Hyperfocused: Feeling the hyper, working on the focus
Name: hyperfocused, also known as Karen (but I’m “Hyperfocused” pretty much everywhere fannish.)
_______________________
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: hyperfocused!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
I’ve been actively writing in fandom (starting in Smallville with Clark/Lex) since 2001/2. However, I was an active fannish consumer (meaning cons, buying up tie-ins, fan clubs, etc) starting with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Doctor Who in the 1980s. My semi-secret fantasy is that DH attended one of the big Chicago anniversary DW cons with me. We’re about the same age (which means he would still have been in high school or the equivalent), so it’s highly unlikely, but hey, a fangirl can dream.
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Many of them. My most active have been Smallville, Sports Night, SGA, The O.C, Everwood, and Due South. I’ve been medium active in SG1 and The Sentinel. I’ve dabbled in Northern Exposure, Supernatural, Harry Potter, House, and various John Hughes brat pack movie fandoms. (I’ve just heard that he’s died, and am extra bummed).
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
I always have a hard time with questions like these. The story that’s gotten me the most notice, and that I still have a lot of warmth for, is Transmogrification, my Calvin and Hobbes story from Yuletide awhile back. It’s got a bit of something I know will appeal to the audience for this challenge, as well. I’m also fond of The Sound of One Hand Clapping, my Sports Night/Numb3rs/SGA crossover. Sam Rydell and Charlie Eppes in Atlantis, no real spoilers for anything but Letters from Pegausus. And finally, there’s Apples, Oranges, Blood and Wine, a bit of Clark/Lex smut-poetry, and the first time I crossed the streams between my fannish world and my other writing.
4. As far as creative processes go, what type of writer/artist are you? Do you create an outline/find photo references/make maps, etc., or do you jump in and go with the flow?
I’m more of a go with the flow person, but I’m not especially linear. I’d almost use the term ‘collage’ to describe my creation style. I know the bare bones of my story, but there will likely be rearranging ahead.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
My fic can be found in my tags and memories
6. Do you write original fiction (poetry, screenplays)? Do you create original art (comics, photographs, quilts, wedding cakes)? Care to share?
I’ve been a poet all my life (I was declared poet laureate of my grade school, which means absolutely nothing), and have had some success there (but not as much as I might if I was better about submitting my work.) You can read some of it here in my original poetry tag My fannish poetry is in my memories, here. I’ve only written a few original short stories. For years I thought I was incapable of anything longer than a few pages. I still don’t feel at ease with longer work, but years of fanfic do seem to have helped. When I first started writing fic, I remember thinking “I’ll never be able to manage a 1000 word fic, or a rating above PG13. I’m glad to say I’ve made it well past those limitations.
.
7. How are you so awesome?
I’m in awesome company! (Beams at the creative people around me in fandom.) Also, I’m an 80s girl. I’m both awesome and totally tubular!
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
The show itself I love because it showed dedicated, smart, fascinating people taking a total leap into the unknown. I love so many of the characters, and only wish they’d all been used to their full potential. I love the fandom because we enable that potential to be shown in fic, and art and meta. Heck, we even allow potential I’d never imagined to be explored.
9. Why do you ship McKay/Sheppard? What draws you to the pairing, what do you like and dislike? Favourite scenes or episodes? Quotes? Screencaps? What other SGA pairings do you ship?
I ship McKay/Sheppard because they clearly mean so much to each other. They balance each other. Buoy each other’s weaknesses, brace each other’s strengths. They can be goofy boys together, and help each other when they are tested more than most men. Also, neither of them are hard on the eyes.
Favorite bits? Well, there’s always DH’s heart-shaped ass… no, really I like all the little signs of how awfully fond they are of each other. Most of the eps have already been listed.
While I’m mainly a McShep girl, I can totally get behind Team Love. (in either form). And I’ve read and enjoyed various other pairings/groupings I have a hard time with John without Rodney, or vice versa for anything more than fun-times.
10. Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
I vacillated a bit on this, because the challenge would have been interesting. However, having been on teams Home and Romance, I know where my strengths lie.
11. C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic? [good example: 'very proud of my second scene' / bad example: 'When Rodney kisses John after they find out the butler did it'.]
I’ve been excited to tell this story ever since I first saw the real event that inspired it. It was a “That’s John Sheppard!” moment.
12. What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild? (again, go ahead and make origami out of the truth!)
Poetic imagery. (The story could have been whittled down to a poem, and possibly began as one.
Puns. (Especially in the title. I’ve been known to write a story just to use a bit of wordplay in the title.
Punchlines - aka snap endings.
Puzzles. Like using very specific wordcounts (10 connected drabbles) or a drabble haiku, etc. I’m not a math person, but I do like interesting numbers. Or then there were the very short stories that used each letter of the alphabet in order. (Here's the Atlantis one: Stargate Atlantis:The Condensed Version: Atlantis beckons Carson, dares Elizabeth, flows glowingly helpful into John. Kavanaugh laments McKay. "Needless, obnoxious prick," Querrulous, Rodney snarls. Teyla urges vigilant Wraith xenocide, yearns zealously.
Also, see icon.
(Why yes, I admit to choosing this date for my intro post because it’s the 07th of 08 09).
Parody and humor. (I’ll more often choose that over angst, though not always)
13. Kassrachel asks: What is your favorite season of the year, and why?
Autumn. It sounds prettier than fall. The leaves change, it gets cooler. School starts (which means new books and art supplies and anticipation). Back when I was actually in school I’d lose my momentum by November, but earlyautumn was good. Also, my birthday is in late September, which is fun (even if it occasionally means spending it fasting and atoning for my sins.)
14. Altyronsmaker wonders: what is your guilty pleasure snack when watching tv?
I’m a big chip person. Most especially plain kettle cooked potato chips. I also like cheese and chocolate (though I try not to eat too much of the last one.) I guess I snack on things that start with “ch”?
15. Velocitygrass slyly asks: Where did you hide-- oh, damn ;)
You also signed up for cliche_bingo (yay!). What is your favorite McShep cliché?
(First, I should explain the Where did you… In my comment saying I’d be glad to answer questions, I said “except for where I hid the bodies.”) I do so love Pining John/Oblivious, then ‘Oh, hey, you like me!?” Rodney. But mostly I like them making each other happy. Irate, confused, exasperated, worried, then happy. And I’m having way too much fun with cliché_bingo.
Pollitt queries: Is there a point where you move from loving a show to writing in the fandom?
There is, but it’s different for each shows. For instance, I love Supernatural, but have only wriiten peripherally for it. (A few crossovers, which is often my way of dipping a toe in a new fandom.) Same goes for Harry Potter, and a few others. Part of my problem is I can be stymied by too-complex canon. I worry I’ll mix up a monster/botch up a magic spell, etc. This is probably why I’m more drawn to character studies than deep plot.
Sometimes, though, I’ll be moved to write immediately. I started my first fic for The O.C before the closing credits on episode one aired on its first showing. Smallville was a mix of both. It had many decades behind it (probably millennia if you count all the alternative telling), but at the same time was trying to say something new.
hether I want to ‘fix it’ (i.e many episodes of Smallville or SGA) or feel the need to explore possibilities unseen in an excellent program (Sports Night), one thing that doesn’t seem to matter is the quality of the show.
Oh, and finally, even when I don’t write, I’ll probably read in a fandom.
Perspi ponders: what is your favorite place to write, and why?
I write most of the time in one place, sitting sideways on my bed, cordless keyboard on my lap. I can see both my monitor and my TV, which makes it easy to get inspiration. It also makes it easy to get distracted, sadly.
While I don’t use pen and paper as often as I once did (and boy is my handwriting showing it), I do like a texturally interesting notebook. I received a Moleskine in a fannish gift exchange and love it dearly.
