Hi, here's the SNAPEWEEK FANFIC CHALLENGE feedback thread. Feel free to leave your comments here.

Have fun!!

Clara - Witchmom )O(

What a wonderful start, Clara! I loved it! I think it started it out nicely; nothing too dark for his birthday fanfiction! I've left my bit, and I hope it might spark a few ideas in the minds of fellow Snape addicts.

I've left him Potion's Master, and I hope that's okay with everyone.

Thanks for starting it, Clara!

I'm going to comment on everyone's fan fic they have posted, but can't say loads (I have been told to do the washing up *groans*)
So here it goes. . .

~witchmom~
Your fan fic was both believeable and fantasic, good pace and descriptions. I loved it!

~passerby~
Your fan fic was fantasic also, again the pace was excellent it this and again very good descriptions, especially of the box. I loved it!

~writin'is4me~
Your fan fic is fantasic also and the pace and the descriptions of his actions were really good. I loved it!

~EliasOsiris~
Intense very intense, excellent descriptions, what Snape says sounds like him! I loved it!

Well done everyone! They all were very good. . .no wait excellent! I could picture every second because all of them were very well written. . .I wonder who wil carry it on certainly not me, my writing isn't at your lot standards. Well done again everyone!

I must confess I have been hit by your talents. All my admiration, all my praise!! A huge thank you to EliasOsiris, whose fics I'll read right now, and whose style is really unique! C'mon, don't stop adding comments!!

Here I quickly comment again. . .

~witchmom~
Another great post! Again very good descriptions.


Well said witchmom, clearly there are a lot of talented writiers out there and I'm sure they will are be pleased to hear that especially writin'is4me because of your name
I've had I go now of writing it now and it's really fun so. . .
Keep it up everyone!

Oh my goodness, guys, this fic is pretty awesome so far! I'm really intrigued!! I'm dying to add a bit myself, but I have 17 pages of posts to catch up on and some PM's to reply to tonight, so I really don't have much time... Perhaps I'll make time if I can skim those 17 pages *very* quickly

Anyway, absolutely wonderful beginning! There's so much to play with here, so much potential...though a rather wicked side of me is seeing some Remus/Severus hintings there, whether intentional or not And can I just also say to Janet, our fanfic goddess, that I absolutely loved your description of Severus' tension as he stood waiting behind that curtain - 'stone silence'...wonderful, perfect way to describe that tension in just two words. Amazing, as usual

And now we're back with the Marauders! I'm so excited to see where this goes!! Excellent job, guys! Severus would be proud!

Argh! I wanted to add more but I'm so tired now and I'm back to work tomorrow. How is this going to end? Will James make amends for Lily's sake, will Severus end up looking like a complete wally? I want these questions answered...now!


Goodnight all you have done a fantastic job....so far!

Louise! What a horrible place to leave it! I'm not good at this, I need the outline. I need to know who it was. . .did you intend it to be Potter, or did you just want us to think it was Potter. GAH! I can't add to it like this.



Now I just don't what to do.

Wonderful description, though, guys. Louise, I'm a big fan.

Hope I've planted enough little plot bunnies to keep everybody happy, or at least up at night wondering what we're all up too. I don't want to reveal whose memory I think it is, just who it is not.

Looking forward to reading everybody's posts!

You friends are driving me mad!!! You've taken the challenge seriously!! I'm biting my nails...it's really all well done and very exciting...
I'm trying to add my bits this morning.

heh heh heh Well...I kind of had a vision of James apologising to Snape from beneath the cloak, so that he wouldn't exactly be lying to Lily that he had apologised...but then I thought after I'd posted it nah, that wouldn't work, because Lily might ask Snape about it, and of course he would say no, so... But I figured it would give someone else something to work with anywho

EliasOsiris - hey there I don't think we've spoken before, but I have to say that you're really blowing me away with your writing. You've written four others, I gather from your signature...I'm definitely going to be giving them a look-see. You have such wonderfully rich prose, and I love the direction you've taken the story! You're quite the talent!

