WRFA - Author Interviews [Donna]

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

Answer: Hmm, let's see... I'm a 24 year old forensic science student, and I live in Alabama (with Diebin, actually, yay for us). Like most writers, I'm a voracious reader, and I have a crazy fondness for music - everything from standards like Sinatra to punk - and dancing. I also like to swim and go for the occasional jog. Other than that, my life is packed with dorky comic book and computer stuff. I can be downright boring when you get right down to it. ;)

Question: How long have you been writing and what made you decide to start writing fan fic? (submitted by various)

Answer: Geez. Wow. I've been writing *forever*. I can remember making up stories in my head before I ever learned how to hold a pencil. Then, in second grade, I wrote my first story for Mrs. Ferguson's class. It was a myth, really, written to explain how bullfrogs came into being. LOL I guess that was where it started. I've been writing ever since, for school, work, and personal amusement.

My fanfic writing started early, too. I saw "Gone With The Wind" when I was six, like every good Southern girl should, and I despised the ending. So I ranted to my grandmother about how *I* would have written the ending, complete with snippets of dialogue and staging directions. ;) But I really started writing (i.e., *sharing*) fanfic during the second season of the X-Files. There were such wonderful storylines, such complex characters... I wanted to share in it, wanted to be a part of it. So I started writing.

Writing fanfic may be a hobby, but it's often a consuming one; the time and energy fans put into their work... It's almost unreal. Being involved in various fandoms has given me so much satisfaction and entertainment. It's also allowed me to know so many wonderful people. I'm insanely grateful for that, and I always will be.

Question: Do you have any writing experience in other fandoms or outside of fan fiction? (submitted by various)

Answer: Like I said before, I've been writing for years. I've done a number of short stories, some *really* horrendous poetry, and a novella or two. I even have ideas for a few screenplays bouncing around in my head, but nothing committed to paper or disk yet. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I've always known that writing is what I want to "do with my life"; now, it's sort of a matter of finding my style and voice, and learning as much as I can.

As far as other fandoms, I've posted work in Roswell and X-Files. I also have unfinished or unposted stories in a number of others - Buffy, ST:V, That 70s Show, Dawson's Creek, My So-Called Life, N Sync slash (yes, you read that correctly)... The list goes on. And on... :)

Question: What attracted you to the Logan & Rogue characters? What was it about them that made you want to write for them? (submitted by Terri)

Answer: One word - chemistry. They just *had* it. No matter how you see the nature of the relationship between Logan & Rogue, it was undeniably the most believable thing in the movie. It was honest and real, and there was a tenderness there that just blew me away. I mean, I saw the movie ELEVEN times in the theatre, and it wasn't because I have a fetish for movie popcorn. It was *that* powerful. I guess the simplest way to describe it is to say that it spoke to me on a visceral level. It made me feel.

And the critics say it was just a well-done comic book movie. Ha. ;)

I started writing after the eighth time I saw the movie. I remember it perfectly. I went by myself one afternoon (I had long since run out of people to drag along), and I walked out of the theatre with one line of dialogue stuck in my head, repeating on a continuous loop: "I think she's a little taken with you." I started wondering how that single comment might affect Logan. Would he be flattered but otherwise unmoved? Or would it be more like waving a steak under a starving man's nose?

I wrote the first part of Adaptations that night. It was supposed to be a standalone piece, just for me. To get it out of my system, so to speak. But that's not the way things worked out. :)

Question: You've written angst/foof/humor/smut stories. Do you prefer one style better than the others? Is any particular style more difficult to write? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Oh, man. Angst is my thing, totally. It depends on the story I feel I need to tell, of course, but angst seems to come easier for me than anything else. I think it may be because I see stories where people have written foof and humor and smut, and they've done it so much better than I ever could... :) Or maybe it's because I am a cynical creature by nature, and I love the pain. LOL

I run in cycles with my fanfic, though. It's almost like I have a relationship with the fandom - in the beginning, everything is rosy and beautiful. The salad days, if you will, and I churn out foof by the dripping buckets. Then the "new" starts to wear off, and that's when I start to delve deeper, when I try to focus on how things might go wrong. That's when the angst starts to flow.

