Featured Story: February
Please listen to Bon Bon.
Bon Bon - which is I - is a free house-elf who loves bonbons and Glimmer and ducks. Miss Captainraychill asked Bon Bon to tell the nice readers at Hawthorn and Vine about her, so Bon Bon will.
Miss Captainraychill lives in a land called Texas. Texas is hot and full of cows. She is married to Mr. Captainraychill. He calls her Racheal or Dear. They do not have children, but they have a cat. His name is Max. He is soft like a duck and black and still has his claws so Beware of Max. Miss Captainraychill works at a bank, but she is not a goblin, and she is not greedy. She likes to write stories and draw pictures, which is more fun than a bank. Bon Bon likes to draw pictures, too. Here is one of a bonbon cake that Glimmer made Bon Bon for Wednesday.
Miss Captainraychill is 41 years old. When a lady from a place called Fan Fiction Dotted with Nets heard this, she told Miss Captainraychill that 41 was "quite an age." Miss Captainraychill thinks this lady is a "Stupid Tart." Bon Bon likes tarts, especially raspberry ones.
When Miss Captainraychill was told that the nice readers voted a story she wrote to be featured this month, she made a sound like a squeaky mouse. She makes this sound when she is happy and surprised. The story is "An Illustrated Guide to Torturing House-Elves" and Bon Bon - which as I - is the Hero. He also drew art for it.
Bon Bon hates vegetables. They is icky.
Sincerely, Bon Bon
A Free Elf
In London
READ "An Illustrated Guide to Torturing House-Elves"
Hi, Captainraychill here! As Bon Bon said, I squeaked when I found out that the readers of Hawthorn and Vine had nominated and voted "An Illustrated Guide to Torturing House-Elves" as a featured story for February 2013. Thank you so much. I feel truly honored.
NOW, onto some Q&A:
How did you get into Dramione? How long have you been writing Dramione?
Before the final Harry Potter movie premiered in July 2011, I read each book and watched each movie again. They captivated me in a way they hadn’t before. I found fan fiction online and was immediately drawn to Dramione. I discovered the writing of RZZMG and devoured her completed Dramione stories. (So sorry my reviewing skills are lacking.) I also followed her blog which included posts about fests and communities on Livejournal.com. My first "published" fan fic was a drabble for the September 2011 DMHG Challenge. After that, I was hooked. I began writing for fests in Fall 2011 and haven’t stopped since.
One of the best fandom decisions I ever made was participating in a Round Robin story, led by fabulous mama bird Kansol. It was a fun experience which created a very silly Dramione story with a long title which I will shorten to Prophecies Suck. The online discussions, emails, etc. surrounding its creation led me to true friends and have made fandom a significant social experience in my life.
What is your writing process like? Do you outline every moment or let the story lead you instead?
I almost always start with a prompt, whether it’s someone else’s or mine. I guess if it’s mine, then the prompt is just an "idea" but always something succinct. At the beginning, I know vaguely how the story is going to end (happy or sad). I create a rough outline of key events to get there. I'll usually research story elements and find inspirational images online, and I'll research canon as necessary. (Online and canon research is actually continuous as a story develops). Then I begin to write from Page One and continue in a linear fashion... mostly. The story definitely guides me along the way. I think, what happens next? How would Draco react to that? But for that to happen, he’d need to find the right elf, so he’d conduct interviews. How is Bon Bon different from other elves? What if he draws? Oooo, illustrate the story! Yes! Now, how do we meet Hermione? It helps to be writing characters we all know so well. Sometimes, when I can't write (like on a lunch break) I'll record thoughts about a story into the voice recorder thing-y on my cell phone. I love that. It's a good way to "talk out" plot elements or dialogue.
The easiest thing for me to write is dialogue. Sometimes, I’ll type it out like the script of a play and then fill in tags and action later. The most difficult thing for me to write is always the kissing and/or sex scenes. I just agonize over making them right. I don’t want them all to sound the same, story to story. Often, I’ll skip over these scenes and save their writing for last. Then it’s just slogging to the end, just getting the words down. Deadlines help tremendously. When I finally finish, I breathe a little sigh of relief. I’ll send the story to my beta and print a hardcopy to review. I am constantly editing as I write. That’s what makes it a slow process. The benefit of this is that I polish as I go, and my first draft is pretty much my last draft with some tweaks.
