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fvckyouimaprophet · 4 years

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FanFic asks! F, G, H, I, K, M, O, P, R, S, T, W, X, and Y!

omg, ash! ily! you always send me so many, and i appreciate it so much. since this is dreadfully long, though, i’m gonna put it under a read-more.

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

I shared one already here. But I’ll share another, ha.

He followed them through the kitchen and past the study until he saw two silhouettes in the balcony. They were speaking at no louder than a whisper, but Harry and his mother stood a foot apart, their faces barely lit by the embers of their cigarettes.

“I’m worried that it’ll be more difficult than either of us can imagine.” Harry’s voice was low enough that Draco had to strain to hear. His heart felt tight in his chest as he took shallow breaths, afraid that anything too deep might give him away to them.

“Whatever it is, he can take it.” Narcissa stretched her arm out and tapped the cigarette holder, ashes falling beyond the balcony to the grounds beneath.

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

“How?”

“Because he has to. He has no other choice.” His mother’s typically stiff posture wavered, and Harry lifted his hand, moving carefully and slowly until it was on top of Narcissa’s, both of them clutching the balcony rail.

“I’ll take care of him.”

“I know.”

- - -

I really enjoy writing Harry and Narcissa, both strangers who have taken leaps of faith to trust one another, tied together by their love for Draco.

Generally, I find Narcissa difficult to write. She’s formal and stiff, and the way she shows affection isn’t straightforward. But you do her a diservice if you don’t acknowledge that beneath the straight face and put-upon manners, she has the capacity to love deeply and fiercly.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I answered that here.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Nah. I’m less of a reader than a writer of fic, but I’m actually pretty open about it. Obviously, not with everyone, but I think I’ve been more open than most with it since high school. My parents found out when I was like 16, and after they just kinda shrugged it off, I stopped being secretive about it, lol.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

God, as a teen, all I did was write angst. Most of it was pretty offensive in retrospect, so let’s go down that memory lane.

I had the fic where Blaine and Sebastian get kidnapped and drugged, and Blaine thinks he and Sebastian fall in love over the course of months, but he finds out (once he’s rescued) that Sebastian was dead the whole time.

There’s the Niff fic with early-onset Alzheimer's, which is just about as tasteful as you’re imagining.

One of my first 10 fics was a Draco/Blaise fic in which they're in an emotionally (and physically I think?) abusive relationship in which Blaise uses Draco for sex.

There are at least 10 other fics that were illness-based, involved kidnapping, use the "it was all in [character a’s] head” trope, or feature major character death.

And then there are the additional 10+ fics that are just break-up or post-break-up fics.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

I have a multichap Cheryl/Toni (Riverdale) fake dating AU that will eventually come to fruition—I hope.

Essentially, there’s a yearly exclusive senior soiree across all sororities, and although Cheryl gets invited, the rules have been changed to be couples only. She’s furious because

She’s been hooking up with a few women. The one she jives with the most is Toni, but they’re not exactly close friends. They start fake dating, but the woman organizing the event doesn’t believe them and is threatening to revoke Cheryl’s invitation.

As a response, Cheryl decides that they have to spend way more time together to make it realistic. They both complain that it’s interfering with their lives, but after Cheryl catches Toni at a club with another woman, she realizes that she’s oddly jealous (although she disguises it under the guise of being angry that Toni almost blew their cover).

By the time the event comes around, they’ve genuinely fallen in love, but because they’re both stubborn, they try to go back to how they were after it’s over. They’re both miserable with it and eventually admit their feelings.

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

I answered that here.

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

I answered that here.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

Tony Kushner and Oscar Wilde. I aspire to their level of banter. Also, with Kushner, he’s really great at dropping you in the middle of a relationship (romantic or platonic) and just having you feel the weight of everything that came before you. Just one line, and I’m unraveling. I want to be able to do that.

Otherwise, it kinda changes with the times. When I was younger, it was more lyrical authors. I’m more dialogue-driven now, so it’s occasionally playwrights, but mostly it’s something that’s concise yet still emotional/descriptive.

