.com]

Wow, these sound like really great ideas! :) Looking forward to reading them. :D

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[invincible-sum.livejournal.com]

Wheeee! I can't wait to read them all, as the plots sound fascinating :-) (And you're impatient with the speed at which you write?!)

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

And yeah, I am. The problem is that if I have a free hour in the day, I think I should be spending that hour writing, even if it's physically/emotionally impossible.

[invincible-sum.livejournal.com]

Well, you have other physical and emotional needs as well. Making sure that you stay healthy and happy is also necessary to your being able to continue writing, and no doubt to your writing better and more quickly and easily ;-) Try not to be too hard on yourself!

[agr8fae.livejournal.com]

Very excited about all of these!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[sorringmay.livejournal.com]

I look forward to seeing your new works, “Said the Tortoise to the Hare” and “Virgin Revelry” in particular.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I think "Said the Tortoise to the Hare" is my favorite.

[thedogberry.livejournal.com]

Geez Lomonaaren! You update on a daily basis and you're still flooded with ideas?? You're seriously threatening my love for SSHP as the OTP.

You deserve to take that trip.

We'll just entertain ourselves with your summaries. (Y'know-- like watching the food channel or reading a gourmet magazine when you're kind of hungry)

:)

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm glad that you can treat my sometimes spammy idea posts this way. :)

[calmnla.livejournal.com]

Spam! That's a food (by some definitions)!

[calmnla.livejournal.com]

Inter Vivos is quite original for a mentor fic. Beyond everything else (the boys!) I am enjoying Snape's growth in human understanding. The fact that it takes years makes it seem genuine.

Viper ought to be a rousing good time as long as we are not stuck in the middle between those two immovable objects! The drama and action were so good in Mongoose that I am looking forward to more, but also the self-absorbed nature of both the young men being drawn together. Incredibly chuckle-worthy, for all the angst.

Idyll sound like what I should be reading right now. I told my students this has been the suckiest of sucky days, and they agreed, so we looked at each other and smiled and had a laid-back intellectual free-for-all (on topic, of course).

The Virgin Revelry has me confused but all will be revealed in time.

Tortoise & Hare sounds like prolonged foreplay. Should be fun.

All of which is to say thanks for sharing your to-do list because there is now so much to look forward to in the long term. And I won't worry next week about dying WIPs. Meanwhile, I wish you a good trip and a refreshing break from writing this wonderful stuff. :-)

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I think it follows the general plot of mentor fics, in that Snape and Harry come to a sort of understanding that can influence his learning, but I do think that it's taking more time than anything I've seen in a while.

Part of the problem in "Viper" is that Draco begins acquiring the instincts and habits of a master vampire whether he wants them or not.

"Idyll" is my favorite in some moods, but I think I may be indulging my fondness for helpful!Harry who gets helped in return.

Thank you!

[azamir.livejournal.com]

you are a fountain of... ehm... greatness!

*can't wait for intoxicate the sun*

though I wonder if I will have the time to read it.. *sigh* in April I will be stressed out over organising that convention I'm in the organisation team of, and then semester is starting again... *sigh*

so, basically I will put off things I SHOULD do for reading your stories again XDDDDD

virgin revelry sounds very interesting as well *__*

you are great!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I'm wondering when I'll have time to write it, at this point. But April will be a better month for me in some ways.

[nimue-8.livejournal.com]

It's seems all very intriguing, creative and fun.

Have a wonderful vacation!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[myfluffcanfly.livejournal.com]

So I'm pretty sure you write faster than I could even if I had a million free hours in a day. Just sayin'. You were the only author I had alerts for on ff.net for a long time because I knew I could count on like eight to twelve chapters a week, sometimes more. That's a ridiculous rate of production, especially considering the length of your average chapter.

All of that to say, don't be too impatient with yourself. You're doing great.

Virgin revelry is my favorite of your potential plots. It looks awesome, though troublesome for you as you try to figure out what to do with the plot.

I'm so exciting about reading all of these! But don't worry about it while you're on your trip-- have fun!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I think having a concrete record of what I've done in a week will help. Part of the problem is that I tend to forget what I've done in a larger time period than a day, and so then I get frustrated if that day is one when I can't post.

