Amy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brightknightie) wrote2022-10-30 01:45 pm
brightknightie) wrote2022-10-30 01:45 pm
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AO3/fic 33-question meme
On Thursday, celli shared a 33-question "AO3/fic" meme and said she'd like to read others' responses. Here's my take. (I'm attempting to type without a brace on for the first time in almost 3 months; we'll see how it goes.)
1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean?
"Bright Knight" was my personal fan-site before "Brightknightie" was my LJ, DW, and AO3 username.
It comes from Forever Knight fandom, of course. "Knightie" is my shared faction/affiliation in the FKFic-L War round-robin game (a "follower" of Nick before we used "follower" in today's sense, but boy! on the nose; anyone want to write a humor piece about the FK characters as influencers, and the fandom as their followers?) and general list interactions and interpretive approaches ("truth, justice, and the Canadian way" / "life, not immortality"). "Bright" is my personal push-back at "dark" interpretations of the show's themes in general and Nick's place as protagonist in particular.
2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback?
On the AO3, "The Power That’s Inside (We All Live in a Pokémon World)" (HL/Pokemon crossover, 7K words) has 15 comment threads! In second place, "Wake the Morning After" (FK, 15K words) has 13 threads.
Back in the day on the FKFic-L mailing list, a few of my stories topped that 15, including my very first, a first-person N&N's-daughter "Forever Not" piece, "Quid Pro Quo, Doctor Lambert" (3K words); my Tracy post-canon novella, "Corners of the Mind (31 K words), and also my first major "Fleur lives" story, "Fireweed" (59K words).
3. What is your ao3 profile icon, and why did you choose it?
My AO3 profile icon is my DW profile icon. This one is from the header image I made for my DW, a stylized Toronto skyline, circa FK, Knightie blue, nighttime shades. My previous one, for years and years, was a mounted knight with his sword drawn inside a sun (also blue).
Blue is not my own personal favorite color. I prefer every shade of red best, including shading off toward orange or purple or pink, and I prefer every shade of green second best. But... blue is the Nick/Knighties color, I feel, and that's who I am or want to be in fandom, if that makes sense?
4. Do you have any regular/favorite commenters?
I have you! I appreciate every comment enormously.
5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?
I reread most of Susan Garrett's FK fanfic on repeat forever, especially her Dorian the Archivist stories, starting with "False Heart." I reread a Dorian story annually. I have most of Susan's FK fanfic on my Kindle, and backed up on my Google Drive, and I'm lucky enough to have some of it in zine form. Her stories bring me joy and set me an example to strive for.
If the question means my own fic... On the FK side, I'm most likely to reread my Urs-Fleur story "Chante à Nouveau" (10K words) or my estranged-and-reunited N&N story, "Wake the Morning After (15K words). On the HL side, I'm especially prone to reread my Cierdwyn WWI story, "Inside the Lines" (3K words), and last year's Darius&Richie fix-it story "Legend Has It" (3K words).
6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked?
I'm not subscribed to any stories. I try not to read works-in-progress, as a general guide for happy reading.
I have 50 bookmarks. I have 19 "for later" marks.
I'm in the middle of an HL/Rurouni Kenshin x-over novella on FFnet thatskieswideopen recommended. It's great, but... how do we download things from FFnet? (Or do we?)
7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?
Most of the time, give me a fork-in-the-road divergence, a "what if?" branch, a "Forever Not" or a happily-ever-after, not a coffee-shop or high-school reality.
8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total?
12 subscriptions (all to individual works, none of which are WIPs; sorry).
168 bookmarks.
9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it?
I was nervous about posting "Bright with Anticipation" (FK, 550 words) because it's just my own personal id-fic happily-ever-after Easter Vigil Mass redeemed Nick fluff. Fandom doesn't have a taste for that anymore, if it ever did. Similarly, the essay I posted here a few weeks ago about how I feel lonely in FK fandom with all the pro-Lacroix, pro-vampirism interpretations ascendant.
10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc.
I would like to become better at everything. Let's put writing and posting more often at the top of the list, and, perhaps contrarily, getting stories fully right before posting, not letting ficathon deadlines send them out into the world prematurely, as runner-up.
11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often?
I don't write a lot of romance, in general.
When I do write romance, it's mostly canonical pairings who are neither very popular nor very rare at this end of their fandoms, like Duncan/Tessa, Nick/Natalie, and Nick/Janette. However, I am still besotted by the fork-in-the-road AU possibilities of Nick/Urs, which is a relentlessly rare pair. They could empower each other or destroy each other... and I see them saving each other.
12. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)?
118. All finished.
13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program?
Meaning, begun but not yet complete? Five or so that I intend to complete someday. And a cache of false starts and "15-minute challenge" rambles that don't count as "stories."
14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?
It depends. But eventually, most of them make it to either notes in my paper notebook or a locked thread in my DW or a ramble in a writing program.
