Author Interview: Flywoman
Author Interview: Flywoman
flywoman is the author of " Regarding House," which is featured on the House "What-If" Rec List and exemplifies the Amnesiac Odyssey category within the genre. You can find her online as flywoman on [LJ] [AO3] [SQ] and Flywoman Returns [FF].
Please give her a warm welcome and interact in the comments section below.
The What-If Genre
As a writer and/or as a reader, what draws you to what-iffy fic?
Generally I'm drawn to a fandom by the dynamics between specific characters, and one of the coolest things for me is seeing those characters behave in familiar ways in very unfamiliar situations. Anything from "What if one of them had died/were dying?" to "What if one of them lost his memory and had to figure out their relationship all over again?" to the more truly AU "What if they met while working in a detective agency/a physics lab/the circus?"
As a Reader
What was the first House fic you remember reading, and why has it stuck with you?
One of the very first fics I remember reading and loving was a crazy hot first-time H/W fic called " Defensive Strategies" by Milkshake Butterfly [milkshake-b]. Before that I'd been fascinated by House M.D. as a show in which science mysteries were solved in creative ways, and m/m slash fic, while not objectionable, was not really my thing. That fic awakened my inner House/Wilson shipper, and I've never looked back.
What types of fics draw you in / are you drawn to as a reader?
I like all kinds - I'm a very eclectic reader of books as well as fic. If it's creative, well-written, and true to character and inspires both laughter and tears, I'm into it.
Some of your favorite House fics, and why? (Can be in what-iffy genre or any other type - categorize any way you like.)
To be honest, I have been out of the fandom for quite a few years now, but if I look back… Certainly "A Modest Proposal" and "Involuntary Commitment" by ignaz_wisdom, which are fan favorites for good reason - so plausibly written despite the outlandish premises, and with the funniest phone sex scene I have ever read in any fandom. And " Down to the Water" by blackmare really moved me - I've reread that one several times.
What kind of fic would you like to see more of in the fandom?
Football fandom has a lot of interesting AU fics in which the characters are living completely different lives, which was not so familiar to me from House fandom. For example, I would like to see House as a DA making trouble in Judge Cuddy's courtroom. His brains and brutal honesty would lend themselves so well to that scenario, I'm shocked that no one (that I know of) has attempted it.
Favorite author or piece that you feel more people should read? Anything by jezziejay <3. " Falling Slowly" and " Reality, Check" come to mind. I'm also very fond of the " Dreams of the Gimp-Legged Nuthatch" by blackmare, which is luminous and so compassionate. Also "A Princeton Odyssey" by bironic, which is a brilliant and hilarious remix in iambic pentameter of a fic by joe_pike_junior. As a Writer
What genre/length/pairing/challenge/prompt do you most enjoy writing?
I am always unreasonably proud when I manage to produce a long, plotty piece, but my god does it take forever. I'm much more a post-episode quickie kind of gal. I've also really enjoyed writing hybrid or crossover pieces in which I place House and Wilson into a completely different canon - for example, " A Single Man" or " Love Actually" - which allows for a lot of fun metacommentary on the characters and their relationship in canon.
What do you struggle with as an author?
The first sentence. Which I almost always write last, just prior to posting.
Do you plan to continue writing House fic? (Please say yes.)
No plans for the foreseeable future, although I'm not immune to bribery.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of the writing process?
When I'm really into a fandom, the characters carry on conversations in my head, and I just have to write them down and tie them together - I absolutely love that. Least favorite part? Probably waiting for inspiration when I'm writing a multi-chapter fic and it's dragging because I know I have to solve plot problems X, Y, and Z but haven't figured out how yet.
Self-recs - your favorite fics that you've written (and why)?