Ask any of my ex-boyfriends. LOL It's just how I operate.

Question: How do you switch gears from writing angst to foof to humor? (submitted by various)

Answer: Honestly? I don't. LOL The Muse bends my ear, and I follow, sometimes muttering, "Ow ow ow..." under my breath. I can't control it, and whenever I try to force what I write, then what comes out is usually so stilted and horrid that I'd rather die than let anyone read it. What I write depends on my mood and inspiration.

Question: You've written both series and stand alones. Do you prefer one to the other? Are some ideas more conducive to one style or the other? (submitted by Elaine)

Answer: Ooh, good question. Hmm. Given the choice, I prefer to write standalones or vignettes - one little piece of a big something, the short and sweet thing. Every situation has at least a hundred different angles to be covered, but I usually like to concentrate on just one and present it in detail. There's *always* more to it, but what I write is what speaks to me.

Of course, some ideas definitely call for more than one story. Unfortunately, I seem to never figure this out until I've written the first part. That's why so many of my series fics didn't start out that way. With Adaptations, for example, I was just planning on sharing my take on Logan's suppressed feelings for Rogue. Then I realized that there was more in my head that needed to come out.

Question: You started out in this `shipperdom with a big series, "Adaptations". Can you tell us about it-i.e. your inspiration, the progression of the stories, Logan & Rogue's connection through dreams, etc. (submitted by Amy)

Answer: Heehee. I think I've rambled off topic on some of the other questions and already mostly answered this. ;) It started with a niggling little idea and snowballed; that's kind of the only way to describe it.

As for the connection Logan & Rogue shared, I originally intended to take the series in a more supernatural direction. I had read a book titled "The Science of X-Men," and one of the theories presented in it about Rogue's mutation was that she's telepathic - so acutely, almost painfully psychic that coming into skin-to-skin contact with someone causes her mind to begin drawing them in, mentally *and* physically. That was a new one on me, and I wanted to explore how her emotional bond with Logan might have led her mind to subconsciously reach out to him.

As the series progressed, however, I realized (somewhat subconsciously, myself) that explaining Rogue's powers in such a way would have taken the story off in about eight million different directions, when I really only wanted to focus on one - bringing Logan & Rogue together. So baby did a bad, bad thing that good authors never do, and I pretty much dropped that storyline altogether, leaving it unexplained and totally hanging. :) And, while that was admittedly bad writing on my part, it left me with something far closer to what I truly needed to write about - how sometimes two people just *belong*, and there's nothing to do but embrace it.

Question: You stated that "Crazy For This Girl" was inspired by a song you happened to hear on the radio driving home. Is music one of your major inspiration sources and what are some others? How have they influenced your writing? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Music, music, music. :) I have to have it, and it influences my writing in sooooo many ways. I listen while I'm writing, usually to one song on repeat. Sometimes it's mood music, and other times it's my main inspiration. I love to use song lyrics to create a sort of emotional setting for my fics, and I'm guilty of scamming nearly all of my story titles from songs. :)

I have only one other source of inspiration - life. Anything can trigger a response in me, or generate an idea. People on the street, offhand remarks I happen to overhear... I currently have a quote from "The Book of Five Rings" by Musashi stuck in my brain - "There is rhythm even in being empty." I have no doubt that this will somehow make its way into *something* pretty soon.

Question: Could you describe your ideal writing surroundings, food, weather, music, material (i.e. Are you a paper traditionalist or a computer gal)? (submitted by Charon)

Answer: I'm a computer gal, all the way. I had to buy a laptop just so I could write in cars and on airplanes because I have lost the ability to construct sentences on paper. LOL It's like my brain moves too quickly for my pen to keep pace, and I end up with illegible scribbles and notes in every inch of the margin.

The ideal atmosphere for my writing is pretty flexible, except for the fact that I must be alone. I was recently trying to work on Roswell fic with my boyfriend peeking over my shoulder asking, "Whatcha writin'?" and it did NOT make things easy. LOL Chocolate is good to have, and Mountain Dew. And cigarettes.

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

Answer: The easiest part is finding an idea, while the hardest is inevitably trying to express it in words that anyone besides me will understand. :) And the most satisfying part has been and probably will always be when someone takes a moment to tell me that my work touched them. Whether they hated it or loved it, it doesn't matter. It made them think and it made them feel, and that never fails to make me grin like an idiot.

