Thursday, December 20, 2007

So no beta...

...everyone is busy. At first I was like "Busy? Really? Well, I guess I am too, but I am finding some time -". Then WHOOSH - all my spare time gone. I have been working on a new outline, a new story line. I have in my head this heavenly (literally) scene where Snape gets to spend eternity with a fifteen year old Lily, the Lily he knew, the Lily that died when he betrayed her. How it must hurt to be betrayed by one's best friend! Surely a bit of someone would die - would feel pain and anguish.

Anyhow, Snape's soul gets to spend a peaceful exsistance with a fifteen year old Lily - but he is fifteen as well. But he learns that he will be eternally happy.

Yea!

I think where I was writing in my story some details might have been lost along the way. I would love to spend one to three days of my vacation writing. But alas - there are Christmas presents to crochet and a house to decorate (I said I would do it St. Nicholas' day old calender, which was yesterday, but I didn't get to it).

Lots to do ahead - lots of little scenes in my head that I need to play out. Plus my friend Odious (www.odiousandpeculiar.blogspot.com) got me thinking about some other character details with his post about the art of courtly love.

I may choose to post a new first chapter soon

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

I have a beta...sort of...

...hee! Well, my email does indeed work! Alas, my beta is busy and unsure if she can help me.

That's ok - I am generally optimistic.

And I signed up for NaNoWriMo! I only have 4,000+ words.

Am going to work today - hopefully get to 10,000 words.

Words are quite small when you think about it...

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

New Structure to FanFic

I did a HUGE writing session yesterday with my fan fic. I don't have the particulars up yet - I have tried to contact a beta to read my work. So far, no answers. I am beginning to wonder if my email works - except I do hear from my meet up group.

Anyhow, I do want to read through it before I post.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Alas- it is tough going for an Empiricist author...

...it is National write a novel month! I am a huge Meg Cabot fan and she posted about it on her blog. I should be inspired to complete my work - In the Blink of Her Eyes - but, ALAS, I find myself bogged down with facts and details and that pesky sense of wanting to get it right!

In morning traffic, as well as morning bed lurking, I found myself thinking of a new way to present the story. It is really a love triangle isn't it - Severus loves Lily, James loves Lily, Lily loved someone else...a long time ago (my own character creation), and really Lily loved Sev, but he's a bad boy and Lily hates James because he's a bad boy especially to her Sev. But then she has to face reality and James must become civilized (i.e. grow up). And Lily decides to torture Snape (notice the name change) JUST a little bit by being nice to James - afterall, she is hurting, and on the outside Snape doesn't appear bothered, but occupied in his own dark arts pleasures...

...and as I was brainstorming I threw in a humorous Pervy Peter Pettigrew story line - rat that he is, goes sneaking into the prefect bathrooms - ha!

And then I thought of a song for Peeves to sing:

Pesky, Pervy, Pettigrew
pottering around the pots
popping up amongst the towels
just to peak a alot!

Which was really bad...very bad writing, but amused me for a mo'. It is WAY better than all the snogging scenes I have imagined for Lily and Severus - I envision heavy use of Felix Felicitas on his part!

Anyhow, must go teach!

My Own Oddity

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Countess-Palatine Lia the Prohibited of Deepest Throcking
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title


My friends over at odiousandpecular.blogspot.com inspired me to make this post. They are the best:)

Monday, October 22, 2007

Dumbledore gay?

Huh? Jo Rowling revealed in her Carnegie Hall reading the Dumbledore was in love with Grindewald (sp?). Very odd.

Many are saying that they no longer want to read the books due to Dumbledore's sexual leanings.

My question is - why?

So Dumbledore was homosexual - did we really see it in the books? Rita Skeeter hinted at in in her awful biography of Dumbledore noting the sinister relationship between Harry and Dumbledore. I always took that turn of phrase as meaning that Dumbledore viewed Harry as more than an engaging young man. But, then again, I don't hold Rita Skeeter in high regard.

Still - someone's sexual orientation is something private and in an age where one is never sure what another's preference is, it is possible to question.