Is this question limited to House fandom? Some of my favorite fics are my "Hungry" Buffy/Faith stories, in which I experimented with explicit f/f slash to explore some of the most interesting character dynamics on the show in my opinion; " Precautionary Measures," my ambitious House/Bones crossover casefic; " Three Months," my House deathfic, which is a bit uneven but funny and heartbreaking and cathartic; " Regarding House," in which I criticize the evolution of the House character by making him lose his memory; and my football rpf "Never a Bride" series [" Never a Bride," " Catch a Falling Star," " Orange Crush"] featuring star-crossed longtime lovers Xavi Hernandez from Barcelona and Iker Casillas from Real Madrid - I absolutely love the Xavi character as I've created him in that series.
How have you grown as a fanfic writer?
Oh, I'd like to think massively, but then, I wrote my first fanfic at the age of 8! Seriously, I think my ear for in-character dialogue has improved immensely over the years, and I'm also much better at getting into the head of characters with whom I don't particularly identify, which is a useful skill in real life as well ;).
What genres/works outside fandom have influenced you as a writer?
As I mentioned, I'm a voracious reader - classic and contemporary fiction, science fiction (and to a lesser degree, fantasy), biographies, popular science, poetry. You can catch allusions to a lot of other works in my fics, starting with my earliest online pieces. I've also written a lot of hybrid/cross-over fics with other film or television works.
What are you currently writing?
Nothing, sadly. I wrote an original piece for a science fiction writing contest some months ago and haven't attempted anything since. I've been traveling a lot, and I'm just not immersed enough in any fandoms right now to be inspired, I think.
Describe how you collaborate with other writers to produce fic (co-authoring, betaing, etc.).
jezziejay and I are long-standing mutual betas through several fandoms - we love each other's work and always want to encourage more and better writing, so that's been great. And I initiated several House chain fic challenges in which each contributor wrote a section and passed the fic on to the next person - those were really fun to write and read!
What's one of the most memorable comments/reviews (sentiments) you've ever received?
I'm always ridiculously pleased by positive reviews, especially if they praise my characterization. But recently someone wrote to tell me that "Three Months" (in which House dies from pancreatic cancer) really resonated with her own experience of loss and sort of opened the emotional floodgates for her. That really meant a lot to me, to get feedback that was so heartfelt and personal.
Could you describe a memorable moment of fic inspiration?
Watching the film Bad Influence with Rob Lowe and James Spader and thinking, "My god, they're House and Wilson!" [Note: See House fic, " Bad Influence."]
What is the strangest/most interesting thing you ever researched for a fic?
Heh… about a dozen tropical diseases for "Precautionary Measures," probably. At least, that was much more interesting than all of the football match summaries I've read for my football rpf fics.
Canon
Favorite House episodes? When did you start watching?
I didn't start watching the show until 2010. I began with the pilot and watched straight through until I'd caught up with the current episodes, and my first few fics are missing scenes or post-eps from Season 6 for the most part. But my favorite episodes are almost all from earlier seasons. "House's Head"/"Wilson's Heart" are up there with "Becoming 1 & 2" from Buffy for me. And in my opinion, Season 1 is uniformly brilliant. After that they started trying to push the envelope in terms of how unlikable they could make the House character and still attract more viewers, and when they decided to break up the old team, but not really, at the end of Season 3, the show took a nosedive for me.
Which House characters speak to you (while you're trying to do other things…), or resonate with you?
House and Wilson, mainly, for different reasons. Chase has spoken to me at times, and then of course Cameron wanted her say, too. I think that all of them are really talented and dedicated to their careers but looking for love in all the wrong places, and that resonates with me as a single, professional, well-meaning but somewhat screwed-up and at times quite lonely woman. (You might think that this would make me identify most with Cuddy, but somehow it does not.)
Other
Did you write fanfic before you got into the House fandom? What/when were your first fandom(s)?
Oh yes… starting with The Smurfs in, let's see, the early 80s! I wrote collaborative Star Trek fic with my best friend in junior high and high school… but my first serious, peer-critiqued fanfic was in The X-Files fandom of the late 90s. That was a golden era, and I was lucky enough to get to know lots of amazing authors, both online and in person. Many of us moved on to Buffy fandom together. Then I had a loooooong writing hiatus until House.
flywoman is the author of " Regarding House," which is featured on the House "What-If" Rec List and exemplifies the Amnesiac Odyssey category within the genre. You can find her online as flywoman on [LJ] [AO3] [SQ] and Flywoman Returns [FF].
