Featured Story of the Week: Crossroads

When most people think of the Batman series, they think of Bruce Wayne beating bad guys and saving the city, but Crossroads shows an entirely different side of the series. In this Joker fanfiction, parcosm shows readers another side of the characters.

Give us a brief summary of Crossroads.

Crossroads is a Joker 'romance', the main character being a twenty three year old called Hayley Dixon. She has lived in Gotham all her life, and has an affiliation with the mob that she doesn't like to admit to. For the past three years of her life, she has been living with the infamous billionaire, Bruce Wayne, and although her relationship with him is not romantic, they've created a scheme to make Rachel Dawes jealous by pretending that Hayley is his girlfriend. It's a weird plan, and Hayley knows that it won't work for long, but she owes Bruce for helping her get out of debt a while back. A few chapters in, she makes a terrible mistake that ends up in a nightmarish few months with the Joker himself. :)

What inspired you to write this story?

I've always been a fan of Batman, even when I was really little and I watched the animated series. It's been a passion of mine for a while now, but then a few months ago I re-watched The Dark Knight and completely loved it, and seeing as I had just gotten a Mibba account I thought 'What the heck?' and decided to write a Joker story. He's always been my favourite villain. :3 I have a soft spot for The Dark Knight Joker, of course.

How long have you been working on Crossroads?

I have been working on it for 6 months now, which is actually a lot for me. I don't think I've worked on a story for that long before.

On average, how much time do you spend writing Crossroads each week?

Quite a lot of time. I used to do a whole one-every-other-night plan for my updates, but schoolwork's becoming progressively harder so I haven't had as much time. Probably around two, three days a week?

How did you choose the title for this story?

I love the term Crossroads, and it's definition; and the main idea of the story is that Hayley was at a crossroads, she made the wrong decision, and went down a dangerous path. Just the idea that one tiny little mistake can affect your life so drastically, I find very interesting.

What is your favorite thing about writing Crossroads?

Oh, the Joker, hands down. It's so hard to get his character right, and at the same time it's really entertaining. I love writing about him, his character is so interesting and it's fun to think about how he would react in a certain situation.

What is the most challenging thing about writing it?

The Joker. :D It's a boring answer, I know, but even though it's really fun to write about him, it's really hard at the same time. He's a very complex character, and it's difficult to capture that all on (virtual) paper. I'm still really unhappy with the first few chapters that include him in it, because I don't think I described him all that well, but I am content with the more recent ones. It's a matter of practice, I suppose.

Have you ever experienced writer's block with Crossroads? If so, how did you overcome it?

Definitely. I don't get Writer's Block regularly, but when I do it's so awful; I go into hibernation for days. This may not help a lot of original fiction writers, but when I have Writer's Block I watch The Dark Knight, and read the comics. Anything that will get my inspiration going. Also, listening to songs that originally inspired me to write the story.

Do you write with an outline, or just wing it?

I am so bad at planning things. I generally just wing it. Although there are a few events in Crossroads that I have planned, everything in between is just blurry. I still don't know how it's going to end yet (argh), but I'm sure it'll come to me eventually.

Do you have any pre/post writing rituals?

Before I begin writing, my room has to be really clean. I can't stand writing when my room is dirty, it's distracting. This often becomes a problem, because usually you can barely see the floor in my bedroom, so I waste a good fifteen minutes trying to clean it all up. I like it when there's music playing in the background too, preferably Breaking Benjamin or Lana Del Rey. But apart from that, no. :)

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

Hello readers. :3 I have two things to say. One, you should all comment because comments are lovely (con crit too, of course). Two, a few of you have mentioned that my story is the only Joker story you have read. I'm flattered, but you need to branch out! :D There are so many amazing fanfictions out there that you are just narrowly missing, which is such a shame.

Thanks to Audrey T. and fandango for editing.