Life & Writing Update

If you follow me on Twitter (@VinkWildflower). Instagram (@vinkunwildflowerqueen) or Tumblr (vinkunwildflowerqueen and/or vinkunwildflowerqueenupdates), you probably know all this already. But if you don't and you're here because you read They Don't See (the parts of you that made me want to stick around), saw my Author's Note and were wondering why I haven't posted anything in awhile.... hi. It's been a while. This is what has been going on: 

I posted my last fanfic, Do the Work, in September 2021. And I had so many plans, guys. I was going to write a Christmas fic, remember that? 

And then pretty much as soon as I had announced this plan, I bought a house. But no biggie, still doable. Just a little more pressed for time.

So I moved house in November 2021, and then injured my back while moving house (bulging disc- I can't even tell you how much this hurt. Six months later I'm still doing physio and dealing with pain).

That meant a Christmas fic wasn't going to happen, and honestly it was January before I started writing again. And... then I found Good Omens, and fell down that rabbit hole (not sorry about it. Absolutely recommend). 

But between that and actual real life things (work, mental health, seeing Delta Goodrem in concert finally after buying tickets in 2020), it means the writing is slow. 

Still working on the Christmas fic (tentatively planned for this Christmas. After last year, I'm not committing to anything!); and there's a oneshot I hope will also be up soon. 

If you're here after reading They Don't See, especially on the day I'm posting it A) Happy birthday to me!; and B) you'll note I'm experimenting with posting all the chapters of a multichapter fic all at once. 

If you like this, or you prefer getting one chapter at the time, let me know! 

Writing Projects that aren't really writing projects...

 Well, they are. But they're not fanfics. 

I've mentioned some of this, but not in any real detail. 

Basically, all my notes and headcanons for my Oz (and I cannot stress enough that it is just mine, I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's mine) have been stored in a OneNote file for years. Functional, but not super pretty.

Many of you know how much I love Canva. I've been using it since 2015, and the more they add to it, to more I'm using it. It's a thing I use pretty much daily now. 

In 2020, between boredom, writer's block and the pandemic, I started turning all my OneNote info into Canva things. Maybe a little less functional and harder to edit, but so pretty. 

The plan has always been to share with people who are interested when they were finished, which is laughable because I've realised that they'll never be truly finished. A lot of it I will continue to add to and edit over time, I'm sure. 

But there's still some parts I can share.

What I've Done:

1. Ozian Travel Magazine [60 page PDF- currently]

What You'll Find Here: Profile on each province of Oz plus moodboards (just my headcanons really); Land Beyond Oz (my headcanons for Quox, Ev and Fliaan); a guide to Ozian holidays throughout the year; Guide to the Vinkun royal residences; guide to universities throughout Oz.

2. Ozian Character Guides [32 page PDF- currently]

What You'll Find Here: Prolfile and moodboard for all the main characters- Elphaba, Fiyero, Glinda, Nessarose and Boq; Family Trees (for the Thropps, Glinda, Fiyero and Boq); Visual Guide- how I see the character's parents; Random notes- personality type summaries, notes on milkflowers, Frex's resume. Fiyero's educational transcripts, the Wicked characters as Taylor Swift albums, the Wicked characters as their Hogwarts Houses and patronuses (made before the JKR event of 2020. I can't support JKR's views, but Harry Potter still means a lot to me)

3. A History of Oz [39 page PDF- currently]

What You'll Find Here: Timelines- events pre-musical and for the events of the musical (again, this is just mine- not saying it's canon or the "right" one); calendars 1935-1945 (the time period during which my fics are most commonly set); my prolfile and headcanon on the Wizard of Oz (the character); Notes on politics in both Munchkinland and the Vinkus; Notes on religion in Oz; Notes on technology in Oz.

4. Ozian Royalty [73 page PDF- currently)

What You'll Find Here: Notes and bios on the royal families of Ozian provinces, mostly the Vinkus including way too many generations of Fiyero's family tree.

5. Ozian Baby Names [38 page PDF- currently] 

What You'll Find Here: Alphabetical Lists of baby names and surnames I've used over the years. 

(This needs to be edited again already, because I've added a bunch more)

6. Ozian Pop Culture Guide [57 page PDF- currently]

What You'll Find Here: List of people to flesh out the world- authors, musicians, athletes, nobility and socialites, etc. 

