Team Interviews: skinscript
Name: skinscript, also known as Infie
Team: War!
... But then I got married and responsible. Booo Urns!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
The first fanfic I remember doing was in 1986, when a friend and I wrote a Miami Vice AU called 'Math Vice' in which Sonny Crockett arrested our teacher for being boring and my friend and I created the word 'depurplified'. We also collaborated on a Tour of Duty AU that was a lot of fun.
I got back into fanfiction in 2001 when I started writing Dark Angel.
I also put together fan wallpapers, and almost every piece of coverart for my fics is done by me. I absolutely love it when other folks do some though!
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
I was big in Dark Angel for quite a while, then wrote Supernatural for a little bit. I was out of fandoms entirely for about two years or more, and then began my involvement in SGA.
I've also dabbled in Battlestar Galactica, Dawson's Creek, X-Men movieverse, and through crossovers Traders and Queer as Folk. I did a story for one of the Star Trek anthologies but didn't get picked up. (boooo).
I'm currently reading fic in the Unit, Anita Blake, and Merlin, but SGA remains my favourite reading sandbox at the moment. It's also the only fandom where I've read RPS.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
This one is a toughie! For a long time I would try and write something completely different each story, so I have a lot of different styles, themes, and angles that I've used, and many of them worked.
I think my overall favourite fanwork (of my own) is a Dark Angel story called Being 494, but by far the most popular in that fandom was another called Search and Seizure, which would be my second choice. I'm also still pretty proud of a dark-themed Supernatural story called Somnio Cruento (though I think I would fix the name now that I know better).
Within SGA my favourite, no question, is the QaF crossover Thanks for the Memories, where we learn that McKay taught Brian Kinney everything he knows. It was my first attempt at slash, and my first attempt at BSDM.
4. As far as creative processes go, what type of writer/artist are you? Do you create an outline/find photo references/make maps, etc., or do you jump in and go with the flow?
I've changed a lot over the years. Before, my stories were short enough that I could bang them out in a sitting or two. When that was the case I didn't need an outline - most of the time, a single image or phrase would stick in my head and I would build a whole backstory around it. It would just *pour* out onto the page. One story I did that ended up as about 40K words started with a single phrase: 'His head disappeared in a puff of blood and bone.'
These days I note roughly the steps of the story as I write it if I know them, so that I have a reminder of the images that run through my head. My life is so much more interrupted now that I can lose the flow of a story at the worst possible time, and this way at least I have something to hang onto.
The only story I've had to fully map out is the SGA one Menace of Eternity, because the dates and timing of Rodney's decline into insanity were so critical to the story. That one was *hard*!
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
I have a few different places. All of my Dark Angel and Supernatural is posted at Nunswithpens in their NC17 formats. Almost everything I've written is at fanfiction.net under Infie, except the SGA stuff [wow are the reviewers ever against slash there].
But if you really want the full monte, all of my fanfic is at my archive: Dimensia. Warning - I mostly do not put warnings on anything there. I note whether the story contains explicit sex, and you can figure out het vs slash from the NC17 icon, but warnings for anything else is pretty spotty.
6. Do you write original fiction (poetry, screenplays)? Do you create original art (comics, photographs, quilts, wedding cakes)? Care to share?
I write original fiction as well, in fact I'll be in the first Slash Books anthology coming in October. I also draw, though not by any means expertly. Home renovations too, though that's not so much art. :)
7. How are you so awesome?
Many years of practice. Having minions informing me of my fantasticness helps too. If only I could find some these days.... (sometimes I miss being a BNF, I do.)
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
I am endlessly thrilled with the quality of the writing in this fandom. Compared to others that I have read in the past but gave up on quickly (like Supernatural or QaF) the overall creativity and skills found in the SGA writers are just fantastic.
9. Why do you ship McKay/Sheppard? What draws you to the pairing, what do you like and dislike? Favourite scenes or episodes? Quotes? Screencaps? What other SGA pairings do you ship?
I didn't actually ship them until I read an article somewhere about three years ago that commented on McShep. I think I was looking for Sheppard/Weir, maybe? Anyhow - the post mentioned the popularity of McShep so I looked for stories. I was intrigued by the first couple I read, and the next episode that I watched I looked for some of the tells. They're there!
I think I ship them not so much because of the show (because at this point I am pretty pissed at the show's writers and producers except a couple) but because of the fanon. John and Rodney translate to just about any situation and any AU I can think of, and their friendship is so strong and so fitting that they're entertaining anywhere. Those characters *should* be together!
