Team interview: almostnever/Cesare
Name: almostnever, also known as Cesare.
Team: War!
Let's talk about: almostnever!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
I've been writing fan fiction offline for 21 years; online, 15 years. (I'm not as old as that makes me sound, I've just been interested in fan fiction for most of my life.)
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Yes, I've participated in many! Though I tend toward serial monogamy with fandoms. Lotrips, The Faculty, Queer as Folk UK, and Vampire Chronicles were recent major fandoms I took part in, previous to SGA.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
It varies. Today I like my last SGA fic, Two Left Feet.
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 tend to work out general story ideas in my head, write down the scenes that obsess me the most, and then labor over the connecting bits that run between those scenes.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
This should do it.
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
The fandom has an amazing number of high-quality stories. There are dozens of writers so good that in most fandoms, they would be worshipped as BNFs each in their own right, but SGA has so many of them that they almost get lost in the general tide of excellence.
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 love the onscreen dynamic between John and Rodney, which is lucky, because it seemed to me that the show didn't make a lot of time for other relationships, particularly in the 4th and 5th seasons. I like lots of other pairings too, from Team OT4 to Radek/Teyla.
One of my favorite John/Rodney moments happened in episode 515, Remnants, the one in which an alien AI causes Woolsey and Sheppard to hallucinate. In the final scene, Rodney proudly explains, "I think they knew they couldn't fool me" with hallucinations; then he learns that he had been hallucinating a vision of Radek all day long.
As Rodney realizes he's been fooled, John slowly smiles, huge and warm and sly and happy. To me, it reads as incredibly affectionate, as though John is delighted by Rodney being Rodney even, or maybe especially, when Rodney is being ridiculous. When I think of a smitten John smiling at Rodney, that's the smile I picture.
10. Why did you choose to join Team War?
I wanted to write something with conflict.
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!)
I use the word "actually" too much!
chkc asked:
Your writing is very versatile! Ranging from your clever fairy tale AUs to the darker stuff in Lavvyan's farrverse AU. Do you have to change your mindset to switch from writing these different types of fics? Is there a particular type of story that you prefer to write? What about to read?
First, thank you for noticing that. :-) It's nice to hear.
I do change my mindset for different types of fic, usually by reading or watching something that matches the mood I'm going for. I read fairy tales when I want to get into the rhythm and language of that type of story. The Farrverse was easy because other people were writing in the shared verse and I was eagerly reading it all, and the mood of other stories in the verse fed into my stories.
Sometimes I'll watch vids that match the mood of something I want to write, like My Brilliant Idea by lim for light-hearted stuff, Hysteria by nel for darker themes, and Isagel's The Temptation of John Sheppard for outright angst. All excellent.
I don't think there's a particular story that I prefer to write, exactly. I start many, many, many more stories than I ever finish-- I have thirty or more files in my SGA WIP folder in various stages, from two lines of an idea to stories that stalled for me at 7,000+ words. Going by my performance in past fandoms, I'll be doing good if I finish a quarter of those. The kind of story that is easiest for me to finish usually has a lot of dialogue and/or a strong POV character voice, some humor, and gets to the point fairly quickly.
As for what I read, I can enjoy almost anything if it's written well, from angst to m-preg to characters turning into zebras. Sometimes I prefer cozy domestic AUs and sometimes I prefer galaxy-spanning adventures. SGA has scores of wonderful writers working in all kinds of modes and moods. It's amazing how much top-notch fic is out there.
kyuuketsukirui asked,
Do you have a preference for POV character? Not just in SGA, but like, do you tend to like writing from your favorite character's POV or do you prefer writing about them from someone else's POV?
Usually what seems to happen is that I glom onto an OTP, and I write mostly from the POV of my favorite character's opposite number. I liked Louis best in Vampire Chronicles so I wrote Lestat POV in Louis/Lestat fic, I liked Elijah best in Lotrips so I wrote Dom POV in Dom/Elijah fic, I liked Rodney best in SGA so I wrote John POV in John/Rodney fic.
