PDS: the Author Interviews

AMANDA

What first motivated you to write? And, what inspires you to continue to write?

I think lack of satisfying fiction to read is actually what motivated me to write in the first place. I had ideas that I wanted to see in the form of a story, but no one had written it. I had exhausted the available fic, and I wanted more to devour. So, I wrote my own. There are several fics (some of them rather long) on my computer for various pairings in various fandoms. I’ve never uploaded them to the internet or let anyone else read them, for that matter. I wrote them to get it out of my system, and that was enough.

Usually, music inspires me to write fics now. I rarely ever write song fics, but sometimes you’ll see a bit in the author’s note about a song or songs that inspired the fic. If that’s the case, I’ll usually listen to that song on repeat while I write.

Was fanfiction your first experience writing or original fiction?

Like every other semi-angst-ridden teenager out there, I wrote horrible poetry and short stories when I was younger. I remember sitting on the roof our pump house (I lived in the country where we didn’t get city water) and writing. Our neighbor always told my parents that I would grow up to write horror stories in the basement of some scary house. This never came to pass, but my parents thought it was funny. When I was 14 or 15, I started writing little vignettes staring Alex Krycek from The X-Files. However, I’ve lost those, so I don’t really count them. When I was about sixteen years old, I started writing Buffy the Vampire Slayer fics. At first, it was Buffy/Spike, but within a few months, I had switched over to Willow/Spike. Those fics are still floating around on the internet under an assumed name, but you’d have to kill me to get the location of them.

What sort of atmosphere best suits you for writing a fic?

I always write on the computer. I’ve never written fanfiction by hand. Usually, I write at night and when I’m alone. I don’t like to write when other people are around to distract me. I also don’t like to write when the television is on because it tends to distract me as well. My desk is in my bedroom. I usually write in the evenings before bed (between ten o’clock and midnight). Jason will be in the “music room” listening to something horrid or posting on some music-related message board. I have the bedroom to myself for two hours to write and revise. I can rarely get up the energy or ability to write during the day, even if it is a weekend.

What helps you think when you are writing? What’s the one thing that distracts you most from your writing?

To get back into writing when I first sit down, I read over what I’ve written so far. If it is a long story, then I’ll only read the previous chapter (or even just the previous two or three pages). This reminds me of the mood and the place where I left the characters so I can pick it back up without it seeming too choppy. Distractions are many. If I’m listening to music as I’m writing, I’ll start paying attention to the song more than what I’m writing. Then, I realize that my fingers have stopped moving over the keyboard. Like I said before, people and television are also a big distraction, and I can’t write with them interfering.

What do you do when you hit writer's block or obstinate characters?

I’ll drop the fic and let it sit for a few days (weeks, months). Then, when I’m ready to try again, I’ll go back and reread everything I’ve written to remind myself of where I was trying to go with the fic. Usually this works. Listening to appropriate music for the mood of the fic also helps. If nothing works, then I just leave the fic alone. I’ve had some fics that I’ll return to after a year of nothingness and actually finish.

Do you reflect yourself in your writing? If so, how? Do you ever use your writing to express thoughts or feelings that you just can't seem to vocalize?

I think it’s hard not to reflect myself in some way. I try to let the characters do what they should do if they are in-character, but it is difficult when I want to take them to a certain place because I’m feeling that emotion or I’m thinking about that sort of situation. I think I’m guilty of putting myself in the place of many of the female characters I write. I write them because I like them and think I have something in common with them. It’s a way to live out fantasies, I suppose. This is probably the answer to why I haven’t written any Anita/Edward fic in a long time. Anita and I have had a falling out, and I just can’t write her properly when I don’t even like her all that much. I don’t think I really live out any sort of drama in my life through my stories by expressing thoughts and feelings I can’t otherwise. My life is pretty drama-free. Sometimes my mood does have a big effect on my fics, though. The mood of the fic and I feed off each other.

You have a distinctive style, how did you develop it?

I do? Well, I guess I try to write the story the way I would enjoy it if I were the reader. I read a great deal of fanfiction, so it always has an evolving influence on my writing as well.

Who's your favorite author and does their writing influence your writing?

My favorite author is Paul Auster, but his writing really doesn’t have any influence on my writing at all. We’re both writing about different things, for the most part. My stuff is fluff. His is more serious in nature. I don’t think I could ever even attempt to emulate something he’s done. My major influences are other fanfic writers that I enjoy.

