magemadi

[magemadi]

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I've done something like this, but I figure it'll help me keep on track a lot better with my writing and actually post things in regular intervals. 

So first, a little bit about me: I'm Madi, grad student in chemistry going for her PhD for the next 5 years so I'm for the long haul (literally). I've been a Potter fan since I was about 8 or 9 when my parents got me the box set of the first 4 books. I've been writing fic since 2012 (some if it not good at all and some okay). One of my eventual goals is to write OF and get it published!

Current projects:

Love Makes Me (M): Dramione novel, currently 21 chapters, 67k words

• first wrote this in 2012, rewrote for NaNo in 2014, rewrote AGAIN for NaNo in 2016, going off that iteration
• want to finish by October for a nice 6 year anniversary end date
• just want it to be done tbh
• aiming for 30 chapters, just under 100k length....I think

Faith, Trust, and Crystal Balls (T): Sybill Trelawney origin story, currently 2 chapters, 5.8k words

• started with prompt from Pixileanin (bless her)
• cute lil romance and owning a shop
• aiming for 5 chapters, approximately 15k length overall

Grown Up Radioactive (M): short story collection, currently 3 chapters, ~12k words?

• started this as collab with a friend on HPFF, reposting on HPFT
• features Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Tom Riddle, Draco Malfoy, & Lucius Malfoy
• origin stories (ish) and why they're bad men (or not)
• want to finish this, but have to get back into it since it's literally been years

So my goal for this summer is to write A LOT and hopefully keep up an active presence here, on twitter, and tumblr and writing stuff so that things are posted and I can improve my skills.!!

Edited July 5, 2020 by MuggleMaybe

[beyond the rain]

Hey Madi! I have a few questions for you! 

1. How much has 'Love Makes Me' changed since its creation in 2012? 

2. It's pretty rare to see a Trelawney origin story! Do you feel that she's overlooked by the HP community? 

3. What kind of fics do you enjoy reading? 

4. Do you have a routine when you write (like writing at a certain time of day, having coffee while you write etc)?

5. Who do you write for? 

6. If you could save one person that died in book seven, who would it be? 

 

[magemadi]

On 6/12/2018 at 5:13 AM, beyond the rain said:

Hey Madi! I have a few questions for you! 

1. How much has 'Love Makes Me' changed since its creation in 2012? 

2. It's pretty rare to see a Trelawney origin story! Do you feel that she's overlooked by the HP community? 

3. What kind of fics do you enjoy reading? 

4. Do you have a routine when you write (like writing at a certain time of day, having coffee while you write etc)?

5. Who do you write for? 

6. If you could save one person that died in book seven, who would it be? 

Aw thanks dear, I love questions!!!!  

1. OMG it has literally changed SO MUCH!!! I began writing it while in high school, so there was literally like 2 lines of detailed plot that I had thought out and they were awful. However, the main structure and overarching idea/goal of the story has stayed the same, surprisingly. In it's first/second iterations, the ball that takes place was much more of a focus point, whereas in the current (and final) iteration I did a lot more research and plot development beforehand so now there's much more lore/potions-y type plot twists. I literally spent at least 3 hours research potions ingredients for a potion I created that'll appear in the next chapter (as soon as it gets validated on HPFT, or you can check it out on FFnet or AO3 now) so I've really dived a lot deeper into what I want this piece to be and how I want to be reflected in that. I also like to think my characterizations have improved significantly! Or at least starting at chapter 10 or so lol. So that was a rambly answer, but in short form: overall same idea, much improved plotlines & characterization & research! 

2. You know, I really think she is!! The amazing @Pixileanin gave me this prompt when we had the prompt requests section on HPFF's forums and I dove right into it! I feel like she's got a much more interesting backstory than what we get in canon (which is basically nothing) so that's why I've really enjoyed filling that niche a little bit. And also because I wanted to write this for Pix because she deserves all the gifts!

3. I read a wide variety of fics, but man am I a sucker for a good ol' romance trope heavy one! Fake dating? check. Sharing a bed platonically? check. Thinking the other just likes them a as friend but both are really in love with each other? I'm totally there!! I tend to read those when I'm wanting something lighthearted and whatnot, but otherwise I love a good intense, angsty, and action/drama-filled fic! 

