The Mind of a Fanfic Writer
Got tagged by aenissesthai, and I really liked the premise. I warn you that it's going to be quite long. I liked talking about this.
1. How about a brief introduction?
*sits down, coughs delicately* Hello, my name is Kryssa. You may remember me from such fandoms as Digimon and Fushigi Yuugi. I used to make forays into La Corda D'oro and Mai-HiME fandom as recently as '07, but the place where I show my face at least once a month is the Ouran High School Host Club fandom.
2. What got you into fan fiction?
I've been writing for almost as long as I can remember. I know that I have a lot of original plot-lines and world-building ideas, but I'm not very good with creating original characters. When I realized that it was possible to write stories based on someone else's work, I ate that up with a child's irrepressible hunger. I think the very, very first fanfiction I did was a Pokemon Mary-Sue story, but I must have been barely 11 or 12 when I wrote it. And I didn't stop.
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
Fantasy is my undeniable favorite. In all my extremely long stories - from both Kryssa and Kryssa's Flute - I have them based in fantasy worlds. Every kid wants to find out they are special and magical and different in a good way; I never ever grew out of that phase. Probably never will. In conjunction with fantasy, I usually end up making my stories have a little action/adventure, too. Though I create new worlds, I like to hammer down the point that magic won't keep people from being people. There's gonna be pain and sacrifice and loss and tragedy; still, there's just as much joy and happiness and love and truth, too.
When I want to do one-shots, which happens when I need a break from my "novels", I usually do small character studies and I try to vary what I write. Sometimes it's romance, sometimes it's introspection, and sometimes it's a silly little idea that won't go away. One-shots are also the way I practice different techniques; writing second person, doing an un-canonical pairing and trying to make it realistic, and other things like that. I write fantasy to stretch my "creative" wings, but I do one-shots to work out my "stylistic" wings.
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
Not really. I have a favorite characters, but it's hard for me to write them because I want to do justice to the character. I'd like to think that I can write all my characters perfectly, but for those that I really care about, I agonize over the story a lot more. Still, I'll write a lot of private stories - pieces that I have no real intention of posting online - on my favorite characters. In my longer stories, I can't focus on a single person for too long, otherwise the story takes a back-seat to the character.
As for pairings, I tend not to write a whole lot of romance stories. Not that I downplay the importance of relationships in reality (either romantic or otherwise), but almost everyone writes romance. I don't feel the desperate need to add my work to those piles. The La Corda shorts are good practice because I've done almost every pairing in the series, just to see if I could do it. Mai-HiME might be the only exception, but I ended up writing so much Akira/Takumi because no one else would.
5. What is your most popular fic and why do you think people like it so?
In the Circle of Elemental Arms is definitively my most popular fic. I've never ever had this many people interested in my story - and I know because they keep coming back and reviewing! To be honest, I'm not sure why people like it. I've made mention, time and time again, that it's not a romance, and any story in the Ouran fandom that comes close to matching me in numbers is always a romance. Again, I'm not bashing romance stories, but it's a simple fact that people like reading romance.
If I had to be bluntly honest, I think that people like it because it's unique, in many ways. Very few people apply fantasy to the Ouran world, and even less have thought through their world-building enough to keep their own attention on the story. I'm so anal about story details that I could make Kyouya look like a negligent child. I also think I'm a good writer. I have a hard time admitting that, because I hate putting myself on a pedestal or acting like an overblown idiot, but I think that the quality of my story is much higher than many of the other stories in the fandom - making it unfortunately unique. My final reason would be that fantasy is reaching out to more readers these days. Look at Harry Potter; the best-selling novel in the world is a child's fantasy story. I'm simply riding that wave.
6. Forgot other people, what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Two stories: Between Seishi and Gods and Elementals - my two longest stories. I worked very hard on BSAG, and I don't think many people were ever interested in it - which is good, in a roundabout sort of way. It taught me that I can put a lot of time and energy into something and, even if people don't read it, the thing that's important is the fact that I liked it. That I was proud of myself for doing something I loved and doing it well, not because I was going to be praised over it. Still, I really loved the fantasy world I had made in BSAG, and I hope to one day make a good original story out of it.
But when I started writing Elementals, I was absolutely convinced that I was going to get one, maybe two reviews every time I updated. I was certain that it would follow the same path as BSAG because it was *drumroll* a fantasy! Taking place in a high-school anime series! With little-to-no romance! So I wrote it with the belief that no one was going to love it as much as I do. And now... yeah, it surprises the hell outta me when I get ten, twenty, forty reviews for a chapter. But, in the end, I'm still writing for myself, and I'm happy with what I've created. It's just icing on the cake that other people like it, too.
