March Featured Story: Burning Hunger
First, I wanted to say how very honored I feel to have my story recognized in Hawthorn & Vine’s featured section! I adore the new website, and it really made my day to know that Burning Hunger had been picked. Anyway, to give you a little info about myself- I am a twentysomething American medical student. I am married, and we do not have time for any pets, let alone children!
Reading has always been an escape for me, most especially fiction. Because of my voracious reading, I often found myself out of books, and one day out of boredom found the magic of fanfiction on the internet (dial up!) and I haven’t looked back. I have been involved in various fandoms since I was about thirteen, starting with Star Wars, and working my way through Ranma 1/2, Labyrinth, Inu Yasha, Pride & Prejudice, and many, many others. But it wasn’t until I started reading in the Harry Potter fandom that I actually felt the urge to write.
In other fandoms, I usually ship the canon pairings. Yet in the HP fandom, I wasn’t inspired by the Harry/Hermione or Ron/Hermione stories out there (this was way before HBP made it clear what the pairings were going to be). I then stumbled onto the story Dolor Draconum by Minerva Solo on FF.net and was fascinated by the dynamic between Draco and Hermione. Soon after that, I found Raffy’s Smut Vault, and was converted to the dark side!
How long have you been writing D/Hr?
I’ve been writing D/Hr since 2004- six years now! OotP had just come out, and HBP was a twinkle in JKR’s eye. Holy crap, where has the time gone? I started writing my own stories because the things I wanted to see in D/Hr fiction just wasn’t showing up in my reading material.
What is your writing process like?
I’m not the world’s most natural writer. I have a notebook full of plot ideas, but generally when I try to put them into a story-shaped form it doesn’t work so well. But when I do come up with an idea I like and think it will work as a story, I write a general outline and try to work within it. Dialogue is easiest for me to write, so I usually write that first, then I flesh out actions and descriptions. Which is sort of backwards, but it works for me.
How did you come up with the plot for this story?
I actually came up with this plot by looking at a picture of a silver dragon in between reading some D/Hr fanfiction. I wondered if anyone had ever done a HP Alternate Universe fic with dragons, and even though I searched everywhere, I couldn’t find one. So I sat on the bunny for a few months but my brain kept circling back to it, so I decided to go for it, even though it was very different from anything I had ever written, and anything I had seen in the fandom.
How did it develop?
I thought about setting the story in the canon HP universe, but decided that it would make more sense for me to set it in a medieval world of my own devising. Not that I think that a canon story where Draco and the other Malfoys are actually dragons would be interesting, but it would require explaining how they are different from the canon dragons, and certain scenes that I saw vividly (like Hermione being tied to the stake) wouldn’t be nearly as feasible. (But imagining the Manor in Wiltshire covering a cave full of treasure makes me very happy for some reason…)
How long have you been writing it?
Lord, I’ve been writing this since 2005 now. Five years! Where has the time gone? Better get on that update, eh? >_<
Do you write as the mood strikes or on a schedule?
It depends. If my schedule in real life is forgiving, I’ll try to write a little each day. But if I am incredibly drained because I am working 80hrs a week, or if I need to study for a large exam, then I will take time off from writing. I took about a year of time off from writing due to a combination of fatigue, pressure to study, and writer’s block. My life has been much less hectic lately, so I’ve been able to write a bit more consistently. But my schedule varies from month to month, so sometimes I’ll have every afternoon off but other months my life is so crazy I can’t find the time to buy groceries.
Do you know exactly how it's going to end? Or does the story lead you instead?
A little of both. I have a general outline that I follow pretty religiously, but if inspiration strikes, I have been known to totally change/re-shape the outline. So yes, I do know how it is going to end. Until I change it again, that is J
What is your favorite thing about this story?
My favorite thing about the story is the descriptions. As I stated above, I have always been better at writing dialogue than action sequences or descriptions. When I started the story, I told myself that I would try to push my boundaries and try to set scenes better, and to really try to make the treasure trove come alive. I think I have been reasonably successful with that, and I’ve been happy at how far I’ve come as a writer because of my pact!
What is one thing you want people to take away from this story?
I think that I want people to read my story and say, “Wow, Harry Potter AU isn’t so bad. Maybe I should write the Draco/Hermione space opera!” In my opinion, AU gets a bad rap in fanficiton. I love canon just as much as everyone else, but I also love to see the characters I know and love in an alternate reality. The key is to keep them in character- which is much more difficult, granted, in an AU than in a canon story. But I’ve found that OOC is as rampant in canon stories as it is in AU. I’d rather see Merman!Draco and Selkie!Hermione than Makeover!Hermione and SuddenlyNice!Draco set in a supposedly canon universe.
What has inspired you to keep writing it?
A combination of my love for the story and the dedication of my readers. Although Burning Hunger stretches me as a writer more than any of my other stories, I have had a lot of fun writing it. And when I get discouraged my readers are there to urge me to continue!