But in the process of adopting a character's POV, I tend to find more and more things about that character attractive. In SGA, in the beginning I was all about Rodney and David Hewlett, who I loved from Cube and Pin and Traders. At first John was mostly just the other guy in the pairing. Joe Flanigan isn't particularly my type, so I didn't even especially find him attractive.
But once I started writing stories from John's POV, I began to get more and more into John, so I paid more attention to him in the show, and I started to find him more attractive. Now I'm really into John as a character too, and I've come to like Joe Flanigan not just in SGA but other things.
Even though I'm fond of both John and Rodney now, I still favor John's point of view: he's the more internal character so I feel there's more room for interpretation when writing his perspective.
So, long story shorter, I usually write about my favorite characters from someone else's POV, but then I tend to fall in love with my POV character also. :-)
taste_is_sweet asked,
All your SGA stories make me go, 'oh, boy! almostnever!', but I have to admit I really love how you use your angst stories to drag the boys kicking and screaming to (generally) happy or at least happish endings.
So I'd love to know: is there something about angst (versus funny, romance or any other genre) stories that particularly appeals to you?
Definitely yes.
Outside a fairy tale, I think even the fluffiest, funniest, and most perfect romance would surely have enough moments of uncertainty that a story focusing on that would qualify as angst. People are complicated, and even if everything goes swimmingly, I imagine just about everyone experiences doubt and suspense in relationships: Will she call? Is he just playing along to try to get me into bed? Are things going too well? Am I right to trust this?
Romantic angst is pretty close to universal. Most of us don't know firsthand what it's like to be a closeted gay pilot, or a genius nonpareil with a million neuroses, or responsible for awakening an almost unstoppable enemy bent on galactic decimation.
But nearly everyone knows what it feels like to care about someone and agonize over whether they feel the same. Nearly everyone knows how all the other vitally important things going on in the world and our lives can fade in comparison, while we thrive or suffer based on just one person's feelings.
That can be rough when you're going through it, but those are dramatic emotions, and it's cathartic to experience the echoes of them through fiction and then get a resolution when the story comes to an end. I really love stories that take me for that kind of ride.
My current favorite angstfest is chandri's In This Era Of Liberty. For nearly the entire last half of the story, the reader has a fairly clear certainty about what's really going on, even though the story is Rodney POV and he's misunderstanding it all. The first half of the story sets up the reasons for Rodney's misinterpretation so well that you can't help but suffer along with him as he gets everything backward and assumes the worst, even though you know he's wrong and it's all going to turn out okay. Now that is a great angsty reading experience. I would be thrilled if I could do anything a tenth so well as that.
telesilla asked,
Do you have a bullet proof genre; is there one type of story you really love to write or that comes easier for you than any other?
It would probably be "funny scene or two that adds up to illustrate something amusing or poignant about a relationship."
kisa_hawklin asked,
So there's something about your writing that is comforting to me; even the stuff that is uncomfortable or dark. I think it's because I'm willing to trust you on whatever journey you're taking me on. Is that something you develop purposely or even consider when you're writing? Do you rely on your readers' trust or does it not even come into the equation?
Thank you for saying so. It took me a while to answer this question, because this is definitely something I develop purposely and consider when I'm writing. Gaining and keeping the reader's trust is always foremost on my mind. I try to establish the tone and give some indication where the story's going from the start. I also try to show some bona fides to win the reader over early on, by working in a clever line or an apt description or a clear indication of the plot or theme as soon as I can.
I also edit my work pretty hard, to eradicate typos, pare out unnecessary words, and improve the pacing. The goal is to make sure everything flows so the reader's attention just keeps moving along without snagging on any errors or effulgence, unless I deliberately try to give them pause.
I go over my fic and try to make sure every "page" has at least one good line of dialogue or image or use of language in it. If a page doesn't measure up, I work on it some more. This makes longer stories really difficult for me.
I think one problem I have is that I tend to edit out a lot of my self-indulgence, but then I have to remind myself: hey, ease up a little; this is fan fiction. If you can't indulge yourself here, where can you do it?
Team: War!
Let's talk about: almostnever!
1. How long have you been writing fan fiction and/or making fan art and/or whatever else (vids, knitted goods, pornographic gingerbread cookies)?
