Featured Story: Annihilation

Sometimes fanfictions can get passed up by users who just want to read original fictions, despite the fact that behind that label of 'fanficion' can lay a story that might blow the user away. When it comes to stories, barriers shouldn't be raised. Annihilation is a fanfiction featuring Jack Barakat and Kennedy Brock, but readers need not know who either are. Here is the author heavyguiltysoul to talk about her story.

Give us a brief summary of Annihilation.

Ever since he was a young child Kennedy has been able to see something he shouldn’t know exists. In-between all the pain and confusion there’s one question that remains unanswered – why?

What is the most challenging thing about writing it?

I guess the most challenging thing would be describing how Kennedy – the main character – feels about himself and what’s happening around him. He’s very complex and very troubled, but most of the time he keeps it to himself and tries to pretend he’s fine, and it’s this portrayal of what he’s actually going through and what he thinks is happening that is rather difficult to explain. All I can do is hope the meaning comes through and the readers can empathise with him.

Who is your least favourite character?

I don’t think I have one. At the moment this story is very black and white with two main characters and many background characters. I guess my least fave at the moment has to be the character based on Jack because he has answers Kennedy’s trying to look for but he’s not willing to share them yet.

How did you choose the title?

I think it takes time for anyone to come across a title that just clicks. I had a different title for this story whilst working on the idea – A Car, A Torch, A Death – based on a song that I felt had the closest atmosphere to what I wanted. Annihilation was a word I stumbled upon when I was already nearing the end, and it just worked. It had the feeling, it had the thought, it described what the story would show, and it was the missing piece I had been looking for.

Roughly how long have you been working on Annihilation?

The idea had been lurking in my mind for a couple of months, just waiting for the perfect opportunity and that last push. In the end it came in the form of a photo of a red patch of hair and a black suit, which was quite amusing. I’d say it’s been about two months since I actually started working on it.

What's the inspiration behind this story?

I’m one of those people who collects a lot of ideas from a lot of different sources. For this story I can’t really name one thing that just made the idea pop into my head. I think I can name songs "A Car, A Torch, A Death" and "You Left Me" as two that are the base of this story. The thought of writing two polar opposites has always been in my mind, so I don’t think I can trace it back to anything specific.

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read the chapters, and I hope I don’t disappoint you. In fact, I hope I manage surprise you in the end. Thanks for sticking with me!

Special thanks to silent hearts. and nearly witches. for editing

Latest articles