Hello!! Today we'll start by interviewing the lovely mibbian swell. She writes both kinds of fiction and she wrutes lots of oneshots. My favorite completed story by her has to be Sunflower and there's also Rosaleigh, NY which is ongoing. Both of these are original fics. If you want to read the stories she reads, then you have to check this blog entry posted by her.
And with that, we reached question time. ::coffee:
01. Would you tell us your full name?
I'm all about the stranger danger, so I'll just stick with Alex. ::cute:
02. How long have you been on mibba?
Five years, since May 9th '08. It's crazy to think I basically spent my teenage years on here!
03. Are you posting your writings on other writing sites?
I have Crooked up on Wattpad, and I think that's about it. If I do have them on other sites, I have no idea where. ::facepalm:
04. Since when have you been writing?
Before Mibba, I was on Quizilla since 2006, so I'd been posting up on sites from then. As for writing, I had always enjoyed it but I think I seriously began to enjoy it when I was in 6th grade and my english teacher told me she loved the piece I had written and awarded it full marks. But I had always loved to write.
05. Could you tell us a brief summary of your stories.
Where the Wind Takes Us | original fic | R | active
One of those high school romance fics where a girl is in love with her best friend and tries to deal with it with the ending of school, figuring out what she wants to do in life, her friendships, and other factors.
The Art of Deflowering | Teen Wolf fic | R | active
Georgia likes to devirginise boys and Stiles Stilinski is her next victim.
Crooked | Niall Horan (One Direction) fic | R | active
The longest story I've had on here that I've stuck with since early 2011, I think? After punching out her brother's girlfriend and consequently landing in jail, a girl meets 1D and runs away with them onto their British tour.
06. What inspired you to write each story?
My inspiration for Where the Wind Takes Us came from when I wrote the prequel, Rooftop Musings. That story was for a contest and I had written that on a whim. I originally decided to leave the story as it was, but then I started thinking about what would happen afterwards, how a girl would deal with her feelings after her best friend basically told her he wasn't into her. I like to write sad stories, but I much prefer happy endings, and I wanted to explore that and her feelings in WTWTU. I also liked the style of how I wrote Rooftop Musings, and wanted to write more of that style as well.
The Teen Wolf fic basically came from my love for Stiles Stilinski. In season 3, there's one episode where Stiles is saying that he needs "someone to sex [him] right now!" And I couldn't help but form an idea that there was a girl who had her eye on Stiles and wanted to devirginise him. It's going to be a relatively short story, but it's definitely fun to write.
The Niall fic is the first story I'd written while being in the 1D fandom, so I just wanted to write a story about Niall who I have an extremely soft spot for.
07. Which characters did you like more from each story you created and why?
I have a soft spot for Georgia in WTWTU because she’s that hilariously blunt best friend that I think we all love – she reminds me a lot of myself, so that’s probably why. I also love Mick and Josh as well, because as the story progresses you’ll get to see how they care for Nat and I think it’s so sweet.
I have this Draco Malfoy story called Heartlines (currently in the works) where the main female character is Astoria Greengrass, who I’ve created a backstory for. I’ve tried to create someone who I think is someone that Draco would need in his life and I really like the direction I’ve taken with her – she’s going to be the complete opposite of Malfoy – a free spirit, of sorts, and I’m just really excited to write her with Draco and all that.
08. Do you do research before writing?
Depending on what I’m writing, I generally do some research. If it’s based overseas, I’ll look up some familiar places and try to make it realistic but if it’s based in Australia, I know my stuff. I don’t generally write stories with disorders or diseases, but if I did, I would definitely research them, for sure.
09. Is there an author on here whose work you like or is your inspiration?
The only person I can think of off the top of my head is vices, because her stories are always fab and she’s fab and yeah but I also love waves because omg if you’ve ever read her stories they’re so beautifully poetically written I am so envious of the way she writes because every word I read is just perfection. And then there’s a few other writers I like but I can’t be bothered listing them or their story has been glitched off Mibba. :((
10. Do you like experimenting while writing? Writing about stuff you haven't experienced and genres you never thought you'd write about?
I tend to stay in my comfort zone, but I do like to experiment with writing styles and occasionally with characters. I often find it hard to stick with a character’s personality, because by the end they end up being this sarcastic blunt girl who can stand up for herself and is generally independent (a carbon copy of myself, by the way haha). I have tried other genres though, and one day I do want to delve into crime fic, but they require more thought and preplanning for me to do before I write one of those so for now I’m sticking to my romance/drama/comedy fics.
11. What's the story you're most proud of?
I’m not too sure, to be honest. Sunflower is probably one of my favourites, because it’s short and sweet and it got a lot of love. I wrote Sunflower in under a week and it felt very natural to write it. As for a current story, I love writing Where the Wind Takes Us, because it’s just a light hearted fun story and I’ve already planned most of the story, so I know where it’s going and I hope that others will love it as much as I do.
