WRFA - Author Interviews [Darkstar]

Question: Is there anything you'd like to share about yourself? (i.e. where you live, interests, hobbies, etc.) (submitted by Sorciere)

Answer: My name is darkstar and I'm a fan fiction addict. Everything else about me filters into the mundane categories of the realistic. I am a senior in high school, looking forward to being a freshman in college as soon as possible, where I plan to major in creative writing. It remains to be seen whether I could make a living with this stuff, but I'm willing to give that a shot. My interests, aside from fan fiction, include reading just about anything I can get my hands on-- currently the obsession is Margaret Attwood and Ray Bradbury-- and watching movies, especially science fiction and World War II drama. The majority of my free time is divided between writing and music; I have played piano for nine years and compete in various local and state events throughout the year.

That pretty much covers the basics of me.

Question: Why do you write fan fic? (submitted by Alyx)

Answer: When I first started writing fan fic, it was because I needed the release. My first dabblings in fan fiction were in the X-files universe, a show that is well known for it's twists and cliff hangers. After a while I started to feel that I was going to go insane with the lack of resolution in this episode, or that episode, and so I sat down and started writing my own resolutions. It was bad at first. Very bad. I'm ashamed to even remember my earlier stories-- all of which have found their way into the garbage-- but for some reason or another I kept at it; I had always loved writing anyway, and fan fiction gave me a fascinating new perspective. As time passed, my motivation for writing fan fiction became more and more focused on the craft of writing itself. When I wanted to see if I could write a novel, I wrote a fan fic novel or when I wanted to develop my poetry skills, I wrote fan poetry. The nature of fan fic allows you to hone your writing skill because you don't have to spend time and energy creating a universe. You get to work with prexisting characters in a pre-existing setting and this lets you focus on things like style, plot, and character interpretation. And that, in turn, strengthens your ability to create your own universe when you branch out into regular fiction. So I suppose I write now for the experience. I try to use every story or poem I write as an exploration of something I didn't know before, or didn't know as well.

Question: What drew you to Logan/Rogue in the first place? (submitted by jenn)

Answer: Now you've opened a can of worms. I could discuss the relationship between Logan and Rogue for hours, but I will try to be as concise as possible. I am also an X-files fan, and the Mulder-Scully relationship fascinates me because it is based on a spiritual, soul-mate connection rather than sheer physical attraction. After watching the show for a while, I began to look for similar connections in other couples that I saw in television or movies. It's not easy to find, these days, but as soon as I saw Logan and Rogue together I knew I'd scored a hit. The unique potential and challenges of their relationship drew me right from the start--the magnetism between them, the protective instincts, the trust. I was enthralled. I had to have more. And, almost eight months later, I am still just as fascinated as the first time I saw them together. I'm still addicted and looking for more. If you can find a soulmate relationship in Hollywood, then there's hope that you can find it in real life. But maybe that's just the idealism of youth. ::grins::

Question: You are one of the very few L/R poets. What draws you to that facet of fanfic? (submitted by jenn)

Answer: The possibilities. Gary Hotham, a brilliant haiku poet, described it this way-- the essence of a moment, keenly perceived. I think this applies to all poetry, not merely haiku. Poetry takes the familiar and inverts it, challenges it, looks at it from a different angle to gain new insight. Well written fiction has a similiar effect, but poetry is shorter and more concentrated, and therefore has greater power over those "essences of moments". I personally enjoy it because I feel that it broadens my ability to describe my world and my emotions in innovative ways. It demands a different technique than fiction, one relying more heavily on details and originality and interpretation. When applied to the Logan and Rogue relationship, poetry is a filter through which I can magnify or subdue the emotions and characteristics of each to put them in a new light. I think of it in terms of short film and feature film. Fiction is the "feature film". It tells big stories, in big ways, and takes longer to tell them. Poetry, like short film, is more about form and style. It takes one detail of life and blows it up ten times bigger than ordinary. And that is what I try to do with Logan and Marie, with their relationship. I want to be a medium through which the reader can feel and experience exactly what the characters are feeling and experiencing.

