Writerly musings
The gendertwist story for imaginarybeasts is kicking my arse. Therefore, I swiped this writers' survey off caraloup:
1. How about a brief introduction?
I don't think a "My name is Beth" is necessary in my own LJ, but I have to admit it's been a while since I wrote fanfiction in its pure form: stories based in another creator's universe, with characters the other creator created. I still think of myself as a fanfiction writer, because it's a different set of skills and sensibilities than an original-fiction creator. I like to think that in some ways, fanfiction writing takes more attention to detail like characterisation and editing; with original fiction you can trust an editor will see it before a reader does, and no-one but you will know someone is out of character, but in fanfiction, it's you and the world. And the world has flamethrowers.
Even when I write originals, I always keep a look-out for the fanfic inspiration. I don't see myself ever letting go of it as both a fun hobby and a creative exercise.
2. What got you into fan fiction (and/or adopting muses)?
Barbie and Jean-Luc Picard. Trust me, you don't want to know.
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
I've tried my hand at epics, but I saw soon they weren't for me. I'm best with the self-contained story, though I sometimes weave these beads on a thread together. I've written a lot of different genres and themes; I like to experiment.
Lately, I've been veering a lot into twisting fanfiction into near-originals. People seemed to like them.
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
Dear gods, no. I do have my favourites, who come in phases - right now the favourites are a set of original characters and Vlad Draculea, which would be why I'm not posting stories online :)
5. What is your most popular fic and why do you think people like it so?
I don't track reviews on a case-by-case basis, but I think that apart from my X/1999 multi-parts (and gods, was I young and foolish then), the most popular by number of reviews is a silly little Get Backers thing called An Unlikely Partnership. I'm somewhat proud of capturing the mood of the anime there, which is hard when the anime is on crack.
6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Let it snow, Fingon and Maedhros from Silmarillion in the modern world. This was the defining moment for me. Look, I can take someone else's characters and put them in a world of my choosing. Inflect them with my own meanings, with my cocktail of William Gibson and Sofia Coppola and Roger Zelazny. And it can work.
The next logical step was to do the same thing with characters of my own devising.
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
The hardest thing is to start. I have very long periods when I'm just blank. Stress blanks my creativity; so does ill health. I can't write when outside temperatures are over 30 Celsius. I can have whole months when I'm just staring blankly at the ceiling, even though I know what I'm to write.
Once I write, I write. I rarely edit, except for obvious instances of crossed wiring between my brain and my fingers. This is something I want to work on; I've made inroads with the last imaginarybeasts story, which is why I'm trying again. One thing I'd love to have would be a nitpicky beta for my phrasing, my style and my plotting.
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
I should bring you to this place, one day, or show you my memories of it; I cannot begin to describe the non-ghosts that haunt it, the spirits in each spray of broken wave and each creak of metal.
I am no poet, but see this in your mind: I am sitting on the railing, my foot braced against the railing post as the only thing that keeps me from toppling when the wind blows strongly. A jacket lined with Siberian foxfur keeps the wind away from my skin, but what keeps me warm is the memory of the fire in the room below, and the touch of silver around my neck.
(from a letter by Death to hir lover)
9. Are there any fan fiction trends/cliches you hate?
The crackfic treated as an excuse to have everyone wildly OOC. I'm picky about characterisation in any case. Also, things that squick me - degradation, bodily fluids other than blood, child abuse etc.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
I did write a scene of dubious-consent humiliation that would cause me to backpedal if I read it in someone else's story. But that worked, I think, with the characters and the situation.
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
*eyedart* Gundam Wing. And that's a no, though now that I've actually seen the series, I sometimes toy with writing Treize and Zechs. Not necessarily in a romantic sense. It's their sense of tragedy.
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
I have few OTPs - I can pair just about anyone with anyone. I could name an original pairing, but the fact is that my dear Death is deeply polyamorous, which is what I love about hir relationships - the fact that each of hir lovers gets to see a different part of hir, and interacts in a different way.
13. What would you call your writing style?
Illustrative stenography. I've an eye for imagery, but I tend to write disjointed, very brief scenes. It's something I'm working at - to expand and lengthen my pacing.
14. Do you read other people's fan fiction? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Betweeen work and other pursuits, I read fanfiction rarely. Other than recommendations, I tend to read in spurts, looking for certain specific things each time. I'm still looking for something with lots of Matt/Mohinder from Heroes.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
I love playing with gender, but I've so far shied away from exploring gender and LGBT issues in fiction. After educating myself on the social issues, I think I might end up tackling it in the lgbtfest. I have to admit I'm eyeing the intersexed prompts, because it's both something I've read much about, and something uncommon enough that there's less risk of offending someone by any insensitivity I might be unable to spot.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
I think I'm pretty good at criticism, though I often see it as unconstructive. Again, I'd love a good beta who'd rip my stories into shreds; that's the one reason I might consider signing up for a creative writing workshop.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
Peace and quiet - music distracts me. And hopefully something dreary I should be doing instead.
18. What inspires you?
Everything.
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction experiences and you as a writer?
A journey. Ever deeper into the jungle.
