Writing meme
Here's a bit of a meme that I borrowed from 
lost_spook. It's long because I'm putting off making a travel insurance claim which is one of the most depressing activities known to humans.
What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?
The Morally Ambivalent Samaritan(BtvS). It was Spike/Xander and I wrote it in about six hours, the first time I became seriously hypomanic. (Mary Gentle liked it, which is possibly the most exciting claim I can make for any of my writing!)
Is there anything you regret writing?
No, though I do still wonder whether Chimera (BBC Robin Hood) is going to get me arrested some day.
Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.
I love all of them with unbelievable intensity except the ones I’m stuck on writing which are never going to be any good at all. That One May Smile (Sherlock) has an ridiculously audacious premise ,what is probably the most unexpected set of plot twists and many of my favourite characterisations. It’s the story of what Richard Brook did when he came out of prison. (The trick with the huge Sherlock fandom was to figure out plots that no-one else had written and this was definitely one of those!)
What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?
I don’t desperately need to rewrite anything, though occasionally I look at some of my early ones and wonder why I was so fond of torturing people and omitting pronouns.
What’s your most popular fanfic?
More Things in Heaven and Earth (Sherlock). Turns out what people really like is dubious metaphysics and synaesthesiac sex. Also available as a podcast (my single attempt at a recording) and in Russian (someone else's translation!)
How do you come up with your fanfic titles?
Mostly randomly and with some attempt, not always successful, at avoiding the pretentious. Phrases, puns, song lyrics, something from whatever academic thing I’m working on. I usually have a working title for saving files but it seldom becomes the final one. It’s not something that I spend much time on but it’s nice when one fits.
What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?
I hate summaries more than anything else. I do not want to give away so much as a line of my precious plot in advance. It’s like giving pairing information. How can I tell a story about conflict if you already know the characters are going to end up together? This is why my summaries tend either to be extremely short or lines of dialogue from somewhere on the first page. It’s also why I don’t use warnings and very very few tags. I mildly regret the readers who choose not to read the stories as a result but not nearly as much as I’d regret telling my story clumsily.
If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?
Difficult. I have a very poor visual imagination - my characters talk to each other endlessly in my head but I never see them. I think maybe Put to Flight with Avon and Tarrant in sparkly purple leotards on the trapeze :-)
Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?
Seldom. I’m both too impatient and too self-confident to feel the need for one. On the occasions when I have they have been a great help, but mostly I just want my story posted now!
What inspires you to write?
I don’t tend to wait for inspiration, I just start.
What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?
People are hugely generous and I am not good at distinguishing hyperbole from rational statements which makes me worry sometimes for their sanity. I am always delighted when people say they laughed because I am far more confident about my ability to surprise people than to amuse them.
How about this; “This is the third time I read this and it still feels like a kick in the teeth".
Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?
I put music on but if I’m writing I don’t tend to hear it. Not much crossover between music and writing for me but Rush’s humanistic philosophy sometimes feeds into stuff.
Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?
Yes. Multi chapter fics tend to suit the average length of my stories (15-20k-ish) best; they are too long to sit down and write as one document. I try to limit the epics a bit- I feel they can be self indulgent, but so often the next bit of the story comes along anyway.
What’s the word count on your longest fic?
This Is Going To Be Fun (|Sherlock) is 42k. It was written as a series of linked stories but it’s got an overarching plot. It's Sherlock/John/Moriarty because I felt like a challenge and then it got away with me.
Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?
Very seldom. I tend to write about interactions and they don’t often come short.
What’s your favourite genre to write?
Anything in which externally generated adventures can happen to the characters. My plots tend to come out of the pressures on people. I don’t tend to write much for static or close environments.
First person or third person - what do you write in and why?
Generally third person single viewpoint, first occasionally. We Didn’t Come Through Unscathed (Sherlock) jumps merrily between first, second and third for a variety of characters. My novel is written in unreliable first person narration, which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone!
Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?
I create OCs where I need them, but I don’t often make then central to the story (Sound of Ideologies (B7) was a necessary exception, since I needed someone to put forward the ideology for Avon and Blake to respond to). I’m aware that I’m writing fanfic and canon characters are what people generally want to read. Karl’s Boys, was based on a ballet; I turned the six nameless backing dancers into my own characters and had a whale of a time with them. But then there wasn’t a fandom to upset!
What is your greatest strength as a writer?
My subconscious ability to take all the random things that I’ve put in the story so far and come up with a plot out of them just when I can’t bluff my way without one any longer.
What do you struggle the most with in your writing?
Endings. The relationship between two or more people evolves but it doesn’t usually reach a fixed conclusion. At some point I have to pretend for the sake of the fic that they are now done. It doesn’t come easily and quite often I end up revisiting the situation, which is why I write so many sequels.
lost_spook. It's long because I'm putting off making a travel insurance claim which is one of the most depressing activities known to humans.