15. Have you ever co-authored a story?
Yes. A few round-robins that did get finished and get shared. A single collaboration story that was never finished and never shared.
16. How did you discover AO3?
I don't remember who invited me when AO3 was new. Celli? Leela? Batdina? Surely one of them gave me my invitation. ♥
17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3?
Obviously not? Don't be silly?
Readers are very kind in the annual HL and FK fic events, and I'm very grateful! I hope I can bring some delight to people who choose to read my stories! But the numbers are very clear that I'm not a "popular" author by any stretch of the imagination.
18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?
No. This is not a thing my fandoms do, afaik, though, granted, Susan's OC Dorian does have his own faction/affiliation, so...
19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write?
Every author I read inspires me to write, and to write better.
Those of you who take time to engage with me on my stories, brainstorming or questioning or beta-reading or reading or commenting: you inspire and encourage me to write! Thank you.
20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?
Fanfic is for fun, for love, for learning.
Try, try again.
Read the best and observe what they do and how they do it.
21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?
I have to know the ultimate destination, or I can't get anywhere. I have to have an outline of some sort, with at least the major plot beats. Things can change after setting out! They can change utterly! But without knowing the destination -- the thematic point, the moral -- I cannot move. I'm stuck. And the clock is probably ticking...
So if you really want to get me going on a story, forget telling me the scenario; tell me the endgame and I'll build the road to its door.
22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do?
I hope that, at this point, I have learned to be respectful to everyone I reply to -- fingers crossed -- and can leave things unreplied-to if needed.
I admit, I still carry with me some expressions of disappointment and disapproval, both direct and second-hand. They refuse to be forgotten, yet. In the meantime, though it takes a while, I've learned things from them, even if they weren't what the individual meant to teach.
23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc.)
When I do try to write PG-13 to R romantic interactions, I really struggle. Not my strong suit.
24. What story(s) are you working on now?
Right now, I await my![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hlh_shortcuts '22 assignment!
I have an unfinished BSG78 piece with adult!Boxy remembering his father in the Celestial Chamber; I just need to devote a little time to it.
I have, like, 3 Journey to the West pieces, but I'm really nervous to move forward with them before finishing canon-proper: the unabridged original hundred-chapter novel (from medieval China), which is taking me a long time to read. I've watched a fantastic YouTube retelling, listened to a good podcast retelling, and read an abridged translation, but.. the original! the very dense original! intercut with poetry! and endnotes! and not putting new dialogue speakers into their own new paragraphs aaaaaaargh whimper...
I have a D&DC piece that I began last year as a fill for someone's request that hadn't gotten picked up in a fest, but they did find a pinch hitter, and I let it go. I meant to get back to it... but haven't yet. It was very much tailored to that person's request. Maybe I need to swing it back to me, a little, for motivation? Less about the requested pairing, as such, more about... themes I love in D&DC?
25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?
Not usually.
26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?
No. Sometimes I think about implementing one. I'm impressed by Celli and Skieswideopen!
27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started?
If I may echo Celli: Goodness, I hope so! We're going on three decades, here.
I use fewer words. I get to the point. I'm easier to read! I count that as an improvement for my audience and for my fidelity to most of my canons; '70s-'00s TV shows didn't live in nineteenth-century-literature sentence constructions.
I write shorter stories, generally, and less plotty ones. Or, at least, no more novellas or novels, as in my early days. I don't know whether that's inherently an improvement or decline, but I feel it as a decline. I have less time and passion to reshape understanding of canon through my fanfic... I wonder whether it might be different in a "live" fandom, but... that's not my world?
28. What is your favorite story that you’ve written?
I think some of myhlh_shortcuts stories have worked really well, especially my Cierdwyn&Methos, Methos&Grace, and Darius&Richie. I'm very grateful for those ideas and how they bloomed. I'd recommend those.
But my favorite...
There's a unique place in my heart for "Fireweed" (FK, 59K words). It is a landmark in my fanfic writing. I really, really, really wanted that feeling and interpretation to come full circle in "Amaranth (love-lies-bleeding)" (FK, 5K words), but I didn't pull it off as it deserved; the story duration should have been weeks, not a day, with a full police plot and flashbacks, around the center relationships.
That said, my favorite is actually: "Chante à Nouveau" (FK, 10K words). Previously, my favorite was "Kindred Spirits." Both feature Urs in the very, very earliest steps toward an eventual relationship with Nick.
29. What is your least favorite story that you’ve written?
"Cuts Deep" (FK) is perhaps my least favorite, through no fault of its own. It tried hard to be "dark" for its recipient in an exchange, and the story ended up being seen by someone I know in RL who had just started watching FK and, without asking, found and read this story on my old fansite because it was the newest there at the time... and they stopped watching FK, stopped reading fanfic, and looked at me with different eyes. SIGH.
