#interview 9

FanFiction Name: morgangirl11

Twitter or other: Twitter: withoutthetiger, AO3: withoutthetiger, Tumblr: rewritetheending

Why did you pick the name(s) you are using? Oh, gosh, I did a terrible job of planning ahead for any of it, so my names are a mess! When I picked morgangirl11, I only planned to read/review/follow fics, so I didn’t care that much about the name itself…it’s a nod to Captain Morgan and my favorite number. Once I started writing, I created an LJ account and wanted a better fandom name, so I picked withoutthetiger (Cuffed is a fun ep!).  When I joined tumblr a few months later, withoutthetiger wasn’t available, so I picked rewritetheending (Countdown angst!) there. I hate that I have so many names, but it’s my own fault for being careless.

Place of birth: Southern California

Where do you live now? Sadly, not Southern California

Anything you want to share about your life or family: My wife and I have been married for 5-6 years (we had two weddings, 7 ½ months apart, so there are two anniversaries) and we have twin toddlers.

Job: I’m a real estate executive assistant/transaction coordinator. It’s a lot of online file management, a million emails, some marketing and accounting, county records searches, plenty of spreadsheets, and occasional personal stuff for agents. Most importantly, it’s a job I can do from home, so I’m able to stay here with my kids every day.

What do you like to do in your spare time, besides writing? Go to the local children’s museum with my family, watch movies/tv shows/sports with my wife, cook (and eat!), have my mom over for a weekly lunch/dinner, attend national tour productions of Broadway shows, and see favorite artists/bands in concert. Oh, and I love to sleep.

How did you become a fan of Castle? My mom watched it from the very beginning and used to tell me how great it was (I heard all about the chemistry between the writer and the cop and the awesome relationship the writer had with his mother and daughter). I have no idea what took me so long to jump in, but somewhere in the middle of season two, I decided to turn it on…I think Tick Tick Tick/Boom was where I started.

Favorite episode(s): Impossible! Knockdown and Knockout can generally flip-flop as my favorite, but I love so many. A Chill Goes Through Her Veins, When the Bough Breaks, Sucker Punch, Tick Tick Tick/Boom, A Deadly Affair, 3XK, Nikki Heat, Setup/Countdown, To Love and Die in L.A., Rise, Cops & Robbers, Kill Shot, Cuffed, Always, After the Storm, Probable Cause, Still, Under Fire, Veritas, The Time of Our Lives, Resurrection/Reckoning, and Hollander’s Woods.

How did you discover fan fiction? Well, apparently I lived under a rock, because I had NO idea it existed until the post-Always hiatus (summer of 2012). I was googling something about C/B and a fic (one of shimmeryshine’s, I believe) was among the results. The rest, as they say, is history.

When did you start writing? When I first found fanfiction, I had no plans to write. Ever. At all. But I stumbled upon the kink meme (Winter Hiatus ‘12/’13) and thought it would be funny to see if I could fill a prompt. Again, the rest is history!

Have you written anything for other fandoms? Not yet. I’ve considered it, but haven’t made that leap.

Favorite place to write? Well, I keep my laptop on the dining room table because that’s where I do my work all day…so my writing gets done there, too. It’s not that exciting, but it’s good enough.

Do you have a particular writing process? With one-shots, not really. I sit down and write, editing as I go. Once they’re complete, I read through them another time or two to catch any other issues, and then I post. With the few multis I’ve written, I’ve done a basic outline first. It helps me remember the key plot points/scenes/images I want to include, plus it helps with pacing.

How do you come up with your story ideas? The kink meme fics were all from prompts there. Most of my other fics were a result of episode moments/questions I couldn’t get out of my head. A couple of them were requests from friends in the fandom. Ghostwriter was entirely my wife’s fault.

Which is your favorite story that you’ve written and why? He Loved Her. It’s the only fic I’ve ever written 100% for myself, and it was complete several months before I considered posting it at all.

What have you learned or improved on in your writing? Specifically in my writing, I think I’ve become better at capturing emotions, relying less on sex, etc. I’m better at avoiding clichés. I don’t force canon tie-ins/quotes as much. More generally, I’ve learned and grown in my motivations for writing and my relationship with the fandom.

