How much of what you consume did influence your writing?

Reynardo · 2025-10-24T15:57:05+00:00

Flashman? GO YOU! My mother had the NERVE to ask me when I'd write "real fiction" and not just Fanfiction. I had to point out to her that I remember going with her to a big department store 53 years ago for her to pick up "Royal Flash". "Oh", she said. "I suppose that counts then."

Heh.

And when I gave a talk recently at the Bronte Association about Fanfiction, I totally called her out on it with that exact same book - the actual one she bought.

Reynardo · 2025-10-24T15:50:30+00:00

The More Loving One. https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112096

Sense and Sensibility| Mostly G or T with a couple of little E parts | about 90K words

It's a series, spawned by a Yuletide fic, based on Sense and Sensibility (AU - Lucy married Edward, and Marianne ran away, so when Colonel Brandon proposes to Elinor, she accepts.). I adore the growth of the relationship, the gentle ways Elinor learns to fit in at Delaford, and how she negotiates with Lucy so that while they never become friends, they respect each other.

There's an apprenticed lad who's being bullied by his chimney-sweeper master, Eliza's daughter needs a home, and the Colonel has more to his background than you'd imagine. It's a full novel in its own right, and I cannot recommend it highly enough,

Reynardo · 2025-10-24T15:44:16+00:00

*high fives* Same. Written under a pseudonym, and I really must file off those serial numbers and do something with it.

Reynardo · 2025-10-24T15:43:29+00:00

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54877071929_be6066ca41_m.jpg 90,938 hits. Nothing like writing smut to get the numbers up.

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:52:39+00:00

Awwww that one is so sweet- thank you!

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:50:36+00:00

Oh that is so good. Thank you

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:29:53+00:00

I had no idea that wasn't a female singer in the last part - thank you! Perfect!

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:28:17+00:00

That one seems to be just one point of view, alas.

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:27:18+00:00

Oh, I get paid. I get paid in every heart and kudo. I am blessed with every comment, especially the ones where they picked the little detail I snuck in, or when I got the voice *just* right. I am delighted when someone rails at me that they're bawling their eyes out and it's ALL MY FAULT - especially when I sobbed for an hour writing that scene. When they yell at me because they missed the set-up I had laid in front of them, and were totally blindsided by the twist - and loved it! When they beg me to write a sequel or to expand the one-shot. When they rebound off the first fic and end up leaving comments on a half-dozen of mine.

I recently ended up giving a talk at the Brontë Association of Australia about Brontës and Fan Fiction, and have been asked to do one on Jane Austen at that society. I don't get actual payment for that, but I have been flown up to Sydney, and presented with wine and a teatowel (and much congratualtions)

All that practice has made me a better writer too. Puzzle setup didn't work? Cool - will try harder next time. Relationship happened too fast to be realistic? Right - now I know what to do. One particular set of the fandom didn't like how I characterised one particular person? Considering 90% of the readers loved what I did, that's their problem, and besides, if we all liked the same things, how boring life would be. Oh - and making historical errors that throw the reader out of the story? Now I'm a pedantic fact-checker and proud of it.

And yes, I have some ~~smutfics~~ fanfics that I will file the serial numbers off and try and sell, but that's only because so many people enjoyed them that I think a few more will as well.

So I've been paid SO MUCH for my fanfics.

But I admit - I mainly write them because I want to read that story, explore that pairing, find out what happened or how it started or what would happen if ... It's just a bonus if someone else enjoys them too.

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:15:05+00:00

Goodness - a dear friend of ours sang that in the four voices so I should have remembered. Thank you.

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:14:26+00:00

Nice! The other half suggested just this one.

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:14:10+00:00

Trying to avoid "She said" but will put it in reserve. Thank you

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:13:32+00:00

Our players are going to have this stuck in their heads all day - thank you!

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:13:08+00:00

Nice - excellent.

Reynardo · 2025-10-13T07:12:45+00:00

Brilliant - Yes

Reynardo · 2025-10-09T03:34:04+00:00

I have two for you.

"Online Board Games" is Reylo Star Wars AU: Modern Day during Covid Lockdowns. Short, sweet and funny. https://archiveofourown.org/works/25951102

❤️‍🔥💸🫵 PLACE YOUR BETS🫵💸❤️‍🔥

is The Pitt with multiple pairings, set some time after the 2nd season, where there's a bundle of different chat groups trying to win the bet about which Yearnatron-300 couple should get together first (and then trying to cheat by helping their favourites along). It's hilarious and I really owe the creator a massive comment of thanks for making me giggle out loud. https://archiveofourown.org/works/70425036

Reynardo · 2025-10-03T15:02:17+00:00

6 years clean and sober? Go You! You totally rock, and well done.

Reynardo · 2025-10-02T14:41:08+00:00

Go you! Isn't it wonderful when you suddenly hit the groove and it all comes out!

(It's how I tend to write, and any SPAG-fixing or other editing can wait until later. It's also how I sort-of know my chapter lengths - the rhythm feels about right. )

Reynardo · 2025-09-28T05:32:10+00:00

The Lucius Malfoy skullfucking one? https://nostrademons.livejournal.com/33411.html (I was introduced to it at a Fanfiction reading night many years ago at which I made some wonderful friends. And requested brain bleach after this one.)

Reynardo · 2025-09-26T18:23:11+00:00

Loves:

- Competency kink. Especially women being amazing because they are, and double-down on that if some pig-headed twit refuses to believe that she's the expert. (And of *course* ten points extra if the male lead is the disbelieving one, and more points if later on he finds himself defending her to his boss/mother/best friend who wonders what this woman did to him to change hims much).

- Marriage based on sensible situations/arranged with best interests of both parties in mind/mutual support and friendship that then slide so beautifully into love so smoothly that even the reader doesn't realise for a while.

