I've been actually toying with the idea of posting snippets of WIPs (because I have SO MANY new ones) since Sunday, and since a WIP meme came by, it seemed too good to resist. Stolen off ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
philomytha!
Post a random sentence (or three whole paragraphs) from every WIP you're currently working on, even if it's very short. Then invite people to ask questions about your WIP. With any luck, you'll get talking about writing, and the motivation to take that WIP one step closer to completion will appear as if by magic!
All the Vorkosigo ones! (Warning: Here there be Illyan. All over the place, damn these stupid ImpSec agents.)
1. Excess Suspicion - the one where Illyan is whiny
There are days when Illyan hates playing devil's advocate. It's his job to doubt, to question, to be professionally paranoid, and so he does.
It doesn't mean that he doesn't hate it, some times.
It's some indeterminate time in the way-too-early morning. He doesn't want to check the time. His chip does it for him anyway – 0543 hours. In a while - eighteen minutes, this time of year - there will be the start of light on the horizon, a brand new day dawning.
[A/N: I spent ages trying to find three paragraphs from this. But I wrote it extremely stream-of-consciousness-ly (and likely wasn't very conscious while I wrote it), and realised that I really need to tone down the whine before it's fit for human consumption.]
2. The Boundaries of Our Fears - the prologue to the Boundaries of Our Dreams
"Lord Vorkosigan is wedded, sire," Simon says, his tone as emotionless as his face, but before Escobar, the boy was constantly at his side, and Ezar can see that the very lack of emotion is a shield for the cracks that would otherwise be showing.
"I've already been informed. If you have nothing better to do than waste my time--"
"My mission is accomplished," Simon says, cutting him off. Yet another thing that the wide-eyed Lieutenant he had sent out would never have dared to do. "I'm requesting a transfer back to the capital."
"Denied," Ezar says.
[A/N: Cheating a little with the paragraph count. This is actually complete, but there are too many rough patches that need fixing ...]
3. Cleaning Closets - the one where Illyan shakes Negri's shoes out
"An interim measure only, I assure you." His voice, albeit not the loudest, carried well through the conference room, and he made an effort to pitch it a little higher, a little younger. A little less commanding. The words cut through the clamour, and the top brass of Imperial Security turned to look at him.
Illyan was well aware of how shiny his new captain rank-tabs were – after all, he'd picked out a new pair from stores specifically for this occasion. Like everything else in this tableau, from the shine on his silver-eye insignia – and it had taken an effort to get them polished to that gleam again, after the fires of hell that they just gone through, thanks to Vordarian's coup – to the slightly anxious, harmlessly pleasant smile that he allowed to linger on his face, they were carefully calculated to draw the attention of the room's occupants to their new chief's youth and inexperience.
It was working, he could tell. General Novak, head of Galactic Affairs, was studying him with narrowed eyes, feathers clearly ruffled by the news that this young upstart from nowhere had been promoted over his head. Colonel Kedrov, newly appointed head of Domestic Affairs, was succeeding in keeping his expression more neutral in the face of his new chief. His eye travelled down the table, the chip automatically supplying names, ranks, postings. Colonels and Generals stared back at him with varying degrees of hostility.
[A/N: This, I have to say, is probably the most fun of the lot.]
4. White Knights, Chapter 4 - the one where Illyan gets married to Alys
“Milady,” he sat up, and made an aborted move as though to clasp her hands, then seemed to think better of it. He glanced away, looking for all the world like a nervous junior officer. “I’ve been thinking about your proposal, but I don’t think... it would be too dangerous...”
What proposal, Ivan wondered, although he had a sinking feeling that he already knew.
“Simon,” his mother said, with emphasis, but there was pain in her voice. “The choice was made years ago. We’ve been married for years, we have two children besides Ivan--”
[A/N: Hurhurhur.]
5. Oathbound
Aral P. Illyan was eighteen when he ran into the first major failure of his life.
Operations, the word on the letter - that letter, that all important letter, the one that determined their fate after graduation from the Academy - read. It might as well have read Weather officer, Kyril Island.
"It's a mistake," he muttered, "has to be..."
[A/N: Literally just wrote this!]
6. Shade Without Colour, Chapter 3 - the AU where Aral relocates to Beta Colony
“Geez, Miles. It’s just Elena.” Mark looked up from his laptop and scowled at his older brother. His scowl missed, as Miles darted across the room for the millionth time, pausing in front of the mirror to adjust his hair, rearranging the flowers in their bouquet, changing coats for the hundredth time...
“Just Elena,” Miles rolled his eyes. “Mark, this is important. I only have this window to act before we’re off to Central University - if I don’t get a foot in the door now, I might never get a chance like this again!”
“Sometimes, you’re so Barrayaran,” Mark sighed.
[A/N: Amazingly, I actually have something written on Chapter 3 of this done-so-long-ago-I-couldn't-remember-the-title AU.]
