TSA1 posted!

[sarea]

Finally. TSA1 (not to be confused with TSAp :D) has at last been completed. *senseless weeping* Have subbed to Schnoogle, but in the meantime you can read it at Portkey (here) or my Web site (here).

Please find somehow, some way, to let me know what you think. Review at an archive, drop a line at a messageboard, send me email, comment here, cut up magazines and send MacGyvered letters to my door, scribble a note onto a piece of notebook paper and throw it in my hair, roll up your feedback and put it in a bottle set to sea ... however you choose to do it, it will be greatly appreciated. :D To say that I'm a leeeeeettle nervous about the reaction to this chapter would be an understatement, since I know it can't possibly live up to whatever anticipation might have built up in this long wait between parts, but lay into me anyway. I'm an adult. I can take it. And if I can't, I'll take it anyway.

Comments

[kstanley.livejournal.com]

To say that I'm a leeeeeettle nervous about the reaction to this chapter would be an understatement, since I know it can't possibly live up to whatever anticipation might have built up in this long wait between parts, but lay into me anyway. I'm an adult. I can take it. And if I can't, I'll take it anyway.

Sarea, I don't notice any flaws. The story flowed, I wasn't ever bored--despite the fact that it was longish and drawn out. I think it's important to make a note of that, because I often find myself skimming other fanfics when they stretch things out long. But not with this piece.

I'm beginning to think that your writing and story-telling style is perfectly suited to my tastes. I don't think I've read any story of yours that I didn't like a lot and find satisfying. You have become my favorite fanfic writer. You really have.

This chapter is so richy textured. I'm often unsatisfied with other stories because not enough time is spent explaining why a character does this or that. This tendency is particularly pronounced in many of the Draco/Ginny stories I've read. I think it is a rather odd thing for these two characters to get romantically involved. So if a writer is going to put them together, she has to build slowly, showing their personalities, their motivations, their (not so) inevitable attraction.

When this building is done well (as it is in "Autumn"), it is so pleasing, because I really get wrapped up in the characters and you feel what they are feeling. I am seduced into their skins--and I forget what is happening around me. That's a feeling I don't often get from reading these days (although in my childhood, I experienced it all the time). So I appreciate any writing that can draw me so closely. Such is your Draco fanfic writing.

I really liked this chapter and I know I will read it again and again to catch all the nuances. Good work.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you mentioned the issue of the length, because I'm well aware that it was long, and most of it was set up, and while it's a necessary part of story building, it's not always the most interesting part. I'm really glad to hear that it worked for you -- I've already heard some constructive criticism about how I should use fewer words to say the same thing. It's good feedback to have, though I don't see myself changing the way I write dramatically.

I do tend to get verbose, so maybe this will spur me to watch myself more. Of course, if the complaints stem from the fact that the chapter itself is long ... then they're out of luck, as I don't plan to post 2-page chapters just to cater to short attention spans. :D That's not the kind of audience I want, anyway. Or maybe I should stop posting to places where such readers hang out. So, to the point: I'm glad you mentioned it, because now I have both points of view, and can work with that feedback as I go forward. The next chapter has much more D/G interaction, and I suspect there won't be much criticism about length then. :))

But I agree with you; getting Draco and Ginny -- two such disparate characters -- should, rightfully, take a long time. But I understand about cutting corners, and normally would do it myself (as there's only so many times you really want to get that in depth with it, I suspect), but this was a story in which I didn't want those corners cut; didn't feel it would work or be right. So yeah, we're in for a long ride. It is the slow autumn, after all. Heehee.

I think the fact that you can get into a character and feel that you're experiencing what they're going through is one of the highest compliments a writer can receive, so thank you. That's so wonderful to hear. We're all painting universes, of course, so our ultimate goal is to draw you in and hopefully help you enjoy your stay there for awhile. ; )

Sarea

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I'm the same anonymous reviewer as above (if you couldn't tell by the IP addy), and I just wanted to point out that while I could feel the length of this chapter, that was mostly just because it was setup, and rather expected from the first chapter. Please, please, please do not ever post 2 page chapters of this story. Long chapters rock. Particularly your long chapters. This didn't get boring, it didn't feel too drawn out... it felt like background, which is exactly what it was supposed to be.