(still working on this one)

7. Ozian Playbills [25 page PDF]

What You'll Find Here: As part of the Ozian Pop Culture Guide, I made a long of plays, musicals, etc that have been in Oz. And then I went too far and made playbills for the 25 musicals, plays, operas, ballets and pantomimes "currently" running on "Ozway" as of Elphaba and co starting Shiz. Because... I don't have a good answer, actually. Boredom? (Also fun is making up playbills for a show based on a title you made up when you have no idea what the story actually is, lol).

8. Modern Ozian Weddings

What You'll Find Here: Ozian wedding related things.

(Haven't actually done much of this yet besides the cover. But I will) 

Completed things are on my Google drive, and I'm happy to share the link with those that ask.

Just keep in mind that a) no matter how many times I proofread things, I'm still finding typos. So forgive me; b) you may not agree with my Oz and how I see things/have done things. That is the beauty of fanfiction. You do you. 

Christmas Fic Trope List: This or That

 I love a good, mildly cheesy romance. If you've read any of my fics, I'm sure this shocks you. 

I mean, I have my limits (eg. I love the movie Letters to Juliet, but I cringe every time I hear that last line); but I love a good Hallmark romance movie, Netflix movie or books I can buy for like $5 on my Kindle and read in maybe an hour. 

There's always so many more of them at Christmas, with their own tropes that come with them. I thought it could be fun to have a go at writing one, but have other people (ie you reading this) pick the tropes that the story employs. 

You get to pick ONE (either green or blue) from each row of the list below. Fill in the Google Form here

My hope is obviously to have this finished to post around Christmas. 

But Real Life just handed me this big change, which is going to take up a lot of time and energy, so if I'm not going to finish it in time, I'll save it for Christmas 2022. 

Want to do this yourself, but maybe want to use different tropes than what I picked? TV Tropes is your go-to! 

Here's a list of Romance Novel Tropes

Here's a list of Love Tropes

Here's a list of Romance Novel Plot Tropes

Here's a list of Christmas Tropes

Family Ties: Fiyero's History Essay

 Sometimes I get bored and make things, ok?

But seriously, when I had the idea for this one, I could SEE it like this. But I can't put it like this on FFnet. 

Shout out to Canva for making it possible to be a thing! As best as I could make it, anyway. 

COMPETITION

One entry per person!

Milestone

October 2015 is the 5 year anniversary of when I posted my first Wicked fanfiction online.

Now, although I was posting fanfiction for other fandoms before, and have done occasionally since, Wicked was really where I found my niche, I guess.

Plus, 5 years on I can say it's the most supportive fandom I've posted in. I feel this is where my writing has grown the most, where I've pushed and challenged myself, and where I've met awesome people.

So, I wanted to do something for the occasion. 5 years is an impressive milestone, I think!

I'm hoping to be able to start posting my next fic Long Time Coming on that day, but whilst it could be argued that it is for you, that's mostly for me. People actually reading and reviewing is just a perk.

So, I wanted to do something for the people who are actually reading my work- whether they've been there since Ever Ever After, or found me through the 50+ subsequent stories since then, or who will just stumble across Long Time Coming when it goes up.

I have this notebook that I use when I'm going on trips and I'll have time to write, but I don't particularly want to lug my laptop with me.

In this notebook are first, handwritten, original drafts of different sections of The Ghost of Kiamo Ko, The Right Thing To Do, and The Most Convenient Definitions and a few other notes for stuff not worth mentioning.

What I'm proposing (potentially) is some sort of competition where either 1 winner would get the notebook; or 3 winners would get part of the notebook (1 for each fic).

What do you guys think? Is this lame? Is anyone interested? Does anyone want my scribbles and sometimes hardly legible notes?

UPDATE:
It doesn't look as though I'll be able to start posting Long Time Coming just yet unfortunately.

At this stage, I'm thinking the prize would be the notebook as a whole, but I'd like to do a 2nd and 3rd prize; and I'm after suggestions what you guys would like. To be an OC/create an OC in a fic? Someone suggested a Skype call?

The competition is not official yet, but I'm thinking some kind of question, you send in answers of say 100 words or less; and I have an impartial judge (ie. a friend of mine who knows I write FF but doesn't read it) pick the winner/s.