Question: You've collaborated with Diebin on a few stories. What are the positives and negatives of sharing a storyline with another writer? (submitted by Elaine)

Answer: For me, the best part of collaboration is the opportunity to bring an idea to life with more than one point of view. Each writer brings his or her own unique perspective to the table, and that's an invaluable thing. It makes you consider things during the writing process that you may have overlooked. It can be hard, of course, because sharing an idea usually means compromise, but hey. Such is life, right? In a good collaborative effort, the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages.

My work with Diebin has always been less a collaboration and more a melding of thoughts. We seem to never be far off the mark when it comes to the outcome of a story and where we'd like to see it concluded. So, really, there aren't any bad points to it. :)

Question: Angst (Do You Hate What You See), Wolvie torture (The Devil You Know), character death (The Face I See). What draws you to write such stories? What aspects/themes do you think can best be conveyed through these types of stories? (submitted by Amy)

Answer: It seems that the worst of my angst never deals with typical relationship troubles. I mean, as devastating as breakups can be, there are things in life that hurt far worse. When I want to explore really strong themes, it's easier to pick the big ones - death, insanity, emotional and bodily torment. It's my way of looking at things in the extreme, of breaking down the what-ifs into things that we may not be able to understand, but can relate to because of fear.

That's why I write some of my angstier stuff. I'm dealing with my own personal fears and demons. Everything I write is something that I am, in one way or another, scared of. Scared of experiencing, of never experiencing, of finding and then losing...

It's therapy, basically.

Question: How do you define sexual tension and how do you write it effectively? (submitted by Anne)

Answer: Sexual tension: (seckshual tenchun) - the first few seasons of "Moonlighting."

LOL No, really. I think good sexual tension should leave the reader with one question - "will they or won't they?" It's as simple as that - in theory. Writing it is an entirely different matter. ;) I have no idea how to write it effectively, to tell the truth. It's either there or it isn't. Sometimes, it pops up in places where I don't want it, like the scene with Logan & Scott at the beginning of "Hot Legs"... ;) If the characters have it and I'm in the mood to write it, then it's there. Otherwise, its creation eludes me.

Question: How is writing sexual tension different from writing smut? (submitted by Anne)

Answer: Have you ever seen the movie "The Cutting Edge"? It's one of my faaaaaavorites, simply chock-full of sexual tension, and yet... The two romantic leads never even kiss until the very last scene. It's something you can see in any of a dozen old black-and-white movies, too, that spark. In some ways, making that happen is harder than writing a hundred smutty scenes, because you can't rely on blatant physical cause and effect. Sexual tension is a mind game, for the most part, and it's tough to bring to life.

Question: What do you feel about including comic/cartoon canon elements in a L/R movieverse story--perfectly fine if explained and done well, or, "never the two shall meet"? :) (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Heehee!! Well, I'm a comics geek, so I usually stick characters from the written page into my moviefics, and (as such) have no problem with it. One inclusion that's become all-popular is Remy LeBeau, Rogue's longtime comic paramour. Most movie fans recognize him now by association if nothing else, and hey. Anything that increases or stirs interest in the comics is okay by me. :)

There are limits, of course. How the heck is your average movie fan supposed to know about the Shi'ar race, for example? If I make a reference like that, I try to explain it, if at all possible.

Question: What gave you the idea for "Watercolors"? It's such a perfect characterization of Logan. (submitted by Victoria P.)

Answer: Thanks! :) That's actually an example of inspiration coming from life. I was playing around with my watercolor paints, just squiggling lines across a page, and it hit me. I was chatting with Diebin and Nace M and generally feeling melancholy, so I just started spouting stuff. They were like, "Huh?", but it just kept coming out.

