APRIL 15, 2020

I just changed my penname to floorcoaster. I'm floorcoaster everywhere but here, so I wanted to do this for consistency and hopefully avoiding confusion. I mean, I'm sure I'll confuse people, and I am sorry for that. But thanks for stopping by and seeing what's up!

JANUARY 31, 2020

Posted a *NEW* WIP! It's set to be updated monthly, as I write a new chapter every month for a challenge. It's called "Hindsight" and even I don't know where it's going! It's exciting but also terrifying because I usually NEVER post a WIP that isn't also finished. And for this one, I don't even know what's going to happen! Hope you'll join me for this ride! AND as a reminder, luckei1 = floorcoaster. I wish I could just change my name here, but I think it might be too late for that? Also I have no clue how to do that.

December 13, 2019

Wow, it's been almost TWO years since my last update! I just started posting an old fic here (wow, it's 10 years old), so you can check that out if you want.

JANUARY 16, 2018

I just posted the story that I mentioned AGES ago (okay like 6 months). I've also not really continued reviewing my old stories. It's fun, though, so I'm sure I'll pop in now and then to provide my 2 cents. I should look and see what's about to have an anniversary. New story is called HERO OF THE DAY, I hope you'll check it out!

JUNE 27, 2017 - Hello! Long time since I updated this. many of my stories are coming up to their ten year anniversaries, some are already past. I thought it would be fun (for me at least!) to review my own stories, kind of like I did with We Learned the Sea. Reading them now, after so much time, had bought clarity. I can see things differently, as I am now less invested; plus I have grown so much since starting this journey! Anyway, I will begin with "People Watching," as it was my first one-shot and oldest story besides WLTS. Here we go.

OLD STORY REVIEWS

People Watching

I didn't cringe nearly as much as I expected to, considering this was my first attempt at a short story. I actually liked it! Now, I think I would flesh it out a bit more, as the ending seemed a little sudden. There should be a bit more to show their growing attraction. Other than that, it is pretty good. Oh wait, I would change their snack and beverage choices to something they might actually eat and drink! (reviewed by me 6/27/17)

MARCH 23, 2016

SPOILER ALERT!! If you are reading this without having read my story, “We Learned the Sea,” be warned, you WILL be spoiled. Now that that’s settled...

I just finished rereading “We Learned the Sea” tonight. I’ve got some thoughts I’d like to share.

MAN, are there some things I would change. I even entertained the idea of going through the entire story and reworking it in some areas because there are things in there that make me CRINGE when I read them. However, I’ve always decided against redoing my stories (except for grammer things) because I believe they are a reflection of where I was when I wrote them. When I wrote WLTS, it was my very first story to write EVER. I have sure learned a whole lot since then! While I would love to read WLTS with some parts of the story—some small, some major—revised, I’m not sure how I’d feel about losing that first version, the one that garnered over 4000 reviews in almost 10 years.

Which brings me to my next thought. It’s been almost 10 years since I posted the first chapter in September of 2006. 10 years!! I can’t believe it. I want to do SOMETHING to mark it, but I’m not sure what. I thought about another epilogue. I thought about revising it (point 2). I’ll have to keep thinking on it.

I want to spend the bulk of this note telling you the main things I would change about the story.

1. I’d get rid of all the men in the story who are interested in Hermione. First and foremost. I’d keep her at the Ministry the whole time, give her a more important role there. There’d be no Flourish and Blotts, no St. Mungo’s. She’d still learn healing, but by shadowing people at a clinic at the Ministry (there’s got to be one, right? I mean, the Department of Mysteries is there, accidents surely happen all the time!? And when they need to treat Aurors right away? Skip the lines at Mungo’s?) There might be ONE other person whom she gets marginally close to, but over the course of the story, not three random out-of-the-blue blokes.

2. I’d make Draco’s insistence that Hermione keep him updated on every move she makes seem less... obsessive/possessive. I tried to temper it with his internal thoughts on how he was supposed to protect her and keep her safe, but I don’t think it was enough. There was too much of her just capitulating.

3. I’d make it so much more of a big deal that he “killed” her parents. I didn’t give that the proper treatment it deserved. In the scene where Ron and Ginny join Hermione at the house on the cliff, it was almost like an afterthought when Ginny mentioned that Draco had killed her parents. It should always be first and foremost, i think. Granted, I haven’t experienced loss like that, but I’d imagine it wouldn’t be as easy to forget for Hermione as I wrote it.

4. I’d give Hermione a bigger role in bringing down Voldemort. I would still have her doing something necessary but safe, as that is crucial to how Draco needed to be able to protect her. Number 1 would hopefully be part of this.

I think if I were to try and make these changes, the story would be more solid, possibly longer. I’m of two minds with it, honestly. Part of me wants to see it this way, part of me doesn’t want to change anything.

SIGH*

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed over the past 10 years. I still read every. single. review. I love them all, especially those who take time to point out something they liked, or even something they didn’t like. All of the reviews have helped to shape me as a writer, and have matured my understanding of this story. It’s a whole different thing to look at something 10 years after it was written. I’m a very different person in a lot of ways from who I was when I wrote it. What I see now is a story that has good bones, but needs work. :)

Work I’d love to do. But also don’t want to do. The takeaway here is that, maybe even for authors who’ve published books, the story never really ends. I see now why JK Rowling created Pottermore. Can you fathom that the mind that created the Potter universe we all love SO MUCH could just STOP creating in that world? I know fanfic writers haven’t used up all the ideas possible in the Potter world. I bet she’s got things she wishes she’d done differently. She’s probably rewritten entire chapters in her head, thinking, “now that I know so much better, I’d change _(fill in the blank)_ ”

So I said all this to say, thank you for what’s about to be 10 years in the fandom (though pretty inactive for the last 6). Thank you for continuing to review. Lately so many have said, “I know I’m like 9 years too late, but...” NO! Never too late. I still learn from my reviews, so to everyone who has left one, THANK YOU. There aren’t enough ways to say thank you for all that my reviewers have done for me.

If you see this and want to reply, send me a PM, or review a chapter of WLTS and we can talk.

~luckei1/floorcoaster