Interview #15 - Let’s Get Physical || Amaya Jiwe (P.2)
ᴵⁿᵗᵉʳᵛⁱᵉʷ ¹⁵.² || ᴬʳᶜʰⁱᵛᵉᵈ - @anansixpowered
Cat brushes a hint of soot off of her jacket, sighing as she looks up at Amaya, both of them looking a little battle worn. Everyone on the ship, truthfully, looks a little battle worn--a little tested by fire and fate--but it’s that time of year, whatever time of year it is. Another evil--another villain--another hurdle they’ll have to jump in space to surmount it. They’ll all change when they get there, after the next fight, but there’s no time like the present (whenever that is) to start the recorder rolling, again, beeping red flashes of light through Amaya’s quarters. It’s calming--a good record--something to do other than wait. “So we’re off to save the world from some ever-looming threat and deadly presence. Again.”
Today we get the pleasure of reading about the awesome airbefore.
FanFiction Name: airbefore
Twitter or other: airbefore (i don’t care for change)
Why did you pick the name(s) you are using? it’s a bastardized lyric from a katie herzig song. ‘i wanna breathe the air i did before you left’ it struck a chord with me so i shortened/rearranged it and here we are.
Place of birth: the stars at night are big and bright *clap clap clap clap* deep in the heart of texas (more like the armpit of texas but there’s no song for that)
Where do you live now? the queen city, y’all aka charlotte nc
Anything you want to share about your life or family: my older sister tricked me into eating dog food when i was two by telling me it was candy so that should give you some sort of idea on how i grew up
Job: i work in payroll which means i get yelled at a lot when people think their checks are incorrect.
What do you like to do in your spare time, besides writing? it’s a cliche answer but i read a lot. i used to do handcrafts (crochet, cross stitching, etc) but had to give them up due to my rheumatoid arthritis. *insert sad face here*
How did you become a fan of Castle? i initially tried to watch the show when the pilot aired but i’ve never enjoyed procedurals and so nothing about it really caught my attention. then a few years later, i was on tumblr right after knockout aired and started seeing all the lovely fanart for it and decided to give it another shot. i mainlined the first three seasons in about two weeks and was hooked. kate beckett legit owns a piece of my soul.
Favorite episode(s): this is a totally unfair question and i feel like you know it. ugh. okay. i’m gonna limit myself to ten. in no particular order: wrapped up in death, kill shot, cuffed, in the belly of the beast, the lives of others, knockdown, the final nail (‘because richard castle believes in you and i believe in him’ STAB ME IN THE CHEST I’M FINE), veritas, cops & robbers, and pretty much the rest of seasons three and four. i know that’s cheating but i made my own rules so i can totally break them.
How did you discover fan fiction? the year was 1998 (yeah, i’m an old) and fight the future had just come out. i NEEDED xf buds to talk to about my internal rage re: bees so i found this board that i don’t even remember the name of and there was a section on fanfiction and i clicked and lo a monster was born.
When did you start writing? i assume you mean fic. i scribbled out some xf stories in my late teens but never posted them anywhere. castle was the next show that really sparked me creatively. i started writing some time in season 4.
Have you written anything for other fandoms? i wrote a couple of tiny drabbles for lost back when jj land was a thing on lj and i wrote like 5 stories for callie/arizona from greys. nothing super substantial though.
Favorite place to write? idk about favorite but i usually write sitting in bed
Do you have a particular writing process? procrastinate and cry
How do you come up with your story ideas? ideas are a crapshoot and anyone who tells you differently is lying. no one knows how they come up with them. they just happen. there is no process. no surefire way to make your brain go ‘a-ha! idea time!’. for me, they come from all over the place. a song lyric, a book i’m reading, a conversation i overhear, a piece of dialogue that pops in my head , a desire to rewrite the wrongs of the show itself. the ones i can’t stop thinking about are the ones i (attempt to) write.
Which is your favorite story that you’ve written and why? i find questions like this difficult to answer as i have such a complicated relationship with my writing. it is nearly impossible for me to look fondly on anything i’ve produced. it’s a combination of a lack of confidence in my abilities (or lack thereof) and my depression, which manifests itself as a little voice in the back of my mind that tells me that i am worthless and therefore everything that i produce is worthless as well.
What have you learned or improved on in your writing? mostly i’ve learned more about my own tastes regarding style. i’ve come to understand what i do and do not like in writing, both my own and that of others. it’s made me a more critical reader, which i am grateful for.
What resources, if any, do you find helpful when writing? i’m not a big researcher tbh. i use google and the knowledge of friends mostly. i’m lazy.
Is there something you wished you’d known when you first started? i wish i’d known that reviews are not an indicator of quality (hell, i wish i could make my brain understand that now).
How long does it take you to write a typical chapter? there is no such thing as a typical chapter for me. i’ve pounded out a one-shot in 45 minutes and there is a chapter of my cheating fic that has been sitting half-written in my google drive for like two years. anything in between that is fair game.
Which of your fics has been the most popular? i try very hard not to quantify things like this. i don’t look at metrics on ff.net. that is the path to insanity, for me at least.
Which of your fics are you most proud of, and why? again, super hard for me to be proud of anything but i think i can answer this one. i wrote ‘and the day came’ in between seasons 4 and 5 as a way to prove to myself that i was capable of writing more than just m-rated fic. it was also my first attempt at a multi-chap story. it gave me hell but i was able to finish it and i’m proud of myself for that.
Last story you wrote, or current if publishing? i’m working on ‘another life’ at the moment, which is a post-season 1 finale au. i do intend to eventually get it finished but i’m currently broken up with writing so idk when that will be. (i suck)
Who are some of your favorite authors in fanfic? i have a standing policy not to answer questions like this because i know how much it hurts to have your name/stories left off of lists of faves and i don’t ever want to make anyone else feel that way. so i’m going to respectfully pass on this one.
Top 5 favorite stories, other than your own? see above
Any stories that you feel deserve more attention? see above
Advice to new authors or people thinking about writing? in the end, the person you have to please with your writing is yourself. reviews and accolades are great but they don’t really matter. what matters is that you as a writer are being true to yourself and your characters. that you’re telling a story you believe in, not one that will get you the most reviews or make you the most popular. write for yourself, not the lowest common denominator.
Something you think will surprise most people about you? um. i don’t have a uvula? sorry. i don’t find myself all that interesting and am pretty sure i am inherently incapable of surprising people.
Anything else you’d like people to know? i’m not as mean or scary as people seem to think i am. honestly, i’m marshmallow fluff. marshmallow fluff with firm opinions and sarcastic tendencies. yep.
End of interview
Thank you so much, airbefore. Join us again tomorrow, when we learn more about fanficwriterghc.
