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nothing_rhymes_with_ianto1) How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
The first fandom I wrote fic for was the Supernatural fandom (I’ve deleted all but maybe 3 fics— they were shit). I got into writing fic from my friend Momo, who introduced me to FFN. I wrote fic for Supernatural because at the time, it was my only fandom. So it was the only thing that would inspire me. But even when I was little, I’d write short stories based on books I’d just read or movies I’d watched. I’m sure I wrote a Labyrinth fanfic at one time.
2) Name the fandoms you’ve written in, and how much you’ve written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Supernatural — somewhere between 25 and 40 stories, most of them oneshots. I no longer write for this fandom and most of my stories have been deleted.
Queer As Folk (US) — I’ve written somewhere about 25-30 stories for this fandom. I still write for this fandom if I get inspired enough.
Doctor Who — I’ve actually only written 3 stories that are exclusively within Doctor Who. I still write for the fandom if I get inspired.
Torchwood — At present, I’ve written 48 stories for this fandom (not counting the 265 drabbles I’ve written for my 300 drabbles) and counting. I’m definitely still writing in this fandom.
3) For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Supernatural — I’m partial to Dean. He’s my character “type”. He’s messed up, but he’s far more affected by things than he likes to pretend. He’s insanely loyal to the people he loves and he’s in denial about a lot of aspects of himself. (This is speaking on seasons 1-4 Dean, as S4 is when I stopped watching.
Queer As Folk — Brian is my favourite to write. Once again, he’s another one of those characters who is so messed up and layered that he’s really interesting to study. Brian pretends to be narcissistic but he’s insanely insecure for all sorts of reasons. I also really enjoy writing Ted and Emmet, for some reason.
Doctor Who — I like writing Rose, Martha, and Nine the best. Rose, because you can get emotional with her. I love Martha because you can jump between emotional and analytical, and because Martha is super intelligent and badass. And Nine is, once again, my character “type”, and I like examining his PTSD and survivor’s guilt.
Torchwood — Owen. God, I love writing Owen. He’s, again, my character type. I love how messed up he is. I love how different the real Owen is from the shield he hides behind. I love all the different facets of Owen. I love getting into his emotions because they’re so intense. I also really enjoy writing Ianto and Suzie.
4) Do you have a “muse” character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn’t about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Not really. I suppose it depends on theme of the story. I’ve had a story that I intended for it to be about Owen, and it ended up about Ianto, or whatever. For example, Pause was originally intended to be a fic about the whole team, but Ianto kind of hijacked it. But generally, a character just yanks at my brain until I write the story.
5) If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your “muse” or not, what did you do about it?
Generally, if a character wants in on a fic or wants their story written, I’ll write it. Unless there’s no way I could see the character fitting into the fic, I’ll usually let it happen.
6) When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Once again, it depends on the theme of the story. Most of the shows I watch have more male characters and subsequently, most of my favourite characters are men. But there are some female characters (*cough* Suzie *cough*) that I LOVE to write. But I do prefer writing male characters more. I feel like I can get into their heads better. Dunno why.
7) Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Can you say everything by paperclipbitch? She basically changed my entire outlook on Owen and Suzie and Tosh. I mean, I already loved Suzie and Tosh, but she made me love them more. And then, with Andy’s help, she made me love Owen. I actually wasn’t a big Owen fan at first.
8) Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they’re not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
I’ve written very few OCs. If I write an OC, it’s usually a very minor character that’s simply used to relay information to the main characters, like a cop or something. I’ve written 2 fics with main character OCs in them: one about young Owen meeting his father for the first (and last) time, and one about this fish alien thing called Yalui. I never finished either of those fics, but I wish I did. Generally I don’t like writing OCs because it takes away from the examination of the characters that the fic is about. However, I’ve seen some incredibly successful OCs. (And some vomit-inducingly bad ones, too!)
9) Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Supernatural — None, really. I attempted wincest for a very short amount of time, but it squicked me like crazy and I couldn’t do it. I didn’t stay in the fandom long enough to get into Destial or Sabriel or any of those other ships.
Queer As Folk — Brian/Justin, Emmett/Brian, Emmett/Ted. However, basically everything I’ve written is Brian/Justin.
Doctor Who — Nine/Rose, and that’s basically it, though I’m not adverse to Nine/Jack/Rose, or Martha/Mickey
Torchwood — I basically ship everyone with everyone. But my 3 favourites are Jack/Ianto, Owen/Ianto, and Jack/Suzie.
10) Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn’t write, or a pairing you didn’t like, and found you could?
Oh, yeah. I’m not a big fan of Ted/Emmett, or Emmett/anyone but Brian, but I can write it. I used to not even be able to fathom Owen/Ianto, and now it’s my favourite. I think Rhys/Ianto is hilarious and fun to write, same with Ianto/PC Andy. I’ve essentially made it my goal to try writing all the weird pairings of Torchwood.
11) Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you’re writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
I definitely prefer angst fics or darker fics more. I stick with that genre the most. Though I have branched out to h/c and to more romantic stuff. But I feel like the darker, angstier stuff is just a lot more meaty, and has a lot more to give.
12) Have you ever attempted an “adaptation” fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
Nope. I have, though, been so inspired by a theme or style of a book, that I’ve written something similar or inspired by it. The Two Halves Of The Cosmos Are Tied By Golden Thread was inspired by Neil Gaiman’s book American Gods, but it’s a Torchwood fic.
13) Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
It absolutely depends on what kind of fic I’m writing. For Queer As Folk, I generally stick with canon, unless it’s something that we didn’t see because of a time jump, for example, the six months of Justin’s recovery from the bashing.
With Torchwood, a lot of the things believed to be canon are actually just widely accepted fanon (Ianto working in the archives, Ianto being a cat person, Myfanwy being called Myfanwy, Jack’s penchant for suicide, etc). But I definitely use a lot of fanon in my Torchwood writing. Hell, I have TONS of headcanons for all the characters. That’s what happens when your show is obnoxiously inconsistent. Fanon has absolutely changed the way I see some of the source material. Paperclipbitch was a huge contributor to the way I see the show. If it wasn’t for Lilithbint, I wouldn’t see Sleeper as the episode where Owen and Ianto swapped bodies. I have most of my Suzie headcanon thanks to Lady Paperclip. Kalichan gave me a ton of headcanon about pre-Torchwood Ianto. And on and on.
14) Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you’re comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you’re writing is G-rated instead?
I’ll write anything. I’ve never shied away from any sort of rating. I’ll write the tamest things or the most gruesome. (I’ve had a Jack-centric fic of TYTNW that is essentially torture porn in the works for like a year now. I should really get back to it.) Sometimes I’ve started out writing one thing, and then been surprised at how dark and freaky it suddenly got. But that shouldn’t really be a shock to me at all.
15) Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what’s the strangest thing you’ve warned for in a fic?
I think warning for things like rape or noncon, violence or abuse, and self-harm or suicide are extremely important. I also feel very grateful when people warn for mpreg so that I won’t read it and be horribly, disgustingly surprised. I think it’s also good to warn for things that might be someone’s squick, like tentacle sex, or BDSM, or whatever. The weirdest thing I’ve warned for in a fic is extreme diarrhoea.
16) Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
I love summaries. It lets me know whether I should even bother with the fic or not. As for writing them, sometimes they’re really easy and sometimes I struggle with them. It usually depends on the length of the fic and how obvious the plot or theme is. I usually end up using a blurb. Like, “Jack and Ianto talk after Countrycide and discuss being real.” or “Something whispers in the grey fog. It sounds metallic and electric and malicious. She tries so hard to fight it.”
17) Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
OH GOD TITLES I HATE THEM SO MUCH. Titles are the bane of my existence and I am SO BAD at them. Usually I end up using song lyrics, or just tossing random words together so they sound good, which is how I got things like “This Thing Is Built From Broken Parts” or “It’s Not Refraction, It’s Just Our Cracked Sense of Self” (which is my favourite title that I came up with). I don’t usually title individual chapters of fics, unless they for some reason warrant a title.
18) Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka “bunnies”) from?
Conversations with people here on Tumblr, random things popping into my head. A lot of fics are inspired by songs I hear on the radio while driving home from class. I hear one line, and my brain just goes off. Others are inspired because I think of one line or a few lines of dialogue, and then I write around it. For example, for And When You Want To Live, I came up with the line “Because in the old movies, even the extras are somebody.” in the middle of the night when I was falling asleep. I scribbled it down in the dark, and then wrote the story the next day. I have a big word document full of random ideas for Torchwood fics. A lot of them are songs or song lyrics, or things I’ve heard in real life, or ideas for plot outlines, or just random phrases like “From chaos, life” or “‘It’s just a scratch.’ ‘Yes, that’s what Mercutio said’”.