But does it really matter? I think not. So, Dumbledore was gay - we don't see it in the novels, it doesn't change his character as a high ranking and well respected wizard. It does not affect his realtionship with the other characters.

I think it comes as a shock to others who see Dumbledore as a heroic leader and perhaps it is their own prejudice that leads them to believe a strong leader cannot be homosexual. It is that sterotype of the flamboyant and hysterical homosexual that somehow doesn't jive with who Dumbledore was.

It just goes to show that even though one might not think they are prejudiced, that some sterotypes may still exist in their subconscious.

Love everyone - that is what Dumbledore would have wanted AND Christ's message to us on earth.


MOVING on...One interesting question Jo Rowling was asked was the professions of the Maurader's and Lily. They were full time fighers - after school! Interesting!

It was also interesting to note that James supported everyone with his money.

I am just imagining one big house where everyone is living togehter, commune style. Lupin is working at table and Sirius cracking jokes with James while Lily is trying to charm food into something edible with Wormtail sitting at a bar looking on hungrily.

Hopefully it wasn't like that - I felt so sorry that Lily was the only girl in the group!

And it is rather sweet that James was so generous with his money.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

It's been awhile...

... I am still trying to balance school, life, and fan fic writing.

I have once again changed my mind about the structure of the story I want to write - or, I suppose, I rather want to fill in.

I have been re-reading the whole HP series, looking now for more about Snape, which I had not done before. To me, he was not a character I was drawn to - he seemed so mean and awful to Harry that one, I think, could not but also get angry with Snape as Harry did.

But what an interesting character - to see Harry's own person as a personal insult. Lily said she would never be interested in James, and yet she MARRIES the guy and has a KID with him!

If I were Snape, I would be pretty upset too.

However, could Harry really help what his mother said or who his father was? I think it a little TOO vindictive to take this attitude. But, perhaps Snape was saving himself from more hurt by distancing himself from Harry. From a distance perhaps he only saw James and would not have to look at Lily's eyes - a source of pain for him.

Anyhow - just some thoughts that have been rattling around in my brain.

Hopefully will get a new chapter up in the next month that starts with Snape and Lily's estrangement.

I'm actually starting to think of him as Severus...hmmmm.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Revised Chapter 1

Deleted because it was too awful for words...

lia

Monday, August 6, 2007

Chapter One - Year Four

You know - when I started writing this I was so slap happy that in Deathly Hallows I was proved RIGHT that Lily and Severus were friends, I wrote a really crappy intro. My new first chapter is not much better, really cheesy, but whatEVER - I have a story in my mind and I want it out there.

STOP snickering Odious:)

lia

About my Fan Fiction: In the Blink of Her Eyes

Howdy!

I am a mugglenet fan, so I don't know if I will try to publish there, but I will update this blog with my story. I am a former English teacher, but I teach math now (which I HEART to the utmost) - and means I won't have a lot of time. But I will try to edit before I post, but would heartily appreciate comments that relate to character and plot development as well as the typical grammar and conventions.

Here are the normal labels and warnings:

The characters I write of are property of J. K. Rowling, a literary genius and veteran story teller. J.K. Rowling - if you ever read this blog, I am very much obliged to you for inspiring me with your inventions. You have been an inspiration to everyone!

Title: In the Blink of Her Eyes

Inspiration for title: see first post - I was inspired by Lily's blink in Order of the Phoenix

UPDATE: this post was HEAVILY edited because, well, I was so GIDDY when I wrote it.

I really envisioned this torrid love affair between Snape and Evans, but upon reading DH for the, let's see, FOURTH time, I think otherwise.

I think they were friends, really close friends, but some friendships grow apart. Sometimes your friends make choices that you do not, you cannot agree with, and so you start to avoid them, begin to make other close friends.

And so it was with Lily and Severus. I think they got to Hogwarts and for the first two years were really close buds. But James would of course guarantee that Snape's life was no fun, so Snape started dabbling in what might be, at first, simple retaliatory spells, but would eventually lead to the dark arts. And with using and seeking out dark spells, Snape would start to hang out with some who also were using dark spells.

