yet another fanfic meme
Sep. 26th, 2008 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ndnickersonfrom ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nickersoncrazy
So.
1. How about a brief introduction of yourself?
Mid-twenties. Destined to have some slightly bizarre quirk, like a house with a yard full of tiny model windmills. Owner of a moderately overgrown personal library.
2. What was the first story you ever wrote? What inspired you to write it?
My first story is lost somewhere, although I remember what the notebook looked like, such a long time ago when I was still writing my stories longhand. I wanted Nancy and Ned to have an actual committed relationship, so I wrote a story where they were engaged, then married, and then… well, let's just say that after that, the phrase "and then things went a little crazy" would be putting it mildly.
3. Which of your stories received the best response? Why do you think that is?
People seem to like 100 Situations a whole heck of a lot. I asked why and someone replied that it was because they were starting fresh, without the baggage that you have to work through in an established Nancy/Ned story. That seems like a good answer, although I'm still a bit amazed.
4. Which of your stories received a less favorable response than you'd expected? Why do you think that is?
Any negative responses I've received are either related to my portrayal of Frank Hardy or my portrayal of the depth of Nancy and Ned's relationship. I think it might be because most readers and writers of Nancy Drew fanfic expect the stories to stay within the established boundaries of their canon relationship, although that's certainly not true of all of them. For some readers it might be a bit shocking to see Nancy and Ned in an adult relationship. I also received a complaint about my portrayal of the rather intense triangle between Nancy, Ned, Frank, and Samantha, who was stuck between all of them, so I ended up just withdrawing that story from that archive rather than revising it.
I also had someone tell me that Nancy was acting like trailer trash in one of my stories, which I thought was… interesting, and told me that maybe fanfiction.net wasn't really my target market.
5. Which character do you enjoy writing the most? Why?
I like writing Nancy and Ned.
6. Which character do you enjoy writing the least? Why?
George is harder to get a handle on.
7. You wrote it and you loved it. Quote your favorite opening line. Quote your favorite closing line. Your favorite title.
Given that I don't have access to everything right now…
Favorite opening: "Nancy had two options: start talking to Ned, thereby breaking her cover, and endure what was probably going to be one of the worst fights they had ever had, or get blind staggering drunk to avoid dealing with it." [a multitude of sins]
Favorite closing line: "He closed his eyes and slid his arm around her, and he had no answer." [admonition, part 3]
Favorite title: the way back to sea
8. Do you identify with one pairing? If so, do you tend to write mostly that pairing? When you don't what inspires you to step off the beaten track?
I read Nancy/Ned and write Nancy/Ned, and generally when I don't, it's for angst value or because someone else requested it. Otherwise, I write pairings with other characters entirely, or other fandoms.
9. Do you reread your fic? Why or why not? What is your favorite fic to reread?
Yes, I reread fic. Especially if it's part of a series and I need to get back into that mindset. If I don't read a fic and go back and read it after a while, I usually am happier or more disappointed with it, depending.
10. Some writers find writing difficult. For others it's easy. Tell me about the experience of writing for you.
If I'm in the mood, it's easy. If I'm not, I sit there with a blank screen and think of other things I want to be doing.
11. How do you write? When? Where? Do you plot stories or just start writing them? Which of your stories was easiest to write? Which was the hardest?
I write on computer, generally at night or on the weekends, in my bedroom so no one can look over my shoulder. I like to come up with a plot for a more complicated story just so I don't meander or paint myself into a narrative corner or end up somewhere I didn't want to go, but sometimes I go entirely off the track.
The longer I go between updates for 100 Situations, the harder I find the writing, because honestly I feel like it's fluffy compared to my other stories. What The Sun Didn't Burn was pretty easy to write because all the base history was there.
12. When you write is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
I try to limit distractions. That's why night works better.
13. How has your delivery of fanfic changed since you first started in fandom? Where did you first start posting? Do you have a website? Do you maintain it? How many lists do you belong to? How do you find a new fic to read?
If you define delivery as presentation, I'd like to say that it is a bit more sophisticated, but that might not be true; I don't feel like my writing has matured that much. If you mean delivery method, I was lucky enough to start writing after the internet was the major delivery method. I posted my first story… oh, man, a long time ago, for X-Files, but I wouldn't even know where to find the archive now. I do have a website, along with the LiveJournal community; it's updated sporadically, and it's incomplete right now. I just need to buckle down and put the last finishing touches on it, and then figure out how to easily update it without all the issues I've been seeing lately. Maybe in Dreamweaver.
