I currently live in Kansas City, where I earn my living as a software systems analyst. I have a husband, two kids, no pets, and far too many hobbies. I make jewelry, mosaics, henna, scrapbooking, and sew renaissance costumes for my brother. I tell my husband I'm a frustrated artist, because while I do everything competently, I don't feel like I'm exceptionally good at anything.
Two of my original short stories are on my web page. Besides the fan fic plot bunnies that won't die, I am also working on a some original pieces, both full length novels, and hope to have something finished and ready to send off to harass publishers in the next year or so. Most of what I write is science fiction/fantasy work, my first love in reading. My technique in writing these is not much different than the fan fiction I write, but I do miss the crutch of having a character template upon which to base the stories.
The movie-verse stories do require that slightly more subtle approach, not just because their back history is less concrete than the comic characters, but also because - in my opinion - the movie-verse is set so much more in the 'real' world. I loved X-Men comic books, especially the ones with Jubilee in them, because of the extraordinary, larger than life characters. But as I got older and more experienced with writing and character development I realized the more subtle characters were more interesting than the loud ones.
I've never really received any feedback from fans who did not like my characterization, and I think that's largely because feel strongly about maintaining the character as presented. I cannot stand stories that present main canon characters in ways that are completely contrary to the way they've been presented so far. I think the idea of Scott Summers disappearing in the back yard to light up a joint of marijuana would be an interesting departure from the norm, but having a Scott Summers who's mainlining heroin is just way off base.
The Logan/Rogue dynamic is a classic dichotomy - the Innocent Girl tames the Unruly Bastard - and it plays into our classic literature roles that have been around since the novel was first invented. That same dynamic is probably the root of the Hermione Granger/Severus Snape fan fic popularity as well.
Logan's greatest strength as a character is the long-suffering desperado of the traditional western. He's a loner, and his perceived sense of honor makes him a classic romantic hero. As presented in the movie, his cliché has been updated nicely to a more modern sense - in fact, Logan seems to be a candidate for a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment center. Rogue, on the other hand, is more of a modern girl - cast out from her family, forced to live on her own strengths. She's scrappy, and tough, and has that wonderful sense of a southern woman who can bear up under incredible hardships and still carry it off with some poise.
As a couple, they are like two puzzle pieces that sort of fill in each other's gaps. Rogue helps Logan maintain his humanity, while Logan helps Rogue deal with all the bad spots where her fortitude is running a bit thin.
I think my greatest strength is my ability to project a character. The person is usually fully realized in my head, with all their quirks and hang-ups and little habits. It actually makes the dialogue easier to write, because I go into the scene knowing what pieces of information I want to reveal and who is going to say it. The characters themselves are ready in my head to ad-lib the bits until everything comes out just right. To be honest, I wish my plots were a little better - sometimes they're so thin and transparent I'm surprised I don't get a ton of e-mails telling me they saw it coming from miles away.
It depends. Sometimes, the plot bunny bites and it's all there, just pouring out of my fingers onto my keyboard. I've been known to write a short story in a few hours, everything coming together like magic. On the other hand, some of my stuff has to percolate for ages. It took a week to write my first short story "Steppin' Out with Wolvie," and some six to eight months to write Home from the Hill.
I haven't ever actually abandoned a fic, although that's a bit of a technicality. The story has to be at a certain point before I'll post it; nothing sees the light of day until I'm sure it's got a beginning, middle, and an end. For instance there's a sequel to Home from the Hill that I've had in notes form for the last three years, but I've never finished it. Someday, maybe. I've got a double handful of files and notes and scribbles that are ideas still in germination, but they belong buried away until they actually develop into a full-fledged story.
On the other hand, I've certainly had a few blocks that kept me from finishing a story in what I consider a timely manner. Sometimes, I just can't seem to get my head around a story, and writer's block sets in. I have a family and a full-time job, so time is always a factor. And sometimes, I just get bored with a story… I'm currently trying to finish a story called "The Souvenir" which was supposed to be a one shot. I should have left it as one, but the muse was louder than common sense. The entire thing is outlined and ready to write - I simply lack the dedication right now. Real life has been far too busy, and the garden needs weeding… I'm sure I'll get it done, just not as quickly as I'd hoped. Maybe I should buy my beta reader a bullwhip.
Usually a bright idea will come out of nowhere as a simple snapshot of 'what if.' One scene will present itself in my mind, and not always a pivotal action scene, either. Heck, my daughter was watching "Princess Diaries" for the umpteenth time the other day, and I had a fan fic idea for one of those stories. Fortunately I was able to resist. But when those snippet scenes occur to me, I usually think it through, make sure it has some logical process.
