HLH Shortcuts (and reveal!)

[teratornis]

So. . . I am very new to being an active participant in fandom, rather than just a lurker, very new to DW, and as a result very new to events like Shortcuts. I learned about this event at the eleventh hour after writing Highlander fic fairly intensively for about a year (thank you again Pennywashburne for telling me about it!). I had the best time, and I've loved getting to talk to a few more people about Highlander and writing in general because of my involvement. I definitely plan to participate again in the future.

In any case, I've seen a few people talking about their entries now that reveals have happened, and I figured I'd do the same. I wrote:

Someplace New and Someplace Old
7,216 words
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Joe Dawson & Methos & Duncan MacLeod
Characters: Joe Dawson, Duncan MacLeod, Methos (Highlander)
Additional Tags: Road Trips, Camping, Friendship

I actually got so excited about this story and this event that I finished the first draft less than a week after we received our recipients. It definitely underwent some extensive edits and rewriting after that, but I loved doing it. I'd had a vague idea to write about Pando for probably months before this, and I was so thrilled that it fit really well with some of the themes I was given to work with. It's always a pleasure to write from Joe's perspective, as well, he's very reminiscent of some good people in my life.

I don't actually know anybody personally who's ever seen Highlander, so it's been such a pleasure to dive into this event and have a chance to interact more with other fans. It's been great to read through all the other stories written for the event, and I'm planning on perusing the archives of the other participants when I get the chance.

Comments

[annavere]

I'm happy to see so many accounts of the writing process. I wasn't sure that was really a thing when I posted mine. It's fun to get a glimpse of how others process and strategize.

I'm impressed you got your first draft done in a week. I made fairly good time, but I can't chalk it up to enthusiasm so much as blind panic. I obsessed over the default deadline, fearing that if I didn't have my story 90% done by then, I wouldn't be able to finish in time.

It was definitely exhilarating, though. And I hear you, about how fun it is to meet like minds. :) Lots of reading ahead of me, too!

[teratornis]

Same! I didn't even think about it until I saw a couple of others, but I really like talking about my process, and I find accounts of others doing the same really interesting to read, so I figured I'd go for it.

I hope you didn't spend too much time panicking too badly over it. Writing is, thankfully, my happy place at the moment, and tends to soothe me more than stress me out, I've been very lucky that it remained true for a project with a deadline attached. I've historically not handled deadlines all that well, but it makes a difference when it's a project I'm choosing to get involved with, and excited about from the start.

Agreed! I'm glad I wasn't the only newcomer this year! It was great reading your work, for sure!

[annavere]

Well, adrenaline might have been the more accurate term. It was the type of panic that was also energizing. I normally work very slowly, so the deadline helped me a lot. Now if only I could apply that focus to the rest of my projects!

[pennywashburne]

I'm glad you had fun!!

[teratornis]

<3!