Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
Reviews
Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) pazed 2011-08-14
That was a truly delightful episode. Oliver's involvement and Minerva's internal dialogue were both excellent inclusions. I've enjoyed the somewhat random excursions in this story - though it might seem less so (random that is) in a straight read through.
Thanks for writing. Cheers ...pLet's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) longreachjones 2011-08-14
That was excellent, I could almost picture Minerva standing there trying desperately not make any sign of amusement, possibly with an eye-twitch or 2.Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) harry31j97 2011-08-16
Your writing is good, but i'd like you to write not only about peripheral characters but also how their behaviour affects central canon characters, so far you've written just 2-3 chapters out of 50. Also in peripheral characters you should devote some time to develope villains too, coz hero is no hero untill villain is worth something. The way you're writing it's good to read of course, but in terms of overall story, the plot doesn't progress without protagonist & antagonist.Author's response
Thank you!
I am keenly aware of the lack of obvious, active antagonists and am unhappy about it. Their absence so far is a planning error -- I kind of backed myself into a position where I couldn't just toss them in as quickly and easily as I had assumed I could, largely because I _utterly_ misjudged how many words it would take for me to get to various points in the story. At the outset I would have thought that, by 200k words, I would have gotten all four time-travelers in and gotten through the end of the 91-92 school year, at a minimum. That totally didn't go as planned. :P So the short response is "argh! I know, I know!" At this rate you will all identify the first real villain at the 400k word mark (well, hopefully not).
That said, just because readers _like_ a character doesn't mean _I_ think they're a protagonist, or on the side of Good and Light or whatever, or that I think their actions successfully help the side of Good and Light or whatever.
As to the central/peripheral thing, that might be a fundamental property of the story, depending on what you meant. For me, "central canon characters" means (so far) Tonks, Dumbledore, and _for this year only_, Charlie. The sidelining of main characters from the books is one of the primary conceits of the story I'm trying to write -- I am deliberately _resisting_ the temptation to check in more often with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and so on, because this is _not_ their story. Some reviewer said something to the effect of that making it less like fanfiction and more like a borrowed universe, which is accurate and fair, but also something I'm doing on purpose. You are totally allowed to not enjoy that!
Of course, I have full confidence that, since Harry and his friends are used to getting the important roles, they will eventually grow pushy enough to force me to pay more attention to them. Heck, I never intended to spend so much time on Dumbledore -- he's a good example of a "pushy" character. :P
Again, thank you -- I appreciate reviews, even ones reminding me of things I already feel guilty about!Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) harry31j97 2011-08-16
Your writing is good, but i'd like you to write not only about peripheral characters but also how their behaviour affects central canon characters, so far you've written just 2-3 chapters out of 50. Also in peripheral characters you should devote some time to develope villains too, coz hero is no hero untill villain is worth something. The way you're writing it's good to read of course, but in terms of overall story, the plot doesn't progress without protagonist & antagonist.Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) hunterw 2011-08-20
So far, these vignettes are the best part about the story, because the plot is taking so long to materialize. But, if you rushed the plot, we'd miss all this awesome lesser-known-character development. The nice thing about fan-fiction is that there is no word limit, and I can carry 4000000 words on my iPhone as easily as I can carry 40000. This is good but dangerous. Connected with this is the fact that, for better AND worse, there is no Editor. No one to force you to cut that charming scene that doesn't move the plot forward fast enough to hit your page limit, but also no one to tell you to speed it up already. So I guess you have to rely on us. Well, my vote is to keep the current pace, and quality of writing. I LIKE slowly getting to know these characters, especially when they are as well written as they are in your story. Just my 2 cents (well, maybe more like 2000 cents... this comment has run on a bit...)Author's response
Thank you!
One of the rules for myself that I'm trying to stick to is "This is not a novel." I feel a lot of pressure to make it seem like one, though -- mostly from myself -- even though my _intent_ is to fully exploit the freedom I have. (I think the closest analogy in terms of narrative structure might be a webcomic, but even then.)
I _really_ appreciate the feedback and reassurance!
Maybe I should put a note right at the very beginning -- "THIS IS NOT A NOVEL." :P
Again, thank you!Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) Branwyn 2011-08-22
Question? As well as review, which is summed up in one word: "Smashing!" The question is, do reviews come through as updates? I haven't been able to find the answer to that question anywhere within the site FAQ.
Author's response
Thank you!!!
As to your question, I'm not precisely sure what you mean, so I'll guess!
Whether or not reviews of your stories get emailed to you is a setting somewhere; I have that turned on.
New reviews do not change the update time, nor do they trigger story alerts the way new chapters do.
Did I manage to hit your question by shooting in the dark? :)Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) Branwyn 2011-08-27
No, you hit it right on the head, actually. I've so far received 4 update notifications, but there are no new chapters showing. Sooo if there are new chapters...where are they?Author's response
New theory -- it is actually sending out alerts every time I fix a typo in an earlier chapter. That's about the same number of chapters I have fixed things in since your last note.
Do they have links to the specific chapter, or just to the newest one?Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) in-ficwad 2011-09-11
Great story so far. A refreshing change and I'm glad I found it.
It is surprising that the story is so interesting with the decided lack of main characters. I do wonder how much of this happened because of the time travel and how much just happened and we didn't know about it.
Please continue.Author's response
Thank you! I think once I have written another 100-200k words, it will feel more like there are some main characters. Although the canon main characters will always be peripheral to the story, just as part of the rules I have set for myself to make the story interesting.
Which is original, which is because of changes: in my mind there's a little of both. Stories set in this year have to deal with some puzzles like when Quirrel's sabbatical ended, and when Charlie stopped playing quidditch (and thus leaving Oliver whining to Harry the next year about it, which fans argue about on the Internet). The time travelers will often not be in a position to know which is which either, so it will never be revealed to the reader in-story in those cases.Let's Try That Again, Shall We?
(#) Cho_Fleur_Nymphadora 2012-04-28
A fairy playing Quidditch. LOL. I loved it! And I love how you expand upon established canon facts about this Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Brilliant.
As for the two-part Dumbledore chapter...I enjoyed that one too. All the positions that Dumbledore has are effectively part-time jobs. I doubt that those 3 positions add up to one full-time job. And yet... He has to keep up with all the information flow that is involved with all three positions. And since Dumbledore is such a control freak, he wants to do it all himself. Hence his need of a timeturner, hahaha.
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