Lexxy Fancypants

Day 5: When do you write what kinds of fanfics? ( All the days. )

When I'm so upset or angry that I can't see straight or verbalize it (which is quite the accomplishment, let me tell you - I can speak calmly right up until I am literally restraining myself from committing murder) I write Sunstreaker. Sunstreaker being miserable, Sunstreaker being angry, Sunstreaker being comforted... Just Sunstreaker. He's my center. At the root of all things is Sunstreaker.

When I feel good I write things I find pleasure in. It might be Shockwave/Blurr darkfic, Prowl/twins epic, Skyfire/Starscream crack, Skyfire/trine porn... doesn't matter what it is as long as I can enjoy it. I usually bounce around between things when I feel good, unlike when I feel bad and just sit down and pound out a short Sunstreaker thing.

When I'm sad I write little small reflections that are also sad. Like, idk, Bluestreak sitting in the rain on Earth and talking about watching it fall on a battlefield on Cybertron and having to keep under cover from the Decepticons even though the acid was eating away at injured comrades who couldn't crawl to safety. I would write something like that.

If I feel cracky I'll actually attempt to draw instead of write, for some reason. Always in MS Paint. Seriously, I can't draw in regular drawing programs or on paper, I need that pixellation. I despise the version of MS Paint that came with Windows 7, though. Seriously wtf is that bullshit with the smooth lines omg. Gimme my pixels.

But really, my mood matters less than my groove. If the groove is going, I write. If it isn't, like the last month or so, I don't. Luckily it turns out spacehussy and I have pretty much the same writing cycles, and if one of us starts to write it usually triggers the other into writing which gets the first one going again and then we're on a roll for a while. I used to have year-long dry spells, and now I have month-long dry spells. Because we're awesome.

Seriously how did I get such an awesome Spacehussy of my very own. ♥ She's so awesome, you guys. I can't even tell you how neat the stuff she comes up with is. I can't wait to show you all Disassembled and the Trinefic and everything else she (and I) are working on. It's going to be amazing.

( Day 3: What character archetypes do you enjoy (or hate) writing? )

I love the semi-feral persons. I love sentient nonhumans (oh boy do I love them wink wink nudge nudge say no more). I love the sociopaths and psychopaths. I almost never really like the main characters - they exist to be the foil for the characters I DO like. I hate the standard Japanese archetypes: the cute girl who NYAAAAs a lot, the crazy left-handed evil, the seme and uke, the badass big-breasted woman, the weeping and blushing. Not my culture. It is the culture that a lot of fandom is first exposed to, though, and it shows. God does it show. Not that Western culture is better: the helpless woman, the mustache-twirling ridiculous villain, the charismatic leader with grandiose speeches... I will be honest, I only love Optimus for his voice. If he didn't have such a fine voice I wouldn't have given him the time of day, but as it stands I adore him. I guess basically I don't like the traditional roles.

So I've been thinking about food, specifically what I can and can't eat. I've been reacting to something lately and I'm not sure if it's me being lax or whether, as I've suspected pretty much all along, I honestly am intolerant of corn. I thought it was just corn products, the really processed crap, but... I am beginning to suspect it's ALL corn. Shit. Do you know how hard it is to remove corn from your diet? Corn, beef, pork, dairy... Next thing you know I'll be reacting to wheat and soy. Sigh. So, time to get stricter on myself - no corn products for at least a week and see if things improve.

Sometimes I really hate food.

Okay, I came up with a mirror to senmut's meme. Have at it! XD

Day 1: What are you responding to or inspired by when you write fanfic?
Day 2: What themes or patterns do you write?
Day 3: What character archetypes do you enjoy (or hate) writing?
Day 4: Do you feel you have a writing style?
Day 5: When do you write what kinds of fanfics?
Day 6: How do you interact with readers' responses (or lack thereof)?
Day 7: Once it's posted, how do you interact with your story?

( My Day 1 )

Soooo yeah, yesterday was kinda awful but I saw down with my darling twin and asked Prowl how to do my homework and suddenly everything is working out. LOGIC: IT WORKS, BITCHES. So yeah, I don't even really mind that I'm running on 6 hours of sleep when I wanted 9. Just turn on the mental Prowl voice, hell yeah. RECHARGE IS FOR THE WEAK.

