I just read Two Nights in Paris for the third time and can I just say it's literally perfection?? Every single chapter is so good and in character! I really want to know #3 and #6 for the fic asks!
Thank you so much! This made my day, and I’m so glad you enjoy it. As for the questions…
3. Which part of [title] was hardest to write?
All of chapter 3. The pacing on that one was hard enough on its own. I knew I didn’t want to go into detail about every single stop they made that day (and instead focus on the highlights), so while I knew the chapter would move quickly (just as the characters were), I didn’t want it to feel like I was forcing the reader along. The toughest part of all was bringing an original character into the mix, and I wanted her to feel natural in the story, especially since she was going to be interacting with both Victor and Yuri. Most of all, I didn’t want her to detract from the two of them since they are meant to be the sole focus of the fic. In hopes of achieving that, I made sure to put in bits about her being able to read people and situations well. She knows when to step back.
6. Which scenes did you cut, and which were added in [title]?
There were actually a few glimpses (in the form of separate chapters) from what was going on in Russia while Victor and Yuri were away. It was through Yurio’s point of view and showed his frustration with the two of them having taken off at such a critical time. There was some back-and-forth dialogue about it with Mila. It also implied that she was taking really good care of Makkachin since he was just happilly hanging out at the ice rink with them. I decided to cut those scenes because they were adding a different kind of layer to the story that I didn’t really want and took away from the main focus. I do, however, want to eventually use parts from the chapters in something else in the future. Another scene that was cut was a flashback to Victor talking to Yakov after beating Yuri in competition. I very strongly considered keeping that one in, and it really showed how conflicted Victor was in his position, but by that point the fic had started moving toward the big reveal and it broke the mood that had already been improving.
As for added scenes, my original plan was almost entirely different than the story that emerged. The only ones that remained the same were the setting, things heating up at the hotel at some point, Yuri wondering why Victor brought him to Paris, and the fact that they went shopping there. The Yurio scenes I’d mentioned had also been in the plan, but like I said, were cut to better focus the fic. What you read is what emerged naturally–conflict and all–throughout the writing process, so I guess most would technically be added scenes.
10 Questions for Fic Writers