Question: What first got you interested in poetry and how long have you been writing it? (submitted by various)

Answer: The first significant poem, for me, was one I wrote in fourth or fifth grade. It was a child fantasy piece about gnomes and faires and dwarves that was inspired by the stories I would make up for my father while we were on long drives. Writing it wakened an interest for poetry in me, but I only dabbled until seventh or eighth grade. Then teen angst hit. ::cringes at the thought:: I wrote a lot, but the writing was not very good quality at all, filled with the melodrama typical at thirteen and fourteen. Fortunately, I also started writing fan fiction when I was fourteen, both prose and poetry. That gave me something else to focus on besides myself, and as I wrote more I found that my world view and my technique matured. It also cemented my fascination with poetry as a genre and as a means of expression.

Question: I confess I know nothing about the mechanics of poetry. Do you follow a certain style/structure when writing your poems? Why or why not? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Most of my poems fall under the category of free verse; on occasion I will rhyme if I feel I can do it and still be true to the poem, without sounding strained. I try to maintain a balance between structured poetry and unstructured poetry. I don't want my writing to sound stiff and formal, but at the same time I don't want it to be glorified prose. Normally the structure of a poem develops as I write it; the words flow and break in my mind at certain points and just follow what I hear. At the same time, I frequently use syllables as a guide, counting them through each line and stanza to ensure uniformity of rhythm. As far as style, I try for sharp images and textures in both description and metaphor. A successful poem will evoke one sustained effect from start to finish. One continous impression. I also enjoy using symbolism, particularly Bibical or mythological, because I like making the connections-- Logan and Rogue are a perfect post-modern Romeo and Juliet, only instead of warring households, we have warring genes. What more could you want? :)

Both style and structure, however, vary from piece to piece. I try not to use the same pattern for too long; it's easy to get in a rut and start thinking in boxes. Sometimes I won't even think about style or structure, just start out with a theme, then let everything flow from that and see where it takes me. It all depends on the nature of the poem.

Question: Could you tell us something about your process of writing? (i.e. do you write during a certain time of day, revise much, listen to music, keep a writing journal, that sort of thing) (submitted by Elaine)

Answer: I don't follow an exact writing schedule, although I've read that you should. I find it difficult to maintain exact times because I am so busy during the school year, and am juggling so many things that writing is squeezed into whatever cracks I can find. As a general rule, I plan stories during the day and early evening and then do the bulk of the actual writing between 10:00 PM and 4:00 AM. My brain is more logical during the day and more spontaneous at night. I try to capture that spontaneity in my work. But as I said, that's just a general rule. Whenever the Muse calls, I answer, no matter what time it is.

Revision. Hmm. I revise both before, after, and during the story. Preliminary revision plans out the story and works it to remove any preliminary kinks. Once I have a framework that I am relatively sure will work-- sometimes it is an outline, somtimes a cluster of notes, sometimes a mental image-- then I start to write. The revision I do while writing primarily concerns style, whether or not I liked the tone of the scene or the angle of the point of view, but I also work on characterization and plot when I feel it is getting weak. Final revision includes checking for grammar and spelling errors, and reading over the story for any last changes. My beta readers for each story are tremendous life savers in this department. I'd be lost without their help.

I do listen to music while I'm writing, quite extensively. I love music, and finding the perfect song for a scene helps me visualize events that much more clearly. Sometimes it will be a vocal song, sometimes it will be instrumental. I keep a writing journal, although I don't schedule a time every day to sit and write in it. My unofficial journal gets a lot more use-- it's a small notebook in my purse or my pocket, that lets me jot down whatever comes to me during the day. Dialogue, descriptions, story or poem ideas. Anything to keep my mind in a creative mode.

Question: Where do you find the inspiration for your stories/poems - Immediate surroundings? Recent conversations? Dreams? Music? Other fanfic? (submitted by various)

Answer: If I had to pick my two top fields of inspiration, I would say that they are music and literature/film. Certain melodies or phrases or scenes in movies just seem to set the Muse on fire. For example, Save The Last Dance For Me was influenced by the song Run To The Water (by Live) and also by the movies Schindler's List, and Romeo + Juliet. A weird combination, I know, but then again, they're usually pretty weird. Other fanfic inspires me quite frequently, usually more for poetry than for prose. My most recent poem "Sister, Go Home" was inspired by "A Rougher Ride", a story which was part of Terri's Alter-Eighteen series. But at the same time, almost every story or poem is influenced to a degree by something I've seen, or talked about, or dreamed. I guess you could compare it to a mosiac. One fragment of tile might be from a song, one might be from a book, one might be from a sign I saw on the way to school. They all come to together in a new way to form inspiration for a story.

