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5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
When I first got the plot bunny for Acceptable Losses, it was just about Spike, Angel, Connor, and the group of young Slayers. However, Buffy kept pushing her way into the plot when I was trying to turn it into a longer fic. Even though I don't really like writing Buffy (I often feel like I'm going to piss people off by how I view her because my POV of her is usually very different from the general consensus), I decided to let the idea play out as I wrote the outline. I don't think that it necessarily hurt what I was originally intending to do, and it probably made certain aspects of the plot (that I won't spoil since I'm still posting the bloody thing XD ) stronger and will hopefully make the message of the fic clearer by the end. However, it did take the fic in a completely different direction with the focus of the main plot. When I was editing, it made me realize that some stuff was going to have to be rewritten and taken out. One of the biggest reasons it's taken so long for me to finish posting the fic is because of Buffy's presence therein and the consequences of her being there, even for a short time. I guess that's a large part of her being the formerly title character- her presence is felt even when she's not there whether I want her to be a part of the plot or not.
I will also say that in my other current WIP Versailles Undone that a character I didn't expect somehow weaseled his way into the story that I wasn't exactly prepared for when the outline was being created, but there he was and he wouldn't go away... so he gets to stay. I won't say who he is for spoiler reasons, but I hope that he won't be too out-of-place.
I guess Spike could also be a constant answer to this question as well, but more precisely William. I really enjoy writing stories in which Spike can flashback to his past, and I can share glimpses into his childhood. Since we learn nothing in canon about his father, I got to completely create Phineas Pratt as a character, and I do like getting to include Victorian family interludes if I can. Plus, Phineas/Anne has become one of my OTPs. Their love is so adorkably literary and tragically filled with tuberculosis!
Overall, I suppose my first instinct to a character I didn't originally intend to include in a fic wanting to "join in" on a plot is to just let it happen. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I can go back to the outline and rework what was happening or maybe tweak things to see if I can make it work after all.
1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
I guess I first realized what fanfic was in about 1995/1996. When you're about 10 years old and just discovering the internet, the first thing you can think to do is search for the things you like. I was very into Sailor Moon, so as I was checking out fan site, I saw a lot of people posting their fanfic. It was all terrible, but it was the only place where people were actually writing Zoicite as a boy (in the dub version of Sailor Moon, Zoicite is female because America just wasn't ready for beautiful gay villains). The first sorta fanfic I actually wrote for myself, however, was Hanson in 1997. It was wacky, very cartoonish PeeWee's Playhouse sort of madcap adventures, involving transvestite bunnies and paintball and pizza parties on the moon. It wasn't so much RPF as little vignettes with illustrations attached. Probably what drew me to do that was because I was 1.) obsessed with Hanson (good music, pretty boys, what's not to love?), and 2.) the boys themselves drew comics and made videos of their crazy lives that made me think that it must be fun to hang out with them, and I just wanted to play around with some of the stories they told. I never showed any of my comics or stories to anyone else on online fandom because everyone else seemed to writing RPS incest torture fics that were... really disturbing, so I tired of fanfic and stuck with the art side of things.
I would have to say that the first full length fanfic with plot I began to write was for Buffy the Vampire Slayer in about 2001. I had already started liking vampire-related things, but I avoided BtVS because I felt like anything with the name "Buffy" in it must be incredibly stupid. I caught the original airing of "Something Blue" on TV and watched because, well, James Marsters is the prettiest pretty boy in pretty boy town and the jokes in that episode are hilarious. It really drew me in, so I started watching and couldn't stop. I read a lot of fanfic to fill in the gaps while I was trying to get caught up with the first three seasons. I didn't really feel the need to write any fanfic of my own for a while. At first I was just writing a lot of flashback fic of the Fanged Four globetrotting, and by the end of Season Six, I was writing some AU (alternate timelines, alternate episodes, in-between episodes, etc.). I posted it on some fanfic sites, but the feedback I got was so hurtful at the time that I took it down and posted it on my own Geocities site... Then I didn't get any feedback at all because I didn't know how to advertise nor did I have an LJ. I got an LJ in 2004, posted my first ficlet in 2006, didn't get really get any responses, didn't post any fanfic until 2007, again didn't really get any responses, and then in 2008 I wrote Automated Utopia and got a lot of responses! I felt like I had found my voice and the right places to share my work, and I've been posting ever since. :D
2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
In order of when I wrote them...
Sailor Moon: Probably ten to twenty short ficlets. No, I don't write in it anymore.
