kristensk | Fangirling and Fanfictioning

Website Updates: Well, I've got most of the Gallery switched over to the style sheets. Still have a couple new things to post up, but I've put updating on hold briefly while I check out

modad's awesome suggestions and see about implementing them.

Fangirling: Finally, saw the FMA movie, Full Metal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shambala last Friday night. *happy squeak* It was awesome. The series ended alright, but, well... there were certain "unsatisfactory" (and spoilerish) elements. When I heard about the movie and saw early images from it, I started hoping. Then, I saw the trailer and started to fear that the movie would be an exercise in frustration that would only circle around and set things back to where they were at the series' end with no definitive finale. However, the movie didn't disappoint me. It does put an ending on the FMA anime, wrapping up almost every loose end I could think of. Almost. They could probably manage at least one more movie based on a couple of unresolved details. Other than that.. < fangirl squealing > Ed was awesome! Al was awesome! Mustang was awesome! It made me happyhappy! < /fangirl squealing >

Obligatory Meme: Just an interesting little fanfiction meme I picked up in another LJ.

1) What year was it when you wrote/published your first fic?
I published my first fanfic to the internet in March 1997. Previously, I had published three of my stories (I didn't know the term "fanfic" at the time) in a sort of literary newspaper at my high school. That was probably around 1994/1995.

2) What fandom was your first fic in, and what was it titled?
The story I really consider my first published fanfic was H2Oh, No, a SWAT Kat fanfic. An early draft of "H2Oh, No" was actually one of the two SWAT Kat fanfics I "published" in high school. (The other two stories were a Darkwing Duck fanfic that's unlikely to ever see the light of day again and an early version of another SWAT Kat fanfic I later rewrote, Technical Difficulties.)

3) In retrospect, would you recommend that anyone read it?
I think "H2Oh, No" is still a decent fic. The writing might be a little shaky, but I think the plot holds up for what it is, which is just a basic SWAT Kat adventure.

4) What fandoms have you written for, and how many fics have you written for each?
22 full SWAT Kat fanfics (including unfinished works and 2 co-authors with Sage). 6 SWAT Kat drabbles. 1 Trigun fic. 3 Inuyasha fanfics (including 1 unfinished story). 5 Inuyasha drabbles. 1 Full Metal Alchemist drabble (that is awaiting re-writing now that I've seen the movie).

5) Do you have a favorite of your fics? Do you have a least-favorite?
I'm not sure which stories are my favorites. I suspect the answer to this question could change day to day depending on my mood. But, for now: Retribution, Rendezvous and T-Bone Too. I think they're the best of the rare few fanfics I've written where I just sat down and wrote the story straight, beginning to end, in a relatively short period of time. And, the storylines came out just like I wanted with none of the excessive rambling that plagues some of my other stories. Strangely, my least favorites are the failures that came about from the same method - Imagining the Worst and Every Mother's Prayer. Both are somehow lacking overall and neither has that "just right" final line/paragraph that it needs to end on the right note.

6) What fandom do you consider your main or “home” fandom?
Definitely SWAT Kats. It was my first fandom, and it still feels like "home" in a way. Maybe just because I know some people in the fandom and always feel comfortable commenting on the forum if I'm in the mood. Maybe just because I feel like I know the source material best. Whatever the case, Inuyasha is the only other fandom I've had any interest in "communicating" in (ie: actually interacting with other fans rather than just enjoying the story and quietly posting my fanworks). But, I've always felt a little "off" in that fandom for a variety of reasons. I'm a heretic among the manga purist crowd as I prefer the anime, yet I read the manga religiously every week. I'm a canon freak with a penchant for alternate universe fanfiction. And, I absolutely want to see Inuyasha and Kagome together in the end, yet I don't much care for romance. Oh, and I actually liked most of the Tessaiga upgrade chapters of the manga. Because heroes with nifty gadgets are cool.

7) Ever had a fandom spoiled for you by an influx of new fans (i.e. The Lord of the Rings post-films?)?
I've never had a fandom completely spoiled, no. Usually, I can ignore the more irritating fans and continue about my business. But, sometimes, it's true that a fandom's tendency to champion or malign a character may somewhat color my own perceptions of the character (usually in the opposite direction of the fandom influence) much as I try not to let it.

8) What is your least-favorite aspect of being involved with fanfiction (flamers, Mary-Sues, etc.?)
The fly-by-night fans who rush into fandoms when they're popular, write several chapters worth of fanfiction expecting instant gratification and, often whether they get it or not, rush off to the next popular thing without finishing what they've started. This is annoying for two reasons. One: If their stories are good, it's a shame that they haven't the attention span to finish them before chasing after the next fad. Two: Often, the stories are not good and indicate that the authors only watched the first five episodes of the series, if that much. They have no idea what they're talking about either as regards the plot or the characters, they think no one could possibly change between their first appearance and later episodes, they can't be bothered to check the simplest details, they can't be bothered to spellcheck and the truly annoying thing is that a great many of them want only to hear praise for their sloppy work. And, both points make finding a good fanfic very difficult.

9) What is your favorite aspect of being involved with fanfiction?
Getting the rampant ideas out of my head and down on paper. And, secondarily, finding other people who do the same to talk with. I love talking about my favorite series/books/movies. I love more not just discussing the events and characters, but discussing "what if?"s and "did you ever wonder...?"s and everything else that could spawn a good fanfic.

10) Be honest: if fanfiction, like music file-sharing, were declared illegal and the major centers of it(i.e. fanfiction.net) policed/shut down, would you still write for the ‘underground’?
Most definitely. Even if I only wrote it for myself. I was making up stories with my favorite characters from books and TV shows when I was in kindergarten. (I think they were all horrible Mary Sue tales, but that's not the point.) The ideas have never stopped coming and someone declaring it "wrong" is not going to make them stop coming.