To top it all off, I apparently have a WIP war for my original fics (two entirely different versions of Book 4 fighting with each other, and Book 1 and Book 2 constantly vying for my scatterbrained attention...)
philomytha!Post a random sentence (or three whole paragraphs) from every WIP you're currently working on, even if it's very short. Then invite people to ask questions about your WIP. With any luck, you'll get talking about writing, and the motivation to take that WIP one step closer to completion will appear as if by magic!
All the Vorkosigo ones! (Warning: Here there be Illyan. All over the place, damn these stupid ImpSec agents.)
1. Excess Suspicion - the one where Illyan is whiny
There are days when Illyan hates playing devil's advocate. It's his job to doubt, to question, to be professionally paranoid, and so he does.
It doesn't mean that he doesn't hate it, some times.
It's some indeterminate time in the way-too-early morning. He doesn't want to check the time. His chip does it for him anyway – 0543 hours. In a while - eighteen minutes, this time of year - there will be the start of light on the horizon, a brand new day dawning.
[A/N: I spent ages trying to find three paragraphs from this. But I wrote it extremely stream-of-consciousness-ly (and likely wasn't very conscious while I wrote it), and realised that I really need to tone down the whine before it's fit for human consumption.]
2. The Boundaries of Our Fears - the prologue to the Boundaries of Our Dreams
"Lord Vorkosigan is wedded, sire," Simon says, his tone as emotionless as his face, but before Escobar, the boy was constantly at his side, and Ezar can see that the very lack of emotion is a shield for the cracks that would otherwise be showing.
"I've already been informed. If you have nothing better to do than waste my time--"
"My mission is accomplished," Simon says, cutting him off. Yet another thing that the wide-eyed Lieutenant he had sent out would never have dared to do. "I'm requesting a transfer back to the capital."
"Denied," Ezar says.
[A/N: Cheating a little with the paragraph count. This is actually complete, but there are too many rough patches that need fixing ...]
3. Cleaning Closets - the one where Illyan shakes Negri's shoes out
"An interim measure only, I assure you." His voice, albeit not the loudest, carried well through the conference room, and he made an effort to pitch it a little higher, a little younger. A little less commanding. The words cut through the clamour, and the top brass of Imperial Security turned to look at him.
Illyan was well aware of how shiny his new captain rank-tabs were – after all, he'd picked out a new pair from stores specifically for this occasion. Like everything else in this tableau, from the shine on his silver-eye insignia – and it had taken an effort to get them polished to that gleam again, after the fires of hell that they just gone through, thanks to Vordarian's coup – to the slightly anxious, harmlessly pleasant smile that he allowed to linger on his face, they were carefully calculated to draw the attention of the room's occupants to their new chief's youth and inexperience.
It was working, he could tell. General Novak, head of Galactic Affairs, was studying him with narrowed eyes, feathers clearly ruffled by the news that this young upstart from nowhere had been promoted over his head. Colonel Kedrov, newly appointed head of Domestic Affairs, was succeeding in keeping his expression more neutral in the face of his new chief. His eye travelled down the table, the chip automatically supplying names, ranks, postings. Colonels and Generals stared back at him with varying degrees of hostility.
[A/N: This, I have to say, is probably the most fun of the lot.]
4. White Knights, Chapter 4 - the one where Illyan gets married to Alys
“Milady,” he sat up, and made an aborted move as though to clasp her hands, then seemed to think better of it. He glanced away, looking for all the world like a nervous junior officer. “I’ve been thinking about your proposal, but I don’t think... it would be too dangerous...”
What proposal, Ivan wondered, although he had a sinking feeling that he already knew.
“Simon,” his mother said, with emphasis, but there was pain in her voice. “The choice was made years ago. We’ve been married for years, we have two children besides Ivan--”
[A/N: Hurhurhur.]
5. Oathbound
Aral P. Illyan was eighteen when he ran into the first major failure of his life.
Operations, the word on the letter - that letter, that all important letter, the one that determined their fate after graduation from the Academy - read. It might as well have read Weather officer, Kyril Island.
"It's a mistake," he muttered, "has to be..."
[A/N: Literally just wrote this!]
6. Shade Without Colour, Chapter 3 - the AU where Aral relocates to Beta Colony
“Geez, Miles. It’s just Elena.” Mark looked up from his laptop and scowled at his older brother. His scowl missed, as Miles darted across the room for the millionth time, pausing in front of the mirror to adjust his hair, rearranging the flowers in their bouquet, changing coats for the hundredth time...
“Just Elena,” Miles rolled his eyes. “Mark, this is important. I only have this window to act before we’re off to Central University - if I don’t get a foot in the door now, I might never get a chance like this again!”
“Sometimes, you’re so Barrayaran,” Mark sighed.
[A/N: Amazingly, I actually have something written on Chapter 3 of this done-so-long-ago-I-couldn't-remember-the-title AU.]
To top it all off, I apparently have a WIP war for my original fics (two entirely different versions of Book 4 fighting with each other, and Book 1 and Book 2 constantly vying for my scatterbrained attention...)
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Date: 2012-01-31 05:18 pm (UTC)From: