From the meme thing I posted yesterday because, again, I have a problem. Also, it is entirely too early to write sad one-shots.

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

"A New Arrival in Halloween Town" on tnbc.eu, which is a little Nightmare Before Christmas site that's actually still up! If you want to see how terrible my writing was at 12, hmu.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

I don't regret writing anything because each thing you write, no matter how terrible, makes you better at writing.

23. Name a fic you've written that you're especially fond of & explain why you like it.

I have two: "Startling Developments" and "A New Arrival in Halloween Town".

Even though ANAIHT is TERRIBLE, the two OCs I have in it, Jackylyn and Sirius, were my very first (Jackylyn had actually been my imaginary friend at 7.) and I wrote things with them until I graduated high school. As a result, they've influenced almost every character I've written since. I'd really like to find a way to use them in an original story some day.

"Startling Developments,"--which was a Penny Arcade "On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness" fic--was the first fanfic where I went from having the potential to write to actually looking at my work and being like "Hot damn, I like writing AND I'm good at it." So I'm still immensely proud of it, even though like no one has read it.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

Oh, gosh, anything I wrote before 2010, probably.

25. What's your most popular fanfic?

Reset, definitely.

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

"Hm, what's the most basic title that at least three other fics have? THAT'S IT, THAT'S THE TITLE I WANT."

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

They're both awful, but titles I can usually think of in a few minutes. I'm NEVER happy with my summaries.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

Now, it would probably be Reset. And it'd probably be the final judgement scene with Flowey. Or also, potentially, Sans and Gaster bonding over skeleton language.

Although, back in the day, two different people drew comics of my Princess and the Frog fic. So that was pretty neat.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Not anymore. I did during "Startling Developments" because I was terrified of getting the characters wrong. But my grammar ended up being better than hers. Now I just do a bunch of research. 

(That said! I have an obsession with grammar and research and getting things right. If you don't, which is absolutely fine, then beta readers are GREAT and I recommend using them!)

30. What inspires you to write?

The same thing that inspires me with my original work: I get an idea in my head, usually just a quick flash of an event, and I write around it. 

31. What's the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

It was actually on here! A 1D fan came and told me my fic was better than After, and I literally cried.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

I can always get by listening to quiet piano music on Pandora, but it really depends on the fic and the mood. Reset was all Undertale music, From War to Science is a mix of piano covers and Danny Elfman music, but I listened to a BUNCH of Gaster-based fanmusic for the last chapter. 

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

Originally, just the first two, BUT THEN I DECIDED RESET NEEDED TO BE A FOUR BOOK SERIES (surprise).

34. What's the word count on your longest fic?

Oh, god, somewhere around 50.5K?

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I don't have the restraint to get my feels out in 100 words.

36. What's your favourite genre to write?

"Stressed Out Young Man Gets Into Trouble and Also There Are Some Feels"

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third person. I rarely like reading first person, and I don't like the restrictions of writing in first-person. I CAN, but I have to explicitly feel like it helps the story.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Since about 2010, I only use canon characters, save for incidental characters or interns I plan to kill. (Though Gaster is, like, a semi-OC? We have no information on him, so I got completely free reign with him) I like the challenge of either keeping them in-character OR, more often, having them grow into the character they are in canon.

For the most part, I'd rather use OCs in my original work (which is mostly screenplays so they prolly won't end up on here :/) 

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

Dialogue. Definitely dialogue;  like, not to brag, but I've found I'm genuinely good at writing how people talk. In my original stories, I make sure each character has a distinct style of speaking and they maintain it throughout the work. In fics, I'd like to think I do a pretty good job at keeping characters sounding the way they do in canon.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

It used to be bridge chapters, which I still hate. Now, the biggest struggle is finding the time and energy to write. I have about 3 other projects I need to write, but I'm usually so tired that I can only choose one thing to write at a time (which is fanfiction). And even then, I have a hard time keeping a consistent posting schedule (sorry, guys.)

~

Also, if you want a giggle, you're welcome to look at my fanfiction.net account. I'm emotistic optimistic there, too, and I never delete anything because I think it's worth seeing how writing can change over the course of a decade.