A Glossary of Viridian5's Writing Terminology

avatar (n) : A character I feel an especially deep connection to. Mulder was my first fanfic avatar. At the top of my Mulder game I sometimes had people asking me to be Mulder for them or to explain why the Mulder in their stories might do a certain thing, making me a combination of a Mulder repairperson and one of those "What Would _____ Do?" bracelets. Doyle’s another, one of the fastest connections I ever made, so I was horrified when Angel immediately killed him off. due South is unique in that I shift off between Ray Kowalski and Fraser. This doesn’t mean I don’t get into the heads of other characters, just that I feel closer to the ones I consider my avatars.

avatar (v) : The process of using an avatar. Usually "I avatar through...."

mind shrapnel : The pieces of multiple stories that drift in my head. Almost none of these lead to me finishing a story because they’re too busy trying to get me to start a new one instead.

plotkitten : Plotbunnies may breed fast, but plotkittens are more willful critters. They show up at your door either loudly demanding attention or mewing cutely. Or they slip in when you don’t notice and take up residence, rearranging the furniture to their own taste. Some impress you with their attractive, eccentric character, while others look at you with the wickedest eyes and promise you the most beautiful torment.... They have fangs and claws if they feel like using them. Any of them can leave you at any time.

skeleton : The initial story pieces, jotted down when I get the time. Often dialogue-rich, background detail-poor. Usually riddled with gaps.

gap : An inevitable side effect of jumping ahead in the story as inspiration hits instead of waiting for the next linear piece to come. (The jumping ahead is what makes me as prolific as I am.) Manifests in my in-progress manuscripts as empty white space between typed story spaces.

layer (n) : Writing piece that goes within an already existing bit that doesn’t have a gap. This can range from word choice changes to background detail to more dialogue bits. It puts flesh on the skeleton. The more time a story spends sitting as a work in progress on my hard drive, the better the odds that it’s been layered many times.

(Author’s note: I think of this process as being like the process of color photo printing as I came to understand it in my college Intro to Page Layout class. A color photo is actually printed in layers of red, yellow, cyan, and black, with the resulting colors all being combinations of those layered four. Of course, I could be wrong about the printing process, but this works to explain my fic writing process.)

sitting on it : The process of waiting however many days after completion of the finished draft to decide whether I want to add or revise anything in a story.

trainstorming : The process of getting story inspiration while commuting by subway. This happens a lot, since being in places where my mind has no choice but to wander and I have no access to a keyboard seems to aid my creative process. (I don't have any cute terms for when this happens in the shower or while driving my car. Or for when I get inspirations for sex scenes while I'm at work and don't dare write them. *sigh*)

whip and chair : used as in "I have to get out the whip and chair" and "I can see that this is a 'whip and chair' story." First used when describing "Wayward" in progress to friends.
It sounds kinky, but I'm actually adapting lion tamer methods. When the boys get difficult about actually getting to the sex I know is coming--whether it's by throwing writer's blocks at me or by bantering and teasing more and putting it off--I talk about getting out the whip and chair. Of course, the real joke is on me, since a lot of them like getting the whip.