Say, Logan having a conversation with Jubilee about Rogue's love life - a guaranteed opportunity for some typical Jubilee wisecracks. But then I ask questions. Why does Logan care about Rogue's love life? Is he being protective, or jealous? Does he even know why he's interested? Why does Jubilee know about Rogue's love life? Is she a best bud, looking out for her friend's well being, or is she sick of watching the girl work her way through all the men in the mansion?
Once I've decided how the scene would play, I try to think of how the characters would have gotten into the scenario, and how they would get out. What is the basic theme of the story? Is the story really about Logan checking up on Rogue, or is the plot really about Logan and Jubilee? This is a way to determine, if only in your own mind, what your major conflict is in the story - in other words, what is the story really about? Once you have that, you're on a roll.
All of the above. I like to blend a little of everything, if possible, because life itself is not just one flavor. It's all things together, and playing one element off another can heighten your appreciation of both.
A while after the first X-Men movie came out, I found the WXF web site that was sponsoring a contest to write a sequel to the movie. The idea of what the next movie treatment might entail was intriguing, and since I'm always rolling my eyes at the drivel that passes as mainstream entertainment, I thought I ought to put up or shut up. Most fan fic writing tends to focus on a single character and that character's development, while a "Hollywood" treatment would require an ensemble approach and a tight plot. I wrote X-Cursions based on this premise.
I wanted to show what happened to all the characters, not just one or two. I tried to envision how each character would have grown, and developed into an individual and as a team member of the X-Men. I had to come up with a villain, and in my opinion religious fundamentalism has always been the worst evil to come out of civilization. Once I had my characters pointed in the right direction, the bad guy set on an intercept course, and a few decent sub-plots for humor and character development, it all came together nicely.
I don't really prefer one over the other. Some one-shots are great; they illustrate one aspect or detail and that's all. The longer stories require more character development and growth - the reader really needs to empathize with this character or they could care less if the guy suddenly dies. I want my reader to be emotionally involved in the longer stories, and to be rooting on the sidelines when that person battles their adversities. Each story seems to have its own set length, and simply takes as long as it takes to tell. Regardless of what you had in mind when you started.
As you know, I adore Jubilee. (The way she has been glossed over in the movies annoyed me more than just a little bit.) I first thought of the story when a challenge came out about Logan going shopping with Marie somewhere. I wasn't in the mood for fluff that day, I wanted drama, so I made Logan feel as though he had not met his responsibilities - to make him realize that he didn't even see his responsibilities. I see Logan as a somewhat stereotypical male - he sees what he wants to see until he's smacked upside the head and has to notice something else.
Making Jubilee the one who was injured got rid of the plot short-cuts. It also was a way to make Logan's character wake up and realize that Marie was not the only kid worth looking after. Voluntarily accepting responsibility is one of the hallmarks of growing up, and Logan qualifies as having arrested development. Seeing Jubilee suffer, and realizing that all of the children at Xavier's suffer in one way or another, was Logan's wake-up call that Marie was not the only one who needed protection.
No, not really. The Logan/Jubilee relationship was more of a partnership in the comics, while the Logan/Marie relationship is almost entirely a protection/taming the beast kind of relationship. Jubilee is the one who needs to be tamed in the comics, not Logan!
The movie industry simply came up with a classic relationship pattern, cut and pasted Logan and Rogue into those roles, and ignored the canon comic history entirely. Not that it didn't work, but it was definitely an 'inspired by' version rather than an 'adapted from' scenario.
I knew that trying to put Carol Danvers' role into my story would be adding too many characters. In addition, I wanted to give Rogue a romantic interest outside the usual Remy LeBeau. And then I wanted to give Logan a big smack in the head on the fact that Rogue grew up, is attracting the guys like crazy, and he'd best either get in line or get out of the way. So, when I knew that I wanted a spy in the Thieves' Guild, and a romantic possibility, AND that Rogue needed a way to get her full powers, it all gelled together.
I prefer third person POV. It allows you to show the story from multiple directions, which lets the reader see how different characters could come up with different conclusions. It makes it easier to follow the conflicts and allows the writer greater freedom to drop hints and mis-directions, and keep the reader guessing right up until the end.
There's a character actor who did dozens of movies in the 70's and 80's. He's tall, lean, has white hair and terrible acne scars on his cheeks. He usually plays the bad guys, and was really, really good at it. I couldn't find his name, but you'd know him if you saw him - a wild eyed, rip-snorting psycho. I toned him down a bit and put him in a pulpit.