Hanson: A collection of short stories with illustrations. No, I don't write in it anymore.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 3 drabbles, 25 fics and ficlets, 5 long!fics (some still in progress), some comics, bunch of unfinished plot snippets, and a whole lotta WIPs. Definitely still writing in it. :D
Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Three ficlets plus some drabbles. No, I don't write in it anymore, but I'd like to again.
The Dresden Files: One or two unposted drabbles. No, I don't write in it anymore.
Harry Potter: One unposted drabble. No, I don't write in it anymore.
High Plains Invaders: One longer fanfic and one WIP. Yes, I am still writing in it.
Caprica: One unfinished long fic. Yes, I'm trying to write in it. XD
3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Sailor Moon: Nephlite and Sailor Mars.
Hanson: Isaac, though he's not really a character but he is a character. LOL. XD
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Spike, Fred, Drusilla, Betta George, Connor, and Angel.
Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Saionji, Touga, Nanami, and Wakaba.
The Dresden Files: Harry, Thomas, and Mouse.
Harry Potter: Draco and Snape.
High Plains Invaders: Sam and Abby.
Caprica: Lacy and Barnabas.
Apparently I enjoy writing characters that are either the bad boys with hearts of gold, the nerdy/insane ladies, the very angry women who want to be loved, and anyone played by James Marsters. XD
4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Spike. He is my muse, completely and totally. He brought me into my favourite fandom, and he's just such a great character, layered and versatile (not to mention volatile). He's very interesting and passionate. Sometimes I just want to add him into situations and even into other fandoms to see how he would react or how others would react to him. It took me a long time, however, to feel like I could write his voice the way that I felt was true to the actual character. More importantly, professionally I suppose, is that he, and James Marsters by extension, is a muse for my art as well.
Oddly enough, a character that I took to writing instantly that I would like to write more of is Sam Danville from High Plains Invaders. I cannot explain it, but there's something about that woobie cowboy that makes me want to write whole novels about his continuing misadventures. He's a... simple character. His emotions are out there for the world to see; it's hard to for him to hide his feelings. Sam is proof that you can cry and still defeat big uranium-eatin' alien boogs, and he's just adorable. I've written so many snippets about him that I need to finish into a longer fic. XD
6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
When I first got the plot bunny for Acceptable Losses, it was just about Spike, Angel, Connor, and the group of young Slayers. However, Buffy kept pushing her way into the plot when I was trying to turn it into a longer fic. Even though I don't really like writing Buffy (I often feel like I'm going to piss people off by how I view her because my POV of her is usually very different from the general consensus), I decided to let the idea play out as I wrote the outline. I don't think that it necessarily hurt what I was originally intending to do, and it probably made certain aspects of the plot (that I won't spoil since I'm still posting the bloody thing XD ) stronger and will hopefully make the message of the fic clearer by the end. However, it did take the fic in a completely different direction with the focus of the main plot. When I was editing, it made me realize that some stuff was going to have to be rewritten and taken out. One of the biggest reasons it's taken so long for me to finish posting the fic is because of Buffy's presence therein and the consequences of her being there, even for a short time. I guess that's a large part of her being the formerly title character- her presence is felt even when she's not there whether I want her to be a part of the plot or not.
I will also say that in my other current WIP Versailles Undone that a character I didn't expect somehow weaseled his way into the story that I wasn't exactly prepared for when the outline was being created, but there he was and he wouldn't go away... so he gets to stay. I won't say who he is for spoiler reasons, but I hope that he won't be too out-of-place.
I guess Spike could also be a constant answer to this question as well, but more precisely William. I really enjoy writing stories in which Spike can flashback to his past, and I can share glimpses into his childhood. Since we learn nothing in canon about his father, I got to completely create Phineas Pratt as a character, and I do like getting to include Victorian family interludes if I can. Plus, Phineas/Anne has become one of my OTPs. Their love is so adorkably literary and tragically filled with tuberculosis!
Overall, I suppose my first instinct to a character I didn't originally intend to include in a fic wanting to "join in" on a plot is to just let it happen. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I can go back to the outline and rework what was happening or maybe tweak things to see if I can make it work after all.