4. I feel like I really should have a routine, but I really don't....I guess one of the things I have to do is have an instrumental soundtrack going in the background and be adequately hydrated! I tend to write at night because that's when I usually have time due to school or work during the day. 

5. Oooh, is this like a deep question? Because honestly, I think that I just am writing for me. I've always enjoyed reading and writing and I just want to be improving always, so writing fic helps me with that. A life goal of mine is to publish an OF book (or series, who knows) so this is my stepping stone to one day doing that! 

6. Now that is a loaded question!! If I'm being honest, I would probably save Fred Weasley because he did not deserve to die, death does not equal the loss of an ear for the twins. George should have never had to live without his twin brother by his side. I think I cried the most at his death too, so it's fitting I want to save him. 

Thank you so much for the lovely questions!!! I really enjoyed answering them.  

[magemadi]

Hey everyone!! I'm back for my third Camp NaNo and my 7th NaNo ever!! I'm hoping to get a lot of writing done this month and I'm super pumped!

Projects:

Love Makes Me Chapter 21 - write this if I have time, but I also really want to finish this novel!

Faith, Trust, and Crystal Balls chapter 3 - write this for "The Vocational Challenge" and to actually try to finish it

"The Prefect's Challenge" Entry - write this by July 10th (goal) - so far wanting to write about Harry/Ginny going on a vacation to the Swiss Alps & Ginny coming out as bi to Harry, but we'll see what happens as the deadline approaches 

The "Anything But Harry Challenge" Entry - write this by August 1 (goal) - my chosen fandom is The 100, so I'm planning on re-watching some of the first few episodes to remind myself where it all started

My goal right now is 30,000 words but I'm hoping to up that if I'm working on all of this stuff!

I'll be posting progress reports and some snippets here likely as I go along, and am probably going to do some of that in my Writer's Journal too!

[beyond the rain]

Hello! I'm here with a few questions! 

1. This is your seventh nano?!?! That's amazing! How do you think your writing has changed and developed since the first one? 

2. I see that your dramione fic includes the head boy/head girl trope (i'm a sucker for said trope) what do you think it is about that setting that works so well? 

3. You've got a lot of fics you want to work on, how do you keep on top of everything? 

I hope these are okay, I look forward to reading your answers!

Bex

[magemadi]

1. This is your seventh nano?!?! That's amazing! How do you think your writing has changed and developed since the first one? 

My writing has changed SO MUCH since my very first NaNo in November of 2014!! It's gotten so much better and sounds more mature (at least IMO lol). My dialogue skills have gotten loads better and I've learned to focus less on unnecessary descriptions like outfit choices for characters or other things of that nature that don't serve to move the plot forward. I definitely still need some work on adding more scenery description in some of my pieces, especially challenge entries as I tend to just get through them as soon as possible because that's how I write when it's crunch time ?

2. I see that your dramione fic includes the head boy/head girl trope (i'm a sucker for said trope) what do you think it is about that setting that works so well? 

I love this trope too!!! Honestly, I think this setting works so well for Draco & Hermione because in canon, they don't get much direct interaction where it's just the two of them having a dialogue or what-have-you. Harry & Ron are usually almost always there and some version of Draco's friends are too because they mostly interacted during classes. The Head Boy/Head Girl trope allows for extensive, intimate interaction for them, and I've gone with the idea of them having a separate dorm (even though that's not canon, but whatevs) just for the two of them. I also really like the trope for these two because they are the top two students of their year, and arguably of Hogwarts in a couple of years, so they've GOT to have phenomenal conversations and arguments. It's a pleasure to write these characters, honestly! Throwing in a good old fashioned head boy/head girl trope and a dash of slow burn romance is just icing on the cake!