I've been writing fan fiction offline for 21 years; online, 15 years. (I'm not as old as that makes me sound, I've just been interested in fan fiction for most of my life.)
2. Have you participated or are you participating in any other fandoms?
Yes, I've participated in many! Though I tend toward serial monogamy with fandoms. Lotrips, The Faculty, Queer as Folk UK, and Vampire Chronicles were recent major fandoms I took part in, previous to SGA.
3. What fanwork are you most proud of? Or, what is your favourite of your fanworks? (links, please!)
It varies. Today I like my last SGA fic, Two Left Feet.
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 tend to work out general story ideas in my head, write down the scenes that obsess me the most, and then labor over the connecting bits that run between those scenes.
5. Where can interested readers/viewers find more of your work? (homepage, LJ fic index, etc.)
This should do it.
Let's talk about: SGA!
8. What do you enjoy most about SGA and/or SGA fandom?
The fandom has an amazing number of high-quality stories. There are dozens of writers so good that in most fandoms, they would be worshipped as BNFs each in their own right, but SGA has so many of them that they almost get lost in the general tide of excellence.
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 love the onscreen dynamic between John and Rodney, which is lucky, because it seemed to me that the show didn't make a lot of time for other relationships, particularly in the 4th and 5th seasons. I like lots of other pairings too, from Team OT4 to Radek/Teyla.
One of my favorite John/Rodney moments happened in episode 515, Remnants, the one in which an alien AI causes Woolsey and Sheppard to hallucinate. In the final scene, Rodney proudly explains, "I think they knew they couldn't fool me" with hallucinations; then he learns that he had been hallucinating a vision of Radek all day long.
As Rodney realizes he's been fooled, John slowly smiles, huge and warm and sly and happy. To me, it reads as incredibly affectionate, as though John is delighted by Rodney being Rodney even, or maybe especially, when Rodney is being ridiculous. When I think of a smitten John smiling at Rodney, that's the smile I picture.
10. Why did you choose to join Team War?
I wanted to write something with conflict.
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!)
I use the word "actually" too much!
chkc asked:
Your writing is very versatile! Ranging from your clever fairy tale AUs to the darker stuff in Lavvyan's farrverse AU. Do you have to change your mindset to switch from writing these different types of fics? Is there a particular type of story that you prefer to write? What about to read?
First, thank you for noticing that. :-) It's nice to hear.
I do change my mindset for different types of fic, usually by reading or watching something that matches the mood I'm going for. I read fairy tales when I want to get into the rhythm and language of that type of story. The Farrverse was easy because other people were writing in the shared verse and I was eagerly reading it all, and the mood of other stories in the verse fed into my stories.
Sometimes I'll watch vids that match the mood of something I want to write, like My Brilliant Idea by lim for light-hearted stuff, Hysteria by nel for darker themes, and Isagel's The Temptation of John Sheppard for outright angst. All excellent.
I don't think there's a particular story that I prefer to write, exactly. I start many, many, many more stories than I ever finish-- I have thirty or more files in my SGA WIP folder in various stages, from two lines of an idea to stories that stalled for me at 7,000+ words. Going by my performance in past fandoms, I'll be doing good if I finish a quarter of those. The kind of story that is easiest for me to finish usually has a lot of dialogue and/or a strong POV character voice, some humor, and gets to the point fairly quickly.
As for what I read, I can enjoy almost anything if it's written well, from angst to m-preg to characters turning into zebras. Sometimes I prefer cozy domestic AUs and sometimes I prefer galaxy-spanning adventures. SGA has scores of wonderful writers working in all kinds of modes and moods. It's amazing how much top-notch fic is out there.
kyuuketsukirui asked,
Do you have a preference for POV character? Not just in SGA, but like, do you tend to like writing from your favorite character's POV or do you prefer writing about them from someone else's POV?
Usually what seems to happen is that I glom onto an OTP, and I write mostly from the POV of my favorite character's opposite number. I liked Louis best in Vampire Chronicles so I wrote Lestat POV in Louis/Lestat fic, I liked Elijah best in Lotrips so I wrote Dom POV in Dom/Elijah fic, I liked Rodney best in SGA so I wrote John POV in John/Rodney fic.
