MARASMINE

Is there anything you'd like to share about yourself (i.e. your location, hobbies, etc)

I live in the desert region of the UK – otherwise known as the Breckland region of East Anglia. We have sand and sandstorms and one of the lowest average rainfalls for the UK. Not that true desert dwellers would recognise it as a desert! My hobbies are mainly reading and writing – the subject tends to vary a lot though! Currently reading long Gundam Wing fanfiction and thinking about writing the AB and GW fics that I have on the go. I am expecting a Weiss fic for beta-ing any moment! Sleeping is another of my favourite hobbies...


Do you remember the very first story you wrote? And how old you were?

The first story I was happy with was a school essay I wrote in the 3rd year (as it was then – Year 9 now in the UK) so I would have been about 13 maybe 14. It was a ‘pony story’ featuring a pony called Pancho, who had more personality than his owner! I got an A for it and wrote a sequel or two the following year. Up until then essays had been a terrible chore and I produced extremely boring stories. Pancho and his nameless teenage owner were perhaps my very first characters to come alive. Something had clicked in my brain and I was top of the class in English after that – and unbearably smug about it!


What are your perfect conditions for writing (total quiet, music playing, etc.)?

Generally I aim for undisturbed quiet; but if the plot bunnies are gnawing and my family are pestering then I will resort to earphones and Queen to drown the distractions out. Although typing to ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ does tend to make my fingers ache. Really serious plot bunnies (the ones with the dark glasses and trench coats) can render me virtually disturbance proof and I will tune everything around me out as I write. Fortunately I don’t see those ones very often!


Do you ever experience writer’s block, and how do you overcome it?

Writers block. Oh yes I know it well! It all depends on what is causing it – but my normal reaction is to wander away and ignore the fic that I am blocked on. I have a long list of work in progress fics, stories and novels! And my powers of ignore-ance are very strong!

If it is something I really need to finish NOW I use different methods to get it moving again. It really does depend on the ‘why’.

If I am blocked because some other plot bunny is running rampant then I will sometimes start (and even finish) the new fic to clear my head and have a break.

If it is an important scene that just won’t write properly I will re-read up to that point to try and get my head back into the plot and characters. I will try to re-plot to remove or change the scene into something that will write. Or I will delete it and try to carry on without it. Sometimes it is just a matter of sitting down and staring at it, forcing myself to write something – even if it is only a sentence a day (or week). I have tried writing around the scene to see if it becomes clearer once the plot has moved on. That doesn’t work for me normally because if I have to ‘fill in’ more than a sentence or two something normally twists and I have to go through and alter too much of what comes after (and sometimes before). Those of you who do a lot of re-writing know just how difficult it is to blend the alterations in seamlessly.

Sometimes (if it is something ‘short’) I read through what I have and then close it and re-write the whole thing. It rarely comes out as I originally intended but it does sometimes get past the blockage and get it finished. This is usually the best course for something I have been ignoring for a long time (I’m talking months or years here!). I have many ‘Aha!’ moments when reading other peoples work followed by the ‘I know what you’ve been doing’ snigger. I try to avoid re-writing whenever possible and discourage it in others (even if they don’t listen to me). If you must do it, start from scratch rather than try to wedge bits in – the result is much better! Honest!

I am not sure that I ever really accept that the plot is dead in the water and needs a decent burial! Or that I have lost interest to the point where I can’t be bothered to finish it! I just leave them lurking in a file somewhere on my hard drive with the intention of returning to them again one of these days when I feel inspired. If it is too long before I am struck by inspiration it is a real pain trying to find the files and convert them to my current system and somehow the inspiration tends to wear out before I get them into a fit format to work on – but I haven’t given up on them yet!

I still have would-be novels on tape and disc from my Amstrad464 – and yes, I still have two Amstrad464s but I don’t know if either of them work anymore. One was okay about ten years ago when I got my first Windows computer running the brand new Windows95... yes I still have that as well and it still works when I switch it on despite me doing a motherboard upgrade on it (and I have work on there as well)! I have really taken to USB pen drives – you can fit an awful lot of fiction on one of them and it is much easier to move from computer to computer!


Do you use beta readers? If so, do you find them useful?

Beta readers are essential! Noah-Vail gets most of my stuff thrown at her. Luv-Micah is also on the hit list mainly for AB but I will attack her with GW if I am desperate! Aithne gets some too, if she doesn’t hide quickly enough. I am also inclined to just pick on someone who is innocently browsing the board and demand their opinion on a short that I want posted and out of my head!

Beta-ing your own work is difficult. You should read through and catch as many errors as you can but a second set of eyes will find things you just don’t see (and a third or fourth pair will catch even more). You KNOW what you wrote so often don’t see what the keyboard has done! Particularly those typos that make a perfectly good word – even if it isn’t the one you meant to use!


Have you ever attempted to have anything published?

