*is dead*

I have finally finished my Snape/Lupin story for the Master and the Wolf fest. I'm not sure how soon it will be up on the Fest archive page. I can't post it anywhere else until Feb 29. Which makes me feel kind of restless and frustrated. But I'm sure it builds character.

The story ended up at about 6500 words, which I suppose isn't that long for some people, but is for me. I think I must have spent at least 30 hours on this thing, not including the first attempt that I had to scrap.

It's a lot easier for me to write a bunch of drabbles or 500 word snippets of porn. But I feel that writing longer stories gives me the credibility to write shorter pieces, if that makes any sense. I do the hard work, so I can treat myself with the easy stuff too. (Must remember to filter my drabble and challenge communities back in.)

I originally started writing a story that took place in the summer just after PS. It was from Snape's POV and was meant to cover the whole summer. But that just didn't work out for me. The scope was too large and Snape was too opaque. If I'd had three months, I could have done it, but alas! I did not. So instead, I wrote the sequel. Three days in the summer after OotP, Lupin POV. Much more manageable.

Even though this really consumed all my time in January, I'm glad I did it. The reason I signed up is that I know several people who consider Snape/Lupin a viable pairing and I just didn't see that. So, the best way for me to become convinced is to write it myself. It forced me to really think about the characters, what they had in common and how they might connect.

I'm not sure I'm at the point where I could buy any or even most SS/RL scenarios, but I'm not at the puzzled end of the pool any longer. They could even be good for each other.

I remain frustrated by my inability to deal with the Snape POV. So I will endeavour to correct that sometime. But right now I have my femslash ficathon story to get to, and a GW fic I've been wanting to start on all January.

Oh, and all the reading/watching/commenting/email/real life I have to catch up on. Ack!

Fic: Snape/Lupin

My story is up already, although the link from the archive is munged. But I am a geek and so I found it anyhow. Here are the particulars:

Misanthropy, Lycanthropy, and the Pursuit of Knowledge
Snape/Lupin. Approx 6500 words, PG-13. For the Master and Wolf Fest.

Challenge: Snape is making progress with the Wolfsbane potion, but to continue working on it he must have 24/7 access to Lupin to observe and record subtle changes.

Many thanks to kestrelsan for much alpha and beta and general support. Thanks to amchau for UK English assistance. I didn't have time to get a full Brit beta, so any remaining errors are completely my own. No thanks to Snape, who was supremely unhelpful throughout.

Go, read, let me know what you think.