Featured Member Q&A September 2013: Vashka

[vashka_kat]

Hello fellow crewmates on the good ship Dramione! I am so honored and excited to be the featured member this month. I was surprised and elated to be nominated, especially as I haven’t been very active in the fandom in the past few years. Thank you to everyone involved in the nominating and voting process! We are so lucky in this fandom to have such

Comments

[margotlefaye]

Congrats on the nomination, sweetie. Very well deserved!

Given how busy the past few years have been for you, I'm beyond delighted that you're still interested in continuing to write in the fandom. I'm also tickled pink that you'll be doing the Reverse Challenge.

My question is about your current WIPS (including the new ones). I see that you want to work on updating everything. Do you think you'll continue to work on them all more or less simultaneously, or do you have plans to concentrate on any one of them and finish that one up first? Or, are you just going to see how the muse moves you?

I love everything you've got going, and I'm going to be happy no matter how you proceed from here. Just curious, is all.

And, again, congratulations.

[vashka_kat]

Thanks Margot! Always wonderful to hear from you my friend :) It has been a rough road the past few years... I think I am so eager to get back to writing because of what I have experienced. I went through something that changed me a lot, sometimes for the worse. I used to treasure my creative side and my profession really... doesn't. I think I want to prove to myself that I still 'have it' you know?

As for the WIPs... currently I don't have much of a plan. In my mind I want to work on them equally but I am not sure that it will end up being that way due to my muse being on the rusty side! I am trying to get an update on most of my WIPs (as it has been such a long time!) and then I may concentrate on just one or two things and just get them done. Currently my muse really wants to write the story I just posted and Blood Bound. As I am currently working on a chapter of Burning Hunger, it is problematic! We will see.

[margotlefaye]

1) I freakin' ADORE Burning Hunger, so yay for an updated chapter. But, I've been following it since the old CG days, so I can wait to see it finished if the muse moves you in other directions. Because I love those directions, as well. I really love the pirate story you just posted, and I've been intrigued by what I've seen on Blood Bound, so...yeah. Like I said: whatever you update is going to keep me happy.

2) I understand about your profession not valuing the creative side of things. Academia, where I work, values creativity, yet it has other kinds of intellectual snobbery that set my teeth on edge.

3) Dear, not only do you still have it, you have enough for several people, lol!

Congrats, again.

[margotlefaye]

Note to self: sign-in before replying....

[unseen1969]

Congratulations on your nomination, Vashka! You were one of the first Dramione writers I encountered and I've been a fan every since (Burning Hunger, in particular, is a fave, being the first of yours I read. ;-))

So glad to hear you use Write or Die! I purchased it last year, just before NaNoWriMo, and used it to great success for that. I use it for fanfics, too, and it really does get the WORDS OUT OF YOU!

Keep on keeping on, my dear!

[vashka_kat]

Thank you unseen!!! I'm glad you like my stories even if they are unfinished at the moment :) I've enjoyed your work over the years too, and I'm glad you liked the fandom enough to stay!

I discovered Write or die on recommendation from a friend a few years when I couldn't get ANY words on the page for some fest or other. I really recommend it, if only because it helps you push through and get words on that blank page. They may not be usable and may need lot of editing but it often helps get more usable words flowing, you know?

[captainraychill]

Congratulations!

I usually ‘hear’ dialogue very well and know what my characters are saying to each other. Then comes visualizing what they are doing while saying it. I do this, too, sometimes writing down the dialogue and then filling in. Regarding Write or Die - I am afraid to try it; sound stressful.

I'm so glad everyone is excited about the H&V Reverse Challenge coming up. :) Good luck with that and your works in progress!

[vashka_kat]

Thank you! I have a very auditory memory which is probably why I like dialogue so much. A little Oscar Wilde goes a Long way towards winning my heart. Certain stories, like Burning Hunger which are much more visual come to me a little less naturally. Because of that, I think I am a little more OCD regarding the descriptive passages in my stories and trying to get them 'right.'

I wasn't sure about write or die at first either! I got into a patch of really bad writers block for some fest or other and decided to give it a shot, and it really worked! It works best, I've found, if I have a general idea of what I want to do, and then I just see where the flow takes me. It isn't all good stuff, but usually it is something I can work with. It is also nice to write and tame my urge to constantly edit while writing, which slows me down big time.

[captainraychill]

I am big, big "edits as she writes girl". It makes for slow writing but that's just the way it is. If I ever get blocked, I will remember that though. :)

[vashka_kat]

My editing got really out of control at one point, and it really limited my ability to write... Write or die helped because it forced me to break the habit, at least mostly :)

[simlili]

Although I'm not active in the community, I'm glad to see you in the spotlight, Vashka! You are one of my favourite dramione authors. Your stories are the kind that leave a durable impression, and that doesn't happen often when we've all read dozens of fics. "Merlin's Embrace" is one of the first fics I've read, and I still re-read it now and then. I'm also very fond of "Vengeance", which is one of the best Hermione's portrayals I've found.
I'm normally not a huge fan of AU fics but D&H do need a break from Hogwart's dusty library and the adventures you often put them through are very enjoyable to read.
So kudos and thank you!

[vashka_kat]

Thank you so much! I am glad that my stories are some that you come back to and remember - such a lovely compliment! I have those stories too, in many fandoms. I especially like to read them again after a few years have passed so that I can recapture the magic, so to speak!

I've always been drawn to AU fics (obviously!) and I love to write them, especially in a romantic adventure type setting. Vengeance has a special place in my heart, partly because it was the story that got me started, and secondly because I love Hermione and I think that the Vengeance!Hermione is one of my favorites. I still think about writing it, but for some reason I could never get back into it after the publication of Deathly Hallows. Maybe because it was too AU by then, maybe because they killed off certain characters that I never saw figured would get killed (Tonks and Crabbe to name a couple), I'm not sure. I think that if I ever go back to it, it would be to massively re-write it to make it more canon-compliant-ish but still keep the same feel.

Merlin'

[meganmurphy1977]

I really don't have much to say other than you deserve this recognition and I'm pleased as punch to see you writing again! Burning Hunger was one of the first D/Hr fics I ever read. I am embarrassed to say I initially passed over it on CG. A Dragon AU sounded a bit far-fetched. However, I found myself wrong within the first chapter. Such a classic.

Very happy Blood Bound in on your muse's mind. I love your Marriage Law twist, so I'm looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

Sorry to ramble. I just adore your work and am so happy you're back. How can I not be when you're the author who gave us the beloved Snakey. :P Love him to bits! :)

[vashka_kat]

Hahaha- don't be embarrassed! It is a little cracky sounding to be honest. I am glad that you eventually gave it a try. What made you decide to finally read it? I knew it wouldn't be everyones cup of tea when I wrote it. There are still some HP archives that will not archive it because it is too AU. Now it is probably the fic I am best known for. Who knew!

I am so happy to be back. As I was telling Margot earlier there is something very freeing about being able to do creative work after being chained to science 80 hours a week. Blood Bound is very much on the muses mind, along with my new story Tangled Up In Strings as well as my pirate story AU Captured. Now I just need to pick one long enough to publish a chapter! (I've been trying to get up a lot of new stuff this month while I am featured for you guys!)

I adored Snakey... my only real character death. I know I cried :( I wasn;t expecting to get so attached to a fictional snake!