Clara, wonderful update!! Where's he going?! And who is this mysterious person who may - or may not - have been in his house?!

I love this story!! Keep it going, guys!!

A little something for Clara, yes? And a little something for witchmom. Looking forward to reading your posts; it's been a while.

Elias, I loooooove your writing... Since this is a Snapeweek challenge, promoted by S.O.S.S., it could be nice if you could drop in to meet us Snapefans...and share your vision of Snape with us.
I'm going to write something today or tomorrow, but there are so many "plot bunnies" that I'm gettimg confused!! Which one/ones to choose?

I was going to add something, but I am totally confused by the plot! Where the heck, in the timeline, is Severus at the moment?! Is he in the past, spying into the memories of someone else? Is he in the present? When did Albus come back to life? Was that bit with Remus all a dream, since he woke up on the stone marker of Lily? GAH! My mind is drowning, so I'm not adding anything at the moment. Maybe one of you guys can recap with the highlights?

You're confused? Heck, I'm writing some of this and I'm confused.

Okay, so here's my take on what's happened thus far:

We've seen Severus received The Book and re-explore the aftermath of his worst memory. He discovers that James was sincere enough to attempt an apology but that Lily and Remus thwarted that attempt for reasons not quite specified.

Snape pays one nocturnal visit to Lily's (and Jame's) grave. His visit to Remus Lupin was part of a dream.

Which brings us to the most current chapters. When I added my chapter, I put Severus a month or two before the end of HBP. That way he would be 1) still employed as a teacher at Hogwarts 2) not immediately pounced upon by the bar patrons as a traitor and 3) still be completely canon. Well, at least I'm not guessing at Severus' future in Deathly Hallows.

Without inventing something new, Albus would still be alive in this timeline, and everyone would still like him. Or as much as they would ever like him. Witchmom would still like him, but ...

Also, you're still free to decide whether Snape is a secret hero, the villian, or still Voldemort's pawn. One possibility is that the last chapter is a premonition of things to come. Snape is wrestling with his decisions, they're making him physically ill. That's why I put in the line Whatever path I choose, I cannot win. Regardless of what he does, even if he's going to do the right thing, people will hate him. And all this on his birthday no less.

PM me if you need a more detailed answer. And please write ...

Me too, I wanted to add to the fic, but I got confused, too. I like the idea of the whole story taking place in 24 hours or so, like a Joyce's novel, and I like the stream of consciousness style...whatever the final length of the fic be, the hours will be not more than a few...because it's Severus' birthday and it's one of those days in which your whole life goes messed up by memories, encounters, etc.

I thought I agreed with Emily on the fact of putting the time of the fic after the War. But actually, I find myself more tuned with Elias about the post HBP, because Severus is still in danger, he doesn't want a certain someone to find him, as stated in the very first post.

I'll have to think about and write something later, including an abstract of the fic as it is now.

Anyway it's the writer's job, to adjust things while writing... Excellent work, you all.

I'm sorry, but I'm just utterly confused...

Albus is dead? Albus is alive? Albus is a ghost?

Note to self: establish a timeline before the next joint fic .

Maybe if we recap, we can work through this.

In the very first post, Clara establishes that it is Severus' birthday, which is January 9th. This is kind of important, because we continue down the line with the whole "book" thing, and he received this book as a birthday present. So, we have that much to go on.

Then, in the first post on page 2, we establish that Albus is dead:



So, I just assumed this was set January 9th, the year after Albus was killed.

But then, Severus enters The Three Broomsticks and is recognized and greeted by Madam Rosmerta, which means either a. She is a Death Eater (unlikely) or b. He has already been cleared of the charges and the war is over.

I assumed that it was the latter, and Severus was cleared of all charges, which is why I wrote this:



In the next post (which was beautifully written, byt the way!), Hermione is a student at Hogwarts again... which doesn't make sense... unless we just backtrack, and change a few things...

