WRFA - Author Interviews [Terri]

Question: Anything you wanna share about yourself? (i.e. where you live, interests, hobbies, etc.) (submitted by Sorciere)

Answer: No! No sharing! Heh. Just kidding. Let's see - I'm 31, I live in the great state of Indiana, and I'm currently working as a consultant to various non-profit organizations. I travel a lot for work (I probably see more of O'Hare International Airport than I do my own home), and I've lived a lot of different places - Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta....... Aside from W/R, my only hobby is photography, which I suck at for the most part :( Hmmm, what else? I'm single and about a year out of a long-term relationship that just didn't work out. I'm a lawyer (but don't be scared - I'm one of the scientifically measured .0000007% of non-evil lawyers). I volunteer occasionally as a certified mediator for a non-profit in Chicago. I'm seriously addicted to caffeine, chocolate, and maple donuts. I have two cats, as is required by law for all single women. I'm Catholic. I majored in Poli Sci in college before going to law school. I've worked in the service department of a car dealership, as a nanny, and as a crisis counselor at a battered women's shelter. It's been an interesting life so far :)

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

Answer: I've been writing ever since about 5th grade - I used to write little stories to entertain my friends and I remember even writing 'fake' commercials for a play at a school talent show. Yes, I was a little weird, even then. Now, I write a lot for work, but mostly boring things - proposals, contracts, letters. It's just not very exciting, and I kind of missed writing just for fun. W/R was the first real fan fic I've ever written, and I guess I decided to start writing it because a story popped into my head (Eighteen Letters and One Phone Call) that I kind of liked. I really didn't mean for all this to become an obsession, but it did!

Question: What is the writing process like for you? (i.e. do you use an outline, do you use betas, how long does it take you to write a story, etc.) (submitted by various)

Answer: It really varies from story to story, which I know isn't the world's most helpful answer ;) I hardly ever use an outline - with the exception of the Eighteen Series and now the Rules Series, where the general long-term plot developments are planned out. I don't outline individual stories or any of the other series. I tend to just have a plot and a general idea of how the story goes, and then I start writing.

I usually let my friend Keli beta for me - she's pretty closely attuned to my view of the characters and plots. She's pretty great at the 'meta' kind of things, but, much to her consternation, she occasionally lets slip through some of the many, many, many spelling and grammatical errors that I make. Emily S. has been gracious enough to catch those on the back end and help us correct them on the website. If I'm co-authoring (ie, Asserting Control with deejay), I ask my co-author to beta my parts in addition to Keli.

How long it takes to write a story varies too - anywhere from literally under an hour to about a week. I like to stick with one story that I'm actively writing at a time. Some plot bunnies linger much longer than that time frame - but I tend not to count those if I haven't really started writing and am still thinking about how to handle the plot bunny because sometimes those take months to come to fruition. I tend to make a first draft of the story, send it off for comments, make changes, and then voila, ready or not, it's posted.

I like to write while listening to music a lot - much of the Eighteen series was written to Lifehouse's No Name Face Album and a lot of the other music that eventually cropped up in Eighteen Songs. I have some weird little writing quirks - I like to be at my desk or kitchen table, to have a solid surface for the laptop; I like to write in the morning vs. the evening; and, I sometimes talk out loud while I'm typing - yes, I know that's very annoying ;)

Question: Do you find any part of writing difficult? (submitted by Stacy)

Answer: The hardest part is getting the story straight in my head. I like to know where it's taking me before I start writing it down :) That can take a long time and can be frustrating if it just won't come together up there. Another part I sometimes have trouble with is titles - with some stories, the title is the first thing that comes to me, but for those that don't work that way, I can have a heck of a time picking one.

Question: You are an extremely prolific writer. Where do you get your inspiration and where do you find the time? What motivates you to keep going on so many writing projects? (submitted by various)

Answer: Insanity, plain and simple ;) Actually, a *lot* of people have been gracious enough to share plot bunnies with me - I have about a hundred or so in my plot bunny folder now! Other fic inspires me too - there are a lot of great W/R authors out there. The plain truth is that I write a lot because I'm one of those people who always has to be doing *something* and because my lifestyle right now (esp. the flexible hours and long plane flights) accommodates that. Also, I tend not to spend a whole lot of time on each story - one draft and one round of beta-ing is usually all the attention they get before they're put up.

