One thing I haven't really tried yet, regarding my writing.

[hmpf]

I've said earlier that I know from experience that nobody can really help me when I get stuck, and I think that's the truth, if 'help' means 'take a look at the fic fragments and tell me what's wrong with them/tell me what to do next'. However, I've never really tried talking the fic - its problems and my 'mental blocks' - through with someone. I wonder if that would help? I've noticed that sometimes it's ridiculously easy to develop an idea in conversation, but I've never actually tried to use this as a method to tear down/scale/get around the frequent brick walls in my head.

There's a twofold problem with that approach, though: 1.) you'd need a volunteer who's fairly deeply into the fandom you're writing (and, ideally, probably also into the kind of story you want to write - this may in fact be the more important condition), and 2.) that volunteer will be hopelessly spoiled for the final result, i.e. the actual story, in the process. (Optimistically assuming that the process will actually result in a story.)

Anybody have any experience with this kind of thing? Does it help? (Though of course what may help one writer may be useless for the next, anyway, so I'm not sure asking anybody else about their experiences with any kind of technique actually means anything.)

Comments

[amonitrate.livejournal.com]

well, I've done this with my roommate. She's ridiculously talented at coming up with plots but refuses to write any of them down. I"m terrible at plot but love writing. So we're a good match when it comes to plot headaches. She can usually help me find a way out of plot dead ends.

On the other hand, the more nebulous issues, like how you make some piece of writing do what you want it to... not as easy to talk over, especially with a non-writer.

[raine-wynd.livejournal.com]

I used to do that a lot when I first started writing Highlander, although looking back I think it mostly consisted of me on IM with Dana Woods, Amand-r, Jam-wired, and, later, Rhiannon Shaw whining about how my story sucked and I couldn't get the characters to do what I wanted them to do, which was tell me a story I could write, or if I got them to talk to me, to shut up long enough so I could write them, or tell me what the next scene or how it was all going to end. Honestly, I don't think I could have written nearly as much without their support, encouragement, and sheer "okay, paste/email me what you're stuck on". I'm writing in a completely different fandom now, and that interaction is different; I don't have the same sort of rapport with the fic-writing group, but I did get useful feedback.

I honestly think it works best when, as you say, you have someone who's passionate about the fandom (does not, however, have be as passionate or more passionate than you.) If you're writing a crossover, having someone who is familiar with one but not both works, too. If all you need is someone to say, "Yeah, that sounds coherent, but your grammar and sentence structure is off," knowledge of fannish things is not required. (I drag my husband into that role all the time.)

Let me know if I can be assistance; of the currently active big fandoms (Doctor Who, Supernatural, SG-1 and SGA), I'm reading a lot and watching a bit.

[herdivineshadow]

I've always found that talking about what I've been writing about with someone who knows the fandom or even just rambling at someone who's not too familiar with it works pretty well. It's a good way of braindumping and organising the brain dump - especially when you might have to organise it in a way for someone who doesn't know the fandom.


Or in fact, your essay topic when writing something for uni. >.

[m31andy.livejournal.com]

Most definitely. So much so now that I have a fic-writing partner for Life on Mars fandom. Everything I write (and everything she writes) gets bounced back and forward to each other, until we're happy with it.

The only problem with that level of interaction is that your styles of writing have to be similar. Which, for darthfi and myself, they are (I'd defy almost anyone to sit and pick apart any of our collaboration fics and identify who wrote what!)

But even someone just to talk to, who doesn't necessarily have anything to contribute apart from time and a knowledge of what you're talking about, can help considerably. That's more internal to yourself, organising your thoughts as you speak them aloud. See what works when it's actually out of your head.

There are many levels to this sort of technique, of course, you should definitely try it and see if it helps somewhat.

[tazlet.livejournal.com]

When I started writing, I read nearly every word to 'someone' (the phone bills were awesome) and I still call up and say, "How does x conceptualize 'this phenomenon' if electricity is not contemporary science?" or "Or I need a word that means x, but isn't y" or "five miles outside of Petra, the camel breaks down -- who comes along and rescues him?" When stuck, just 'brain storming', throwing any idea no matter how crazy at the wall and talking it over can generate insights and connections you didn't recognize yourself. I really don't think it has to be someone who writes in your style, but it should be someone who is analytical, creative and literate (and excited about writing--think about the scene between Shakespeare and Marlowe in "Shakespeare in Love" -- "Romeo is Italian...until he meets, Ethel, the daughter of his enemy...Mercutio. Good name." -- and, pardon me, but so what if one person is spoiled? This person is not your reader, this person is your friend, your editor, your beta, your amanuesis...

