Unsuccessfully avoiding research

Silbrith is the Research Queen in our writing duo. She looks into locations, art, legends, foods, animals, and even the birds and the bees. That's not a euphemism. She researches literal birds and bees -- as shown in her subplot about honeybees. If you'd asked me five years ago, I'd have told you that doing research was low on my list of priorities. My goals were centered around getting into practice writing stories. I wanted to gain confidence and to hone my skills. I even wanted to share knowledge I already had with my readers. For instance, I wanted to shine a light on what grieving is like, and I thought I could provide insight into the bureaucracy of White Collar based on my own professional experience.

I absolutely was not in this for the research.

Prelude to The Musicians

My new Caffrey Conversation story The Musicians takes place in October 2005 after the events in Night Howls on the Hudson and Harlequin's Shadow.

Capturing a character's voice

This year for the AO3 Chocolate Box exchange I'm writing in a fandom that's new to me, and that means I'm obsessing about getting the characters' "voice" right. It takes me back to the days I started writing the Caffrey Conversation stories, and how I tried to make my version of the characters sound recognizable.

Six-Crossed Knot: Backdrop to Unpathed Waters

Unpathed Waters is the fifth story in Six-Crossed Knot, a series based on the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. The story is set in the early summer of 1591. Diana and Matthew will soon return to the 21st century, leaving their Elizabethan friends behind. During my previous fic, Shadow's Dream, Diana and Matthew alluded to their upcoming departure. Now it's only a week away.

Identifying with Neal Caffrey

Until recently I thought the only time I could identify with Neal Caffrey was when I changed jobs. Joining a new team, learning new vocabularies and processes -- these brought me back to the pilot episode of White Collar and to the first stories of the Caffrey Conversation AU. Otherwise, what could I possibly have in common with a slick con artist like Neal?

More than I thought.

Messages to Azathoth: Appearances Can Deceive

In Caffrey Conversation, Neal is all too familiar with psychological manipulation. Rolf Mansfeld used advanced virtual reality technology in an attempt to brainwash him. Rolf knows that the White Collar team is aware Neal was subjected to the procedure, but he believes they are unaware of what memories were planted in his subconscious. In Lion's Lair, the White Collar team employs some mind control techniques of their own.

The Cars of Caffrey Conversation

In the White Collar television series, Peter and Neal often had conversations in Peter's car. The writers used that setting to isolate the main characters from the rest of the world, giving them opportunities to say things they might not mention in front of others. The pilot had memorable car scenes, including Neal hot wiring a vehicle in his prison escape, Neal pretending to be a valet to steal a car, and a conversation in Peter's car where they discuss his lack of ideas for an anniversary gift for Elizabeth. So when I wrote the first story in the Caffrey Conversation series and wanted to capture the feel of the show, I used cars.

Messages to Azathoth: Secret Codes

In an earlier post, I'd written about the appeal that Renaissance philosopher Heinrich Agrippa has for Rolf Mansfeld, aka Azathoth. In my post Azathoth, Meet Agrippa, I discussed Agrippa's interest in the occult. In Lion's Lair, another shared interest is spotlighted—codes.