slr2moons

Do you have a favorite fic you’ve written? What makes it your favorite?

This is like asking a parent to chose between their children. :P Let me see...

I am fond of all my fics, though I suppose I am partial to some more than others. The challenging ones, or the milestones, or the ones I really like. Hmmm.

My first fic, "Distracting and a Great Bother", would have to be the all-time favorite. Not only is it my baby, but it's still my longest fic, it brought me and my BFF stariceling together, and it IS a very personal fic. You know, since it started as a dream of mine. ^^; I'm so incredibly happy when someone reads all seven chapters at FF.net, or it receives a hit at AO3 or Skyehawke. I was on a cloud of joy a couple days ago, when I noticed someone at AO3 finally bookmarked it--AND the meta fic star-chan wrote for it. Heeee!!! <3 I'm particularly happy when the fic is simply read, now that I know everything that is going against it. 1. Female original character, 2. first person POV, 3. first person POV is the OFC, 4. no sexy tiems, 5. no crack humor. 6. begins with worn-out trope. Everything about the fic screams "BACK BUTTON NOW!!1!1" to jaded fic readers. Oh, dear...

My Bleach fic, "Not as Nice as Me", also has a fond place in my heart. It turned out really well, especially since I wrote it as a personal challenge, to see if I could pull of a villain's skewed POV. And it stars one of my fave animated men, Grimmjow. I admit, I also like Orihime, and I was able to write her well, too. Fandom reception has been good, and that always makes me happy. :3

I like my Ghost Hunt fic, "Something in the Silence", because it combines two things that I enjoy and know a lot about: horses and ghost hunting. (I have never done the latter, but I have read and studied for hours.) Using two favored subjects, and having it turn out pretty damn good, is a lovely bonus. :3 This fic was actually quite easy for me to write, not only for the familiar subject matter, but because it was simple for me to get into Lin's POV. He's silent, stoic, enjoys being alone, doesn't like young children, and is happy to be shut in his office all day. Sound familiar?? *laughs*

Welp, that's it, everyone! The meme is done! :D It's been an interesting experience. I've thought about my fics more than ever before, and even realized a thing or two about them and myself. Who knew that could come about thanks to a silly tumblr meme?

Thanks to everyone who has read my posts, and special thanks to those who commented. I'm glad you're listening! :D

26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Oddest would have to be hardness of wood. In my first Yuletide fic, "Doesn't Mean Anything", the poor main character is handcuffed to a heavy wooden sofa. It had to be strong enough to hold him for the length of the fic. The end result: teak. I found a pic of an antique teak sofa that fit the basic idea I wanted, and went with that.

Funniest: how a guy shaves his face, for my fic "It's All an Act, You Know". I asked my IRL male friend about it, and he answered my questions and directed me to a tutorial video (by Gillette) on Youtube.

Okay, I admit researching how a guy shaves his face isn't that funny, but my reaction to it was. X| For some reason, I find watching (or reading about) a guy shaving really hot. That tutorial video was...swoon worthy. (Ha!) And it didn't help that the actor was gorgeous. *headdesk* I kept having to pause and switch to something else for a break. The end result of the research and self-torment is my personal favorite UST-scene ever, so I'd say the embarrassment was worth it. Woot!

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?

I normally only use one beta, my fanfic sempai stariceling because she does an amazing job and is a fine writer herself. :3 Occasionally I'll ask some IRL friends to look over a fic, like the Ghost Hunt Yuletide fic, but mostly it's just stariceling. ^^ I suppose one good thing about not writing much fanfic is that my beta is spared a heavy workload. Heh!

I don't really have any beta horror stories. I've only asked a complete stranger to beta a fic once, and she did an okay job on the first chapter of the fic, but didn't come through by the agreed-upon deadline for the 2nd. I swung by her LJ and saw she was doing NaNo, so I pretty much gave up. Half-way through November, I PMed her and said not to worry, it had been long enough I could beta the fic myself, and I did. Never heard from her again!

But I've never had a story stolen or a beta flip out on me for some reason. I'm lucky to have star-sempai at my back! She really comes through for Yuletide in particular. Betaing a ~10k fic in two weeks can be tough, at least at the level we beta each other's stuff. (We check EVERYTHING. Spag, word choice, plot, characterization, second-guessing, what are you trying to say here, word repetition, that thing you're describing doesn't work like that, etc etc etc. Pretty much as in-depth as a beta can get!)

I'm so lucky!!! *hearts*

20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people’s stories or art in the same fandom?

No, actually, I almost never do. It happened once, which is how "It's All an Act, You Know" began, but otherwise? Nope.

It seems I can enjoy other people's fanfic for itself. I have enough ideas from canon and on my own for bunnies! ^^

18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka “bunnies”) from?

Random thoughts that come to me as I think about canon, usually that start with "What if...?" Quite often I'll be half-asleep or jogging, and BAM! Bunny attack.

I do deliberately set out to snare a bunny on occasion, like with my two Yuletide fics and the fic I wrote for my first and thus far only contest: FFaaFR. (Which I won, BTW.) :D

But mostly it just happens. Maybe they're sparked by a specific moment in canon that starts me thinking (IAaAYK, 1S2W). Or perhaps I want more of two characters interacting (PaM, Snatch), or I see a hole in canon and want to fix it (Lion King, Transformers). Or could be I'm fascinated with a character and want to explore them through writing (AtEoCT, DaaGB, MM, NaNaM, Skip/Summer Wars). ^^

I think we have a winner! C:

16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?

I love sumamries! Summaries are wonderful time-savers! If done right, they catch your interest and make you want to find out what happens. If done wrong, they're a big flashing neon sign that the fic isn't worth your time. It's a win-win situation, really. ^^

Summaries are almost always easy for me to write. I consider what happens in my fic, the overall tone and emotions, and write something that conveys all three and hopefully hooks the reader in the process.

Of course I use them!!! And when it comes to my recs page, if an author didn't write a summary--or if their summary doesn't do the job properly--I'll write one myself. ^^V

12 – Have you ever attempted an “adaptation” fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?

No. I have yet to be attacked by a bunny like this, and I doubt I ever will. I don't see any appeal in trying to write, say, "Beauty and the Beast" only with HP characters. Why limit the story in such a way? No thanks. The only reason I might do this would be if it were assigned to me for Yuletide. And even then, I'd most likely take any other option my recipient mentioned.

The dirty truth is I find the idea boring as hell. I'd like to write my own plots, thank you very much! I'm sure there are some great fanfic adaptations, but I'm in no hurry to read them. Meh.