Writing Meme
Okay, now that I have recovered *somewhat* over the sadness that was HIMYM this week... T_T, here's a Meme I stole from idioticonion:
Writing meme
1. How long have you been writing?
Since I was 16, though I was reading a lot of fanfiction prior to taking that leap of no returns.
2. And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?
Well, as far as I can remember, I always would take my favourite characters from films, movies or books and then make up stories and situations for them in my head... though the first time I encountered fanfiction was from Star Trek.
It was 1997, and I was the biggest fan of Star Trek: Voyager ever ever ever... so when this new “internet” thing was available, I began to search for related things, which led me to the oodles of Trekkie fanfiction. I was AMAZED and completely smitten! Though I only started writing years later and not on Star Trek! XD
3. What kind of fanfiction do you like to write?
My fics are pretty much all hurt/comfort, with the comfort being full of sugary sweetness dipped with honey! I’m also very into writing medical scenarios for my characters, probably because of my background in health - though it still takes me oodles of research to get one of those correct and realistic enough.
4. Do you tend to write the same pairings/characters? Or are you a fandom whore?
Same pairings and characters like you wouldn’t believe! XD Though I can’t say I’ve written enough fic to be a fandom whore even if I tried.
5. What is your most popular fanfic and why do you think people like it so?
Umm, probably “Five Reasons for Love” (Heroes fic). It only has three chapters, was never finished, and still managed to garner 66 reviews on ff.net... actually, I just received a review yesterday asking me to update... >.< Otherwise “Brothers” (OC fic) is another popular one... again, sadly... unfinished...
I think people like those two because they're both kiddie!fics, and oozing with cuteness and angst from the blatant hurting and comforting... *shrug*
6. Forget other people...what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Hmm... in terms of length, it’s probably my first fic “Xiao Yan Zi’s Story” (HZGG fic) which was 18 chapters long, again sadly unfinished, but took me around five years to write.
In terms of writing style and inspiration, probably “Slap-Bet” (HIMYM fic), since it’s one of my newer ones, and took one crazy day to write all 4000+ words of it!
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing?
Depends on my mood and whether I can get into the “zone”... if I can, then writing is a piece of cake... otherwise, it takes forever and is grating and painstakingly difficult to squeeze out every uninspired sentence... >.< The most difficult aspect of writing for me is having to put the scenes in my head into words. Since I “see” everything and “hear” it all in my imagination, I find it difficult to convey all the expressions and tones into words without it losing any of the flavour.... so when can fan-footage start being a thing? XD
8. Write a few sentences or so about your favorite pairing or character.
Right now I’m completely head over heels in love with a certain Barney Stinson that I want to wrap him all up in cotton blankets of love and care and hug him for the rest of eternity so he can feel all the love in the world...
Yes, it’s probably unhealthy...
And yes, perhaps I need some form of therapy...
9. Are there any fanfiction trends/cliches that you're sick of?
Not really... I don’t mind trends and cliches as long as it’s well written. And the most original un-cliched idea can be terrible if it’s written badly.
10. Are you guilty of any of these? Or have you committed other crimes?
I did a “Five reasons”, and use lots of hurt/comfort cliches, as well as being a great sod for happy endings... *shrug*
My worst crime is probably all my unfinished fics...T_T
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you continue to like/participate in it?
Hahaha, this is interesting. The first fandom I wrote for was actually a Chinese tv series called “Huan Zhu Ge Ge” (Princess Pearl). It was a Chinese series, ended at 60 episodes, and had a huge asian overseas following, so I joined the english fiction bandwagon for it. The fandom of that series is probably mostly dead now... though I do continue to like the series if only because of the nostalgia it brings! (and woot, I found that ff.net actually has a section for it in their tv shows! XD)
12. Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them that you love to write.
Barney Stinson and Barney/Robin - Barney is probably one of the most complex sitcom, or even non sitcom characters ever, and he’s just a joy to write, because you can do so many things with him, and make it work, but yet, it’s still a challenge to keep him in character. And BroTP are awesome, that is all.
Peter Petrelli and Nathan Petrelli - as brothers (not slash)... hahaa, because there is so much love, betrayal, angst there... it’s beautiful and compelling at the same time. Plus it helps that they’re pretty! XD
Seth Cohen - Adorable geek, totally gets short-changed in canon, so it’s up to the fanfic writers to give him some good angst!