I belong to alert lists, and I subscribe to fic communities and recommendation communities on LJ, so I generally find new fic that way.
14. Let's face it, it's all been done. Or has it? How do you find inspiration?
The good thing about frequenting small fandoms is that a trend may not have found its way in yet, or the "let's put her in Regency England" trope hasn't been explored, etc. Otherwise, I guess, it might have been done already, but you can always try to do it better, or differently.
15. Feedback - how important is it to you? What sort of feedback do you like to receive? Do you leave feedback when you read?
I love and crave feedback and really dislike criticism, so I love positive feedback, huge long comments full of positive feedback. If I don't get feedback, or don't get a whole lot of feedback, it makes me think that my audience didn't connect with a story. I leave feedback on what I read if it really speaks to me; if it was mediocre, or I can't think of anything that interesting to say about it, I usually don't. Which may also explain why some people don't leave me feedback.
16. What are the five best reviews you've received?
Two or three reviews have been from people who had an intense emotional reaction to some of my stories. I also really like the reviews from people who stumble onto my body of work and tell me that they are feverishly reading through it all. And then there are the reviews where people just say that something was utterly, wonderfully fantastic, and those are great too.
17. How has fanfiction changed your life?
In toooooo many ways. Sometimes I feel like I've stunted my writing development by becoming so deeply involved in fandom, but I really, really enjoy it. I love writing Nancy Drew stories, and reading all the different interpretations people have come up with for Nancy, and in a lot of other fandoms as well. It lets me see that what made me dissatisfied might have made a whole lot of other people dissatisfied too.
18. Do you write professionally? Did you before you started writing fanfiction or did it pave the way?
I don't, and I feel that my writing is definitely not of that caliber.
If you feel like it, tag, you're it.
nickersoncrazySo.
1. How about a brief introduction of yourself?
Mid-twenties. Destined to have some slightly bizarre quirk, like a house with a yard full of tiny model windmills. Owner of a moderately overgrown personal library.
2. What was the first story you ever wrote? What inspired you to write it?
My first story is lost somewhere, although I remember what the notebook looked like, such a long time ago when I was still writing my stories longhand. I wanted Nancy and Ned to have an actual committed relationship, so I wrote a story where they were engaged, then married, and then… well, let's just say that after that, the phrase "and then things went a little crazy" would be putting it mildly.
3. Which of your stories received the best response? Why do you think that is?
People seem to like 100 Situations a whole heck of a lot. I asked why and someone replied that it was because they were starting fresh, without the baggage that you have to work through in an established Nancy/Ned story. That seems like a good answer, although I'm still a bit amazed.
4. Which of your stories received a less favorable response than you'd expected? Why do you think that is?
Any negative responses I've received are either related to my portrayal of Frank Hardy or my portrayal of the depth of Nancy and Ned's relationship. I think it might be because most readers and writers of Nancy Drew fanfic expect the stories to stay within the established boundaries of their canon relationship, although that's certainly not true of all of them. For some readers it might be a bit shocking to see Nancy and Ned in an adult relationship. I also received a complaint about my portrayal of the rather intense triangle between Nancy, Ned, Frank, and Samantha, who was stuck between all of them, so I ended up just withdrawing that story from that archive rather than revising it.
I also had someone tell me that Nancy was acting like trailer trash in one of my stories, which I thought was… interesting, and told me that maybe fanfiction.net wasn't really my target market.
5. Which character do you enjoy writing the most? Why?
I like writing Nancy and Ned.
6. Which character do you enjoy writing the least? Why?
George is harder to get a handle on.
7. You wrote it and you loved it. Quote your favorite opening line. Quote your favorite closing line. Your favorite title.
Given that I don't have access to everything right now…
Favorite opening: "Nancy had two options: start talking to Ned, thereby breaking her cover, and endure what was probably going to be one of the worst fights they had ever had, or get blind staggering drunk to avoid dealing with it." [a multitude of sins]
Favorite closing line: "He closed his eyes and slid his arm around her, and he had no answer." [admonition, part 3]
Favorite title: the way back to sea
8. Do you identify with one pairing? If so, do you tend to write mostly that pairing? When you don't what inspires you to step off the beaten track?
I read Nancy/Ned and write Nancy/Ned, and generally when I don't, it's for angst value or because someone else requested it. Otherwise, I write pairings with other characters entirely, or other fandoms.
