1DFF related

1.    How did you come up with your penname?

I honestly don't remember.  I think it was just a phrase that I liked?  I've used it on other websites before and I just stuck with it.

2.    Who are your top 3 authors as of right now?

Hmm.  I haven't had a chance to read much lately, but when I do get a free moment, I'm really excited to read the White Houses challenges, particularly Sophia's, Ellen's, and Kaylie's.       

3.    What is your favourite story right now?

My fave right now is Big Plans, Small Lives, I think, because it's so different from what everyone else is writing.  And the relationship feels really realistic to me and Ian is so relatable.  I've been thinking a lot lately about relationships that you don't get into because you know they work out, or because you don't think you can give them the time and attention they deserve.  This guy could be everything you're looking for, and it just doesn't work because of all these things that you can't control.  Or maybe it doesn't work because of you, like in BPSL so far.

4.    Do you ever scroll through the most recent page to find a new story, and if so, what is the first thing that will draw your attention to a story?

I get really frustrated with the most recents because I'm really picky about grammar and stylistics, so I tend to avoid the most recent. But when I do scan through them, my eyes are drawn to banners.

5.    Is there anyone on 1DFF that you really appreciate as a writer and a person and would love to meet face to face?

I love everybody I've gotten the chance to interact with.  My favorite thing about the 1dff community is how open and welcoming it is. 

Writing related

1.    Do you plan, or do you go with the flow?

I'm a terrible planner.  I have an outline for one of my stories right now, but I've written large chunks of it out of order.  

2.    When looking for inspiration, what do you find helps the most?

I mostly just wait for inspiration to hit me.  I'm awful about it.  I only like to write when the mood strikes.  When I force things out, they're just not as good.

3.    When you’re writing, do you have any form of routine or tradition? i.e. sitting outside, or handwriting and then typing?

Not at all.  But my best writing is usually done late at night in my notebook.  The stuff I write straight into my computer is never as good.

4.    Have you ever been given a specific writing related piece of advice that has stuck with you?

Not particularly.  I think "write what you know" is pretty much bs.  Write what you want to write. 

5.    If you were to read your original fan fiction, would you say your writing has improved or stayed similar?

I'm not really sure.  I haven't really been writing fan fic long enough to see a huge kind of change.  

6.    When you write, do you find that the words come easy to you, or do you find that you sometimes have to go searching to find them?

Sometimes I have to search for them.  But those words always disappoint me.   

7.    We can assume that everyone has suffered from writer’s block, so what are your best strategies to overcome it?

Um, I'm not really sure.  I usually just wait it out. 

8.    What is your favourite part about both writing and reading a story?

I read as a writer mostly, so I'm always looking to learn from others' writing.  I pay a lot of attention to characterization and prose.    

9.    Where do you stand with clichés? Do you think they should be avoided at all costs, or do you think that as long as they are original, they’re okay to use?

A cliche can't be original.  But sometimes they're okay.  They're fun, and that's what fan fic should be.

10.  When you get an idea for a story, what is the piece of information or the idea that usually comes to you first? Is it the plot, is it the characters or is it something else?

With The Double Plaid, it was the title.  Kit Perkins came after.  I'm not really sure where Those Dirty Hipsters came from.  Maybe the scene where they met at the concert?  

11.  Assuming your title isn’t the first idea you get, how do you go about finding the perfect title?

I don't think any of my titles are perfect.  I'm never satisfied with them.  But I pull from song titles, usually, or phrases, or words that just sound good together. 

12.  What do you think is your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness in your writing?

I'm very concise and I don't overwrite, which is both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness.  Wordiness goes a long way in characterization in fan fic.  

13.  Are there any themes that you would love to write about that you haven’t yet?

There are a lot of different relationship cliches and meet cutes that I'd love to write about, but I don't have the time write now to start anything new, unfortunately. 

14.  What is your favourite theme that you have covered in your stories so far, and why is it your favourite?

Hmm. I really love the dynamic in Accidental Sublime, and I also think it's some of my best prose.  I'm not sure if that answers the question, though. 

15.  Is there anything you find incredibly easy to write, and is there anything you find incredibly hard to write?

I struggle with boring description, she did this, she did that.  I tend to skim over that stuff in my writing and focus more on internal processes and dialogue.  

16.  When you are writing, do you set a goal for a word count per chapter, or do you write and see what happens?

I always have a word count goal but depending on the chapter, sometimes it takes longer to get to it. 

Character related

1.    A lot of authors put their own traits, characteristics and values into a character. Have you done this with any character so far?

Definitely.  Definitely definitely.  Celeste in Those Dirty Hipsters is very similar to me in both good and bad ways. 

2.    What types of characters are your favourite to write, and what are your favourite to read?

Dynamic characters are the best ones to read.  Unfortunately they're the hardest to write.

3.    When deciding on a boy to focus on, how do you decide?

Usually the relationship dynamic works better with the way that I imagine a particular boy. I don't ever have that issue of which boy is this story going to be about?  I just know. 

4.    Are there any characters that you write that you feel particularly close to?

Kiernan Wilbur, who is a character in a story I never published. 

5.    Who do you find is the easiest boy to write about?

Harry.  But I love writing about Zayn as well.

6.    What boy do you enjoy reading more?

I'll read a good story about any boy.  I don't really choose stories based on which boy they're about.

7.    When creating OCFs, some people make their bad traits outweigh their good, but there are others who make them even, or make the good outweigh the bad. Where do you think you fit into this?  

It's really important to me that characters have flaws, but I definitely struggle with writing them.  

8.     Out of your current characters, who is your favourite to write?

Kit Perkins, definitely.  I have a really great sense of who she is in my head and she's really special to me. 

9.  Do you think it’s important to make an OCF relatable, or is it okay to make them a bit far fetched in order to stretch the reader’s imagination?

It's really important to me that characters are relatable in what I'm reading, and because I value that, I try to do it in my own work too.  But it's also important to me that characters have traits that I admire and strive toward for myself.  There are a lot of things I admire about Ezra from Perfect Teeth: her self-confidence and her sense of humor, for instance.  

Face Claim related

1.    Personally, I find that when I am writing a story, two different things can happen when I think about a face claim: 1) I find a face claim and make a character around them or 2) I make the character and find the perfect face claim to fit. Do you do either of these and if not, how do you decide on the perfect face claim?

I don't particularly care that much about face claims.  They're usually an afterthought for me.

2.    Are there any face claims you will avoid, and if so, why?

In reading stories, I tend to prefer when writers use unfamiliar faces for face claims.  Otherwise it's hard for me to separate Selena Gomez, for instance, and what I know/think about her from the character.  

3.    Would you ever read a story based solely on the face claim? If so, what face claim do you think would draw you in?

Not at all.  

Reader related

1.    With your most popular story, did you ever expect it to become as big as it is?

I don't feel like any of my stories are particularly popular, especially relative to the super popular stories.  I'm grateful for the readership that I have, though.  I definitely wasn't expecting it. 

2.    Why do you think so many people enjoyed your story?

I think people are attracted to the synesthesia aspect of The Double Plaid, because it's different and weird.  

3.    If you could direct your readers to any other fic (not yours), what fic would you choose?