The Ondarian Virus Notes

[tarotgal]

Here are my notes on the fic. For those of you who might find it amusing to see what I started with as an outline and what each part became based off them.

1- Leaving Ondari
2- In ship, on the way home, bad fever
3- Layover in space station
4- Examination with Tala where he explains 30 days
5- Working on not working
6- Backrub & stuffiness
7- Qui-Gon leaves for the first time, Obi's clingy
8- Qui comes home to find Obi-Wan feverish and fainting
9- Normal sponge bath
10-2 weeks and no sex, Obi helps Qui out
11-Tries to do more work/catch up on correspondances- doesn't turn out too well
12-Obi POV- watching Qui work and wishing he could help
13-Qui POV- wishing he could help more but trying to work
14-Putting on cream, sexy massage
15-Halfway mark- Qui brings presents (ice cream)
16-Qui & Tala talk over Obi w/ a thermometer in his mouth during halfway check-up
17-Relaxing report
18-Relapse during the day
19-Obi watching Qui do katas (stifles his sneezes a bit so he won't disturb)
20-Just plain having a bad day, looking out of the window longingly
21-Shower- warm towel, laundry day
22-Bored from being inside
23-Qui finds Obi masturbating
24-Nose lotion, extra sneezy morning- viscous sneezes
25-Shower sex, steam treatment (finds Qui masturbating- let me take care of you reprise)
26-Watching Obi sleep, Qui senses when he wakes and is ready with tissues
27-Sexy sponge bath
28-Obi gets too demanding, Qui tries to remain calm (hot water bottle's too cold)
29-Obi feels better and tries to sneak out, Qui-Gon pulls out the handcuffs
30-Last check-up from Tala
31-Can finally go out- comes back in again to be with Qui


My favorite part was definitely 21. The extra sneeziness and the warm towel and snuggling. Mmmph! I loved writing that :-)
I really liked part 25, too, though. The other shower scene. Sort of surprised myself with it in a few ways. Yummy naughty Jedi.
And part 26 has a special place in my heart. I wrote it because I like men sleeping. I find them adorable and vulnerable and VERY sexy. But as I was writing it, I really didn't know where the heck it was going. A few hours from midnight I sort of figured out how I would end it, but still couldn't come up with an over-all POINT to the chapter. Then, about 20 minutes before I posted it, as I was struggling to get the ending written, I suddenly realized how to end it and how to tie in all the stuff I'd written at the beginning. Sometimes I write things with no idea WHY I'm writing them, and suddenly everything came together at the end as I was rushing to get it done. So I started writing the ending and when I got to the last paragraph- which I rewote five times- I started crying. I VERY rarely make myself cry but the foreshadowing with Qui-Gon's death and the wording... I cried. So that spot definitely has a special place in my heart.

Least favorite part was definitely #30. Originally I had a blank spot at #28 (with 28 where 29 is now and 29 where 30 is now) but I figured I needed Tala to do a final check-up. But it really didn't go as well as I'd have hoped. Maybe a little of my sadness at finishing the fic showed through? I don't know. But I'm still not completely happy with it.

On a whole, I really enjoyed the experience and am not planning to write another part-a-day fic for a LONG time. Though maybe next October... *G* I learned a LOT about trusting my first instincts and thinking several days ahead in my writings. I loved dropping hints and tying together sections I'd not even started. I loved getting ideas days in advance while writing the daily section. And I learned how to deal with the stress of daily fic guidelines. I'd start a section before bed and then work on it when I got home from my job, plowing through the needed details but trying to get the magic right on the first try as there was little-to-no time to edit. I'm really surprised I didn't lose my enthusiasm halfway through. And I was tempted to stop completely several times. I even have a 'I'm sorry' letter written out for after part 10. But I'm really glad I pushed myself and actually got it done. One part a day before midnight every single day. For someone who's depressed about not finishing enough stories, that constant deadline every day thing really helped me feel productive. It was also nice to concentrate on just one fic at a time. I didn't have to worry about giving attention to all my other fics for once. I could just write down the bunny ideas and push them aside. That was rather nice.

In all, I'm glad I did it, though I do feel badly for taking up so much list-time with it. I only hope my other long multi-parters (namely Under House Arrest and Too Many Cooks) could turn out so well at the end. I definitely don't want to give up on either of those :-)
And I've already started a sick!Tala story set during day 20. Though Gravi and the archive are my next fannish priorities :-)

Thanks again for putting up with the long, slowly-posted fic! I was worried at the beginning that people would kill me for taking so long to finish it. But considering I take a long time to finish most of my stories... :-) I'm just glad I COULD finish this one. Thanks for all the great fb along the way!

Comments

[smokeycat-430.livejournal.com]

First of all congrats on finishing your wonderful saga...I need to get down to reviewing someday...That being said: OMG, you are so organized! I've been thinking about writing a multiple-part fic but I don't think I could ever bring myself to writing every part down in a list like you, know matter how helpful it would be in the long run. Perhaps if I actually had time I could at least try...For now I just have it all in my head. You and your fics are seriously amazing.

[tarotgal]

And first, thank you much for the congrats! *hugs* I appreciate the sentiment.

Me, organized? Not usually, no! This is the 3rd time I've ever actually written out even this much of an outline (let alone so far in advance, in the cases of most of the parts). Even some of my novels are only partly outlined. Usually I just get an idea in my head and write. No notes or anything. Usually I'll have some idea of what will happen or how a fic will end, but I never write it out; just like you said, it's all in my head, too. And sometimes I just make it up and see where it goes as I write it out. So this was definitely something much different. I usually hate making outlines, but I wanted to be sure to have something planned for each day... and it worked nicely that way because then I could drop hints and build towards things, etc. It was helpful... I just don't plan on doing it again unless the situation calls for it (I do have a list of possibilities for 'Too Many Cooks' but just a list of words, no order or anything). This was definitely a special occasion... which is why I wanted to share the pretty list *pets*. I may never see myself write another one like it again! LOL! It was definitely a fun change, though :-)

[a4o.livejournal.com]

Congratulations !

I'm so proud of you ! It was a huge project and I'm sure a lot of poeple wouldn't have gone through with it. Keep challenging yourself like that !

[iff]

I didn't comment during the month because...well...I'm a bad, bad person. I really did love reading the fic, and I'm amazed (as someone who has never been able to keep going for a whole week on a fic, much less a month!) that you were able to keep it going so well the whole time. I loved seeing Obi well enough to enjoy his time alone with Qui, and I loved seeing him so ill and Qui taking such good care of him. I'm just sad that it's over. But thank you for putting so much effort in to this. It was so wonderful getting to read each chapter as my bedtime story each night. Thank you again and again and again!