elrhiarhodan | Meme - Ask Me Anything

I am always curious about other writers and whether they mostly write stories in order, of if they skip around and write whatever scene they want at a given time!

And also about rambling on the subject of incomplete vs. complete works - what's your ratio, and have you noticed any trends as to what kinds of works fall in each category?

I am a very linear writer, I can only think of a handful of times that I deliberately wrote a scene out of order (as opposed to relocating a scene after it was written). I might have the end of the story in my head, but I don't write it until I actually GET to the end.

I'm pretty good about completing stories. Yeah - there are some incomplete series in my backlist but I always plan to finish them (hence the New Rule - no more posting Works in Progress), My WIP folder is surprisingly small - maybe a half-dozen actual stories (as opposed to notes). The oldest dates back about six years and I really do intend to finish it. More complex stories tend to get pushed to the side for a while - historic A/Us, emotionally complex tales. But I do go back to them. Nothing's ever really abandoned.

Favorite original character you created :P

Oooh, that's really hard because I love them all.

There's Isabelle Burke from Privilege. She was my very first OC.

And of course, Peter's pot-smoking dad, Michael, from Thanksgiving at the Burkes'

But also Joe and Cathy Burke from the entire Wonderful Years series.

And I can't forget about all the OCs that populated We Shall Come Home, particularly Eduardo Montoya, who saved the two wolfhounds.

But I think it's Joe and Cathy Burke that most touch my heart. They are characters that I want to write, independent of Peter and Neal.

Ooh, yes, beautiful choices... and so memorable, especially Joe and Cathy AND pot-smoking Michael which Pooh and I were talking about just recently, lol :D

Where do you write? At home, work, traveling, etc

I used to be famous for writing at the corner table at my local Starbucks, but since I moved into HW, I don't need that anymore.

I write at work, time permitting, and at home. I rarely am able to write when I'm travelling. Too many distractions.

What is the most difficult and enjoyable part of writing a story?

Sometimes, the most difficult part of writing is getting the story started. The opening scene really can set the tone. A lot of time, and particularly for longer stories, I like to start with a line of dialogue, rather than exposition. I often go back and rework and tweak the opening scene, but I rarely do a full ditch. Though that has happened, too.

The most enjoyable part of writing? Putting the final scenes in place, seeing everything come together, especially after a long, hard slog.

Although I don't outline, most of my stories have a very well thought-out end moment. For example, when I started writing Desolate Places, I knew that the final scenes would have Neal telling Peter that he couldn't heal on his own, and Peter telling him he didn't have to. (The actual epilogue was an afterthought).

What inspires your writing?

I enjoy Joe and Cathy Burke in the Wonderful Years series. They are the kind of parents every kid deserves.

The relationship between Peter and Neal, in all its facets, has been a huge inspiration (to the tune of almost 2 million words). But beyond that, I love introducing elements of reality - grief and joy and pain and the day-to-day struggles that all human beings go through.

And thank you - I adore Joe and Cathy. They are truly the best parents a child could have.

Have you ever had an idea for an original story, not a fanfic?

I do, but I doubt I'll actually ever write it. It's a story that requires a tremendous amount of research and one I don't think I could do justice to.

What was your most difficult story to write?

Hmmm, that's a question that can be answered along many vectors.

Technically difficult - Probably either of my continuing historic AUs, if just because of the amount of research needed.

Emotionally difficult - Probably Desolate Places. I always knew the end, but I had a hard time getting there.

Has there ever been a story you've looked back on and wanted to rewrite, for any reason?

My fave is Michael... I love that Peter-the-FBI Agent has a pot-smoking father. Makes me giggle every time I read it!

Thank you! Michael is wonderful, isn't he? Very different from Joe Burke, but unique and loving all the same.

To answer your question, there are a few stories that I would like to rewrite. Some fall into the seriously needs editing category, some have cringe-worthy scenes that are terribly OOC. There are no stories, though, that I ever regret writing.

Hope I can get away with asking two. :-)

Do you typically write your stories from beginning to end (in order)?

Is there an A/U you'd really like to write but haven't?

Yes, of course you can ask two. And since they are good questions, I'll be happy to answer both.

1 - Yes, 99.999% of the time, I start at the beginning and work through to the end. Writing out of order is unnatural for me. I can only think of a handful of times where I wrote the end and then went back to fill in.

2 - Yes. I really want to write a slave A/U - the one I started at DebFest three summers ago, the one I started in DC last year. But I can never seem to get traction on them.

Edited 2015-08-19 17:24 (UTC)

Thanks!

I also find writing out of order unnatural, FYI.

And now, of course, I am rooting for you to find a slave fic that *does* gain traction with you. :-) I remember the one from the last DC meetup (and would love to see more), but can't pull the one from Deb's out of my memory. If it's not too much of a pain, might we have a snippet of that one?

It was called A Familiar Command. We pulled three prompts and a genre. Mine were Kneel/Whisper/Desperate, and the genre was porn:

“Kneel.”

The command was implacable and Neal could no more disobey than he could stop breathing. His knees bent and slowly, gracefully, he dropped to the hard marble floor, eyes cast down. It was cool in this vast, elegant room, but he was sweating. It was always like this when he was brought before a new Master.

The marble was hard beneath his knees, but Neal didn’t feel it. He knew that later his body would pay for this moment of obedience.