But Lily wouldn't and couldn't - especially since most of those who used dark spells hated muggleborns. I think Lily begins to realize what Severus is up to and puts up a sort of barrier for her feelings towards him. I think she deep down does like him romantically, but those feelings are pushed far away when she realizes what he using.

Anyhow, I want to work on their history a bit more. So, I will write the fan fiction.

With this long, mega-post, I bid adieu with my final thought: "Detail oriented much? Well, I am a teacher..."

Lia Mey

First Post for Lia Mey!

Currently Playing: Feist (I didn't know she was so popular...)

Howdy all! I decided to start this blog because I have a lot whirling about in my mind with regard to the end of the Harry Potter series.

Oddly enough, I was never a fan till this year (2007). I just started reading the series on a whim. I love the Inspector Morse series and was checking out the DVDs with my husband every week. The extras on the DVDs have trivia bits and I noticed that many amazing and well-known British actors were also in Harry Potter. So, I decided to check out the movies, which were amusing, but our school librarian convinced me to read the books. Then I feel deep into the fascinating world J.K Rowling created.

Where to begin...By far the fifth novel, Order of the Phoenix, is my FAVORITE of the series. One of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was the insight into Harry's parents. As readers, we do not see much of them pre-Harry, when they were alive, and vibrant people. I was especially intrigued by Lily since her eyes come up so often and most likely gender identification (that old notation that girls like reading about girl stuff). The "Snape's Worst Memory" chapter became a bit of an obsession for these reasons - so many questions sprang from it! Most of my questions were the same as Harry's - the first of which was "Why did she marry James?", quickly followed by "What did Sirius mean when he said 'no she didn't (hate James)?"

The central question for me was "Why did Lily blink?". Blinks like Lily's are usually reserved for shock, for that moment to process something unusual, something different, a pause that suggests more than, pardon the pun, meets the eye. I KNEW something had to be there, and I began scouring the series for little clues, little indications, little nods JKR might give readers as to the relationship between Lily Evans, James Potter, and Severus Snape. I marked little passages with book darts, noticing several things and beginning to formulate a story.

My first story I began to jot down on paper, outlining, checking facts on the HP Lexicon, creating playlists in iTunes of songs that struck me as inspirational to this story that began to gain strength. I had originally started with Lily's first year and gotten through most of third and fourth year, but left my story off for Lent (I feel that Lent is the time of year to focus on God, to turn away from those things that distract one...like fanfic:). I resumed again after Lent, but I did so cautiously. Lent actually caused me to reflect that there could be something significant in the seventh book that would shed more light on these three characters. I left off my story writing and busied myself in anticipation of Deathly Hallows.

Then the midnight party came and I got by book around 12:30 a.m. I raced home and arrived about 12:45 and made a little nest of blankets for myself in a corner of our newly purchased condo (a la Kreacher). I read straight through the morning, pausing for bathroom breaks, to howl over the deaths of Hedwig, Mad-Eye, and Dobby (I had to stop for a full seven minutes as I let out a full wail for the little elf - I am sure our new neighbors had no IDEA what was going on...). I think I reached "The Prince's Tale" chapter around eight in the morning. When I saw the picture, I let out a little whoop. As I read on, I pumped my fist in the air! So many people had shot down my ideas and theories about Lily and Snape, it was a joy. It was difficult to move on the next chapter, for many reasons (Harry's impending death, fatigue, a stomach full of cashews, Trader Jo-jos, and water), but one of them was not wanting to leave Snape and Lily.

However, I was in NO way totally onto what JKR had written. She totally broke my story into pieces, but many large fragments were still in tact. Upon a second read and looking back at my bookdarted passages (I DID mark the passage in Order of the Phoenix where Petunia talks about "that awful boy" - hee!), a new story began to form in my head. I began thinking, finding new songs, outlining a bit, but mostly just thinking. I was inspired to sit and think by JKR who says that sitting on the train just thinking about how the story would work was the best thing she did. I agree.

I have begun to develop a new fanfiction that does not disregard the last novel in the series. Granted, I have no idea what I am going to do with four notebooks full of work, but it was helpful to write that all out and get some ideas for my new fanfic which I will publish on this blog. In my next post, I will list labels, etc. about my fan fic.

Thank you!

Lia Mey