{think meta thoughts}
I had wanted to do this meme for a long time, and finally did ... at the end of the month in which I didn't write at all lol. Anyway, I'm only posting this here because I want other people to fill this out too! I want to see your answers! Please? :<
Brief Intro
Kara. Writing is in my genes and I've never not liked boybands and/or Asian music in my life. Throw all into a cauldron together and voila! \o/
What fandoms have you written in?
Kpop: mostly SM, past and present groups, but I've dabbled with other Kpop persons and also written Korean OC, since that was A Thing back in the day haha.
Johnnys: I've tried my hand at literally every group except daisenpai and Arashi (oh wait no I've a drabble or two with Arashi members).
...And there's probably BSB fic or something from when I was a preteen hidden away somewhere XD!
Do the number of reviews tell how good a story is? Do reviews affect how you write in any way?
Yes and no. It tells how well-liked a story is within its fandom, compounded by how many friends the author has who are active enough to leave comments, but popular and good are not always synonymous after all.
It'd be a lie to say they don't affect me, of course I'm more eager to keep writing if I have an inbox full of fresh comments! To be honest it also affects the content of what I write, since I'm more likely to write something to please a group of friends who are constantly leaving me awesome comments. On the other hand, I'm horribly narcissistic and also a horribly good self-critic, so it's more important to me that I think what I write is good.
Do you use a beta?
Not quite. I really should, and I've (finally) started asking people to look things over for me, but I'm either super embarrassed by what I'm writing and therefore don't want to show anyone, or else I really like what I'm writing and therefore don't want someone else to come in with a red pen.
What warnings have you used on your fiction?
I think character death is really about it, and I don't do that often. I'm all for writing about sensitive issues but I find it harder to write about things I have no experience with. I'm also greatly enamoured of writing that can make romance out of everyday items and events, so there's a lot of (trying to do) that going on.
Have you ever stolen something from another person's work?
Oh all the time! Haha no, not stolen - I'm definitely against plagiarism and if I know that what I'm writing is in any way the same as something else (eg. plot, overall structure, a character's idiosyncrasy, etc) then I can't write it. But I also love to reread and reread and reread my favorite stories, so I'm 100% sure that stuff gets reappropriated without my being conscious of it.
Favorite fandom to write/read?
... None/all. I don't know, I'm not picky, and I'll read absolutely anything, including fics from fandoms that I don't know a thing about.
Favorite pairing?
The only pairing that I will call "my OTP" is Jay/Heechul.
I love(d) Ki/F a lot, but as they got bored with being paired together I also got bored with pairing them, and to be honest the biggest reason I write them together so often is because I like writing both of them individually, so why not write them together and enjoy it even more?
For the most part I like any pairing that has a proven long history of friendship, or else the "frenemy" type who bicker and cuss each other out but have each others' backs at the crucial moment.
Do you tend to write the same pairings/characters?
I guess so. I didn't used to until I started writing Kisumai, but I guess my writing patterns have changed? Though I've always had a character who'd pop up in almost all the fics for a fandom (Heechul for Super Junior, Kawai for EbiKisu)!
Favorite writer/writers?
I thought I didn't have very many but now that I tried to list them the list kept growing so I'll just choose to not name anyone in case I leave someone out. Instead, have a list of (some of) my favorite published authors! In no particular order: Ray Bradbury, Shakespeare, Hans Christian Andersen, Oscar Wilde, Georgette Heyer, Louisa May Alcott, C. S. Lewis.
What is your most popular fanfic and why do you think people find it so?
That first KitaFuji fic I wrote that I don't even want to link because I've grown out of it already. XD I guess people liked it because it was cute and had ~feelings~ and I wrote it at a moment when not too many people were writing that pairing anymore (and newer writers hadn't come into fandom)...
Forget most people, what's the fanfic you've written you're most proud of?
There are a handful that I really love still, even years after I've written them, but the closest to "proud" might be 上半身 because I'm not at all into horror but managed to get quite a good reaction to it?
