naked kids and happy songs
So it wasn't so much "30 Days of Questions" for me as it was "Thirty questions. When will I have time to finish this?" That time is now!
21 -- Sequels -- Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
I don't think so. Sequels don't come very naturally to me. Series come naturally, that is, a set of complete stories I want to write that portray a whole picture, a larger arc. But I'm relatively sure I've never gone back to a story I've finished, considered done, to re-open the plot and the characterization to write a sequel. I don't have any real opinions on sequels; it's just never been something that's appealed to me.
22 -- Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
I have participated in so many fests/ficathons I lost count around 2004. Every year I probably do at least a dozen or more; they are the engine of my writing when I'm not in a naturally inspired period. For some reason, the combination of prompt, deadline, and challenge really works for my writing style and my ability to hammer out short stories, so I've stuck with that trend for a long time.
I've participated in a few big bangs--less than ten, probably, depending on what you count as a big bang--and I have about a fifty-fifty chance of completing them. Long form is something I have grown more comfortable with the longer I've been writing, but it's not my natural forte and it takes some real work for me to get there. Sometimes the timeframe and the inspiration is there; sometimes it's not. I don't feel too bad when I can't make the rough draft deadline of a big bang--it's a significant investment of time, and since it's not my native writing style I give myself a pass.
23 -- When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
I post to LJ and DW, because I like to have things archived in two places and don't like to force the reader to choose between the services, and my own archive because I feel very strongly about being the curator of my own fiction. Readers are invited to read in any of those places; I moderate comments in all of them and like the backup system it offers.
I usually, if I have time, will post an announcement to relevant communities on both DW and LJ. I've always assumed that because I jump fandoms with incredible frequency--this month alone I've posted in five separate fandoms and posted one original story--I will never sustain a devoted readership. I mean, tell me if I'm wrong, but apart from the rare reader that will take on anything, there are folks who will read the Gen Kill but not the H50, the Inception but not the Star Trek. So, you know, I like to make sure that the readers who would probably be most interested in the story are aware of its existence, whether or not they follow my journals.
24 -- Betaing -- How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
My perfect balance would be two--one to especially concentrate on grammar, the other to know the canon well enough to comment on tone and characterization. I'm often lucky enough to have a beta that can provide both services. Generally I'll feel comfortable posting a shorter story, up to about five thousand words, with only one beta editing it; anything over that and I start recruiting. When I crest ten thousand or more, three is a minimum before I'm truly happy with putting it out there in the world. Generally, though, my betaing trends towards fine-tuning and catching the flaws; I work a lot of things out before I ever actually write the story, so that I effectively write to final draft when I'm putting it down.
25 -- Music -- Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
About eighty percent of the time, yeah, music is a necessity. I don't make playlists; I listen to a specific artists' radio on Spotify or Pandora and let that mood steer me through writing. Playlists are just too time consuming, and I have too much music for that to be easy for me to do. Mixtapes are several hours' worth of contemplation for me. Music either needs to be soft and incidental, or incredibly loud so that it blocks out the ambient noise. Either works for me.
The other twenty percent, I need silence. It doesn't happen all that often, but when it does I need no interruptions, just white noise or no noise and the soft click of the keyboard.
26 -- What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
I stop and research the tiniest of details all the time to clarify accuracy or to shade my understanding of a scene. One of my favorite examples of this was when I spent an hour researching whether or not you could ship into Camp Lejeune if you were an unattached senior NCO going on leave. I've driven to small towns or cities before that have featured in stories I've written, just to get a better sense of the setting. I am very, very passionate about research and accuracy.
27 -- Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Probably my small writing desk, in my room. I have been writing on computers since I was six; it is almost painful for me to try and write anything longer than the story idea itself, or a scene that's about to escape me. Longhand is just not something that works for me; typing is the only thing that can keep up with the speed of my mind, and even there I'm hamstrung by dysgraphia. Anything that can get the words down fast--I would speak stories into existence if I wasn't so wedded to typing.
28 -- Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Mmm, in the Big Bang sense yes; in the sense that people have provided me with fanworks about my fanworks, yes; especially yes in the podfic sense, where I'm interpreting another's story. But the closest I've ever come to a true collaboration is chatfic, just shopping an idea back and forth for the heck of it. I would actually love to collaborate with an artist or an author to make an original fanwork, but it's never happened for one reason or another. I think that would be a really rewarding experience.
29 -- What is your current project or projects?
Urk, too many to list! Now that I've finished Kink Bingo (huzzah!) I have a X-Men story due for a challenge by the end of the month and a good window after that in which to work on some non-challenge-related projects--barring running YAGKYAS, of course. Biggest challenge of them all.
30 -- Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
Probably Combination of States. For a long time, I thought that story said everything I wanted to say about Generation Kill, and Brad/Nate. I got a lot of the characterization I wanted to explore out in that story, and I think I provided a version of Brad and Nate different from most other interpretations of them as characters and as a pairing.
You have no idea how pleased I am that I was wrong, wrong, wrong. It's far from the last story I have to tell; in many ways, it was the only the first.
Now, question for the watchers: is it really annoying to have so much fic posted in a week? Or it is okay, good even? Because I have a lot of stuff to post, but I don't want to annoy folks.
