JttW Fanfic Writer Interview
Before we get to the guidelines (yes, I know, boo the rules), if everyone would kindly thank my friend for writing the second half of this interview that would be much appreciated. I was in a slump, and if it weren’t for her this probably would’ve been out two days after the deadline (The sparkle thing was her idea btw)
Alrighty, so there’s a total of 25 questions and it’s up to you whether or not you want to answer all of them. It’s like an All You Can Eat Buffet: choose the questions that you like the best and would like to munch on without judgement
You can also retake this as many times as you want with no limits because I can’t really stop you either way (In all honesty, it’s perfectly fine if you wanna take a bajillionth hit at it again- I won’t complain)
Btw, I know some of you guys are insane and have written multiple works, so don’t feel like you have to confine yourself to just one fic- you can randomly hop between your fics as long as you specify which. To those who have only written one JttW fic, that’s okay, you’re just as insane :)
Anyways, question time!
If you have written more than one JttW fic, which categories would you make up and put each of them in and why? (Most fun to write, most fluffy or most angsty, etc.)
Was there any inspiration before you wrote it or was it an original idea?
Did you do any research? If so, on what subject(s) and how did you find the sources?
How did you implement said research/or speculation into your story? Did it enhance or give nuance into the narrative?
Circling back on inspiration, while you were writing, were there any parts of your fic that were influenced by other works?
What’s a fun fact about your fic you’d like to unveil?
Was there a scene that caused you to stare at the screen in bewilderment because it wasn’t planned? At all?
Ohhh, actually how about this: pick out your favorite scenes and place them in your own ranking (Most suspenseful, satisfying, fun, grueling, etc). Why would you choose that and what was it like writing them out?
Were there any scenes that you had to cut out of the official fic? If so, why and would you perhaps be so kind as to share?
Hands down, what were your favorite exchanges between the characters? Were they planned or nah?
Regarding the question above, do you find yourself quoting them sometimes?
How close to canon is your characterization for your chosen character(s) and why is that?
Speaking of characterization, was it difficult figuring that out? Why or why not?
Was there a character outside of JttW that influenced how you wrote them?
What are some head-canons that you’ve included in the fic, and how did said head-canons come into existence?
If any, how did real life experiences impact your fic?
Were there any characters or places you depicted that came from said experiences?
Do you have a creative formula? Can you walk me through it if so?
Was there anyone that encouraged you or supported you that directly led to you writing fics?
What are some of the best and worst parts of writing fics or stories in general?
Are there any of your characters you are particularly passionate about? If so, why?
Are there any tropes you find extra enjoyable? Do you tend to use them?
Do you have a favorite fic? Is it your own or someone else’s?
What is your favorite type of media? Art, movies, stories, fics, music, all of the above?
25. Do you personally see the world differently since you started writing, if at all, and how?
✨BONUS QUESTION: Picking any number of comments, how would you rank them? (similar order to the question 1. and 8.)✨
NOTE: Btw I'm considering compiling the answers into a masterpost and would like to know whether or not you would like to included
With that all said and done, thank you so, so much for answering! I hope both sides of your pillow are cold for the rest of your days :)
Oh heck yeah so many questions to chew on. Ough this is going to be long.
1. Can I Stay? was the Most Daunting fic I've had to write so far. It was, of course, the first one I published, which is daunting in itself, but it was also quite technically challenging. I think one of the best parts of jttw are the pilgrims and their dynamics with each other, and I chose to kick off with Wukong being separated from all of them. I had to reverse engineer Wukong's dynamics with everyone and tell the audience why they should be sad about the separation without ever showing Wukong interacting with Tripitaka or his brothers beforehand. I hadn't had the chance to hammer out how I wrote any of the characters and here I was diving into the Second Banishment headfirst like a madman. It was difficult, and there were some long hours where I just sat and thought and thought about how I was going to handle this. Also I had to write Bodhisattva Guanyin in detail, and give her an arc, and to do that you need conflict and flaws and... oh I am still terrified I'm going to get executed for that. The current fic I'm writing, Plaything, I think should win Most Researching Required, because while I do research tonnes for every other fic as well, this one just takes the cake. There's so much, and a lot of it's not information that's particularly easy to find in my experience. And in the least spoilery of explanations, I have to invent something for this one. I have to put myself in the shoes of a mendicant monk in Tang Dynasty China and make something completely new from the few things I have with only my bare hands, and that takes a lot of thought and a lot of web surfing. Tiny Baby Wukong is, of course, the Most Fluffy (and the Most Silly-Goofy.) And finally, The New Recruit wins Most Angsty. You all know why.
