First of all, could you tell us a little about yourself--location, hobbies, interests, work, etc.--and how writing fan fiction fits in with the rest of your life?
Hm…well, I live in Texas, a couple hours’ drive from the border. I’m 20, cynical, and have a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. I write, draw, paint, read, sew, design clothes, design websites, pretty much anything that involves the right brain. I also love math, especially Algebra, but I won’t get near Geometry. I do freelance work for a couple of people. Fanfiction is actually a large part of my life. It’s just writing and that’s something that’s always been there.
When did you first become interested in writing and what was the first fandom you explored as a writer?
I’ve always been interested in writing. I have stories that I wrote from when I was in elementary school, maybe before then.
I didn’t know fanfiction existed until about two years ago, when I came across an Inuyasha story and fell head over heels for fanfiction. The first fandom I started writing in was Ranma ½, a very complicated manga/anime to explain. The main characters liked each other, but could never get it together long enough to get together, and it was incredibly frustrating. Especially when I came across websites that put them together with other characters. I started to write fanfiction to keep from going insane with frustration, which helped a lot when I discovered they don’t get together at the end of the series and only because of their own stubbornness.
What has your experience been as a fairly new writer (post-X2) in the Logan/Rogue fandom?
Fun mostly. This is the first time I’ve been involved in a fandom community for such a long period of time. It’s also been interesting coming across the fics that were written between the two movies, before Rogue and Bobby were a couple. It was especially interesting seeing how other authors dealt with the trailer scenes of the second movie, given the complete and total lack of Logan/Rogue action. I also got lucky, getting into it at after the second movie was out because the biggest problem between Logan and Rogue was killed off. *grins*
Was there a specific moment/scene in the movie that go you hooked on this pairing, or was it a slow progression?
Well, I saw the first movie when it came out in the theaters. I remember watching the train scene and going, What the fuck? They’re gonna kiss? And then nearly screaming in frustration when they didn’t.
I really got into them as a pair a little before the second movie came out. An author I really admire from another fandom had written a few fics that were W/R and even though I’d seen and liked them as a couple before, those fics really opened up the fandom for me, and I started writing.
In the story, “Enough” Logan is drawn to Rogue more and more…just can’t get enough. J Could you talk a little bit about how you see their relationship in regards to, not just this story, but in general when writing about them?
They have a very complex relationship, I think. Logan has some very serious issues, and Rogue is headed for some serious issues given her mutation. They’re a lot alike, in understanding what it’s like to be left out of something, to not be capable of a certain type of intimacy, and having to deal with that on their own, but they’re also very different. Logan’s hard and set in his ways, having lived like that for fifteen years. Rogue’s young and flexible (in the smut way too, I bet) and she’s still settling into herself. Logan’s very much himself, in a way that would let Rogue be able to define herself; she’d have a constant, but her own ability to change would help Logan with change in a general way. She’d mellow him out, while he’d give her something stable, relatively. Since she’s just as independent as he is, and you’d have to be to leave home at 15 and make it cross-country, she’s not going to fuss much with him leaving likes he like to do.
Where do you like to write best?
Anywhere I’m alone or, at the very least, left alone. Nothing frustrates me more then being interrupted, especially when I’m, uh, in the zone, as it were.
What inspires you the most to sit down and write a story?
Inspiration.
Really.
An idea has to be there. Sometimes I can, and feel the need to, just sit down and write, but mostly I have to have an idea that wants to be written, or a scene that I want to use, or just something that makes my fingers itch with the need to get it down on paper.
In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing a story? The easiest? The most satisfying?
The hardest thing is to actually get it written. I get lost or don’t know where I want to go, or don’t know how to say what I want to say. Or I want to get to the good stuff, to get to the stuff I want to write, and not have to write the stuff to get you there. Oh—naming the stories. I spend a good fifteen to thirty minutes just trying to figure out what to call them.
The easiest part is editing.
The most satisfying is having it completely finished. I can look at it and feel confident that I did my best and that it has no (or few) mistakes.
Do you beta others’ work? If so, does it help you with your own writing/editing process?
Yes. I edit for two people as well as have them edit for me. It helps keep grammar stuff fresh, as well as makes me aware of common mistakes that get made. It keeps me more attentive when it comes to my own writing as well as stretches a different set of writing muscles.
Stories such as “Kitchen” or “Laying Claim” could be classified as ficlets or vignettes. Is this your favorite length of story to write or is it just a matter of not having the time to write more?
Um…well, neither really. It’s more that I tend, in every thing, to want to be as exact as I can. So, when I have a point to make (the reason I’m writing the story) I get in, make it, and get out, so to speak. Because I do that, I end up with short stories.
