#crowley's shifting genders in the Mistakes series makes editing Very Interesting.

[evilasiangenius]

For the Ask meme:

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

I love any non-hate feedback, but it is especially nice when someone leaves me a comment that is hard to respond to, because it's so kind/thoughtful/interesting <3 Speaking of which, I have a small backlog of comments to respond to...

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

I can't pick one (they're all so important!) so I'll add a few more: 1. Believable characterization/voice

2. Is the idea interesting enough to spend time and effort exploring?

3. Is the idea contributing a different/new/unusual perspective?

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

I never really know what to expect when I post things, so often there are pleasant surprises. I'm not really good at the marketing of stories, and I recognize my writing may not be to everyone's taste, so often I just write, post, and hope for the best.

However, upon reflection, one fic stands out in recent memory that may fit this criteria:

Mistakes Were Made: The Book of Crowley

The actual writing, especially in the first half, was more like the backside of a beginning embroidery work - I went through a large number of drafts as it was extremely difficult to structure the parts I had written, interlocking Crowley's story with Aziraphale's and getting them timing down correctly (I still feel sorry for Prereader Elena who read everything). So to find out that the story turned out well and that there are readers that found it deeply meaningful was surprising. I don't know what I expected, but the responses have been amazing. Some readers were very excited about the Jewish content and representation. Others liked the asexual representation, and still others liked Crowley's genderfluidity, which throughout the story shifted between male, female, and genderless depending on mood or company or social pressure.

I think this is in part what makes the writing so enjoyable; not really knowing how people will respond.

#genderfluid crowley #crowley's shifting genders in the Mistakes series makes editing Very Interesting. #readers find themes and subtext that I may not have even noticed while writing #I find that fascinating especially since in hindsight #subtext found by readers tends to work out exactly as the readers have pointed out #and often it wasn't intentional at all!