13. What would you call your writing "style"?
Dunno... I have a LOT of dialogue though, because my imagination and inspiration works by showing me a scene in my head, so it’s a lot of words that need to be said, added in with a combination of emotions and expressions that I put in to build in words what I’ve seen.
I do tend to experiment and mix it up though!
14. Do you read other people's fanfics? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Hell yeah! People read books, I read fanfics... XD I do get picky though, I won’t read anything that has obvious spelling or grammatical mistakes, or anything that “tells” me what is going on instead of showing me. Mostly I love reading hurt/comfort, with bonus points if there’s medical treatment involved. I also love dark!fics, because they’re usually so well written and stirs up emotions like no other.
In terms of fandoms, I currently read mostly HIMYM, and sometimes Merlin, House MD (only those with Dr. Chase), and Supernatural. I used to love O.C and Heroes fics as well, but I’ve found it difficult to find well written fics in those fandoms.
15. Name one thing you'd LOVE to write but haven't yet.
Umm... generally, if I’d LOVE to write it, then I would’ve already.
One thing I do want to do is actually finish a long multi-chapter fic though, so I’ve been working for the past half a year on a long multi-chapter HIMYM AU fic. I’ve decided that not actually posting it until I’ve finished it may be the incentive I need to actually finish it! *fingers crossed*
16. Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have a really bloated ego?
No idea... I’ve never actually had unwanted criticism on my fics... probably because I don’t write much, and my readers have all been too polite to let me know how terrible they are (and I know they were terrible, I went and re-read some of the stuff I posted as a teen and it was an absolute miracle that no one blasted me for that kind of writing!!!). It would be interesting to get some criticism, just to take things on board and see how to improve. Of course, I’ve had the wonderful chasing_spring to beta for me ever since my very first fic in a fandom she didn’t even watch, so she’s probably helped me get rid of all the really terrible stuff before I unleashed it to the public!
17. When you write is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
I need to get into the “zone”, so anything that helps me get there is great. Mostly, it’s just lying in my comfy bed all snuggled up and waiting for inspiration to hit!
Long walks when I don’t have to think about anything in particular helps too!
18. What inspires you?
Canon, stuff I see on other shows, stuff I see in real life... everything really! XD
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?
I love fanfic. That is all I can say! I don’t know where I’d be without fanfiction... probably getting straight As or something because I’d have so much extra time on my hands... but it’s such an enjoyable facet of my life and I’m so glad to have found it!
Writing meme
1. How long have you been writing?
Since I was 16, though I was reading a lot of fanfiction prior to taking that leap of no returns.
2. And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?
Well, as far as I can remember, I always would take my favourite characters from films, movies or books and then make up stories and situations for them in my head... though the first time I encountered fanfiction was from Star Trek.
It was 1997, and I was the biggest fan of Star Trek: Voyager ever ever ever... so when this new “internet” thing was available, I began to search for related things, which led me to the oodles of Trekkie fanfiction. I was AMAZED and completely smitten! Though I only started writing years later and not on Star Trek! XD
3. What kind of fanfiction do you like to write?
My fics are pretty much all hurt/comfort, with the comfort being full of sugary sweetness dipped with honey! I’m also very into writing medical scenarios for my characters, probably because of my background in health - though it still takes me oodles of research to get one of those correct and realistic enough.
4. Do you tend to write the same pairings/characters? Or are you a fandom whore?
Same pairings and characters like you wouldn’t believe! XD Though I can’t say I’ve written enough fic to be a fandom whore even if I tried.
5. What is your most popular fanfic and why do you think people like it so?
Umm, probably “Five Reasons for Love” (Heroes fic). It only has three chapters, was never finished, and still managed to garner 66 reviews on ff.net... actually, I just received a review yesterday asking me to update... >.< Otherwise “Brothers” (OC fic) is another popular one... again, sadly... unfinished...
I think people like those two because they're both kiddie!fics, and oozing with cuteness and angst from the blatant hurting and comforting... *shrug*
6. Forget other people...what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Hmm... in terms of length, it’s probably my first fic “Xiao Yan Zi’s Story” (HZGG fic) which was 18 chapters long, again sadly unfinished, but took me around five years to write.
In terms of writing style and inspiration, probably “Slap-Bet” (HIMYM fic), since it’s one of my newer ones, and took one crazy day to write all 4000+ words of it!
7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing?