I don't think I could easily pick favourite McShep eps or quotes, though of course The Shrine and Miller's Crossing are both fantastic ones. I'd have to say most of the best moments occur in fanfic or in my head. :) Generally, I love Rodney McKay with all my heart, and John with at more than half of it. They have great chemistry, and together it's amazing.
10. Why did you choose to join Team War?
War is exciting. It generates angst. It generates hurt/comfort, and comfort sex. It generates strong emotion and fear. The team is captained by lavvyan.
What's not to love?
11. C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic? [good example: 'very proud of my second scene' / bad example: 'When Rodney kisses John after they find out the butler did it'.]
Hmmm. My match fic is kicking my ass and not wanting to move much at the moment, so I am less than thrilled with it. BUT! I think it's going to work, once I put a gun to its head.
12. What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild? (again, go ahead and make origami out of the truth!)
Usually, my fics have frequent scene changes and snippy dialogue. I use Canadian spellings. I use a lot of flashbacks and flashforwards (though that is a newer development that I'm kind of irritated with); I tend to pick unusual pairings and I like to twist stuff into something from a completely different perspective. Also, I tend to think and write in threes.
Of course, none of this is likely to help you with which of the match fics is mine. Did I mention it's kicking my ass?
Other Questions from the Field (aka blame goblie)
13. What kills your inspiration or fic ideas fastest?
Illogic. I hate it when I get a scene or story in my head and it's so awesome but I can't come up with a plausible backstory or any feasible answer to 'why?'. Sometimes when I am discussing an idea, if the person I'm talking to asks 'why' or challenges the logic at the wrong moment I can be completely derailed and end up just chucking it.
14. When you have no motivation to write, and can't regain any, what actually forces you to do it?
Sheer stubborness, I think. There was one story that took me two years to write, and I only finished that because it was my only outstanding WiP. What I ended up taking from that was - don't post chapters as you go if you want to be able to abandon a story. I actually have tens of stories on my HD that are partially completed that I will likely never finish.
As to what I *do* - well. I sit in front of the computer and type a line. And then delete it. And then sulk. Then, I'll go recline in the dark somewhere and try to imagine a scene. Once I have it in my head I go back to the computer and write the first line of the scene. It's painful. But over time, it works.
15. Has a review of a WIP ever completely changed the direction of one of your stories without the reviewer ever knowing it?
Once, though I told the reviewer they changed it. A reviewer mentioned that in a previous story, an original character had claustrophobia, a fact I had completely forgotten. They posted this review right before I was about to stick the OC in a duct. The claustrophobia became a recurring theme in the story and shaped a great deal of what happened next.
16. Why two names?
A couple of years ago, I was in a serious depressive funk. All my ideas were gone, all my drive was gone. It was infuriating. It was also terrifying. Always before reading would get my creativity running, but then it was just making me feel inadequate and lost. I was still putting out a story here or there, but they felt wrong, like I was phoning it in. I was desperate.
So - I decided to try being someone else for a bit. I was hoping that just that act of change would do... I don't know. Something to restart the engine. I knew that few of the folks who already knew my stuff were SGA fans so it wasn't likely I'd be ignoring a fan base. I've never hidden that Infie = skinscript, and as far as I know, no one has cared either way. :D
Did it work? Yes, and No. I did start to write again a bit and got some quality works done that I'm proud of. I'm not like what I was; the engine is still spluttering. It's moving though, and I'm grateful as hell for that.
17. Do you rewrite?
No. Very rarely I'll go back and change a line or two, or polish a bit. But I don't rewrite. Most of the time, if it's on the page it's done. I try to always look ahead, not back.
There are exceptions. I had one story I loved, but after I was finished it I realised it was missing that punch that would make it great. I asked someone to take a look and she agreed, but couldn't give me any suggestions on what to do. I took out the whole ending and reimagined it. The result was much stronger, and I'm glad I did it that time.
I have a friend who wanted to write professionally. He wrote a couple of excellent and creative stories, but then he went back over them and over them and over them, obsessively. He had other ideas, but the first couple had to be exactly right before he could move on. So, he never did. To this day (20+ years later) he is still working on those same couple of stories. That? Will never be me. Maybe I go too far the other way. If so, I'm ok with that.
So there you go - all about me. More questions welcome. Cheers!
Team: War!
