Ari Babbles: 40 Questions for Fic Writers

Hello, darlings!

Today, I'll be answering the Forty Questions for Fic Writers meme.  I snagged the questions from here. I came across it while searching for memes to answer, and thought, why the hell not. Slight warning, though - this is going to be one hell of a long post.

As usual, the Read More link is right there if you wish to continue. ^_^ 

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

A typical Russie short would usually consist of OTPs acting adorable. I tend to ask my bby Rothie for writing prompts, more so the OTP ones. In other cases, I like giving people the feels, whether sweet feels or angst feels, I'm okay with either. *evil laughter*

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

It isn't actually a trope, but an AU! I've always wanted to try out the Soulmates AU, where the protagonist has the ability to see the fated relationships between people. I may have been doing some light plotting here and there, but I haven't actually gotten to writing it. 

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

I won't write anything that makes me uncomfortable. An example of this would be incest. 

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Just like what I mentioned in #2, I'm pretty much doing some light planning for a Soulmates AU. I'm just not sure which universe to integrate it with. 

5. Share one of your strengths.

I love details. Someone told me before that I tend to be very detail-oriented in my writing, and that's something I've always been proud of. 

The type of details tend to vary, whether it be scenery, body language or whatever. I've also been told that I'm quite...proficient (?) at the romance type of things. 

6. Share one of your weaknesses.

It takes me a long time to finish projects. An example would be The Royal Flush - I've been writing it since Sophomore year, but two years later, I'm not even done. If you guys have seen my posts concerning it, then you'd know that I'm really revamping the story at the moment. I don't know when I'll start it again (let alone finish it), but it's one of those projects that I really want to see finished.

Another: I just can't with fantasy. I really can't write that genre properly. 

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Her lips were sweet. 

She tasted of vodka and fruit and snack, of wine and milk and sweets. They were rough but when he kissed them, the rough went well with his smooth. When she opened her lips, her voice came out strong and feminine, full of confidence. He loved how red they were when they kissed, pumping with blood and further intensified when lipstick coated them, leaving marks on his suit while she kissed her way down his chest and unbuttoned the damn thing. 

He loved how she whispered her love and how her mouth fell open if in shock. He feared how they would tremble when she would cry, how she would be biting her lip if she was nervous. He fancied her smirk and adored her smile that outshone the sun.

Basically one of the most heartbreaking Matt/A things I've written. And it's still not complete.

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“Excuse me?”

“If you think those one night stands and trips from the bar are classified as love, then you’re dead wrong. That’s lust, A. There’s a difference. When you’re in love, you make love. When you’re in lust, you fuck. Love isn’t equivalent to lust, and it will never be.” Pausing, he took the moment to light the cigarette. “...I haven’t found love in Tokyo ever since I moved here. The last time I was in love, I was in Bronx and I was in high school and I was stupid.”

“…perhaps I worded it wrongly.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.” The American took a drag. “What you must have meant is that you envy the company I tend to have outside of work.”

  

He eyed her. “You’re much too young to even experience love, A. What are you, nineteen going twenty? There’s a ton more in store for you, and love has to be the least of your problems. But I’ll tell you something. Something that I’ve learned over my years of playing and dating with lust on the mind.” 

She merely looked at him, waiting.

“When it comes, it’ll be worth it.”

Contrary to due belief, I actually really love the Peters-A relationship, especially when it's Peters who has to give A advice. Remember that Peters is older than a by a few years, technically making him the big brother in this situation.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

It has to be Vices. Any fic involving an investigation, actually - you have to plot down to the tiniest detail. Usually I'd love that, but you have to make sure that there aren't any loopholes or small details that can easily break your plot. 

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

Easiest so far would have to be writing for the TSP verse. Because all I (might) have to do is have it checked by Rothie and see if it's canon-worthy or not. *laughs* The thing with writing for the TSP verse is that anything can be headcanon, and you can break canon. All you have to do is abide by the rules of that certain verse. 

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

Passion. I've actually been choosing different kinds of English-related/Communication-related courses for college, such as UP Diliman's English Studies and De La Salle's Communication Arts. 

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

(I have no idea what you mean by episode but)

Reading The Lover's Dictionary usually inspires me!

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Bring a notebook and pen everywhere. It's very handy, especially when you have to write some kind of new idea somewhere. Typing it on my phone just doesn't do it for me. 

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

It tends to vary per person, but a really bad one in general is to just cram it in. I hate cramming any kind of writing, it just makes me rush and lose quality.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

Make a film about Sqaud A with the right FCs and every detail correctly preserved, and I will love you forever and ever. Basically, Vices: A Race

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

 

are you really asking me this right now
(disclaimer: both manips made by yours truly)

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I do it best from start to finish! I just feel that if I wrote them out of order, I'd get confused and end up mixing plot, which usually doesn't bode well.

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

I use Microsoft Excel for keeping track of my OCs and basic information about them. 

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

My muse might be the snarkiest assbutt ever. 
(ilu, musie)

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Very early morning or late in the night, the room has to be cold and I have a hot cup of milo right next to me. My iPod would be playing my overly-saturated OTP playlist.

21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

After I write, I usually just revise once or twice and then post. 

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style.  

“Congratulations, you’ve beat me twice in a row.” I say, still smiling. She quietly fixes up the chess pieces and collects them, and puts them in the foldable wooden chess board. I then sigh and watch her, my mouth curving down in a frown. Arianne seems tired, and that was something…worrying. We then stand up and I check my clock – five more minutes until departure. This was our free period. We already had our bags with each other, and we were just waiting for the bell to ring.