9. Do you reread your fic? Why or why not? What is your favorite fic to reread?
Yes, I reread fic. Especially if it's part of a series and I need to get back into that mindset. If I don't read a fic and go back and read it after a while, I usually am happier or more disappointed with it, depending.
10. Some writers find writing difficult. For others it's easy. Tell me about the experience of writing for you.
If I'm in the mood, it's easy. If I'm not, I sit there with a blank screen and think of other things I want to be doing.
11. How do you write? When? Where? Do you plot stories or just start writing them? Which of your stories was easiest to write? Which was the hardest?
I write on computer, generally at night or on the weekends, in my bedroom so no one can look over my shoulder. I like to come up with a plot for a more complicated story just so I don't meander or paint myself into a narrative corner or end up somewhere I didn't want to go, but sometimes I go entirely off the track.
The longer I go between updates for 100 Situations, the harder I find the writing, because honestly I feel like it's fluffy compared to my other stories. What The Sun Didn't Burn was pretty easy to write because all the base history was there.
12. When you write is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
I try to limit distractions. That's why night works better.
13. How has your delivery of fanfic changed since you first started in fandom? Where did you first start posting? Do you have a website? Do you maintain it? How many lists do you belong to? How do you find a new fic to read?
If you define delivery as presentation, I'd like to say that it is a bit more sophisticated, but that might not be true; I don't feel like my writing has matured that much. If you mean delivery method, I was lucky enough to start writing after the internet was the major delivery method. I posted my first story… oh, man, a long time ago, for X-Files, but I wouldn't even know where to find the archive now. I do have a website, along with the LiveJournal community; it's updated sporadically, and it's incomplete right now. I just need to buckle down and put the last finishing touches on it, and then figure out how to easily update it without all the issues I've been seeing lately. Maybe in Dreamweaver.
I belong to alert lists, and I subscribe to fic communities and recommendation communities on LJ, so I generally find new fic that way.
14. Let's face it, it's all been done. Or has it? How do you find inspiration?
The good thing about frequenting small fandoms is that a trend may not have found its way in yet, or the "let's put her in Regency England" trope hasn't been explored, etc. Otherwise, I guess, it might have been done already, but you can always try to do it better, or differently.
15. Feedback - how important is it to you? What sort of feedback do you like to receive? Do you leave feedback when you read?
I love and crave feedback and really dislike criticism, so I love positive feedback, huge long comments full of positive feedback. If I don't get feedback, or don't get a whole lot of feedback, it makes me think that my audience didn't connect with a story. I leave feedback on what I read if it really speaks to me; if it was mediocre, or I can't think of anything that interesting to say about it, I usually don't. Which may also explain why some people don't leave me feedback.
16. What are the five best reviews you've received?
Two or three reviews have been from people who had an intense emotional reaction to some of my stories. I also really like the reviews from people who stumble onto my body of work and tell me that they are feverishly reading through it all. And then there are the reviews where people just say that something was utterly, wonderfully fantastic, and those are great too.
17. How has fanfiction changed your life?
In toooooo many ways. Sometimes I feel like I've stunted my writing development by becoming so deeply involved in fandom, but I really, really enjoy it. I love writing Nancy Drew stories, and reading all the different interpretations people have come up with for Nancy, and in a lot of other fandoms as well. It lets me see that what made me dissatisfied might have made a whole lot of other people dissatisfied too.
18. Do you write professionally? Did you before you started writing fanfiction or did it pave the way?
I don't, and I feel that my writing is definitely not of that caliber.
If you feel like it, tag, you're it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: #18
Date: 2008-09-26 05:06 pm (UTC)I realize you're working with established characters, as opposed to creating your own, but I believe you have the creativity and skills to write original characters if you ever chose to do so.
I know I don't comment/review often on your pieces, and I need you to know that isn't because I haven't enjoyed your work. Usually it is because I am so overwhelmed by the emotions and realism of your pieces that I don't have the energy or words left at the end to say what I need and want to say.
So, I guess I'm telling you now: I enjoy every piece you've written, for different reasons. You have an amazing ability to capture Nancy and Ned in cannon, and I love that you give them so much continuity (something we never had in the books.) Your AU stories are incredible pieces full of emotion and energy and though you've put your spin on the characters, you still allow who they are at the core to shine through.
That, in my opinion, is professional-caliber writing.
Re: #18
Date: 2008-09-26 08:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-26 07:15 pm (UTC)Also, resist the windmills!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-26 08:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-02-22 09:45 pm (UTC)I think you're selling yourself short because your writing is definitely of professional caliber.