*S P O I L E R S*
About “An Illustrated Guide to Torturing House-Elves”
How did you come up with the plot for this story?
It was written for the 2012 Treasured Trope fest on Hawthorn and Vine. I chose a brilliant prompt submitted by Sylvik featuring the trope of SPEW. “For a reason that he himself couldn't really explain, Draco keeps bribing his house elves to make complaints so that Hermione would come round to investigate. It's not because he likes her company. Or finds her attractive. At all. Or that he’s lonely. Maybe it's the unseasonably warm weather messing with his head. Muggle summer dresses. Honestly! They're unseemly!” Isn’t that a great prompt? The story practically plotted itself. I started with the unseemly dresses and continued with the elf bribery. I just kept asking, what happens next? When it became clear, I wrote it down.
It also helps to brainstorm with a quick thinker like UnseenLibrarian. We chatted back and forth online about our Treasures Tropes, coming up with all sorts of ideas. She also served as my beta reader for the story. Thank you, Jen!
What is your favorite thing about this story?
Hands down, Bon Bon. That elf is so freakin’ adorable. I’m also proud of how the illustrations turned out. They were the icing on the cake.
Is there something about the story that surprised you?
I’m always surprised by how plot elements present themselves to me in a moment of need. Ha! I know there’s more to it than that, all kinds of subconscious pondering, choices and judgments. But the revelation that house-elves are Undetectable Legilimans was news to me. That was the key that determined the course of the second half of the story after Bon Bon told Hermione Draco’s secret. Glimmer’s appearance as a love interest also surprised me. But, of course, she would bake and make bonbons. Subplot!
Do you have a favorite line of dialogue from the story?
“Draco,” Hermione murmured. “I thought you were an arse man. Shall I show you where mine is?”
As she turned and walked away from him, Draco grabbed one bedraggled end of her cherry-red sash and pulled her back to him. She turned at the last second, almost as if they were dancing, and ended up facing him.
“Granger, I’ve been staring at your arse for the better part of year. I adore and revere it. I dream about it. I’m confident it is the most perfect arse in the history of arses, and I haven’t even seen it undressed yet. Of course, I know where it is. Just south of your waist.”
At this, Hermione raised one eyebrow.
“In the back,” Draco added.
How did you come up with the title?
Sometimes, I think of the perfect title the moment a story is conceived. Not this time. Yicky working titles include “Bon Bon to the Rescue” and “A Very Secret Secret”. I’m happy with “An Illustrated Guide to Torturing House-Elves” which occurred to me in the eleventh hour as I began to contemplate the drawings.
What is one thing you want people to take away from this story?
I want you to feel ridiculously happy and silly after reading this. It’s a love story with a happy ending, but it’s also the story of Bon Bon, a crazy-adorable house-elf. In addition, I'm evil and want you to crave bonbons.
My Dramione Master List:
I've included Fluff-o-Meter Scores to guide you (10 for Maxiumum Fluff - 0 for No Fluff At All)
Arresto Momentum (Fluff Factor of 3)
Doll - Fic (Fluff Factor of 0)
Doll - Art (Fluff Factor of 0)
Introduce People with Thougthful Details (Fluff Factor of 9)
The Oubliette (Fluff Factor of Negative 235)
September First (Fluff Factor of 4)
An Illustrated Guide to Torturing House-Elves (Fluff Factor of 10)
The Bright Winter Stars (Fluff Factor of 3.5 - there's Azakaban but also cookies)
Dramione Drabbles (Fluff Factor Varies)
I also create non-Dramione stories and art and post as Captainraychill on Hawthorn and Vine, Livejournal.com and Fanfiction.net.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions for Captainraychill or for Bon Bon, please don't hesitate to ask.