Because Pugs are lovely creatures...

[lightofdaye]

So In my last post, I mentioned the fanfic tradition of taking the negative descriptions of characters and twisting them so they're actually proof of said character's gorgeousness. For your amusement here's my attempt to have Harry revise his opinion of Pansy Parkinson, in chapter 4 of my very first fanfic from 2010

Harry, while much younger and in company of Ron, had remarked that Pansy had a face like a pug; a kind of dog which his Aunt Marge had bred and as unkind as those words had been; he could see what he had meant but it was mainly due to Pansy’s slightly unfortunate nose and her then rounded young face. Now she had grown older, her face had grown longer and sharper and so the effect was not the same. Had Harry wanted to justify the comments to himself now, in light of his current feelings about Pansy he would mention that Pansy had some of the positive aspects associated with the breed as well, to whit: a pair of round beautiful eyes that were intensely expressive when she wanted them to be

While looking this up I realised the very first line of the first chapter of this fic was ripped directly from the movie Stranger Than Fiction, I'm not sure I've got more original since. Remember kids copying from one source is plagiarism, copying from many sources is research!

Anyone got any old... Gems to share with the class? XD

Comments

[ely-baby.livejournal.com]

I saw this last night, but was too tired to reply, BUT I wanted to say that before I started to write my very long Pansy-centred series, I actually googled "pug nosed girl" (to try to understand visually what that meant exactly) and to be quite honest the pictures that came up were very different one from the other (nose-wise), but I thought the girls were all very beautiful. (Carey Mulligan keeps popping up as soon as you write "pug", and I do believe she's gorgeous.) So, I know that Harry didn't mean that as a compliment, but I can't see anything wrong with having a "pug nose". (That said "pugs" are probably one of the very few dog races that I really dislike. IMHO, they are annoying and ugly, and they're drool-machines.)

When I write about a character though, I really don't write that much about physical appearance, unless the other character is focusing their attention on a certain detail. And you know I love to write the next-gen so so so much, so I usually tend to add a bit of age-related physical details to Harry and his generation (I bet Ron has a bit of Butterbeer belly after he quits the Aurors), but I'm more focused on dialogue and feelings most of the time.

Also, OMG! Your first story is from 2010?! I feel so freaking old. u_u I am about to turn 30 (*gasps*), but you make me feel even older. My first story is from 2003 and it's definitely nothing I'd like to share now - and that terrible piece of writing got me more comments than all of my other stories! Even the ones I'm so proud of! I still can't believe it. I'd take it down - and with it all my stories on FFN, if I didn't want to show people my progress. That's the only reason why they're still up.

Happy Wednesday!! :D xx

[lightofdaye]

taha! I'm not a dog person at all, so I wouldn't know.

At the risk of the stereotyping isn't that a male/female thing? We men go in for more physical descriptions and women go in for more feelings and stuff.

ha. my first smut!fic anyway. Previous fanfic was on forums and things and I'm certainly not looking for it. I didn't start writing smut fic till I bored and out-of-school and didn't like job hunting. I'm not that young. I'm 27 in a month.

[ely-baby.livejournal.com]

I'm a cat person! :D

Ooooh! I didn't mean to sound clever, I didn't know that men prefer physical descriptions over feelings. And that's really interesting to know.

Oh, my first smutfic was back in... *goes to check Restricted Section* 2008. I didn't start writing smut until... I don't even know what prompted me to write smut, it just kind of happened. And you're three years younger than me, you'll always be young in my head. (Oh you're my sister's age, just noticed!) 27 in a month, are you a Taurus? I am! :D xxxx

[lightofdaye]

Well you accidentally sounded clever. It's a thing people say, I don't know how true it is.

Yes I am a taurus! And if you're three years older than me you're about my sisters age.

[ely-baby.livejournal.com]

Yes I am a taurus! And if you're three years older than me you're about my sisters age.

Well, how about that! This makes me giggle and I don't even know why! :D xx

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, you are a brave soul! XD No way I'm dragging out the garbage I wrote back in 2004.

[lightofdaye]

Chicken! :P

I'm sure its lovely fluffy stuff. XD