Question: What's your fascination with post-registration/apocalyptic set poems & stories? (submitted by Victoria P.)

Answer: The fascination comes out of a life-long interest in World War II and the Holocaust. Some kids grew up reading Sesame Street; I read books on Hiroshima and Auschwitz. Am I warped? Only slightly. I have always been amazed that an entire culture could willingly participate in mass murder and brutality on that level, and also that even the worst persecution could not erase the human spirit. The transition of that into X-men seemed natural; the parallels were already existing through the Mutant Registration Act, and just begging to be explored. It allowed me to combine two of my favorite fields-- science fiction with a World War II setting. That makes for one hefty obsession.

Another facet of my interest lies in the character exploration allowed by post-registration/apocalyptic poetry. I remembering reading once that you can never be sure who a person is until they are in a crisis, stripped down to the bare bones of personality and character. So that is what I try to do in my post-MRA writing. I put Logan and Marie in scenarios completely different from the environment they are used to, without the comfort and the security, and I let them prove how much they really are in love. All they have is each other. Nothing else. I think that some aspects of their relationship couldn't be brought out as clearly anywhere but in an apocalyptic setting. Also, that sort of setting allows me to play around with social and ethical issues, which I enjoy. I find that adds a dimension of challenge to the writing.

Question: What is the hardest part about writing a story or poem? The easiest? The most satisfying? (submitted by various)

Answer: The hardest part, for me, about writing a story or a poem is getting started once I sit down to write. A blank screen can be pretty intimidating. Sometimes it takes me a while to find just the right angle for a scene or a poem. The easiest part of the process would have to be editing. Once I have it written, it's relatively simple to adjust them exactly as I want them. I would have to say that the most satisfying part is the act of writing itself. The moments of discovery when you see something in a way you've never seen it before-- a new angle for a scene, a fresh metaphor in a poem. That's the best part. That's what keeps you coming back for more.

Question: What is your favorite story that you've written? (submitted by jenn)

Answer: My favorite story. Although something about each one stands out in my mind, I think my personal favorite would have to be Save The Last Dance For Me. It was the first prose X-men fan fic that I had written; maybe that's what makes it so special to me. It was very easy to write, in that it just sort of flowed without any extensive planning or preparation, which was unusual for me when I'm writing a story of that length. And also I feel that was one of my more successful portrayals of the Logan/Rogue relationship, in that I was able to convey the unconditional love and beauty in spite of adversity that I see in them both. That's what makes it my favorite.

Question: What purpose do punctuation, indentation, capitalization, etc. serve in your poetry? For example, "Atmospheric Breach" with it's dashes, colons and indented lines. (submitted by Amy)

Answer: I consider punctuation a literary device that one can use to draw attention and emphasis to certain parts of words or sentences. It's visual as well as audial. That's one of the great things about free verse-- you don't necessarily have to stick a comma at the end of every line and a period at the end of every sentence. "Atmospheric Breach" was actually a bit of an experimental piece for me, because I wanted to see if I could make a poem more visual by using creative punctuation and indentation. I indented the words I wanted to emphasize, and the colons were used to indicated an expansion of that emphasis. The indent was meant to let the reader know to "pay attention to this" and then the words following the colon developed the thought that I had gotten them to focus on. So that would be their purpose. Creative use of attention and emphasis.

Question: "Lazarus Undone" is one of my favorites. Could you tell us how you came to write this poem, how long it took you, it's meaning to you, etc. In general, how long does it take you to write a poem? (submitted by Stacy)

Answer: I'm not really sure where that one came from. I think the root of the inspiration came from a poem I read in which Lazarus was thinking about his life after he was resurrected and wondering why he had to come back. The connection between Lazarus and Logan was just too much to pass up. Once I sat down to actually write it, things went rather quickly-- one or two sessions, I think. It's meaning for me is that if we run from the things we love because we are afraid of them, sometimes it is too late to return. In the poem, Logan never came back to her after leaving her with his dogtags. He was afraid of the commitment, of the responsibility, of what he might lose. Then when he does return, he finds he has lost it anyway, and that he could have saved it if he had been there. At the same time, the poem means that love lasts beyond death. He's not satisfied, he's going after her the only way he know how. Even if it's not as permanent as he wishes it to be.

