Ramblings.

[elisi]

Snow again. Although only enough to cover the ground.

Many thanks to jamalov29 for the lovely virtual present and to green_maia for the card! :)

Via zanthinegirl a fabulous video:

Watch on YouTube

And then, for promethia_tenk, a writing meme.

1. How about a brief introduction of yourself?
I'm Elisi. Apparently I'm legendary. ;)

2. And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?
Buffy. Or Spike I suppose. Or, if we're talking about writing, rather than reading, then it was the thought 'What if Riley had turned up during S5 of AtS?' No one had written it, and so I began to speculate. And soon enough scenes were playing out in my head and then I had to write them down. Never looked back... (Unlike most people, I'm still very fond of - and rather proud of - my first ever fic. I think because what it does - which is all characterstuff - it does very well.)

3. What kind of fanfiction do you like to write?
Character exploration. Plus crossovers, as part of that - letting people meet who don't (or can't) in canon is endlessly fascinating to me.

4. Do you tend to write the same pairings/characters? Or are you a fandom whore?
I tend to go for the same kind of pairings, so kinda yes?

5. What is your most popular fanfic and why do you think people like it so?
'My Immortal'. Why? Well it's an exploration of the most perfect crossover ever, in great and loving detail. Apparently people are as enamoured of meticulous continuity and the marrying of 'verses as I am. *g*

6. Forget other people...what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?
Oh dear. Um... Possibly 'The Tale of Spike's New Princess' because it deals with something incredibly squicky and disturbing, and yet I managed to also create a beautiful love story at the same time. Or my Seeker 'verse, quite simply because so much of it is original. Also stories where I manage to make people like a character they otherwise can't stand.

7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing?
First drafts tend to be problematic, quite simply because trying to get the vision in my head onto paper (as it were) isn't all that easy. Once I've got a draft, however, I can begin to edit and that I love. Most difficult? Trying to get the words (and rhythms) just right. I have been known to edit stuff for the sake of a comma. Often work stuff out in my head ahead of writing, turning phrases and lines and paragraphs over and over until they're just right. Sometimes I know exactly how something goes, word for word. I love it when that happens.

8. Write a few sentences or so of your favorite pairing or character.
Sorry, can't choose.

9. Are there any fanfiction trends/cliches that you're sick of?
Many.

10. Are you guilty of any of these? Or have you committed other crimes?
When I have, I have been fully aware of what I'm doing. *g*

11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you continue to like/participate in it?
Buffy. And yes.

12. Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them that you love to write.
Spike/Buffy, Spike/Angel, Spike/Buffy/Angel, Jack/Ianto, Doctor/Master, Master/Lucy, Doctor/River. My rule of thumb is generally that you should be able to put the characters in an empty room and just watch them spark off each other. Indeed, I often find the dialogue/discussion/situation comes first, and then I need to work out a plot that will bring my characters to where I want them.

13. What would you call your writing "style"?
Quite straightforward, although I wish I was more lyrical.

14. Do you read other people's fanfics? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Yes. In most cases I read along the same lines that I write, except often others can do stuff I can only dream of.

15. Name one thing you'd LOVE to write but haven't yet.
I'd like to get back to 'Divided Destiny'. BtVS/AtS fic that's a sequel to another fic: 'Maybe Someday'. This fic, however, will be pretty epic and very plotty, and deals with Spike, Angel and Illyria post the finale to AtS. It's very ambitious, but I got stalled after 50,000 words and it'll be at least as much again. But I'd like to do it, just to prove that I can. Also, it's pretty good, if I say so myself.

16. Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have a really bloated ego?
I am as thin skinned as Stephen Fry, although I hope I'm not conceited. *worries* (That said, I love my beta to absolute distraction, because she's never afraid to tell me when something doesn't work.)

17. When you write is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
Peace & quiet, yes. My own computer. The right kind of music - often a single album, or even song, on repeat.

18. What inspires you?
My imagination just tends to run away with me.

19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?
Love fanfic. Love writing. If it wasn't for the former I might never have discovered how much the latter means to me. I can't imagine a life without writing, now.

Comments

[promethia_tenk]

This is the sort of thing that'll make me big headed...
Look out for doorframes ;-)

Now what struck me was that Ten, in many ways, wanted to 'own' his companions. There was a sense of... entitlement? ('I love you'/'Quite right too') So I think that whenever he lost someone he felt *robbed*, rather than just sad over the loss. All of which leads me to Eleven, who doesn't have that possessive thing at all - see his delight over Amy and Rory getting a happy ending. It's enough for him to just witness others' life. Add to this the fact that on top of this he has River - someone who is his, and someone he can't lose because he's lost her already. (You know what I mean.)
OOooo, yes. Yes, I like that very much, thank you! Excuse me while I go drop a link to this exchange in one of my though-gathering posts so I'll remember it. . .

Heh. Sudden thought that seems obvious in retrospect: you know what was great about that scene right before the Doctor flew the Pandorica away? It was four people all wanting what was best for someone else. Rory was looking out for Amy. Amy for River. River for the Doctor. And the Doctor for Amy. Hmmm . . . ok, Rory got left out there, poor guy, but I guess the Doc did a lot to help him get Amy, so . . . At any rate, I think a lot of that is carrying over into the psychologies of the people in the AU (Amy, in particular, is sort of fretting over what her parents have had to give up for her) and that includes Eleven.

Matt Smith - somewhere - said that there'll be something wrong with Amy next season... And I still remember Moffat talking about Amy in the Confidential to The Eleventh Hour, and what if 'you grew up different to what you were supposed to'.
Ooo oooo ooo--I had not made that connection! Excellent.