Have you ever written a story that you thought would be small and it grew to much larger proportions? If so, did you edit it down or keep going?
No, not really. I’ve had stories get out of control, where they go somewhere they weren’t supposed to, and I’ve had to throw the whole thing away and start over, but mostly I know what I want to write, sometimes have the whole thing written in my mind already, when I sit down and write.
The short story “Wound,” in which Logan tends to Rogue after a battle, feels as if it could be a moment or scene from a much larger story. If you were given the opportunity to write a scene for one of the X-Men movies, what would it be?
A new scene? Hm…well, the easy answer is the one where Logan and Rogue get together, but really? I think I’d like to do a scene like Wound, one that’s important, in context and subtext, but also very subtle. Which probably doesn’t tell you what you don’t already know.
In “Tired”, the same line is repeated throughout, helping to emphasize the hopeless feeling of the story. Are you more attracted to writing angst than other genres? Why or why not?
Hm…I hadn’t really thought about it. I like to write angst when I’m depressed. It helps me deal with stuff. Tired was written at a point when I had a lot of hard stuff going on, but just getting some of that out helped me feel better. So, yes, I’m more attracted to it because of that, but I don’t find it fun to write angst.
It seems that most of your stories have one-word titles. How do you choose the titles for your stories?
I hate titles. I rarely know what to call a story. There was a running joke in my art school; instead of coming up with a fitting title for a piece, we’d call an artwork Pink Elephant or Polka-dotted Clown even if it was a still life of apples. I’m always tempted to just call a story something like that instead of actually naming it. I usually beg my editor for a title or pull a theme from the story and use that as the title.
The side-by-side dual story style of, “Saying Goodbye” was an excellent way to compare and contrast a possible Logan/Jean relationship with Logan/Rogue. What can you tell us about it and what did you enjoy most about writing it?
Thanks. That is one of my favorites of my fics. I wrote it mostly because I was trying to understand the canonical attraction Logan has for Jean. I’m a lot like Logan, and Jean is the kind of person I can’t stand in real life, so I have a hard time following the line of thought on that particular trait of his. It didn’t help much, but I had fun taking the plot and putting Rogue in Jean’s place.
I like to play with the format of my stories because how the story looks affects the experience of reading it just as much as the story told and the way in which it was told. Putting the two stories side-by-side was meant to draw attention to the differences between the two relationships more explicitly than leaving it in the traditional format would have.
Saying Good-bye was a very experimental fic, and I am proud of how it came out.
Aside from Logan & Rogue, who is your favorite X-character to write and why? What about your least favorite?
I don’t know. Like I say a couple questions down, I tend to ignore everyone except the characters I’m interested in. It’s especially true here, because I’m not so much a X-Men fan as I am a Logan fan and a Rogue fan and a Logan/Rogue fan.
If I had to pick, though, Jean’s probably who I’d pick for a favorite. She’s a great foil for Rogue.
As for least favorite, from what I’ve seen, I think I can safely say that’d be Jubilee.
The stories, “Now and Never Used To” and “Young” take place in the X-Men Evolution universe. What are the biggest differences between the characterization of Evolution!Logan and/or Rogue and Movie!Logan and/or Rogue? How do the differences affect your writing/stories?
In the movie, Logan’s still very young emotionally. You can tell Rogue is the first person he’s experienced some kind of attachment to in a long time, if not ever. Rogue herself is very sweet and reserved, still unsure of herself.
In Evolution, Logan’s much more mature than his movie counter part. He’s settled into himself and is comfortable being responsible for others. He’s still got issues, particularly with his past, but they aren’t as dominating as in the movie. Rogue’s a wild thing. She’s much more defensive than in the movie and she isn’t sweet, but she’s not exactly mean either. She’s also a great deal more dangerous given the number of people she’s touched.
The differences in personality aren’t that hard to adjust for when I’m writing. It’s easy for me to see the movie characters in the Evolution characters and vice versa. It’s the difference in the relationship between the two in both universes that I have to be careful of. In Evolution, Logan is Rogue’s teacher. There’s a greater stigma on that relationship than on a purely May/December relationship. Plus, the movie has laid a foundation for a Logan/Rogue relationship, whether or not it was intended. (My mother thought it was supposed to be a romantic relationship, and she wasn’t looking, or even open, to that sort of subtext.) The transition between platonic and romantic is easy with the movie. Not so much with Evo. The possibility is there, but not the foundation. I see them in a romantic relationship so easily that I forget that it doesn’t have that foundation to it.
What helps you learn to write the characters—regardless of universe or fandom--and do you need to understand the characters completely to write about them?