"Virgin Revelry" may be even more fun to plan than to write.

[seedless-acorn.livejournal.com]

These all look so promising!! haha, i feel like i'm looking through the window to a bakery at the delicious cakes and pies and cookies that i'll have to eat later, but i know that the wait will make them all the more savory!

Have fun and be safe on your trip! You've totally earned it!!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I hope the idea continues to entertain you.

[anexiana.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I really like how Said the Tortoise to the Hare sounds. And also, Idyll. But if I had to pick one, I'd want to read the former.

It's amazing how you have some many ideas...and translate into actual words. *in awe* xD

Have a nice trip!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Hopefully Said the Tortoise to the Hare will be my next project.

[anexiana.livejournal.com]

Great! I'll be sure to watch for it then. =)

[kinna84.livejournal.com]

VIPER! Ooh, continuation to "Mongoose", I am sooo looking forward to that!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you! So am I.

[mtranc3.livejournal.com]

Oh my God so many great ideas, you are awesome! I liked the summary of “Virgin Revelry” especially :) Really looking forward to reading your stories!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[cleo-jay.livejournal.com]

Oooh! These all look fab! I really, really, really want to read 'Said the Tortoise to the Hare', though! *goes to find time-turner* ;D

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

And, well, hopefully it wouldn't have to be set much further forward in time than a month!

[cleo-jay.livejournal.com]

HOORAY! *sets time-turner for a month & a half, just in case* :D

[jtsbbsps-dk.livejournal.com]

First of all, have a nice trip! ^^

Yay - you're doing a worldcup fic - hurray, can't wait to read it!
And that also applies for the sequel to Mongoose - awesome story!
The Intoxicate the Sun-idea is WONDERFUL!! I'm all *write it, write it*! But, yea, it really does sound like a large and messy plot! But brilliant! If anyone can pull it off, it's you!

You absolutely HAVE (I know I'm demanding) to write Said the Tortoise to the Hare!! Soooo my kind of story!! LOVE the idea!

The other ideas sound awesome, and I especially wonder how you're going to solve the problem in Virgin Revelry - I'm looking very much forward to all of these!

From your insane fangirl Julie ^^

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

"Intoxicate the Sun" makes me tired just thinking about it, but that's one reason that I'd want to wait a while.

"Said the Tortoise to the Hare"= SO MUCH FUN just thinking about it.

[jtsbbsps-dk.livejournal.com]

You're welcome :)

Understandable ^^

XD Yay! Very much fun indeed!

[freshpickletoad.livejournal.com]

Of course, I'm looking forward to finishing SM and IV but man, you have a lot of ideas revolving around in that brilliant head of yours! You have the talent and the speedy updates to do it too. I envy you so much...le sigh, if I could only stick to finishing my stories that way. :P

I particularly like 'Said The Tortoise to the Hare' and 'Virgin Revelry' because I have a thing for as little angst as possible and especially for stories where Harry is really pursued after, not just by Draco but by everyone else! Until, of course, Draco eventually catches him. It makes me giddy just thinking about it! But the others are very interesting too, like Intoxicate the Sun which I read your summary months ago. That's a pretty big undertaking and I wish you all the luck.

But of course, Inter Vivos first, yes? I really heart that story!

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It helps that I've finished so many already, I think; it gives me the confidence that I can do this.

I have this deep, shameful love for stories where Draco chases Harry, yes. (Why do you think I've written so many of them?) I've been trying to write more of the other way around, but I seem to have more plots with the outline I like.

Yes, I'll definitely be finishing IV before I start Intoxicate the Sun.

[ativanian.livejournal.com]

This is a little like someone else writing out my Christmas list with better presents than I ever would have thought of. And knowing that they will arrive on time! Off to read "Building with Worn-out Tools", again.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It may be months before some of these get finished, but I do hope you enjoy them as they're posted.

Wow!

[dana-aeryn.livejournal.com]

I am looking forwrad to all these. I know that they are going to be great reads. Look forward to reading each first chapter. Thanks for the progress report- its always great to have something to look forward to.