User Profile

My name is Ivy, and I'm a college student. I enjoy writing, both fanfiction and regular fiction, and I try to do poetry when I'm in the mood, though it doesn't always turn out so well (then again, who is to say that they're truly a poet? That's like saying you're truly a novelist; that's for the public and, for lack of a better word, intelligentsia to decide, not the writers themselves).


I am an accredited beta with Perfect Imagination. However, I am unfortunately no longer accepting beta requests because my schedule will not allow it. I really appreciate the requests I have received, and I hope that my critiques were helpful!

I have included here an enormous amount of likes and dislikes. Some of them are humorous, others are not, but all of them are true.

Other information that I feel is important to readers of my work:

I take great care in making all the facts line up, especially when attempting something that could easily go into AU (Alternate Universe) territory, pardon the pun. Thus far, no one has accused my story Winterstar of being AU, which makes me very happy, because let me assure you that it is not AU in any way. (Darkwing731, NO TALKEE. BAD CHILD.)

I enjoy taking clichéd plots and making them into decent stories; it is one of the biggest challenges as a fanfiction writer. Even harder is to make an OC that the majority of people actually like, or to make them see your OC the same way that you do. I hope I am succeeding in that challenge.

I do not believe in Marauder (MWPP) fics that do not include Wormtail/Peter Pettigrew. That's just stupid. I'm sorry, and believe me, I share your anger toward Peter, but insofar as the story is "real", Peter was only a human being, and at the time he was just an ordinary young man (a bit too ordinary, his major fault) who didn't deal well with what life threw at him. In fact, to quote an artist from Elfwood (a wonderful site), "James and Sirius were the real jerks back then!". Besides, if you're going to write a Marauders fic simply for the purpose of showcasing how OMG HAWT James and Sirius and Remus are, I'm sorry, but I don't particularly want to read it, especially if they have any hair and eye colors other than the following: Dark hair and hazel eyes (James), brown hair and brown/gray/gold eyes (Remus; as far as I know JKR didn't specify), and dark hair/gray/grey eyes (Sirius). Canon is canon. I do enjoy the occasional AU fic ("Prongs Rides Again" is absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend it), but characters should never, EVER be altered. Plots, I suppose. Characters, NO.

I appreciate reviews that help me become a better writer (and, of course, nice comments are always good...winks), and I don't mind if you have negative things to say--I'm nowhere near being a great writer--but please tell me WHY my writing is bad, if you feel the need to say something negative. Flames will be mocked. I'm too lazy to even delete them, and will probably hold onto them to show the world that the person flames others.

I think that's enough about my writing style...if you're still reading, I'm flattered. grins I feel that the purpose of this site is to let off creative energy, of course, but also to help others improve their writing style. I'm here for both reasons. I hope you are too. Happy writing!

~Ivy~

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Favorite ships:

HARRY POTTER

DM/HG, HP/GW, RW/HG, LM/NB, SB/HG (if done properly, and ONLY if back in time), SB/OC

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Eric/Christine, sometimes Raoul/Christine if EC or flashbacks inserted (to "justify" her not loving Eric), E/OC

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

WT/ES, Norrington/OC (sometimes), JS/OC, JS/ES (partially; always ends WT/ES)

LORD OF THE RINGS

LG/OC, Aragorn/OC (ending in tragedy because I don't really believe in going out of canon)

LABYRINTH

JS, of course

PATRIOT

WT/OC

VAN HELSING

VD/OC, VH/AV, VH/OC, VD/brides (when they met etc.)

Favorite fics to write:

Humor/parodies, drama, poems


WARNING: Please do not take offense to any of the following; it's my opinions as a writer.

First of all, I'll just say that I feel comfortable enough with my work to put it up in front of thousands of eyes, but I know it's nowhere near perfect (I wish) so if you have any comments/criticisms/suggestions/burning answer-me-now questions/problems/etc. OTHER than reviews (which I love and thanks much!), PLEASE CONTACT ME (click on my email link above) and I will do my best to get back to you and/or fix the situation! Note: if any of the "burning questions" etc. will interfere with the plot of a story, I will tell you so in the reply email and you may be assured (always wanted to say that lol) that they WILL be answered somewhere in the remainder of the story. Thanks very much!

