Twenty Questions for Fic Writers
I was tagged by @4getfulimaginator2022. Thank you! <3
How many works do you have on AO3?
I'll use my FFN stats since I'm not transferring everything from there over to AO3. Fic count on FFN is 204, though that's not including the ones I archive privately, so technically the number of fics I've posted is 253.
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
Again, going on FFN word count since that's where everything is. That stands at over two million: 2,197,752.
HOWEVER, I also have a further 817,563 words of fics privately archived, so in actuality I've hit the three million mark: 3,015,315! I knew I must be climbing up there, but I had no idea that I'd surpassed it, so that made me happy!
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Currently, it's Downton Abbey (Anna/Bates), EastEnders (Suki/Eve), Game of Thrones (Daenerys/Jorah), Gentleman Jack (Anne/Ann), and The Incredibles (Bob/Helen).
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Sed Me Domum et Aedificabo a Throno [Game of Thrones, Daenerys/Jorah]
Tokens of Deep Affection [Wreck-It Ralph, Felix/Calhoun]
Vivat Crescat Floreat [Game of Thrones, Daenerys/Jorah]
Magic in Mundanity [The Incredibles, Bob/Helen]
Veritas, Unitas, Caritas [Game of Thrones, Daenerys/Jorah]
And favourites on FFN, since I still use that site:
1. Seeing is Believing [Pokémon, Jessie/James]
2. Swinub May Fly [Pokémon, Jessie/James]
3. The Shadow Proves the Sunshine [Downton Abbey, Anna/Bates]
4. A Comedy of Errors [Pokémon, Jessie/James]
6. A Meeting of Fates [Downton Abbey, Anna/Bates]
5. Do you respond to comments?
On FFN, yes, since it's done via PM. On AO3, no. I really appreciate all comments, but I despise that it counts my response, and I won't inflate my comment count. But of course I read each one.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
One of my suuuuuper old Pokémon fics, Twisted. It's sooooo bad. Young teen Dan was dark and depressed. If I didn't think it was important to leave everything up to show progression, I'd delete it and pretend it never existed.
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Nearly all of my fics have happy endings because I mostly write fluffy oneshots, so pretty much take your pick.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
I did once have a comment on a Dany/Jorah fic which had nothing to do with the fic and just hated on the ship, which I rolled my eyes hard at. What is the point in seeking out something you don't like? Weirdo behaviour. And, you know, it was from a Dany/Jon stan, so...people in glass houses and all that.
I do. Not as often as I used to, but when the mood strikes. Most of my smut scenes/fics are archived privately, though.
10. Do you write crossovers?
No. I did extensive planning for one once, but the crossover universe was mostly just there as background. Whether I ever get around to actually writing it remains to be seen, but I wouldn't write another because I have no real interest.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Someone once asked wayyyyy back in 2012 if they could translate one of my fics, but I don't know if that ever happened. And I deleted it to archive privately, so probably not, LOL.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
I have not! I'm not sure if I'd be any good at it, I'd feel the pressure!
14. What's your all-time favourite ship?
Well, it's been over twelve years since I wrote my first Anna/Bates fic, and I still write a little bit for them most days (just a slow and steady process). I still love all of my old ships, but Anna/Bates has had the longevity to endure almost nine years after the end of the show (I don't count the movies because they're whatever), and they're still so, so special to me. <3
(Although I do spend most of my time these days completely fixated on Suki/Eve because MY GOD, that ship has completely altered my brain chemistry.)
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
It's not a 'doubt I ever will' thing just yet, because I am still very much writing Anna/Bates fic, but I have one in particular that I haven't touched in six years where the final line of the penultimate chapter has lived rent-free in my head for all that time...I've just never committed it to paper yet, and I'm still a couple of chapters away from it.
But I finally finished the bonus chapter of Made of Starlight [Downton Abbey, Anna/Bates] seven years after posting the final chapter on FFN, so there's every chance I'll pick it back up in the near future.
16. What are your writing strengths?
I don't think I'm particularly good at anything, but if I had to pick something...Dialogue, maybe? I always have lots of fun with characters interacting with each other, anyway, regardless of whether it's good or not.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Description. I feel like it's often clunky and not evocative enough.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I used to write it in italicised English. Nowadays, if a character is speaking to another in a language they both understand, I'll still do this, but if it's from the POV of a character who doesn't understand it, I'll write it in the other language but try to do the HTML on AO3 where hovering over it on desktop will give the English translation. For example, this was pivotal for the fourth chapter of Vivat Crescat Floreat, since the whole point of the chapter was supposed to be Tyrion's frustration at not knowing what the hell Daenerys and Jorah were talking about. It would not have worked if the audience could read the Common Tongue right off the bat, but the hovering at least gives the audience the context that Tyrion does not have.
I don't bother on FFN since hardly anyone uses that site anymore, haha.
Of course, the only language that I do know is English, so I have to rely on translate for other languages...which, let's face it, can be horrendously inaccurate.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Pokémon. I don't keep up with the anime much these days, but I'm always there for a new game, haha.
20. Favorite fic you've written?
I don't really do favourites because I'm mostly just meh about what I've written, but I'll always have a soft spot for A Meeting of Fates, purely because it was the first multi-chaptered fic that I ever finished.
Lost in Balms [Downton Abbey, Anna/Bates, privately archived] is one I had a lot of fun with. I started it in April 2017 and completed it July 2023, but during all that time I had such a clear image of how I wanted the climax to go down. I actually wrote the fic in an entirely linear fashion, so thinking of that one scene kept me going for five years until I actually reached it, and it was one of the most satisfying things to write because of how long it had taken for me to get there.
And not a fic mention per se, but the fourth 'chapter' of And Beauty There Echoes the Speck of Our Souls [EastEnders, Suki/Eve] gave me all the feels to think about and write. I wrote it at a time where I was struggling with Suki and Eve's breakup in canon, and it brought me great comfort to focus on. And another Suki/Eve fic that I'm working on right now is giving me the same warm fuzzies because it's something I desperately want at some point in the future. <3