In general, poems take one or two days to complete. I don't usually start writing a poem unless I have some existing basis for it in my head-- a line, a phrase, a pattern of syallables-- so once I do start writing it doesn't take very long. Occasionally I'll have to put aside a poem for a while and come back to it. That takes a bit longer, but the average is one or two days.

Question: "Save the Last Dance For Me" feels like a huge epic poem because you bring so much of you poetic ability to your prose. What are the differences & similiarities between writing poetry vs. writing prose? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: My poetry, I think, sharpens my prose because in poetry you have to be so much more intense and focused than regular prose writing demands. Every word has to mean something, and not just anything, one perfect meaning that will convey exactly what you want to say. Over the years, I have tried to transfer this to my prose. So that's a similarity-- both require exact words and descriptions. They are also similar, at least for me, in that good poetry and good prose will both present life at an angle you haven't seen it before, in a way you haven't heard before. It doesn't have to be a brilliant, huge revelation. It's more about changing the way people look at common, everyday things. The differences lie mainly in scope. Prose allows for more complexity of plot and character development; it's a bigger canvas to paint on. Poetry is more about character exploration and examination of crucial moments within plots. And the writing style itself is different. Even poetic prose is more sparse and economical than poetry. That's the danger of being both a poet and a prose writer-- I have to make sure my writing doesn't start to sound melodramatic and over-poetic. Overall, however, the distinctions between the two aren't as clear as they once were in literature. Thanks to the advent of free verse and other modern poetry forms, we have poetry that reflects prose and in turn prose that reflects poetry.

Question: Several of your poems are interpretations of movie scenes. At which point during the movie/comic book/cartoon did you realize that W/R should have more than a friendly relationship? (submitted by Siale)

Answer: As soon as I saw them sitting beside each other in the bar, I had a gut feeling they were going to be something. Maybe not immediate lovers, but definitely not mere friends or sibling stand-ins. The feeling flared up when he looked at her after popping his claws on the knife guy. I got the distinct impression that he restrained himself for her benefit. Another thing that strengthened my suspicions was their interaction in his truck. He seemed to be going out of his way to prove that she could trust him, that she could be okay with him. It seemed so obvious in the little things-- their exchange of names, his turning on the heater when he saw her fingers were red, his reassurance that he wasn't going to hurt her. Weird, I know, but that's when the realization hit me. I didn't become completely certain, however, until the train scene when Magneto came for her. Logan's visceral reaction to her loss won me over from any doubts I might have had. After that point, I became a total believer.

Question: The words you use and the images they evoke create an almost spiritual quality to Logan and Rogue's relationship in such poems/stories as "All That is Not Allowed", "Train", "I Could Only Watch" and "Inside the Lightning". Is this intentional? Could you talk a little bit about the meaning of their relationship in regards to your poems/stories? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: I think of the Logan/Rogue relationship as primarily a spiritual, soul-mate relationship. Physical attraction is a part of it (Just look at the man...what red-blooded American gal wouldn't be reduced to drool?) but it's not the main focus. What really draws them together, in my mind, is that no one else would understand them in the way they understand each other. He's the only one who can touch her skin and live; she's the only one who can touch his soul, who knows what he's really like beyond all the bluster. This sense of understanding and acceptance creates an intense desire to protect the other and to make life better for the other. They will do whatever is necessary. That's definitely a mark of soulmates-- a sudden, strong attraction that grows into a deep, almost spiritual love. There are aspects of their souls that never come out unless they are together. He gives her reasons to trust, she gives him reasons to be human.

It's a selfless love but it's also a selfish love. It consumes both of them, but they are willing to be consumed. It demands things of one another that they would never think of giving anyone else, but these things are freely shared between them. That's what gives it texture-- the many paradoxes in their relationship.