Man I am making inspirational posters all up in here

the moral of the story is that Prowl is awesome

I think I may have Day 5 open on my other computer, in which case I will post it later and today will be BACKWARDS DAY! Goodness gracious do I love having Thursdays off, I sleep in and then get all giddy. XD

( Day 6 – When do you read what kinds of fanfics? )

In other news, school is picking up. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are insanely long (goddamn labs) but I have Thursdays off entirely, which is GLORIOUS. I am going to cook and then do about a million homeworks. I have to write a lab report (full and proper lab report mind you, all "25mL of methanol/water mixture were placed in a 50mL round-bottom flask with 5 boiling chips and heated on a mantle at variac setting 5.5" blah blah blah), a couple paragraphs on invasive species, a buttload of online physics homework like seriously omg so much, and a bunch of organic chemistry problems to prepare for the quiz tomorrow. The report is the most important thing, I think, and then the physics homework.

Speaking of invasive species, my ecology teacher walked us through the ravine on campus and basically talked at us - I was super excited the whole time though, because I was like THAT'S BURDOCK, YOU CAN EAT IT and then he was like "this is burdock" and I was like FUCK YESSSSSS. We have an American Elm on campus! I almost wet myself with excitement! AMERICAN ELM. FUCK YES. And Dawn Redwood! And when he stopped by a staghorn sumac and was like "how many individuals are here" I was like ONE, MOTHERFUCKER, AND YOU CAN MAKE JUICE FROM THE BERRIES. FUCK YEAH.

PLANTS. SO EXCITING.

Ganked from senmut!

( Day 1 – What about fanfic in general makes you read it? )

I FIGURED IT OUT! I FIGURED IT ALL OUT!

What, you say?

EVERYTHING! WHY EVERYTHING SUCKS What happened to Skyfire in G1! He just kinda fades out, right, he has his episode in the spotlight and then he's an overly cheerful taxi until Omega Supreme shows up and then he's just - not there any more. Okay so this is how it goes.

Skyfire joins the Autobots. But he was a Decepticon, and close to Starscream, and you don't really trust someone like that. And he's never been a social guy and he doesn't quite know how to reach through that kind of distance, though he tries. Have you noticed that half the time when they're looking for him, he's out flying around? (haha especially in the episode where everyone turns evil.) He does that, he goes out and flies and angsts, because it's better than being trapped inside the Ark with the Autobots and it's WAY better than being trapped with the Decepticons. But he feels he has a responsibility to the Autobots still. So he stays.

And then Omega Supreme comes, and they don't need him anymore, and he leaves. He just flies away.

LOOK I APPLIED LOGIC TO THE WRITERS FORGETTING HE EXISTED :D I'M SO EXCITED

Name a character and I'll tell you four facts about them from my own personal headcanon. You can ask me in general for a certain continuity or you can ask specifically about a certain fic verse I've written. Name as many characters as you want.

I'm good for Transformers, clearly, but also Final Fantasy 7 and... no, that's really it. I've lost all interest in my prior fandoms. ASK AWAY~

1. Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2. I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3. You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4. You'll include this explanation.
5. You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed

My questions from justbolts:

1) If you could name one thing you love about TFA Shockwave, what would it be and why?
Oh good lord, only one thing? Alright, to narrow it down I will give myself more rules: nothing about his alter-ego, nothing that breaks the 4th wall (i.e. not his voice acting although HNNNGH I LOVE IT), and no explicit spoilers. Ah, it's still so difficult! Alright, I have it: his delicacy. Shockwave is BIG, there is no denying that - he had to seriously compress his mass to get even vaguely Autobot-sized, and that form is about 2/3 Shockwave's height. He's smaller than Megatron but that's not saying much, EVERYONE is smaller than Megatron. So Shockwave is huge, okay, and he's reasonably bulky (if also a bit lanky) and yet - he has these beautiful slender claws which he uses to perform brain surgery. *fans self* It's pretty much a physical manifestation of all the best things about him. He's big, he's strong, he's calculating, he's precise, and it's all devoted to Megatron. Hell yes.

2) What movie or type of movie have you always wanted to see, but Hollywood has continuously failed to make it for you?
A smart action movie. I don't mean one that has a good explanation for the explosions, I mean one that is made mindfully with more than a token consideration of race, gender, and other issues. Action heroes are bulky straight white guys. If there is a woman in the lead role, she's a sex object. Come ooooonnnnn. :<

