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lomelinde_laurea, Saw this on mific’s journal, and it looked like fun. The questions are in the first comment to this post, if you want to have a go!
I only started posting fic on AO3 this year after reading stories on that site for a decade. I wrote a handful of short fics from 2004-2008 and then nothing for over a decade. I only got back into writing after joining the due South fandom earlier this year. The old stuff is on LJ somewhere, but I’ve glanced at a few of the stories and I fear none of them are worth revisiting or posting on AO3. (Though I greatly enjoyed writing them at the time, so it’s all good.) I am digging up and reposting a few old vids and some art.
1) How many works do you have on AO3?
32. About half of them are fanfic, the other half fanart, and some are a mix of both.
2) What’s your total AO3 word count?
124,852 (though 71k of those are my due South Big Bang story that won’t be revealed until October)
3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
Including the ones I wrote for in LiveJournal days - 5: due South, Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Buffy, Slings & Arrows
4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
(Excluding the ones that are just art with no fic):
Northern Delights [+ART]
Always on My Mind
It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn
Sometimes
The Drawing [+ ART]
5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Yes. I’m grateful for every comment, so unless I accidentally miss one, I try to respond to say thanks. It’s always interesting (and nice) to see what works for different readers.
6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
Though I do like writing (and reading) angst, I’m a sucker for happy or at least hopeful endings in my own stories. I don’t think I’ve written a truly angsty ending yet. There is a story at the very back of my mind (that I may never write) that would qualify, but of the stories I’ve written … maybe The Drawing [+ ART] (triple drabble about young telepathic Fraser) or It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn (Fraser and RayK locked in a shipping container).
7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
Hmmm … hard to pick one. Maybe either Northern Delights [+ART] or Wizard World Chicago '98 (Magic AU).
8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?
I’ve written two so far … the crazier of the two would be The Switching Time of Night. (due South/Slings & Arrows): the two ghosts switch universe, so Geoffrey is haunted by Bob Fraser and Benton Fraser by Oliver.
9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Luckily not, and I’m very grateful for that.
10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
Sometimes. I wrote a bit of het in the very beginning but I it was pretty bad ;). At the momen,t I’m writing either slash or gen, but if the right ship grabs me, I might try some het smut again. Usually I prefer an explicit scene to be either part of a larger plot or to be an exploration of the characters’ emotions/inner lives. I’ve written several shippy fics that are not explicit. (Come to think of it, the only slash smut I've written is F/K ...)
11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I’m aware of, though there is not a whole lot to steal ;)
12) Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope.
13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Not a whole so.wicked3659 and I have worked on stories together, and we have co-written scenes but not a whole story.
14) What’s your all time favorite ship?
Hard to say. At the moment I’d say Fraser/Kowalski (due South). I read tons of Merlin/Arthur and Sherlock/John Watson back in the day, but I never wrote any, and I haven’t read those ships in several years.
15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
Hmm. The most challenging WIP would probably be my due South F/K Space AU WIP (about 6k so far), as it involves tons of world building and planning. The story revolves around the Spaceship AISS Erebus that is chartering unknown space for a habitable planet with no contact with other humans. Fraser is an AI tech and RayK a scout ship pilot (Jumper), and the idea is to focus on their evolving relationship but also to show how humans and (non-corporeal) Artificial Intelligence work and live together on the ship, as well as deal with the differences in society (the way “disposable” Jumpers are treated in comparison to “valuable” Techies for example). It’s a pretty ambitious project, but I hope to finish it at some point.
16) What are your writing strengths?
Hmm, another one that is hard to answer. I have quite an active imagination, I guess, and a fairly good ear for dialogue (at least I hope so). I also think I have a pretty good feel for the flow/melody of language. I find structuring a fic fairly easy, and if the creative ball is rolling, I can write pretty fast (but that stuff usually needs a lot of editing afterwards).
17) What are your writing weaknesses?
I wish my style were more sophisticated—not necessarily more complicated, but I’m actively trying to enrich my vocabulary and learn to use a greater variety of phrases. I find myself falling back on the same ones, especially when it comes to describing characters' reactions. I also need to find more ways to start sentences ;) I basically want to work on using more precise language in my writing. (Luckily there are many fanfic writers out there that I greatly admire and whose writing I can learn from.)
