Torchwood: some story recs...

[fajrdrako]

A few Torchwood story recs:

20 Things I must not do at Torchwood by flopsy_cotton. Funny.

Encounters on the Slow Road by aeshna_uk. A het PWP in which Jack Harkness has an encounter with Sarah Jane Smith. The things he does for Torchwood! A nicely characterized story.

I really can't stay by iamsab. I like creative approaches to the hand, and this is delightful - it makes Jack, the Doctor, and the hand an odd sort of love triangle, which is pulled off more smoothly than you'd expect. Clever and original.

Interstice by aibhinn. It was the first part of the story I most liked, about the passage of time in Jack's life and his relationship with his lovers. I thought the parallel in the second part was not entirely successful, but interesting.

The Night is Darker Now by lonelywalker. A well-written overview of Ianto's career at Tochwood. "There's a look in Jack's eyes... that thousand-yard stare that hinted at horrows."

Paramagnetic by fahye. Beautifully written.

A rose, by any other name by laurab1. A piece that works in the information we got about Jack's youth in "Captain Jack Harkness". Kudos to laurab1 for tackling that aspect.

Something by scifichicx. A poem by Ianto about Jack that really caught something of the right spirit.

Survial Instinct by order_of_chaos. A tiny snippet answering the question: What was Jack doing during The Christmas Invasion? Clever and chilling.

Time Has Told Me by autumn_whispers. Another tiny snippet playing on the parallel between Gwen and Rose, as seen through Jack's eyes. It was the writing style that captured me here.

Too Many Beginnings by toestastegood. Another snippet, another beautiful writing style, this time about Jack and Ianto.

Unboxed by keikokinn. A Jack/Ianto ficlet, good concept, nice style.

A Doctor Who story rec:

Lord of Time, King of Dreams by honorh. Rose/Doctor, a post-Doomsday fic. I usually carefully avoid them, but this one was inspired: a crossover with Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, in which the Time Lord needs the help of Dream to reach Rose. Great idea, great story.

Miscellaneous things:

Somnabulist by sadbhyl. A series of drabbles, of which I particularly liked the first: the subject of Jack in relation to the concept of "home" fascinates me. I know what I think Jack considers his home - it's a six-letter acronym.

Random Clocks by clarity_lore. Jack/Ianto. I think this story needed one more draft to really have punch, but it's a brilliant plot in which I couldn't see the twists and turns coming up. Conceptually inspired.

One Burning Bridge Too Far by fanfic_whore. A Jack/Jack story. Another story that is very cleverly plotted, this one examining what happened to Harkness after our Jack went through the rift in "Captain Jack Harkness". This might have been a brilliant story if the author hadn't written it at 1 am and if she'd done a few more drafts to polish it more. (I wish I could write like that at 1 am.) As it is - it's clever and entertaining. I hope she writes a sequel, as she hints she might.

Comments

[atropos-too.livejournal.com]

Hi, hope you don't mind me dropping in on your journal -
(and I'm going to be working through the list above!) -
but I wondered if you ever beta-ed?

I find myself writing a series of short Jack/Ianto vignettes, and I don't have a Torchwood beta. I have asked the comm, but I have had a couple of strange experiences as a result.

It's just that after our conversation yesterday (on the significance of Jack's "watch") I get the feeling we are on the same wavelength, and I'd appreciate your comments on my stories, however brief.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

hope you don't mind me dropping in on your journal

Course not, I'm delighted, and welcome!

but I wondered if you ever beta-ed?

I do. I tend to do fairly detailed beta-ing, actually, which isn't to everyone's taste - and to be ruthlessly honest about it - though (I hope) kind. I am a strong believer in the value of rewriting and editing and I think a beta should be as helpful as possible. I recently read a piece of Torchwood fanfic from someone who thanked six beta-readers and I thought "How did she get six beta-readers, that's fantastic!" and then read the story and saw that not one of the six had pointed out the difference between it's and its and the many times she'd got that wrong....

Okay, so I don't like a sloppy story!

If I haven't scared you off, I'd be delighted to beta-read for you, and I agree about wavelength. So - do send you stories! I'd be delighted to beta-read for you.