[pink-bagels.livejournal.com]

It can work, but then you do run the risk of losing your own voice within the writing. Having been down this road once before and been seriously burned by it, I wouldn't recommend it unless, as m31andy said, you have very similar writing styles and aren't necessarily there to ego-stomp each other--Meaning, you want the story to go in one direction, but the person writing with you insists it goes in a place you have no wish at all to persue. It can get very sticky.

I've recently found that the best way, for myself, to write more often is to simply write a series of numbered scenes which then can be drafted into a story. The scenes can be as crazy and silly or badly written as is humanly possible, but then can be altered and changed into a rough draft and further into a polished, finished work. For myself, it's more of a dreamscape type of writing that helps me see where the story is supposed to go, and it does help in getting the ideas out and into a form I can work from.

But then, you may find a completely different approach that may work best for you. Every writer has their own methodology, and finding what works and what hinders you is part of the process :D.

[maestro1123.livejournal.com]

It has to be a mate, and it has to be someone you know so totally and utterly that you can say, "Hey but what if Silent Hill were actually contained within a beautiful cake, and Sam Tyler ate that cake, wouldn't the Doctor have to help out? Right?" and know that they'll not only tell you it's shit, but will not judge you for it. That is, I don't think friendship is as important as honesty. There's too much "no that's fine" going on in fandom, you need to find someone who will be happy to tear you down as much as possible.

In my opinion. But I live on criticism to the point where it's unhealthy.

I share I'd say pretty much every fic idea I have over instant messenger with my wall-bouncer, and I think my writing is better for it. Usually we clash about the endings of things - I am incredibly dramatic and want everything to end badly, she usually talks me into something a little less horribly depressing, and I'm better for it. So yeah, I'd recommend it.

Time differences make me a poor candidate for that sort of role, but I'll happily beta anything you throw my way. I consider myself a pretty good beta, if I say so myself (and I do).

Nebulousness...

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

well, since most of my fic is plotless by design (or by default, perhaps) plot isn't so much the problem with me. It's more the nebulous stuff - not so much the questions of 'how do I make it work', though, as the question of 'what 'happens' next', though 'happen' is the wrong word, because usually, nothing does. Maybe: 'what thought/emotion/observation follows logically from the last one?' (Well, of course I also often run into problems of the order of 'how do I make this work', but I have a feeling that talking won't help with that. It's the getting stuck in the middle of writing thing that I think talking *may* help with.)

Encouragement etc.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

>I don't think I could have written nearly as much without their support, encouragement, and sheer "okay, paste/email me what you're stuck on".

It's interesting that you mention encouragement. I wonder how much of a role that plays...

I've always written in a vacuum, i.e. with no interaction with anyone except for a beta reader, and the beta reader only comes in at the very end of the process, when the story is essentially done. So, all my problems, all my writer's blocks I've overcome on my own. Well, and 'stuck/blocked' is the normal state of affairs with me. I mean, 'writing' to me is kind of synonymous with 'being stuck'. I'm used to progressing a sentence or sometimes even just a word at a time. A good week is when I manage to write a paragraph; and good weeks are rare.

I'm really not sure if talking to people would change anything about that, but the human psyche is a strange thing, and I know from experience that getting feedback tends to inspire me, quite literally, i.e. I actually tend to get bursts of creativity after getting feedback.

So, maybe, encouragement *is* important. Or at least helpful in 'unblocking' the mind. I wasn't really thinking about encouragement when I wrote my entry here yesterday, but maybe encouragement is part of the 'solution' nevertheless? Hm.

(I keep telling people I'm not writing 'for' feedback - but that doesn't mean feedback doesn't do good things for my writerly ego.)

>I honestly think it works best when, as you say, you have someone who's passionate about the fandom (does not, however, have be as passionate or more passionate than you.) If you're writing a crossover, having someone who is familiar with one but not both works, too.