I find narrative harder to write than dialogue, so I’m trying to work on that as well. I’m sometimes unsure which prepositions to use, and sometimes I get idioms mixed up. It’s one of the areas where I most notice the fact that I live in a non-English speaking country (and English was not the primary language at school). It’s my mother tongue, I speak it at home and basically only read and watch stuff in English, but I do notice Germanisms sneaking in every now and then. I also find commas tricky, though I’ve learned a fair amount from the corrections and suggestions that beta-readers have made.
18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
It hasn’t really come up, but depending on the context I’m all for it. I deal with multiple languages in my day-to-day life, and I love seeing different languages represented on screen and in stories—as long as it’s still possible to follow what is going on.
19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Buffy, 17 years ago (yikes!)
20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
This is a hard one. I’m bad at picking favorites. I’m actually quite proud of how my upcoming due South Big Bang fic Perchance to Dream turned out, especially since it’s my first longfic. From the ones I’ve written … maybe Always on My Mind, the one where Ray finds out Fraser is telepathic and they both deal with that fallout (and Fraser’s past). Though actually the little Gen fic The Only Wolf in the World has a special place in my heart—a story about young Ben Fraser and his imaginary friend Diefenbaker (with several Little Prince references).
mific’s journal, and it looked like fun. The questions are in the first comment to this post, if you want to have a go!I only started posting fic on AO3 this year after reading stories on that site for a decade. I wrote a handful of short fics from 2004-2008 and then nothing for over a decade. I only got back into writing after joining the due South fandom earlier this year. The old stuff is on LJ somewhere, but I’ve glanced at a few of the stories and I fear none of them are worth revisiting or posting on AO3. (Though I greatly enjoyed writing them at the time, so it’s all good.) I am digging up and reposting a few old vids and some art.
1) How many works do you have on AO3?
32. About half of them are fanfic, the other half fanart, and some are a mix of both.
2) What’s your total AO3 word count?
124,852 (though 71k of those are my due South Big Bang story that won’t be revealed until October)
3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
Including the ones I wrote for in LiveJournal days - 5: due South, Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Buffy, Slings & Arrows
4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
(Excluding the ones that are just art with no fic):
Northern Delights [+ART]
Always on My Mind
It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn
Sometimes
The Drawing [+ ART]
5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Yes. I’m grateful for every comment, so unless I accidentally miss one, I try to respond to say thanks. It’s always interesting (and nice) to see what works for different readers.
6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
Though I do like writing (and reading) angst, I’m a sucker for happy or at least hopeful endings in my own stories. I don’t think I’ve written a truly angsty ending yet. There is a story at the very back of my mind (that I may never write) that would qualify, but of the stories I’ve written … maybe The Drawing [+ ART] (triple drabble about young telepathic Fraser) or It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn (Fraser and RayK locked in a shipping container).
7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
Hmmm … hard to pick one. Maybe either Northern Delights [+ART] or Wizard World Chicago '98 (Magic AU).
8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?
I’ve written two so far … the crazier of the two would be The Switching Time of Night. (due South/Slings & Arrows): the two ghosts switch universe, so Geoffrey is haunted by Bob Fraser and Benton Fraser by Oliver.
9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Luckily not, and I’m very grateful for that.
10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
Sometimes. I wrote a bit of het in the very beginning but I it was pretty bad ;). At the momen,t I’m writing either slash or gen, but if the right ship grabs me, I might try some het smut again. Usually I prefer an explicit scene to be either part of a larger plot or to be an exploration of the characters’ emotions/inner lives. I’ve written several shippy fics that are not explicit. (Come to think of it, the only slash smut I've written is F/K ...)
11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I’m aware of, though there is not a whole lot to steal ;)
12) Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope.
13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Not a whole so.
wicked3659 and I have worked on stories together, and we have co-written scenes but not a whole story. 14) What’s your all time favorite ship?
Hard to say. At the moment I’d say Fraser/Kowalski (due South). I read tons of Merlin/Arthur and Sherlock/John Watson back in the day, but I never wrote any, and I haven’t read those ships in several years.
