I think my first real "fan fiction" was in 6th grade. My science teacher gave us a "fun" assignment: a writing prompt about some kind of science experiment gone wrong in our school, and we had to finish the story. I wrote about 4 pages where Mulder and Scully from "The X-Files" came to our school and helped investigate with our teacher and principal. I still have it around here somewhere.
Right around the same time I started writing quite a few "Mary-Sue" X-Files fics on our family's Brother Word Processor. They're cute, but not quite worthy of publication. EVER. Those slowly evolved into actual fics. My best friend, Melissa, who got me into X-Files, would occasionally print out fan fic for me, but I didn't really know what it was until we got the internet in my house and I found some of the archives. It was then that I realized that I wasn't crazy and that a lot of other people were doing what I was, and publishing!
I wrote a lot, but eventually I started posting with a longer X-Files piece, first under my real name, then when I got some sense into me, under my pen name. Though I haven't written for the X-Files fandom in a few years, it still holds a very sacred place in my heart. I also write for CSI: Vegas and now X-Men.
I don't usually write in a public place because I like to write on my computer rather than handwriting, but I will jot down notes if inspiration strikes me. I'll also hand-write in public when I have downtime where I can't do anything else, like on a plane, train, in the car... Last summer I was a camp counselor at sleep away camp and I would write fic in the cabin during our afternoon break and in the staff lounge. While I was still in college I would write in my dorm room, and that was semi-public since we always left our door open and people were in and out a lot. :)
Several of my close friends know that I write fanfiction: my mother, three or four of my closest friends, and my college roomate. I'm not embarassed by it, and I'd never deny it, however, it's not really something that I advertise.
Fast forward to almost two years ago when two things happened right around the same time: Hugh Jackman was in "The Boy From Oz" and I was introduced to "Seasons of Growth" by November Tuesday.
I went to go see BFO because my Mom was paying for my ticket, and because I was curious about the show. I knew nothing of Peter Allen and had barely heard of Hugh at that point. Needless to say, I was hooked. I only got to see it one more time after that but I was entranced by the man that could play Van Helsing but still had a better high kick than I did. To this day it's my favorite Broadway show, and I've seen quite a few. I became ravenous for anything Hugh!
I think "Seasons of Growth" happened first, though. November had started writing CSI fic, and someone on a CSI list I was on posted the link to her website. I loved her writing style, and after I read all her CSI fic I looked for something else to read that I was familiar with. Besides CSI and her X-Files stories, the only other fandom on her site I had even heard of was X-Men. At this point I'd only seen each movie once, and I though, "hey, at least I'll know the characters." It took me a week straight (spending all my free time during a finals week at college!) to get through all 93 chapters of her WIP.
Those two things sent me to my brother's stash of DVDs as soon as I could get my hands on them, and the rest, as they say, is history. I was entranced, and watched specifically to see if the WR dynamic was really there. It seemed so odd to me that a young girl and a growly guy could be, well, what they are! But IT was there. Whatever it was that makes us all go "Ah ha!" was in the movies and I was hooked. I wonder, to this day, if I might have fallen for a different pairing if I had read a different fic first, but I don't think I would have.
As for how many times I've seen them, it's not really that many. Maybe only 3-5 full watchings of X1 and X2 on DVD, but countless "partial viewings" when they've been on TV. So far I've only been able to see X3 once, but not for lack of trying.
Though now I'm kinda mad that I even thought about writing Logan/Storm when it didn't show up in the movie. Oh Well. It still fits and works out well.
I really missed the personal aspect that Singer brought to the first two movies, and I tried to keep that a main part of "Last Resorts." We see a lot more of their internal struggle in my story, their humanity, which I really think is more interesting than the special effects. However, I really glazed over a lot of the technical aspects, the action, the movement of other characters, which I think that the film may have done a better job with than I ever could have. On a whole, I think "Last Resorts" is a believable alternative to the events of the movie, and I'm still quite proud of it.
The real answer? Anywhere from one sitting (2-3 hours), to three years, to never. Sometimes I'll literally have to sit down and write the whole story in one shot otherwise I'll lose it. That's how a lot of my shorter ones are written: one or two sittings of 2-3 hours. Recently I finished a CSI story that took me three years to complete for various reasons. In 12pt font it clocks in at 68 pages and 25,484 words. Besides a few WIPs I'm working on right now, there are also a handful of drafts that are sitting on my hard drive that will never be finished for one reason or another. Sometimes I've lost my muse, Sometimes I HATE what I've written, but for whatever reason they'll never be finished.
