Just someone trying to learn how to write. I'm doing fanfiction simply because I enjoy reading it -- I have a weakness for 'what-if's and 'alternate canons'. I blame it on too much Turtledove at a young and impressionable age.

Death and Dreams is my first story. It's actually closer to a drabble, a starting point for several ideas I had. I kept having crossover ideas that spawned off Death and Dreams, so I thought it'd work best as an independent story and then I could work on the crossovers independently. My first one, School Spirit is in work.

Anyone who wishes to use it as a basis for a challenge is welcome to.

School Spirit is an independent story based off Death and Dreams, following the first 'crossover' idea that simply wouldn't leave me alone, and should -- when complete -- cover Harry's first year.

Author's Notes:

There are here more to openly mull about what is and isn't working for me than anything else, but I always enjoy reading other's thoughts on their process, so I'll post mine to be fair. I appreciate the reviews I've had so far. This is the first writing I've actually shared, and I started it as an attempt to learn (via lots of practicing) how to write.

7/19/11: Chapter 8, Meddlesome Old Wizards, is up. I'm not very thrilled with it, which is one reason it's taken so long to come out. I've just decided to bite the bullet and publish it, accepting that I'm simply not going to like it very much. I have to do one more pass through it to try to clean out any more obvious errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation, but it's uploaded and should be live soon. The other issue was I went through a job transition, and the stress involved sorta injures the ole' muse.

I am deeply appreciative of all the feedback. This is my very first story, and I can already see how I'm making classic (and not so classic) mistakes in everything from plot to grammar! However, I'm writing this exactly for the experience (well, and because the story won't leave me alone), so I'm just glad a surprising number of you are happily willing to read my mistakes. :)

I have several snippets of other stories I'm considering uploading -- generally crossovers -- that I write whenever I'm feeling stuck. They're rather atrocious, being more plot concepts than anything, but I might stick them up simply to see if anyone else might find inspiration from them.

Oh, and you have NO idea how tempted I am to throw up an omake involving Year Two. I have a scene from that that simply won't leave me alone.

In general terms, School Spirit is complete, lacking only an epilogue/closer. As I am writing without a beta and have some nasty writing habits (My brain knows the difference between things like "their" and "they're" but my fingers persist in using the wrong one, as an example), I tend to write a lengthy chapter and then basically revise it many, many, MANY times.

There should be one more chapter (I might split it up) plus the epilogue. Year Two is being sketched out. Updates will hopefully be a bit faster.

8/26/11: Work and the summer heat has kept me busy, although I have the next chapter of School Spirits done (and most of the one after that -- the Epilogue). I'm still revising, and it is slow going. I added a new -- not exactly one shot, but less serious collection of short stories about the Room of Requirement. It all started because I wondered what the RoR would do if Harry wanted 'experience' rather than 'knowledge'. Which led me in certain highly predictable directions, which I spiced up with some Luna Lovegood. Since I'm a bit writer's blocked on School Spirits at the moment and too busy to give it the through proofing I'd prefer, I plan to dash off bits of that when the mood strikes.

Bonus points for people who can identify the items on the pedestals. :)

Hopefully getting that little drabble out of my head -- and maybe working on the rest of it on the side -- will keep me productive when I feel burned out on the fifth review of the current chapter of School Spirit.

FYI, the working title for Book Two is currently Snake Charm.