3. Hooooo have I done a lot of research. I research anything and everything. I gotta say there are things I prefer to research— clothes are my favourite, and I also really like sinking my teeth into Traditional Chinese Medicine (please go check out the website Me & Qi, I am addicted to researching random conditions in their herb database oh my goodness.) But, uh. We gotta talk about the food. Because I, against all good advice, have spent so long researching in order to write historically accurate food and the truth is the way I did it was both tedious and stupid. I would just brainstorm vegetables and every time I thought of a new one I would open Google and type in "where is *plant* native to" and then if it were endemic to Eurasia I would follow it up with "When did *plant* reach China" and then if it were before the journey's timeslot I would add it to the list. I did this. Every. Single. Time. And now I have a massive list so I guess I did something right.
7. Oh, so the bit in Can I Stay? where Wukong reads Guanyin's diary scroll was never meant to happen. It was supposed to be a one-off joke when Wukong saw Guanyin writing in the scroll, asked what was in it, and got told to buzz off. But in a later scene, when I wrote the words "Wukong returned to find the grove empty" the Handsome Monkey King himself materialised in my brain and he told me one thing and one thing only: I want to go through Guanyin's stuff. And, genuinely, that moment was what made the fic as good as it was.
8. Okay so my favourite scene to write in Can I Stay? was the confrontation between Wukong and Guanyin in Chapter 3. I wrote that pacing in front of my bedroom mirror in tears, silently yelling the lines as I came up with them at my reflection and then typing them directly into my phone and that is how that scene was written and I don't think I changed a single thing about it. And I loved writing the scene in The New Recruit where Wujing is alone in prison and confronting his whole character up until that point. It was just the greatest, most cathartic thing to write. It felt genuinely epic. I don't know what else to say it was just incredible.
9. Okay so I had to cut this scene from The New Recruit for a whole lot of very good storytelling reasons but I loved it with all my heart so here we go. Tripitaka is waiting in the palace of the Precious Image Kingdom for Bajie and Wujing to return from their mission to rescue the princess. They're taking a while and he's getting worried. At that moment a messenger runs in with some excellent news! Tripitaka is immediately delighted, thinking this must be the herald of his disciples' return, but instead the news crushes him. The messenger says that there was a shape-changing demon on the road to the Great Tang who would attack and often kill travellers through the mountain pass using the disguise of a beautiful young woman. But someone has thankfully slain her, and now the kingdom's trade route with the empire is safe again! ...And as everyone else celebrates this news, Tripitaka connects the dots. He asks to be excused for a moment and goes out onto a secluded balcony, where he breaks down crying. He chides himself mercilessly and swears that the moment Bajie and Wujing get back he'll send them to find Wukong and he'll make everything alright. He goes back inside just in time for the Yellow Robe Demon to show up and turn him into a tiger.
10. Not really an exchange, but: "He was acquiring surrogate idiots."
16. The New Recruit is very personal to me in a lot of ways. Growing up with several undiagnosed mental illnesses (and some physical ones too, I'm sure) has left me with a tendency to do as I'm told and suffer in silence rather than protest when something hurts. I finally broke down last year, and I'm getting better at evaluating my discomforts and my needs, but I am still very much on the Wujing end of things. Funnily enough, as I began to write the fic I began to notice when I was struggling a lot more, because I would find myself thinking "If Wujing suffered through such-and-such, I can suffer through this" and that thought alone can help me stop and figure out what's wrong and seek help or comfort.
19. I need to thank @tuima11 for... yeah, pretty much everything. Because of her amazing fics I finally realised there was a fandom for jttw, and I got to share the fics I have had locked up inside of me for two agonising years. And she's such an incredible and talented author, so every time she comments on my work or shouts me out it feels like a massive honour and I just find it so encouraging. Thank you so much, Tuima!
20. The worst part is the writing itself and the best part is the writing itself next question.
22. I love whump so much it is a problem. I'm sure you've all noticed this by now.
25. Listen, writing saved my life. Without it I think I would have no sense of purpose. I started writing for fun when I was eleven and incredibly lonely, and it made me feel whole. It's going to be my job one day. And, at the moment, it's brought me all of you amazing people, and that is absolutely amazing to me. Writing has expanded my horizons far beyond the scared, lonely kid I once was, and I don't think it's changed my life— I think it is my life.
Thank you and your friend so much for putting this together, it was such a blast to fill out! If there are future parts I will absolutely participate!