12. What is your biggest writing weakness?
My biggest weakness would have to be writing characters that have feminist qualities – in the sense that they can stand up for themselves, they know what to say to make people back off, basically they’re not portrayed as this stereotypical ‘I can’t stand up for myself’ girl, Bella Swan-esque. I want to try to write a character who is weak so I can make her stronger, but every time I try, the sass in me comes out and she turns into this fearless human being.
13. Are you more of a writer or a reader?
As of right now, I’m more of a writer. I have so many stories in the works and I love writing group fics so I’m in a few of them at the moment plus I have stories on hiatus that won’t probably come back until I’ve figured out a way to salvage them. I’m always coming up with new ideas and it’s really hard to contain myself from writing said ideas down, haha.
14. Do you read all kinds of fiction?
I like my romantic comedies, but I love drama as well, and occasionally I read crime and fantasy fics. I read both original and fan fic though, since I write both.
15. Do you prefer original fiction or fan fiction?
Original fiction. The thing I like about fan fiction is that you can contribute your ideas to the show/movie/etc life that you’ve created in your mind and it’s fun to explore how your ideas and the world that’s already been created can come together. But the thing I love more about original fic is that you’ve created everything – so you can change things at your will and it’s okay because you’re not defying what’s already pre-existing, if that makes sense? Plus with original fic, if you’re writing a romance for example, your two characters that end up together can be your OTP, but with a fan fic, it’s hard to decide who the two characters should be your OTP because you’ve already written (and read) so many characters that fit with the other pre-existing character. At least, that’s my issue.
16. What's the genre you are most comfortable with?
Comedy. I like to think I’m funny.
17. Which genres and ratings do you prefer when you pick a story to read?
R and NC-17, romance/comedy/drama, but I’m not too fussed.
18. Do you write stories with all kinds of ratings?
Yep! I tend to stick with R because my characters have a tendency to swear. ::XD: but I do write all types of ratings.
19. How often do you update?
I try to do weekly, but if not every fortnight, or just whenever I feel inspiration. I want to be actively writing so people don’t think I’ve given up on writing a story, but I don’t want to put out shitty quality chapters either.
20. Any words for your readers?
Sorry that I have a shitty track record with not updating, but I will finish my stories! And thank you for subbing/commenting/reccing/sending me your love, it is very appreciated!
21. Any authors you like and inspire you? (novels/graphic books)
I adore JK Rowling, but I love Meg Cabot as well. There’s this story I’ve recently read called ‘The Shadow Year’ by Hannah Richell, and I absolutely loved that as well. She definitely inspires me to write a story that will haunt me for the rest of my life, like her story did with me.
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Moving on to the next one in line, we have the lovely Magazine Staff lungsmoke. She writes mostly original fics but fanfics as well. My favorite story by her is the one she's currently working on and it's called Deer Boy.
Now, you know the drill, don't you? I'm dusting through her blog entries and this is what I found:
How I Do My Story Layouts
Dialogue and Middle Names and Chinese Name and Questions
And if you want to know which stories she enjoyed reading, check these:
LUNGSMOKE’S PRESCRIBED READING INDEX
a comprehensive reading list
And with that, we reached question time. ::coffee:
01. Would you tell us your full name?
I would, except I'm incredibly paranoid about stuff online. But I will say that my name is Eleen although people call me El so there's also that.
02. How long have you been on mibba?
I think ~four years. I don't quite remember but I do remember I felt excellent for having made an account when I was twelve rather than thirteen (which is the age you have to be to make accounts on anything, I think, as per Internet policy).
03. Are you posting your writings on other writing sites?
I used to post stuff on Quizilla (before I packed up and moved here), ff.net, and deviantART, but now only Mibba.
04. Since when have you been writing?
A loooong time. I don't even remember. I would always be reading and writing and drawing and I can't really put a number or anything specific on it.
05. Could you tell us a brief summary of your stories.
HAHAHA they're so inactive it's not even funny because high school is whupping my butt and I've lost a bit of my writing touch. :/ Can I just do two? idk here are the two, because they're the only "active" ones (ha, active) —
Ghost Hunting for Dummies — I'm actually quite proud of this one, even though it's only got what, three chapters, including the prologue? But basically there is this agency that kicks supernatural butt/keeps the peace, and one branch deals with ghosts. And generally ghosts are bad, but easy to eliminate, but then something (bad) happens and then it's up to main female protagonist and main male protagonist and four others to figure out the whys and the hows. And they go off on a ghost-butt-kicking adventure and it's fun because they go around the world and I'm only writing about places that I've actually been to so yay lots of research and going through photos and maps.
Deer Boy — I really wanted to write something fluffy and romantic and short-chapters type, so this baby happened. It was originally another idea that somehow morphed into this one and I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing but I know how it ends. C:
06. What inspired you to write each story?
This is a good, super hard question that should be graded easy. Well Ghost Hunting happened because I needed something for NaNo and I was like okay, I need and idea, and that particular plot bunny just came along and went like, "Hi, here I am". And it also gave me a chance to write about all the places that I've been to, because I've been to a lot, and doing all sorts of research and I thought it'd be fun and perfect but nOPE IT'S DIFFICULT!!