I'm sorry guys, but I am so confused here. I had written out 2 more drabbles to post once someone answered my "He remembered it well:" post about the final battle, but now...

I don't know. Help me.



Edit:

Ok, new plan.

Clara and I sat down and had a nice long aim chat tonight about this joint fic.

Sorry, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Emily, and I signed on to be the fan fic coordinator in SOSS a few months ago, which is where this fic spurred from, but I had a few very large personal problems that kept me away for the start of this fic...

Anyways, President Clara (hehe ) and I talked it over, and it looks like we may have messed up a tad at the beginning of this thing...

We should have established a timelime and cannon compliancy, to give us all a starting point and an idea of where to work from. Well, we didn't . Next time, people .

Just so we can make sure that this fic goes smoothly from now on, can we arrive at a general consensus of where we are in the series?

According to past posts, we should have been in the post-HBP era, but we have had some (wonderfully elegant!) posts that establish a pre-HBP timeline...

I love the way this story is unfolding, and there are some wonderful writers participating in this tale, but it's just too difficult to have a constant struggle between two timelines... it just has to be one or the other.

Also, it is imperative that we continue the story keeping in mind what has already been posted. If I write "He sobbed over Harry Potter's dead body," and the next person writes "Severus stood up and he and Harry went to the Ministry of Magic"... do you see what I'm saying? Everyone would just be like .

The only real way to change something would be to say "he awoke and it was all a dream"... which can only be done so many times during a fic before it stops making sense.

Ok, so, no bias, no preference on my part, as I'm staying completely impartial.

So, can we get a vote, please?

Those in favor of keeping the story set after The Half Blood Prince (and, consequentially, the death of Albus), please say so (in a post longer than one line, please!).

Those in favor of setting the story during the timeline of The Half Blood Prince, please give a vote!

So, what do you all think?

And you wondered why one of my last lines in the story was "A storm was coming in." Sigh, I guess the (literary) illusion was lost.

Yes, a time line and how canon compliant would be helpful. Two people can read exactly the same lines and come to two entirely different conclusions. The number of posters in the lounge would tend to indicate that as would the backlog of cases in contract law courts.

Albus coming back as a ghost and talking to Severus had me stumped. Nearly Headless Nick and most posters seem to feel Albus would not come back as a ghost. So it didn't make sense until the entry about Remus and it all being a dream. Oh! So the discussion with Albus would have been a dream as well.

Even if Severus had been cleared of all charges, would the school still welcome him back with open arms? Would parents really want him to teach their children? Could he really walk into a pub hoping to hear everyone shout out 'Severus!'? I tended to think not. But before the end of HBP, he could have any of those things. So having him sit there struggling with the guilt of becoming a traitor (he's going to be a traitor to at least one person plus himself) sort of justified him seeing an older Hermione, surviving the last battle with Voldemort, etc.. What agony does anyone go through when they betray someone who trusted them? You guys could really have a thread going in the Lounge with this.

Now, I could have actually discussed this with any of you, but we should all be on the same page [pun intended]. Personally, I like the during-HBP timeline (okay, I'm biased), but I'm agreeable to the post-HBP as well -- just so long as the history is established.

Rather than ask, I decided to do (which is why in real life, I'm perpetually in trouble). That's why I ended the chapter like I did. -- I'm clueless and need direction. -- They're not going to be happy about this post. -- So I'll drop you off right where all this started, and we can start again, sort of.

I always thought that the timeline was on a parallel with HBP too. Before DDs death, at the end of the christmas period with a new term about to start.Hence why students would be back at Hogwarts and Snape would be at Spinners End. Does that make sense?

Ok, so are we all in agreement that, from now on, this story is going to take place during HBP, on January 9th, during the school year, and that it will be cannon-compliant (e.g. Sirius will not come strolling into the dungeons or anything like that)?

I'm going to go ahead and say that we are in synch with that timeline, unless there are any objections.

Ok guys, feel free to start posting again .

