44 Days to go until rough drafts are due for the Perseia Big Bang!
We’re back with our writer interviews and, this week, we’re doing something slightly different. In honour of disability awareness month, we’re going to be highlighting the experiences of some of the disabled fanfic authors participating in the Perseia Big Bang. This week, we're excited to be talking to BlindPassenger, author of the popular Dadseidon fic, “What the Sea Claims, it Will Protect,” about their writing process, their experiences writing fanfiction as a blind author, and their thoughts on disability representation in literature.
What is your writing process typically like from the drafting stage, to the posting stage?
Usually it all starts with random ideas popping up in my head for some reason or another, often inspired by other fanfic, trying to figure out why certain things in canon are the way they are, discussions on Discord etc. I will then try to mentally organise these into something that resembles a coherent plot. When I feel like I reached this stage and have brought things in order, I will seek out a timeframe that will allow me to write undisturbed for at least 2-3 hours and start writing the chapter or one-shot I want to tackle. I'm a write-in-one-go type of writer, meaning I basically write an entire chapter/one-shot in one session without (long) breaks. I need to be and get in the mood of writing and the best way to do that is really just..starting and then letting the words flow. Typically, I'll have a goal to which point I wanna get with the chapter in question, end up adding a bunch of random stuff that comes to me while writing, and thus usually spending another chapter or so getting to that point (or, in case of a one-shot, word counts might as well double. Oh well). Once the basic writing is done, I'll let it rest for 1-3 days and then go into editing mode, erasing all my typos and whatnot and adjusting things that needs it. Since I do not write my drafts in English, the next step is now translating. Afterwards, I'll wait another one, two days and then look over it again, fixing everything that sounds wrong and making final adjustments. And that's it pretty much. I am impatient and incapable of creating backlog, so what's done gets posted almost immediately.
What is the process of writing like for you that might be different than a sighted person?
I would say the writing per se is not all that different from any other individual writer in and on itself. I figure the biggest difference is probably the inability to write and experience what you are writing at the same time. As in, since I need my hands for writing, I cannot simultaneously use them for proofing what I put on the page, and sometimes that's really annoying cause it means I will discover a bunch of typos like 'out of order letters' or 'second capital letter' and such. It also means that when I want to check on something written prior I'll have to pause and go back up within my document line by line, since the screenreader only puts out one screen line at a time. Or a half one, depending how many signs are in it. So, that makes the editing phase slightly more frustrating since I'll have to erase all these stupid errors while going through it again. But hey, at least that allows for (mostly) focussed writing without paying attention to this kind of stuff, so, there's that on the plus side.
How do you think that changes both your experience of writing and changes the fic that you end up writing?
Hmm, I would say being aware of the basically forceful moving of this step into editing territory will lead to focussing very much on the flow of the writing itself, which I think helps with not getting distracted quite as often and being taken out of the writing loop. Another aspect that might be worth noting, is that I do rarely, if ever, take actual physical notes on my writing plans. That's all going on in my head for about 99% of things. It's only after exchanging with other writers that I realised that's uncommon. I feel like part of this might be the fact that as a blind person you simply have a lot less opportunities/options to note/write down random stuff in practical ways, so a side effect is you train your mind on keeping important info on stuff you don't want to forget. But I can only speak for myself there as I'm not sure how this works for other people in similar circumstances, might also just be a Me thing.
What are things that sighted writers take for granted that you can’t? Are there ways that being blind has given you an advantage for when it comes to writing?
I think the biggest thing that comes to mind initially is concepts strongly related to sight. Stuff like light vs. dark, colours (something that is impossible to define when you can't see, it's literally just random words), physical attributes usually identified by looking at them, etc. On a smaller scale this also includes things easiest to asset visually like distances, heights, etc. than can be tricky from some point onwards. That's generally stuff that society as a whole takes for granted which, given that about 99.9% of people can relate to it, makes sense. Meanwhile I'm sometimes wondering what to do with this kind of stuff when reading about it.