Studying the canon material, reading other fics, writing about them, that’s how I learn them, but I don’t think it’s good to completely understand the character, at least for me. I need to know them, to understand them in a base way, but having something I don’t understand about them gives me the opportunity to explore them in a fic. It keeps me interested in them, too. Gives me something to think about when I’m at a loss on what to write.
What POV do you prefer to write in and whose POV do you prefer to write from?
My preference changes depending on the story. I tend to write more in third person rather than first, simply because you’re very limited on what observations can be made in first person. In first, you can only say what that character sees or hears or thinks, while in third you can point out something that is important, but escapes the notice of your main character. I don’t try to force a story into third person when it wants to be told in first though, and I try to stay away from getting into ruts with my writing, to keep from using the same idea or style or even the same representation of the characters without getting too far from who they really are.
Who is entirely dependent upon the story, although I tend to have favorites in a fandom and just ignore everyone else.
“Like Bobby’s Kisses” was written in response to a picture challenge and “Anniversaries” in response to a theme challenge. Which did you find easier and which more difficult to write? Why?
Like Bobby’s Kisses hands down was the hardest. I knew where I was supposed to go, but I didn’t know how to get there or even where to start. Once I did get started, I didn’t know how to get from that scene to the last scene. I kept messing up on the technical stuff too, like when Rogue was in the rain and the play of inside light versus the lack of outside light. It was incredibly frustrating, and then when I’d finally gotten it written, I didn’t like the format of it, so I spent quite a bit of time playing with the format, only to leave it as it was when I started. I’m still a bit iffy on if I did the right thing, format wise.
Anniversaries just flowed. I’d meant for it to be a happy, Rogue/Logan fic, but it ended up being an unrequited love, angst fic, and in the end, I was really pleased with it. Just a bit of editing, and it was done.
Another story form you’ve written is the drabble. They don’t take long to read, but do they still take as much time to write?
Nope. I can write one in five minutes.
When you’re restricted to only 100 words, each one needs to count in order to convey a coherent story. Do you agonize over just the right words and phrasing? How do you select the words or phrases you use for drabbles?
Sometimes I have to worry over my diction, but only when I end up with 120+ words instead of closer to the 100 on my first draft. I already tend to be exact in my writing so more often than not I’m usually only 10 or less words off.
Words like “a” or “the” or “his” or “her” are ones that are easily removed, especially with how I write. Those are the ones I remove the most.
Why do you write drabbles and challenges—are they fun? A challenging writing exercise? A way to get over writer’s block?
I like drabbles because they are fun. And quick. They make me feel productive when I can’t seem to get a longer story written. They also help me focus, help me to get rid of all the extra stuff that just doesn’t need to be said and get back to what’s important.
Challenges also make writing easier. You've got a starting point and don't have to start from scratch or come up with a plot or a goal.
In your opinion, what is your *best* work and why? And your worst?
I’m torn between Touched and Saying Good-bye. For what it was and what I was trying to do, Saying Good-bye was an incredible success, but story-wise, Touched is very complex. It has someone working through their grief and finding a way to love again. There’s a lot of undercurrents revolving around touch and how precious it is to Rogue, and how Logan uses it, more than words, to communicate with Rogue.
I wouldn’t call any of my posted fics my “worst.” As a rule, I don’t post anything that I’m not proud of. If I feel the need to defend it, or make excuses for it, I don’t post it. My un-posted fics are another matter entirely, but out of my posted ones, the one I’m least satisfied with is Like Bobby’s Kisses. It has good elements, a good plot, and good lines, but the execution was clumsy.
What story have you gotten the most feedback about?
Touched has gotten the most, and it actually got one of my favorite reviews. It was from a girl who thought she was getting a Remy/Rogue fic and was surprised she got a Logan/Rogue (with a dead Remy on top of it) instead, but she still enjoyed it. That’s the best kind of feedback, where it’s not something the reader is interested in or cares for, but they still enjoy it.
In closing, what are some of your pet peeves in regard to reading and writing fan fiction?
Bad grammar. Some grammar stuff is complicated, but really, if you can use a computer, then you’ve had first grade English and know how to use the freaking “shift” key and how to capitalize proper nouns and the first word of a sentence. And the period is your friend. So is the dictionary.
Yeah, bad grammar really irritates me. But only a little. *coughs*
Bad characterization bothers me too, but I’m more likely to let that go, especially if the plot is interesting enough.
As for when I’m writing, it’s when a story won’t come together and there’s no reason for it not to. Or the characters go off on their own and do what they want to do. Or someone feels the need to interrupt me to ask where the donuts are or something. Getting my concentration broken is the main reason a fic never gets finished; I lose the thread of the story and don’t know what I wanted to do with it when I get back to it.