3. You've got a lot of fics you want to work on, how do you keep on top of everything? 

That's the thing, you see, because I don't! ? No but really, it's just about time management and organization for me. I'm big on spreadsheets and color coding, so I'm going to be creating one here shortly with my plans for JulNo so that I can at least keep a semblance of a schedule for writing things to get everything done in time! When it's not summertime, I tend to drop off the face of the earth and then mysteriously resurface for a couple of weeks, write and post something, and then disappear again, so I'm really trying not to do that this year and keep a constant presence not only on the site, but also on Twitter and just to keep in practice with writing. Spreadsheets definitely helps for that too!!  

Thanks so much for the lovely questions!! ❤️

[magemadi]

Hahahaha so I'm adding another project (or two) to my list because I have no self control!!! ?‍♀️

I've got my spreadsheet created to keep myself on track with word count totals and which story I want to write each day. It's also made me realize that I'm either traveling or without internet for 9/31 days of July (go me) so this 30k word count goal is gonna be tough for me but I think I can do it! ?

New projects:

1. Rewrite "Things I Said" Jily one-shot - I was going to post this on the HPFT archives as just a transfer from HPFF, but when I did a read-through of it again, I did not particularly enjoy what all I had in there and how I'd characterized Remus especially. So I'm going to make it better!! (hopefully)

2. Wonder Woman/Steve Trevor fic - What with the new BTS stills that have been released from the Wonder Woman: 1984 set with a VERY MUCH ALIVE Steve Trevor, I just want to write something nice and lighthearted for these two! Plus it's a new fandom for me to foray into, so that's exciting also!

Updates to current projects:

1. Love Makes Me Chapter 21 - also hoping to write some or all of chapter 22 - I want a total word count of approximately 8k between the two chapters. 

2. Faith, Trust, and Crystal Balls - I want to finish this sucker! It's likely going to be turning into a novella instead of a short story, but I'm aiming for about another 10-15k for this one and getting the next chapter posted by the end of July in time to submit it for the Vocational Challenge.

3. "Prefect's Challenge" - I'm aiming for 5-6k for this piece, but it'll depend on how long it takes me to get the pride-theme prompt into the story

4. "Anything But Harry Challenge" - I'm aiming for a solid 4-5k on this piece, but I've written for The 100 fandom previously, so I'm not too worried about getting this one done before August. 

[starlitcastles]

Hello there!

I only have one question:  has there been any challenges and difficulties in writing all of your works especially if they have a limit on them? I hope that question makes sense! Aside from that, I think the fact this your 7th Nano is pretty cool as well! I hope that you will reach to 30,000 word count goal along with your other writing goals! Your stories all do sound really awesome! Good luck to you during this Nano! Oh, and also: you can do this, you got this!  

[magemadi]

On 6/28/2018 at 7:15 PM, danicasyer said:

Hello there!

I only have one question:  has there been any challenges and difficulties in writing all of your works especially if they have a limit on them? I hope that question makes sense! Aside from that, I think the fact this your 7th Nano is pretty cool as well! I hope that you will reach to 30,000 word count goal along with your other writing goals! Your stories all do sound really awesome! Good luck to you during this Nano! Oh, and also: you can do this, you got this!  

Hey dear! As far as challenges go with limits, I tend to do okay, actually! I often under-write my fics (ugh I need to fix this habit so bad) so giving myself a longer length limit actually forces me to slow my writing down and expand descriptions, scenes, and dialogue. It's always fun to do NaNo, even if I don't get to my goal word count.

Thanks for stopping by!  

[magemadi]

GUESS WHO FINISHED ONE OF HER TASKS?? THIS GIRL!!! 

I wrote a whopping 5,723 words for my Prefect's Challenge Entry and it has been submitted to the queue! This was one of the longest pieces I've written in a while (excluding LMM chapters) so it was a challenge for me in that respect, but it was also nice to spend so much time with the story and really build up the ending. I definitely think I may have rushed the end a bit, but whatever, it's finished and I can always edit it later!

On my to-do list next is another chapter of FTaCB so I can get that posted before August 1 for the Vocational Challenge!

[magemadi]

1 hour ago, victoria_anne said:

Hey my lovely Madi! You asked for questions so I'm here to deliver!   Firstly, congratulations on finishing your Prefect's Challenge entry! 

1. I'm terrible and still haven't read any of your stories. If Love Makes Me is your baby, what are your top three reasons for me to read this story? 

