3, 31, 33 for the fanfic writer asks!
For the 35 Questions for Fanfiction Writers Ask Game
3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?
You got me with this one. I've never really thought about this, and I'm sure at this point some of my readers could answer this better than I could. I think a reader can tell I'm an experienced fanfic author by my formatting and grammar, and that holds appeal to a lot of readers so that the story can be easily digested and enjoyed. I also put in a lot of time researching and understanding the smallest details I include for the sake of an immersive experience.
31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them!
I do have OCs! My whole schtick is built around creating believable OCs because they were so heavily frowned upon when I got into fanfic (tbf, most were Mary Sues, and it has been my mission since 2004 to create OCs people liked).
My nearest, dearest, and most widely known OC would be Emma Brown. In my BttF trilogy rewrite, the Time Circuits Series, she is Doc's 17-year-old daughter. Emma came to me in 2005 and was first published in a one-shot on FFN in January 2006. At this point, yes, she was such a Mary Sue I can't read that one-shot in one sitting anymore lol. But she evolved over the years, and in 2013, I officially sat down to insert her in the trilogy (and finally finished last November)!
She is smart, sarcastic, and a lover of peanut butter and old sitcoms.
Whereas Marty loves rock n' roll, she likes Beethoven.
I didn't realize this until after I finished the series, but she tends to be painting after an argument/ when she's angry. She is condescending, blunt, and dominant in an argument, a skill inherited from her mother.
Her mother was a nurse at Hill Valley University that belittled Doc while patching him up after a failed experiment sent him to the infirmary in the early 1950s, and they were a classic enemies-to-lovers situation for a decade. Her parents were married for five years before Emma came along, but her mother sadly died in childbirth.
She's always been under Doc's feet, certainly not as smart as him but on her way.
She tutors her peers in the library after school.
She and Marty were aware of each other growing up, but once they were paired up for a History project in 9th grade and Marty started working for Doc, they were in each other's circles and became friends. They are also embroiled in a years-long rubber band war.
I decided her birthday was August 9th a few years ago, and you should have seen the look on my face when I read in the DeLorean Manual that August 9th was the day Doc's father passed away. Also, I had Emma applying to Stanford for college, and wouldn't you know it - Grandpa Erhardt went to law school at Stanford! So those were some fun, unintentional ties I LOVED.
Emma has literally been in my brain for 18 years now, and she's grown so much in that time. I'm so proud of who she is in my series, and I've been having the itch to write her again soon! She has consistently been praised for her seamless insertion into canon AND adding to the story we all know and love, and that was what I was always after. I know a lot of BttF people aren't fans of MartyOC rewrites, but I promise you if you take a chance on her, Emma's the real deal, and I will so toot my own horn about it. :)
Another OC I've had gain some popularity lately would be Ann Gardner from my Once Upon A Time in the West Series. I don't want to give away much about her because that's a pretty big plot point. She meets Marty in 1888 when she arrives in Hill Valley as a mail-order bride. Marty meets her at the train station; he's become the guy you go to for odd jobs, and he's delivered a few mail-order brides from the train station over the years. But Ann's intended husband died before she got there, so Marty had to deliver her to the Palace Saloon so she could rent a room. Over the next year, she gets an apartment above Mrs. Keen's dressmaking shop and is an apprentice there. There is an unspoken, mutual pining between Ann and Marty, but Marty's so depressed at this point and upset that his relationship with Jennifer is unsalvageable after all this time that he's keeping Ann at arm's length.
(I'm sorry that turned into an essay, but you asked lol)
33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?
While I've been implementing outlines and word count goals to get stuff done, I write a lot based on feel. Sometimes, I choreograph and act out scenes with a lot of moving parts so I can hear the dialogue, see where someone's eyes go after a certain line, and take notes on physical and physiological aspects. It helps me get better details into a scene. Sometimes, once I hear a line of dialogue said out loud, or hear it in a different tone, it totally changes the direction of the scene - or the story! I love stumbling upon stuff like this in my process.
Thanks so much for the ask! Send more! :)