19) When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
It depends on the strength of the bunny. Some bunnies need to written immediately. Homecoming was one of those. So was Welcome To The Machine. Other need to sit and marinate for a while. I’ve got a lot that I started and never finished because I lost the inspiration or I didn’t know where to go, or I’d gotten from point A to point B, but I had no idea how to get to point C.
20) Do you ever get bunnied from other people’s stories or art in the same fandom?
Absolutely! Paperclipbitch and RC McLachlan’s stuff always bunny the crap out of me. I wrote This Thing Is Built From Broken Parts because of a piece of art I accidentally ran into.
21) Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
Once again, the sequel depends on the fic. So far for Torchwood, I’ve not written any sequels, though I’ve had requests for some. I plan on writing a very short sequel (no more than 500 words) for This Thing Is Built From Broken parts, one of these days. I did write a few sequels for Queer As Folk oneshots, like Alone And Colder, and started a sequel and prequel for my chaptered fic Boys Keep Swinging, but never finished them.
22) Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you’ve thought about doing? And if not, why not?
I’ve never done a Big Bang before, mainly because I’ve not had the time. I’d love to do one, but I also don’t know if I can stay dedicated enough to write something that long. However, I’ve done torchwood_fest; The Two Halves Of The Cosmos Are Tied By Golden Thread came out of that. And I’ve done tw_collab_fest; In Losing What I Am, I Become Who We Are came from that. I had a blast with the collab fest. My parter, Neil, and I had a ton of fun and got on really well. We had quite a time writing the story because we had so many ideas. We barely even finished it in time for the deadline. I’m also signed up for way too many bingos and tables for my own good.
23) When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
I post to fanfiction.net, livejournal, and AO3. And then I usually pimp it over here on Tumblr as well.
24) Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren’t any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
If I’ve finished a fic and I’m feeling pretty good about it, I just use Snarks to iron out any kinks or to tell me if I should change things. If I’m unfinished and don’t know if it’s good, or if I’m finished and uncertain, I usually use Snarks but then also put out a general call to Tumblr and let those users tell me. I also use Jess a lot.
25) Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain “mood” to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
This absolutely depends on the fic. Usually, I have my writing playlist going. Sometimes I only want one song playing because it fits the mood or theme of my story, so I put it on repeat. I wrote All That’s Left based on Sixteen, Maybe Less by Iron And Wine. I wrote And All We Need Of Hell with Deep by Nine Inch Nails on repeat.
26) What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you’ve had to research for a fic?
Oh man, I’ve researched some weird shit. Medieval torture, fistfighting, brain surgery. I think medieval torture was both the oddest and most interesting thing I researched.
27) Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
I usually end up writing in my room. Mainly because that’s where my laptop usually is. I tend to type because I type as fast as I think and I don’t handwrite that fast. And because typing = computer = Google, which means I can do research or look up synonyms or definitions quickly and easily. Also because, for some reason, the act of hand writing seems to make the idea and the coherence and eloquence of the story disappear. So a lot of times I’ll handwrite a quote or an outline for me to type the actual story later.
28) Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Yup, I did tw_collab_fest and it was a huge success! Our fic was 43,192 words long. Which is a bit ridiculous. I’ve not actually collaborated with an artist, though awabubbles recently drew a piece inspired by one of my fics and that makes me EXTREMELY HAPPY.
29) What is your current project or projects?
Well, I want to attempt to complete the five billion tables I’ve signed up for. I’d also like to write a story for each minor character or pairing I can find in Torchwood. I’ve got at least 2 incomplete stories in the works, but there’s sure to be more. Plus I have all the incomplete pieces I put aside ages ago. And my word doc of ideas. So I’m not short on anything at all.
30) Do you have a favorite fic you’ve written? What makes it your favorite? And don’t forget to give us a link!
At the moment it’s a toss-up between This Thing Is Built From Broken Parts (A Jack/Ianto and an Owen/Ianto fic) and Set Darkness In Your Veins (This is an Ianto post-Adam fic. Warning for non-con and murder.)
This Thing Is Built is one of my favourites because I feel like I wrote a very well-rounded Owen/Ianto relationship as it buds from friendship to something more, and because I get to write Asshole Jack, which I love writing but don’t write nearly enough. I loved writing the intense emotion of it, especially the end.
Set Darkness is a favourite because it’s dark and creepy and scary and because I love the fear potential of the Ianto that Adam created. I had a blast writing it. I also love it because it was really fun to write creepy and dark.