Would you say you do a lot of research for your fics? (re-read the books, etc.)

Compared to some of you, I do no research at all. Most of my fics have been written without any research. Others involve a bit of research when I stumble across a bit where I think I may screw something up horribly if I don’t know what I’m talking about. I think the fic that involved the most preparation beforehand was “Past and Present” because I knew that one was going to be a chaptered fic when I started, and I knew I wanted to give Edward a background. I did a great deal of planning before I even started writing the first chapter.

How do you go about putting ideas to paper? Do you outline first, or simply go with the flow as you write?

If it is a one-shot that is no more than one chapter, then I just go with the flow. I usually don’t write down an outline or anything of the sort. Chaptered fics are a different matter, though. I’ll usually write a chapter or two in order to get the feel of it. Then, I’ll start an outline below what I’ve written. It’s very rough – just points that I want to cover and things I want the characters to do or say. Basically, it looks like nonsense to anyone but me. The outline keeps me on track and makes sure I don’t wander off when I’m in the middle of a chapter.

How much time do you spend writing and how much time would you like to spend writing?

That really depends on how well the words are flowing. If things are going well, then the two hours I set aside each night are perfect. I can usually complete a chapter (or nearly a chapter) during those two hours. Usually I don’t want to write any more than that in one sitting. Sometimes, I wish I could continue writing into the night, but that’s on a rare occasion.

What do you like most about your writing? Least?

I can easily answer the least question. I don’t think I can write action for beans. To me, it always sounds forced and silly. However, some stories require action to push the plot forward, so I stumble through it. What I like best would probably be dialogue. That may just be because I love writing it, though. Sometimes I want to be self indulgent and just write a fic with dialogue.

Do you prefer to write longer fics (How Does It Feel) or to keep it short and sweet (Welcome Deception)? Which one (out of all of yours) is your favorite?

Short fics are usually brought on by a feeling or a song that I heard. I enjoy them because they’re easy. It’s like a first date. You can have fun and enjoy yourself, but there is no real commitment afterward. Long fics are a commitment. I love reading long fics, but I get cold feet when I try to start one. It involves a great deal of writing time, and I always hate starting a fic that I can’t finish because my muse deserts me. So, I probably like writing short fics more, but some of my best stuff (at least to me) are in the longer ones because I have more time and space to develop relationships.

My favorite piece of writing done by me would have to be the first chapter of “No One But You”. I really like the mood of the chapter. I enjoy the chapters that come after, but originally it was just a one-shot. Everyone talked me into continuing it. So, I have a bit of a soft spot for that first chapter that can really stand on its own.

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Read! Don’t just read published novels; read loads of fanfiction. Believe it or not, the more stuff you read, the better your writing will be and the more confident you’ll be.

Have you written any original fiction, or fiction in other fandoms?

Other than my lost writing from junior high, I haven’t written any original fiction. I have written in other fandoms, though. Most recently, I’ve been writing in the Harry Potter fandom. Mainly Snape/Hermione stuff, but I’ve been dabbling in Lupin/Tonks. Like I said before, my first experience was Buffy/Spike and Willow/Spike from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom. I’ve also written fics set in other fandoms like: The X-Files, Merry Gentry, Lord of the Rings, Crusade, and, Babylon 5.

Would you ever try to have something published, or enter in a writing contest? If you could, would you want to make writing a full time career?

I can’t see myself ever sending something to a publisher or a writing contest. I don’t think I’m good enough (or consistent enough) to be a published author. Plus, it would have to be original fiction, and I’m just no good at that sort of thing. I can’t think of anything interesting to write about. Plus, the task of creating believable characters is scary to me. Writing full-time as a career would not be something for me. It would be too stressful. As it is now, I’ll go for months (or even a year) without writing anything. If that were my job, I would hate writing because it would become something I *had* to do.

What is the major thing that changed about you that is directly related to your writing?

I really can’t think of a major thing that has changed because of my writing. My writing has changed because of me, but not really the other way around.

Can or do you work on more than one story at a time? What is your revision policy/practice?

I have before, and I hated it. “Cat Got Your Tongue” and “No One But You” were written around the same time. I felt overwhelmed and panicked when I thought about them. I wanted to write them, but it placed a lot of pressure on me to decide who was going to get my attention.