I think what may be important here is a connection on the level of the fannish id, so to speak. Ideally you'd need to be turned on and fascinated by similar things, in a fannish way. (Maybe.) Because that's what a lot of the fic ultimately is about, isn't it? Our kinks, mental and sometimes physical. So if that's the central thing you're grappling with, you'd need someone who 'gets' that, on that deep, visceral level.

Or maybe that's just wishful thinking, I dunno. Maybe someone who simply knows the source material well enough suffices.

>If all you need is someone to say, "Yeah, that sounds coherent, but your grammar and sentence structure is off,"

Well, that's what the beta reader is for. A beta, and the three dozen rounds of revising and rewriting that precede the actual betaing process. ;-) I have a wonderful beta; I'm sure she'd be willing to talk about my works in progress with me, too, but there are a number of reasons why I'm not sure I'd want her to: 1.) We're not really into the same fandoms at the moment, except in a casual way, 2.) I can't forget she's my beta, which means I'd feel distinctly odd/embarrassed talking about something so very 'unfinished' with her, and 3.) I think a beta needs to keep a certain distance to the fic and therefore probably shouldn't be involved too deeply in the actual writing process, or they'll lose their objectivity in the same way that the writer herself can't be trusted to be objective.

>Let me know if I can be assistance; of the currently active big fandoms (Doctor Who, Supernatural, SG-1 and SGA), I'm reading a lot and watching a bit.

No fandom overlap, I'm afraid. But thanks for the offer, anyway. (Actually... I have a HL story which I've been stuck on for the past three or four years, so I may want to talk about that, sometime. But I'm not currently working on that one; Life on Mars still monopolises my brain - six bunnies and counting! *g*)

Yeah, I know the effect from uni...

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

I've just never applied it to fiction writing, and my writing 'method' is so patently strange that I'm not sure *anything* can help me to speed it up.

But trying something probably couldn't hurt.

Well, co-writing is another kettle of fish, I feel.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

(It's another thing I've never tried, too. Would like to, but have never found anyone with whom I could have done it.)

>But even someone just to talk to, who doesn't necessarily have anything to contribute apart from time and a knowledge of what you're talking about, can help considerably. That's more internal to yourself, organising your thoughts as you speak them aloud. See what works when it's actually out of your head.

Yeah, that was basically what I meant, really. I know this kind of thing is helpful in other areas of thinking/writing, so maybe I should try it with fic writing, too.

Spoiling someone

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

>and, pardon me, but so what if one person is spoiled? This person is not your reader, this person is your friend, your editor, your beta, your amanuesis...

At the moment there is no friend who qualifies for this job, I think; therefore, I'd have to find this kind of person among my - potential - readers. Which means 1.) I lose a reader ;-) and 2.) a reader loses the - potential - pleasure of discovering the fic when it's actually done. I dunno, I feel strange about this. May be just me, though. *g*

(Question: Should it be a friend, do you think? And if I only have a choice between either a friend with a passing knowledge of the source material *or* a fan of the source material that I'm not closely personally acquainted with, what is more valuable, from the writerly point of view? Let's assume, for simplicity's sake, that both are familiar with writing.)

Voice

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

>It can work, but then you do run the risk of losing your own voice within the writing.

Really? Just from talking ideas over with someone?

>Having been down this road once before and been seriously burned by it, I wouldn't recommend it unless, as m31andy said, you have very similar writing styles and aren't necessarily there to ego-stomp each other--Meaning, you want the story to go in one direction, but the person writing with you insists it goes in a place you have no wish at all to persue. It can get very sticky.

Oh, okay, that's the misunderstanding then. I wasn't talking about finding a co-writer. Just someone I could bounce ideas off in conversation.

>I've recently found that the best way, for myself, to write more often is to simply write a series of numbered scenes which then can be drafted into a story. The scenes can be as crazy and silly or badly written as is humanly possible, but then can be altered and changed into a rough draft and further into a polished, finished work.

Yeah, well, my problem isn't so much that I don't write often enough but that I get horribly stuck, in a "what comes next?" kind of way. By definition you can only write a scene if you have any idea what to put in it. I frequently don't. (Have any idea, that is.) I write as if walking around in a fog, with new bits and pieces appearing out of the fog unexpectedly now and then.