Some of the ficlets I really like, if only because I'm struck by certain phrasings or imagery that I've managed to come up with. Most people don't favor the drabbles/shorts that I like best, and I think it's because [the shorts] I like are always demanding the reader to read between the lines.
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
I suppose I find writing to be easy in the aspect of "creation". I can come up with concepts and plots and worlds without a whole lot of difficulty. I did a bunch of La Corda practice drabbles based on prompts, just to prove to myself that I could do it. So I hope it's not too pompous to say that I usually have more ideas than time to write.
The thing that I have a lot of trouble with is something that applies to my original fiction, and that's creating main characters. I believe that I have a good sense of characterization, possibly because I don't attempt to write a story when I've only read a third of a series or when I'm lacking the whole picture. So manipulating made characters is easy; I can even make up side characters without too much of a problem. However, main characters are very hard for me to create because I don't want to make cliches - and I have no gauge for the difference between "cliched" and "appropriately human".
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
When I first started to read Ouran, I didn't care at all for the Hitachiin twins. I despise the unkind joker personality; I don't find humor in someone else's suffering, even if its in a comedic setting, but I found myself drawn more to Kaoru. To me, he never had a chance to form his own sense of self because he was always engulfed and overshadowed by his brother's more powerful, fiery personality. I want to see him become his own person, to give him more credit as an intelligent, insightful young man than a one-sided actor.
9. Are there any fan fiction trends/cliches you hate?
On the record, I'd like to say that I don't hate Mary-Sues. I, myself, had written a million of them when I was a kid in high school, and I think that any practice at writing is good. Even creating a character with perfect hair/eyes/wings/powers/etc. is all right, because it's a reason for someone to be passionate over their writing. Incest, rape fantasies, or unrealistic portrayals of violence will make my brain start rocking and twitching, but I simply avoid those stories.
I do, however, have a problem with what people write in their ff.net summaries. Anyone who says something about their story being crap, or their first attempt, or anything disparaging will make me immediately agree and say, 'Okay, then we're skipping that story'. People that make demands for readers or reviews, who can't be bothered to spell words correctly or use appropriate grammar, or other histrionic acts will have me scrolling down as fast as I can.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
Uhm, I don't think so. I actually put thought into my summaries. I also don't write the more, er, squicky stories. The Mary-Sue stuff... well, I hope I don't, but that's for others to decide.
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
*laughs* I believe the very first fanfiction I wrote was for Pokemon. A Mary-Sue, of course, but I think I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. And no, I don't write Pokemon fics; I don't think I ever posted one of those....
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
In Ouran, I favor Haruhi/Hikaru the most because I think those two are very compatible; if given a chance, they could help one another grow. Haruhi could teach Hikaru to be compassionate, and Hikaru could teach Haruhi how to enjoy the world around her. I liked Haruhi/Kaoru for a short time, but since that's been thoroughly X-ed by Hatori-san, I gave up on it. Ironically enough, I've never actually written a Hika/Haru fic, but I'm too busy rewriting "War and Peace" in the Ouran-verse.
In La Corda, I like Kahoko/Ryoutarou the best. Kahoko reminds me of Miaka from FY, with the red hair, flighty sweetness, and the very thick skull when it comes to relationships. Ryou is a mix of Tasuki and Tamahome; he's got Tasuki's protective temper, though he's usually as grounded as Tama. Putting them together is a lot of fun, since I consider them a more updated version of the FY couple, and I try to make sure they retain their unique personalities.
13. What would you call your writing style?
What, like "good" or "bad"? Man, there has got to be a better way to phrase this question; I don't even know how to answer this one. I guess... it's rich but light. It's got a lot of details when I need to explain something, but I try to be minimalistic when I can. I don't like shoving tons of info into a paragraph, so I aim to find the one word or the one phrase that describes everything I need it to. I also try to do that with dialogue too; no excess babbling for the sake of filling space.