I don’t think I emulate it at all with fic, but The Great Gatsby is the platonic ideal of writing for me. It’s evocative (the scene with the curtains wafting while Daisy and Jordan smoke opium puts me in a trance!), subtle and intentional (the queer subtext in the elevator scene), and it doesn’t ever linger in a moment for too long.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

I answered that here.

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

I answered that here (in great depth, lol).

W: Do you like more general prompts or more specific ones?

Hmm, I enjoy a good mix of both. I always end up getting more into specific prompts than I think I will, and it allows me to write stuff I likely wouldn’t otherwise. But I enjoy the freedom that comes with a prompt that’s just like “Wolfstar coffee shop AU”.

That said, when it is specific, I don’t really want to be told what the begnining, middle, and end of my fic should be. I’m cool with a specific set-up, but unless I ever did a giveaway, I want the room to make my own choices within it.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

I like a lot of asshole men (Draco from Harry Potter, Sebastian from Glee, Connor from HTGAWM, etc). I feel like I make them suffer a lot, which is partially because they deserve it because they can be selfish, callous, and even occasionally cruel (also, Draco was a wizard Nazi, basically). But it’s also because I really enjoy seeing closed-off characters pushed into situations where they have to confront their emotions and are essentially forced into vulnerability.

All that said, while I’ve stayed away from angst lately, Sirius and Remus lend themselves so easily to heartache.

Y: A character you want to protect.

All women—whoops. Most female characters are treated awfully by fandom, and I just want to see them happy. Especially if I’m writing something sapphic, those communities are already so much smaller within most fandoms, so I’d rather just focus on their joy. For example, Luna/Ginny is a relatively popular sapphic HP fic, but it has only 2,035 works on AO3, whereas Wolfstar has 18,646, and Drarry has a whopping 42,158.

And while there are popular fics (for example, Clexa has 11,884, Swan Queen has 12,709, and Supercorp has has 13,708 works on AO3), those are few and far between.)

Even looking from it as a whole, there are 3,194,665 m/m works and 563,043 w/w fics. Nearly six times the amount!! It's just a bummer.

Anyway, this turned into a rant about something that’s so not the question.

Also, when I wrote Coliver a lot, the answer was Oliver.

#sirdorkalot #ask #i feel like a lot of these turned into rants whoops #have all my fanfic thoughts!

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carnationbooks · 6 years

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Fandom features: Author Wendy Qualls

To kick off a series of fandom-focused posts, we’re chatting with author Wendy Qualls (aka wendymarlowe on AO3) about fanfic, Johnlock, getting published, the intersection of fanfiction and original fiction, and a little dash of DragonCon! We so enjoyed learning a bit about Wendy’s fandom experience, and are so glad to share her insight with all of you! Don’t miss the amazing rec list she wrote for us after the jump (it’s so good). Thank you so much for talking with us, Wendy!

Thanks so much for chatting with us! How can our readers find you?

I write fic as wendymarlowe (Marlowe being my middle name), but I write my original male/male romance under my real name, Wendy Qualls. (www.wendyqualls.com)

So what inspired you to start writing fic?

I write in the Sherlock fandom with brief forays into Harry Potter, but my first ever fandom was Dragon Age. I played Dragon Age: Origins and went through the love story with one of the characters and immediately thought "I want to experience exactly that again, but different" and I remembered something called fanfic my sister used to read so I looked some up. The one I found was awful, but then I found my way onto fanfiction.net and eventually onto AO3. The fics got better :-)

Now that you’re writing mostly in the Sherlock fandom, what about Johnlock is the most appealing to you?

Honestly? I love what fandom has done to the characters. The Sherlock and John on the show would both be horrible people to be in a relationship with, but the general fandom version sort of rounds the edges off a bit. Sherlock is abrasive but not cruel, John is competently BAMF without being violent and angry. The show has throwaway lines like how John “lost an entire Wednesday once” and I know Moftiss put it in there because they thought it was funny but SERIOUSLY? Drugging your flatmate is not okay! I’d much rather read (and write) about characters who are capable of healthy relationships :-)

What is your favorite thing you have written so far?