A hand ruffled his hair, caressing him. He caught his breath at his Master’s gentleness. Black gloved fingers traced the curve of his ear, his cheekbone, the line of his jaw. Neal wanted nothing more than to turn into that hand and press a kiss, a dozen grateful kisses into that palm.

But he hadn’t been given such permission, and he didn’t want to ruin this moment for his Master, he didn’t want his Master to have to punish him for an infraction. Unless his Master wanted that.

The hand cupped his chin, tilting his head up. “Look at me, Neal.”

Neal gasped - his Master knew his name? Maybe he hadn’t given him a command? Maybe he already disobeyed, he was already a disappointment. He tried to steel himself against the inevitable punishment, a swift backhand across the face. The whip against his back. Or worse.

But he met this Master’s eyes, and there was no disappointment there, no censure, no anger. Just a look of satisfaction, a smile of pleasure.

“You are mine now, Neal. Mine again. No one will hurt you anymore.” His Master brushed his fingers against his lips, and Neal breathed deeply of the scent of fine leather and a hint of something else. A thumb rubbed at his lower lip and Neal looked into his Master’s sparkling brown eyes. His Master nodded and Neal opened his mouth, sucking in that thumb.

When his Master moaned, Neal sucked harder, licking at the leather. There was a flavor to go along with the scent and Neal finally placed it - it was a man’s come. Sharp and bitter and Neal wondered if it was his Master’s, or another slave’s.

He licked and sucked, until his Master pulled his hand away. Neal tried to chase after it, desperate for more. There was a laugh - more a chuckle - but not the mean, humiliating sound that he was familiar with. It was a sound of satisfaction, as if he just proved something to his Master.

“You like sucking, Neal? You always did.”

When you write original characters, do you cast them as specific actors so that you can visualize them?

I've only done that a few times. The first was actually my first OC - Isabelle Burke, who is based on Allison Janney. The second is Asher Ben Gali, from the Vet!Neal series (the Burkes' former lover). He's based on Ioan Gruffudd.

Do you?

I do - I even do it for other people's fics sometimes. It just helps me visualize what's happening.

For Redraw the Lines, I imagined a darker haired version of Cole Hauser for Michael, and I can sometimes hear his voice when I read Michael's dialogue. For Cathy, I'd done a Google image search of James Rebhorn and found that he did a movie with Kristine Sutherland (from Buffy, among other things), so I often picture her. And I usually picture Kirsten Bell for Emma even though she looks nothing like Matt and primarily has blonde hair. There are some really cute pics of them together at events though, so I go with it. :)

It could work:

LOL

Is there any fic idea that you thought was a good idea but didn't write because you thought it wouldn't have an audience?

That is a very interesting question - because it goes to motivation. Am I writing for me or for kudos/feedback?

The story I'm working on now will probably have no audience, but I don't care. But there are times that I write things because I know they'll get a lot of appreciation - sickfic, cuddlefic, foodfic.

I think I'm at the point, and WC fandom is at the point that I don't care how small my audience is. I've just got to write the stories my brain wants to tell.

Thanks! That's interesting. Any previews on what you're working on now or is it a secret?

I didn't mean to imply you were writing for kudos! I wanted to know if there were any ideas that you just thought were too out there - too cracky or too strange or too controversial or just too silly or whatever -- to put the effort into doing, or if you've ever been talked out of writing something by others or something. (There have been times when I've written something and a friend told me that they liked it but nobody else will like it because of something, but by that point I had already written it, but I always wonder if my writing would change if I had any clue what would bother people or not lol).

BTW I think more foodfic should exist and therefore writing it should be considered a matter of principle ;)

I'm working on a story that features Peter being an ass, El being a bit of a selfish bitch, and Neal not being a criminal.

Clearly an AU...

I don't think it'll have much of an audience, but I'm in love with the ideas that are coming out.

As for not writing something because it's too cracky or strange? Well, I've written Peter and Neal as circus ponies. REAL circus ponies.

After that, nothing is too strange.

LOL fair point on the ponies! But that's on your banner! Not having a fic like that would be like Staples refusing to sell staples ;)

Ooh that AU sounds super fun. I think Peter being an ass sounds like my favorite part because I love Peter, but if you just exaggerated all his flaws a little, you can see how he could be really hard to deal with - confidence becomes cockiness etc

True about the ponies. But I've also written an epic length story of them turned into dogs. And while Neal-as-Kitten is as common as sick!Neal, I've written Peter as a cat, which I don't think I've seen elsewhere.

I also love rare pairings, which have limited audiences. I think I'm the only writer in the fandom to pair Moz and Jones, and El and Reese.

And you're right about Peter - I adore him. But it didn't take much in canon to make him an ass. I think, if I was worried (and maybe I am), I'd be more concerned with my portrayal of Elizabeth. She's not the endlessly understanding and devoted spouse that she was (for the most part) in canon.

How easy or difficult is it for you to write Mozzie?

I love, love, love writing Mozzie. He's actually the easiest WC character for me to write. His voice is incredibly distinctive. A lot of times, I'll start with a quote or some obscure bit of knowledge as a way into his head, and then it just takes off from there.

I've written Peter as a cat - posted where please?

There are two stories:

Here Comes That Sinking Feeling

and

The World in Us

Enjoy

Thanks.

Meme - Ask Me Anything - Writer's Edition

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