Writing Processes

Recently I was asked on Twitter how I organise my fics and my ideas, and instead of trying to explain in 140 characters, I thought visual aids might help.

I'm posting this here, in case anyone else is interested.

IDEAS

The way I organise my plans and notes has evolved over the 5 years I've been posting fanfiction. For about a year now, I've been using the OneNote program- it's easy to file and group notes and separate everything. 

I have 3 main notebooks for fanfiction related stuff:

1. Fanfiction Plans.

This is where I plan and outline every fic I'm going to write. As you can see in the picture below, each fic has it's own section.

Each section has 4 pages- Summary, Character List, Plot Outline and Notes. You can also add subpages if you want (and sub-sub pages). The screenshot below is for the fic I'm currently working on.

2. Fanfic Ideas

This is just where I keep a list of every little idea I have, or title idea, or a quote I think of. Sometimes I can piece several ideas together to form a story, sometimes one will fit into a plan I already have. 

 3. Carlie's Guide to Oz

This is where I keep all my notes on Oz in general. Some are canon from the musical or book, some are from the Wizard of Oz, some are from things I've established in previous fics that I liked, and some are just headcanons.
Whilst I'm not a huge fan of the Wicked book, because the musical doesn't have the room to get to in-depth on world building, sometimes I will use elements from the book. Or at least as a basis, and then I might put my own spin on it.

FICS

As for the fics themselves, they're all written on Microsoft Word. I have a folder (titled "Neds" for 2 reasons- 1. if someone is looking at my computer (because this folder is on my desktop for easy access) I don't have to answer awkward questions; and 2. Private joke between a friend and I.

The "Stories in Progress" folder has another folder in it, just for Wicked fics so I can keep them separate. This is the list currently:


I try to work on only one fic at a time, and I'm usually inspired to work on one in particular when I go looking for my next project.

If I'm not feeling inspired to settle on one in particular, I might jump around and draft the beginning of a couple until one grabs me- and that's why the word count in the above picture is all over the place.

Once a fic grabs me and I get into a flow for that story, I'll stay with it until I'm finished (although at times I might stop and write a one-shot if I'm having writer's block or it's a special occasion or request of some kind).

I hope this helps!

Video: Works in Progress

Here's a video about all the Wicked fics I have planned, but done a little differently!

I used Prezi.com (basically super fancy power points) and Screencast-O-Matic (something new I was trying out) to make this. It was fun.

My 20th Wicked show: A Milstone

A little (ok, not so little. 15 minutes. I ramble. I'm sorry- imagine how my students must feel!) video to commemorate my 20th Wicked show this weekend. 

Fanfiction Fans: A new Facebook Page

So, if you're reading this you've either stumbled on to my blog somehow (which somehow always surprises me, even after 2 years of having said blog) or you've just read my Author's Note for chapter 15 (technically it's the 16th chapter posted but as chapter 1 was the prologue, I'm referring to it as ch 15, ok?) of Ghost of Kiamo Ko.

Which means if you read the aforementioned AN, you're here about my new Facebook page. So, there is the link and here is some information about it.

Dude, you already run 2 Facebook pages. 
Yes. Yes, I do.

Ozian is an official langugage was created because when editing my Facebook profile one day, I was outraged you can claim Simlish, Pirate and Sarcasm as "Languages I speak" but not Ozian, which is totally a language. And since then, it's really developed into a Wicked fangirling page for myself, so I don't annoy all my non-Wicked fans Facebook friends. Where I try and use as much as the Ozian vocab as possible, because it's fun.

I am still very proud of the Wicked Debating Society page, even if it hasn't taken off as much as I would have liked, and quite often has a habit of falling into "Carlie is stuck on a fanfiction and needs some help". But the point of it was because talking in-depth about Wicked (as in plot, characters, etc) is fun and quite frankly, 140 characters on Twitter is not enough. I think mostly I'm just proud of the profile/cover pic.... still.

What is the point of this page?
There are actually several points to this page.

1. You can recommend good (or bad if you want) fanfics you are reading/have read.
2. You can discuss/question/rant about issues regarding fanfic in general.
3. If you have an idea for a fic, but it's not something you feel strongly enough about to want to write yourself, you can donate it to the page in case someone is looking for an idea.