Many, many years ago I did submit a Harlequin type romance (Mills & Boon for those in the UK!) – it was turned down very politely! I have always had the idea of being published one day – but it isn’t a driving force, I don’t want it with enough passion to work hard at it - most of the time!


Do you have any advice for authors just beginning to write fanfiction?

Reams and reams of it! Basically – read the series and write! Make sure you know the canon characters before you start. Write their descriptions down and remember them. Get the story idea down on ‘paper’ and work with it until it says what you wanted to say. Then get someone else to read it (this may or may not be an ‘official’ beta reader). Do get someone to read it as a beta before you post it – and try to find someone who has knowledge of your weak areas! If you aren’t good at grammar use someone who is to check your work. If you find speech hard to write try to find someone who is good at it to advise you. Finding a good beta is sometimes a little like gold dust – but you can use more than one! I would also suggest that you finish the story before you post it. Easy enough for a short story, a bit daunting for an epic novel. But if you start posting your epic chapter by chapter you are bound to find things you want to change in the early chapters (little things like character names, locations, hair colour) and if you have already posted your readers will get annoyed with you if you go back and change it now! You can use chapter by chapter posting when you have settled into writing to keep you motivated. But I think for a first effort you should get it written before you post. Writing something short for your first attempts is probably a very good idea. Drabbles are an excellent starting point!

Try out different strategies and styles with your writing. We are all different and what works for me might not work for you!


What brought you to fanfiction and Anita Blake in particular? What do you like best about the fandom? Dislike?

I discovered fanfiction while waiting for ID to be published. I didn’t know fanfiction existed until I Googled Anita Blake! So really AB brought me into fanfiction! I thought it would be good ‘training’ for my vague ambitions to be a published author. And I think it has helped me grow as a writer – at least I am no longer terrified to let others read what I have written! If you mean AB:VH - I think I like the character development best – Celeste does it wonderfully well! Dislike has to be A/E smut, sap and fluff!


What other fandoms are you a part of and which ones do you write fanfic for?

I’m not really part of any other fandoms the way I am part of AB. The only fanclub I’ve ever joined is LKH’s! And my subscription has now lapsed. But I follow Weiss Kreuz and Gundam Wing via fanfic and have written for both – only a few pieces so far and no epics!


What do you do with characters who go off on tangents of their own devising, how do you rein them back in, or do you find that you can't?

Hmmm. Difficult one! I let them explore the tangent, sometimes I will even write it down. If it seems to work I will let them have their way. Sometimes I will curve it back to my original concept or a variation of it. And sometimes it just won’t work so I offer them a different story where they can do that. And yes, sometimes I can’t get them back on track and the story just stalls and dies.


What gives you the most pleasure writing? Delving deeper into an existing fictional character, or creating and developing your own characters?

I think what gives me the most pleasure is when the character comes alive and the story just flows. It doesn’t matter who the character is or who created them – when they come alive and talk through me, they are mine!


What would you change looking back on your journey through writing ABVH?

Nothing springs to mind! One day I might take the plot lines and alter them into original fiction – but I doubt the result would bear much resemblance to the ‘original’. My ABVH writing was written for the fandom and as such will stay there – my tribute to the enjoyment I have derived from being part of it, if that doesn’t sound too arrogant.


What most inspires you to write your series?

The Mara series came about from reading ID. I was left with a very bad case of ‘I want a Nathaniel’ – he could do housework while I was at work and entertain me when I got home! That was the concept – who and what would have a chance of ‘getting’ Nathaniel. Then Mara took over my life for several months and the series is the result.

Other (shorter) series ideas have developed in a similar way – one basic idea that the characters latch on to and run with. Some were supposed to be a single short fic that just grew.

The only one that wasn’t like that was ‘Tales from the Research Centre’ which was from a particularly manic few days on the board last July. But has developed a life and direction of its own – and I might even finish it one day!


Among your own stories, what is your favorite, and why?

I am not sure that I have a favourite story. I like some more than others but I can’t really pick one above the rest. There are certain scenes that came out well, plot lines that I was pleased with or characters that came alive while I wrote; but no one title sticks out in my mind in particular. Sorry!

The most meaningful for me is the main Mara sequence – the first fanfiction I wrote, the first thing I ever posted, my first work that was read by strangers and one of the few novel length stories that I have ever finished!


Among your own stories, what was the most difficult to write, and why?

I’ll stick with the posted stories and ignore all my works in progress – they are obviously difficult because I haven’t finished them! I think it is a three way tie between ‘Run Away’ the last of the main Mara sequence, ‘Interlude’ my first attempt at slash and ‘Just One Night’ my first foray into Gundam Wing (and more slash smut). The final chapter of ‘Run Away’ took me ages to write but I am not certain why – I had been living with Mara for several months by then and knew what I wanted to put in the chapter but it was very difficult to get it down on ‘paper’. ‘Interlude’ was a birthday fic for Noah-Vail and I struggled with it – I wasn’t sure if I could write slash at all and it just kept getting longer and longer. ‘Just One Night’ is another Noah-Vail birthday fic and is even longer than ‘Interlude’ – I think I can see a pattern! I think I find most smut scenes difficult to write or, more accurately, difficult to be happy with what I write.