I'm motivated a lot by wanting to find out what happens next in my own stories ;) I get attached to the little worlds I create and like to keep on playing in them. And I also get motivated by requests that I sometimes get for sequels, plot bunnies, etc. Sometimes an idea just nags and nags at you until you write it - those are the ones that are most motivating for me because I want them out of my brain!

Question: As a fellow writer, I'm curious: what's your theory on why Logan and Marie belong together? (submitted by Dark Ferret)

Answer: OK, but it's a weird theory ;) To me, they're two people who, according to all logic, should probably be trying to get the hell away from each other ASAP - she sees him kick ass and cut up a rifle with his *sharp metal claws* but hops right in that trailer with him anyway. She almost sucks the life right out of him, not once, but twice, but he gives her the tags and promises to return. I guess I like that element of each of them refusing to do the logical thing. To me, that says that there's got to be something bigger or deeper than that holding them together, something elemental and primal.

I remember watching a PBS special on the brain (I know, I jumped the conversational track, but, hang on, I'm going somewhere with this.) and learning that there are three distinct regions (And bear in mind I know little about biology and am probably getting it somewhat wrong or oversimplifying A LOT). There's the reptilian part, which is the oldest part of our brain, inherited from when amphibians first crawled on shore, and doing the basic nervous system kind of things. There's the limbic part, inherited from the first mammals and carrying things like survival, mating, and nurturing instincts. And then there's the neocortical part, which is the newest part in evolutionary terms - it does the logical thinking, remembering, and reasoning that has given us humans such a nice cozy place at the top of the evolutionary chain. I remember listening to that and thinking - whatever Logan and Marie have going on doesn't have anything to do with that neocortical stuff - it's got to be lodged in the limbic brain, the part that's older than logic. I think we've all probably had that experience of just clicking with someone instantly for no reason our logical brains can pin down - be it friend, lover, whatever. My (ill-educated) theory is that those experiences seep up from the limbic brain, from something that's *not* influenced by rationality or society or anything like that. It's coming out of a deep part of us, a part of us that's still very much instinctual - and to me, that's a mysterious and wonderful thing, and something that I like exploring.

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

Answer: I love writing Hank the best :) I don't think I do the best job of writing him, but I have a huge soft spot for the big blue guy. He's smart, he's sensitive, and he's introspective - he's the kind of person I'd want to be. I think my least favorite to write is Scott. I have a very difficult time with doing his POV especially, which is why I don't write much of it at all. It's hard for me to get into his head and to me, he's just not that interesting (ducking the Scott fans......).

I do like to write me some BadJean, and I know some of you out there have a problem with that (in fact, I'm surprised that I haven't been burned in effigy by PETJ yet.......), but I like stretching her character to serve as a foil or to explore issues in some stories. I also like to write ProtectiveLogan and SweetieLogan, even if the latter does tend to wind up a little too soft for my Logan Muse's tastes.

Question: What about Rogue makes you see her as an artist in all your stories? (submitted by Victoria P.)

Answer: As she was in the movie, it just struck me as something that would be a natural extension of her personality. Here's someone who makes what could be a potentially debilitating mutation a cause for nifty, fashionable scarf and glove accessorization ;) She has a certain flair about her, and she just struck me as someone with that visual eye for the world, that adventuresome spirit, and I think she has the necessary quality of seeing something a little different in the world around her than everyone else does. Plus, it's an occupation that made sense for her in terms of being flexible, making a little money, but still not being tied down to one place, which is needed in a lot of the stories I've done.

Question: You write a lot of stories from Logan's POV or with an emphasis on Logan. What is it about him that draws you to write from his perspective so much? (submitted by ABJackl@aol.com)

Answer: The truth is that I've known a lot of people somewhat like him - a little rough around the edges, kind of on the fringes of society, having some deep interpersonal issues, but with a solid sense of honor - and I think that makes it easy for me to reach back and imagine how some of those people would react or what they'd say in various situations. Plus, I think his character is complex enough that you can write almost an infinite number of stories with him. There's so many different facets to him - I never get bored.