What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?
The Morally Ambivalent Samaritan(BtvS). It was Spike/Xander and I wrote it in about six hours, the first time I became seriously hypomanic. (Mary Gentle liked it, which is possibly the most exciting claim I can make for any of my writing!)
Is there anything you regret writing?
No, though I do still wonder whether Chimera (BBC Robin Hood) is going to get me arrested some day.
Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.
I love all of them with unbelievable intensity except the ones I’m stuck on writing which are never going to be any good at all. That One May Smile (Sherlock) has an ridiculously audacious premise ,what is probably the most unexpected set of plot twists and many of my favourite characterisations. It’s the story of what Richard Brook did when he came out of prison. (The trick with the huge Sherlock fandom was to figure out plots that no-one else had written and this was definitely one of those!)
What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?
I don’t desperately need to rewrite anything, though occasionally I look at some of my early ones and wonder why I was so fond of torturing people and omitting pronouns.
What’s your most popular fanfic?
More Things in Heaven and Earth (Sherlock). Turns out what people really like is dubious metaphysics and synaesthesiac sex. Also available as a podcast (my single attempt at a recording) and in Russian (someone else's translation!)
How do you come up with your fanfic titles?
Mostly randomly and with some attempt, not always successful, at avoiding the pretentious. Phrases, puns, song lyrics, something from whatever academic thing I’m working on. I usually have a working title for saving files but it seldom becomes the final one. It’s not something that I spend much time on but it’s nice when one fits.
What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?
I hate summaries more than anything else. I do not want to give away so much as a line of my precious plot in advance. It’s like giving pairing information. How can I tell a story about conflict if you already know the characters are going to end up together? This is why my summaries tend either to be extremely short or lines of dialogue from somewhere on the first page. It’s also why I don’t use warnings and very very few tags. I mildly regret the readers who choose not to read the stories as a result but not nearly as much as I’d regret telling my story clumsily.
If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?
Difficult. I have a very poor visual imagination - my characters talk to each other endlessly in my head but I never see them. I think maybe Put to Flight with Avon and Tarrant in sparkly purple leotards on the trapeze :-)
Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?
Seldom. I’m both too impatient and too self-confident to feel the need for one. On the occasions when I have they have been a great help, but mostly I just want my story posted now!
What inspires you to write?
I don’t tend to wait for inspiration, I just start.
What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?
People are hugely generous and I am not good at distinguishing hyperbole from rational statements which makes me worry sometimes for their sanity. I am always delighted when people say they laughed because I am far more confident about my ability to surprise people than to amuse them.
How about this; “This is the third time I read this and it still feels like a kick in the teeth".
Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?
I put music on but if I’m writing I don’t tend to hear it. Not much crossover between music and writing for me but Rush’s humanistic philosophy sometimes feeds into stuff.
Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?
Yes. Multi chapter fics tend to suit the average length of my stories (15-20k-ish) best; they are too long to sit down and write as one document. I try to limit the epics a bit- I feel they can be self indulgent, but so often the next bit of the story comes along anyway.
What’s the word count on your longest fic?
This Is Going To Be Fun (|Sherlock) is 42k. It was written as a series of linked stories but it’s got an overarching plot. It's Sherlock/John/Moriarty because I felt like a challenge and then it got away with me.
Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?
Very seldom. I tend to write about interactions and they don’t often come short.
What’s your favourite genre to write?
Anything in which externally generated adventures can happen to the characters. My plots tend to come out of the pressures on people. I don’t tend to write much for static or close environments.
First person or third person - what do you write in and why?
Generally third person single viewpoint, first occasionally. We Didn’t Come Through Unscathed (Sherlock) jumps merrily between first, second and third for a variety of characters. My novel is written in unreliable first person narration, which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone!
Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?
I create OCs where I need them, but I don’t often make then central to the story (Sound of Ideologies (B7) was a necessary exception, since I needed someone to put forward the ideology for Avon and Blake to respond to). I’m aware that I’m writing fanfic and canon characters are what people generally want to read. Karl’s Boys, was based on a ballet; I turned the six nameless backing dancers into my own characters and had a whale of a time with them. But then there wasn’t a fandom to upset!
What is your greatest strength as a writer?
My subconscious ability to take all the random things that I’ve put in the story so far and come up with a plot out of them just when I can’t bluff my way without one any longer.
What do you struggle the most with in your writing?
Endings. The relationship between two or more people evolves but it doesn’t usually reach a fixed conclusion. At some point I have to pretend for the sake of the fic that they are now done. It doesn’t come easily and quite often I end up revisiting the situation, which is why I write so many sequels.