Longer stories, like "Last Resorts," "Value," "These Voices..." , can take weeks to write. Usually at that point I'd ship to a beta, and then there's another week before I'll post. So start to finish? Usually a month. But there are exceptions. I posted "An Understanding" the same night I wrote it. I have a fic called "Logan's Lullaby" that is going to be quite long when it's done, and I've been working on it on and off for months.
Incidentally, I find that I do my best writing at night, so if I can't stay up to write, it gets put on hold for a while.
I also have a problem with categorizing and rating my fics. I don't like to sit down and try to box ideas in, I just let them come out. When it comes time to go back and rate and categorize them, then, I'm usually at a loss.
Outside of that, I'm a very visual person, so when I write, I see it as it happens in my head and I try to describe every little detail. My writing gets very matter of fact, and less lyrical, less story, more play-by-play. So I'll get something like this: "He put his hand to the right of her collarbone on her shoulder. Her eyes followed his hand." and I have to go back, smack myself in the head, and turn it into, "The weight of his hand on her shoulder was comforting, and she couldn't help but gaze at his fingers so close to her exposed flesh."
I'm also not a very consistent writer. Some days I'll feel like writing the fluffy lyrical stuff, some days it'll be all about describing and internal thoughts and angst. That's why sometimes a story gets revised over and over again: I'll change the tone halfway through.
I love writing in third person omniscient, though. You get everyone's point of view, plus a definitive way that things happen, not just the events through one person's eyes. You can jump to different groups and not need to find a way to have your narrator there. I think it's the most freeing way to write, but not always the point of view with the most impact.
I think that the movies have started them on a great path of self-discovery: Logan goes from being loner to leader, Rogue from weak to strong. There's a lot more that they can do, though, and as is so often pointed out in fic, Logan and Rogue understand each other like no one else can. I think they need to learn to rely on each other, to help each other, even if only as friends.
So I sent it off and asked if people were interested in a sequel, and started writing "Free Falling" almost immediately. The funny part? Almost everyone said that "I've Got You" should be a stand alone, and I agreed. Reading "I've Got You" was easy, and it was a whole, finished piece. But my gut was telling me to write "Free Falling," so I obeyed. To this day I'm not completely happy with "Free Falling." I think part of that is that "I've Got You" is so emotional, immediate, and visceral that the calm, foofy, nearly detached manner of "Free Falling" feels like a let down. I mean, I like it and I think it's good, but it's just not what I wanted it to be. If I ever figure out what I want, you'll probably see an alternate version, but I'm still not sure what else would go there if not "Free Falling."
I believe that NO ONE (author, dancer, painter, lawyer, anyone!) should do something just because they get praise from it. Yes, feedback and praise and kudos are a high unlike any other. I know, I'm a performer. The high of applause is unlike any feeling imaginable. The little envelope in my inbox that replies to my stories rivals that feeling, but that's not why I do it. If I never shared my stories with anyone (and I do have writing that I share with no one) I would still be happy that they were written. I write them for my own enjoyment, my own relaxation, and my own entertainment first. I have seen too many wonderful writers discouraged because they didn't get enough feedback or the right kind for feedback for their tastes. It makes no sense to me to sit at a computer for hours on end to do something just so people will tell you it was good. If you don't enjoy writing just for yourself, reevaluate what you're doing. I still write my CSI fic, even though I get almost no feedback as compared with what I used to get. Is it disheartening? Yes. Does it stop me from writing? No.
That said, feedback and the online community are VERY important.
First, Feedback. I love it. Like I said, it's a high like no other. I welcome any constructive criticism. If you don't like something I've written, please tell me. If you like something, please tell me. The only way I will know what's working and what isn't is with feedback. I love to think that every story is an improvement for me, and that I learn from every bit of feedback. I prefer detailed feedback: tell me what worked for you, what made you cringe, what made you laugh! I do know, however, that some people can only say "good job!" and that they mean it. I treasure it all.