21 -- Sequels -- Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
I don't think so. Sequels don't come very naturally to me. Series come naturally, that is, a set of complete stories I want to write that portray a whole picture, a larger arc. But I'm relatively sure I've never gone back to a story I've finished, considered done, to re-open the plot and the characterization to write a sequel. I don't have any real opinions on sequels; it's just never been something that's appealed to me.
22 -- Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
I have participated in so many fests/ficathons I lost count around 2004. Every year I probably do at least a dozen or more; they are the engine of my writing when I'm not in a naturally inspired period. For some reason, the combination of prompt, deadline, and challenge really works for my writing style and my ability to hammer out short stories, so I've stuck with that trend for a long time.
I've participated in a few big bangs--less than ten, probably, depending on what you count as a big bang--and I have about a fifty-fifty chance of completing them. Long form is something I have grown more comfortable with the longer I've been writing, but it's not my natural forte and it takes some real work for me to get there. Sometimes the timeframe and the inspiration is there; sometimes it's not. I don't feel too bad when I can't make the rough draft deadline of a big bang--it's a significant investment of time, and since it's not my native writing style I give myself a pass.
23 -- When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
I post to LJ and DW, because I like to have things archived in two places and don't like to force the reader to choose between the services, and my own archive because I feel very strongly about being the curator of my own fiction. Readers are invited to read in any of those places; I moderate comments in all of them and like the backup system it offers.
I usually, if I have time, will post an announcement to relevant communities on both DW and LJ. I've always assumed that because I jump fandoms with incredible frequency--this month alone I've posted in five separate fandoms and posted one original story--I will never sustain a devoted readership. I mean, tell me if I'm wrong, but apart from the rare reader that will take on anything, there are folks who will read the Gen Kill but not the H50, the Inception but not the Star Trek. So, you know, I like to make sure that the readers who would probably be most interested in the story are aware of its existence, whether or not they follow my journals.
24 -- Betaing -- How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
My perfect balance would be two--one to especially concentrate on grammar, the other to know the canon well enough to comment on tone and characterization. I'm often lucky enough to have a beta that can provide both services. Generally I'll feel comfortable posting a shorter story, up to about five thousand words, with only one beta editing it; anything over that and I start recruiting. When I crest ten thousand or more, three is a minimum before I'm truly happy with putting it out there in the world. Generally, though, my betaing trends towards fine-tuning and catching the flaws; I work a lot of things out before I ever actually write the story, so that I effectively write to final draft when I'm putting it down.
25 -- Music -- Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
About eighty percent of the time, yeah, music is a necessity. I don't make playlists; I listen to a specific artists' radio on Spotify or Pandora and let that mood steer me through writing. Playlists are just too time consuming, and I have too much music for that to be easy for me to do. Mixtapes are several hours' worth of contemplation for me. Music either needs to be soft and incidental, or incredibly loud so that it blocks out the ambient noise. Either works for me.
The other twenty percent, I need silence. It doesn't happen all that often, but when it does I need no interruptions, just white noise or no noise and the soft click of the keyboard.
26 -- What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
I stop and research the tiniest of details all the time to clarify accuracy or to shade my understanding of a scene. One of my favorite examples of this was when I spent an hour researching whether or not you could ship into Camp Lejeune if you were an unattached senior NCO going on leave. I've driven to small towns or cities before that have featured in stories I've written, just to get a better sense of the setting. I am very, very passionate about research and accuracy.
27 -- Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Probably my small writing desk, in my room. I have been writing on computers since I was six; it is almost painful for me to try and write anything longer than the story idea itself, or a scene that's about to escape me. Longhand is just not something that works for me; typing is the only thing that can keep up with the speed of my mind, and even there I'm hamstrung by dysgraphia. Anything that can get the words down fast--I would speak stories into existence if I wasn't so wedded to typing.
28 -- Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Mmm, in the Big Bang sense yes; in the sense that people have provided me with fanworks about my fanworks, yes; especially yes in the podfic sense, where I'm interpreting another's story. But the closest I've ever come to a true collaboration is chatfic, just shopping an idea back and forth for the heck of it. I would actually love to collaborate with an artist or an author to make an original fanwork, but it's never happened for one reason or another. I think that would be a really rewarding experience.
29 -- What is your current project or projects?
Urk, too many to list! Now that I've finished Kink Bingo (huzzah!) I have a X-Men story due for a challenge by the end of the month and a good window after that in which to work on some non-challenge-related projects--barring running YAGKYAS, of course. Biggest challenge of them all.
30 -- Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
Probably Combination of States. For a long time, I thought that story said everything I wanted to say about Generation Kill, and Brad/Nate. I got a lot of the characterization I wanted to explore out in that story, and I think I provided a version of Brad and Nate different from most other interpretations of them as characters and as a pairing.
You have no idea how pleased I am that I was wrong, wrong, wrong. It's far from the last story I have to tell; in many ways, it was the only the first.
Now, question for the watchers: is it really annoying to have so much fic posted in a week? Or it is okay, good even? Because I have a lot of stuff to post, but I don't want to annoy folks.