Question: In most of your stories, Logan is a very subdued character that is highly attuned to Marie emotionally and seems to always be willing to give her the space and consideration she often needs. Although this compassion is an integral part of the Logan I've grown to love, it is often missing in most characterizations of him. What makes writing this aspect of Logan so easy for you? (submitted by Dark Ferret)

Answer: I remember seeing The Crying Game for the first time (stick with me, this *is* going somewhere) and the one part of that movie that stayed with me was the idea that sometimes cruelty just isn't in a person's nature - not cruelty on any level, not even if being cruel would be more convenient/beneficial for the person in question. I see Logan very much that way - he's a violent person, but not a cruel one, and I think that's a critical distinction. I tend to think that with Marie especially, his attentiveness and compassion is an outgrowth of that unwillingness to be cruel to others - not only does he not want to hurt her himself, he doesn't want to see her get hurt, he wants to protect her, and he wants to do right by her. A lot of that is tied up with his sense of honor, too, and I also think there's more than a healthy dose of practicality there. He knows that if he gives her what she needs, their relationship will be better for it, and that's a good thing for him too ;)

Question: What is the most fun to write-stand alones or series? (submitted by Sorciere)

Answer: Actually, I think it's the Alter-Eighteens, which are kind of the best of both worlds. You can do a self-contained story, but still have that framework of the series - the common aspects of having them meet/reunite and head for the cabin - to give it some structure.

Question: You've written several series (ongoing and completed). How do you keep the tone, storyline and characterization consistent and fresh throughout its entirety? (submitted by Elaine)

Answer: I tend to re-read previous stories in a series to make sure I keep some basic elements straight. I also rely on my beta to a large extent to ensure that those things hang together reasonably well. But the biggest part of it is just trying to see more of the story in my head and watching how it plays out. I know that sounds kind of spacey, but it's really almost like watching a little L/R movie in my brain - the storyline, tone, etc. tends to be consistent because I 'pause' that little movie in my head at the end of each series segment. You all think I'm certifiably insane now, don't you?

Question: How long do you see the "With Marie" series going? Should we expect a "Babysitting the Grandkids With Marie"? :-) (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Heh. What was intended as a little writer's block release valve has really kind of taken over my little fic world ;) I'll probably keep writing them as long as I'm writing L/R fic, and I'd love to see GrandaddyLogan, so you never know........

Question: Is 18 your favorite number, or did a simple title/theme take on a life of its own? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Lord, did it ever take on a life of it's own! I was casting about for a title for that first story, and was coming up with exactly crap. In desperation, I titled it Eighteen Letters and One Phone Call because, well, that's what comprised the story. Original, it wasn't, and I was never really happy with that title. When I decided to do another one, at first, I wasn't even thinking about having a title 'theme,' but Eighteen Cities in Twenty-One Days popped into my head as a logical follow-up to the first story. I have many times since cursed myself for doing that - I had a hell of a time coming up with titles that could be worked into the stories and carry the series forward. I used to keep a running list, sometimes pages long, with tons of 'eighteen' title ideas. Maybe one of twenty or thirty would be workable into the series.

But now that I've complained, I have to also say that structuring the series that way had a lot of benefits. It gave me a framework, something to start with, for each section, and it was challenging enough that I didn't get bored writing them.

Question: There is such a variety among your "Alter-Eighteen" stories, even though they incorporate many of the same elements. When you start a new one how do you decide if it's going to be dark or funny or sad or romantic, etc? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Usually, I know ahead of time, but sometimes I start out going for one type and the mood I'm in or some other influence changes direction completely. Naked Animal Guy is a good example of that. That one was intended to be a fairly serious just-escaped-Logan piece, but then Rogue started thinking wacky thoughts as she walked along the road in Canada. Angsty vs. foofy usually depends on my mood at the time - I can do angsty when I'm in a happy mood, but I can't do foofy when I'm bummed out or cranky.

Question: What is your favorite "Alter-Eighteen" story and why? (submitted by Jamie)

Answer: It's hard for me to pick. Keep On Driving is one of my favorites, because it was the first, and because when I go back and read it now, it still hangs together reasonably well for me. A Sort of Homecoming and Giving Up are also personal favorites, but probably mostly out of my own contrariness - they're the ones that have gotten a lot of flames. Nice People is another favorite, because that was the first one I was conscious of trying to work in some theory about life/philosophical ramblings into the story. The ones that seem to be readers' favorites are Partners and The Pick-Up, both of which I really like too. Cost of Things and Cellmates are two of the ones I was pleased with even though they were almost on the wrong side of the angst-overload line for me. But, if I were tied down and forced to pick a favorite, I'd probably go with The Unexpected Life or Families - the two Sam AU 18s. What can I say? I've got a soft spot for the little guy and those were both ones that were difficult and yet not difficult to write. They came into my brain pretty much fully formed, but I had a hard time getting what was in my head out. I like how they both turned out nonetheless, and I guess that's why they'd be favorites.

