My fic: Fit (Draco/Albus Severus, ~4k, NC-17)

[birdsofshore]

I got tagged at wand_in_a_knot and wrote Draco/Albus Severus for the lovely prompt of voyeur.

Title: Fit
Creator: birdsofshore
Pairing /Character: Draco / Albus Severus
Summary: Draco needs a new suit. Albus is keen to assist in any way possible.
Rating: NC-17
Word count/art medium/podfic length: ~4k
Warnings/Content: Age disparity. Unbetaed and written in haste. Clothing kink. Suit kink. Shameless eroticisation of one Draco Malfoy. Unwilling arousal. Wanking. Blow job. Basically your usual self-indulgent Birds PWP. :D

I was terribly excited to be involved in the challenge, and luckily could carve out a good chunk of time to write on the day I got tagged. But I found it awfully difficult in the end. I was too ambitious with my idea, and also, it took me a long time to get going. I think I wrote 500 words in the first two hours. I had tons of ideas for the story and also got sidetracked by ~research *cough*. There is a LOT of research to do on suits, waistcoats, tailoring and specifically, how men look wearing sharp suits. DAMN YOU, INTERNET.

I wrote steadily through the evening, but ended up panicking my arse off with an hour to go, and found that part completely paralysing. I like to spend a lot of time on a fic, doing things like picturing how something looks, or choosing just the right word, and I found that the pressure of time meant THERE WERE NO WORDS. It got kind of scary at the end. I wrote the sex scene in about twenty minutes, and it really shows :((

I also found it incredibly hard not to be able to go in and edit the next day! I always say I hate editing, but it turns out, I actually love it. I woke up the next day still feeling very immersed in the world of the fic and with loads of ideas for how to improve it. Of course, it's not in the spirit of the challenge to carry on writing your piece after the 24 hours are up, so I have left it as is, but it feels a bit like being out in public with greasy hair and ketchup on my shirt. I may rewrite when the fest is finished, I'm not sure.

Meanwhile if you decide to try my story, I hope you enjoy what there I came up with! It was fascinating to participate in this challenge and there are some fabulous pieces over at the comm and plenty more to come. Please have a look at wand_in_a_knot if you're not following the fest already. Thank you to the amazing mods for organising this for the HP fandom and for putting up with my dorkish behaviour. ♥

Fit

Comments

[shiftylinguini.livejournal.com]

<333

(still a great fic!)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_melodic_/]

::nods:: seconded to the millionth degree!

[birdsofshore]

I'm very glad it went down well with the Draco/Al lovers on my flist!

[birdsofshore]

Aw thanks! I'm delighted that you enjoyed it.

[lq-traintracks.livejournal.com]

As a reader, I absolutely loved it, I have to say! But as a writer, I completely understand where you're coming from here. Personally, I love editing. I love combing through a story over and over again and pruning and preening it, and if I don't get to do that, it's going to feel... well, like you said: greasy hair and ketchup. ;-) I think, no matter how much we all loved the piece, it's your right to tinker with it (so long as this version stays up at the comm), and if you're feeling inspired to work with it *now*, I wouldn't wait. You can always have two versions up, one like a director's cut. ;-) It would be fascinating, really, to see what a writer's choices would be if they'd had more time with something. But yeah, if you wait to work on it, you may lose the immediacy of your good ideas.

<3

[gracerene]

Totally agree with LQ! And I'd say, if you're still feeling inspired, you could always start editing now and post the polished version after the fest is over. :D

The clothing details definitely would have added a layer of complication to things in terms of research, and your fic ending up longer than a lot of the others, so I'm definitely impressed! And, of course, as a reader, I thought it was great and ketchup free, but it's very different being on the other side of the fence in terms of writing and reading. :D

[birdsofshore]

I think I will do that, grace - I don't presume anyone will want to read it again, but just for peace of mind it might help me to edit now and publish later. It has been interesting because it has made me realise how much I think I improve on a fic between the first draft and the final version (time permitting, that is). I may enjoy editing more in future now I appreciate it as a luxury!

And there was not that much need to do the ~research, hehe... I just liked having an excuse to swoon over photos of men in suits, and lush descriptions of fabric. (HNNNGHHH)

[birdsofshore]

Thanks so much and I appreciate what you're saying as a reader and as a writer. I think I will work on it now, but it wouldn't be appropriate to post another version until after the fest is over. I can put it on AO3 maybe if I am pleased with it when I've tinkered. I'm not sure how deeply to go into it - I mean, I could totally spend weeks on it and flesh it out to be 15k or so! Or I could make a few quick tweaks and feel happier with it as a 4k pwp. Hmm...

Thanks as ever for your support <33

[lq-traintracks.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, no, I didn't mean post it before the challenge is over, just don't wait to write on it if you're feeling it. :-D

[birdsofshore]

Yes, you're right... I should have done it the next day! I may try this evening. I have something else nearly finished, though, so I must not procrastinate! (she says, composing another LJ post on a different topic, hehe)

[lightofdaye]

I totally know what you mean. I'm not really an editor (as anyone who's read a fic of mine and clearly tell) but I was thinking 'aagh this is a fest, people will actually read this.' And planned a flash fic, in place of the drabbles I usually write. Then spend the whole day in a state of panic and off-and-on writing and deciding that everything that had already been written was both unnecessary and crap.

And I was tagged early on a saturday and saw it straight away so I was in the most optimal position for the fest ever.

[birdsofshore]

Oh, I so empathise with your wobbles! I thought my position was perfect, too - I like to sleep on ideas for fic and I got tagged at 10 pm, so I went to bed excited and woke up with an idea for a story, and a whole day to write it. Well, except for the fact I was looking after my kids until 2 pm... but still.

I thought your fic turned out great. It seemed smooth and not rushed or unpolished. Funny how we perceive our own stuff!