... But then I got married and responsible. Booo Urns!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
The first fanfic I remember doing was in 1986, when a friend and I wrote a Miami Vice AU called 'Math Vice' in which Sonny Crockett arrested our teacher for being boring and my friend and I created the word 'depurplified'. We also collaborated on a Tour of Duty AU that was a lot of fun.
I got back into fanfiction in 2001 when I started writing Dark Angel.
I also put together fan wallpapers, and almost every piece of coverart for my fics is done by me. I absolutely love it when other folks do some though!
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
I was big in Dark Angel for quite a while, then wrote Supernatural for a little bit. I was out of fandoms entirely for about two years or more, and then began my involvement in SGA.
I've also dabbled in Battlestar Galactica, Dawson's Creek, X-Men movieverse, and through crossovers Traders and Queer as Folk. I did a story for one of the Star Trek anthologies but didn't get picked up. (boooo).
I'm currently reading fic in the Unit, Anita Blake, and Merlin, but SGA remains my favourite reading sandbox at the moment. It's also the only fandom where I've read RPS.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
This one is a toughie! For a long time I would try and write something completely different each story, so I have a lot of different styles, themes, and angles that I've used, and many of them worked.
I think my overall favourite fanwork (of my own) is a Dark Angel story called Being 494, but by far the most popular in that fandom was another called Search and Seizure, which would be my second choice. I'm also still pretty proud of a dark-themed Supernatural story called Somnio Cruento (though I think I would fix the name now that I know better).
Within SGA my favourite, no question, is the QaF crossover Thanks for the Memories, where we learn that McKay taught Brian Kinney everything he knows. It was my first attempt at slash, and my first attempt at BSDM.
4. As far as creative processes go, what type of writer/artist are you? Do you create an outline/find photo references/make maps, etc., or do you jump in and go with the flow?
I've changed a lot over the years. Before, my stories were short enough that I could bang them out in a sitting or two. When that was the case I didn't need an outline - most of the time, a single image or phrase would stick in my head and I would build a whole backstory around it. It would just *pour* out onto the page. One story I did that ended up as about 40K words started with a single phrase: 'His head disappeared in a puff of blood and bone.'
These days I note roughly the steps of the story as I write it if I know them, so that I have a reminder of the images that run through my head. My life is so much more interrupted now that I can lose the flow of a story at the worst possible time, and this way at least I have something to hang onto.
The only story I've had to fully map out is the SGA one Menace of Eternity, because the dates and timing of Rodney's decline into insanity were so critical to the story. That one was *hard*!
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
I have a few different places. All of my Dark Angel and Supernatural is posted at Nunswithpens in their NC17 formats. Almost everything I've written is at fanfiction.net under Infie, except the SGA stuff [wow are the reviewers ever against slash there].
But if you really want the full monte, all of my fanfic is at my archive: Dimensia. Warning - I mostly do not put warnings on anything there. I note whether the story contains explicit sex, and you can figure out het vs slash from the NC17 icon, but warnings for anything else is pretty spotty.
6. Do you write original fiction (poetry, screenplays)? Do you create original art (comics, photographs, quilts, wedding cakes)? Care to share?
I write original fiction as well, in fact I'll be in the first Slash Books anthology coming in October. I also draw, though not by any means expertly. Home renovations too, though that's not so much art. :)
7. How are you so awesome?
Many years of practice. Having minions informing me of my fantasticness helps too. If only I could find some these days.... (sometimes I miss being a BNF, I do.)
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
I am endlessly thrilled with the quality of the writing in this fandom. Compared to others that I have read in the past but gave up on quickly (like Supernatural or QaF) the overall creativity and skills found in the SGA writers are just fantastic.
9. Why do you ship McKay/Sheppard? What draws you to the pairing, what do you like and dislike? Favourite scenes or episodes? Quotes? Screencaps? What other SGA pairings do you ship?
I didn't actually ship them until I read an article somewhere about three years ago that commented on McShep. I think I was looking for Sheppard/Weir, maybe? Anyhow - the post mentioned the popularity of McShep so I looked for stories. I was intrigued by the first couple I read, and the next episode that I watched I looked for some of the tells. They're there!
I think I ship them not so much because of the show (because at this point I am pretty pissed at the show's writers and producers except a couple) but because of the fanon. John and Rodney translate to just about any situation and any AU I can think of, and their friendship is so strong and so fitting that they're entertaining anywhere. Those characters *should* be together!