I feel like one benefit is that it is harder for me to lend to certain stereotypes and fall victim to those. Like, I'm unable to judge people by their looks or physical features cause that's just not something I pay attention to or even have a frame for in most cases. Like, I would not know what to do with, say, cliches about blondes cause for me, that's literally not an identifiable concept. Or like, it's hard for me to grasp the concept of 'racism via skin-tone' cause...it's just not a concept I can even sort in mentally. So I feel stuff like this helps a lot when it comes to avoiding pre-categorizing people, be they real or fictional, from the looks alone, which I feel is something many a person does, and may it just be unconsciously.
When it comes to describing your setting, how do you imagine it in your head? Do you think you might put more attention on tactile, auditory, or smells when writing?
Gotta be honest here, I don't really imagine a setting in detail. The thing is, for me to get a sense of my environment, it requires a whole lot more of conscious exploration that it would for a sighted person, who will, so my impression, do a lot of that by default without even thinking too much about it. When I write, I tend to focus more on the characters, what's going on within them, and their interactions with each other, rather than their surroundings. Observing these is, for me personally, very much a slow-mode thing that would be weird to be written down unless I were specifically in another blind characters' POV, I assume. It would read strange even to me if I did that. I'm certainly more likely to focus on non-visual impressions more than the visual ones, but also I'm trying to not do that either esp. when it wouldn't be appropriate. After having read tons and tons of fictional works, I'm at the point where I feel I can bullshit my way through a sighted characters' POV, sometimes by imitating common phrases and patterns I see frequently used. There are definitely areas where the lack of imagination ability will bite me, like fight scenes for example. You kinda need to know whats going on there which is hard when you dont have the visual framework for them. So I'm mostly circling my way around this stuff for now. (Why did I think writing PJO fic was a good idea again?)
What is your perception of how blind or other disabled characters are commonly portrayed in books when written by sighted authors?
I feel like I should remind everyone that blind people, their experiences, and capabilities, are just as different from one another as sighted people. Even more so in regards to their disability because it is very relevant to consider when in their life they became blind, what environment they live in, what support they do/don't get, etc. My own experiences are very much mine and not universal to all. So, even if a blind character in a fictional work is very different from me on what they can do or how they behave/deal with it, that means nothing since it's an entirely different person with an even so different background. So, there's a wide range of possibilities. That being said, you definitely notice whether a writer is well-informed about the subject or knows people dealing with it, or just working on media cliches and the like, lol.
How do we limit characters with disabilities—when their defining characteristic is disability—and how can we break past that to create more well-rounded characters where that is just one more fact, like any other fact, about a character (even if it influences their lives more than some facts)?
My main advice would be don't write disabled characters (or any characters really) just for the sake of it. Representation is cool, but when it's obvious a character is only there to cross a rep checkbox, that's...not so much. Of course, it depends on the individual character and setting, but in most cases, the best way to treat disabled characters is writing them as People more so than focussing on their disability. The tricky part, as with any character that represents a certain group or pattern, is to find the right balance between including this aspect in a reasonable way without going overboard on constantly bringing it up. But also, when its a disability, dont ignore it for "cool factor". It does limit people in what they can do, and that has consequences, while it might also give them new and different perspectives as well. So when you want to include a disabled character you should ask yourself why you want to do it. Is the disability crucial to the character and the plot? If so, why? If not, why have it? If you still want it, then why, and how include it?
What is your least favourite and most favourite aspect about writing?
Most favorite is coming up with all the fun ideas and weaving them into a story, and also putting them out there, sharing them with other people who might take joy in it, and learning from these people that, and why, they enjoyed. it. My least favorite is definitely editing. I hate it and wish I wouldn't have to do it, but alas, it has to be done.
Do you have any advice for other authors at this stage in the Big Bang?
Try to work out all the major points of your fic. What is going to happen? Which characters, scenes, decisions, etc. are relevant? Does the world as given provide these options, and if not, what has to be changed and can it reasonably be changed to work for you? It's not important to know all the details yet, but you should at least have the arms, legs and head of the thing solidified, mentally at least. Also, as much as there's a deadline, don't force it. Forced fic writing is usually not good fic writing. Try to find moments where you genuinely feel like it and then just write. It will make the experience much better!
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