FAM #02

[aadler]

The Fanfiction Ask Meme (from cornerofmadness through trobadora through naye through something from Tumblr).

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What made you start writing fanfic?

Which of your own fanfics have you re-read the most?

Probably “Point of Focus”, because 1) it’s my oldest published fic, done in 1999, so I’ve just plain had more time to keep going back to it, and 2) even as a first effort, it’s a decent, solid story, and I can still look at it and take pleasure in the fact that I started strong straight out of the gate.

Though it’s the likely favorite, however, it’s not an automatic winner. Doubtless like many other ficcers, I write the kind of stories I want to read, so no surprise that I do re-read them for my own entertainment. And, given that I’ve been doing this for a while, there are some solid contenders.

“Solitaire Till Dawn”. Quite possibly the best thing I’d done at the time, and it reached a part of me that had a lot of personal resonance.

“In Ev’ry Angle Greet”. My first ‘big’ story, more ambitious than I’d previously attempted and with lots of good moments that reward repeated exposure.

“Otherwise a Perfect Sky”. The best story I’ve ever done, period (though some parts of “Into the Abyss” can challenge it).

In the end, though, if not “Point of Focus”, the most probable winner is “First Do No Harm”. That story was simply fun, all the way through: fun to write, fun to talk about when people comment, fun to go back and enjoy again. (For that matter, fun to do ‘sequels’ to; I’ve already turned out one, and have another maybe a quarter finished.)

I have a fairly robust ego, but I keep returning to those stories not because they’re mine but simply because I like them. There are other stories that have the same effect on me; these happen to be ones that came out of my own brain.

Still to come:

Describe the differences between your first fanfic and your most recent fanfic.
Do you think your style has changed over time? How so?
You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?
Name three stories you found easy to write.
Name three stories you found difficult to write.
What’s your ratio of hits to kudos?
What do your fic bookmarks say about you?
What’s a theme that keeps coming up in your writing?
What kind of relationships are you most interested in writing?
For E-rated fic, what are some things your characters keep doing?
Name three favorite characters to write.
You’re applying for the fanfic writer of the year award. What five fanfics do you put in your portfolio?