Also, my writing isn't scene-driven, since it isn't plot-driven. It's frequently stuff that could be summed up like this: "x thinks about the imaginary childhood and youth of his alter ego. Musings about identity ensue." (that's a Highlander fic - work in progress since 2003 or 2004) or "y lies in bed listening to z's breathing, thinking about their relationship in the past and present." (that's the Maya-and-Sam story, in case you're wondering. *g*) If I do have something like a plot I get stuck less frequently and less badly, because to some degree I know what comes next. If a fic is all rambling thoughts, though, the problem is that there *is* nothing that logically 'comes next'.

Which actually may make my kind of dilemmas difficult to solve in conversation. So, maybe all I can do is think and wait, really.

Well, I'm screwed then. ;-)

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

>It has to be a mate, and it has to be someone you know so totally and utterly that you can say [snip]

There's nobody in my life who really qualifies for the job if that's the definition. beccatoria comes closest, but she's my beta, and I have reservations about getting my beta closely involved in the actual writing process. Also, my fannish passions and hers don't intersect much at the moment. She's a kickass beta, though. (I agree with what you said about the necessity of honesty. One of the reasons why I love beccatoria is that she will tell me if something I've written is shit. Oh, and she *gets* what I'm trying to do in my fic. Sometimes she understands what I'm trying to do more clearly than I do.)

>I share I'd say pretty much every fic idea I have over instant messenger with my wall-bouncer, and I think my writing is better for it.

Re: wall-bouncing. I said I have reservations about the wall-bouncer being the same person as the beta; what's your experience with this? Are these different 'jobs', or is your beta also your wall-bouncer?

>Time differences make me a poor candidate for that sort of role,

I'll be honest: I'd be thrilled to talk to you about how horribly stuck I am. I don't think there's anyone in LoM fandom who really shares my very particular interests, but you seem to come close in at least *some* respects, from what I've seen.

What time zone are you in? I'm an extreme owl, which means I go to sleep when the sun comes up, most days, so the time difference may be less of an issue than you think. Also, there's e-mail.

>but I'll happily beta anything you throw my way. I consider myself a pretty good beta, if I say so myself (and I do).

I'll keep that in mind. If When I finish one of my LoM stories, I may want to use a LoM-specific beta in addition to beccatoria.

Re: Spoiling someone

[tazlet.livejournal.com]

...a choice between either a friend with a passing knowledge of the source material *or* a fan of the source material that I'm not closely personally acquainted with, what is more valuable, from the writerly point of view...

The friend with only a passing knowledge of the source material might be able give you a better idea of how the story 'works' -- is it accessable, does it make sense, is it fun/interesting to read -- what do you need to develope and explain to make it fun/interesting to read. A fan of the source, may be great for canon issues and may have the better understanding of the particular objectives of fan fiction. If it's one or the other, go for the more objective person, to tell the truth -- but both would be ideal.

The process can be excruiating, but one thing I did discover (even when the beta is just plain wrong) is that it's really, really, really good excersize to think about the points they raise.

This sounds more like beta reading.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

What I was talking about was the possibility of just, well, talking about fic with someone, discussing problems and developing ideas. Possibly this might include showing the fragments of some particular fic-to-be to someone to give them some idea of the tone or something, yes, but it's much too early for anyone to give me useful advice based on that look at a few scraps. All my stories are just a bunch of fragments at the moment. I don't really think anyone could make sense of them, frankly - the shape that they have in my mind is not yet visible in them at all. In fact, even I only have the vaguest idea of the shape they will (or may) end up having, which is one of the things that makes writing them so difficult. I don't know where I'm going. And I don't think anyone can tell me.

But I *may* be better able to figure out where I'm going for myself in conversation rather than just by brooding over it for months or years on my own. May. No guarantees.

[jazzymegster.livejournal.com]

I find talking to yenrug helps, even if he has only a vague idea of the fandom (he helped me out of a hole a couple of months back with my crossover o doom, and he has no idea about the wider Marvel universe outside the X-Men. Meant I had to do some hasty explaining though). And obviously, talking to Adam may not help you. But it's weird, his brain goes in directions I'd never consider. I've gotten quite a few stories finished through talking it over with him.

But I don't know what'd work for you though, and other than that, I don't know what to suggest (and you could possibly think it's the worst suggestion ever, so...I'll shut up).

