(no subject)
A little introduction, for those of you who have randomly stumbled across my community and are wondering about the girl behind the crack. :)
1. How about a brief introduction?
I'm Megan, and I'm twenty-two years old. As of right now, I'm a college student at a small liberal arts college in Illinois, majoring in creative writing and minoring in political journalism. However, I'm set to graduate in less than a month, and after that, I will be venturing into the big scary world of Real Jobs and paying loans back and other fun things.
2. What got you into fan fiction (and/or adopting muses)?
When I was younger, I always liked to imagine myself in the universes of things I enjoyed - like riding a four-wheeler around and pretending that I was one of Cassie's friends and fellow Animorphs. When I was in eighth grade, a friend introduced me to the concept of fanfiction via internet mailing lists (I'd started roleplaying a year or so earlier, but wasn't very good at it and quickly left). I wrote the typical sugar high/Mary Sue-tastic stories found at that age, then moved on through there, through different fandoms.
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
Well, I would have said slash, but...Doctor Who fandom has gotten me back into het. Crazy! I generally write shippy fic, with the exclusion of "Orientation" - for some reason, my brain just works better when thinking about characters' interaction via romances (or the lack thereof).
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
When I wrote SW fic, it was exclusively Obi-Wan-centric. But with DW, there are so many characters I like that it's hard to pick just one. (Also, exclusively writing from the Master's point of view makes my brain go a bit weird, so I have to space it out a bit.) And I get distracted by shiny pairings all the time, a bit like a sparrow.
5. What is your most popular fic/muse and why do you think people like it so?
"Men Are From Mars" - I think that even though it's got a less popular pairing, it's still well-written and funny.
6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic/post/prompt you've written that you're most proud of?
Same as above. I think it's solidly written, with really good characterization, and it seems to flow like an actual episode of the show to me. (Well, an actual episode with random Ten/Donna sex. Which should totally be in the show.)
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
Oh, God, it's hard. I have a deep fear of committing anything to paper/the computer screen - that blank page is scary. Once it's started, then I have to figure out where things going and try to wrangle characters in the general direction (and they don't always want to cooperate). For me, one of the hardest aspects is revision - a piece actually changes very little from what comes out of my head to what I post.
Also, I write the world's worst endings.
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
Martha's taking over my brain at the moment, so here's the beginning of the Ten/Martha fic I haven't gotten around to writing yet.
He'd parked the TARDIS in the Jones' back yard after bringing it down from the Valiant, claiming that it needed repairs. When she'd first stepped inside after the paradox machine had been broken, it still sounded sick - not unnatural, not like it had before, but just...off. Martha couldn't have placed her finger on what was wrong, just that it was wrong.
She'd started taking food out when her mother suggested it one day. They'd had a bit of roast, and she slid a few slices on a plate, adding some of the gravy and a few new potatoes. "It'll do him good," Francine said defensively, when she noticed Martha looking. Martha privately thought it was a bit like feeding a stray dog.
Every afternoon, she took a plate out, going into the TARDIS without knocking and setting it down on the floor. The Doctor was always working down beneath the grate, too busy to say anything - Martha wasn't even sure that he ever noticed. But she kept doing it anyway, even when the plates inevitably came back virtually untouched. That was just how she was.
9. Are there any fanfiction trends/clichés you hate?
Marriage fic, babyfic, writing characters badly (especially the Master), fobwatched!Doctor/Master.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
Uh, well, "Men Are From Mars" is technically a marriage fic, but it's not really about the Doctor and Donna being married - I just wrote it for a marriage challenge. And I might have fobwatch-y fics (with other characters) floating around in my head. *shifty look*
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
Pokemon. And no, though I keep meaning to write a really cracky Pokemon/DW crossover.
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
Doctor/Master - it's hot and psychotic and oh so lovely in its dysfunction.
Ten/Martha - I don't write it, but I'd imagine that I would love Martha's badassery and Ten finally coming to terms with the fact that she's hot and awesome.