2. You say your writing has changed (naturally - practice makes perfect! ) What writing advice would you give your younger self?

3. What inspires you to write?

4. What song makes you think of Draco/Hermione?

5. How much of Love Makes Me is plotted? Is there a future scene you have planned that you're excited to write?

Good luck! I also volunteer to be soundboard if you ever need help or someone to bounce ideas off this month!  

First of all, you're the best, Bianca!  Secondly, thanks, I'm pretty proud of myself for actually writing a challenge entry that's more than 3000 words  And now, question answering time!

1. Oooh elevator pitch, alright alright alright! It's got some delicious Draco/Hermione as Head Girl/Head Boy drama, a mysterious villain that has many faces and goals, and a good ol' slow burn thrown in there because why not! 

2. OHMIGOD I would tell my younger self to chill out and sit on stuff before posting it online. Also, descriptions of scenery are GOOD and NEEDED but descriptions of clothing is NOT GOOD and NOT NEEDED all of the time. I liked to describe outfits a lot in my earlier writing (don't ask me why because I honestly don't have a clue) but it was never relevant to the plot, it was just 'cause I could. So I would really tell myself to set scenes up better/set the tone better but leave out unnecessary information like outfit choices unless plot-relevant. 

3. I've had a dream ever since I was in middle school and wrote a story for my middle school english class (don't ask, I'm still scarred from reading it out loud in class and that was literally 10 years ago) that I want to someday publish a novel. As I've grown older, it's refined into a science fiction/fantasy novel of sorts, with influences from artists I love listening to (aka Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Broadway showtunes, etc.) to act as character development. So yeah, writing fan fic is my way of getting started with writing OF, but I also just enjoy writing it too. It's a good way to let off energy/steam/anger/emotions in general and gives me a bit of an escape from real life. So tl;dr: writing fic is fun/RL escape + prep for future OF writing!  

4. "A Monster Like Me" by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett (aka Norway's entry in Eurovision 2015). It's such a beautiful song and speaks to how Draco thinks he's not good enough for Hermione because he's a former Death Eater, but then she also says she's a monster for all of the things she's done during the War and before (Rita Skeeter in the jar, anyone?) so I think it fits them beautifully!

5. Okay so I didn't plan anything in the first go-round, then I planned a little bit in the second, and now I've got the chapters loosely planned, with certain scenes set for a certain point in the story, but it'll honestly depend on chapter length where they'll end up in the story! I'm super excited to do the full villain reveal, tbh. There's going to be some weird things happening in these next couple of chapters, a time jump or two, and then shit hits the fan and I am PUMPED to write it all!!! It also means it's going to be coming to a close (I'm estimating about 30 chapters with the way these last two have gone, pacing-wise.) 

Thank you so much for the amazing questions, Bianca!!! ❤️❤️❤️ 

[magemadi]

Eyy look at this girl who still hasn't finished her next chapter of FTaCB yet!! 

I'm about 1400 words into the chapter so far, and it'll likely be around 3000, so I'm halfway there! (Whoa, livin' on a prayer ?) sorry I had to

So goals for tomorrow night after I pack will be to write more of that and also do House Cup Finale things!!

Stay tuned for more updates and please send me questions ?

[magemadi]

Update with things I've written/posted since June to the HPFT archives + things I'm currently writing!

I have now transferred all of my stories from HPFF (that I wanted to keep) to the HPFT archive and all are available for reading.

POSTED:

Prefect's Challenge Entry - Good Things Come in Twos (T) - Harry & Ginny take a vacation to hike in the Swiss Alps + two important things happen while on vacation

Radioactive (M) - The 100 season 3 speculation fic, Bellarke endgame (written in 2015 and unedited so far) PLUS LOOK AT THE GORGEOUS BANNER I GOT!!!

Okay now this one is old (read: circa 2016) - The Night of His Life (T) - Yule Ball cuteness with Harry & Hermione - I'm still debating if I want to actually make this into a trilogy or not, with two more one-shots centered around the 2nd & 3rd tasks but still feat. bby's Harry & Hermione. 