It does. Just to say it though, Severus was in Spinner's End although he didn't want to, to make his colleagues stop chatting about his lack of a social life. So these are details: he hates his house, but he goes there anyway; he hates gossips. Students or not, holidays or not, he prefers to stay at Hogwarts. That's what it had been written in the first post.

I didn't have time today to write the plot for you all, I'm sorry. I'll try to do it tomorrow. I'm particularly busy these days with school...

I'd add another suggestion: read the fic again, trying to find its weak points, and try to develop them further. It will help in strengthening the structure.

The fantastic thing about a collective fic is that you don't really know where it's going, and you have power just on your post...

Clara )O(

VERY IMPORTANT!!

Just a short note to all the writers who are currently participating in the Snapeweek fanfic challenge. We value your work and we just want you to read this short message before joining the collective work.

The first rule which has been set in launching the challenge is being (or becoming) a S.O.S.S. member, because this fic is mainly made for/by Snape real fans. Indeed, the first page of the Fanfic thread says "Hello S.O.S.S. members", and in the feedback thread you find other references to the membership.

In our thread about Severus, we exchange opinions and news about Severus, and try to know each other, so that building a fic together is like the work of many friends chatting around a table, sipping hot tea.

I would ask you to join the Severely Obsessed Snape Society - this means posting there quite regularly -, and also to read on a regular basis/carefully the feedback thread and the S.O.S.S. bulletins, where comments and opinion sharing are very often made. This will help in keeping you tuned with the general atmosphere of the group, otherwise your posts could look like a "write and run" thing.

I will leave to our Fanfic coordinator the general rules about writing this fic; I would only remember you that a collective fic is a big, exciting challenge because it's not not simply writing a scene, it's trying to make it fit in the general development of the whole story...

Thank you for reading this post, and see you in S.O.S.S.!!!

Clara )O(

Alright you creative lot! Here they are, the official rules and summary for our joint Snapeweek Fan Fiction story. Please read them both thoroughly before posting again in the main thread.

I realize that, with a joint story such as this one, finding common ground among writers can be difficult. Because of that, Clara and I have decided to set some ground rules before this fic continues. Going by the general consesus of the group writing this thing, we have devised a timeline, cannon compliancy, and plot summary. Please follow all of these in your future posts! It is very important to keep a general consistency to the story. If we don't, nothing is going to make sense.

Listen, guys... you are all doing a fabulous job with this. It is very clear that we have lucked out with a talented group of writers. Your ideas, phrasing and creativity are, for lack of a better word, astounding. That isn't the point we are trying to make here. We need to be consistent. If you don't like what someone posted in a previous statement, just touch upon it briefly and move on as best you can. Please don't try to go back and forth between "it was a dream" and "it wasn't a dream." That just gets extremely frustrating.

Ok, I'm done lecturing now... I promise!

Here is the backstory:

This fic is HBP compliant. This means that it takes place January 9th of Harry Potter's 6th year at Hogwarts. Dumbledore is still alive, Sirius is still dead (unless you want to resurrect him somehow), Draco is still acting odd, and Snape is still a spy for the Order. This stuff is concrete, guys... please don't try to change it.


Now, the summary:


The story starts off on the date of Snape’s birthday, January 9th, during Harry Potter’s 6th year at Hogwarts. He is spending the weekend at Spinner’s End because his colleagues constantly berate him for never leaving Hogwarts. He hears a noise in the room, only to discover that, if there had even been an intruder in the first place, the person was already gone. He discovers a small box containing a book. It appears to be a birthday present.

The book is an old Defense Against the Dark Arts text book that has been written in by someone else. The book has a charm on it that allows Severus to enter in to an old memory. He was forced to mutter the phrase “James is the best wizard at Hogwarts” in order to activate the book.

The first part of the memory shows Lily yelling at James for picking on Severus. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are present for the confrontation. Sirius thought James’ actions were funny, while Remus regrets not interfering with the altercation between the two boys. Lily tells James that if he ever wants to have a chance with her, he has to apologize to Severus.