Ten/Donna - Oh, God, anything with Donna is awesome, though we have a love/hate relationship whenever I let her narrate (mostly involving the fact that she won't shut up).
13. What would you call your writing style?
Um...humorous? I have no idea. I think that's usually the common theme in my writing, though.
14. Do you read other people's writing? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Not too much. I'm really addicted to versaphile's "Praxis", though.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
My Nine/Martha AU, though that's starting to make its way onto paper very slowly. Plot scares me, though.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
Being a writing major means that you learn how to take criticism, 'cause if you don't, you'll wind up sobbing in the middle of workshop. Actually, I love it, because how else do I know what works and what doesn't? My problem is accepting effusive praise.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
I'm good at starting fics when I'm bored out of my mind in class. Other than that...I don't really know.
18. What inspires you?
Usually, I just get an idea and let it simmer in my head in a giant stew until it's ready to come out onto paper. Though that's less about inspiration and more about the writing process. I'm not sure where my ideas come from - some are distinctly affected by RP, or by chatting with friends via AIM, or just saying "Hey, what should I write about?", and others are completely me.
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction/RP experiences and you as a writer?
I feel like I've grown immensely over the years, though I'm still not sure exactly how that's happened. I like it, though. I'm starting to become comfortable enough with my writing to not hate everything ever, which is always a good thing. I mean, when I started out writing, everything was basically dialogue. I've worked so hard on various aspects of writing, and I know I'm still lacking in some of them (I should never, ever be allowed to write action scenes), and I'm fine with that, because I know that everybody's got to have something to work on. I also feel like writing fanfic (and reading bad fanfic) has helped me more than four years of writing classes have, but maybe something snuck in via osmosis? Your guess is as good as mine.
1. How about a brief introduction?
I'm Megan, and I'm twenty-two years old. As of right now, I'm a college student at a small liberal arts college in Illinois, majoring in creative writing and minoring in political journalism. However, I'm set to graduate in less than a month, and after that, I will be venturing into the big scary world of Real Jobs and paying loans back and other fun things.
2. What got you into fan fiction (and/or adopting muses)?
When I was younger, I always liked to imagine myself in the universes of things I enjoyed - like riding a four-wheeler around and pretending that I was one of Cassie's friends and fellow Animorphs. When I was in eighth grade, a friend introduced me to the concept of fanfiction via internet mailing lists (I'd started roleplaying a year or so earlier, but wasn't very good at it and quickly left). I wrote the typical sugar high/Mary Sue-tastic stories found at that age, then moved on through there, through different fandoms.
3. What kind of fan fiction do you write?
Well, I would have said slash, but...Doctor Who fandom has gotten me back into het. Crazy! I generally write shippy fic, with the exclusion of "Orientation" - for some reason, my brain just works better when thinking about characters' interaction via romances (or the lack thereof).
4. Do you write for the same pairings/characters?
When I wrote SW fic, it was exclusively Obi-Wan-centric. But with DW, there are so many characters I like that it's hard to pick just one. (Also, exclusively writing from the Master's point of view makes my brain go a bit weird, so I have to space it out a bit.) And I get distracted by shiny pairings all the time, a bit like a sparrow.
5. What is your most popular fic/muse and why do you think people like it so?
"Men Are From Mars" - I think that even though it's got a less popular pairing, it's still well-written and funny.
6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic/post/prompt you've written that you're most proud of?
Same as above. I think it's solidly written, with really good characterization, and it seems to flow like an actual episode of the show to me. (Well, an actual episode with random Ten/Donna sex. Which should totally be in the show.)
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What aspects do you struggle with?
Oh, God, it's hard. I have a deep fear of committing anything to paper/the computer screen - that blank page is scary. Once it's started, then I have to figure out where things going and try to wrangle characters in the general direction (and they don't always want to cooperate). For me, one of the hardest aspects is revision - a piece actually changes very little from what comes out of my head to what I post.