That said, I know I'm bad with sending feedback. I try to send more than "Good job" out. If a story is good in my mind, but doesn't stand out and I see that it has gotten a good amount of feedback on the list, I'll often skip over reviewing. Often, I'll also skip reviewing because I read my fic on the run... I don't have as much free time now as I did in college. I know I shouldn't do that, though. I'll usually review a good story by pointing out what I liked and asking the author questions that either I think still need to be addressed in a sequel, or about their process/frame of mind. If I feel a fic was bad, I'll almost always refrain from reviewing (If you can't say something nice?) unless I have a suggestion that I think will help the author. Like I said up there, I'm into CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. I would never tell anyone their work was bad, and I'd never point out problems unless I could tell them why I felt it was a problem and help them out with it.
The online community is like a family. It's rare that someone in your real life will be as *focused* on something as we are, never mind the same show, movie or 'ship. The community helps me feel normal. They remind me it's ok to think in terms of my 'ship, and that I'm not crazy J Also, I've made life-long friends through some of my online communities, and that's not something I take for granted.
I usually get inspired by songs when I'm not writing, but rather when I'm driving to work on Saturday mornings and listening to my CDs in the car.
My gut reaction now is that the different takes on the voices in her head, and how we interpret that part of her power, is a big part of what makes her so fun to explore. Given any one situation, it can be completely changed by how she can interact/react to the voices in her head. I think it gives us a lot of possibilities, and I love possibilities. I still haven't pinned down exactly how I want that to work for her or which way I prefer it to work, but as a writer I'll keep my options open and most likely write her power working however it best serves the story line.
As to what I would recommend to a first time reader, it would depend on what they like to read. My personal favorites that I think would be accessible to a first time reader are "I've Got You," and "An Understanding."
I also talked about "Free Falling" in question 15. Like I said, it's not exactly what I wanted, but I'm not unhappy with it. It feels too soft, not concrete enough in any kind of resolution. It just feels? off.
I usually don't post until I'm 100% (or 98%) happy with a story, so there's very little I'd change.
I also like a lot of the implications that they started with- that the powers return, the grading system of the powers, that Beast knows about Wolverine's past, that there's a subculture of mutants that may be more powerful that we're used to thinking of? They leave a lot open for us to play with.
I think the scene that I felt should have been explored more was the scene in the Professor's office when Beast first tells Storm about the cure, and then right after Rogue walks in. This is where I felt Ratner really missed an opportunity to explore the humanity of the problem. No, Storm *doesn't* shed on the couch, she can't *not* touch. Why was Rogue dismissed so easily by Storm practically yelling in her face? Why didn't the Professor reason with Storm or Rogue (depending on what his opinion was)? Why didn't anyone reason with Storm and try to make her see how this wasn't a bad thing for some people? I really think that he could have had an emotionally charged, deep, and philosophical scene there that he shied away from. I'd like to try my hand at that, but probably not until I get to see the movie again or I can get the DVD because I'd really like it to fit into the rest of the story continuity wise.
Another thing that I would have liked to see was Rogue not get the cure and rush in and save the day by absorbing and fighting or killing Phoenix. Then, what happens to Rogue and her state of mind? Conversely, I would have liked to see Rogue in battle gain her new powers (as I wrote in Last Resorts). All of these things you'll probably see from me in the future.
Specifically for L/R writers, the Bobby/Kitty/Rogue triangle will be good fic fodder. The best, however, is the "I'm not your father" line. Ok, so then what are you, Logan? And right from the horses, or rather Wolverine's, mouth, too. He doesn't want her to change, and he doesn't look at her like a daughter? Short of actually having one of them admit feelings (which, come on, we aren't getting in the movies) this is the best thing to happen to cannon ever! Let the fic begin!
Honestly. This is supposed to be a recreation, not a job or labor some. It's fun. You LOVE these characters and this 'ship. You're writing because you want to. If you know you have issues with characterization or grammar, get a few betas (I have up to 3 at one time for my CSI fics) and keep it light. There are so many people out there who would be willing to help or give you their opinion. Listen to the story, don't force it to be foofy or angsty just because that's the kind of story you set out to write. Enjoy yourself. If you get too nervous or worried or freak out about flames or criticism, you're pushing yourself out of the fandom for stupid reasons. Just enjoy it. Love it.
Oh, and always imagine you're Rogue (if you're female) when you're writing steamy scenes with Logan. It helps. ;)
I just want to say thanks for asking me to be a part of this. I've been writing in different fandoms for a long time and this is the first time I've ever been asked to do something like this. These were great questions that really made me think and I enjoyed working on this. Please feel free to e-mail me if there is anything you want to know more about!