14. Do you read other people's fan fiction? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
You know, I wish I read more fanfiction. The problem is that (and oh man, I sound like such an arrogant asshole saying this) the vast majority of people on ff.net can't write. Most are kids under 18 who are writing for themselves or their friends. That's fine, as I mentioned above, but I have so little time that I can't waste it reading bad fanfiction. But if a summary catches my eye, it doesn't matter what genre it is in. Romance, fantasy, poetry; whatever it is, I'll give it a read-through because I'll trust the author. Introspective one-shots are my candy, though, because good ones can appear in any fandom.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
Right now, I'd love to write some Black Lagoon fanfics. The thing is, it's such an adult anime that I wouldn't even know where to begin. BL is set in such a dark place that it makes me painfully aware of how good my life has been. Attempting to write a BL fic makes me feel like a liar or a poser, and thinking that I can conceive of what it'd be like to inhabit that world smacks of personal conceit. Still... I'm writing some ficlets; whether or not I post them feels a little irrelevant, just as long as I complete something.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
I like criticism; it always hurts to be told 'you're not perfect', but it feels really good when someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like a word/line/phrase/paragraph is a little off, and nothing is nicer than having someone see what the problem is and helping me make it better. It's a relief to be critiqued because then I know that I'm getting better.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
Music. Oh, I love music. I'll listen to almost anything. I have soundtracks, classical, country, hip-hop, J-pop, rock, Top 40, and belly dancing music. I don't always know what I want to listen to, but having music in the background gives me the sensation of motion. I can type as long as I've got a melody driving me forward, even if it's to an adagio Bach violin sonata.
I also like drawing from real events. Sometimes at work, I'll blurt out random questions to the guys sitting around me. Things like, "what's the first thing you notice about how a girl smells?" all the way to, "what's it feel like to get a broken cheekbone?" They're really good about humoring me, too!
18. What inspires you?
I think this ties into the above question, so I'll just do some reiteration. Music is really big; I can let my mind wander like a curious puppy, and something will magically come to me. Naturally, I take inspiration from other books or movies (fanfiction crossovers in my brain!), but art also help. I got the inspiration for my Elementals story from a deviantart artist.
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction experiences and you as a writer?
It's the reason why I'm the writer I am right now. When I first began, I had no intention of ever wanting to be published; I was just happy to write and watch my worlds being born. Now, I've pushed myself to the quality of a published author because I know I've got the capability to be published. Whether or not it happens doesn't concern me a great deal; it'd be nice, but I'll keep writing because I've come to realize how much of a passion it is to me.
20. Tag some friends, because they'll hate you for it.
sambucivox, projectraven, lizstarsky, nekonezumi, and anyone else who'd like to enlighten me as to why they write fanfiction.
1. How about a brief introduction?
*sits down, coughs delicately* Hello, my name is Kryssa. You may remember me from such fandoms as Digimon and Fushigi Yuugi. I used to make forays into La Corda D'oro and Mai-HiME fandom as recently as '07, but the place where I show my face at least once a month is the Ouran High School Host Club fandom.
2. What got you into fan fiction?
I've been writing for almost as long as I can remember. I know that I have a lot of original plot-lines and world-building ideas, but I'm not very good with creating original characters. When I realized that it was possible to write stories based on someone else's work, I ate that up with a child's irrepressible hunger. I think the very, very first fanfiction I did was a Pokemon Mary-Sue story, but I must have been barely 11 or 12 when I wrote it. And I didn't stop.
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
Fantasy is my undeniable favorite. In all my extremely long stories - from both Kryssa and Kryssa's Flute - I have them based in fantasy worlds. Every kid wants to find out they are special and magical and different in a good way; I never ever grew out of that phase. Probably never will. In conjunction with fantasy, I usually end up making my stories have a little action/adventure, too. Though I create new worlds, I like to hammer down the point that magic won't keep people from being people. There's gonna be pain and sacrifice and loss and tragedy; still, there's just as much joy and happiness and love and truth, too.
When I want to do one-shots, which happens when I need a break from my "novels", I usually do small character studies and I try to vary what I write. Sometimes it's romance, sometimes it's introspection, and sometimes it's a silly little idea that won't go away. One-shots are also the way I practice different techniques; writing second person, doing an un-canonical pairing and trying to make it realistic, and other things like that. I write fantasy to stretch my "creative" wings, but I do one-shots to work out my "stylistic" wings.
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
Not really. I have a favorite characters, but it's hard for me to write them because I want to do justice to the character. I'd like to think that I can write all my characters perfectly, but for those that I really care about, I agonize over the story a lot more. Still, I'll write a lot of private stories - pieces that I have no real intention of posting online - on my favorite characters. In my longer stories, I can't focus on a single person for too long, otherwise the story takes a back-seat to the character.