However, I wouldn't use the word "proud" for any fic that I've written. I'm much more interested in potentials - if I've written something well, then that only means I can advance another step towards being better. Which is definitely something to be happy about, but I'm already examining what I lack in order to reach the next level so there's no time to feel proud. ... I hope this doesn't sound self-deprecating because it's not at all!
Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing you struggle with?
Both? Sometimes one and sometimes the other? Putting words together into sentences isn't hard, but I have issues with plot. Or rather, timing. I'm not terrible at thinking up plot points but I need to work on pacing and emotional buildup and such, so then I spend too much time in self-analysis and overthink and then everything falls to pieces. (And then we all die.)
Pairings you avoid?
I tend to not write rarepairs, because I prefer to draw on tidbits from canon when I write.
Are there any fanfiction trends/cliches you can't stand or are just sick of?
Rather than in all fanfiction or all fandom, I don't like when an author repeats the same jokes or storylines over and over again. A lot of really popular authors do this actually, and while I can see why (people like it, so why change), I get so so tired of it. Plus then other writers copy the BNF writers and also have their characters act the same way and crack the same jokes and the whole fandom stagnates.
Are you guilty of any of the fanfiction trends/cliches you now hate? Or any other ones?
I can't get over the habit of having someone call Fujigaya "Daisuke" just to annoy him, even though that joke was run into the ground in like 2004 haha. Oops.
When you write, is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
I make a small playlist and listen to it for about two paragraphs, and then I inevitably turn it off and write in as much quiet as possible. Sometimes I'll switch up the software or font that I use if I'm stuck.
Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experience and yourself as a writer?
There's a lot more of me in my fics than I think I let on. I write certain characters a lot because the parts of their personalities that cause tension in life are traits that I identify with, and also I believe, to a large extent, that authors should write about what they know. The end result is that I end up with some stories that, however vague, are more like one big metaphor for me rather than the idol I'm writing about. (Which is why, as much as I enjoy writing challenges and being social about writing, I don't take requests or write for other people often.) Sometimes I get so wrapped up in words that I have to remind myself that they might not be as important or personal to others as they are to me.
Brief Intro
Kara. Writing is in my genes and I've never not liked boybands and/or Asian music in my life. Throw all into a cauldron together and voila! \o/
What fandoms have you written in?
Kpop: mostly SM, past and present groups, but I've dabbled with other Kpop persons and also written Korean OC, since that was A Thing back in the day haha.
Johnnys: I've tried my hand at literally every group except daisenpai and Arashi (oh wait no I've a drabble or two with Arashi members).
...And there's probably BSB fic or something from when I was a preteen hidden away somewhere XD!
Do the number of reviews tell how good a story is? Do reviews affect how you write in any way?
Yes and no. It tells how well-liked a story is within its fandom, compounded by how many friends the author has who are active enough to leave comments, but popular and good are not always synonymous after all.
It'd be a lie to say they don't affect me, of course I'm more eager to keep writing if I have an inbox full of fresh comments! To be honest it also affects the content of what I write, since I'm more likely to write something to please a group of friends who are constantly leaving me awesome comments. On the other hand, I'm horribly narcissistic and also a horribly good self-critic, so it's more important to me that I think what I write is good.
Do you use a beta?
Not quite. I really should, and I've (finally) started asking people to look things over for me, but I'm either super embarrassed by what I'm writing and therefore don't want to show anyone, or else I really like what I'm writing and therefore don't want someone else to come in with a red pen.
What warnings have you used on your fiction?
I think character death is really about it, and I don't do that often. I'm all for writing about sensitive issues but I find it harder to write about things I have no experience with. I'm also greatly enamoured of writing that can make romance out of everyday items and events, so there's a lot of (trying to do) that going on.
Have you ever stolen something from another person's work?
Oh all the time! Haha no, not stolen - I'm definitely against plagiarism and if I know that what I'm writing is in any way the same as something else (eg. plot, overall structure, a character's idiosyncrasy, etc) then I can't write it. But I also love to reread and reread and reread my favorite stories, so I'm 100% sure that stuff gets reappropriated without my being conscious of it.
