Fic-meme, grabbed from quicksilvermad
1. What was the first story you ever wrote? What inspired you to write it?
First story ever, well, I really can't tell. I've been writing random stuff as long as I've known how to write, but I'm not sure what counts as a story. My first fanfic-like thing was this horrible never-ending crossover self-insertion thingy which incorporated, and was inspired by, pretty much every scifi-show I'd seen (from Star Trek to Babylon 5 to Stargate SG-1). Blergh.
2. Which of your stories received the best response? Why do you think that is?
Hmm, that depends on how to measure the response, which I think isn't all that easy. Looking at fanfiction.net, Iron & Irony is my most popular story ever. I think that's because it's a crossover of two well-known and loved fandoms (Iron Man & House MD), and no one had written such a thing before it. Then again, other stories have received more feedback on lj than I & I.
3. Which of your stories received a less favorable response than you expected. Why do you think that is?
That one's easy: Wit & Whiskey. I'm still not sure why. Maybe because it's just entirely stupid and sucks. Maybe because I chickened out and did a fadeout instead of writing a sex scene. No idea, really.
4. Which character do you enjoy writing the most? Why?
That'd be either Tony Stark or Greg House, and since I've got this "but-what-if-my-Tony-is-completely-OOC" -thing going on right now, which makes writing him not-so-enjoyable, I'll say House. Because he's the snarkiest git there is, and can say or do pretty much anything, there's really no such a thing as too over the top for House.
5. Which character do you enjoy writing the least? Why?
Looking back at all the fic I've done, I guess I'll have to say Sam Carter, from Stargate SG-1. I don't know why, but somehow I just never really got the grasp of her, and never had as much fun with her as the three boys from the team.
6. You wrote it and you loved it. Quote your favourite opening line. Quote your favorite closing line. Your favorite title. (Again, links to the stories are always welcome.)
Favorite Opening Lines:
Looking at all the opening lines I've written, I really can't say I'd love them. Most of them are boring! Bleh. I'll pick the opening of Odyssey of the Mind". A longish quote, because a shorter one wouldn't do:
He woke up with no memory.
Sure, he remembered some things: he knew that this color that surrounded him, the color of the ceiling, the walls and the bedcovers, was called white. He knew that he was a man, and that the flesh-colored, five-fingered things half-hidden in white sleeves that rested on the bedcovers were his hands, although he couldn't feel them at all.
He knew none of the important stuff. He couldn't remember who he was, not even his name. He couldn't remember where he was, or how he had gotten here. He didn't know if he still remembered how to speak. When he tried to turn his head to get a better look at the surroundings, he learned that he could do it, but it felt strangely disjointed, as if it wasn't his neck at all that was moving.
Next to the wall to his right, on a plush white armchair, sat a man, the only thing in the room beside himself that wasn't completely white. The man's skin was pale enough to be almost white, but his close-cut hair was a golden blonde and his eyes the electric blue of a tropical sea. He was wearing black and white, an old-fashioned tailcoat suit, like some vintage British butler.
From my older fic, I think my favorite opening lines come from Mesozoic Maze, a Stargate meets dinosaurs -story:
"Doesn't look like the top pick for tropical gate holiday trips," Colonel Jack O'Neill commented, as SG-1 made their way down the long, gently sloping stone ramp.
There was a clean area right in front of the gate, where the vortex had cleared off all plant growth. The rainforest was everywhere around it, a thick web of countless greens and browns and little spots of other colors. It hugged the edges of the gate's ring, and the DHD was probably hidden inside it. Jack couldn't see one, but it had to be there. Of course it was there.
The MALP had only reached the foot of the ramp. It was too big and clumsy and still not powerful enough to force its way through the thick mass of trees and bushes and lianas and flowers.
Daniel had already made his way down the ramp, and was peering eagerly at the green wall. "So, which way to the ruins?"
Favorite Closing Lines:
Oddly enough, I do love pretty much all my closing lines, even though most of them are horribly soppy. Weird. Seems I like finishing things more than I like starting them, or something... But damn, I'll have to go for Odyssey of the Mind here, too, because the last lines are just about the coolest thing I've ever written:
Tony stepped onto the balcony and looked around. The view was absolutely astonishing. They were in the middle of what seemed like a megalopolis from some utopian sci-fi story, with towering skyscrapers in all directions as far the eye could see, decorated with blinking neon signs and huge screens with commercials on them. The streets, dizzyingly far below them, were bustling with people, as tiny as ants, and with futuristic vehicles, not just on the ground, but in the air as well. There was no sun in the sky, which was ablaze with all the colors of the rainbow, fantastic and completely alien.
"Wow," Tony said, breathless with awe. "What is this place?"
"This, my dear sir," Jarvis declared dramatically, "This is the Internet. And it's all ours."
And another favorite would be the first ending I've ever written, from the oh-so-creatively named Dragonlance/Stargate crossover DragonGate. The story itself isn't something I'm all that proud of, but the ending's cool. Won't mean anything to anyone who hasn't read Dragonlance, though.
Paladine, also known as Fizban the Fantastic and the Platinum Dragon, picked up his old gray hat from the ground, where Tasslehoff Burrfoot had forgotten it. He dusted the worst dirt off the hat, placed it on top of his tangled hair again, and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
“I just cannot help it,” he mumbled to himself. “Happy ends always make me cry.”
Bonus, Favorite Lines of All Time:
Stark vs. House snark from Iron & Irony:
"You as my medical advisor?" Stark said incredulously. "Seriously, why would I pick you, when I could take anyone from your team, and Thirteen is both nicer and prettier than you?"