Depends on my mood and whether I can get into the “zone”... if I can, then writing is a piece of cake... otherwise, it takes forever and is grating and painstakingly difficult to squeeze out every uninspired sentence... >.< The most difficult aspect of writing for me is having to put the scenes in my head into words. Since I “see” everything and “hear” it all in my imagination, I find it difficult to convey all the expressions and tones into words without it losing any of the flavour.... so when can fan-footage start being a thing? XD
8. Write a few sentences or so about your favorite pairing or character.
Right now I’m completely head over heels in love with a certain Barney Stinson that I want to wrap him all up in cotton blankets of love and care and hug him for the rest of eternity so he can feel all the love in the world...
Yes, it’s probably unhealthy...
And yes, perhaps I need some form of therapy...
9. Are there any fanfiction trends/cliches that you're sick of?
Not really... I don’t mind trends and cliches as long as it’s well written. And the most original un-cliched idea can be terrible if it’s written badly.
10. Are you guilty of any of these? Or have you committed other crimes?
I did a “Five reasons”, and use lots of hurt/comfort cliches, as well as being a great sod for happy endings... *shrug*
My worst crime is probably all my unfinished fics...T_T
11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you continue to like/participate in it?
Hahaha, this is interesting. The first fandom I wrote for was actually a Chinese tv series called “Huan Zhu Ge Ge” (Princess Pearl). It was a Chinese series, ended at 60 episodes, and had a huge asian overseas following, so I joined the english fiction bandwagon for it. The fandom of that series is probably mostly dead now... though I do continue to like the series if only because of the nostalgia it brings! (and woot, I found that ff.net actually has a section for it in their tv shows! XD)
12. Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them that you love to write.
Barney Stinson and Barney/Robin - Barney is probably one of the most complex sitcom, or even non sitcom characters ever, and he’s just a joy to write, because you can do so many things with him, and make it work, but yet, it’s still a challenge to keep him in character. And BroTP are awesome, that is all.
Peter Petrelli and Nathan Petrelli - as brothers (not slash)... hahaa, because there is so much love, betrayal, angst there... it’s beautiful and compelling at the same time. Plus it helps that they’re pretty! XD
Seth Cohen - Adorable geek, totally gets short-changed in canon, so it’s up to the fanfic writers to give him some good angst!
13. What would you call your writing "style"?
Dunno... I have a LOT of dialogue though, because my imagination and inspiration works by showing me a scene in my head, so it’s a lot of words that need to be said, added in with a combination of emotions and expressions that I put in to build in words what I’ve seen.
I do tend to experiment and mix it up though!
14. Do you read other people's fanfics? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Hell yeah! People read books, I read fanfics... XD I do get picky though, I won’t read anything that has obvious spelling or grammatical mistakes, or anything that “tells” me what is going on instead of showing me. Mostly I love reading hurt/comfort, with bonus points if there’s medical treatment involved. I also love dark!fics, because they’re usually so well written and stirs up emotions like no other.
In terms of fandoms, I currently read mostly HIMYM, and sometimes Merlin, House MD (only those with Dr. Chase), and Supernatural. I used to love O.C and Heroes fics as well, but I’ve found it difficult to find well written fics in those fandoms.
15. Name one thing you'd LOVE to write but haven't yet.
Umm... generally, if I’d LOVE to write it, then I would’ve already.
One thing I do want to do is actually finish a long multi-chapter fic though, so I’ve been working for the past half a year on a long multi-chapter HIMYM AU fic. I’ve decided that not actually posting it until I’ve finished it may be the incentive I need to actually finish it! *fingers crossed*
16. Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have a really bloated ego?
No idea... I’ve never actually had unwanted criticism on my fics... probably because I don’t write much, and my readers have all been too polite to let me know how terrible they are (and I know they were terrible, I went and re-read some of the stuff I posted as a teen and it was an absolute miracle that no one blasted me for that kind of writing!!!). It would be interesting to get some criticism, just to take things on board and see how to improve. Of course, I’ve had the wonderful chasing_spring to beta for me ever since my very first fic in a fandom she didn’t even watch, so she’s probably helped me get rid of all the really terrible stuff before I unleashed it to the public!
17. When you write is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
I need to get into the “zone”, so anything that helps me get there is great. Mostly, it’s just lying in my comfy bed all snuggled up and waiting for inspiration to hit!
Long walks when I don’t have to think about anything in particular helps too!
18. What inspires you?
Canon, stuff I see on other shows, stuff I see in real life... everything really! XD
19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?
I love fanfic. That is all I can say! I don’t know where I’d be without fanfiction... probably getting straight As or something because I’d have so much extra time on my hands... but it’s such an enjoyable facet of my life and I’m so glad to have found it!