The Examination: Phinnia

[namasteyoga]

Not every author needs a novel to tell a story. With her first fic, Pocket/Change phinnia showed an ability to give us intimate views of House and Wilson with just a few short words -- or, in this case, a few objects: He told himself that with a minibar bottle of gin and a lighter he'd be prepared for anything (like surgeons in Clint Eastwood movies)

Comments

[pwcorgigirl]

I just had an "ah-ha!" moment when I saw that you'd studied film. The way you write paints the most vivid scenes in the reader's mind.

You seem to have so many interests -- literally, lately, from Antarctica to Zen -- and you write about them so well. Do you often find yourself reading something new and get a plotbunny nip?

[phinnia]

Thank you! Yes, I did for two years - and then I studied cultural anthropology - and then psychology, and then anthro again, and god knows what I'm going to do next ... and I still adore film and would love to go back to it if I could afford it, really. <3 <3 It's film festival season in Seattle right now and I'm geeking out going to movies from different countries ... I'm seeing a norwegian film on thursday called 'the art of negative thinking' about a support group who discovers the benefits of negative thinking. <3 Should be a good time.
And to answer your question: Oh /hell/ yes. Constantly. I read a lot of nonfiction (to-be-read stack: books on Chinese luck, neuroplasticity, Hong Kong travel guides, Parisian restaurants, the culture of Tibet) and there's a billion plotbunnies lurking there - although I'm just as likely to get one from a newspaper article or an issue of Wired.
Alchemy has been poking at me just now. I have no idea where that's going yet but the trip should be fun.

[phinnia]

Of course there will! I love House/13. <3 They're the focus for that post-ep for the rarepair fest actually. (I also love Kutner/13, I'm going to try my hand at that. I just love 13's character, there's so much there.)
Process for writing a sex scene? Um. Read a lot of sex scenes. *cough* I read and deconstruct, figure out what I liked about something and what I didn't like, what worked and didn't work. I do a lot of deconstructing things in my head. Plus I'm always trying to set challenges for myself just to see if I can do certain things - Blackout was the result of that, I wanted to do a low-dialogue fic that didn't rely on visuals. Some interesting stuff comes out of those self-challenges. <3 I deconstruct myself just as much as I do others.

[zagzagael]

So much love for your work - you are a Mistress of Short and you rock that form hard!!!

What's interesting to me about your writing is how "open" you are to a variety of pairings - keeping the characters still "in-character." I know you write H/W but I adore your H/13 - how does that work in your mind?

[phinnia]

Thank you, hon! <3

The short answer is actually a confession about my life: I'm polyamorous. *laugh* Which people may have figured out by reading my LJ, actually. And I have a lot of poly friends. I have a husband, and I have a girlfriend, and I love them both - and so I guess that extends to my work. I'm not committed to any one 'ship or any one forever. (Plus I do believe that theory about multiple universes.)

[deelaundry]

Now that you're a BNF, how much credit do you give to the person who recced your first Housefic? Because that's what made you, you know.

LOLOL

I love you dearly, and have from the first. Please continue to be awesome for forever.

Oh, a question, right. Outside of fanfic, what do you like to read? Any suggestions of authors/books that are particularly good for time-crunched readers?

[phinnia]

Everything, darling. <3 <3 <3 (Honestly, I am insanely grateful.) <3

You're talking fiction? I love short-short stories and microfiction, and I love magical realism. (dear self, repeat until death: I do not need to write a House wingfic, because it's been done by far more awesome people than me. like you. <3 Now I've got magical realism bunnies flocking in my head ... this can't be good ...)
I love Catherynne M. Valente (The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden and The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice) makes me look like a hack, she's totally amazing - if I could write even fractionally as well as she does I'd be happy), Aimee Bender (The Girl in the Flammable Skirt = win!), and Karen Russell (St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised By Wolves.) Jeffrey Eugenides is fabulous, too - Middlesex and The Virgin Suicides.
Nonfiction: I really like the Dalai Lama and Pema Chodron.

[bluerosefairy]

Hey you! Fantastic Q&A - I am not at all surprised you have a background in film and anthro, considering the visual quality and range of your writing.

I have to say, "ooh eee ooh aah aah" and "A Kind of Cockle-Shell About You" are my two favorite stories of yours, mainly because they have this perfect blend of semi-original characters (in Cate Milton and Alex Adams, respectively), humor, and House and Wilson's ever-changing relationship. What drew you to characters like Cate and Alex, and do you find them easier to write than, say, House or Wilson?

[phinnia]

Not - easier as such, just a different process? Because I can fill in more details, create backstory and try to get it to fit with the little bits we know from canon, and it's a nice challenge for me. You can do that with House and Wilson but there's more to work with there which makes it easier in a way and harder in a way. It's the same kind of thing that draws me to Thirteen, I think. So much space