As for pairings, I tend not to write a whole lot of romance stories. Not that I downplay the importance of relationships in reality (either romantic or otherwise), but almost everyone writes romance. I don't feel the desperate need to add my work to those piles. The La Corda shorts are good practice because I've done almost every pairing in the series, just to see if I could do it. Mai-HiME might be the only exception, but I ended up writing so much Akira/Takumi because no one else would.
5. What is your most popular fic and why do you think people like it so?
In the Circle of Elemental Arms is definitively my most popular fic. I've never ever had this many people interested in my story - and I know because they keep coming back and reviewing! To be honest, I'm not sure why people like it. I've made mention, time and time again, that it's not a romance, and any story in the Ouran fandom that comes close to matching me in numbers is always a romance. Again, I'm not bashing romance stories, but it's a simple fact that people like reading romance.
If I had to be bluntly honest, I think that people like it because it's unique, in many ways. Very few people apply fantasy to the Ouran world, and even less have thought through their world-building enough to keep their own attention on the story. I'm so anal about story details that I could make Kyouya look like a negligent child. I also think I'm a good writer. I have a hard time admitting that, because I hate putting myself on a pedestal or acting like an overblown idiot, but I think that the quality of my story is much higher than many of the other stories in the fandom - making it unfortunately unique. My final reason would be that fantasy is reaching out to more readers these days. Look at Harry Potter; the best-selling novel in the world is a child's fantasy story. I'm simply riding that wave.
6. Forgot other people, what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Two stories: Between Seishi and Gods and Elementals - my two longest stories. I worked very hard on BSAG, and I don't think many people were ever interested in it - which is good, in a roundabout sort of way. It taught me that I can put a lot of time and energy into something and, even if people don't read it, the thing that's important is the fact that I liked it. That I was proud of myself for doing something I loved and doing it well, not because I was going to be praised over it. Still, I really loved the fantasy world I had made in BSAG, and I hope to one day make a good original story out of it.
But when I started writing Elementals, I was absolutely convinced that I was going to get one, maybe two reviews every time I updated. I was certain that it would follow the same path as BSAG because it was *drumroll* a fantasy! Taking place in a high-school anime series! With little-to-no romance! So I wrote it with the belief that no one was going to love it as much as I do. And now... yeah, it surprises the hell outta me when I get ten, twenty, forty reviews for a chapter. But, in the end, I'm still writing for myself, and I'm happy with what I've created. It's just icing on the cake that other people like it, too.
Some of the ficlets I really like, if only because I'm struck by certain phrasings or imagery that I've managed to come up with. Most people don't favor the drabbles/shorts that I like best, and I think it's because [the shorts] I like are always demanding the reader to read between the lines.
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
I suppose I find writing to be easy in the aspect of "creation". I can come up with concepts and plots and worlds without a whole lot of difficulty. I did a bunch of La Corda practice drabbles based on prompts, just to prove to myself that I could do it. So I hope it's not too pompous to say that I usually have more ideas than time to write.
The thing that I have a lot of trouble with is something that applies to my original fiction, and that's creating main characters. I believe that I have a good sense of characterization, possibly because I don't attempt to write a story when I've only read a third of a series or when I'm lacking the whole picture. So manipulating made characters is easy; I can even make up side characters without too much of a problem. However, main characters are very hard for me to create because I don't want to make cliches - and I have no gauge for the difference between "cliched" and "appropriately human".
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
When I first started to read Ouran, I didn't care at all for the Hitachiin twins. I despise the unkind joker personality; I don't find humor in someone else's suffering, even if its in a comedic setting, but I found myself drawn more to Kaoru. To me, he never had a chance to form his own sense of self because he was always engulfed and overshadowed by his brother's more powerful, fiery personality. I want to see him become his own person, to give him more credit as an intelligent, insightful young man than a one-sided actor.
9. Are there any fan fiction trends/cliches you hate?
On the record, I'd like to say that I don't hate Mary-Sues. I, myself, had written a million of them when I was a kid in high school, and I think that any practice at writing is good. Even creating a character with perfect hair/eyes/wings/powers/etc. is all right, because it's a reason for someone to be passionate over their writing. Incest, rape fantasies, or unrealistic portrayals of violence will make my brain start rocking and twitching, but I simply avoid those stories.
I do, however, have a problem with what people write in their ff.net summaries. Anyone who says something about their story being crap, or their first attempt, or anything disparaging will make me immediately agree and say, 'Okay, then we're skipping that story'. People that make demands for readers or reviews, who can't be bothered to spell words correctly or use appropriate grammar, or other histrionic acts will have me scrolling down as fast as I can.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
Uhm, I don't think so. I actually put thought into my summaries. I also don't write the more, er, squicky stories. The Mary-Sue stuff... well, I hope I don't, but that's for others to decide.
