Early morning meme
1. How about a brief introduction to yourself?
Hi, I’m LC! I am unbelievably awkward.
2. Fabulous! And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?
I was on these ancient things called Yahoo! Message Boards and Webrings. I will be flabbergasted if someone tells me that they are still up and around and active. At one point, there was just so much bad!fic floating around that I thought that at least I had some ideas that are a little different and could be executed without the cliché-train choo-chooing all over my writing. I left fandom for about five or six years, and I’m back again, mostly because I really adore the Kakashi/Sakura pairing (or teacher/student pairing in general) and there wasn’t a whole lot of fic associated with the pairings I liked. Also, in speaking with notraffic, her epic fic for Gundam Wing shot me right back into that fandom again, and I find myself dusting off old, OLD fics that have just been around waiting to be looked over.
3. I see, so, what kind of fanfiction do you like to write?
Usually I write somewhat angsty / melancholy fic, but my latest wanderings into the Naruto fandom have been not-so-much. So, it’s been a nice break from the darker stuff I usually lean towards.
4. Do you tend to write the same pairings / characters? Or are you a fandom whore?
I like to write about Sakura, or from female perspectives, mostly because I feel they are very underrepresented or misrepresented by fandom…more often than not. I love Sakura’s character and I like to see in what ways I can develop her and make her intriguing. I do love Kakashi/Sakura and other teacher/student pairings, like I said, but almost anything is game if I have an idea.
5. What is your most popular fanfic, and why do you think people like it so?
I had some fairly popular fics when I was in the GW fandom, but I’m going to switch over and talk only about my (extremely recent) venture back into fanfic (ver. 2.0, hurrrr). Right now, I guess my most popular is “Office Duties,” because it’s multichapter and the most recent, maybe? What people like changes so often, I just write what I want and if people like it, that’s great. If they don’t, I don’t care. :D
6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic you’ve written you’re most proud of?
Actually, I really did like that Kurenai/Kiba fic I wrote on a whim. It was a little idea in my head, and kinda came out of left field, which is why I think I like it. I’m usually very meticulous about planning out my fic, but that one I think I wrote in a night.
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing you struggle with?
I think writing is easy when you have a very strong idea, either a theme or a plot, which is where I start. Writing is hard when you know where you want to go, but just can’t seem to figure out how to get there.
8. Write a few sentences or so of your favorite pairing or character.
Kakashi swore he would not cross a line or allow a fleeting moment to erase his judgment. He swore he would never touch her. When Sakura crawled on top of him, eyes full of intent, hands tracing the contours of his face, he found that he didn’t have to.
9. Are there any fanfiction trends/clichés you can’t stand or are just sick of?
This list could…continue on forever. XD One of my biggest ones, though, is when Sakura is portrayed as some kind of virginal, innocent, vapid object. This also goes in tune with the Gundam Wing fandom, when any female character is basically just there to add importance to a male character or just there to drool over male characters. It frustrates me that people are willing to accept changes in maturity and wisdom in male characters far easier than in female characters.
10. Are you guilty of any of the fanfiction trends/clichés you now hate? Or any other ones?
I guess someone who reads my work can tell me. I did have someone msg me about how Rika’s character is one-dimensional in “Office Duties” but…I still have a whole chapter to go, of which Rika is a somewhat pivotal character. I don’t just put characters in there to be stand-ins.
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still like, participate in it?
Gundam Wing, and, yes; I just can’t let it go. XD
12. Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them you love to write.
- (Naruto) Kakashi / Sakura: My favorite male character / my favorite female character, why the hell not. :D I have also had many relationships where my partner is much older, and I don’t find the age gap this big freaking issue. Sakura is very intuitive and kind, as is Kakashi, and once I started reading this pairing, I couldn’t stop thinking of scenarios I wanted to write.
- (Gundam Wing) Dorothy / Relena: Oh, god, femme!slash in GW. :D What, like, 3 people read it, but I love these two so much. Their little bickerings in the series were my favorite, and they each were very strong women who believed and would die for their point of view. That usually equals hot sex.
- (Gundam Wing) Heero / Trowa: This was the pairing I used to write for ALL THE TIME (and also the pairing where I met most of my fandom friends :D). These were the two most intriguing pilots, in my opinion, I suppose because of their repression of emotion. And the effects of the Zero system upon their characters.
13. What would you call your writing “style?”
Uhhhhh. I guess I’m pretty sarcastic when I write humorous fic, but usually I like to keep a quiet, moody setting without a lot of descriptions-mostly action verbs that I meticulously choose (I will try to find the right word for days). I like character introspection, but I try to do a lot of it through their actions and interactions as opposed to “he felt crappy” et al.
14. Do you read other people’s fanfic? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Of course! I love really dark, angsty fic with a lot of good character development and a solid plot. Honestly, it’s very rare that I laugh out loud when I read, but when I do, it’s golden. I used to really love multi-chaptered fics, but lately I’m starting to just like one-shots (they can be…very long one shots, but one-shots nonetheless). I feel sometimes the restraint and intelligence of the writer is really put to the test if they can throw a fic out there with meaning and thought behind it without going on for days.
15. Name one thing you’d LOVE to write, but have been to afraid or shy to do.
I’m not afraid or shy to write anything, but I have always wanted to write a very good Treize-centric fic. But, I think his character just intimidates the hell out of me because of his complexity, and when I write him he either sounds like an old Civil War general (weird) or a whiny little bitch (weirder).
16. Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
First of all, who the hell is going to admit they’ve got a bloated ego?? Secondly, I have more problems accepting compliments than criticism. I’m an illustrator as one of my jobs, so I’m alone most of the times, and I prefer to stay out of the spotlight; it makes me very, very uncomfortable. If I get criticism, I can talk about that and analyze it and make myself a better writer, so I always encourage it. What goes both ways is if you like or dislike my fic, I’d like to know why. This way I can figure out what I can take and leave.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
Coffee makes writing 20x faster. The only time that music isn’t playing around me is when I’m sleeping, seriously. I don’t think that when I write I actually listen very hard to the music that is playing, but it does keep me more upbeat and thinking. When a room is too quiet, I just get sleepy. :D
18. What inspires you?
Art and music are two huge influences of just about everything in my life, as well as my writing. Even the way that I see people work, their process, and how they do character development, inspires me to work harder and be better than I was. Music has a profound effect on the way that I feel and think. My other job (lolz, we’re learning a bit about my rl in this meme) is music-related, and so I’m surrounded by art and music everyday.
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?
Well, back in the 90’s (I’M OLLLLLLDDDDDD) I was actually fairly well known in certain GW communities, and I will always cherish the friendships and how I grew as a writer from being involved in that fandom at that time. Then, the drama llama rolled on in and kind of fucked everything up for awhile-hence why I left for a good 6-7 years. I’m still not even quite sure why I returned to fandom, but it feels pretty nice and welcome so far, and I hope to make more friends in the new GW fandom (all…3 of us that are left XD) and in the Naruto fandom (not gonna lie-very warm, unexpected welcome, kids).
20. Tag some friends, because they’ll hate you for it.
Not gonna do that. Anyone I know who is a writer is free to do this. This is a freaking long meme, though, Jesus on a bicycle.