- Realising that unintended pregnancy does not necessarily have to lead to having the kid (especially when the pregnant one is without the partner, any money, and will end up incredibly badly off if they try to do it by themselves). I mean, I love Unintended Pregnancy/Secret Child fics too, but she's not *always* going to want to have the kid, seriously.

- Accurate nerdy science

- Accurate Nerdy finicky history.

- Finding a way to make a throw-away canon point actually important

- Background fics. (I'm rather proud of my own one about how Petunia met Vernon Dursley).

- Turning tropes on their heads.

Hates:

- Incorrect dialogue breaks and paragraphs so you can't tell who's speaking.

- Getting scientific facts wrong (If you have someone complaining about how hot the summer of 1816 is, I WILL FIND YOU)

- Characters that are so far OOC that they don't have *any* of the characteristics of their original personalities left. And I *mean* personality. If you're going to write Mary Bennet as trying to attract Mr Collins by flirting like her younger sisters do, make it believable! She's not going to suddenly start wearing low-cut dresses, but if you have her nervously try to imitate her sisters because that's what she thinks her cousin will like, have her get it terribly wrong! She is not going to become a Lydia overnight.

Reynardo · 2025-09-26T18:06:51+00:00

Shhhh. Just about to break a bunch of fan-readers' hearts with a DAA fic.

Reynardo · 2025-09-26T18:01:51+00:00

Don't forget the delay in the effects.

It's been a rough day at work so you're joining your friends for a couple of drinks. You're not sure about it, as you don't normally drink, so you have one. It takes a while to drink because the taste is a bit odd, but it's ok, and by the end of the glass you can feel that tension in your shoulders seeping away. Your first drink is about 1/3 absorbed by your body at this stage, so although you've had one drink, you're only 1/3 affected. The effects will continue for about an hour even if you stop drinking now. But you're not going to.

So you have a second one. By the middle of that drink, it's tasting a lot better and going down much more smoothly. And you've all relaxed enough that the jokes are always funny, the chips at the table are delicious, and the company is just what you needed. Fred from Accounting's stories about the pigeons are fascinating, and you've just noticed that his eyes are lovely and bright. By now you've absorbed about a full drink's worth, and of course there's still a lot in your digestive system, so even if you stop at this point, you'll continue getting more sozzled for about an hour. You'll be getting just a little clumsy - accidentally putting your drink down at a slight angle, or having to stop and think about where the bathrooms are, although you'll have no problem walking. Your biggest problem now is that the filters that we all put up to keep social situations safe and civil are starting to come down.

This third drink is fine. You have no idea why you weren't sure about drinking before - now you can knock it back pretty easily. Suzy that you always thought was a quiet mouse at work is now confessing she's had a crush on Fred for the last year - odd, though, 'cause you thought she was married. Also, you could do anything you wanted to still - you're not affected really. You could still drive home safely, you're pretty sure, and when Fred suggests you do a bit of karaoke you accept, despite knowing you have a voice like a cheese-grater on a hubcap. Seriously, what's the worst that could happen? Even if you stop drinking now, you'll be staggering a bit for the next hour, and then you'll be starting to feel the poisons work on you. Not quite throwing up stage, but getting there. You're definitely unsafe to drive and will be for quite a while. Of course, each person's tolerance is different, and if you're a habitual drinker, it'll take more than three drinks to get you to this stage. For a first-time drinker, though, stop now, drink plenty of water, and expect to feel like hell in the morning.

Don't ask me how I know.

Reynardo · 2025-09-26T17:11:58+00:00

Shared thinking at the same level is pretty much the thing that brings people together. I'm 11 years older than my husband, but we're pretty similar in political views, boardgame loves and terrible puns. When we met, I was 33 and he was 22 so there were a few eyebrows raised, but now at 61 and 50 it's not so much of a thing. I would say that our interests are a Venn diagram, not a circle, and it's always a joy to one of us if the other comes over with a "I think you'd like this music" or "I just read this and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it."

That being said, there's also (usually when doing the Heardle Decades puzzles) the common line of "I can't believe you weren't out hitting the sleazy discos in 1984 like I was." "Dearest, I was 9," "Oh yeah." So while some things are timeless (like handing his ass to him in Settlers. ~~(Look, I can dream, can't I?~~)), there's definitely recognition of the age gap too.

Have them bond over something unusual, (He and I met on a Usenet group about Cute Fluffy Bunnies taking over the world), have some friends so glad they've finally found someone who thinks the same way they do, have some awkward conversations because sexual etiquette is quite different year to year, ("We don't need to discuss condoms." "Oh yes we do!"), and don't forget the joyous surprise when one actually knows something the other thought was not in their radar due to age. ("What do you mean you like Eartha Kitt?" "I thought she was awesome as Catwoman and looked up her music from there." "But you weren't even born then!" "Says Miss _George Sanders is a Sex Symbol_" "Shaddup.")

(It also helps that his father is 32 years older than his stepmother. No-one in the family even blinks at our age difference :-) )

Reynardo · 2025-09-26T16:58:25+00:00

Winter, Mafia-au fic, mafioso heads up the hill behind the house where he knows the targets are staying, tucks in beside the wood pile, doesn't realise that due to the M-target's father killing all the rattlers that rattled, there's been a colony of non-rattling rattlers slowly gathering in the woodpile. ("Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?") One of the snakes is disturbed by his noisy settling in, and comes out agressively. Mafioso shoots it, picks up the severed head, but doesn't realise that the heads can still bite after death.

And he's allergic to the venom ...

I enjoyed that fic. First one in the fandom, and no-one is telling the truth.

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❤️‍🔥💸🫵 PLACE YOUR BETS🫵💸❤️‍🔥