Potions Master Comes to the Rescue

[therealsnape]

Half the flist is ailing at the moment - colds, mostly. Various painful body parts. Itches. Nasty stuff, all of it. Which is why your personal potions brewer concocted a little remedy for you. No fear, it tastes good.

First, two recs for stories I haven't seen rec'ced before on the flist. That gives you something new to read (except in one case, but then, my dear Shiv, it gives you the pleasure of being rec'ced).

Anonymous in rarepair_shorts wrote The Wizard and the Warlock.
Gilderoy decides to turn his hand to literary fiction. Well, don't we all? The way he tackles it and his musings on what makes a story work should be an inspiration for all of us. Plus, he writes the best Mary Sue I've ever seen. And his choice of an antagonist is exquisite.

shiv5468 wrote Cathexis.
Crookshanks tells his tale brilliantly. The interaction between him and Severus's cat (who shall remain anonymous for now) is delightful. An absolute joy from start to finish, for every cat-lover, every banter-lover, and everyone who enjoys beautiful writing.

Then woldy put up a meme about the first lines of her fics. I thought it might make a nice addition to my 2010, Fictionally post of yesterday, so I copied mine, and to my utter surprise I found that I, waffler extraordinaire, am remarkably curt when in comes to drawing you into a story.


Irma always thought about Saturday Night with capitals. An Ordinary Saturday

The Hogwarts music room. Pleasures
And the rest of the opening is not much longer: A harp, piles of music sheets and scores. Two wing chairs in front of a fire-place. A grand piano. On it, a cat, languorously stretched out. It contemplated the nature of pleasure.

“Come on,” Rolanda Hooch muttered fervently. An Unexpected Outing

Irma had always missed books. By the Book

“Enter!” The White Team Versus Orange

Muriel Weasley carefully smoothed the soft satin, then folded the bonds loosely so as not to leave ugly creases. A Time and a Place

Pomona Sprout looked at the tidy front garden. Fighting the Good Fight

In the beginning, Heaven was perfect. Curtain

“A coffee, black, half a lump of sugar. They Talk, You Know

Quills, black ink, green ink, parchment, recipe book. Procrastination

Now, dear sick ward, pour yourself a beverage of choice, and if you want a hot one, put something strong on the side. Alcohol (when not evaporated from heat) kills germs. And Calvados should go towards your one-of-five fruit and veg a day, since it's made of apples.

And then, have a good time with those two lovely stories. I do hope it makes you feel better.

Comments

[woldy]

You are curt! It's hard to have a more concise first line than the one for The White Team Versus Orange.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

I was so surprised myself! Thanks for putting up the meme, it was the most amazing fun.

[atdelphi.livejournal.com]

Excellent first lines, all of them. In fanfiction, I like being dropped straight in with something short and snappy. It's an interesting meme—I think I'll steal it for when I finally do my 2010 round-up.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

Feel free; I'd love to see yours!

[tetleythesecond]

Thank you for the recs; they sound great.

Interesting glimpse at your opening lines! All concise, but there's quite a bit of variety there. And you play your strengths: dialogue and concise, witty lines.

May steal that meme, although I have a feeling that I'm vastly more uniform in my openings.

[therealsnape.livejournal.com]

I hope the recs help, Miss Creevey-wise. And I'd love to see your version of this.

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

A rec is always welcome.

I shall have to try the meme. I like a punchy opening line myself

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Such a fun meme. Your lines are just as tetleythesecond says: varied, but sharing wit and concision.

Thanks for the recs.

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about all the patients and am sending as many good healing and getting-well-soon-vibes as I can fit into the Interwebs to anybody still in need for them!

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Um... can you believe it, I messed up my opened tabs so much that I didn't realise your first line meme was on this entry as well? *looks extremely sheepish*
Anyway, I admire your concise story openings. For me, they always work as being very inviting! ;o) The ones you listed here nearly make a story of their own, if one probably shuffles them around a little bit.