#ask-a-thon

party philll!! i made this for u and your sister!! hope u like ;3

ignore this if the ask a thon is over otherwise thisll be akward asf lmao

(OMG OF COURSE, THE SILLIES!!!)

Phil: ...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—

What inspired you to start writing?

Have you ever co-written something? Why or why not?

Oh Athena.

Athena.

This question means the world to me, I cannot tell you how much. As usual, I'm going to ramble, because this is absolutely a special interest of mine in writing and fandom and boy howdy do my experiences shape my writing.

As always, answers below the cut, and general content warning for gender-based violence, workplace sexual harassment, and trauma.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate it <3 Tough question, in a way. I saw this ask come through a while ago and spent the better part of my day thinking about the answer. I mean this response with all respect, and with no intentions to be back-handed. Hear me out.

I think part of the premise of Carlisle's circumstances both in the first book that's already out and in the second book that I'm currently working on is that sadly his circumstances aren't unique. Sure, he's set against the back-drop of science fiction, but assuming technology continues to advance and eventually reaches one of the points detailed in the story - life as currency and property, autonomy an infinite question - it might eventually become a form of accidental contemporary fiction, no matter how much I hope it doesn't.

Which isn't the point, and I'm blabbing. Hm. I think I'm trying to say that the premise may not be altogether original - though I don't see it as any one thing's clone - and the characters may be very similar to real people, but that's actually my hope. I put a lot of work into making the characters - particularly Carlisle - into a mirror, where somebody who needs familiarity in some suffering might feel vindicated or allied, even seen. Everything that happens in inspired by real events, but somewhat dramatized to fit the mold of the genre. Even the violence.

If I had to say what makes it unique or stand-out... I would hope it's me. I would hope to say the same of all writers. I see a lot of people struggle with the concept of originality, and some others who've dealt with a college prof who says, in his ancient and bitter way, that everything has been done. It hasn't exactly, though. We all exist together, but very separate. Your perspective exists and is true - even if it's only your truth - and therefore colors everything you write, but also say and do.

There are some cliches and tropes that I do avoid intentionally - I fear they might cheapen the message for some people, and leave the lessons a little hollow. Nothing against the cliches, but I know I have trouble hearing something genuine out of them these days. It's like saying the same word too many times in a row - it starts being noise, with minimal comprehensible meaning.

At the end of the day, I think the answer is "me", for whatever that's worth. I think we all fear we aren't original, and chase this little spark that we're afraid we don't have. But we've got it. And it's just who we are. Bring that to your work, and it should always be unique. I do like and appreciate this question though, because it made me think about my work in a way I hadn't yet. It brought me back to what "unique" was and what I was trying to do when I started writing, and who I was trying to reach. I just hope that anyone who needs somebody finds Carlisle, and that he gives to them everything he gave to me. So maybe, it's him that makes it unique.

I can promise I'll think about this question on and off for a while, so I may have an adapted answer in the future? Who knows.

Hello! I honestly can’t think of a specific event at the moment, but I feel proud when parts of a plotline that I’ve been piecing together finally come to a resolution that makes sense. Sometimes I don’t have an immediate end goal in mind, just a series of scenes that can fit into one fic, but don’t yet have that final defining connection. It’s a great feeling when the lightbulb comes on and you can say “Yes! THIS is how it all works together!”

As for a character, hmm…I think that would be when the moment arrives when they realize they have a skill that can be used to the benefit of another, either to protect/save another character or provide the solution that no one else had thought of up to that point. For example, in my starlight project, Darrien is content to live quietly in his undercover human life, working as a bus boy in the corner diner in the evening then spending his free time stargazing, with not much concern for doing much else with his life. After he meets Helios, life gets more interesting, and he eventually finds himself in a situation where he has to use his abilities to keep Helios alive – or he could just escape on his own and go back to his mundane life.