I try to choose words and images that will convey their soulmate connection and also capture a few of those paradoxes. I truly believe they are destined to be lovers in the sense of a long line of heroic (and sometimes doomed) couples that stretches back to mythology . I want them to be timeless, powerful, beautiful, and aim to reflect that in my writing to the greatest extent possible.

Question: You've mentioned that music is very influential to your stories/poems. Can you explain/expand on that a little? (i.e. Inspires your writing? Incorporated into your writing? Listened to while writing?) (submitted by Elaine)

Answer: As I mentioned in my introduction, I have played piano for nine years, and I think this has made me very responsive to music as a creative force. Different types of music bring out different things in me. Music with lyrics-- English lyrics-- usually plays a big part in the planning stage of stories and poems. I'm on a constant look out for songs that fit the scenarios and characters I am creating. When I actually start writing, I use instrumental music more, especially film scores, and I use more foreign music, mostly Italian and French. I find that lyrics can sometimes distract me unless they exactly fit the scene I'm writing, because I'll naturally want to follow along in my head. Instrumental music or music in a foreign language removes that distraction. Although I will listen to regular music if I've been lucky enough to find a song that exactly describes the essence of the scene I want to write. Most of the time, I'm able to do that. I incorporate music into my writing itself if I feel that the scene could be improved by the addition of song lyrics. I don't consider it song-fic, because I don't build my stories around the lyrics. I use the lyrics to set mood and to express angles of the story that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. In Save The Last Dance For Me, for example, the story opens with Marie listening to the radio, and I think the lyrics I included went a long way towards adding to the desperation and darkness of the setting.

It's an obsession, I know. Every story I write has its own little soundtrack; it even bleeds over to poetry, sometimes. ::sheepish grin::

Question: When you start writing a story/poem, do you start with a title in mind? How do you choose a title? (submitted by various)

Answer: For a poem, the title doesn't come until the end. After I'm finished writing the poem, I'll read over it and choose a title that makes a particular association or impression that describes the theme of the poem. The title comes much earlier with my prose stories. It is one of the first things I choose, because, as with poetry, the title describes the theme of the story. It's very important for me to start off with as clear idea of what I'm writing about as possible. I choose the title based on the type of expression I want to make with a story. Sometimes I will take it from a line of the story or a line of poetry; sometimes I will use a title that relates to the nature of the story, or that explains something about it. Usually, my first title is the one I go with, but with certain stories it changes. It all depends on what I am trying to get the reader to associate with the story. For me, the perfect title will describe the theme but also leave a little room for mystery. Almost like a riddle.

Question: "Save the Last Dance For Me" has a great final line. Have you ever built a poem or story out of one line that just wouldn't leave your head? (submitted by Stacy)

Answer: Yes, I have. I don't remember that being the case with Save the Last Dance For Me; that final line was more a bit of last-minute inspiration, but many of my poems are built that way. I rarely sit down to write a poem unless it's because there's something in my head that won't go away. The line or sentence or image doesn't always appear at random-- most of the time I focus on a subject until a phrase forms that acts as the foundation for everything else-- but sometimes a fragment of a poem pops into my head from out of nowhere and demands to be written. Lazarus Undone and Scenes From The Longest Winter are two poems that were formed this way. They hit me out of the blue and before I knew it, I was hooked.

Question: The Rogue of "Radio Silence" is quite different from the movie and your usual portrayal of her. How did you approach writing her and this story? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Radio Silence was hard to write, at first, because I don't see Rogue as that type of character at all. Once I got started, however, I began to enjoy the challenge of thinking out of the usual mental stereotypes that I had attached to her. I had written survivalist characters before, in the X-files fandom, and that experience helped because the common themes were the same, even if the character was different. I knew she would have to be willing to do whatever is necessary, to whoever was necessary, but I also wanted her to harbor enough humanity to regret it. Even if she never admitted that regret. I used that approach primarily, and along with it I used sort of a role-switch between her and Logan. We usually think of Marie as the innocent who could be easily misused, and Logan as the one who would be doing the misusing because his humanity is much more fragile than hers. I reversed it. I wanted him to be the naive one of the two in this story, because I really do think that he has that tendency when it comes to her. If I were to sum the approach up, it would be a characterization of "the ends justify the means".