Things I like:

Well-written parodies

Back stories that fit within the canon and don't disrupt it in any way ("invisible" stories, i.e. stories that fit seamlessly into the often complicated background of the canon)

Fics that attempt to tie up loose ends while remaining in character and true to the canon

Well-written Harry Potter romances (in which sex is NOT the main focus of the story)

Original plots and/or fresh perspectives on something, especially new theories that can be backed up

People using cliché plots as a challenge and creating NON-cliche, wonderful fics (my current goal)

Suggestions and/or challenges (especially the latter)

The Harry Potter Fanfiction List: The Harry Potter Fanfiction List, or What Not To Do When Writing Harry Potter Fanfiction. Click on "Harry Potter fanfic rules/guidelines"; it's pretty far down the page.

Things I dislike:

OOC (unless there's a good cause, such as the character hallucinating or very upset, etc.)

Slash (I'm not opposed to being gay, I just think it's annoying that people write slash about straight characters. See above about OOC-ness)

Fics that insult my and other readers' intelligence (badfics, fics written with poor grammar and spelling, etc.)

No paragraphing (onelongthingthatlookslikethisandyoucan'treaditbecauseallthesentencesarecrammedtogether)

Rewriting the movie/book/show/etc. word for word with your own "witty and original" narration etc. put in; do your own plot, please, or if not, then justify why you are copying (i.e. what it adds to your fic). We don't need to read it otherwise; the real author did a better job.

Mary Sues in general (unless it's a parody), and please, PLEASE do NOT use modern "90's" names like Nikki or Asha or something for your Marauderfics; they didn't generally name people Sirena or in the 1970 's (or even today). It's just not right.

Note: I do not mind if you have a character with perfect looks/powers/is intelligent/etc. There are people like that in real life; it is possible to be beautiful/handsome, intelligent, and powerful/successful. It is when characters act OOC around your OC that I get mad.

"Sugar high" fics. These are meant to be funny ONLY during the sugar high itself; generally other people see them as random nonsense. The same applies to "I was tired and wrote this at 1 AM". NOTE: I often write late at night, and some of my fics probably carry this disclaimer, as well as the sugar high one; however, this does NOT mean that I would knowingly put up a crappy fic. My caffiene/late-night/sugar-high fics have been re-read in a normal state of mind before posting, and if they are bad, they are deleted. If you know it's crap, don't post it. Saying that it's bad because of whatever lame excuse doesn't make it any less painful to read. Again, this is probably one of the opinions people find offensive...I'm not trying to be confrontational, but please know that people don't want to read those fics.

"OMG I love this please update soon!" While I do appreciate the fact that you want me to update, I would prefer to hear what you think about my writing, not just a demand for the next chapter.

The word "lowly" instead of "in a low voice". "Lowly" means "peasant-like" or "common", NOT "in a low tone/voice", as many authors seem to use it (including, to my great surprise, some really good ones!). Example: "'It's okay', he said lowly, wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder." NO NO NO! BAD! There are some other questionable words (as to whether or not to add "-ly" to the ends of them) but this word is DEFINITELY bad to use...PLEASE don't! Or prepare to be flamed! (The same goes for "may"..."He looked at the old woman's retreating figure. He may have been wrong about her being weak, he thought." It should be "He MIGHT have been wrong...". "May" is present-tense, "might" is the correct usage for past tense.)

Fics that take the original plot, change a few things (badly disguised, by the way), and attempt to pass it off as a "sequel" or other such nonsense (The Da Vinci Code section has a lot of these). [Revised July 13, 2006: Dan Brown's Angels and Demons does the same thing, so feel free to do this with Da Vinci Code fics, haha, but nothing else please.]

People misreading things (direct text/quote from HP forum):

"James was from the Slytherin House here are my supporting details: 1) James and Sirius Black were best freinds. This means that most likely they were in the same house. 2) In the first book Hagrid said that all wisards that went bad were from the Slytherin house. This was before it was known that Black was framed." (Conor Tylor) http://www.harrypotterfacts.com/_speculation_sirius5.htm Please, PLEASE understand that when Hagrid says that "There wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't from Slytherin" he was exaggerating. Otherwise Peter would also have been a Slytherin, and...well...here, look at this link: http://so-now-im-a-freak.com/harry/archives/00000058.html

And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE learn to spell, for God’s sake!

Things I will NOT tolerate:

Baseless flaming--if you think it sucks, tell me why and justify it. I will try to correct the problem (historical inaccuracies, for example).

Getting the facts wrong. If you're not sure, don't just put a disclaimer; go look it up, whether it is in the book or on the official website. I am sick and tired of people saying that Aleera was the first bride of Dracula (the order is Verona, Marishka, Aleera, as it says on the Van Helsing website).

That's all, folks!

~Ivy~

So now that I’ve terrified everyone...hahaha, I’m actually fairly laid-back about everything. I just don’t like it when people treat writing as less than it should be. I’m waiting to hear from you!

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