Do you have a favorite genre (angst, humor, smut, action, drama, etc) to write in? Is any particular style more difficult for you to write?

That depends entirely on my mood and the plot bunny currently yelling in my ear! I usually find angst the easiest to write no matter what my mood is. Humour is the second easiest – unless I’m feeling depressed!

I am not sure I would classify anything I have written as drama – so that must be the most difficult for me to write! Otherwise smut is the most difficult but I can’t resist trying!


Do you have any favorite fanfiction authors (within our outside of the ABVH fandom)?

Yes, loads! But I am not going to list them because I would feel guilty about missing out anyone – I have done it on the board and felt terrible about forgetting several people. And going back and adding names doesn’t help!

But just to embarrass her I will name Celeste who writes the Anitaverse better than LKH and understands the characters better too! This isn’t to say that other authors don’t do this too, but Celeste manages to be sympathetic to all the characters. Most of us can only manage that for a select few favourites.


If you could become a fictional character in any book you've ever read, who/what would you be?

I have wanted to be so many different fictional characters! But I think it would have to be one of Andre Norton’s Witch World characters. Gillan the wisewoman or her mate Herrel the were-rider (he’s a snow leopard) or maybe their son (an ordinary leopard) – no female shifters damnit. Or maybe the Lady Joisan. Or a Beastmaster from another of her series ... Mind you there is a lot to be said for being Nanny Ogg in Tery Pratchett’s Discworld series. I wanted to be a Dragonrider on Pern or the Brawn half of a ship partnership (Anne McCaffrey). Many writers have drawn me into their worlds and I have wanted to stay – usually in the worst possible Mary-Sue way!

If a book or film doesn’t make me fantasise about being part of it I know I didn’t really enjoy it much and at best it was light entertainment. At worst it was a complete waste of time!


How detailed are your notes about your original characters or characters in general?

It varies! But generally, not particularly detailed. The main characters are alive in my head so don’t need detailed notes. If I have a lot of minor original characters, I do make short notes about them. Most character notes are created when I am fighting with writers block – so if I have a lot of notes it means that the story is a struggle!


When did you start to develop your character Mara? What do you like best about writing?

Mara created herself in response to a couple of idle questions I asked myself after reading ID. She is the first character to march into my head and demand to be written about. I have coaxed others in and soothed them into trusting me but Mara just took over!

I think I enjoy the creative side of writing most. Having the ideas and making them fit into a cohesive story. There is a certain ‘rush’ to writing it down and having the thoughts turned into concrete words - when they express what you wanted them to. Finishing is very good too – but I don’t do a lot of that! But I have a lot more ideas than ever get as far as being written down in any form. And a lot of written down ideas that never get any further.


Does your Mara character share any of your personality traits? If so, which ones (except the love of chocolate)?

Now she is no longer possessing me, not many! Probably mostly a certain cynicism about peoples’ motives and the desire to smack annoyances!


Did you always know you would pair Mara with Nathaniel?

YES! Mara was created purely to get Nathaniel! I think she would probably have been happier if I had let her stay with Merle but I can be pig headed too! I refused to change direction in the middle of the sequence. She was supposed to get Nathaniel so ...


Where do you see the storyline going involving Mara and Nate's twins?

Originally they were supposed to marry and leave St Louis and maybe they will one day. The twins weren’t part of the original concept so I don’t really have many ideas about how they will grow up or what their personalities are like – they are only a year old and aren’t talking very well yet!


If they turned your Mara series into a movie, who would you have them cast in the leading roles?

Another difficult question because I rarely watch movies or follow celebrity ‘news’ so I can’t really name names because I don’t know who they are! I have always pictured Mara as a cross between Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider and Halle Berrie in James Bond, although Jo from 'Eureka' is very close. I haven’t seen anyone in movies who looks like a Nathaniel to me. I have been swayed by the ‘Johnny Depp for JC’ thread.


Which ABVH characters do you neglect the most in your fics, but you would like to one day write more about?

That would probably be most of them! They have all made a brief appearance somewhere! Merle is probably the most likely to get written about – although now Winterineden has adopted him he isn’t complaining so much! I have tried to get Caleb ideas but he just makes rude gestures and ignores me. Asher can never be a main character for me because I just don’t ‘get’ him. Gregory could do with some more page time but he tends to sulk a lot (okay this and some posts on the board woke him up again). Damian is still waiting patiently – that boy has been well trained!


Posted: August 15, 2006