20. Tag some friends, because they'll hate you for it.
Any enemies, then, who want to be tagged? :)
1. How about a brief introduction?
I don't think a "My name is Beth" is necessary in my own LJ, but I have to admit it's been a while since I wrote fanfiction in its pure form: stories based in another creator's universe, with characters the other creator created. I still think of myself as a fanfiction writer, because it's a different set of skills and sensibilities than an original-fiction creator. I like to think that in some ways, fanfiction writing takes more attention to detail like characterisation and editing; with original fiction you can trust an editor will see it before a reader does, and no-one but you will know someone is out of character, but in fanfiction, it's you and the world. And the world has flamethrowers.
Even when I write originals, I always keep a look-out for the fanfic inspiration. I don't see myself ever letting go of it as both a fun hobby and a creative exercise.
2. What got you into fan fiction (and/or adopting muses)?
Barbie and Jean-Luc Picard. Trust me, you don't want to know.
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
I've tried my hand at epics, but I saw soon they weren't for me. I'm best with the self-contained story, though I sometimes weave these beads on a thread together. I've written a lot of different genres and themes; I like to experiment.
Lately, I've been veering a lot into twisting fanfiction into near-originals. People seemed to like them.
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
Dear gods, no. I do have my favourites, who come in phases - right now the favourites are a set of original characters and Vlad Draculea, which would be why I'm not posting stories online :)
5. What is your most popular fic and why do you think people like it so?
I don't track reviews on a case-by-case basis, but I think that apart from my X/1999 multi-parts (and gods, was I young and foolish then), the most popular by number of reviews is a silly little Get Backers thing called An Unlikely Partnership. I'm somewhat proud of capturing the mood of the anime there, which is hard when the anime is on crack.
6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Let it snow, Fingon and Maedhros from Silmarillion in the modern world. This was the defining moment for me. Look, I can take someone else's characters and put them in a world of my choosing. Inflect them with my own meanings, with my cocktail of William Gibson and Sofia Coppola and Roger Zelazny. And it can work.
The next logical step was to do the same thing with characters of my own devising.
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
The hardest thing is to start. I have very long periods when I'm just blank. Stress blanks my creativity; so does ill health. I can't write when outside temperatures are over 30 Celsius. I can have whole months when I'm just staring blankly at the ceiling, even though I know what I'm to write.
Once I write, I write. I rarely edit, except for obvious instances of crossed wiring between my brain and my fingers. This is something I want to work on; I've made inroads with the last imaginarybeasts story, which is why I'm trying again. One thing I'd love to have would be a nitpicky beta for my phrasing, my style and my plotting.
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
I should bring you to this place, one day, or show you my memories of it; I cannot begin to describe the non-ghosts that haunt it, the spirits in each spray of broken wave and each creak of metal.
I am no poet, but see this in your mind: I am sitting on the railing, my foot braced against the railing post as the only thing that keeps me from toppling when the wind blows strongly. A jacket lined with Siberian foxfur keeps the wind away from my skin, but what keeps me warm is the memory of the fire in the room below, and the touch of silver around my neck.
(from a letter by Death to hir lover)
9. Are there any fan fiction trends/cliches you hate?
The crackfic treated as an excuse to have everyone wildly OOC. I'm picky about characterisation in any case. Also, things that squick me - degradation, bodily fluids other than blood, child abuse etc.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
I did write a scene of dubious-consent humiliation that would cause me to backpedal if I read it in someone else's story. But that worked, I think, with the characters and the situation.
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
*eyedart* Gundam Wing. And that's a no, though now that I've actually seen the series, I sometimes toy with writing Treize and Zechs. Not necessarily in a romantic sense. It's their sense of tragedy.
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
I have few OTPs - I can pair just about anyone with anyone. I could name an original pairing, but the fact is that my dear Death is deeply polyamorous, which is what I love about hir relationships - the fact that each of hir lovers gets to see a different part of hir, and interacts in a different way.
13. What would you call your writing style?
Illustrative stenography. I've an eye for imagery, but I tend to write disjointed, very brief scenes. It's something I'm working at - to expand and lengthen my pacing.
14. Do you read other people's fan fiction? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Betweeen work and other pursuits, I read fanfiction rarely. Other than recommendations, I tend to read in spurts, looking for certain specific things each time. I'm still looking for something with lots of Matt/Mohinder from Heroes.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
I love playing with gender, but I've so far shied away from exploring gender and LGBT issues in fiction. After educating myself on the social issues, I think I might end up tackling it in the lgbtfest. I have to admit I'm eyeing the intersexed prompts, because it's both something I've read much about, and something uncommon enough that there's less risk of offending someone by any insensitivity I might be unable to spot.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
I think I'm pretty good at criticism, though I often see it as unconstructive. Again, I'd love a good beta who'd rip my stories into shreds; that's the one reason I might consider signing up for a creative writing workshop.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
Peace and quiet - music distracts me. And hopefully something dreary I should be doing instead.
18. What inspires you?
Everything.
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction experiences and you as a writer?
A journey. Ever deeper into the jungle.
20. Tag some friends, because they'll hate you for it.
Any enemies, then, who want to be tagged? :)