Do fics have to be Wicked related?

Nope. Any fandom, pairing, genre you want. You never know who will be interested. For instance, I'm reading a quite good Harry Potter parody fic I've found (the first parody fic I've actually enjoyed), and posted said link on the page. Of course, I'm sure there will be many Wicked fics on there, but any and all is welcome.

So, this page isn't about your fanfiction?

No. I'm sure at some point I will be posting about my own stuff, but no. This is just a page for those who like reading, writing and talking about fanfiction.

I have debated in the past establishing a Facebook page for my own writing but a few things keep stopping me. Mainly,

a) Would anyone be actually interested?

b) Is it weird (or stuck up) if I do that? Or is it just marketing myself as an author on as many platforms  of social media as I can? 

In conclusion, check out the page! And get involved! 

New Video: Ghost of Kiamo Ko Update

Last night I filmed a little video, and uploaded it this morning.

It's nothing fancy, but I thought I hadn't done a video in a while, and this way you get a video and the knowledge the next fic is definitely coming!

Writing Confession #3

I'm sorry I've been neglecting this blog a little this year. It's not as though I'm not doing anything exciting (musical wise. Other than that... yeah, my life is pretty boring), I just haven't been writing about it. Oops.

Anyway, another writing confession:

Sometimes I really regret not writing a Stranger to Myself sequel.

I like this story a lot. I love most of my OC's, I love Elphaba and Fiyero's meet-cute, and I love so many of the little things I made for this story. And I loved writing Melena.

I had my reasons at the time for not doing a sequel- I didn't want to keep dwelling in the same universes because I thought people would get bored; I didn't really know what the story would be... but every so often when I re-read it or I get a review from someone who's just found it and read it... I regret that I didn't write more in that universe.

Data Collection

Last night I started writing yet another Fiyeraba wedding in my latest fanfiction. Occurring in chapter 7, it is the earliest a wedding has ever occurred in one of my fics, although it is not your typical Fiyeraba wedding.
I can't really say more because it gives away the plot, but anyone who has read Rebecca will understand what I mean.

And that segued into just how many Fiyeraba weddings I have written. And children/pregnancies whatever. The result is the following table, a collection of data from all 40 (including the one I'm writing at the moment) Wicked fanfictions I have written since 2010.

 The title column is fairly obvious, so you know which story we're talking about. 

Fiyeraba Weddings: Any story where Elphaba and Fiyero get married, including All These Years when I only wrote the reception. 

Pregnancy/Birth/Baby: Any story where a pregnancy is even referred to in passing. 

Fiyeraba Older Children: When Elphaba and Fiyero's children are featured in a story where they are at the age when they can talk.

Character Death: This doesn't have to be a major death, just a death that is necessary for the plot. 

Major Dramatic Event: Instances when their is any dramatic near death experience in a story. Shooting, cancer, running over by a carriage, breaking Fiyero's nose... you know, the usual. 

Surprisingly, the only story that has all 5 things is my current fic... 

STORY TITLE	FIYERABA WEDDING	PREGNANCY/ BIRTH/BABY	FIYERABA OLDER CHILDREN	CHARACTER DEATH	MAJOR DRAMATIC EVENT
40 W­­­­­­eeks		X
All These Years	X	X	X
Auld Lang Syne
But for a Moment	X	X			X
Come What May					X
Days Go By		X	X
Don’t Tell the Bride	X
Ever Ever After	X	X	X
Falling In					X
Far Longer than Forever	X	X			X
Feels Like Home
Flying Without Wings
Get it Right
If I let you go
In the After			X
Innocent Eyes
Kiss the Girl
May I not lose you	X	X	X		X
Moments of the Ever After		X	X
No More Walking Away
Once Upon a Time	X	X
One Hour
One Night with the King	X	X		X
Out of the Blue					X
Possession-less
Public Enemy Number One
Rain
Saviour
Step 2
Stranger to Myself				X	X
Taking Chances	X	X		X	X
The Beginning of Forever	X
The Ghost of Kiamo Ko (current WIP)	X	X	X	X	X
The Planting of Seeds
The Reason
Three Leaps Ahead	X
Vinkun Wildflower		X	X
Written in the Stars
You give me love
You’ve Got Mail					X