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

I'm late to the party as usual! - but you know I suffer the same plot-problems as you, and yes, I find talking things through - or even just deciding to write things down, like a plot outline and allowing myself to ramble thematically and write in bizarre sentence-fragments only I will later (hopefully) understand - it helps LOTS.

So many ideas I can't crystalise without explaining them and talking them through - either with a person or on "paper" - become clearer when I do that.

Anyway, you know I'm always happy to chat if you don't mind discussing things with a like-minded plot-challenged writer? ;)

Re: Well, I'm screwed then. ;-)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Well, as you know from the post below, I'm totally willing to chat this through and try to separate my roles as friend and beta. But I also understand that the two might spill over as I might not be approaching things "cold". Still I have reasonable confidence in my ability to at least compensate for that somewhat?

I figure, the more people you have to choose from to chat the better? ;)

With regards to LoM - I do actually REALLY like it (except the ending; but there we agree). I know we watched all of season one, but I actually watched all of season two as well - it was appointment television for me and that's EXTREMELY rare. You're right that it's not one of my fannish passions in terms of joining comms and such, but I have seen it all and (while it might still be an idea to get someone more invested in the show and fandom to beta too) I don't want you to go thinking I'm a casual fan of LoM. If it weren't for the annoying last five minutes I'd probably be saving up for the DVD Box Sets.

Either way, I'm confident I know LoM well enough to be a sounding board and that I'd enjoy such discussions.

...again I really owe you a phone call.

But instead I bought Dharma & Greg!

Re: Well, I'm screwed then. ;-)

[maestro1123.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmm, you raise an interesting point. My wall-bouncer is occasionally my beta, but usually not. I don't really have a regular beta as such (which makes me sad) but more I just grab whoever's online and hand them stuff to read. But I understand what you mean, I feel like when I need a beta I want someone to read the fic just as a fic, not as how I read it - an exercise in what I was trying to do and what eventually happened instead. I need a fresh pair of eyes.

What time zone are you in? I'm an extreme owl, which means I go to sleep when the sun comes up, most days, so the time difference may be less of an issue than you think. Also, there's e-mail.

I'm in Japan, which puts me at GMT+8 right now. I work silly hours though, and my net time is usually sort of 10pm to maybe 2am. I'd be happy to chat through stuff with you if this suits, but owing to the aforementioned stupid job, I can't promise when I'll be around. Best bet is to email me and ask me to come online. :)

And the beta offer still stands, now and forever. Just chuck it my way.

Sorry for the late replies...

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

I kept getting distracted away from LJ yesterday and today.

>Well, as you know from the post below, I'm totally willing to chat this through and try to separate my roles as friend and beta.

I thought as much. It's just... I feel strange, I dunno why exactly (though all the reasons given in various posts in this thread here are part of why), about trying to do this with you. I think... another part of the reason may be that I'm so deep in personal kink territory with a lot of my current WiPs that I kind of wish for someone who 'gets' at least some of that, in the sense of 'shares it'... but then, I'm not sure such a person exists within my sphere of aquaintances at all, my 'kinks' being so strange and specific, so that's probably wishful thinking. ('Kink' is used loosely here. It's not all about sex.)

I think that in talking about my unfinished stories with you I would - involuntarily - tend to focus on the question of 'how do I make this a good story', which, at this point in the process, would be premature and even possibly harmful. I'm still very much in the 'subconscious' phase of writing here, and that's as it should be.

So, it's not really *your* ability to separate the functions of 'friend' and 'beta' but my own that's the issue here.

>I figure, the more people you have to choose from to chat the better? ;)

That is probably true. And in fact there are at least *some* of my stories that I feel could benefit from a chat with you. (Speaking of which... I forget: do you use some IM client? Yes, we should definitely chat on the phone again sometime, too, but IM might be nice as well. Although I keep forgetting to switch mine on.)

>With regards to LoM - I do actually REALLY like it (except the ending; but there we agree). I know we watched all of season one, but I actually watched all of season two as well - it was appointment television for me and that's EXTREMELY rare. You're right that it's not one of my fannish passions in terms of joining comms and such, but I have seen it all and (while it might still be an idea to get someone more invested in the show and fandom to beta too) I don't want you to go thinking I'm a casual fan of LoM. If it weren't for the annoying last five minutes I'd probably be saving up for the DVD Box Sets.