“You should have saved up some of your pawns,” she then says. “They can’t always go first. Sometimes, you even have to put your queen at danger just to protect the king with all your might…” she fiddles with the board and looks up at the sky. She hasn’t been smiling, lately. There was only a tired expression or a worried one on her face. I nod at her words, and instead of pressing on about chess, I just watch her.

She’s been growing scarily distant from her friends. 

(Taken from: Black and White, Chapter 9: Haunted. Written March 2, 2012.) 

Revised version:

"You know, Arizona, if you're just going to keep beating me at this, then I might as well just let you beat nothing." I wisecracked. Arizona said nothing as she swept the chess pieces back into the cloth bag, her eyes not exactly meeting my own. "Can't you at least give me some tips? You can't win forever."  

“It’s a matter of saving your pieces and using them wisely. Use the stronger pieces to deceive the others, and then use your pawns. Sometimes, you can take a rook or a knight with a single, seemingly weak pawn.” We stood up, she carrying the reassembled chess set and I checking my wristwatch.

“It’s five minutes to bell. Do you want to wait for the others?” 

“…we should leave, Luke.” 

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

I'd definitely redo The Eternal Flame series - the excerpt above was actually part of book one! EF was the very first solo project I started when I was in seventh grade and eventually stopped during my freshman year. It was a OC x Black Rock Shooter crossover that was going to have four "books". As of now, I've only completed half of the series. 

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Nope. You can still find me on fanfiction.net and livejournal. 
(I'm not telling my username.)

25. What do you look for in a beta?

I've never had a beta. ;_; But if I were to look for one, I'd love the mentor-type. Or a male beta, so I can prod him endlessly about male psychology. 

26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I'm not exactly a beta either. 

27. How do you feel about collaborations?

I LOVE COLLABORATIONS. Rothie and I did a lot of that during grade school, and a tiny bit until now regarding TSP. 

#totallylegit

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

• > letsplaytheend @ tumblr: I seriously adore his Rooster Teeth AUs. He's written so many and they don't disappoint at all. So if you're an RT/AH fan with an interest in AU, then go to his tumblr and read. You won't regret it. 
• Toni is one of the most amazing people and one of the most talented writers I've come to know. She was the one who got me into writing more in the first place, especially in terms of writing for the Death Note verse. 
• My bae Rothie. I think this is pretty self explanatory, yes? The Shoujo Parallels is pretty much her magnum opus. More than her being a writer, I love her for so many reasons, and she really deserves the credits she gets. <3

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

*coughsTheShoujoParallels:Eri* 

If I could, I'd probably write a spin-off, prequel or whatever - just as long as I can immerse myself within Beta!Arzen's parallel world once again. 

30. Do you accept prompts?

31. Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

When it comes to the Death Note verse, I like to pay attention to details such as date, event, etc. After all, the Death Note AU where Squad A is active is an AU where Mello is missing and Matt is still alive. But other than that, I like to experiment with canon. I'm not as restrictive.

32. How do you feel about smut?

If it's your thing, then I encourage you to go with it! Nothing wrong with that. 

33. How do you feel about crack?

Crackfics are what I need after writing something on the serious side of the spectrum. 

34. What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

*googles dub-con and non-con* 
*reads*
*adds to 'tropes I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole' list*

35. Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Depending on the character and if the character was still relevant to plot...although I'd probably need a box of tissues and a few weeks to get over it. 

36. Which is your favorite site to post fic?

I used to post on fanfiction.net and on LiveJournal! But A03 seems like a cool place, too. 

37. Talk about your current wips.

Vices is currently in a temporary hiatus due to it being CET season. I definitely plan to bring it back around semestral break, though that's still until next month. 

Equilibriai is still under planning! I might change the name to something else. So far, two main protagonists have been introduced, and I may introduce four more within the coming months.

And then there's a special project I'm working on...but that's all I'll say. #spoilers

38. Talk about a review that made your day.

Not exactly a review, but whatever.

Long story short, a ""terror-teacher"" who had (and still has) high expectations from her students graded my paper 98% back when I was a freshman. Imagine the shock (and contentment) I had for the remaining year. Haha! 

39. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

I haven't yet, actually. But when I do, I might just laugh it off.

40. Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

(alternate of: Alone Together)

When Miles looked at her again, he felt his heart break for the nth time that night. Instantly, he opened his arms and she embraced him tightly, sobbing, crying, unable to hold back. And Miles stayed there, letting her, rubbing her back and whispering his own comforts. Arianne felt tired, so damned tired but she couldn’t stop crying. 

"I'm sorry for..." she tried, but he put a finger on her lips afterwards. Her eyes, sore and red, were filling again with tears. Miles took his finger away and instead stroked her cheek, the smallest portion of his finger glowing a gentle, soft green.  

"Don't be sorry. Never be sorry. Never be sorry for your feelings or for any of your weaknesses. It's what makes you human, after all," he told her. Arianne managed a nod, and Miles let a small smile crawl up his face. "What else do you want?"  

She stayed quiet for a moment, and he wondered if he had asked the wrong thing. 

Finally, she replied, "...stay with me." without anything else, she untangled herself from within his arms and lay back down, moving closer to the wall and facing away, a masked blush on her cheeks.  

It took Miles a minute to register what she wanted. 

Swallowing the lump in his throat (and suddenly feeling himself blush as well), he nodded stiffly and crept in beside her.