Favorite fandom to write/read?
... None/all. I don't know, I'm not picky, and I'll read absolutely anything, including fics from fandoms that I don't know a thing about.
Favorite pairing?
The only pairing that I will call "my OTP" is Jay/Heechul.
I love(d) Ki/F a lot, but as they got bored with being paired together I also got bored with pairing them, and to be honest the biggest reason I write them together so often is because I like writing both of them individually, so why not write them together and enjoy it even more?
For the most part I like any pairing that has a proven long history of friendship, or else the "frenemy" type who bicker and cuss each other out but have each others' backs at the crucial moment.
Do you tend to write the same pairings/characters?
I guess so. I didn't used to until I started writing Kisumai, but I guess my writing patterns have changed? Though I've always had a character who'd pop up in almost all the fics for a fandom (Heechul for Super Junior, Kawai for EbiKisu)!
Favorite writer/writers?
I thought I didn't have very many but now that I tried to list them the list kept growing so I'll just choose to not name anyone in case I leave someone out. Instead, have a list of (some of) my favorite published authors! In no particular order: Ray Bradbury, Shakespeare, Hans Christian Andersen, Oscar Wilde, Georgette Heyer, Louisa May Alcott, C. S. Lewis.
What is your most popular fanfic and why do you think people find it so?
That first KitaFuji fic I wrote that I don't even want to link because I've grown out of it already. XD I guess people liked it because it was cute and had ~feelings~ and I wrote it at a moment when not too many people were writing that pairing anymore (and newer writers hadn't come into fandom)...
Forget most people, what's the fanfic you've written you're most proud of?
There are a handful that I really love still, even years after I've written them, but the closest to "proud" might be 上半身 because I'm not at all into horror but managed to get quite a good reaction to it?
However, I wouldn't use the word "proud" for any fic that I've written. I'm much more interested in potentials - if I've written something well, then that only means I can advance another step towards being better. Which is definitely something to be happy about, but I'm already examining what I lack in order to reach the next level so there's no time to feel proud. ... I hope this doesn't sound self-deprecating because it's not at all!
Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing you struggle with?
Both? Sometimes one and sometimes the other? Putting words together into sentences isn't hard, but I have issues with plot. Or rather, timing. I'm not terrible at thinking up plot points but I need to work on pacing and emotional buildup and such, so then I spend too much time in self-analysis and overthink and then everything falls to pieces. (And then we all die.)
Pairings you avoid?
I tend to not write rarepairs, because I prefer to draw on tidbits from canon when I write.
Are there any fanfiction trends/cliches you can't stand or are just sick of?
Rather than in all fanfiction or all fandom, I don't like when an author repeats the same jokes or storylines over and over again. A lot of really popular authors do this actually, and while I can see why (people like it, so why change), I get so so tired of it. Plus then other writers copy the BNF writers and also have their characters act the same way and crack the same jokes and the whole fandom stagnates.
Are you guilty of any of the fanfiction trends/cliches you now hate? Or any other ones?
I can't get over the habit of having someone call Fujigaya "Daisuke" just to annoy him, even though that joke was run into the ground in like 2004 haha. Oops.
When you write, is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
I make a small playlist and listen to it for about two paragraphs, and then I inevitably turn it off and write in as much quiet as possible. Sometimes I'll switch up the software or font that I use if I'm stuck.
Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experience and yourself as a writer?
There's a lot more of me in my fics than I think I let on. I write certain characters a lot because the parts of their personalities that cause tension in life are traits that I identify with, and also I believe, to a large extent, that authors should write about what they know. The end result is that I end up with some stories that, however vague, are more like one big metaphor for me rather than the idol I'm writing about. (Which is why, as much as I enjoy writing challenges and being social about writing, I don't take requests or write for other people often.) Sometimes I get so wrapped up in words that I have to remind myself that they might not be as important or personal to others as they are to me.