But in the process of adopting a character's POV, I tend to find more and more things about that character attractive. In SGA, in the beginning I was all about Rodney and David Hewlett, who I loved from Cube and Pin and Traders. At first John was mostly just the other guy in the pairing. Joe Flanigan isn't particularly my type, so I didn't even especially find him attractive.
But once I started writing stories from John's POV, I began to get more and more into John, so I paid more attention to him in the show, and I started to find him more attractive. Now I'm really into John as a character too, and I've come to like Joe Flanigan not just in SGA but other things.
Even though I'm fond of both John and Rodney now, I still favor John's point of view: he's the more internal character so I feel there's more room for interpretation when writing his perspective.
So, long story shorter, I usually write about my favorite characters from someone else's POV, but then I tend to fall in love with my POV character also. :-)
taste_is_sweet asked,
All your SGA stories make me go, 'oh, boy! almostnever!', but I have to admit I really love how you use your angst stories to drag the boys kicking and screaming to (generally) happy or at least happish endings.
So I'd love to know: is there something about angst (versus funny, romance or any other genre) stories that particularly appeals to you?
Definitely yes.
Outside a fairy tale, I think even the fluffiest, funniest, and most perfect romance would surely have enough moments of uncertainty that a story focusing on that would qualify as angst. People are complicated, and even if everything goes swimmingly, I imagine just about everyone experiences doubt and suspense in relationships: Will she call? Is he just playing along to try to get me into bed? Are things going too well? Am I right to trust this?
Romantic angst is pretty close to universal. Most of us don't know firsthand what it's like to be a closeted gay pilot, or a genius nonpareil with a million neuroses, or responsible for awakening an almost unstoppable enemy bent on galactic decimation.
But nearly everyone knows what it feels like to care about someone and agonize over whether they feel the same. Nearly everyone knows how all the other vitally important things going on in the world and our lives can fade in comparison, while we thrive or suffer based on just one person's feelings.
That can be rough when you're going through it, but those are dramatic emotions, and it's cathartic to experience the echoes of them through fiction and then get a resolution when the story comes to an end. I really love stories that take me for that kind of ride.
My current favorite angstfest is chandri's In This Era Of Liberty. For nearly the entire last half of the story, the reader has a fairly clear certainty about what's really going on, even though the story is Rodney POV and he's misunderstanding it all. The first half of the story sets up the reasons for Rodney's misinterpretation so well that you can't help but suffer along with him as he gets everything backward and assumes the worst, even though you know he's wrong and it's all going to turn out okay. Now that is a great angsty reading experience. I would be thrilled if I could do anything a tenth so well as that.
telesilla asked,
Do you have a bullet proof genre; is there one type of story you really love to write or that comes easier for you than any other?
It would probably be "funny scene or two that adds up to illustrate something amusing or poignant about a relationship."
kisa_hawklin asked,
So there's something about your writing that is comforting to me; even the stuff that is uncomfortable or dark. I think it's because I'm willing to trust you on whatever journey you're taking me on. Is that something you develop purposely or even consider when you're writing? Do you rely on your readers' trust or does it not even come into the equation?
Thank you for saying so. It took me a while to answer this question, because this is definitely something I develop purposely and consider when I'm writing. Gaining and keeping the reader's trust is always foremost on my mind. I try to establish the tone and give some indication where the story's going from the start. I also try to show some bona fides to win the reader over early on, by working in a clever line or an apt description or a clear indication of the plot or theme as soon as I can.
I also edit my work pretty hard, to eradicate typos, pare out unnecessary words, and improve the pacing. The goal is to make sure everything flows so the reader's attention just keeps moving along without snagging on any errors or effulgence, unless I deliberately try to give them pause.
I go over my fic and try to make sure every "page" has at least one good line of dialogue or image or use of language in it. If a page doesn't measure up, I work on it some more. This makes longer stories really difficult for me.
I think one problem I have is that I tend to edit out a lot of my self-indulgence, but then I have to remind myself: hey, ease up a little; this is fan fiction. If you can't indulge yourself here, where can you do it?