I'm editing this rec because of discussions I have had with megyal, and my own feelings about what I initially wrote. At megyal's request, I'm not deleting anything, and I'll add the changes in italics so just for the record, anyone can see what I originally said and what is new. I decided to make the rec in this form because of various discussions on my flist lately about being more honest in recs and comments, discussing the good and the bad, etc. I have reservations about this, but have read some convincing arguments for it, along with some that worry me. I thought in the interests of being open minded, I would try a rec which stated some negatives as well as positives, and see how I felt about it. The answer was, I felt uncomfortable about it, and decided this style is not for me. I took the post down and emailed megyal to apologise. Megyal, meanwhile, once she had worked out what I was on about :DD sent me the following email, asking that I put the rec back up, add some more information to it, and also post her email in full as a "punishment" for my sins :DDD. I am more than happy to do all these things.
This mess turned out sort of OK, due in large part to megyal's wonderfulness, but I have no more plans for further recs in this style. I think the arguments about full disclosure recs have hurt a lot of people, so I'm hoping they won't continue on this post. If anyone wants to take issue with anything I've said here, could I ask politely that it's done by PM, to avoid further upset to people who are feeling sensitive about it? Thank you!Here's megyal's lovely email to me:
I was really confused when I got this message because I had no idea what you were talking about. I sat in the armchair for a few minutes, trying to remember if I'd seen any post like that, until I read that you'd deleted the post.
It made me really curious as to what you'd written, so I found a cached version of your post. I'm sorry?
I'm not mad or offended over the full disclosure bit; I mean, 99& of that post was of the most complimentary nature, and you shared your opinion in a very kind way. I read the post about four times and all I'm a little sad about is that you didn't give me a chance to learn what you thought didn't make sense; I would have liked to know, so I could explain what I probably meant...and that way, I could learn too. I could learn not to do something that would cause confusion.
Any beta of mine can tell you that I have a bunch of ideas floating in my mind and sometimes it gets lost in translation; when they point out, "Marie, this isn't connecting here," I say, "OH YEAH in my head-movie it's LIKE THIS." As a writer yourself, you know that. Switch it around: if I posted that there were a few things that didn't add up in your fic and you didn't get a chance to explain to me, or really understand what I meant before I deleted the post, I'd think you'd be a little pouty too.
Full disclosure for me: I'm fond of loose ends, but if it happens enough to annoy readers, then I'll need to know to curtail that habit.
I'd like if you put back the post and point what loose ends bugged you (probably behind a cut if it's spoilery? haha spoilery for one my MY fics, that's funny). L, you know the ego of a writer, particularly one in fanfiction. It's fragile but, you know, kinda needs to be steel-plated so we're not assholes at each other and ourselves all the time. And I'm not done learning about writing yet.
For your punishment, if you're going to put up back the post, you also need to post my entire reply to your apology, which, by the way, is wholeheartedly (and a little confusedly) accepted. And here is my rec with added spoilery detail under a cut:
Author/Artist:
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megyalTitle:
Truffles, Noble Lord of the SkyPairing(s): Harry/Draco
Summary: Harry is friends with a winged snake that disappears every day at sundown.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 10,600
OK, I'm going to try one of these complete disclosure recs and hope it doesn't all go wrong. If you are reading,
megyal, don't panic, I adored your fic!
This is such a lovely story; I woke up early and decided to finish it off this morning, and it put a big smile on my face before the day had even begun.
The fic deals with Harry's relationship with a winged snake, Truffles, who appears during the day and seems to have assumed a guardian's role amongst the young post-war Slytherins. It's told in a non-linear way and from different viewpoints, including Truffles' itself. This is particularly charming, especially the parts which describe its view of Harry, and the syntax of snakes' language.
The story is so romantic in a gentle, very magical way, and
megyal's writing is beautifully fresh, full of poetry, with a lovely light touch, and an original take on old tropes.
Here's the complete disclosure bit: I adored everything as I read the story, but thinking about it now, there were maybe a couple of things that didn't totally make sense. It could of course be the fact I was reading it when I was half awake :D It sort of adds to the surreal charm, but perhaps could annoy you if you like all your loose ends tied up perfectly, without any questions left unanswered.
( spoilery detail under cut... )I thought further about what I said above. re: loose ends, and I think it's the sign of a confident writer when not everything has to be spelled out for one's readership. I'd like to develop this within my own writing - a lovely beta did once comment that I don't have to explain everything in such detail, I can trust people to join the dots.I really hope you all give this fic a try. I think Truffles has stolen a little piece of my heart today; I'm going to reread this later because it was just that delicious.
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