_______________________
Team: Peace!
Let's talk about: hyperfocused!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
I’ve been actively writing in fandom (starting in Smallville with Clark/Lex) since 2001/2. However, I was an active fannish consumer (meaning cons, buying up tie-ins, fan clubs, etc) starting with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Doctor Who in the 1980s. My semi-secret fantasy is that DH attended one of the big Chicago anniversary DW cons with me. We’re about the same age (which means he would still have been in high school or the equivalent), so it’s highly unlikely, but hey, a fangirl can dream.
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Many of them. My most active have been Smallville, Sports Night, SGA, The O.C, Everwood, and Due South. I’ve been medium active in SG1 and The Sentinel. I’ve dabbled in Northern Exposure, Supernatural, Harry Potter, House, and various John Hughes brat pack movie fandoms. (I’ve just heard that he’s died, and am extra bummed).
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
I always have a hard time with questions like these. The story that’s gotten me the most notice, and that I still have a lot of warmth for, is Transmogrification, my Calvin and Hobbes story from Yuletide awhile back. It’s got a bit of something I know will appeal to the audience for this challenge, as well. I’m also fond of The Sound of One Hand Clapping, my Sports Night/Numb3rs/SGA crossover. Sam Rydell and Charlie Eppes in Atlantis, no real spoilers for anything but Letters from Pegausus. And finally, there’s Apples, Oranges, Blood and Wine, a bit of Clark/Lex smut-poetry, and the first time I crossed the streams between my fannish world and my other writing.
4. As far as creative processes go, what type of writer/artist are you? Do you create an outline/find photo references/make maps, etc., or do you jump in and go with the flow?
I’m more of a go with the flow person, but I’m not especially linear. I’d almost use the term ‘collage’ to describe my creation style. I know the bare bones of my story, but there will likely be rearranging ahead.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
My fic can be found in my tags and memories
6. Do you write original fiction (poetry, screenplays)? Do you create original art (comics, photographs, quilts, wedding cakes)? Care to share?
I’ve been a poet all my life (I was declared poet laureate of my grade school, which means absolutely nothing), and have had some success there (but not as much as I might if I was better about submitting my work.) You can read some of it here in my original poetry tag My fannish poetry is in my memories, here. I’ve only written a few original short stories. For years I thought I was incapable of anything longer than a few pages. I still don’t feel at ease with longer work, but years of fanfic do seem to have helped. When I first started writing fic, I remember thinking “I’ll never be able to manage a 1000 word fic, or a rating above PG13. I’m glad to say I’ve made it well past those limitations.
.
7. How are you so awesome?
I’m in awesome company! (Beams at the creative people around me in fandom.) Also, I’m an 80s girl. I’m both awesome and totally tubular!
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
The show itself I love because it showed dedicated, smart, fascinating people taking a total leap into the unknown. I love so many of the characters, and only wish they’d all been used to their full potential. I love the fandom because we enable that potential to be shown in fic, and art and meta. Heck, we even allow potential I’d never imagined to be explored.
9. Why do you ship McKay/Sheppard? What draws you to the pairing, what do you like and dislike? Favourite scenes or episodes? Quotes? Screencaps? What other SGA pairings do you ship?
I ship McKay/Sheppard because they clearly mean so much to each other. They balance each other. Buoy each other’s weaknesses, brace each other’s strengths. They can be goofy boys together, and help each other when they are tested more than most men. Also, neither of them are hard on the eyes.
Favorite bits? Well, there’s always DH’s heart-shaped ass… no, really I like all the little signs of how awfully fond they are of each other. Most of the eps have already been listed.
While I’m mainly a McShep girl, I can totally get behind Team Love. (in either form). And I’ve read and enjoyed various other pairings/groupings I have a hard time with John without Rodney, or vice versa for anything more than fun-times.