Eventually it started to form itself into a sort of slap in the face of arrogance - who says one person in a relationship gets to choose what goes down? It's a two-way street. And Logan sort of became the embodiment of that idea. What if what one person chooses to think or believe is diametrically opposed to the other's feelings? Is there anything you can do about that? And, if not, how do you deal with it? Enter the aforementioned Donna!Fear. LOL Then my Logan Muse raised his head and, with very few actions and even fewer words, gave his thoughts on the subject. ;) I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Question: "Threads" is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. What inspired this story and talk about the inclusion of the mythological theme of the Fates? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Heehee. Again, thanks. This is one of the few stories where I can't quite remember how it started. I know that I was discussing wonky things like alternate universes and time/space weirdness with my friend Chris and glancing through "Edith Hamilton's Mythology" at the same time. It kind of started, I think, as an exercise in seeing just how much I could juggle reality with fantasy, and time with perception. Basically, I wanted to blur the lines. I ran the idea by him at that moment, and he seemed intrigued, so I wrote it.

Question: What is your editing process like? Do you do it yourself or use beta readers, or both? (submitted by various)

Answer: I always use beta readers. Always. I'm usually completely finished by the time the betas get my stories, though, so the only further editing I do is all related to spelling or sentence structure, unless there are glaring holes in the plot. ;)

The exception is Diebin. She gets the WiPs, and always has beautifully twisted ideas to share with me. LOL

Question: Which of your stories did you most enjoy writing? Is there one that you *needed* to write? (submitted by Charon)

Answer: In a way, everything I write is out there because I needed to say it. But I have only ever felt *compelled* to write two stories - "Do You Hate What You See?" and a Roswell fic called "Aperture." "Do You Hate" flowed so quickly; it was like I wasn't even consciously thinking about it. It was going to come out, whether I wanted it to or not.

And I enjoy everything I write, even the painful stuff that says more about me than anyone will ever know. It's part of who I am.

Question: Which story was the most difficult to write and why? (submitted by various)

Answer: Hmm... I'd have to say "Promises." For strange and maybe mystical reasons, I cried like a baby when I was writing it. It came from a tiny place inside me, a place I'd like to know more about, and it hurt *so* much. Just looking at the screen and seeing the words I'd written... It was tough. Hellish, even.

Question: What is your favorite Logan/Rogue moment from the movie? From one of your stories? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: From the movie, it's gotta be the goodbye scene in the school foyer. That one scene had a sort of quiet desperation to it, and it just called out to me. There's so much emotion there.

In my fic, I'd have to say the hallway scene in "Maybe We Can" from Adaptations. That was crunch time for Logan & Rogue in that story - was Logan going to be a stand-up guy? Could he walk away from Rogue? Should he have? It was the turning point, the one moment where I knew where they were going to end up. LOL It took forever to write. :)

Question: Is there any storyline or character that you think has been neglected/overlooked by authors in the fandom? (submitted by Elisa)

Answer: I'm a big believer in the old adage, "There's nothing new under the sun." What I'd like to see is not so much a *new* storyline, but different takes on ones we've already encountered. Give me a fresh twist on an old idea any day. Fanfic is all about exploring possibilities.

Question: Why have you retired from writing X-Men fan fiction? Are you writing fan fic at all? (submitted by Khaki)

Answer: Hrmm. These days, my retirement has more to do with time constraints than anything else. But I initially stopped writing X-Men fic because I felt I had nothing new to offer the fandom. There were ideas in my head, but they weren't cooperating and flowing. I kept trying to write but, without the inspiration, it started feeling more like work than play. So I think I needed to take a break from it all. I started working on original stuff, as well as some old and new Roswell fanfic, and have finished five or six fics for that fandom.

Question: Does your retirement mean we won't be seeing the conclusions of your stories/series such as, "Ghost", "Love Magic", "He Said, She Said", etc.? (submitted by various)

Answer: I'm still working on those, sort of mulling them over. I also have four unfinished L/R fics that haven't been posted at all...yet. So I'm still in the game, sort of. I'll be back, most definitely.

Question: Any words of wisdom for people thinking about writing their first fan fic? (submitted by various)

Answer: Take your time with it. The effort we expend on our fic shows through the finished product. But don't worry about whether your work is good enough or unique enough to share with everyone; if you believe in it, then it is. If you're too scared to post, then no one will ever be able to share in your ideas or vision. So just go for it.

Oh. And get a beta reader. Or two or five. ;) It makes *such* a difference.

Above everything else, HAVE FUN with it. Cause if it's not fun, then why do it?