On Writing (the remix_redux remix)

[lunabee34]

Let us talk about writing, dear flist.

I have, as you probably noticed from my Dear Remixer letter, signed up for Remix. And I am both excited and nervous, gleeful and intimidated.

So this is what I want from you guys:

What are your remixing strategies?
How do you approach the original for a remix?
What are your remix horror stories? (including how the remixee felt about the story)
What would you urge me not to do? What's the biggest mistake I could make?
What have you done in a remix that you think really worked? How can I duplicate this success?

Comments

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

musesfool recently posted at length about Remix, including links to previous posts of hers and others' on the subject, so you might wanna check that out.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Thanks Elizabeth. I knew I could count on you to link me to the good stuff. :)

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I actually plan to make a post later this week about the stories I've remixed in the past, so I'ma pass on the first two questions and say I'll cover them then. :)

Horror stories...well, all three years I've done it, I've gone to read my remixee's fics and just been kind of "..." The first year, I was matched on Harry Potter and didn't know any of her other fandoms, so I was stuck with HP. Her fics were...not very remixable. The rules then only required...I think it was still 5 fics minimum, but they only had to be 300 words or longer. She had very few fics and they were all very, very short, mostly character studies and that sort of thing. I remember one Harry/Draco fic she had was just complete fluff, Harry and Draco having a fight with whipped cream pies. Ack. So I went over and over trying to find a story and finally settled on an unsent letter from Sirius to Remus. I ended up writing a story from Remus' POV where he finds the letter in Sirius' things after Sirius is dead.

Last year was the worst, though. The author had only the bare minimum of five stories. One was a crossover with a fandom I didn't know, so that ruled it out. Of the other four, one was badly written humor (not funny and not much to remix), one was an introspective character piece, one was PWP, and the other was a long fic I never got around to reading. After much dithering I finally choce the character piece and whipped something up from that.

I would say don't just change the POV. Take a risk. Do something different. IMO the best remixes are the ones that don't just follow the original fic exactly, but really make it into something new.

That's what I've done, and I think it's worked well. Again, more on that once the deadline of doom has passed!

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the advice.

I think that what I've decided to do is really go out on a limb, so cross your fingers for me.

I look forward to reading your remixing post.

[spikedluv]

I can't answer your question because remixes scare me. *g*

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Dude, I hear ya. Kinda freaking out myself. But in a good way.