Please give her a warm welcome and interact in the comments section below.
The What-If Genre
As a writer and/or as a reader, what draws you to what-iffy fic?
Generally I'm drawn to a fandom by the dynamics between specific characters, and one of the coolest things for me is seeing those characters behave in familiar ways in very unfamiliar situations. Anything from "What if one of them had died/were dying?" to "What if one of them lost his memory and had to figure out their relationship all over again?" to the more truly AU "What if they met while working in a detective agency/a physics lab/the circus?"
As a Reader
What was the first House fic you remember reading, and why has it stuck with you?
One of the very first fics I remember reading and loving was a crazy hot first-time H/W fic called " Defensive Strategies" by Milkshake Butterfly [milkshake-b]. Before that I'd been fascinated by House M.D. as a show in which science mysteries were solved in creative ways, and m/m slash fic, while not objectionable, was not really my thing. That fic awakened my inner House/Wilson shipper, and I've never looked back.
What types of fics draw you in / are you drawn to as a reader?
I like all kinds - I'm a very eclectic reader of books as well as fic. If it's creative, well-written, and true to character and inspires both laughter and tears, I'm into it.
Some of your favorite House fics, and why? (Can be in what-iffy genre or any other type - categorize any way you like.)
To be honest, I have been out of the fandom for quite a few years now, but if I look back… Certainly "A Modest Proposal" and "Involuntary Commitment" by ignaz_wisdom, which are fan favorites for good reason - so plausibly written despite the outlandish premises, and with the funniest phone sex scene I have ever read in any fandom. And " Down to the Water" by blackmare really moved me - I've reread that one several times.
What kind of fic would you like to see more of in the fandom?
Football fandom has a lot of interesting AU fics in which the characters are living completely different lives, which was not so familiar to me from House fandom. For example, I would like to see House as a DA making trouble in Judge Cuddy's courtroom. His brains and brutal honesty would lend themselves so well to that scenario, I'm shocked that no one (that I know of) has attempted it.
Favorite author or piece that you feel more people should read? Anything by jezziejay <3. " Falling Slowly" and " Reality, Check" come to mind. I'm also very fond of the " Dreams of the Gimp-Legged Nuthatch" by blackmare, which is luminous and so compassionate. Also "A Princeton Odyssey" by bironic, which is a brilliant and hilarious remix in iambic pentameter of a fic by joe_pike_junior. As a Writer
What genre/length/pairing/challenge/prompt do you most enjoy writing?
I am always unreasonably proud when I manage to produce a long, plotty piece, but my god does it take forever. I'm much more a post-episode quickie kind of gal. I've also really enjoyed writing hybrid or crossover pieces in which I place House and Wilson into a completely different canon - for example, " A Single Man" or " Love Actually" - which allows for a lot of fun metacommentary on the characters and their relationship in canon.
What do you struggle with as an author?
The first sentence. Which I almost always write last, just prior to posting.
Do you plan to continue writing House fic? (Please say yes.)
No plans for the foreseeable future, although I'm not immune to bribery.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of the writing process?
When I'm really into a fandom, the characters carry on conversations in my head, and I just have to write them down and tie them together - I absolutely love that. Least favorite part? Probably waiting for inspiration when I'm writing a multi-chapter fic and it's dragging because I know I have to solve plot problems X, Y, and Z but haven't figured out how yet.
Self-recs - your favorite fics that you've written (and why)?