CURRENTLY WRITING: 

Faith, Trust, and Crystal Balls chapter 3 - I'm ~1400 words in, so just under halfway. Hoping to write the rest of it tonight/tomorrow night and submit to the queue in time to use it for the Vocational Challenge. Also want to get this done so @Pixileanin can finally read it again ?

Love Makes Me chapter 21 (22) - Okay so I actually haven't started this yet (oops) but I'm hoping to resolve the recent conflict with Draco & get Hermione back into the Heads tower with the new Head Boy + do some Dark Mark mythology and time jump to closer to the ball to setup the Big Conflict™️. 

FUTURE PROJECTS: 

Jily one-shot rewrite - I wrote a Jily one-shot for a Coldplay song lyric challenge on HPFF a few years back and wasn't super happy with how it turned out, and I'm still not, so I want to edit the bejeezus out of it and then re-post it on the HPFT archive. 

Wonder Woman/Steve Trevor fic - with those BTS stills from the new Wonder Woman out and a very much alive Steve Trevor in them, I just want to give them a good time for once. 

[Pixileanin]

I'm looking forward to it!  Glad you're still writing. 

[magemadi]

Hey everyone! So thanks to @Theia, I'm actually going to be posting something akin to OF shortly on the archives for her challenge. OF is something I imagined myself transitioning into probably like six years down the road, but she got super excited for me so I figured might as well start it now!! ?‍♀️ So here's all of the information I have currently for my OF world:

Madi's Untitled Sci-Fi/Fantasy OF

• Future-set Earth world (around year ~2500, let's say) where science and magic are commonplace, and the two often work together 
  • example: a potioneer is struggling to consistently brew a potion, so they partner with a chemist to determine why each brew is inconsistent using scientific methods
  • I also want magical creatures involved somehow (thanks FBAWTFT for influencing me here)
• Protagonist
  • employed as a potioneer/chemist within a private company that does business with the government
    • has magical abilities but also got BS & PhD in chemistry and a BA in magical studies (aka degree in magical law, spellwork, potions, etc)
  • aged 27, so fresh out of PhD program and doing bench chemistry/potioneering with the company, but due to PhD has more resources available for use + collaboration
  • Love interest - considering none, considering long-term partner, don't really know yet TBH
• Plot starter
  • doing their job, but one client makes protagonist enter the darker realm of potioneering and find out the government is paying to cover-up the production of a potion that does something seriously bad to a specific population subset (shhh I know it's not very specific shhhh)
  • this makes protagonist want to expose this government cover-up and help population subset affected
    • note: may end up making antidote/cure for this potion, TBD
  • to achieve plot goal, joins forces with others in the broader scientific and magical communities
• Science and Magic People Unite
  • lively forest witch who just wants to make you some tea, dammit
  • cute, slightly awkward environmental policy employee who missed their chance to be researching in the lab due to "circumstances" but knows their shit about potions/chemistry, especially when it comes to environmental impact
  • still undecided third character, probably going to be someone skilled with spellwork and enchantments different from the forest witch, also probably a good person to have because they know how to drive literally anything

If anyone has any questions concerning this world/characters/plot, PLEASE send them my way because maybe then it'll help me actually get started on this project!!  

Edited August 8, 2018 by MadiMalfoy

[galadriel]

popping by to say i am so here for this!!! I'm so happy that you decided to go ahead and start working on it now instead of later and I'm sure it'll be great! I'll come by with questions and more excitedness once my challenge is over and I get to read about your character and get to know about your world.   

[nott theodore]

Hey Madi!  I'm just stopping by to say that your idea sounds fascinating, and I'd love to read something like that!  I'll be around if you ever need someone to cheer you on or would like to share snippets with  

 

Oh, and a couple of questions:

- Do you see this being a stand-alone story, a series, or something else?

- Do you know what gender your protagonist is yet?

- How does magic work in this world?  Is it something that's passed down through generations, or are the people with magical gifts entirely random?

- Is there a power imbalance at all between people who have magical abilities and those who don't?  Any fear or misunderstanding, or do they coexist peacefully?

 

I might be back with some more soon, because this is such a compelling idea and I want to know more about this world!

