Author's Notes for "Byrd's-Eye View"
Sep. 27th, 2009 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starwatcher_fic.
This story was another Sentinel Secrets challenge. The prompt was -- This time around we get to hear comments from the MC peanut gallery. What do they think of Jim and Blair? Is there something going on between them? Is someone not happy with the pairing? What has Blair done to impress them?
Right away I knew what I wanted to write, but I was caught up in school IEP meetings and trying to pack some stuff to move my house; I didn't have time to start writing until a week before deadline, and I turned it in with just hours to spare.
Things took even longer because I had to trash my beginning and start over; the OC wasn't happy with my plans for her. So "understanding sweetness" turned into "irritated snark" and, I think, led to a better story.
I originally had planned Ms. Byrd to be of Irish extraction, but I couldn't find Irish Gaelic words for the terms I wanted. I simply used an online translator dictionary, and found words for one concept but not the other in both Irish Gaelic and Welsh Gaelic (or was it Scots? It's been a while.) Only in the Manx Gaelic dictionary was I able to find a term for both concepts. I have no idea if those words are even accurate; take them with a grain of salt. A friend was excited that another culture had words for 'sentinel' and 'companion'; that must mean that beliefs in sentinels were once part of tribal traditions. Uh, no. Let's not forget that The Sentinel was a TV show, and that English also has words for 'sentinel' and 'companion' without believing in individuals with five heightened senses. (Except for those of us who know the truth, of course...)
As always, I find it very interesting how the same prompt can lead to such different stories. There were only three other than mine, this time, but each is a lot of fun. If you haven't seen them, here are the links --
Speculation, by Tommyboybbi
In the Eye of the Beholder, by Earth2Skye
Holy Grail, by Snycock
.
This story was another Sentinel Secrets challenge. The prompt was -- This time around we get to hear comments from the MC peanut gallery. What do they think of Jim and Blair? Is there something going on between them? Is someone not happy with the pairing? What has Blair done to impress them?
Right away I knew what I wanted to write, but I was caught up in school IEP meetings and trying to pack some stuff to move my house; I didn't have time to start writing until a week before deadline, and I turned it in with just hours to spare.
Things took even longer because I had to trash my beginning and start over; the OC wasn't happy with my plans for her. So "understanding sweetness" turned into "irritated snark" and, I think, led to a better story.
I originally had planned Ms. Byrd to be of Irish extraction, but I couldn't find Irish Gaelic words for the terms I wanted. I simply used an online translator dictionary, and found words for one concept but not the other in both Irish Gaelic and Welsh Gaelic (or was it Scots? It's been a while.) Only in the Manx Gaelic dictionary was I able to find a term for both concepts. I have no idea if those words are even accurate; take them with a grain of salt. A friend was excited that another culture had words for 'sentinel' and 'companion'; that must mean that beliefs in sentinels were once part of tribal traditions. Uh, no. Let's not forget that The Sentinel was a TV show, and that English also has words for 'sentinel' and 'companion' without believing in individuals with five heightened senses. (Except for those of us who know the truth, of course...)
As always, I find it very interesting how the same prompt can lead to such different stories. There were only three other than mine, this time, but each is a lot of fun. If you haven't seen them, here are the links --
Speculation, by Tommyboybbi
In the Eye of the Beholder, by Earth2Skye
Holy Grail, by Snycock
.