The memory then shifts to the Hogwarts Library, where James Potter had just finished putting pieces of parchment in several well-placed library books. After James leaves, Severus witnesses Lily and Remus placing a charm on said books, apparently rendering the messages either gone or useless.

Snape returns from the memory and decides to leave his home to go visit Lily’s grave. He falls asleep on her grave and dreams speaking to both Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore. He wonders if the dreams mean anything… perhaps Lupin knows something about the notes that James was trying to leave?

Severus disapparates from the graveyard and goes to The Three Broomsticks for a drink. He runs into Miss Granger, who tries to mention the book to him. He yells at her and tells her to go back to Hogwarts. Apparently, Miss Granger knows something about the mystery book.

Snape then apparates back to his home in Spinner’s End. He looks over the mystery book again, this time finding a note that he hadn’t discovered during his first perusal of the gift. It was from Hermione Granger, telling him that she had come across the book in the library. On the back of the note was a detailed discourse telling Severus that he needed to see a dentist because she was concerned about his health.

Severus hear Pettigrew singing from his kitchen. Pettigrew tells him that the Dark Lord has chosen Severus for an assignment: feed and transport Nagini. He is told that the transportation will take place after July 31st, and that the snake will need to be fed fresh meat. Voldemort transports Severus to the destination he will have to go to in July, so he will know precisely where to go. He discovers that the address is outside of 1 Privet Drive, and decides that Potter must be the “fresh meat” that is to be fed to Nagini.



Ok, that's it! Have fun! I can't wait to see what else you all come up with .

Perfect job, thanks!! I hope to see many contributions from now on, more than ever, because at last rules are set and all those people who got confused will be able to post again. Go writers, go!!!

EliasOsiris-

That was fabulous. I really, really enjoyed it. I love the fact that Hermione is becoming involved in the story. Ach! Someone else continue it!

I felt sorry for this fanfic falling to a later page and wrote something yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I found EliasOsiris beat me. I had to go back and make some editing changes so it would flow better.

Knocking about my head is the so-called 'lost weekend'. It's not typed, but I've got a story if you want it.

Oh wow, you are really keeping the story alive!! Thanks vortext...and all the others who are still writing... I had so many ideas but I'm not able to write at the moment.

Thanks witchmom! I beam with happiness.

Sorry I’m avoiding any ‘love’ intrigue in what I’m presenting. That’s just me. I like adventure challenges with personal complications more. I’ve got something partially typed out and will be in one of those vials Dumbledore’s holding.

In the meanwhile ‘write on’ SOSS!

Snape's just not in this part, but I still want to tell it!

Harry’s snitch grabbing hand took a bruise and was certain Snape has something with Peeves’ attack. Hermione said maybe a painting saw something and Ron just wanted something to eat to soothe the pain. At least Ron was in a snacking mood until Harry said ‘he’d eat a spider if Snape wasn’t involved.’ Hermione then explained how muggle food has many incest parts in it anyway. That gave Ron a pause and mouth retched. He didn’t say anything about it because, they are his friends and couldn’t help it if they ate muggle food. Muggle bug food, he’ll have to tell Dad about that one.

There was a portrait of a long-haired blonde witch as a possible witness. Ms Owling sat in a café, coffee close at hand hunched over a stack of parchment. She was became very annoyed at Harry’s questioning put down her quill and shrilled “Snape? Don’t ask me about Snape!” Of course that got Harry’s bad temper up and started shaking the frame demanding an answer. Coffee spilt all over the table smearing the ink. “I can’t believe it! You just killed two extra people I didn’t expect! But evil must be paid.” she said sharply glaring at Harry.


~~~

Please, please please someone write some more about Snape. February is at hand! And I just don't write that 'love' thang. Bonus there's loads more SOSS fans now than ever. C'mon on down!

Hey everbody!

The story looks great! I've finally gotten the time to type up my entry and I hope everyone likes it! It's nice to see a cpompilation of all of Severus' biggest fans posting their bits and pieces of the fic!

~Ashley