Heh. You could still buy the first season; that one's still pretty good! ;-)

Yes, I know you like it a lot. It's just... well, I guess part of it comes down to the fact that my fics are nearly all about my Mad, Bitter Yet Also Tender Love of Sam *g* and that is *so* central to the fics that I'd like to talk to someone who shares that at least to some degree. I may also want to talk to you about them, but I feel that there are some things I'd need to talk about to someone who's closer to sharing that emotion or amalgamation of emotions.

(I do have some Farscape fics I still haven't given up on that may require talking about with you sometime in the future, though... for those, you'll be my first choice!)

>...again I really owe you a phone call.

Or I you. Uhm... how about sometime next week? You got any preferences?

>But instead I bought Dharma & Greg!

I just bought Shaun of the Dead. :-)

Re: Well, I'm screwed then. ;-)

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

>I don't really have a regular beta as such (which makes me sad) but more I just grab whoever's online and hand them stuff to read.

Finding a beta who can *really* help you is one of the most difficult things about writing fanfic, IMO. I was extremely fortunate to find mine. I had many different betas before beccatoria, but there always remained a faint sense of misunderstanding. I was never really comfortable with the stories, even after thorough betaing. Becca, on the other hand, just... seems to get what I'm trying to do, and what's more, she manages to identify all the bits that strike me as problematical, and she usually can articulate what exactly the problem is. She's very good at explaining my own stories to me. *g* I wish I could reciprocate, but I'm actually a fairly crappy beta. (Not that I beta much; most people wisely prefer a native speaker.)

>I'm in Japan, which puts me at GMT+8 right now. I work silly hours though, and my net time is usually sort of 10pm to maybe 2am. I'd be happy to chat through stuff with you if this suits, but owing to the aforementioned stupid job, I can't promise when I'll be around. Best bet is to email me and ask me to come online. :)

Okay... first I have to do the math to correlate our time zones, though. ;-)

>And the beta offer still stands, now and forever. Just chuck it my way.

It's nice of you to extend that offer to 'forever', because with me it's quite possible I'll take you up on it five years from now. I'm ridiculously slow.

You know what...

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

it just occurred to me that you might be a prime subject for me to try this method on. ;-)

But first, I should probably catch up with your LJ. My LJ reading pattern is... erratic, at the moment, to say the least. I tend to basically just visit individual LJs intermittently and then read up on what's happened in that person's life in the past however-many weeks or months. So I'm never really up to date with anybody (except for perhaps the last person I just happen to have caught up with. But since I haven't read *any* LJ in the last two weeks, I'm not currently up to date with anyone.)

It's not plot, really.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

It's more nebulous. But, yeah, see above for that.

Re: Sorry for the late replies...

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

No worries about late replies - the day after I post doesn't count as late anyway!

I do understand what you're saying, and I also understand that what you're looking for is something very different from a beta. And you don't need to worry, I'm not offended at all by that.

And like you say, I think I'm well-placed to understand your mad, bitter yet tender love for Sam from...from an intellectual perspective; after talking it through with you and watching it with you, I really do think I get that and it's a beautiful, complex sentiment that I look forward to reading about in your fics. But that's something different to pre-story ramblings; to being a...kindred spirit with regards to the character, perhaps?

There's a difference between feeling something on my own, or learning to feel it via empathy with you; and perhaps what you need isn't someone who you have to teach about the way you feel?

But, like I said, if there's ever anything you do want to chat about, I'm happy to oblige. :)

I think I have IM instant messenger, but I'm not certain because I don't really like IM services. I mean, I'm not against them for specific instances to chat at certain times - they're useful; but they're just not a method of communication I feel totally comfortable with, I guess?

Re: Next week - yeah, that sounds fine. Kev's working late so I probably won't be going out or doing anything, so, uh, whichever day's best for you, really! :)

Re: You know what...

[jazzymegster.livejournal.com]

it just occurred to me that you might be a prime subject for me to try this method on. ;-)

Eek! Really?! *is slightly scared* No, really, I'd be glad to help. Honestly. I probably owe something like this karmically or some such thing.

And my LJ's been pretty erratic up until recently (and I need to catch up on some of yours, as it happens. So there). But, no rush. It's not going anywhere ;)