3) By the same token, what's something (theme, message, acknowledgment of) that you'd want out of future Transformers movies, that the previous ones lacked?
What would I want in future Transformers movies... I want the Transformers as an alien race with their own culture. The fans are so thoughtful about these things - I read a story where Jazz was once a building component, but he essentially had a sex change and now functioned as a singular being. I've read stories that actually deal with the fact that their culture is a theocracy. We don't have to humanize them to make them sympathetic. I'm tired of the non-bipedal ones being considered nonsentient. I want little moments like someone mentioning Primus and someone else makes a gesture (read a story where it was a circle over the spark, mimicking the Matrix). I want to know how they choose alt-modes, whether fliers are always flier and grounders always grounders and whether there's social tiers based on that. I want to know about their hierarchy, both before the war and in the factions. There's so much I want to know! Enough peeing on people, enough with the human gestures (snorting, spitting, arrrgh), enough with "Autobots are good because they like humans and Decepticons are bad because they're trying to restore their planet", I want to know about the robots! I am watching Transformers because it's about robots! DO YOU THINK I MIGHT WANT TO SEE MORE ABOUT ROBOTS?! aaaaahhhhhh

And that is why I write fanfic. :D

4) If there were only three types of meals you could eat for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Three types of meals... Well I pretty much am restricted to three types of meals. XD I can eat vegetables, poultry, and seafood. Can't eat anything out of a box, can't eat other meats, can't eat corn syrup. I'm lactose intolerant (but I eat cheese and yogurt anyway, they're low in lactose) and I'm extremely sensitive to caffeine. Can't eat processed sugars. So yeah - my answer is vegetables, poultry, and seafood. XD

5) If you suddenly got an all expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world, where would it be to?
You know, I'm not one of those people who wants to travel. I don't really want to see the Grand Canyon, I have little interest in the Caribbean, cruise ships sound boring... So I'm going to go with Pripyat. I really, really do want to visit Pripyat and Chernobyl. I am desperately intrigued by the biological stuff going on - I want to know if the mutations of the pines are genetic, or whether it's due to constant exposure to the cracked sarcophagi of the Red Forest. I want to visit that creepy ferris wheel, and I want to meet the people who live there. It's not a wasteland. It's teeming with life - plant and animal and human. It's beautiful and terrible.

1. Are you a a "pantser" or a "plotter"?

I... think this question is dividing the fanfic world into PWP and... non-PWP. So I'd go with non-PWP, since I have written exactly three pornographic stories EVER. However, my writing rarely centers on a plot - rather, I focus on character interactions, with a particular focus on certain traits of those characters.

2. Detailed character sketches or "their character will be revealed to me as a I write"?

I tend to ponder a character for a very long time and then just start slipping into their head, writing little things about them until it feels right. This is also something I do regularly whenever I feel stalled, or even just if I'm having a good day (or a bad day) and want to share that feeling.

3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?

I try to discover as much of that as I can before writing, but a lot of it is revealed as I go. Whenever I hit a rough spot where things aren't working, I know that means I'm forcing the characters and I have to take a step back and reexamine their motivations. I never, ever know everything before I start writing - if I knew the story already, where would be the fun in telling it?

4. Books on plotting – useful or harmful?

Surely can't hurt, right? I was never trained as a writer, and I've never found by-the-book advice useful, but I know several skilled writers who have used that advice to great effect. My key advice: never stop writing. If something is stuck, write something else - maybe something related, like a character sketch, maybe an outline, just... don't stop writing. But don't force it either. If it feels wrong, it's not going to be enjoyable to read.

5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?

I get the itch! When a story wants to be written, I have to write it. My poor memory means I have to hurry before it's gone for good. But when the writing is good, damn, is the writing good. I honestly think I'd hate taking drugs because it could never compare to the sheer pleasure of a good bout of writing.

6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?

Totally depends on how much of the story is ready to be written.

7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?

Doesn't matter in the least!

8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?

It depends on the story. I've had stories that required a certain playlist, stories that required silence, stories that required a certain level of hubbub... Depends. Noise is a mood-setter, though it can be distracting.

9. Computer or longhand?

Always computer. I think far faster than my hands can keep up with a pen - technically faster than I can touch-type, too, but it's at least a little closer. I'll resort to pencil and paper if I absolutely have to but I really can't stand it.

10. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?

Never. Or if I thought I did, it changes completely by the time I get there. It's not unusual for the story to change utterly over the course of one scene. I suppose that could be the sign of a poor writer - I'd prefer to think it's the sign of a poor plotter. I am definitely terrible at plotting.

11. Editing – love it or hate it?

I adore editing. My work, someone else's work, doesn't matter! This, too, I learned by ear, so I tend to say silly things about the feel of stuff, and what the story is saying it wants to be and other ridiculous things along those lines. My writing has always felt like it comes from an external source, so the language I use to talk about it reflects that. But all told I am a vicious, perfectionist, unforgiving editor, and it never turns off.