Question: If you could ask Logan & Rogue one question, what would it be and why? (submitted by Anne)

Answer: One question....Logan, will you marry me?

No, just kidding.

I think I would ask them both to name the one book that has had the greatest impact on them. The type of books a person reads and the authors they admire reveal a lot about who they are, in my opinion. I would read the books they mentioned and then be able to look at their characters in a way I was never able to before.

Question: Do you have a particular song/book/fic/muse that you turn to whenever you have writer's block or hit a rough spot in a story?

Answer: I tend to turn to the "soundtrack" of whatever story I'm writing when I hit a rough spot; I have a huge file of song lyrics, and sometimes reading over them helps spark my Muse again. Three songs in particular seem to do the trick-- Time Jesum Transuentum Et Non Revertentum (by Nick Cage and the Bad Seeds); Run To The Water (by Live), and Witness by (Sarah McLachlan) If the mental block is more severe, I will turn to books or fics as a way of searching for fresh inspiration. One book that is almost constantly on my desk is The Complete Poems And Plays of TS Eliot. For my most current project (which seems to have more than its share of blocks) I have been reading The Blind Assassin by Margaret Attwood to stimulate my creative juices when they start running dry. The Eighteen Series by Terri always inspires me, as does the story "A Place" by ArcThalia. Other muses include movies like the new Hamlet, with Ethan Hawke, or the artwork of Van Gogh and Monet.

Question: Have you ever published your poems or stories? (i.e. in a school paper or literary magazine, contest, etc.)

Answer: My stories have never been published, though several of my poems have been published by school papers and local newsletters. Only one piece has made it to a national publication-- it was bought by The Joyful Woman, a women's inspirational magazine. I've always considered that a bit ironic, since so much of my work tends to be along a darker motif. But you have to start somewhere.

Question: Who are some of your favorite fanfic authors? (submitted by jenn)

Answer: My favorites. That's a hard question because there are so many good writers, and so many good stories out there. Terri is a favorite because her Eighteen series is amazing and because her Alter-Eighteen series is equally as wonderful. Diebin rocks because she's an angst goddess, and her work is consistently dark and consistently excellent. The short but powerful post-MRA story "A Place" also fires me up because of its sheer poetic brilliance. And then there's Jus Ad Bellum, which reminds me of how fan fic is supposed to be written.

Question: Do you have any advice or tips for people writing fanfic in general, or poetry in particular? (submitted by various)

Answer: The biggest lesson I have learned-- and am still learning-- from fan fiction is that you have to believe in what you're writing. It doesn't mean you blindly accept it without challenging yourself to improve, but it also means that you don't stake your opinion of your stories on the words of others. Feedback is the food of the gods, but it's not always going to come like you expected. A couple years ago, I found that out the hard way involving a story I wrote in the X-files fandom. I had just completed a well-received post-apocalyptic novel that earned me a large amount of feedback for the first time in my life. The next story I posted was one I cared deeply about and was very enthusiastic for, but I think it got a grand total of two feedback letters. I was devestated, until I realized that my focus was all wrong. The really important thing was that I wrote what I loved, what I needed to express, and then any feedback should be a wonderful bonus, not a necessity. That has helped me more than anything else. It's not easy-- I still have to work on accepting my writing at all because I tend to be a bit demanding of myself-- but it's worth it. Another tip that goes hand in hand with that is learn to view your writing objectively. No, it's not Hemingway or Eliot but it's something that is uniquely you. Try not to compare it with other writers or other stories, but with your own personal search for excellence. It makes it easier to stay positive and keep from getting discourage.

As far as poetry, my biggest advice would be to always search for the perspective that no one has seen before. There is nothing new under the sun, but even a blade of grass can be interesting if seen through the correct filter. It's easy to recycle cliches and descriptions that we've all grown accustomed to hearing through books or television or film. Those things may produce a pre-programmed emotional response, but it's far more satisfying when you find an original way of uncovering the same emotion.

One final note, if I may.

I would like to thank the WRFA for giving me this opportunity and this honor, and would like to thank all of those who took the time to send me these thought-provoking questions. It made me sit and think about some things that I've never had to put into words before, and I enjoyed that very much.

Much appreciation,

darkstar.