FANFIC AUTHOR ASK THING!!! (here's the post for reference, because tumblr wouldn't let me include a link: 677953470002774016/ask-game-for-fanfic-writers) #1, #3, #7, #17, #21, #36, #48, #51, #62, #65, #76, #78, #87, #90, #96, and #100 -> WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR EVERARD? AS IN, WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE HIM?
1. Do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?
UM WELL… it’s a little mix of both I believe! Often I have a vague idea for scenes I want along the way, and I also occasionally have ideas for the end! ….but it’s mostly connecting little points with pieces of red string, if I’m being honest. (Sometimes I feel like the meme… you know the one.)
3. On a scale of 1-10, how much do you enjoy incorporating romance into the average story?
Well, I haven’t incorporated Actual Romantic Elements into any of my written stories (yet), but I do like romantic subplots in stories. So I would say a solid 7?
7. Tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote.
OH WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME ALEX…..
Looking at what I have in my notes app, it looks like the first fanfiction I ever wrote was a Mystery Skulls Animated fanfiction in which a samurai character meets an ancient kitsune and they fight I guess??? I don’t think it was ever posted anywhere, and it’s filled to the brim with just.. badly written quips and a 14-year-old Scramble’s attempt to use Big Words. I don’t think it’s ever gonna see the light of day at this point, if I’m being completely honest XD
17. What is your favorite line you’ve ever written?
Only time will tell how much I will remember by the point in which I take my leave.
Okay look so I have written a LOT of things that never got completed, and therefore there are a lot of lines I like, so I just kind of chose one at random? I think it sounds kind of neat idk
21. Pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about.
Wait like. An author writer? Successful has-published-a-book-or-something writer?? Even if it’s hypothetical I’m too much of a coward to do that if I’m being honest HAHDHAH I dunno if there’s anyone like that who I could work Super Incredibly Well with just cause I’m not super duper confident that I could live up to my expectations and yeah lmao.
36. Do you base your characters off real people or not? If so, tell us about one.
Nope! If I base characters off of real people, or sometimes even use NAMES of people I know, then it reminds me WAY too much of that person and I just can’t imagine them as my own character anymore?? It just makes it difficult for me haha
48. Do you reread your own stories?
Sometimes! When I’m feeling particularly proud of things I’ve written, I like to go back and look at my stories to get an extra boost of serotonin. It feels nice doing so!
51. Share the synopsis of a story you’re working on that you haven’t posted yet.
Ah I’ve chosen a Magnus Archives fic synopsis to share cause lord knows how many wips I have for that fandom
Jon arrives to the institute late one day (which doesn’t happen. It just doesn’t!) And everyone goes ‘Jon are you okay?’
In which I make an attempt at writing a sickfic because it’s something that I haven’t ever tried before? I wanted to write some hurt/comfort archives gang and thought it’d be a good idea. Haven’t worked on it in a hot minute though!
62. What’s the weirdest reason you’ve ever shipped something?
I know it’s a lame answer but I’m not actually sure, it’s all really the standard ‘I think these two would work well together’
65. What is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written?
Okay so you’ve gotta bear with me here because I’m the WORST with titles. I’m worse at titles than I am at coming up with names which is *saying something*.
Probably ‘To stay alive’, it honestly just feels like the strongest one I’ve got (even though it’s just the last line of dialogue in the story HAHAHA)
76. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?
Oohhh this is an interesting question!
The only reason I answered your ask late is because I was rotating this question in my mind for the past 4 days. I haven’t actually written a villain before, I don’t think— so I’m not sure 😔
78. How do you choose where to end a chapter?
There’s a lot of factors that can go into ending a chapter for me!
The most common one I think is either scene changes or timeskips. They’re just really good transitions.
ALSO, though, I need to end a chapter on a line that I feel like will keep the reader hooked for the next chapter. It really doesn’t have to be a cliffhanger, just something that ends the chapter in what I think is a strong way.
87. Does your writing style change depending on the genre you write?
It used to! It doesn’t much anymore. I used to write a LOT of angst back in the day, and to put it bluntly, I think that style of writing was me trying to smack the reader as hard as I could with the angst I was writing. But when I would write fluff, I don’t think it took on some of the qualities that it did when I was writing that angst.
90. Do you notice your own voice in your writing style?
If you’re talking about my verbal actual voice, then no, but if this is referring to like. The way I write stuff, then absolutely!
I’m the kind of writer who likes to weave little quips into their writing— even though people might not find them as funny as I do, I think it’s a good little addition to my work, yknow?
96. Romantic/social sideplots: interesting or irritating?
Interesting!! Very interesting!! I feel like these offer for a lot of character development— I know main plots do this, but if your main plot is some sort of Big Grand Quest To Defeat The Bad Guy, it doesn’t give much opportunity for social character development. But having a romantic or social subplot kind of completes this!
100. Open question to the writer.
Question: WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR EVERARD? AS IN, WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE HIM?
I tried very hard but for some reason could not answer this directly and easily (much like the other questions). It’s was 11pm when I wrote this and my remaining brain cells had been ejected from my brain so have this rundown of how his character came to be.
1. Found a discord server that was fantasy roleplay. Looked fun but I needed a character
2. Librarian but with fire powers and also can be a tiny dragon for some reason? Fire + library = bad idea which is kind of funny
3. Jon TheMagnusArchives Season 1 has some personality aspects that I’d like to snatch for this character except make it a bit worse (You heard me: Everard started out as really pretentious and very rude.)
4. Why is the universe working against me about this. What do you mean this isn’t peak character moments. Also Everard’s last name was Bennett for some reason which I still don’t know why I chose that
5. Got an invitation to another server. It was a fantasy murder mystery and I COULDNT NOT.
6. Fantasy murder mystery takes place in a huge academy. There is an open position for a literature professor/librarian
7. ‘I should totally bring Everard over here’ and a few people despite barely knowing me wholeheartedly agree
8. Everard goes through a huge rework. Reverse his personality completely. Make him fit for teaching. Give him telekinesis instead of fire powers. Rework his backstory. Also change his last name to Thompson because it fits better
9. Everard Bennett (grumpy librarian with fire and shapeshifting abilities and also some anger issues) turns into Everard Thompson (jittery literature professor with telekinesis and is really just trying his best).
AND THERE’S ALL THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED! To be honest I had completely forgotten about that post until you went through my reblogs, and I certainly wasn’t expecting to get asked 20 questions (/nm /lh)
Send me some of these numbers and I’ll answer the corresponding questions!