[magemadi]

OMG I'D LOVE FEEDBACK AND IDEAS BOUNCING ANYTIME @nott theodore❤️ 

 

- Do you see this being a stand-alone story, a series, or something else? Okay honestly, I have NO IDEA. I feel like right now I'm probably going to lean towards writing & posting more one-shots than anything else just while I continue just feeling out my universe and figure out characters. I think I'll start with it being a novel and see how long that takes to get plot and such moving along. It'll also depend on if I feel like there's more to talk about or if I end up having more ideas for conflicts, etc. to continue working with these characters and this world I'm creating. 

- Do you know what gender your protagonist is yet? Yes, Myrcella is her name, and I've figured out more details about her. BUT: I MIGHT BE SWITCHING MY MC TO AMARYLLIS, who I wrote about for Nim's Narrative OF Challenge so I DON'T KNOW YET!  

- How does magic work in this world?  Is it something that's passed down through generations, or are the people with magical gifts entirely random? Ooh okay so I haven't totally thought about it yet, but I think it's partially a genetic thing, but also some people just randomly gain the magical gift. So like for Amaryllis, her entire family is of a very magical background and the majority work within some magic-related field, and Amaryllis has goals of working within the veterinarian field for both magical and non-magical creatures, where she could easily use healing spells but also go to vet school for surgeries and that kind of thing. 

- Is there a power imbalance at all between people who have magical abilities and those who don't?  Any fear or misunderstanding, or do they coexist peacefully? You know, I have not really thought too much about this yet -- it's on my to-do list to figure things out. I think that generally speaking there's not much of a power imbalance between those two groups because there's mutual need for both groups of people to work in harmony within the metallic city. Those with magic lighten the load for those without while those without magic can often do things that those with magic can't. I know this is a super vague answer but I don't have much development yet. I think generally speaking, there's a lot less people that have magic (in a sense that it's a relatively high detectable amount) that can do a lot of things over just regular folk that don't have magic. So they're kind of a hot commodity and can claim higher privileges because there's less of them than others, especially if they have specific skill sets regarding their magical abilities compared to others. 

Thanks Sian for these lovely questions ❤️ I apologize for how long some of these answers are, they kind of got away from me  

Edited September 16, 2018 by MadiMalfoy

[down-in-flames]

hi madi! i have arrived to play my part in the "prefects felt left out of the interhouse camaraderie challenge"!

1. so, we all know you're a dramione buff. what is it about the pairing that you like so much?
2. do you generally prefer writing one-shots or longer fics? why?
3. do you think that your current experience of getting your own PhD in chemistry will influence this OF you're writing?
4. finally, if you had to become an inanimate object for a year, what would you become and why?

[magemadi]

Okay @ShadowRose I'm finally answering these questions!  

 

1. so, we all know you're a dramione buff. what is it about the pairing that you like so much?

Honestly when I first got into reading fanfic back in 2011/2012, the first story I saw was a Draco/Hermione story, and I think just seeing the world of possibilities that fan fiction opens up, especially for this pairing, really made me enjoy it immensely. Also, I think that they are very much intellectual equals -- the top two pupils of their class, every year, so just the conversations and debates they could have also drew me in to writing the pairing. Plus, who doesn't love a good redemption arc? I do feel Draco deserved more in canon, so I also like to use Dramione as a way of saying he deserved so much more than what he got in canon, and so I like seeing him redeemed and with Hermione because of that. They have so much in common and also so much not, so having that disconnect between them is so fun to write because they come from such different backgrounds and this allows for really nice character development for both of them.  

2. do you generally prefer writing one-shots or longer fics? why?

To be honest I like the idea of writing longer fics, but in practice, I prefer one-shots. I think I like writing one-shots so much (not just bc of challenge entries ) because it allows me to do a quick, shallow dive into the character/theme/setting I'm exploring. I also like one-shots because it allows me to write a greater diversity of characters than my longer stories sometimes allow for just based on where I want things to go and who all I want to actually be important in the story. Plus it's a nice avenue for all of my AU dreams for several different pairings, so yeah, I guess I prefer one-shots ?

3. do you think that your current experience of getting your own PhD in chemistry will influence this OF you're writing?

