Quick Note: June 11th 2008
To anyone who is reading Righting Wrongs. There will be approximately a month's gap between the update I posted yesterday, because on Monday (the 16th) I will be in the Dominican Republic for a fortnight, and therefore won't be able to update anything until around the 7th July (as I have a hectic schedule and about a million birthdays when I come home!)
My real name is Danielle, I'm a 19 year old girl from England, and that's about as much as I'm willing to say here! Ever since I can remember I have loved books and dreamed of writing them. I can't remember a time I've not had plots in my head or written little stories, so I write on here for practice, as well as writing ordinary fiction in my spare time.
My favourite authors are Jodi Picoult and Dorothy Koomson, although I will read just about anything, and these are the two writers I most aspire to be like. I am absurdly addicted to Harry Potter, to the extent that I refused to speak to anyone the day Deathly Hallows was released and avoided the internet so that no one could ruin the ending until I'd read it myself. Therefore, the vast majority of my stories are from the Harry Potterverse, partly because its what I know best in regards to established works, although I do have one or two exceptions (ie Saviour which is Titanic, and Redemption which is Wind on Fire) and partly because there are so many plausible stories that can be written on it.
I'll accept anyone's writing challenges, as I'm always looking for something new to sink my teeth into, and I'm happy to beta for anything anyone wants help with, simply because I know how unbelievably frustrating it can be to have this idea in your head and not be able to convey it in the way you'd like. Currently I beta for Ella Bridi, but I'm happy to help anyone else.
When I write and review, I will always try to follow my Seven Golden Rules below:
1) I will always review honestly and as kindly as possible. However, this does not mean that if I spot an error in punctuation that I will not point it out to you. I take my writing seriously, and I always appreciate it when someone spots a mistake I have made so I can correct it. Therefore, if you get offended by my correcting you, I simply won't read or review your stories anymore, because it irritates me to read poorly-written work and why should I waste my time when you clearly aren't willing to spend yours getting it right?
2) I will not leave it too long between updates. I haven't exactly left it ages during Righting Wrongs (fastest update so far has been around twenty-two hours) but even so, I know how unbelievably frustrating it is waiting for the next chapter to a story that feels like it's never going to arrive.
3) I will stick to canon as far as possible, and if I do warp it for the sake of a story, I will always fully explain every action and difference rather than expecting the reader to accept, "It's an AU therefore nothing needs explaining!". I hate when fics do this, just as I hate random "Let's send everyone back in time for no reason and then randomly cross-over with Buffy/LOTR/Star Wars etc just because I think it would be cool!" fics. If there is a decent storyline behind it, fair enough; if not, don't bother, and neither will I.
4) I will always leave a proper review. This is because I cannot stand it when people leave three-word reviews, or say simply, "I like it. Update." or "It's good." Perhaps it's the perfectionist in me, perhaps I'm just egotistical, but I aspire to write professionally, and I simply cannot improve if I don't know where I'm going wrong and what I'm getting just right. So tell me. Just as I will always tell you in my reviews. I work hard on my stories and I always try to be creative and get it as perfect as I possibly can before I post it, so I always appreciate it when people review, and I always try to reply to their reviews as far as possible, to say thank you.
5) I will never, ever, favourite an author or a story, or add either to alert, unless I have first reviewed their work, because I find it unbelievably frustrating when people do it to me. My logic behind this is simple; if you liked the story enough to want to read more, or to favourite it, and especially if you like my style enough to add me to your alert list, then surely you like it enough to tell me what it is you liked? This again is related to point #4. The whole point of this site, surely, is to help people improve, not just gain online popularity?
6) Possibly my biggest irritation of all and therefore my most solemn promise. I will NEVER EVER EVER use ANY of the following 'nicknames' for any of the characters I write as:
- "Mione" This is my worst. Hermione is never once called anything other than 'Hermione', "Miss Granger", or mangled variations of Viktor Krum's invention in canon. I can't stand this shortening, and therefore avoid fics that use it, just as I will never use it.
- "Lils" Again, both Lily Potters will only ever be called "Lily" in my fics, with the elder being called "Evans" and the younger being called various endearments such as "squirt". Never "Lils".
- "Ronald" Yes, Ron's real name is Ronald, and yes, he does get called it sometimes. But only by Hermione when she's being patronising or annoyed at him, and not randomly by every other character, as some fics do. Therefore, Ron will only be called "Ronald" when Hermione is bickering with him.
I can't think of any more just now but these are the worst three offenders as far as I am concerned.
7) I will stay as in-character as possible. There is nothing more irritating than reading a fic where someone has mangled a character, simply to suit their 'plot', particularly when it's your favourite character. So I hate stories that show Hermione as this suddenly gorgeous, sexy vixen with superhuman levels of confidence and who is no longer a bookworm, or Draco as The Ultimate Sex God Who Everyone Secretly Fancies Especially Harry, or random incest stories between the Weasleys (yes, I have found one, and it wasn't even Ginny/Weasley Brother, it was Charlie/Ron). The worst culprit I ever found was one where Ron was sexually abusing Hermione who found solace in the arms of Draco, which was so ridiculously OOC I couldn't even read past the summary.
Of course, I do bend this rule myself occasionally, but never to the above extents. And although I don't believe that thing like Remus/Sirius slash are canon whatsoever, I have found several stories that were well-written enough that I could enjoy them. Non-canon plots are fine; just don't change the character's personality!
Updates and New Pieces
I'd like to thank everyone who has been reviewing Righting Wrongs, the response has been brilliant and completely unexpected. I hope you all continue to enjoy my story, especially as it's shaping up to be a VERY long one!
My latest oneshot is a HP piece called Lifting The Veil, which is a Luna Lovegood piece from her perspective, talking about life after her mother's death and how her father tried to make things easier for her. It's kind of an explanation for why she is the way that she is, and was one of those plots that just bit and wouldn't let go until I'd written it.
For anyone awaiting the next chapter of Falling, I promise it's coming soon, but I keep getting little plots in my head for oneshots which simply have to be written before they vanish, but because I'm very anal about my writing I have the chapter mapped out in my little notebook, and it's just waiting to be written, so not long now!
Anyway, that's enough about me, so I'll finish this by saying: Read my stories! And when you've read them, tell me what you thought!
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