"You don't want her, she's a lesbian."
"No, she isn't," Stark said, completely confident. "Bisexual, at most. Haven't you seen the way she looks at me?"
"Like you're something the cat brought in?"
"No, that's the way she looks at you."
"Just because your stench is contagious."
Stark stayed silent for a beat longer after that line, staring at House with a look even more amused and mischievous than before, and then said, "Hey, Greg, are you seeing anyone? I think we'd make a great couple."
House couldn't help it. He smirked too.
After that, how could I possibly NOT try writing House/Tony slash?
So, then, Stark/House snark from Scotch & Sarcasm:
"Like I would really spill my guts to you."
"I'm a doctor, I'm good at dealing with spilled guts."
"You'd make a lousy shrink."
"It doesn't take a good shrink to figure out how messed up you are."
"Just speak for yourself, doctor 'I hate everyone, but not nearly as much as I hate myself.'"
"You're just describing yourself there."
"I don't think all people are jerks and liars, I just think you are."
"Coming from the most widely known jerk in the whole country, I'll take that as a compliment."
"You know, Greg - can I call you Greg?"
"No one calls me Greg except for my mother and my ex."
"I'll call you Greg. Just go on and try to call me 'mom'. So, Greg, you never answered me when I asked you if you're single."
Oh, how I loved writing that stuff! <3
7. Do you identify with one pairing? If so do you tend to write mostly that pairing? When you don't- what inspires you to step off the beaten track?
No one pairing that I'd identify with, and also no one single pairing that I'd mostly write. When I wrote Stargate stuff, I always wrote gen, and in the Iron Man fandom, I've done several different pairings and loved them all.
8. Do you re-read your fic? Why or why not? Do you have a favourite fic to re-read?
Well, not so much re-read as skim through, to remind myself of what I've already written, and because yes, I did write it and I do love it on some days. On others, I look at it and shudder at how silly and stupid it all is. Out of my Stargate stories, Mesozoic Maze is a favourite re-readable. As for Iron Man, I think it's too early to say yet. Maybe Iron & Irony, I do keep going back to that one. And Odyssey of the Mind, since it's the one fic I'm most proud of so far.
9. Some writers find writing difficult. For others, it comes easily. Tell me about the experience of writing for you. How do you write? When? Where? Do you plot your stories or just start writing. Which of your stories was the easiest to write? Which was the hardest?
Most of the time, it comes easily. When I really feel like writing, I'd just sit and write and do nothing else, and I get really furstrated when real life gets in the way and I can't do that. There are also times when it feels really difficult, when every word I write is wrong, the characters off, and so on. I used to just start writing and make up the stuff as I go on, with a vague idea of the general direction of the plot. Nowadays, I don't do that anymore. Usually, I outline the plot before I write anything. I do most of my writing at home, on my laptop. Sometimes I write in other, weirder places, too. The easiest story to write so far has probably been "Nothing Tylenol Won't Fix". The hardest one... Well, I guess picking a WIP that's never going to be finished would be sort-of cheating, so I'll say, "Chewing Gum and Duct Tape", because writing crack!fic was so all-new and alien to me. Wit & snark come naturally, but most other types of humor are a huge challenge.
10. How has the delivery of fanfic changed since you first started in fandom? Where did you first start posting? Do you have a web site? Do you maintain it? Did you belong to lists? Do you now? How do you find new fic to read?
I started posting at fanfiction.net, and I still post some of my stories there - not all, though, like I used to. I have a website, but I'm not updating it anymore, it's where I keep my old fic. I took up posting fic at livejournal when I started writing Iron Man, so this is a new thing. I never belonged to any communities or lists before, now I've got several communities. I mostly find new fic from them, or from fanfiction.net, as hard as it is to find good stuff there.
11. No shows = no inspiration. Let's face it, it's all been done, right? Or has it? How do you find inspiration in the Buffyverse? Do the comics help? Do you consider them canon?
Um, Buffyverse? Is this a fandom-specific question? Anyway, no shows definitely doesn't mean no inspiration.
12. Feedback - how important is it to you? What sort of feedback do you like to receive? Do you leave feedback when you read?
Feedback can make my day or crush me completely. Even though I'd like to think otherwise, it's very, very important to me. I love all friendly feedback, but of course, the longer and the more detailed, the better. As for leaving feedback, I don't do nearly enough of it. I try, but I'm way too lazy, and also, way too shy! For some reason, I find commenting more than a bit scary. More scary than posting my own fic. Go figure.
13. How has fanfiction changed your life?
It has stolen what little free time I had. :P I think my written English has also improved a lot because of it. All in all, though, I don't think it really has changed my life all that much. It's a fun pastime, and at times, a silly pointless obsession.
14. Do you write professionally? Did you before you started writing fanfic or did fanfic pave the way?
I don't, and never have. Most likely never will, either. As cool as it would be, I really don't think I'm anywhere near good enough.
15. Final thoughts. I am sure I missed something- talk to me.
I'll talk about what happened to the unfinished stories I wrote about a few posts ago! So, there were four of them. Two are now finished and posted (the two fic posts before this post). I decided to drop the "very basic gen thingy" I mentioned, since it really was something that's been done to death. And the sequel to Iron & Irony (with the blah and unoriginal working title of "Iron & Irony: Missing in Action") is still on the table and still where it was when I wrote that previous post. Instead, I'm working on a very basic angst/hurt/comfort thingy, because I felt like writing one, after all these challenging strange new things I've done lately.