It likely will, although I'm still in the very early stages of planning it, and I may even be changing who the main character is from Myrcella to Amaryllis, so who knows! I hope that my experience interning in industry as well as now my graduate school experience will assist in my writing of this sci-fi/fantasy OF, but I also don't want it to dominate the whole thing either. Science is a big part of my life (obviously) and I think more people should be exposed to it and want to be more involved in the broad fields of science. I hope this'll be my contribution to science fiction while also reaching out to those fantasy lovers.  

4. finally, if you had to become an inanimate object for a year, what would you become and why?

Taylor, Taylor, Taylor. You made me think on this for SO LONG! If I had to become an inanimate object for an entire year, I would probably become a book. People would be happy to open me and read whatever book I am (shhh totally not Harry Potter....) and that would make me happy as well because reading is so much fun and having a hard copy of a book is something I usually prefer over ebooks/kindle editions so yeah. A book! ?

 

Thanks for the lovely questions ?

[magemadi]

Hey all, I'm back again for my 5th year of doing and 8th NaNo event overall! Feel free to add me on the official NaNoWriMo website+ -- my name there is also MadiMalfoy  

As per usual, I'm working on multiple projects this month but as I'm a first-year graduate student with midterms looming, I'll be setting myself a lower word count goal than I have in the past.

Goal: 5k words --> 10k words if 5k reached early on

Projects: 

Love Makes Me (M): This was actually the Dramione novel I worked on during my very first NaNo way back in 2014 and I've done two re-writes since then for it, with this being its current and final iteration. I hope to at least finish Chapter 21 this month and maybe get started on Chapter 22 as well. I'm planning on this being approximately 30 chapters so we'll see where it goes. 

Faith, Trust , and Crystal Balls: This has been something that @Pixileanin suggested I write a couple years back and to no one's surprise, I still haven't finished it.  I'm hoping to get Chapter 4 written and finished this month. The story overall is likely going to be 6-7 chapters of fluffy fun for Sybill Trelawney. 

Anti-Protagonist Challenge Entry: I'm writing about Lucius Malfoy and this has a deadline of December 14th. Aiming for 3-4k on this piece in total. 

Women Supporting Women Challenge Entry: I've selected Hermione & Rose as the mother/daughter duo I want to write about as it's been a while since I've written anything truly family-oriented. This has a deadline of December 24th, so it takes lower priority to my other challenge entry, but I still want to get somewhere with it this month. Aiming for 3-4k here as well. 

If I happen to get everything I want done this month, then I'm going to spend some time working out the plans for my OF novel/world, of which I've already written and posted a character vignette on the archives. 

Please ask me questions and send me encouragement  

Edited October 21, 2018 by MadiMalfoy

[Pixileanin]

"Various" sounds like a great title!  I'm rooting for your Sybill story to get moving again.  It sounds like a really fun idea, and I hope to find out what happens next!

Looks like you've gotten your goals all laid out, so now all you have to do is GO GO GO!!!!

(does fancy, back-splitting flip)

 

[Guest Tanda]

A forest witch in your OF, "The Forest Cottage" sounds interesting. 

1 Which forest in the world do you imagine for your story?

2 Which do you prefer, coffee or tea?

3 Do you like herbal tea? If you like it, what herb do you often use for tea?

[galadriel]

Madi, all of these sound so amazing and I'm so excited to read your Women Supporting Women fic!! 

I have some fun questions for you to get things going.  

1. What inspired you to write Love Makes Me? 

2. What's one thing about Dramione that sets it apart from any other Hermione pairing?

3. What's your NaNo comfort food?

4. What made you decide to write Lucius Malfoy for the anti-protagonist challenge? Do you have any particular headcanons about him you could share with us?

5. What kind of themes are you planning on incorporating into your Hermione-Rose fic? 

6. Are you a planner or a pantser or somewhere in between? Does this process work well for you? 

7. What's your favourite ice-cream flavour?  

Good luck with NaNo, lovely!  