As for the revision policy - some of my work on PDS hasn’t been beta-ed. I’ve been trying to correct that in the last few months by looking over it myself and having Desert Dragon help me out as well. That’s why only a handful of my fics are available on SDS. They are the ones I’ve revised and corrected. Every year or so, I’ll end up looking at my old fics. I can’t read them without revising them. So, things do change every now and again, but it is never anything major in the plot. Usually, I’ll switch a word out for a better one or correct my grammar that I didn’t catch before.

If someone asked for you to tell them the one thing that you feel has improved or changed your writing what would you say that would be?

Reading fanfiction. I cannot stress enough how beneficial it has been for my writing. You can learn so much from reading a great fic.

I got into fanfic when I found this site on Google! How did you get into fanfic originally?

I’m happy to hear that this site got you into fanfic! That’s great! I originally got into fanfic through Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I read many, many fics in that fandom before I started writing my own.

How did you decide to create PDS, and why?

PDS actually wasn’t originally created by me. Years ago, another girl started PDS. (She isn’t active in this fandom anymore.) She used the first script of eFiction to get the archive up and running. I found it, and uploaded what I had written to the archive. She was running several other websites at the time and asked for volunteers to help her with PDS. It was a very small site then; there were probably only about fifty stories uploaded. I was the only person who offered to help. Shortly after I signed on as a moderator, her webspace providers lost all of the files for the website. She had not made a backup, and she was very discouraged about the entire thing because we were going to have to start from the beginning. She told me that she was going to upload the script again, and then she was going to hand over the entire site to me. Because she was dealing with the rebuilding of several other sites she lost, she never got around to putting PDS back up. A few months later, I snatched up the domain and did everything myself since I really enjoy reading fic in an archive like this instead of searching through the logs of mailing lists.

How does your writing and involvement with PDS affect your real life?

Other than taking up a bit more of my time when I’m online, it doesn’t affect me all that much.

How has having cyber friends from around the world affected your views or influenced you?

I think it has made me a much more informed person. I’ve never been out of the US, so it is a great deal of fun to see and hear how things are in other countries (or even other parts of this country). It makes me want to travel, actually.

What is your favorite character to write and which is the easiest to write?

Edward is my favorite character to write. He’s a bit of a mystery, so there is a lot I can do with him. He’s got a wicked sense of humor, but it is very subtle and easy to miss. He’s just so damn interesting and charismatic in his own odd way that I can’t resist him. However, he isn’t exactly the easiest to write. I might get scoffed at for this, but I think Anita is the easiest to write. We get the actual novels from her point of view, so we all know how she thinks. I think that makes her easy to write.

You took a character and gave him a lot of depth and changed my opinion of him after I had pretty much written him off! What inspired you to write about Caleb, and will we see a conclusion to Cat got your tongue soon? Please.

First, I’m glad I changed your opinion of poor Caleb. He gets such a bad rap because Anita thinks he sucks. Over a year ago, we were having a conversation on the message board about characters we liked who had smaller roles in the novel, and I mentioned Caleb since he’s a bit of a bad boy version of Jason. The fact that we know nothing about him intrigued me, so I started formulating a fic in my head. I think Noah started writing her Caleb-centric fic (“Friends”) around the time that I started writing “Cat Got Your Tongue”. I remember we were both very interested in developing him at that time. The first chapter of “Cat Got Your Tongue” was supposed to be a one-shot. I left it open-ended to see if anyone liked my take on him. When I got a positive response, I decided to continue it and let his relationship with the original character play out.

I know that I’m a horrible author for leaving the story hanging like that. I have two additional chapters that are both written. Ask Luv-Micah. She’s seen them both. I just need to do a bit of a revision to the last chapter before posting it. Hopefully, soon, but I can’t make any promises.

I would like to hear why you like the "Anita/Edward" ship so much. What made you first decide to pair them up? Why do you like them together so much?

I read Obsidian Butterfly first, so Edward was my introduction to the Anitaverse. I bought the book without any prior knowledge of LKH. It wasn’t even a recommendation. I just went into the bookstore looking for a nice, long book to read. OB jumped out at me because of the thickness. The cover said it was like Buffy for adults, and the summary mentioned something about a dangerous alliance with an assassin named Edward. I was intrigued, so I bought it. So, he was, in part, the reason I started reading the series to begin with. Despite the infamous scene in the book where Edward and Anita both confirm that they have no romantic feelings for one another, I still think OB is littered with really great moments between those two characters, and even some hints at very deep feelings.