I don't think I could easily pick favourite McShep eps or quotes, though of course The Shrine and Miller's Crossing are both fantastic ones. I'd have to say most of the best moments occur in fanfic or in my head. :) Generally, I love Rodney McKay with all my heart, and John with at more than half of it. They have great chemistry, and together it's amazing.
10. Why did you choose to join Team War?
War is exciting. It generates angst. It generates hurt/comfort, and comfort sex. It generates strong emotion and fear. The team is captained by lavvyan.
What's not to love?
11. C'mon, you know you wanna! Just a bit of squee about your Match fic? [good example: 'very proud of my second scene' / bad example: 'When Rodney kisses John after they find out the butler did it'.]
Hmmm. My match fic is kicking my ass and not wanting to move much at the moment, so I am less than thrilled with it. BUT! I think it's going to work, once I put a gun to its head.
12. What are your 'tells'? How can a fic of yours be spotted in the wild? (again, go ahead and make origami out of the truth!)
Usually, my fics have frequent scene changes and snippy dialogue. I use Canadian spellings. I use a lot of flashbacks and flashforwards (though that is a newer development that I'm kind of irritated with); I tend to pick unusual pairings and I like to twist stuff into something from a completely different perspective. Also, I tend to think and write in threes.
Of course, none of this is likely to help you with which of the match fics is mine. Did I mention it's kicking my ass?
Other Questions from the Field (aka blame goblie)
13. What kills your inspiration or fic ideas fastest?
Illogic. I hate it when I get a scene or story in my head and it's so awesome but I can't come up with a plausible backstory or any feasible answer to 'why?'. Sometimes when I am discussing an idea, if the person I'm talking to asks 'why' or challenges the logic at the wrong moment I can be completely derailed and end up just chucking it.
14. When you have no motivation to write, and can't regain any, what actually forces you to do it?
Sheer stubborness, I think. There was one story that took me two years to write, and I only finished that because it was my only outstanding WiP. What I ended up taking from that was - don't post chapters as you go if you want to be able to abandon a story. I actually have tens of stories on my HD that are partially completed that I will likely never finish.
As to what I *do* - well. I sit in front of the computer and type a line. And then delete it. And then sulk. Then, I'll go recline in the dark somewhere and try to imagine a scene. Once I have it in my head I go back to the computer and write the first line of the scene. It's painful. But over time, it works.
15. Has a review of a WIP ever completely changed the direction of one of your stories without the reviewer ever knowing it?
Once, though I told the reviewer they changed it. A reviewer mentioned that in a previous story, an original character had claustrophobia, a fact I had completely forgotten. They posted this review right before I was about to stick the OC in a duct. The claustrophobia became a recurring theme in the story and shaped a great deal of what happened next.
16. Why two names?
A couple of years ago, I was in a serious depressive funk. All my ideas were gone, all my drive was gone. It was infuriating. It was also terrifying. Always before reading would get my creativity running, but then it was just making me feel inadequate and lost. I was still putting out a story here or there, but they felt wrong, like I was phoning it in. I was desperate.
So - I decided to try being someone else for a bit. I was hoping that just that act of change would do... I don't know. Something to restart the engine. I knew that few of the folks who already knew my stuff were SGA fans so it wasn't likely I'd be ignoring a fan base. I've never hidden that Infie = skinscript, and as far as I know, no one has cared either way. :D
Did it work? Yes, and No. I did start to write again a bit and got some quality works done that I'm proud of. I'm not like what I was; the engine is still spluttering. It's moving though, and I'm grateful as hell for that.
17. Do you rewrite?
No. Very rarely I'll go back and change a line or two, or polish a bit. But I don't rewrite. Most of the time, if it's on the page it's done. I try to always look ahead, not back.
There are exceptions. I had one story I loved, but after I was finished it I realised it was missing that punch that would make it great. I asked someone to take a look and she agreed, but couldn't give me any suggestions on what to do. I took out the whole ending and reimagined it. The result was much stronger, and I'm glad I did it that time.
I have a friend who wanted to write professionally. He wrote a couple of excellent and creative stories, but then he went back over them and over them and over them, obsessively. He had other ideas, but the first couple had to be exactly right before he could move on. So, he never did. To this day (20+ years later) he is still working on those same couple of stories. That? Will never be me. Maybe I go too far the other way. If so, I'm ok with that.
So there you go - all about me. More questions welcome. Cheers!