Is this question limited to House fandom? Some of my favorite fics are my "Hungry" Buffy/Faith stories, in which I experimented with explicit f/f slash to explore some of the most interesting character dynamics on the show in my opinion; " Precautionary Measures," my ambitious House/Bones crossover casefic; " Three Months," my House deathfic, which is a bit uneven but funny and heartbreaking and cathartic; " Regarding House," in which I criticize the evolution of the House character by making him lose his memory; and my football rpf "Never a Bride" series [" Never a Bride," " Catch a Falling Star," " Orange Crush"] featuring star-crossed longtime lovers Xavi Hernandez from Barcelona and Iker Casillas from Real Madrid - I absolutely love the Xavi character as I've created him in that series.
How have you grown as a fanfic writer?
Oh, I'd like to think massively, but then, I wrote my first fanfic at the age of 8! Seriously, I think my ear for in-character dialogue has improved immensely over the years, and I'm also much better at getting into the head of characters with whom I don't particularly identify, which is a useful skill in real life as well ;).
What genres/works outside fandom have influenced you as a writer?
As I mentioned, I'm a voracious reader - classic and contemporary fiction, science fiction (and to a lesser degree, fantasy), biographies, popular science, poetry. You can catch allusions to a lot of other works in my fics, starting with my earliest online pieces. I've also written a lot of hybrid/cross-over fics with other film or television works.
What are you currently writing?
Nothing, sadly. I wrote an original piece for a science fiction writing contest some months ago and haven't attempted anything since. I've been traveling a lot, and I'm just not immersed enough in any fandoms right now to be inspired, I think.
Describe how you collaborate with other writers to produce fic (co-authoring, betaing, etc.).
jezziejay and I are long-standing mutual betas through several fandoms - we love each other's work and always want to encourage more and better writing, so that's been great. And I initiated several House chain fic challenges in which each contributor wrote a section and passed the fic on to the next person - those were really fun to write and read!
What's one of the most memorable comments/reviews (sentiments) you've ever received?
I'm always ridiculously pleased by positive reviews, especially if they praise my characterization. But recently someone wrote to tell me that "Three Months" (in which House dies from pancreatic cancer) really resonated with her own experience of loss and sort of opened the emotional floodgates for her. That really meant a lot to me, to get feedback that was so heartfelt and personal.
Could you describe a memorable moment of fic inspiration?
Watching the film Bad Influence with Rob Lowe and James Spader and thinking, "My god, they're House and Wilson!" [Note: See House fic, " Bad Influence."]
What is the strangest/most interesting thing you ever researched for a fic?
Heh… about a dozen tropical diseases for "Precautionary Measures," probably. At least, that was much more interesting than all of the football match summaries I've read for my football rpf fics.
Canon
Favorite House episodes? When did you start watching?
I didn't start watching the show until 2010. I began with the pilot and watched straight through until I'd caught up with the current episodes, and my first few fics are missing scenes or post-eps from Season 6 for the most part. But my favorite episodes are almost all from earlier seasons. "House's Head"/"Wilson's Heart" are up there with "Becoming 1 & 2" from Buffy for me. And in my opinion, Season 1 is uniformly brilliant. After that they started trying to push the envelope in terms of how unlikable they could make the House character and still attract more viewers, and when they decided to break up the old team, but not really, at the end of Season 3, the show took a nosedive for me.
Which House characters speak to you (while you're trying to do other things…), or resonate with you?
House and Wilson, mainly, for different reasons. Chase has spoken to me at times, and then of course Cameron wanted her say, too. I think that all of them are really talented and dedicated to their careers but looking for love in all the wrong places, and that resonates with me as a single, professional, well-meaning but somewhat screwed-up and at times quite lonely woman. (You might think that this would make me identify most with Cuddy, but somehow it does not.)
Other
Did you write fanfic before you got into the House fandom? What/when were your first fandom(s)?
Oh yes… starting with The Smurfs in, let's see, the early 80s! I wrote collaborative Star Trek fic with my best friend in junior high and high school… but my first serious, peer-critiqued fanfic was in The X-Files fandom of the late 90s. That was a golden era, and I was lucky enough to get to know lots of amazing authors, both online and in person. Many of us moved on to Buffy fandom together. Then I had a loooooong writing hiatus until House.