5, 6, 8, 9, 10.
5. Is there a character you find particularly difficult to write? Which one? On the flip-side, which character flows most easily for you when writing?
All the characters I haven’t written, I haven’t written because I find them difficult. ;)
In Downton, I actually find Mary very difficult to write, even though I love to write her, because it’s a fine line to let her character grow while at the same time keeping the emotional restraint so that she’s still believably Mary. And I also frequently find myself losing sight of the bigger picture because I get so accustomed to seeing it through Mary’s eyes. Much like herself. ;)
Oddly I find Robert really easy to write, although I don’t very often. His hissy fits come very naturally to me, which is somewhat alarming…Also Cora. Her reactions and especially her facial expressions come very readily!
I’d love to write more Sansa/Tyrion fic, but I find both of them difficult for various reasons. Sansa, mainly because we just don’t know how dark things are going to get for her and what state of mind she’ll be in by the end, so it’s hard to gauge what she might be like when or if she and Tyrion ever re-unite. And Tyrion can be easy for me (I particularly like writing the Jorah/Tyrion bromance) but I always worry that I’m writing his jokeyness too OTT and not retaining that darker edge of Tyrion’s.
Jorah is easy to write because he’s just not that complicated, and I’d say Lynesse kind of came to me in a flash of inspiration. I find her easy to understand and empathize with…and she lends herself well to PWP, too, because there’s that shallow side to her. If I don’t want to, I don’t have to think too hard with Lynesse like I do with other characters.
6. Are there writers from other fandoms whom you admire? If so, whom?
Lately I haven’t read a great deal of fic because I’m into rarepairs and unpopular characters, but I will just devour anything written by alymormont, drogontheburninator, justadram, and makimurakaori, who all write really fantastic ASOIAF fic.
8. Do you have a story that consistently challenges you? (or has challenged you in the past?)
Something Worth Having is probably the most challenging fic I’ve ever attempted I think it’s because I’m dealing with two very tough emotional arcs simultaneously, bereavement/grief and reconciling a bad past relationship, so pacing the characters’ personal and relationship growth is really tricky. The past two or three chapters have been particularly difficult, because they deal with death and fresh grief and relationship drama, and I have to take my imagination to a dark place emotionally. It’s draining! Worth it, though, if I can pull it off. I hope I can!
I will say I would have given up if not for my beta, makimurakaori, holding my hand through it. She's fantastic and always sorts me out.
9. Have any of your multi-chaptered fics grown out of prompts submitted on tumblr? Do you enjoy receiving prompts, anonymous or otherwise?
Again, Something Worth Having. misscrawfords simply requested post-S3 Mary/Richard without a great deal of angst. The original one-shot didn’t have a great deal of angst, but as for the rest of it…oops. ;)