WRFA - The Wolverine and Rogue Fanfiction Archive

Author Interviews - Sorciere

Email: hack_heaven@usa.net

 

Question: Is there anything you'd like to share about yourself? (submitted by Sarah)

Answer: Let's see...I'm 18 years old and live in Denmark (that's in Scandinavia). Right now I'm trying to survive my last year of school and find out just what I want to do afterwards. I'm a proud member of the Bachelors of Europe (our motto: Bitter, But Not Desperate! *g*) in the sense that I'm single and not searching ;) Umm...I like reading, writing, music, movies, art...and traveling, too, if I can afford it. Oh, and I have a rather nice collection of various replicas of sword and knives *g*

Question: Why did you choose the name Sorciere and from where does it come? (submitted by Nadja)

Answer: Sorcieré comes from the French word for 'witch' (Sorcière) and refers to the fact that I'm Pagan. It started as an in-joke between a friends and me, and somehow, it just stuck.

Question: How did you begin writing fan fic? (submitted by Terri)

Answer: You can blame *that* on the Screwed Believers of the Profiler fandom (and yes, they live up to their name - big time). They are a pretty talented bunch, and their style fascinated me. So I wrote a few fics in that fandom (one of which could actually be read ;) and then a short Star Wars fic (and no, searching for it will not produce anything. I used a 'net nick). By then I'd grown a bit tired of it and had pretty much dropped the fanfic when X-Men: The Movie landed in our local cinema. Needless to say, I was hooked, and before I knew it, I got saddled with the laziest, but most annoying muse this side of the South Pole.

Question: What do you enjoy most about writing fan fic in general, and L/R fan fic in particular? (submitted by various)

Answer: The thing I enjoy most about fanfic in general is the fact that there are virtually no limits. In the real comic books, the writers always have to be careful not to push away their readers. In the world of fanfic, you don't have rules and ratings to worry about (at least not in the same sense). It gives you a chance to explore subjects that the 'real' writers would never touch.

 

The one thing I enjoy most about the L/R relationship are the characters. Rogue and Logan seem so different, but are probably more alike than one should think. They are tired, wounded and alone, and have both been through too much in life...there are a lot of possibilities in that pairing. And the chemistry...wow. The chemistry they had in the movie makes it very easy to believe in the couple.

Question: Rules in fanfic...good thing or bad? (submitted by Nadja)

Answer: Personally, I despise the unwritten rules of any fandom. Fanfic is supposed to be about writing whatever you want, not what other people tells you to. Besides, the more rules you add, the harder it is for any fandom to renew itself and stay alive.

Question: Most of your stories have a little different skew/take on the Logan/Rogue relationship. How do you see them as a couple? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: As I see it, they are not exactly a traditional couple. They have both been through too much to be completely 'normal', and I think that would show. For some reason, I just can't see the two of them living like any couple in a suburban house with a white fence, a dog, and 2.5 children. I think that their relationship would show that and that it would focus more on 'trying to survive with their sanity intact' rather than 'when is the wedding' and 'how many people will show up'.

Question: What five adjectives do you think best describe Logan and/or Rogue? (submitted by Traci)

Answer: Intense, enigmatic, scarred, unstable and solitary.

Question: Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite? Why? (submitted by Jamie)

Answer: My favorite is definitely Rogue. Her mutation and the people she's absorbed makes her a very interesting character. With all the personalities in her mind, there is no 'correct' way to write her, no description that's more right than the rest. Those who are aware of my teeny-weeny Jean-issues will probably be surprised to hear that she's not my least favorite character to write - Storm is. For some reason, I just can't get into her head. Maybe it's because she didn't have a lot of screen-time in the movie - or maybe movie-Storm is just too controlled for my taste *g*

Question: I find it very interesting that the same person has written the dark, "Loss and Desire" and the hilarious, "Manuals". Where do you get your inspiration? (submitted by Jess)

Answer: Everywhere - movies, books, TV-shows, comics, pictures, and music. Many of my fics started with one line that wouldn't go away, and then I usually wrote the fic to have a place to put that line *g*. "Manuals" can be blamed on the movie "the War between Cats and Dogs" and that scene with the 'How To Take Over the World'-manual. "In the Moonlight" and "Mata Hari" were both inspired by different songs, and "Loss and Desire" was written because I had the ending all mapped out and wanted a fic to put it in ;).

Question: Is there anything in particular, such as music, etc., that helps you get into the mood to write? (submitted by various)

Answer: Music. That's pretty much it. I get my inspiration from a lot of things, but it's the music that gets me in the mood to write. It's not really the lyrics, though, but the music itself - slow, dark, Gothic music for the dark-fics and more happy-go-lucky numbers for the rest. (And, of course, sugar for the sillyfic. No sillyfic without sugar!)