What resources, if any, do you find helpful when writing? Google (web and image searches), thesaurus.com, IMDB, and my Castle DVDs.

Is there something you wished you’d known when you first started? Pick a name you like and make sure it’s available on all social media/fic-posting platforms.

How long does it take you to write a typical chapter? I used to reliably crank out 1000-4000 words a day (an afternoon?) without much trouble. Then I got pregnant and had kids and my brain only makes occasional appearances in my life. I’d say most chapters/one-shots take me 3-7 days, assuming I’m motivated enough to make them a priority.

Which of your fics has been the most popular? For All That You Are easily wins in both favorites and reviews. Among one-shots, At the Day’s End is my most reviewed and If I Had Stayed is my most favorited.

Which of your fics are you most proud of, and why? Oooooh, probably Ghostwriter. It was so different from anything I’d written before, and an awesome personal challenge to embrace. The story itself was intense and detailed and closest to the type of original work I’d like to do.

Pick 2-3 of your stories and take us deeper into the process.  Any frustrations or proud moments? Where did the idea come from, what were you trying to accomplish, etc. Ghostwriter was a result of a barrage of questions from my wife (spoiler alert): “What if 3XK was behind Castle’s disappearance?” “What if Castle had helped plan Kate’s kidnapping in 7x14?” “What if Castle’s memories came back in time for him to help solve the crime he’d helped plan in the first place?” I took all of that, combined it with a bit of Castle’s dark past, and voila! It was a lot of fun to work out all of the details, write the past/present action with alternating chapters, and create clever clues and cliffhangers along the way. There is an inherent challenge, I think, in writing a mystery because I knew the answers to all the questions and had to make it interesting enough (and neither too easy nor too hard) for the readers to follow. I was very proud when people felt that suspense without being lost.     Akin was a tricky one to write because I knew I wanted to find a blend of several emotions, but keep the fic itself very simple. My intention was to play with a bittersweet connection between AU Captain!Beckett and Castle…the idea that he knew her and loved her, but didn’t really know her and love her at all. As an observer, I found myself torn between wanting so much more for them and needing Castle to get back to his world. That universe wrecks me if I think about it too long, and I’d love to explore a million other angles of it, but that could be a messy rabbit hole!

Last story you wrote, or current if publishing? I recently posted the final chapter of For All That You Are and I’m working on few new (shorter) things now.

Who are some of your favorite authors in fanfic? I have very, very little time to read these days, but the three authors that consistently take priority over other things in my life are Kato Molotov, bravevulnerability, and Cora Clavia. There are many, many other talented writers out there, but some others off the top of my head are ColieMacKenzie, Meg Moore, and the still-new dappledshadows.

Top 5 favorite stories, other than your own? For what you have tamed by Kato Molotov, Flashlight by l03l, still our hands match by bravevulnerability, The Chair by ThePossibilityOfMagic, Summer Dark by Cora Clavia, and a million others that could take a top-five spot at any given time.

Any stories that you feel deserve more attention? Honestly, I’m mostly out of the loop on what people are reading, largely because I don’t have much time to read myself. I do hope people don’t select fics to read based solely upon name recognition and review counts.

Advice to new authors or people thinking about writing? Don’t tell yourself you suck or that you can’t do it or any variation thereof; negativity is dangerous. Rest assured that many (most?) of us are nervous when we post, then refresh our inboxes every five second, including overnight, while reviews come in. Remember that there is no direct correlation between talent and popularity. End stories sooner rather than later and don’t be pressured into sequels that shouldn’t be written. Know that you have a lot to learn, but also cut yourself some slack. Have fun.

Something you think will surprise most people about you? My real name isn’t Morgan. That’s an internet pseudonym only.

Anything else you’d like people to know? I’m a huge sports fan. I don’t really talk about that side of myself much within the fandom, but it’s definitely a passion.

Finally, please name a few authors you’d nominate to be interviewed.  Everyone should have the chance to peek inside Kato Molotov’s head.

End of interview