My most popular fic, and the one that was the most amazing to write, was Dear John (https://archiveofourown.org/works/2647979). Summary: "With Sherlock dead, John eventually (under duress) makes a profile on an online dating site. And falls into a long-distance relationship with an enigmatic partner who reminds him of Sherlock in all the right ways. (Hint: it turns out to be Sherlock.)"

It was inspired by a friend trying a dating website and me realizing that sense of waiting for replies and not knowing when they're coming could be replicated by AO3's subscribe feature - I posted the fic in "real time." (As in, back and forth according to when the characters would have been writing each other). It had a pretty modest following at the beginning, but by the time John and Sherlock shared their first sexting right before Christmas it kind of blew up on Tumblr and the comments section started to be longer than the chapters :-P

It was amazing to see a mini-fandom develop right there and see everyone debating what they thought John and Sherlock were up to that very minute. By the time the fic got to the big dramatic face-to-face meet, the comments/replies were coming in faster than I could read them! I'm told it's still fun to read now, all at once, but the shared waiting experience was something I wish I could replicate for another fic and I don't know that I ever could.

When I started submitting around to find a literary agent, the popularity of Dear John and my other AO3 fics was a strong point in my favor with the agent I ultimately signed with :-) There's a LOT of overlap between romance authors and fanfic authors, actually, even if not all of them are public about it.

Speaking of your work as a published author, do you have any words of wisdom for the fic authors out there who are hoping to get published one day?

Everyone—every published author ever—has a few manuscripts “under the bed” that just didn’t work. Often it’s because their writing needed to get stronger before publishing, sometimes it’s because they hit a crowded market exactly wrong or just never connected with the right editors/agents. Only around 10% of people who attempt to write their first novel make it to the end, and less than half of those get to the point they’re submitting it for professional consideration.

The thing is, though, the only way to get better at writing is to write. I don’t care how many books and blogs you read about the craft (although those help too), you’re not going to get your book out there for money if you’re not willing to write something imperfect first.

Fanfic, I believe, is an amazing way to practice writing for low stakes. You get your pick of pre-developed characters and settings to choose from, there are no deadlines, and 99% of fanfic readers are supportive. AO3 says I’ve had 11,549 comments on my works - I think I’ve had only one or two readers who were critical. The rest are positive and make me excited to write for them. There is no doubt in my mind that fanfic has made me a better writer. Anyone who dreams of being published someday, my advice is this: write a book. Then write another. Write fanfic along the way and pick up people to cheer you on. The difference between published and unpublished is mostly luck, persistence, and confidence.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What do you do to combat it?

I do absolutely get writer's block, in big part because of my depression. (Depression sucks, btw.) Writing fic has made me comfortable having multiple works in progress at once, though, so often if I'm stuck on my "real" book I can write fic instead. I can't turn out fic as fast as I could before I started actually being published and having deadlines, but it's still a totally different feel writing for no stakes versus "how are my agent and editor and readers going to judge this?" Positive comments on AO3 pretty much balance out the negative energy in bad book reviews :-P

While we discussed this interview, you mentioned you’ll be in attendance at DragonCon this weekend. What are you most excited to do at con?

The panels and the people! There are several friends I only see at DragonCon, and it’s always fun to reconnect. The panels, though, are the heart of the convention. Science vs. Movies (10 PM Sunday in the Hilton Crystal ballroom) is always a highlight - it’s a panel of real, actual science experts forced to watch terrible Hollywood scenes and then argue why the scene was actually 100% scientifically plausible :-P Sometimes they break down and cry. It’s awesome.

You’re on some panels, right? When can folks catch those?

Friday at 10 PM: "BritTrack After Dark - British Fanfic/Slashfic Panel!" in Hilton Galleria 5 and Saturday at 10 PM: "We Do the Weird Stuff!: NC17 Fanfic" in Marriott M301

And finally, do you have any fic recs to share with our followers?