Question: Is "Two Hundred and Three" part of a series or just meant to be a standalone? (submitted by Allison)

Answer: Like most of my fics, it was meant to be a standalone - I had some issues to work out, and my Rogue-muse just happened to be hanging out nearby. I've started on a possible sequel more than once, but I haven't been able to write one I liked, so...

Question: In "Rainbow", the rainbow/color theme was a great idea to center the story around. What inspired this? (submitted by Anne)

Answer: Shocking as it sounds - a rainbow ;). I was working on some fic when I looked out the window and saw the most beautiful rainbow. I figured that there had to be a way to work it into a fic, and what do you know - there was :)

Question: "Rainbow" is also a dialogue-only story. Do you find this kind of story easier or harder to write? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Both, actually. It's easier in the sense that you don't have to come up with some 27 different words for 'said', but also a lot harder because you have to make sure that your readers will understand what's going on. This isn't that big of a problem in a fic with only two characters, but add a few more, and it's probably best suited for a sillyfic ;)

Question: In the "Manipulations" series, Rogue listens to, and trusts, *Magneto's* voice in her head, which is usually not the case in most stories. How did you come up with the idea for this series as a whole and the interesting part Magneto played in particular? (submitted by Anne)

Answer: The Magneto-Rogue idea came from the fact that I find Magneto extremely fascinating. He's a villain, but he's a villain with a reason for being the way he is (unlike the 'I want to rule the world'-kind of villains ;). I also felt that he'd been a bit neglected in the movie-verse - after all, *he* lived in Rogue's mind as well, and would be as strong - maybe even stronger - than mind-Logan. Originally, I had intended for both mind-Magneto *and* mind-Logan to talk to Rogue, but that would pretty much prevent Magneto from playing any mind-games, so I dropped the idea.

 

The rest of the series kind of evolved from that Magneto/Rogue pseudo-relationship. I love 'good-guy-turns-bad' fics, but it always annoys me when the good guy in question suddenly 'sees the errors of his ways' and returns to his team-mates. I mean, what's the fun in that? Finally, it was a great chance to step on the toes of a few people -especially the ones who only see young-and-innocent!Marie, and reluctant-but-still-good-guy!Logan and refuse to even *consider* another possibility. Don't get me wrong, I like that kind of fics, but flame-baiting is very entertaining *eg*

Question: One of the themes in several of your stories (i.e. "Solitaires", "Two Hundred and Three", "In the Moonlight", etc.) is that of Logan and Rogue as outcasts even among their fellow mutants and this being a bonding point for them. What are your thoughts on how they view each other vs. how the world views them? (Diane)

Answer: I think there's a big difference between what the world sees and what they see. Wolverine is not exactly the kind of person one would describe as mentally stable - he's possessive, distrustful and has a history of berserker rages. Rogue has absorbed at least three people and it's very likely that those personalities would show up on a regular basis. If she lost control of her mind, one of the personalities might even attack someone Marie cared about. So while the people around her might understand that Marie is really a nice person, I don't think they would describe her as entirely stable, either.

 

Logan doesn't see Rogue that way, though. In my opinion, he sees her an innocent girl and not as someone who could become Magneto or David at the blink of an eye. He sees her as someone to be treasured and protected, and not feared for her 'gift'. It's the same with Rogue - she doesn't see Logan as half man, half beast. Instead, she sees a person who cared enough about her to risk his life to save hers. While she does know that Wolverine is very dangerous, she ignores it, mainly because she's certain he would rather die than hurt her. In short (too late for that, but anyway...): Other people would probably see the more dangerous and/or unstable facets, while Rogue and Logan would see only the good things. In my opinion, neither group sees the 'real' Wolverine and Rogue, but hey - c'est la vie.

Question: What are some of the other recurring themes that you intentionally (or unintentionally *g*) include in your stories? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: *g* Well, generally I try not to be too predictable, but I can't get rid of all my habits. One of the other recurring 'themes' (if you can call it that) is the mix of comic-rogue and movie-Rogue. To me, there is too much 'Damsel In Distress' over movie-Rogue, so I usually give her some of comic-Rogue's attitude. Other than that, I don't think there are any recurring themes.