Hmmm. Looking forward to what you come up with!
Thanks :) Me too! I'll let you know.

[elisi]

Look out for doorframes ;-)
Will do! *g*

OOooo, yes. Yes, I like that very much, thank you! Excuse me while I go drop a link to this exchange in one of my though-gathering posts so I'll remember it. . .
My pleasure. :)

At any rate, I think a lot of that is carrying over into the psychologies of the people in the AU (Amy, in particular, is sort of fretting over what her parents have had to give up for her) and that includes Eleven.
Oh very good.

Ooo oooo ooo--I had not made that connection! Excellent.
I've had this in the back of my head all the time, and you've sort of turned it on its head with your 'How did Amy take to parents so quickly?' I always saw it as Amy finally being 'right' - like she was wrong, and missing something, after Rory was erased? Of course, she lost her parents for a lot longer... Although going by the freshness of the apple, it can't have been long before the Doctor showed up. (This only occurred to me last time I watched. Poor little Amelia...)

[promethia_tenk]

I always saw it as Amy finally being 'right' - like she was wrong, and missing something, after Rory was erased?
And yet for all that she was wrong because Rory was missing, it was a real struggle for her to remember, you know? If you'd told her 'so, you had this fiance . . .' she would have been like 'very funny!' It's a bit different with parents because obviously one had parents, but still, I would expect a similar kind of struggle there.

Although going by the freshness of the apple, it can't have been long before the Doctor showed up. (This only occurred to me last time I watched. Poor little Amelia...)
*squishes her* Although, I was under the impression that it wasn't that her mother had put the face on that particular apple, but that she somehow remembered that her mother had done that and had done that apple up fresh for the Doctor. That said, the idea that her parents had been eaten just minutes before the Doc showed up is really nicely creepy . . .

[elisi]

It's a bit different with parents because obviously one had parents, but still, I would expect a similar kind of struggle there.
Why oh WHY have you not watched Buffy? *is sad* I keep wanting to reference stuff from it, but can't. All this about memory and who we are what it means and losing memories and regaining them etc etc... I learned all that stuff on Buffy (and Angel. Oh Angel...) and I feel handicapped not being able to use it! (Um, it's very late. Plz ignore me.)

Although, I was under the impression that it wasn't that her mother had put the face on that particular apple, but that she somehow remembered that her mother had done that and had done that apple up fresh for the Doctor.
Oh yes, that's certainly the implication that makes the most sense.

That said, the idea that her parents had been eaten just minutes before the Doc showed up is really nicely creepy . . .
Isn't it? Also, it's v. interesting that she remembers her mum putting faces on apples. Nothing's ever truly forgotten...

[promethia_tenk]

Why oh WHY have you not watched Buffy? *is sad* I keep wanting to reference stuff from it, but can't. All this about memory and who we are what it means and losing memories and regaining them etc etc... I learned all that stuff on Buffy (and Angel. Oh Angel...) and I feel handicapped not being able to use it! (Um, it's very late. Plz ignore me.)
*chuckle* There, there. I understand. And I assure you that I'm holding out purely to spite you ;-)

Nothing's ever truly forgotten...
I swear, I get choked up just at those words. I think that scene between Amy and the Doc under Stonehenge might just be my favorite of the whole season.

[elisi]

*chuckle* There, there. I understand. And I assure you that I'm holding out purely to spite you ;-)
LOL! Literally. Although I was going to suggest Torchwood as an adequate substitute for now... And given your response [to the other post], I am more than happy! \o/ Not that I don't dearly wish you'd watch Buffy and Angel, but they're 7 and 5 seasons long, respectively (22 episodes in each, apart from S1 of Buffy), and that would make me balk liek whoa. Serious commitment there, so you know, wait until you're bedridden for a few months... ;)

I swear, I get choked up just at those words. I think that scene between Amy and the Doc under Stonehenge might just be my favorite of the whole season.
*points to icon* It is such a beautiful, beautiful scene, and such a beautiful, beautiful story/theme/etc. Actually, I will bring up Angel - specifically some meta by Anna...

We don't stop being human when we lose our hearts; nor when we lose our heads. And every last vestige of humanity can be drained from us, but as long as somebody, somewhere cares, we are not dust.

[promethia_tenk]

LOL! Literally. Although I was going to suggest Torchwood as an adequate substitute for now... And given your response [to the other post], I am more than happy! \o/
Heh.

Serious commitment there, so you know, wait until you're bedridden for a few months... ;)
Check. Oh, the pile of modern classics that I have to watch--it is intimidating. Although Moffat revealed in the production notes of the latest DWM that he hasn't seen Buffy either, so henceforth this is my excuse *nods*

We don't stop being human when we lose our hearts; nor when we lose our heads. And every last vestige of humanity can be drained from us, but as long as somebody, somewhere cares, we are not dust.
Hmmmm . . . that is lovely.

[elisi]

Check. Oh, the pile of modern classics that I have to watch--it is intimidating. Although Moffat revealed in the production notes of the latest DWM that he hasn't seen Buffy either, so henceforth this is my excuse *nods*
Well you're in good company, I'll give you that. (Re. Torchwood, then the first episode is actually pretty brilliant in showing the themes etc of the whole thing. And the way in which playing with people's memory/withholding information is an integral part of the show.)

Hmmmm . . . that is lovely.
Isn't it just? Anna (the_royal_anna writes the most gorgeous meta ever. I almost want you to watch Buffy just so you can read her stuff... She's written a bit on Doctor Who btw - mostly S1, but it's in her memories if you want to have look.)