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Fan fiction meme
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astrogirl2.
When did you write your first fan fiction piece? What was it for?
It was in 2001, and it was Vila's E-mails for the BBC TV series Blake's 7. I had just fallen for the program in reruns on local TV, and I had to write to provide Vila with a future and some happiness, especially while watching season 4 when he's so depressed and lost. I started writing for my own amusement and thought a couple of friends might eventually read them, but then I discovered fan-fiction on the web.
Did you actually post it anywhere?
Yes, on my site, on my fiction page.
Which series have you written fanfics for?
Just Blake's 7. I love other series, but the ending of Babylon 5 and the novels (especially the Bester and Legions of Fire trilogies) completely satisfied me, and I haven't yet seen all of Farscape yet though I doubt I could write the characters well enough.
If you had the chance to have the original creator turn any of your fanfic into an actual real piece, which story would you choose?
My PGP which I'm writing, I suppose. Not that I think it's all that good; I'd just like most of them to survive and have a future.
Any Original Characters (ones that got named) that you had inhabit the series universes? If so - who/where? (Yes, this is where we embarrass you by revealing your dark secrets!)
My first OC was probably Lenya, who was at the end of Vila's E-mails to give Vila his happy ending. She also appeared in an AU I wrote (Cheap at Any Price) but then I found out about Mary Sues. Now, let me tell you, Lenya was actually from one of the many unwritten novels / films I've been running in my head since I was about five and was a relatively minor character in both works, but I don't dare write another female character who gets involved with crewmembers and risk opening myself up to accusations of Mary Sueness. [retroactive cringe]
I've written lots of other characters since then, just none who fancy any of the crew. Most are completely from my imagination, but I've had fun with four of them being based on Bastards I Have Known. There've been: a psychopath who tried to kill Vila's mother when he was small, a brace of torturers, and a bureaucrat (possibly in ascending order of nastiness). They all got the real people's names with minor or no spelling changes, and you know what--it made me feel a lot better!
Do you have any weird music quirks that help you write?
Absolutely none. Like astrogirl2, I can't think straight with music (especially with lyrics) or talking in the background. I prefer silence, though I could possibly manage with very quiet classical music.
What are common "themes" you hide in your stories?
I don't hide any. I write about things which interest me about the characters and universe and I hope I cover a variety of subjects. I suppose a common theme would be hope. I do like to end each story with an upbeat if not unrealistically happy ending (I hope) because I like these people.
Who are your favourite characters to write POVs from?
Vila and Avon, though I've done others including minor original characters. Both those guys are very different but a lot of fun to write.
Which story of yours do you wish more people would read and love?
I've never thought about it and can't answer that. It always surprises me which ones people like, from Pets which I wrote as a complete laugh to Seven Gifts which I almost didn't publish because of what I thought of as extreme soppiness.
If you could pick a specific scene of one of your stories to be made into a comic-book/doujinshi format, what scene from what fanfic would you pick?
I don't know about a particular scene, but perhaps The Stuff of Legends as it has a dragon and substantial roles for all the season 3 crew? Or possibly Mistaken Identities (a plot stolen from at least two other series) because the reader could see whose body each person is in.
And last but not least - why do you like writing fan fiction?
Because
* I love the characters--all of them--who now seem like friends
* I have a ready-made audience, if not a very large one
* I don't have to establish the universe or characters or waste time describing them
* It's fun!
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Now my answer to that question for you would be 'Seven Gifts'. I don't find it soppy, I find it incredibly moving. It is one of the few fics I've read that actually made me cry.
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It always amazes me which stories of mine people love and which vanish into obscurity, because it very seldom goes the way I expect, either. But, y'know, "Pets" is loads of fun, and "Seven Gifts" is just beautiful, and that people like those doesn't surprise me at all. I guess it's just much, much harder to judge your own stories than someone else's.
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I have, but thank you again. Unfortunately I've also heard the view that any OFC is one regardless of faults and use in the story which has put me right off. I wonder if anyone thinks Curious the dragon (borrowed from another unwritten novel) in 'The Stuff of Legends' is one. Well, she's female and she likes Vila and saves him. :-)
I guess it's just much, much harder to judge your own stories than someone else's.
I know it is. That's why I need betas to tell me as I can't be objective. Not that any reader is, of course; they all have their likes and dislikes.
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Well, I've heard that view, too, but it's wrong, damn it. I'd say that people who feel that way are only hurting themselves by avoiding really good stories that happen to have OFCs, but then I hear people like you say things like this and realize that they aren't just hurting themselves, and... Yeah, well. It pisses me off. A lot.
Ahem. End of rant. Really. :)
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That's a real shame to feel that way. I see nothing wrong with having canon character/original character in a story, so long as both are well-rounded and believable.
And for what it's worth, I liked Lenya.
Gina
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And I love your Marianne. Are you ever going to write more of that epic?
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Well, my Helene was rich and successful for equally valid plot reasons -- it really only made sense for El to meet someone through work (so he could tell himself that it was just an 'arrangement') and as he was working in a yuppie bar, she had to be either a lawyer or an accountant. I threw in an ex-husband for her as a valid reason why she would want to keep things on a business footing. Then I found myself liking her too much and hating what I did to her (hence I ended that bit of the story when she left the hotel, rather than following up the consequences).
And I love your Marianne. Are you ever going to write more of that epic?
I may do. Although I'm currently having a lot of fun with the pseudo-contemporary version of her.
The Administration version was an interesting experiment. That story is one I'm very proud of, but the writing felt a little forced at times because I had to write her with Toreth and I really couldn't persuade them to go five minutes without threatening to kill each other.
Gina
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