Question: How do you feel about other pairings besides Logan/Rogue? For instance, Rogue/Scott? (submitted by Nadja)

Answer: I love new pairings - if the fic is written well and has a believable plot, then I'll read just about any pairing. I found an excellent Rogue/Marrow fic once, and another that had a semi-Jubilee/Sabertooth pairing - compared to them, Scott/Rogue isn't hard to believe ;)

Question: Jean Grey...hero or...and why? (submitted by Nadja)

Answer: Jean Grey...I wouldn't call her a hero, but certainly not a bad guy, either. I can actually identify a lot with her...maybe that's why I write her that way (or maybe I'm just plain evil ;). To me, Jean Grey is a vital part of the X-Men. She's their resident doctor (stiletto heels in the lab aside), and Cyke's significant other. It's the attitude I can't stand. She has no bedside manners, she flirts with Logan, and she seems a bit too perfect. Besides, I need someone to take my frustration out on, right?

Question: Which X-Men character would you most like to meet? Why? (submitted by Stacy)

Answer: Scott. Definitely Scott. That man has the mind of a military genius, and I think a discussion with him would be quite interesting :)

Question: Which of your stories is your personal favorite and why? (submitted by various)

Answer: If forced to choose, I have two favorites - 'Control' and 'Poetic Justice'. 'Control' is because I can look back on it and still like the way I wrote Erik. He came out exactly as I intended - manipulative, suave and with a healthy dose of cynicism. 'Poetic Justice' is because it was my first serious non-R/L fic. Sure, I've written a few non-R/L sillyfics, but not a serious fic that also didn't have Rogue or Logan as the main character.

Question: How did you and Nadja get started on your Lunatic Fic Production stories? (submitted by Allison)

Answer: We'd just seen 'The War Between Cats and Dogs', in which the villain at one point pulls out a manual called 'How To Take Over The World'. We loved the idea, so it didn't take us long to adapt it to the X-verse. Then the next time we met, we had another idea that begged to be written, and thus Lunatic Fic Productions was founded ;)

Question: You write beautiful poetry. Will you write poems based on Logan/Rogue anytime soon? (submitted by Nadja)

Answer: Nope. I usually only write poems if I have some issues to get rid of, and I just can't get into fic-mood when I write poetry. I think I'll leave fanfic poetry to the people who know how do to it ;)

Question: What sort of feedback have you gotten on your stories, and how important is it to you? (submitted by various)

Answer: Most of the feedback I get is actually of the good variety. I've only gotten one or two real flames, both on ff.net...which is rather odd, considering the fact that I sometimes go out of my way to piss people off.

 

Like any other fanficcer, I'm addicted to feedback. There's nothing quite as good as opening your mail on a rainy Monday morning and find some long, detailed feedback from someone who loved your latest fic. I don't write fics solely for feedback, though. If I did, I would have stayed far away from the dark-fics and focused on the generic R/L story lines. So to me, feedback is important, but I think I'd write even if I didn't get any replies - even if it was only to annoy people ;)

Question: Have you seen an evolution in your writing since you began? Has it become easier with experience or more challenging? (submitted by Traci)

Answer: In a way, it has become a lot more challenging. I like to write original fics and explore some plots I haven't dealt with before, but it gets harder and harder to find something that hasn't already been covered by everyone else. On the other hand, the writing in itself has gotten a lot easier. My dictionary no longer has a place next to my computer, and I don't have to use a long time to make sure the sentences are correct (or maybe I just ignore it now. Who knows?).

 

My writing has definitely evolved a lot since I first began - I still wake up screaming at the thought of the horrible load of crap that was my first fic (thankfully, I think most of the copies have been destroyed ;). Regarding the X-verse the evolution is mostly visible in the plots - when I wrote my first fics, I was worried about people's reactions, and I think that shows. That worry is long gone, and in the newer fics it doesn't bother me the least to see how far I can push people before they start to react.

Question: What is the best advice you have ever received in regard to your writing? What advice would *you* give to aspiring L/R writers? (submitted by various)

Answer: My advice would be that you should only write if you enjoy it. Find a good plot that you know you won't get tired of after 10 minutes. Find something that inspires you. Grab some candy or whatever you like to chew on. And then sit down and write. Write because *you* like it, not because you fell it's your sacred duty as a fan, or because you just want feedback. Writing is supposed to be fun. (What? You expected me to advise you to get a beta? I'll leave that advice to other people. Personally, I never use a real beta and it wouldn't be fair of me to shove one down *your* throat, now would it? ;)

 

The best advice I ever got was from StudMuffin's essay regarding flames: When you get flamed, you can either feel like a complete failure and spend the rest of the week thinking about creative ways to kill the flamer...or you can use those emotions in your fics and write a story that is even better than the previous one. The choice is entirely yours.

 

I hope I answered the questions to your satisfaction :) If you have any other questions/flames/reviews/insults/verbal abuse/plotbunnies/etc. feel free to mail me. I only bite if you ask me to ;)