Also, I write the world's worst endings.
8. Write a few sentences of your favorite pairing or character.
Martha's taking over my brain at the moment, so here's the beginning of the Ten/Martha fic I haven't gotten around to writing yet.
He'd parked the TARDIS in the Jones' back yard after bringing it down from the Valiant, claiming that it needed repairs. When she'd first stepped inside after the paradox machine had been broken, it still sounded sick - not unnatural, not like it had before, but just...off. Martha couldn't have placed her finger on what was wrong, just that it was wrong.
She'd started taking food out when her mother suggested it one day. They'd had a bit of roast, and she slid a few slices on a plate, adding some of the gravy and a few new potatoes. "It'll do him good," Francine said defensively, when she noticed Martha looking. Martha privately thought it was a bit like feeding a stray dog.
Every afternoon, she took a plate out, going into the TARDIS without knocking and setting it down on the floor. The Doctor was always working down beneath the grate, too busy to say anything - Martha wasn't even sure that he ever noticed. But she kept doing it anyway, even when the plates inevitably came back virtually untouched. That was just how she was.
9. Are there any fanfiction trends/clichés you hate?
Marriage fic, babyfic, writing characters badly (especially the Master), fobwatched!Doctor/Master.
10. Are you guilty of any of the trends you hate?
Uh, well, "Men Are From Mars" is technically a marriage fic, but it's not really about the Doctor and Donna being married - I just wrote it for a marriage challenge. And I might have fobwatch-y fics (with other characters) floating around in my head. *shifty look*
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still write for it?
Pokemon. And no, though I keep meaning to write a really cracky Pokemon/DW crossover.
12. Name your OTPs and explain what it is about them you love to write.
Doctor/Master - it's hot and psychotic and oh so lovely in its dysfunction.
Ten/Martha - I don't write it, but I'd imagine that I would love Martha's badassery and Ten finally coming to terms with the fact that she's hot and awesome.
Ten/Donna - Oh, God, anything with Donna is awesome, though we have a love/hate relationship whenever I let her narrate (mostly involving the fact that she won't shut up).
13. What would you call your writing style?
Um...humorous? I have no idea. I think that's usually the common theme in my writing, though.
14. Do you read other people's writing? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Not too much. I'm really addicted to versaphile's "Praxis", though.
15. Name one thing you'd love to write but have been too afraid or too shy to do.
My Nine/Martha AU, though that's starting to make its way onto paper very slowly. Plot scares me, though.
16. Do you feel uncomfortable taking criticism? Or worse, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
Being a writing major means that you learn how to take criticism, 'cause if you don't, you'll wind up sobbing in the middle of workshop. Actually, I love it, because how else do I know what works and what doesn't? My problem is accepting effusive praise.
17. When you write, is there anything that helps?
I'm good at starting fics when I'm bored out of my mind in class. Other than that...I don't really know.
18. What inspires you?
Usually, I just get an idea and let it simmer in my head in a giant stew until it's ready to come out onto paper. Though that's less about inspiration and more about the writing process. I'm not sure where my ideas come from - some are distinctly affected by RP, or by chatting with friends via AIM, or just saying "Hey, what should I write about?", and others are completely me.
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fan fiction/RP experiences and you as a writer?
I feel like I've grown immensely over the years, though I'm still not sure exactly how that's happened. I like it, though. I'm starting to become comfortable enough with my writing to not hate everything ever, which is always a good thing. I mean, when I started out writing, everything was basically dialogue. I've worked so hard on various aspects of writing, and I know I'm still lacking in some of them (I should never, ever be allowed to write action scenes), and I'm fine with that, because I know that everybody's got to have something to work on. I also feel like writing fanfic (and reading bad fanfic) has helped me more than four years of writing classes have, but maybe something snuck in via osmosis? Your guess is as good as mine.