10. Why did you choose to join Team Peace?
I vacillated a bit on this, because the challenge would have been interesting. However, having been on teams Home and Romance, I know where my strengths lie.
11. C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic? [good example: 'very proud of my second scene' / bad example: 'When Rodney kisses John after they find out the butler did it'.]
I’ve been excited to tell this story ever since I first saw the real event that inspired it. It was a “That’s John Sheppard!” moment.
12. What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild? (again, go ahead and make origami out of the truth!)
Poetic imagery. (The story could have been whittled down to a poem, and possibly began as one.
Puns. (Especially in the title. I’ve been known to write a story just to use a bit of wordplay in the title.
Punchlines - aka snap endings.
Puzzles. Like using very specific wordcounts (10 connected drabbles) or a drabble haiku, etc. I’m not a math person, but I do like interesting numbers. Or then there were the very short stories that used each letter of the alphabet in order. (Here's the Atlantis one: Stargate Atlantis:The Condensed Version: Atlantis beckons Carson, dares Elizabeth, flows glowingly helpful into John. Kavanaugh laments McKay. "Needless, obnoxious prick," Querrulous, Rodney snarls. Teyla urges vigilant Wraith xenocide, yearns zealously.
Also, see icon.
(Why yes, I admit to choosing this date for my intro post because it’s the 07th of 08 09).
Parody and humor. (I’ll more often choose that over angst, though not always)
13. Kassrachel asks: What is your favorite season of the year, and why?
Autumn. It sounds prettier than fall. The leaves change, it gets cooler. School starts (which means new books and art supplies and anticipation). Back when I was actually in school I’d lose my momentum by November, but earlyautumn was good. Also, my birthday is in late September, which is fun (even if it occasionally means spending it fasting and atoning for my sins.)
14. Altyronsmaker wonders: what is your guilty pleasure snack when watching tv?
I’m a big chip person. Most especially plain kettle cooked potato chips. I also like cheese and chocolate (though I try not to eat too much of the last one.) I guess I snack on things that start with “ch”?
15. Velocitygrass slyly asks: Where did you hide-- oh, damn ;)
You also signed up for cliche_bingo (yay!). What is your favorite McShep cliché?
(First, I should explain the Where did you… In my comment saying I’d be glad to answer questions, I said “except for where I hid the bodies.”) I do so love Pining John/Oblivious, then ‘Oh, hey, you like me!?” Rodney. But mostly I like them making each other happy. Irate, confused, exasperated, worried, then happy. And I’m having way too much fun with cliché_bingo.
Pollitt queries: Is there a point where you move from loving a show to writing in the fandom?
There is, but it’s different for each shows. For instance, I love Supernatural, but have only wriiten peripherally for it. (A few crossovers, which is often my way of dipping a toe in a new fandom.) Same goes for Harry Potter, and a few others. Part of my problem is I can be stymied by too-complex canon. I worry I’ll mix up a monster/botch up a magic spell, etc. This is probably why I’m more drawn to character studies than deep plot.
Sometimes, though, I’ll be moved to write immediately. I started my first fic for The O.C before the closing credits on episode one aired on its first showing. Smallville was a mix of both. It had many decades behind it (probably millennia if you count all the alternative telling), but at the same time was trying to say something new.
hether I want to ‘fix it’ (i.e many episodes of Smallville or SGA) or feel the need to explore possibilities unseen in an excellent program (Sports Night), one thing that doesn’t seem to matter is the quality of the show.
Oh, and finally, even when I don’t write, I’ll probably read in a fandom.
Perspi ponders: what is your favorite place to write, and why?
I write most of the time in one place, sitting sideways on my bed, cordless keyboard on my lap. I can see both my monitor and my TV, which makes it easy to get inspiration. It also makes it easy to get distracted, sadly.
While I don’t use pen and paper as often as I once did (and boy is my handwriting showing it), I do like a texturally interesting notebook. I received a Moleskine in a fannish gift exchange and love it dearly.