(Ed. Note: Y’ALL! Wendy wrote us an amazing rec list which is under the cut - Click for some Sherlock-y goodness!)

Favorite crack-premise-but-serious-fic: The Midas Touch (E) by flawedregina (https://archiveofourown.org/works/2479868) John Watson has a medical condition that means everyone he sleeps with is instantly healed of all illness and injury. This causes complications when Sherlock breaks his arm, and even more complications when Sherlock falls in love with him. Yes, this is a story where John has a literal magic healing cock. It's a lot less cracky than you're probably imagining. I love this for the "literal magical healing cock" premise, but it's also a beautiful look at ethics, personality, and the dynamics of sex. John is caught between feeling like he ethically HAS to use his rare gift because it saves people's lives and feeling the very human need for privacy and having control over his own life. Sherlock is a brat because he's always a brat but he GETS it and supports John and seriously, it's wonderful. 32K.

Favorite crack-premise-but-serious-fic without all the smut: A Magnificent Instrument (T) by mycapeisplaid (https://archiveofourown.org/works/7452193) A series of vignettes set in an AU in which Sherlock plays the tuba instead of the violin. This does have some brilliant takes on the idea (my favorite is Sherlock playing "oompah oompah" elephant steps in time with Mycroft leaving the flat) but it's also got an amazing connection between Sherlock and John. 6K.

Favorite fantasy AU: Here There Be Dragons (E) by Leloi (https://archiveofourown.org/works/786378) When Lord John of the Umberland Watsons volunteered to his lord father to deal with a dragon, this was not what he had in mind. Instead of using his sword and shield to deal a deadly blow he found himself trussed up like a festival goose sans armor and small clothes, naked as his birth day. This is sweet and hot at the same time and thanks to a certain Tolkien movie, we don't have to imagine very hard to envision Sherlock as a dragon :-D 8K.

Favorite short, kinky smut: Performance Art (E) by thisprettywren (https://archiveofourown.org/works/208374) “I have to say, John, I really just. Well. I can’t see the appeal.” That wasn’t precisely true, of course. At the moment, the appeal lay in the way John was blushing and licking his lip, avoiding Sherlock’s gaze, thoroughly discomfited. This one is so sexy and so Sherlock in how he thinks and gah, just read it! 6K. Favorite AU: The Bang and the Clatter (M) by earlgreytea68 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/744242) Sherlock Holmes is a pitcher and John Watson is a catcher. No, no, no, it's a baseball AU. I learned a ton about baseball from this fic - it's very educational :-P It's also clear that earlgreytea is an AMAZING writer and a true baseball fan. 137K.

Favorite D/s verse: Shames and Praises (E) by s0mmerspr0ssen (https://archiveofourown.org/works/573019) Unable but desperate to find a dom who will put up with him, Sherlock swallows his pride and turns to Mycroft for help. Shortly after, John Watson steps into Sherlock's life. Kinky as hell with a wonderful caring top!John. D/s done right. 52K.

Favorite Mystrade: The DI and the Spy (T) by chasingriver (https://archiveofourown.org/works/558609) Greg is an early-morning runner. Mycroft is an early riser who happens to live on Greg's running route. Hilarity ensues. Written for MystradeDoodles' prompt: "Greg is a runner. Rom-com." Exactly what it says on the package - a sweet rom-com story about how Mycroft and Lestrade get a crush on each other before even knowing who the other is. 44K.

#wendymarlowe #Wendy qualls #fandom feature #sherlock #johnlock #fic writers #fanfiction #author interview #dragoncon #fic recs #rec lists #writing advice #fandom #fandom life #original fiction #gay fiction #m/m romance #m/m books

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pioneersshatteredwaters · 6 years

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They Never Found the Body

A mini-rant--or perhaps not so mini--about Leonard Snart’s death in Legends of Tomorrow, as it pertains to my fanfics. Fanficcers, take from this rant whatever ideas you will.