15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
Hmm. The most challenging WIP would probably be my due South F/K Space AU WIP (about 6k so far), as it involves tons of world building and planning. The story revolves around the Spaceship AISS Erebus that is chartering unknown space for a habitable planet with no contact with other humans. Fraser is an AI tech and RayK a scout ship pilot (Jumper), and the idea is to focus on their evolving relationship but also to show how humans and (non-corporeal) Artificial Intelligence work and live together on the ship, as well as deal with the differences in society (the way “disposable” Jumpers are treated in comparison to “valuable” Techies for example). It’s a pretty ambitious project, but I hope to finish it at some point.
16) What are your writing strengths?
Hmm, another one that is hard to answer. I have quite an active imagination, I guess, and a fairly good ear for dialogue (at least I hope so). I also think I have a pretty good feel for the flow/melody of language. I find structuring a fic fairly easy, and if the creative ball is rolling, I can write pretty fast (but that stuff usually needs a lot of editing afterwards).
17) What are your writing weaknesses?
I wish my style were more sophisticated—not necessarily more complicated, but I’m actively trying to enrich my vocabulary and learn to use a greater variety of phrases. I find myself falling back on the same ones, especially when it comes to describing characters' reactions. I also need to find more ways to start sentences ;) I basically want to work on using more precise language in my writing. (Luckily there are many fanfic writers out there that I greatly admire and whose writing I can learn from.)
I find narrative harder to write than dialogue, so I’m trying to work on that as well. I’m sometimes unsure which prepositions to use, and sometimes I get idioms mixed up. It’s one of the areas where I most notice the fact that I live in a non-English speaking country (and English was not the primary language at school). It’s my mother tongue, I speak it at home and basically only read and watch stuff in English, but I do notice Germanisms sneaking in every now and then. I also find commas tricky, though I’ve learned a fair amount from the corrections and suggestions that beta-readers have made.
18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
It hasn’t really come up, but depending on the context I’m all for it. I deal with multiple languages in my day-to-day life, and I love seeing different languages represented on screen and in stories—as long as it’s still possible to follow what is going on.
19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Buffy, 17 years ago (yikes!)
20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
This is a hard one. I’m bad at picking favorites. I’m actually quite proud of how my upcoming due South Big Bang fic Perchance to Dream turned out, especially since it’s my first longfic. From the ones I’ve written … maybe Always on My Mind, the one where Ray finds out Fraser is telepathic and they both deal with that fallout (and Fraser’s past). Though actually the little Gen fic The Only Wolf in the World has a special place in my heart—a story about young Ben Fraser and his imaginary friend Diefenbaker (with several Little Prince references).
no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 07:48 pm (UTC)2) What’s your total AO3 word count?
3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?
9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?
10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
12) Have you ever had a fic translated?
13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
14) What’s your all time favorite ship?
15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
16) What are your writing strengths?
17) What are your writing weaknesses?
18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?
20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 10:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 10:58 pm (UTC)Out of curiosity, what was your first slash ship?
no subject
Date: 2021-08-20 09:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 07:55 pm (UTC)That is, there are several different schools of thought about "correct" comma use -- with some marked difference between US and UK usage, but also within the US -- and then on top of that, a lot of writers use something that is like, but not identical to, one of the "correct" versions.
And then on top of that, a lot of fanfic is written in a narrative voice somewhere between the formality of written prose and the more informal/"natural" way the POV character might speak in dialogue.
So...while I personally do have fairly strong opinions about commas, and would make suggestions about them in a sentence-level beta job, I've also come to realize that neither I nor anyone else can claim to be definitively "right" about how to use them.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 09:32 pm (UTC)The biggest US/UK difference I know of in this respect is the “Oxford comma”, but there are surely others. At the moment, I’m trying to figure out when to use commas after introductory phrases or when they are optional.
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the question of how much the narrative should “sound” like the POV character’s voice, especially when it’s RayK’s POV. Finding a good balance is tricky, but a fun challenge.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-19 09:48 pm (UTC)I'm a big fan of narration done in a vivid character voice, myself, but it's definitely a matter of personal taste/style.