What inspired Deer Boy was I'd been reading lots of sad stories and I wanted to write a story idea I had about, surprise, surprise, this dude whose girlfriend dumped him and his roommate is this "weirdo" and he's like "bro. chill". And I dunno some bromantic stuff (because the main character was a bit put off by his roommate) and it kind of pooped into that. I'm not exactly sure how it happened.
07. Which characters did you like more from each story you created and why?
I love Holly and Elijah from Ghost Hunting already I don't even know that much about them but they're just so cute in my head. Sadly I am a mean author and there will be unrequited love because I'm a sucker for that. Oops I think that could be considered a spoiler. Derp. And well Deer Boy is just I love everyone I love all my characters sorry this is such a bad answer.
08. Do you do research before writing?
Yes, sometimes. Like if I'm writing about somewhere I've been before, but not recently (i.e. Germany) I'll Google Map everything for restaurants and road names and hotels and stuff. And when there's traveling between time zones I calculate how long the flights will take depending on the speed, or how long a car ride would take, and which airlines and what type of planes/cars and yep. But then sometimes I just kind of do my own thing because I don't need research, and it works.
09. Is there an author on here whose work you like or is your inspiration?
There are actually tonnes which are mentioned in my blog entries.
10. Do you like experimenting while writing? Writing about stuff you haven't experienced and genres you never thought you'd write about?
Yeah, definitely. I remember I saw the genres on Old Mibba - you know how on the story page there'd be these bars and on the side it'd list all the genres and I was like "damn, I want to try writing all of them", and I've been doing that. (Or at least, trying to.)
11. What's the story you're most proud of?
Hmm. I actually don't know, because I don't always like what I write and they just happen and then I reread them and I think "oh hey, this is okay".
12. What is your biggest writing weakness?
I actually do not know. I used to have this problem of writing "y'know" a lot, but after someone pointed that out I watched out for that and I think I use it less. I guess I think my biggest weakness is my inconsistency? Like I can be writing a story and it'll be all fine and dandy but then something like school happens and I have to drop it for a couple of months. Then when I get back to it I can't pick up right where I left off, especially with the writing voice. It's awful and then I feel like I've got to rewrite the whole thing because I pick up all these mistakes and stuff that I don't like in the old chapters.
13. Are you more of a writer or a reader?
I'm going to have to go with a reader because to me writing is just so difficult, because everything has to be perfect, and most of the time it isn't.
14. Do you read all kinds of fiction?
Not all kinds, but I like to think that the genres I read vary.
15. Do you prefer original fiction or fan fiction?
Both and neither? I mean it really depends on the author — if the author's good, I'll read what they've written. I'm not a 1D fan, for instance, but some of my favourite authors pretty much write only 1D and so I've grown to like them a bit, ya dig?
16. What's the genre you are most comfortable with?
Erm. I'm not really sure I've found my "niche" yet because I'm really trying them all out to see what my thing is. That said, I'm a fan of sci-fi and action and adventure and I try to write those, sometimes. And I try not to write romance (mostly, except sometimes) but somehow a bit of that always slips in. Whoops.
17. Which genres and ratings do you prefer when you pick a story to read?
Well it depends on what I'm looking for. I feel really bad for saying this but I kind of tend to avoid G rated stuff unless it's like a one-shot (and usually they're only one-shots, so there's that) and I like when there's a cover and I will admit I'm not a fan of horror because it makes me queasy and my imagination is more active than it should be.
18. Do you write stories with all kinds of ratings?
No I don't think so. Mostly I rate my stories by the amount of swear words that go in it. ::shifty:
19. How often do you update?
HAHAHAHAHAAHA not a lot. ::shifty: I would so love to update a lot but writing the stories I'm writing is hard because for one of them, I've had the idea for so long I want it to be perfect. And for the other one, I actually can't write it unless I'm in the right mood, haha.
20. Any words for your readers?
Yes hello you I wub u I APPRECIATE YOU I don't know what else to say, herp.
21. Any authors you like and inspire you? (novels/graphic books)
Um well I don't know if I want to kill GRRM for pulling all sorts of shit in his ASoIaF series or praise him for its brilliance because there are so many plot twists it's ridiculous and yeah the books are great. J.K. Rowling fo sho and honestly Jandy Nelson in that one book The Sky Is Everywhere — it's brilliant. Aaaaand that's all I got because I need new books and recs.
^-^ This was so fun. It's such a brilliant idea, kudos. ::tehe: I'm rambling, sorry. ::facepalm: ^-^
And with that our interview come to the end. ::cute:
Thank you so much for your time lungsmoke. It was fun interviewing you and learning things about you.
I hope all of you enjoyed this interview as much as I did.
Have fun reading her stories here.
~Marian.
~Marian.
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