Name: Elsie
Writing Blog URLs: @jyeonvoir, @linochee, and @cinnominroll
What fandoms do you write for?: The Boyz, Stray Kids, and NCT (Mostly for dreamie)
Age: 20
Nationality: Indonesian
Languages: Native-level Indonesia, Intermediate English, and Beginner-level Chinese
Star Sign: Aries
MBTI: ESFP-A
Favorite color: Soft blue and pink
Favorite food: Fried chicken
Favorite movie: Along With The Gods: Two Worlds
Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate
Favorite animal: Cat and Dog
Dream job (whether you have a job or not): Since I was in middle school, I dreamed to be a news anchor or a tv presenter
Coffee or tea? What are you ordering?: I actually prefer milk more than those two, But if I have to choose, I will go with tea
Go-to karaoke song: Popular songs of the year that I know (Western and Korean)
If you could have one superpower, what would you choose?: Space and time manipulation
If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose?: Srivijaya era (3rd – 14th centuries) or Majapahit era (1293–1500)
If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?: I don’t think I would. Restarting my life would mean I have a chance to fix my future, but it also means I might lose something I have in the future (and it does not always mean good)
If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been?: Either the popular kid or the loner
Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken?: 100 chicken-sized horses. Normal-sized chicken already scares me, I can’t imagine what will happen if I have to fight horse-sized chicken, even it’s one.
Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures?: Yes, I do. Not everything can be explained in science, y’know.
Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know?: When I was five y.o, I had my parents panicked once. So back then, instead of going home with my little sister, I went to the hospital alone and visited my mother who had just given birth to my little brother without giving any notice to them. My neighbour, who saw my little sister went home without me, worried and called my dad. Panicked, my dad called my mom and told them that I was missing. Lucky, I arrived at my mom’s room just when she answered my dad’s call and they hadn’t called the police yet. Later that night, I got a long lecture from my dad at home.
When did you post your first piece?: If I remember it correctly, it was around early July 2018 on my personal blog -- one or two weeks after I just joined Tumblr. But, before Tumblr, I had posted fics on Wattpad in late 2014
Why did you decide to write for Tumblr?: It’s all because I found a few interesting fics here and then it motives me to write again. I also happened to be looking for a new platform to write since I was bored with Wattpad.
Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why?: I do write fluff and angst fics, but mostly fluff because I’m a sucker for fluff. I’m not good with angst and bad at writing smut
Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc?: Used to write Ocs, but since I joined Tumblr I write X Readers more often than OCs.
What inspires you to write?: MVs (The one with a story) and song lyrics
What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most?: Romance with a little bit of fantasy
What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively?: Take a break from writing for a while
What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful?: My favorite work of mine and the most succesful, excluding the drabbles and timestamps, is Lee Know’s fic titled “What Are You Up To?”. Among the oneshots I had made, it is the only fic that reached more than 200 notes and I’m quite proud of it. It was inspired by a Korean novel I read and a bitter experience of my junior high school love.
What do you hope your readers take away from your work?: I hope my readers can see many sides of a relationship, either it friendship or between lovers. Sometimes, relationship can’t be smooth and have a happy ending like in movies and novels, and it’s not always sad and dark. Also, since the culture that I have grown up with different from people that I meet from this online platform, I want to show how I see a relationship supposed to be.
Who is your favorite person to write about?: In the boyz, it was Sunwoo and Kevin since they are the easiest out of twelve to write for me. In Stray Kids, It is either Bang Chan, Hyunjin, or Lee Know. As for NCT, I think it will be Jaemin and Jeno.
Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose?: Yes, I do. To me, writing fanfiction is easier than an original. In fanfiction, I don’t need to make a detailed characterization of the characters since it’s using a real person as the reference. But as for an original, the more detailed the characterization of the characters the more people could get the sketch of the story since this is the character that I made myself without a reference.
What do you think makes a good story?: A good description, and language that easy to understand, followed with a balanced proportion of dialogue and description.
What is your writing process like?: I start by writing the outline first and do some research before starting to write it. I don’t have a specific plan like when should I write or how long it should be, but I tend to write when I’m in the mood. I can’t force myself to finish a fic just in one week (If I do, I will not satisfy with it and the ending will feel rushed). That’s why It usually takes a long time for me to finish a fic or req.
Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story?: Yes. Of course I would. I’m actually in the process of repurposing one of my old fics into a webtoon with my little sister. But we don’t know when we will start.
What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand?: I love strangers-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers, secret relationship, and bad boy tropes. To be exact, any trope that show a good development of the characters and has a fantasy in it will be in my to-read list. However, I can’t stand the tropes with angst (especially if I’m not in the mood to read angst), break up, and thriller in it. I will still read it, but not on the top of my to-read list.
What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)?: Supportive friends and family members.
Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself?: No, I don’t. I always write for myself and put my satisfaction first before anything.
Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times?: No, I don’t. It never happens to me.
Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr?: Some of my college friends who are a Kpop stan do know about it, though they don’t know my blog url. Only my little sister does.
Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged?: Yeah, most of the times. Especially for those who write X Readers fics.
Do you think art can be a medium for change?: Absolutely. Art has the power to inspire change in the masses.
How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you?: Feedback and constructive criticism on my works are so, so valued! It’s important for me to able to improve and motivate myself.
What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers?: Please stay healthy and be happy. Feel free to talk to me whenever you want because my ask always open for you.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there?: You will never know your potential until you try it. It’s okay if your first work doesn’t look great. No one is perfect, even me. I used to make so many grammatical errors in my first fic (even in the newest one, though it wasn’t that bad like before). As long as you satisfy with it, you still can improve it in the future.
Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr?: Nah, There aren’t.
Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey?: Yes, I do. And I’m thankful for that. Because of them, I was able to learn new things and experience many styles of writing by reading theirs.
Pick a quote to end your interview with: “Sometimes you feel like you are alone in this world, but in reality, you have people around you who love and care for you.” -- Huang Renjun
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