[magemadi]

23 hours ago, StarFeather said:

1 Which forest in the world do you imagine for your story?

2 Which do you prefer, coffee or tea?

3 Do you like herbal tea? If you like it, what herb do you often use for tea?

1. So for my OF, I don't really have a particular one in mind, but I think just any of the historical, large forests that are just gorgeous and full of hidden secrets. Probably ones in Europe tbh bc those are all gorgeous forests and I have a desire to see them someday! I also like to think about the Redwood forests in northern California too because that is a cool thing to see (and I hopefully will sometime in the 5 years I'm living here for grad school).

2. I prefer tea -- I've been taking a travel mug full of it every morning to class and now the habit is there! I do get coffee though occasionally if I really need the caffeine boost. And if I do get coffee, it's like a caramel macchiato so very much masked by milk and flavors.  I love these raspberry tea and jasmine tea that I have from a local tea place back at home.

3. *quickly googles my tea shop's website* Well my red raspberry delight tea is actually an herbal tea (it's not super sweet which I love!) and I drink that almost every morning, but I alternate it with my jasmine bai hao green tea because i gotta ration until I go home for winter break! (I don't want to order online because that's more expensive).

Thanks for stopping by with the great questions, Kenny! 

22 hours ago, Theia said:

1. What inspired you to write Love Makes Me? 

2. What's one thing about Dramione that sets it apart from any other Hermione pairing?

3. What's your NaNo comfort food?

4. What made you decide to write Lucius Malfoy for the anti-protagonist challenge? Do you have any particular headcanons about him you could share with us?

5. What kind of themes are you planning on incorporating into your Hermione-Rose fic? 

6. Are you a planner or a pantser or somewhere in between? Does this process work well for you? 

7. What's your favourite ice-cream flavour?  

1. Okay so I started writing this mess in 2012, and I honestly hate the whole starting reason behind it.  Back in the day, I listened to a lot of country music and I was in love with the song "Love Makes Me" by Hunter Hayes and I loved the lyrics, so that is what originally inspired me to write the story. ? Now, it's more about finishing the dang thing and being able to say I hit that complete button on a WIP for the first time ever. 

2. Dramione is love, Dramione is life. LOL. No honestly though, I just love the potential they have as a couple. Like yeah he's a crappy person who was a Death Eater and all that, but intellectually they are very much alike. Top two students of their year and such good potential conversations!! There is just so many opportunities for both of them to improve each other and change their worldviews for the better. 

3. Oooh NaNo comfort food is definitely straight up Hershey's chocolate bars. I need some good chocolate to keep me going sometimes! Or a good cup of hot tea.  

4. So Lucius Malfoy has always been a character I've felt got the short end of the stick from JK. (the whole Malfoy family really ) His character arc could have had so much more. But also, his coward nature is a part of who he is, so I feel like that's something that I definitely want to address. Plus, his time during Draco's childhood and early in his marriage to Narcissa is something that doesn't get covered in the books (for obvious reasons) and there's just so many options for me to go through with this challenge. A headcanon I have for him is that his father, Abraxas Malfoy, didn't really treat him very well/didn't particularly enjoy his son, and so Lucius just became very cowardly and "yes sir" to his father, which is why he's become the man we see in canon. But I also believe he's stronger underneath, which is how he's maintained the wealth level with the family business, etc. 

5. So I know it's like crappy of me, but I'm kind of thinking along the lines of having Rose getting bullied at school for her looks & always having her head in a book (aka Hermione first year) as a fourth or fifth year at Hogwarts. I'm still debating if I want it to happen partially through letters and in person conversations, or what kind of format I really want to go for. ?

6. I'm somewhere in between a planner and a pantser -- I have a spreadsheet for NaNo and all that for like what I want to write and how much each day, etc. It's all color-coded and everything! (S/O to @ShadowRose for doing all of the conditional formatting in our HC Opener spreadsheet that made me do it here) I don't necessarily plan out what plot points I want to cover in each scene/chapter though -- it's usually more of a general feeling of a chapter or where I kind of want it to go, but very rarely do I write from a specific prompt/line/scene idea etc. It's very frustrating personally, lol  

7. Chocolate chip cookie dough, hands down. ?

Thanks for the wonderful, thought-provoking questions, Nim! ?