*ahem*

Anyway, here it is, Legends Season 3 is already several episodes in, and you can feel free to add me to the ranks of the fans who still refuse to believe that Earth One Len is dead.

Why? Well, not because I love the character. Though there is that. Okay, not just because I love that version of the character.

No, I don’t believe he’s dead because they never found the body. (Warning, TVTropes will ruin your life.) At least not that I’m aware of.

He died in an explosion, you say? There wouldn’t be any body left to show, you say? True, in real life, and even in a good deal of realistic fiction. But this is a science fiction show, and the guy just blew up the Time Council's direct access to timestream. If a speedster can enter the Speed Force--at least once as a result of apparently vaporizing himself and several times by choice--why couldn’t a wayward time traveler find himself trapped in the Time Force under those particular circumstances? And the mysterious mentioned-only-once-in-passing Jurgen’s Ridge seems to be a fairly popular destination for such an unfortunate trap. So until I see a body, there is at least the possibility that he survived.

And as far as I’m concerned that’s all the justification I need--all any writer needs--for writing our fanfics that way.... without needing to blatantly violate canon to make those stories work. (I do so hate making such violations in my own fics, though the time travel element certainly allows for it, some stories cannot be told without it, and I do so enjoy reading other fanficcers’ alternate interpretations.)

The only question is, where to time the stories that require Len’s survival following the destruction of the Wellspring? Most of my fics are easy enough--though they clearly rely on my personal headcanon (such as the premise of the entire Flash Sideways-verse and Time May Change Me spin-off, and Len’s backstory in the Flash Sideways prequel What Could Have Been) and some make assumptions about episodes I have yet to catch up on (how Lisa’s fate within Time May Change Me influenced Len’s decision to help the Legion), the fact is, these fics all take place well before that critical moment in canon. Most of them, not counting framing stories, take place even before the Legends were even recruited, and one (Alternate Universe) explores what might sort of adventures Len might have had if the Legends hadn’t happened.

But there is at least one fic rattling around in my skull that very specifically depends on Len surviving the explosion. And that’s the one giving me the most trouble. And that is the Majummed storyverse.

Why is this one so much trouble? Well, frankly, it’s because I have no idea when it takes place in terms of of official canon. And when might not change a lot of the storyline, but it will affect other things like which characters should be present and how they interact. Case in point: Beginning of a Legend clearly takes place during the particle accelerator explosion. Flash Season 1 Episode 1. This one explores how Len might’ve gotten metahuman powers (vis a vis New 52) while at the same time setting the stage for how, in terms of my own heacanon, he would not yet manifest, or even be aware of, those powers. Catalyst (not yet written) takes place during some of the later episodes of Legends Season 1. It focuses on the in-canon events that would have influenced the development of those very metahuman powers, ending with the explosion forcing those powers to manifest and a brief scene in which the Speed Force (having access to the timestream) offers him an escape that requires the use of those powers. But Len is no longer who he once was (Flash Season 3 Episode 16).

And Majummed itself...? Now we return to the question of when it takes place. When does the team discover that Len survived, but was drastically changed? Who is with them during this discovery? Whose lack of experience with Len as the Legends once knew him provides an alternate interpretation--and perhaps, assists in finding a solution--to Len’s new personality? And who is the true villain of the piece?

I’ll need to think on this for a while. If anyone has any suggestions, maybe a likely villain from the comics, I’d appreciate it. But in the meantime, I have those other fanfics-in-progress that need developing. What are the odds that I can focus on one long enough to finish it before jumping to another, or at least to write any given story in the order I’d be posting it? (My brain decided to fixate on a scene several chapters in to What Could Have Been... well past the first chapter that is otherwise the only thing actually written in that story.) Not to mention that original pirate novel with the still-incomplete first draft. Can’t publish it if I can’t finish it.

#leonard snart #captain cold #earth one #oculus wellspring #they never found the body #flash #legends of tomorrow #flash sideways #time travel #new 52 #cw #arrowverse

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