Question: Is Gary from "Alter-Eighteen: A Rougher Ride" going to get what he deserves? (submitted by Victoria P.)

Answer: I think I'll get lynched if he doesn't ;) This was one of those things that really surprised me - the amount and vehemence of fb saying that Gary must be punished. When I wrote Rougher Ride, I honestly didn't expect that reaction - sure, he was a bad guy who'd done some very awful things to Rogue - but people don't usually want to see Magneto's, or even Sabretooth's, blood spilled so much! For some reason, people have really grown to despise him, and even killing him off in another Alter-Eighteen (Finders Keepers) did nothing to assuage the bloodlust. I mean nothing. Zero, zip, nada. Almost every single piece of fb to that story said something like - 'It's great that you killed him here, I was glad to see him go, but you're still going to let Logan get revenge on the Rougher Ride Gary in a sequel, right? Because he needs to die. Slowly and painfully. Mwahahaha!' Who knew you were all such bloodthirsty, vengeful folks?

The general plan was to get to 36 AU 18s before writing sequels/prequels/etc. to any of them, and I'm at about 31 now, so the hour of vengeance is nigh ;)

Question: Logan's cabin has been in a lot of your fics. Where'd you get the idea for that little cabin? (submitted by Sorciere)

Answer: It started with Eighteen Weeks of Winter, when I needed to have them hole up somewhere for a while. I started thinking about what I'd do if I led a nomadic, cage-fighting kind of life, and thought I might have won or bought a chunk of land somewhere - to have someplace to fall back on. I liked the idea of it a lot after that story - it's a nice little haven away form the rest of the world, and it provides a consistent destination in the AU 18s.

Question: What do you think makes a really good love scene? Are they hard to write? (submitted by Traci)

Answer: They're hard for me to write without feeling like I'm writing a bad romance novel or a pornographic story. It's hard to find the balance between adequately descriptive and realistic vs. prurient. I think a good love scene advances the story, tells you something about the relationship between the characters, and gives you some insight into the people and story you wouldn't have had without the love scene. I tend to try to shy away from terms/words that make me cringe because that takes me out of the story a little and because I'm a little shy about that kind of stuff ;) Emily S. pointed out that I tend to make more spelling and grammatical errors in love scenes and wondered if I'm a little embarrassed when I'm writing them - I kind of think she's right.

Question: Which of your stories was the most difficult to write, the most fun, and why? (submitted by various)

Answer: The hardest to write was definitely Eighteen Cities in Twenty-One Days. It really served as the foundation for that series, the title set the 'eighteen' motif, it required about ten or so original characters that I wanted to be fresh and distinctive but also able to advance the story and interact with the x-men in some fashion, and I had to plot a route for them that took them past places I at least had a passing familiarity with so that I could write about them. Plus, it was my second fanfic ever. That one just gave me fits, and it's still the most difficult-to-write one out there.

The most fun have been the Attack of the Killer Peeps stories, because they let my inner wackiness out ;) And what's better than anthropomorphizing Easter candy? A close second would be the Strays/Allie's World stories - those were just all-foofiness and were a blast to write, plus my own cats were a great resource for feline behavior ;)

Question: How do you manage to write such different stories and yet stay so consistently on character, especially with Logan? (submitted by Victoria P.)

Answer: My beta helps with that a *lot*. Plus, I think there are so many facets to his character that can emerge in different situations - he's a lot different in the Eighteens than in the With Maries, for example, and I hope that the different things he's gone through in those stories mesh with the differences in which aspects of his personality become more front-and-center and which are pushed back. I try to keep a picture of Logan in my mind's eye and I try to constantly check against that picture to be sure he's coming out OK in the stories.

Question: How much has feedback affected the stories you've written? (submitted by Stacy)

Answer: Some. And I'd say, unfortunately, the flames do affect me negatively. It's made me careful about posting some stories with iffy subject matter. On the other hand, it hasn't really changed what I've *written,* only what gets posted publicly.

