Interview questions from eilanhp
1. What do you find particularly interesting regarding Snape/McGonagall?
Potential, I guess. Because they're so far from Harry's view of things (as opposed to Ron and Hermione, or the rest of the Gryffindor students), a lot of things are possible. We just don't know what they do with all their spare time, or why they're always running to the scenes of various disasters together, or one close on the heels of the other.
2. Where do you see yourself five years from now? Ten years?
Is it pathetic of me to say that I don't know? Really? I have all of this college to slog through, and I'm going to the community college here now, but...*sigh* State budget cuts, they keep cutting back on what's offered at the school, and I'm starting to worry about that. I'd like to be out of school in five years, but it really just depends on a lot of stuff. Like me figuring out what I want to study, what I want to do when I'm out of school. Ten years... I want to be doing something that makes me happy.
3. What do you think about poetry? What kind of poetry do you like and what do you think about 'newer' poetry?
Well, I liked some of the stuff we studied in school, though nothing I can remember right off the top of my head. But I always hated how they made us analyze everything- Why is it a red wagon? What does the author mean when he/she talks about the red wagon? What does it symbolize? Maybe, that he just felt like writing about a red wagon?
I don't know what kind of poetry I like, really- don't read a lot of it. There's a book of Sylvia Plath poems on my bookshelf, but mostly the ones I understand are depressing. I don't read through that book much.
I guess I like poetry that's easy to understand- or if not easy, then not totally cryptic.
Newer poetry...I don't know any, really.
I've written poems, but I think they're all terrible.
4. You have 'mists of avalon' listed as a LiveJournal interest. What do you like/dislike about it? Do you like Marion Zimmer Bradley's other work?
I read a lot of Arthurian legend stories as a kid, and I liked that this one was told from the point of view of the women. And I'm something of an eclectic pagan, so the idea that Morgaine and the Avalon gang weren't 'evil satanic witches' or whatever sort of appealed to me. Still does in some ways. But I have days when I get really angry with that book- I think there are some religious fanatics in there on both sides of things, and that's sometimes a little overwhelming.
Oh, and I'd really like to slap Guinevere. Hard. I mean, okay, she's agoraphobic, but it's not the end of the world. She whines too much.
The Arthur/Lancelot/Guin threesome was amusing on several levels, though. :)
I've read some of her other books; the other Avalon books are interesting, if a little strange. I just recently read 'The Firebrand', which was good. Name spellings were off from what I'm used to, though; her main character is Kassandra (instead of Cassandra). Let's see, what else... read a few of her 'modern' fantasy novels, The Inheritors and Witch Hill, or something like that. Major overtones of "Witchcraft is eeeevil" there, some major melodrama, badly written sex scenes, and I think there's a rape or three in Witch Hill. Ugh.
The Darkover series she wrote has some interesting volumes in it... but overall I sometimes get the feeling that she takes herself a bit too seriously. Or did, anyway.
5. What is your main source of inspiration?
Good question. And when I figure out what the answer is...
Well, if you mean inspiration for writing and stuff, the truth is that I don't know. I know that sounds like I'm dodging the question, but really, it's hard to figure out. Sometimes it's reading a book- a lot of my fic springs from canon, twisting it, ignoring it, or turning left when someone in canon turned right.
That aside, I listen to a lot of music, and the right tune helps. Which is why there's usually a huge stack of CDs around my computer. I can flip through them, dig up something that seems right.
I also have a large collection of action figures standing on my desk- and yes, one of them is Professor Snape. I've actually worked out various scenes in fics using the figures- I used to walk them out myself, but I was choreographing a fight scene for a Babylon 5 story once and almost broke my ankle when I lost my balance and ended up kicking a wall. So we don't do that anymore. Much. (That and I did that at our old house, where there was room to move around; here it's not possible anyway).
Thanks for some really good questions, Eilan! I had to think for a while on some of those. :)
So...I think it's my turn now. Anyone want to be interviewed by yours truly?