Here’s a link to Burning Hunger on Hawthorn & Vine:
http://dramione.org/viewstory.php?sid=168
Questions? Comments? I’ll answer anything about my writing or about Burning Hunger as long as the answers won’t be too spoilery. Thanks again for honoring Burning Hunger for the month of March!
Reading has always been an escape for me, most especially fiction. Because of my voracious reading, I often found myself out of books, and one day out of boredom found the magic of fanfiction on the internet (dial up!) and I haven’t looked back. I have been involved in various fandoms since I was about thirteen, starting with Star Wars, and working my way through Ranma 1/2, Labyrinth, Inu Yasha, Pride & Prejudice, and many, many others. But it wasn’t until I started reading in the Harry Potter fandom that I actually felt the urge to write.
In other fandoms, I usually ship the canon pairings. Yet in the HP fandom, I wasn’t inspired by the Harry/Hermione or Ron/Hermione stories out there (this was way before HBP made it clear what the pairings were going to be). I then stumbled onto the story Dolor Draconum by Minerva Solo on FF.net and was fascinated by the dynamic between Draco and Hermione. Soon after that, I found Raffy’s Smut Vault, and was converted to the dark side!
How long have you been writing D/Hr?
I’ve been writing D/Hr since 2004- six years now! OotP had just come out, and HBP was a twinkle in JKR’s eye. Holy crap, where has the time gone? I started writing my own stories because the things I wanted to see in D/Hr fiction just wasn’t showing up in my reading material.
What is your writing process like?
I’m not the world’s most natural writer. I have a notebook full of plot ideas, but generally when I try to put them into a story-shaped form it doesn’t work so well. But when I do come up with an idea I like and think it will work as a story, I write a general outline and try to work within it. Dialogue is easiest for me to write, so I usually write that first, then I flesh out actions and descriptions. Which is sort of backwards, but it works for me.
How did you come up with the plot for this story?
I actually came up with this plot by looking at a picture of a silver dragon in between reading some D/Hr fanfiction. I wondered if anyone had ever done a HP Alternate Universe fic with dragons, and even though I searched everywhere, I couldn’t find one. So I sat on the bunny for a few months but my brain kept circling back to it, so I decided to go for it, even though it was very different from anything I had ever written, and anything I had seen in the fandom.
How did it develop?
I thought about setting the story in the canon HP universe, but decided that it would make more sense for me to set it in a medieval world of my own devising. Not that I think that a canon story where Draco and the other Malfoys are actually dragons would be interesting, but it would require explaining how they are different from the canon dragons, and certain scenes that I saw vividly (like Hermione being tied to the stake) wouldn’t be nearly as feasible. (But imagining the Manor in Wiltshire covering a cave full of treasure makes me very happy for some reason…)
How long have you been writing it?
Lord, I’ve been writing this since 2005 now. Five years! Where has the time gone? Better get on that update, eh? >_<
Do you write as the mood strikes or on a schedule?
It depends. If my schedule in real life is forgiving, I’ll try to write a little each day. But if I am incredibly drained because I am working 80hrs a week, or if I need to study for a large exam, then I will take time off from writing. I took about a year of time off from writing due to a combination of fatigue, pressure to study, and writer’s block. My life has been much less hectic lately, so I’ve been able to write a bit more consistently. But my schedule varies from month to month, so sometimes I’ll have every afternoon off but other months my life is so crazy I can’t find the time to buy groceries.
Do you know exactly how it's going to end? Or does the story lead you instead?
A little of both. I have a general outline that I follow pretty religiously, but if inspiration strikes, I have been known to totally change/re-shape the outline. So yes, I do know how it is going to end. Until I change it again, that is J
What is your favorite thing about this story?
My favorite thing about the story is the descriptions. As I stated above, I have always been better at writing dialogue than action sequences or descriptions. When I started the story, I told myself that I would try to push my boundaries and try to set scenes better, and to really try to make the treasure trove come alive. I think I have been reasonably successful with that, and I’ve been happy at how far I’ve come as a writer because of my pact!
What is one thing you want people to take away from this story?
I think that I want people to read my story and say, “Wow, Harry Potter AU isn’t so bad. Maybe I should write the Draco/Hermione space opera!” In my opinion, AU gets a bad rap in fanficiton. I love canon just as much as everyone else, but I also love to see the characters I know and love in an alternate reality. The key is to keep them in character- which is much more difficult, granted, in an AU than in a canon story. But I’ve found that OOC is as rampant in canon stories as it is in AU. I’d rather see Merman!Draco and Selkie!Hermione than Makeover!Hermione and SuddenlyNice!Draco set in a supposedly canon universe.
What has inspired you to keep writing it?
A combination of my love for the story and the dedication of my readers. Although Burning Hunger stretches me as a writer more than any of my other stories, I have had a lot of fun writing it. And when I get discouraged my readers are there to urge me to continue!
Here’s a link to Burning Hunger on Hawthorn & Vine:
http://dramione.org/viewstory.php?sid=168
Questions? Comments? I’ll answer anything about my writing or about Burning Hunger as long as the answers won’t be too spoilery. Thanks again for honoring Burning Hunger for the month of March!