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
*laughs* I believe the very first fanfiction I wrote was for Pokemon. A Mary-Sue, of course, but I think I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. And no, I don't write Pokemon fics; I don't think I ever posted one of those....
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
In Ouran, I favor Haruhi/Hikaru the most because I think those two are very compatible; if given a chance, they could help one another grow. Haruhi could teach Hikaru to be compassionate, and Hikaru could teach Haruhi how to enjoy the world around her. I liked Haruhi/Kaoru for a short time, but since that's been thoroughly X-ed by Hatori-san, I gave up on it. Ironically enough, I've never actually written a Hika/Haru fic, but I'm too busy rewriting "War and Peace" in the Ouran-verse.
In La Corda, I like Kahoko/Ryoutarou the best. Kahoko reminds me of Miaka from FY, with the red hair, flighty sweetness, and the very thick skull when it comes to relationships. Ryou is a mix of Tasuki and Tamahome; he's got Tasuki's protective temper, though he's usually as grounded as Tama. Putting them together is a lot of fun, since I consider them a more updated version of the FY couple, and I try to make sure they retain their unique personalities.
13. What would you call your writing style?
What, like "good" or "bad"? Man, there has got to be a better way to phrase this question; I don't even know how to answer this one. I guess... it's rich but light. It's got a lot of details when I need to explain something, but I try to be minimalistic when I can. I don't like shoving tons of info into a paragraph, so I aim to find the one word or the one phrase that describes everything I need it to. I also try to do that with dialogue too; no excess babbling for the sake of filling space.
14. Do you read other people's fan fiction? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
You know, I wish I read more fanfiction. The problem is that (and oh man, I sound like such an arrogant asshole saying this) the vast majority of people on ff.net can't write. Most are kids under 18 who are writing for themselves or their friends. That's fine, as I mentioned above, but I have so little time that I can't waste it reading bad fanfiction. But if a summary catches my eye, it doesn't matter what genre it is in. Romance, fantasy, poetry; whatever it is, I'll give it a read-through because I'll trust the author. Introspective one-shots are my candy, though, because good ones can appear in any fandom.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
Right now, I'd love to write some Black Lagoon fanfics. The thing is, it's such an adult anime that I wouldn't even know where to begin. BL is set in such a dark place that it makes me painfully aware of how good my life has been. Attempting to write a BL fic makes me feel like a liar or a poser, and thinking that I can conceive of what it'd be like to inhabit that world smacks of personal conceit. Still... I'm writing some ficlets; whether or not I post them feels a little irrelevant, just as long as I complete something.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
I like criticism; it always hurts to be told 'you're not perfect', but it feels really good when someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like a word/line/phrase/paragraph is a little off, and nothing is nicer than having someone see what the problem is and helping me make it better. It's a relief to be critiqued because then I know that I'm getting better.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
Music. Oh, I love music. I'll listen to almost anything. I have soundtracks, classical, country, hip-hop, J-pop, rock, Top 40, and belly dancing music. I don't always know what I want to listen to, but having music in the background gives me the sensation of motion. I can type as long as I've got a melody driving me forward, even if it's to an adagio Bach violin sonata.
I also like drawing from real events. Sometimes at work, I'll blurt out random questions to the guys sitting around me. Things like, "what's the first thing you notice about how a girl smells?" all the way to, "what's it feel like to get a broken cheekbone?" They're really good about humoring me, too!
18. What inspires you?
I think this ties into the above question, so I'll just do some reiteration. Music is really big; I can let my mind wander like a curious puppy, and something will magically come to me. Naturally, I take inspiration from other books or movies (fanfiction crossovers in my brain!), but art also help. I got the inspiration for my Elementals story from a deviantart artist.
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction experiences and you as a writer?
It's the reason why I'm the writer I am right now. When I first began, I had no intention of ever wanting to be published; I was just happy to write and watch my worlds being born. Now, I've pushed myself to the quality of a published author because I know I've got the capability to be published. Whether or not it happens doesn't concern me a great deal; it'd be nice, but I'll keep writing because I've come to realize how much of a passion it is to me.
20. Tag some friends, because they'll hate you for it.
sambucivox, projectraven, lizstarsky, nekonezumi, and anyone else who'd like to enlighten me as to why they write fanfiction.