For Joshua, I envisioned Marc Blucas as you first saw him in Buffy TVS. Very clean cut, no nonsense, on his toes military guy. If you've ever read any interviews, Blucas comes across as a down-to-earth guy and slightly smarter than advertised. His image, both as the actor and the character, combine into the quintessential hero. Joshua could have been an amazing hero but his moral compass had been hi-jacked by his father's fanaticism, which transformed Joshua into a fatally flawed hero.
It's certainly EASIER to use established characters. Original characters run the dreaded Mary-Sue risk, or the risk of just being boring. Writing an original, dynamic character that readers will care about is harder than writing a plot that will keep a reader interested. If the reader doesn't get emotionally invested in the character, then they won't give a darn when you're dragging the character over hot coals and alligator pits.
However, if one is serious about the craft of writing, eventually you've got to take the training wheels off and go for originality.
Hands down, Jubilation Lee! She has a mouth and isn't afraid to use it, an attitude that ought to be classified as hazardous waste, nifty powers, and the brains to take over the world if she wasn't so pathologically opposed to hard work.
Religious Fundamentalism is one of my hot buttons, as is government abuse of power. However, in all things, my true goal is to explore the human spirit. (Someone hide the soap-box, here she goes….) In every REALLY good story, from X-men to Yu-Gi-Oh to Frodo Baggins, the story is essentially about a person overcoming adversity; the struggle of the human (mutant, hobbit, whatever) spirit to persevere despite hardship. Just what is the character capable of doing, to accomplish their goals? When they reach their breaking point, do they have what it takes to get up and keep going? I have covered a variety of "issues" in my stories, but I'm really interested in how people - ordinary or extraordinary - cope with life and all its beautiful, horrible twists and turns.
Welcome to Genosha was thinly disguised PWP, but her character was truly what I thought of as the movie Rogue's character, just grown up a bit. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the comic Rogue; I am a fan of the movie version.
The movie version of Rogue is an interesting character, and has loads of room for development and growth. I think her potential is more intriguing than what has actually been portrayed, so far. I prefer writing her fairly closely to how she was in "Welcome to Genosha" with lots of spunk, brains, and a touch of uncertainty covered by bravado. (Why does that sound so familiar?)
I cannot take full credit for the idea behind "The Lab," since it came from a challenge, but I do feel it is one of my best pieces and I'm very proud of it. The characters were so vivid and human in an inhuman situation, surrounded by people who had no right to call themselves by that name. It was one of those stories that simply came to life inside my head in full blown color and surround sound, and so was easy to put out in pixels. And yes I do still get fan mail on it, though not as much, and it is listed on my web page.
Honest, constructive criticism is the best kind of feedback any writer can get. No matter how much a writer will say "I don't care what others think of my writing," they still SHOULD care. Writing is a form of communication; if a writer isn't communicating well, then the story gets lost. Feedback is a tool that lets a writer know they've gotten their message across. It may be nice to receive a review that says "Wow, great, more!" but in the end that doesn't tell you anything.
On the other hand, as J.K. Rowling once said, writing a story isn't something done by committee. It's your story, and you should tell it the way you want to. I do occasionally get some reviews telling me that I shouldn't have handled a story the way I did, but when the positive reviews far outnumber the negative ones it lets me know my instincts were leading me in the right direction.
Although it's hard to choose just one of my stories, Home From the Hill holds a special place in my heart. The way Jubilee grew up, became a warrior, a leader, and a woman with such immense inner strength was a joy to write. Looking back at it now, I can see where it's rough in places and how my style of writing has changed a bit, but the rough bits seem to match the subject matter.
The real sequel was fine, funnier than I expected, but a bit of a let down. The Logan & Rogue dynamic evolved the way any PG rated movie could be expected to go, and I admit Rogue and Ice Man were cute together. The plot was fine, right up to the Phoenix bit, which is where I totally lost all respect for the story line. (Although I did love the confrontation with the President.) They were likely setting it up for another sequel, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
The plot includes humor, a mystery, character development, a nasty twist at the end… I honestly think it would be a fairly decent effort. It would require some tweaking, since the makers were all about broadening the scope of the situation, but all in all I'd put it up against "The Sponge Bob Squarepants Movie" any day.
Haven't I babbled enough? Although I don't write much X-Men fan fiction any longer, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride while I did. Many thanks to those who rode along with me, both as writers and as readers. It's been a blast.