That writing meme

[dreamflower]

I got this from lindahoyland. Fun questions!

Feel free to ask me; just give me a letter(s).

A: How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]?

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

C: What character do you identify with most?

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with [insert fic]?

E: If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it be about?

F: Care to share a favorite hurt/comfort fic?

G: Care to share a favorite crack fic?

H: How would you describe your style?

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

L: What's the weirdest AU you've ever come up with?

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

O: How do you begin a story--with the plot, or the characters?

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an "architect" or a "gardener"? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

Q: Do you have any discarded scenes/storylines/projects?

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

S: Any fandom tropes you can't resist?

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

U: A pairing you might like to write for, but haven't tried yet.

V: A secondary (or underrated) character you want to see more of in fic?

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

Y: A character you want to protect.

Comments

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

J and R

[dreamflower]

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to "Dragonsblood".

That one ended with Bilbo realizing it was all a dream, and so it was not a true AU. I actually originally thought up a true AU in which Bilbo did indeed slay Smaug himself, but the consequences began to turn very dark, too dark for me to deal with. Bilbo returned to the Shire and turned into a tyrant, much like Lotho became, only worse.

So I cut all that part out and made the whole thing just a nightmare.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence? Lulleny was my first influence, as she inspired my first fic; then Baylor, Lindelea, Shirebound, Budgielover--they were all major early influences on me. I've also been influenced by Larner (we tend to influence each other) and some of my interpretations of Aragorn have been influenced by you. Elf-writers who have influenced me have been daw the minstrel, Bodkin, Boz4pm, and Nilmandra. Fiondil influenced some of my ideas of the Valar. Many of my interpretations of Merry and Pippin were also influenced by Marigold and Grey Wonderer. Mariole and Ariel influenced me some, and my notions of Merry and Pippin in their old age were influenced by Elanor (author of The Secret Gate).

I'm sure there are many others I've missed. I love fanfic. *grin*

So, yes, many influences!

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Thank you, that is fascinating.I'm honoured I've had some influence on you!

[shirebound]

Y: A character you want to protect.

[dreamflower]

Y: A character you want to protect.

I tend to feel protective of most of the hobbits and it depends on the type of story.

I guess that I (meaning me) try the most to protect Frodo's reputation as a character (if you know what I mean). So that means allowing him to be the one protecting those who are younger than he is or are dependent on him in some way. I like to show him as competent and clever, in order to play down the way he is sometimes portrayed as wimpy and inept. I also love it when he is the caregiver in h/c.

Not that I don't like me some old-fashioned Frodo h/c as well, especially when it is his cousins who take care of him.

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

B

[dreamflower]

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Absolutely. The one most directly inspired was "Hobbit Aid" which I wrote right after Hurricane Katrina, but there are often anecdotes of personal experience in my stories.

"Pippin and the Mask" was inspired by something that happened at work. "A Mother's Work: Bell" included a take on an incident that happened to me as a child. My whole thing about hobbit healers and their use of a pendulum is inspired by my husband's work with Healing Touch. "The Stubbornness of Tooks" was inspired by my husband's experience with an abcessed tooth (though he was not as foul-tempered as Paladin, he did hallucinate about pink rabbits!) and Frodo's skill as a calligrapher and illuminator is from my own interests in those hobbies.

So, yeah, lots of RL inspiration in my stuff.

[ysilme]

L! :D

[dreamflower]

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with "The Life of a Bard"?

That story was inspired by a song of that name, an SCA song out of Atlantia (an SCA Kingdom located in the Atlantic Southeast of the US). I actually got permission from the composer/writer of the song to include it in the fic. I don't know if it can still be found anywhere online now, but it was on a cassette tape called "Fair Lady Atlantia" and had many wonderful SCA songs and filks. I also included many other songs that were from old folk songs and ballads were included in the story.

(I tried googling "The Life of a Bard", and came up with a totally different song by a different SCA bard on YouTube, and a PDF with Lady Julitta's lyrics.)

[ysilme]

I meant "L", the second letter was part of an emoticion. ;o) But thanks all the same!

[dreamflower]

L: What's the weirdest AU you've ever come up with?

Probably "The Least of Rings". It was certainly a strange premise, and an even stranger ending.