Ooo, 4 & 18 for the fic ask game?
Thank you for your Fanfic Author Asks, @strivia! 💚
4. Do you save your 'cut scenes' from your fics? (Want to share one?)
So, for my KonMan series, all of the fics were just written down from start to finish with no notes on more or less lack of sleep, which is why I've rule-of-cool'ed myself into a corner. They have the opposite of outtakes: the whole bit with the baryonix was a last minute addition because name a single sex scene in all of human literature that *wouldn't* benefit from a baryonix.
The only fic for which I've ever used (and really needed!) an outtakes document was Concurrence. It's over half the word count of the finished story as I was writing myself into and out of various roadblocks.
Here's a brief excerpt that I've removed on the very last editing pass before posting that particular chapter: A deleted personal addendum to the Chief Science Officer's log:
"Personal Note: Despite my feelings on the matter, his consistent disregard for regulations could be a useful characteristic for my purposes. I do not have the luxury of building a better rapport with him first: Since my exposure to the plant toxin I have experienced a recurring migraine with fluctuating isoboramine levels. If not treated quickly, I fear these symptoms may progress in the usual manner."
Which is became [PERSONAL NOTE EXPUNGED FROM MISSION LOG] because that chapter was already quite heavy on exposition.
(Tagging @aristofranes for this because you've called the personal note out in your comment for that chapter. 😁)
18. How do you decide what POV to write in?
More often than not: whichever character I like best, usually the grumpiest one. Which is not the most crafty way to go about developing a craft, but I try to be better about it.
My favourite perspective to write in is third person limited. It lets characters pass their opinions off as objective fact. I also like having that bit of separation between The Character and The Author because my biggest fear is writing a parade of indistinguishable self-inserts.
With The Human Heart Is Hungry Still, which I'd started writing from a different character's point of view and it felt weird and clunky, @prairiedawn did some kind of sorcery and suggested telling the story from Uhura's perspective. That was like a block was just *gone* and everything flowed nicely and writing became really fun and it turned out so, so well. The Way You Shake And Shiver was really interesting because I switched viewpoints between Finn and Chewie to get the complete picture across, but in hindsight, it would have been better if I'd just stuck to Chewie and given it another chapter or two. For Anytime, Bro👍 I originally wanted to stick to Darius, but needed Kenji and Yas once plot started happening.