I like the relationship between Anita and Edward as it is presented in the novels. They have a long history together, and even though they don’t agree, they both know that the other will always be there. They both care a great deal for each other. It’s plain to see, especially in OB. With all that history and potential angst, how could I not latch onto that pairing? I’m a huge fan of sexual tension, and it’s so easy to create that between Anita and Edward. To me, it seems natural and right to write them together. I know some people think I’m crazy because of that, but that’s okay. ;-)

What was your first Edward fic? And how did it effect your views on Edward and Anita?

The first one I wrote or the first one I read? As much as it pains me, I cannot remember the first A/E fic I read. I’m sure it was by one of the fabulous gals on the Deaths_Domain Yahoo mailing list back in the day when OB was new. I don’t remember a huge, huge amount of A/E fic available then, so I took to writing my own. “Tension Reduction” was the first one I wrote. I was just feeling both the characters out then, so it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I wasn’t sure if I could write Anita or Edward. Especially Edward. He just seemed like such a hard guy to pin down. After I wrote that, I immediately jumped into writing others. The atmosphere of A/E fans on Deaths_Domain was so nice that I felt at home experimenting with the two of them.

My views on the pair of them have changed over the years. I’m still in love with the pairing, even if Anita and I are on the outs. However, I would never want to see LKH write the two of them together in canon. It would ruin my fun. As it is, I feel like such a rebel when I write the A/E stuff. ;-)

Out of any of your Edward fics, is there one you'd write a sequel to, or make a series out of? Why or why not?

I’ve fiddled around with the idea of writing a sequel to “The Air Between Us”. For those who haven’t read it, it is a fic in which Edward learns about Anita’s current life. He asks her to meet him for coffee and tells her that he doesn’t approve, that he can’t continue to be her friend. They end up in his motel room for sex before he leaves since we all know they secretly love each other (haha). He leaves before she wakes up in the morning. It ends on a very down note. It kills me that it doesn’t have a happy ending. I’ve considered writing a sequel in which Anita and Edward meet years in the future when her life is very different. I don’t know if this will ever happen, but I have thought about it.

In your honest opinion, who would win in a fight to the death between Edward and Anita, and why?

Edward. Anita can’t set aside her emotions as well as he can. If he thought it was him or her, he’d kill her. Edward is much more of an animal than she is, even though he doesn’t show it much. He’s also in a much, much darker place emotionally and mentally. She’s still do-gooder.

If you had to chose one series of books to recomend to someone, would it be the Harry Dresden books, or the first 9 anita books? (I'm discounting the new ones cos they are like a new series!)

Despite the ickiness after OB, I would still recommend the Anita Blake novels. I haven’t finished the Harry Dresden series yet, but it really is a wonderful series. I love the characters and I adore Harry. However, I really do think that I enjoyed the first nine Anita novels more. There is so much to love there.

Exempting those that have already been done, which book or series of books would you like to see made into a television series?

I would love to see R.A. Salvatore’s Dark Elf novels made into a television series. That will never happen because it is far too geeky-fantasy, but I still think it would be an amazing show if done right. Drizzt is a wonderful, insightful, intelligent character that makes me swoon just on paper. If they got the right actor to portray him… Woo! Watch out! I might faint from the hotness.

What's your favourite ABVH book (aside from Obsidian Butterfly!!!)?

I’ve always said that Blue Moon is my favorite. All of my favorite characters (aside from Edward) are in that novel and play an important roll instead of just a brief appearance. Plus, Jason’s teasing of Anita is very prominent, and I love that.

What fandom or pairing is your guilty pleasure that no one knows about? In other words, what fanfiction do you secretly read that none of us know you do? What other fanfic heavy fandoms would you recommend?

I don’t think I have a secret pairing or fandom that I’m not willing to talk about. I’ve been heavily into Snape/Hermione fics lately. I’ve always had a soft spot for any fic centering around Skinner from The X-Files. That may be news to many of you. I’m secretly in love with Assistant Director Skinner. I read every piece of fic featuring him I can get my hands on. Even the Skinner/Krycek stuff. Sometimes I’ll cheat and read Scully/Skinner, even though I think Mulder and Scully are soulmates.

Other fandoms to recommend? Hmmm… If you look in the moderated archives for the Harry Potter fandom, there are some really, really amazing fics that blow my mind. And Mulder/Scully stuff always hits the spot. I like them for the same reason I like Anita/Edward – they’re platonic friends with a long history of supporting each other.

Posted: November 12, 2006