1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
I guess I first realized what fanfic was in about 1995/1996. When you're about 10 years old and just discovering the internet, the first thing you can think to do is search for the things you like. I was very into Sailor Moon, so as I was checking out fan site, I saw a lot of people posting their fanfic. It was all terrible, but it was the only place where people were actually writing Zoicite as a boy (in the dub version of Sailor Moon, Zoicite is female because America just wasn't ready for beautiful gay villains). The first sorta fanfic I actually wrote for myself, however, was Hanson in 1997. It was wacky, very cartoonish PeeWee's Playhouse sort of madcap adventures, involving transvestite bunnies and paintball and pizza parties on the moon. It wasn't so much RPF as little vignettes with illustrations attached. Probably what drew me to do that was because I was 1.) obsessed with Hanson (good music, pretty boys, what's not to love?), and 2.) the boys themselves drew comics and made videos of their crazy lives that made me think that it must be fun to hang out with them, and I just wanted to play around with some of the stories they told. I never showed any of my comics or stories to anyone else on online fandom because everyone else seemed to writing RPS incest torture fics that were... really disturbing, so I tired of fanfic and stuck with the art side of things.
I would have to say that the first full length fanfic with plot I began to write was for Buffy the Vampire Slayer in about 2001. I had already started liking vampire-related things, but I avoided BtVS because I felt like anything with the name "Buffy" in it must be incredibly stupid. I caught the original airing of "Something Blue" on TV and watched because, well, James Marsters is the prettiest pretty boy in pretty boy town and the jokes in that episode are hilarious. It really drew me in, so I started watching and couldn't stop. I read a lot of fanfic to fill in the gaps while I was trying to get caught up with the first three seasons. I didn't really feel the need to write any fanfic of my own for a while. At first I was just writing a lot of flashback fic of the Fanged Four globetrotting, and by the end of Season Six, I was writing some AU (alternate timelines, alternate episodes, in-between episodes, etc.). I posted it on some fanfic sites, but the feedback I got was so hurtful at the time that I took it down and posted it on my own Geocities site... Then I didn't get any feedback at all because I didn't know how to advertise nor did I have an LJ. I got an LJ in 2004, posted my first ficlet in 2006, didn't get really get any responses, didn't post any fanfic until 2007, again didn't really get any responses, and then in 2008 I wrote Automated Utopia and got a lot of responses! I felt like I had found my voice and the right places to share my work, and I've been posting ever since. :D
2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
In order of when I wrote them...
Sailor Moon: Probably ten to twenty short ficlets. No, I don't write in it anymore.
Hanson: A collection of short stories with illustrations. No, I don't write in it anymore.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 3 drabbles, 25 fics and ficlets, 5 long!fics (some still in progress), some comics, bunch of unfinished plot snippets, and a whole lotta WIPs. Definitely still writing in it. :D
Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Three ficlets plus some drabbles. No, I don't write in it anymore, but I'd like to again.
The Dresden Files: One or two unposted drabbles. No, I don't write in it anymore.
Harry Potter: One unposted drabble. No, I don't write in it anymore.
High Plains Invaders: One longer fanfic and one WIP. Yes, I am still writing in it.
Caprica: One unfinished long fic. Yes, I'm trying to write in it. XD
3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Sailor Moon: Nephlite and Sailor Mars.
Hanson: Isaac, though he's not really a character but he is a character. LOL. XD
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Spike, Fred, Drusilla, Betta George, Connor, and Angel.
Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Saionji, Touga, Nanami, and Wakaba.
The Dresden Files: Harry, Thomas, and Mouse.
Harry Potter: Draco and Snape.
High Plains Invaders: Sam and Abby.
Caprica: Lacy and Barnabas.
Apparently I enjoy writing characters that are either the bad boys with hearts of gold, the nerdy/insane ladies, the very angry women who want to be loved, and anyone played by James Marsters. XD
4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Spike. He is my muse, completely and totally. He brought me into my favourite fandom, and he's just such a great character, layered and versatile (not to mention volatile). He's very interesting and passionate. Sometimes I just want to add him into situations and even into other fandoms to see how he would react or how others would react to him. It took me a long time, however, to feel like I could write his voice the way that I felt was true to the actual character. More importantly, professionally I suppose, is that he, and James Marsters by extension, is a muse for my art as well.
Oddly enough, a character that I took to writing instantly that I would like to write more of is Sam Danville from High Plains Invaders. I cannot explain it, but there's something about that woobie cowboy that makes me want to write whole novels about his continuing misadventures. He's a... simple character. His emotions are out there for the world to see; it's hard to for him to hide his feelings. Sam is proof that you can cry and still defeat big uranium-eatin' alien boogs, and he's just adorable. I've written so many snippets about him that I need to finish into a longer fic. XD
6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