Good feedback does have a big effect too - I can often be seen doing the Happy Writer Dance after hearing from somebody who really liked the stories. I think the most affecting feedback notes have been those that really gave a lot of thought to the stories - those ones make me want to keep writing because it makes me feel like someone out there is as interested in the stories as I am. All feedback makes me feel a little less alone in my W/R addiction ;)

Question: For which story did you receive the most feedback (positive and/or negative)? (submitted by various)

Answer: There's probably a three-way tie for negative fb there - Baby Girl, A-E: Giving Up, and A-E: A Sort of Homecoming. Those three got a lot of fb and a wide variety of opinions. Giving Up was chronologically the first of those, and at the time, I was kind of blindsided by the volume and variety of fb to that story. Plus, this was the first story I got flamey feedback on. Some people did NOT like the Hank/Rogue pairing there at all (I think it was the first fic I'd ever written showing Logan or Rogue having a serious relationship with someone else), and some couldn't get through the story because they found Hank/Rogue laughable. A lot of people were very critical of Rogue's behavior in this story (and I didn't condone all of her actions myself, even if it was written in her POV). There were some e-mails saying that everyone acted out of character, and some complaining that I used poor Hank and then killed him off as a cheap plot device in the story. But there were also a few e-mails saying that this was the reader's favorite of the alter-eighteens so far, which was nice.

When I posted A Sort of Homecoming, I was kind of bracing for something similar, and it happened ;) I got feedback ranging from - what a great story about unconditional love to what a scary Logan - totally lacking in honor and raping Rogue. In retrospect, I don't think I got across the themes I was trying to explore with that story very well because there was such a wide spectrum of interpretations. I was trying to write a story about sacrifice and faith - how far would you go for someone you loved without really knowing what the heck was going on? But I don't think that came through to a lot of people, so I don't think I did a very good job of it.

Baby Girl - sheesh, let's not even go there. I knew that one was trouble as soon as I wrote it. My beta told me it would be, and it was. The topic and treatment was *too* controversial for public posting, I think, and not something I would repeat. That one got a lot of very detailed, very vehement flames, suffice it to say. That one made me remember that people tend to think that when you write a 'hero' or one of the 'good guys' doing something, you condone it, which is not necessarily the case for me.

For positive fb, probably the Eighteen series in general - I still get a few notes here and there from people reading it for the first time, and I continue to be floored that people seem to like it so much. Some recent stories that received good fb were A-E: All Fall Down, A-E: Families, and the 'baby' episodes of the With Marie series.

Question: A lot of your work reminds me of J.D. Salinger. Are you a fan of his? (submitted by Cordelia)

Answer: I've probably read Catcher in the Rye more times than is legal, and I love that book. I'm not so much a fan of him personally, but that work was brilliant, and it's a very high compliment to me that I remind you of his work a little - thanks!

I'm a voracious reader - I tend to devour anything I can get my hands on - fiction, non-fiction, the sports pages, whatever. My favorite authors, though, would have to be the Russians - especially Dostoevsky, Ahkmatova, and Tolstoy. I read The Brothers Karamazov in college and I've been addicted ever since. All the ideas and principles I ever thought about philosophically, theologically, and politically are in that book in one way or another. It's definitely worth reading if you haven't.

Question: Television has bought the rights to one of your series to make into a mini-series. Which one would you like it to be and why? (submitted by Diane)

Answer: Oooh. Good question! I think the Eighteens or the Alter-Eighteens (actually, I've always thought that a TV series that tells the essentially the same story set in a little bit different world each episode would be neat). When I wrote the Eighteens, I tended to see each stretch as a little 'episode,' so I guess that would be the one. Plus, there's a good bit of action in that one - better for the ratings ;)

Question: Any tips or advice for people thinking about writing their own fan fic? (submitted by various)

Answer: Let me first offer a disclaimer that no one should probably take my advice on anything ;)

The best advice I can probably give is to read. Read anything and everything - you not only get to see a variety of writing styles, but you learn something new, some little tidbit of info, that broadens what you have to draw on when you sit down to write. The second-best advice I can give is probably to just start writing. I try to write something every day. I don't wait around for my muse to drop on by (they're usually lured by the sound of typing anyway....). A close corollary to that would be to finish at least one story. I love reading stories that are works in progress, but I think, on the writing side, you've got to finish at least one, just to go through the whole process, to get a feel for it.

The third-best advice I can give is to do your own thing, and not to be swayed too much by the input of others. Accept help with spelling, grammar, etc., on the technical side, and consider the opinions of others that you respect, but follow your own instincts on style, subject matter, and everything else. At the end of the day, they're *your* stories, and you have to live with them. But I'll also offer a caveat for the above advice - it's heavily influenced by my own leanings to want to make my own mistakes and learn my own lessons. I tend to put autonomy above a lot of other values, and not everybody is that way. In the end, you have to do what works for you, what feels right to you.

Lastly, have fun with it - they're a fun bunch of mutants to play with :)