30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?
Tough question. Same as now, but better and more? Stick with me -- we'll still love FK and HL in 5 years! (And I'll still love BSG78 and D&DC and the rest!)
31. What is the easiest thing about writing?
Editing. After the story is written all the way to the end, if I can sit down with time to make it better (not necessarily longer, but better), that is the best. That is floating on sweet air.
It's unfortunate that TIME OMG DEADLINES COMMITMENTS TIME you know.
32. What is the hardest thing about writing?
Figuring out what the ending is supposed to be. Or finishing before the deadline. One of those two.
33. Why do you write?
I consume and convey stories because I'm human!
I write fanfic because... fandom brings joy? fandom is friendship? the characters need me?
Hey! Yay! I've made it through this post without my brace! But, um, need to go ice now and put it on again, yep... baby steps.
celli shared a 33-question "AO3/fic" meme and said she'd like to read others' responses. Here's my take. (I'm attempting to type without a brace on for the first time in almost 3 months; we'll see how it goes.)1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean?
"Bright Knight" was my personal fan-site before "Brightknightie" was my LJ, DW, and AO3 username.
It comes from Forever Knight fandom, of course. "Knightie" is my shared faction/affiliation in the FKFic-L War round-robin game (a "follower" of Nick before we used "follower" in today's sense, but boy! on the nose; anyone want to write a humor piece about the FK characters as influencers, and the fandom as their followers?) and general list interactions and interpretive approaches ("truth, justice, and the Canadian way" / "life, not immortality"). "Bright" is my personal push-back at "dark" interpretations of the show's themes in general and Nick's place as protagonist in particular.
2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback?
On the AO3, "The Power That’s Inside (We All Live in a Pokémon World)" (HL/Pokemon crossover, 7K words) has 15 comment threads! In second place, "Wake the Morning After" (FK, 15K words) has 13 threads.
Back in the day on the FKFic-L mailing list, a few of my stories topped that 15, including my very first, a first-person N&N's-daughter "Forever Not" piece, "Quid Pro Quo, Doctor Lambert" (3K words); my Tracy post-canon novella, "Corners of the Mind (31 K words), and also my first major "Fleur lives" story, "Fireweed" (59K words).
3. What is your ao3 profile icon, and why did you choose it?
My AO3 profile icon is my DW profile icon. This one is from the header image I made for my DW, a stylized Toronto skyline, circa FK, Knightie blue, nighttime shades. My previous one, for years and years, was a mounted knight with his sword drawn inside a sun (also blue).
Blue is not my own personal favorite color. I prefer every shade of red best, including shading off toward orange or purple or pink, and I prefer every shade of green second best. But... blue is the Nick/Knighties color, I feel, and that's who I am or want to be in fandom, if that makes sense?
4. Do you have any regular/favorite commenters?
I have you! I appreciate every comment enormously.
5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?
I reread most of Susan Garrett's FK fanfic on repeat forever, especially her Dorian the Archivist stories, starting with "False Heart." I reread a Dorian story annually. I have most of Susan's FK fanfic on my Kindle, and backed up on my Google Drive, and I'm lucky enough to have some of it in zine form. Her stories bring me joy and set me an example to strive for.
If the question means my own fic... On the FK side, I'm most likely to reread my Urs-Fleur story "Chante à Nouveau" (10K words) or my estranged-and-reunited N&N story, "Wake the Morning After (15K words). On the HL side, I'm especially prone to reread my Cierdwyn WWI story, "Inside the Lines" (3K words), and last year's Darius&Richie fix-it story "Legend Has It" (3K words).
6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked?
I'm not subscribed to any stories. I try not to read works-in-progress, as a general guide for happy reading.
I have 50 bookmarks. I have 19 "for later" marks.
I'm in the middle of an HL/Rurouni Kenshin x-over novella on FFnet that
skieswideopen recommended. It's great, but... how do we download things from FFnet? (Or do we?)7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?
Most of the time, give me a fork-in-the-road divergence, a "what if?" branch, a "Forever Not" or a happily-ever-after, not a coffee-shop or high-school reality.
8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total?
12 subscriptions (all to individual works, none of which are WIPs; sorry).
168 bookmarks.
9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it?
I was nervous about posting "Bright with Anticipation" (FK, 550 words) because it's just my own personal id-fic happily-ever-after Easter Vigil Mass redeemed Nick fluff. Fandom doesn't have a taste for that anymore, if it ever did. Similarly, the essay I posted here a few weeks ago about how I feel lonely in FK fandom with all the pro-Lacroix, pro-vampirism interpretations ascendant.
10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc.
I would like to become better at everything. Let's put writing and posting more often at the top of the list, and, perhaps contrarily, getting stories fully right before posting, not letting ficathon deadlines send them out into the world prematurely, as runner-up.
11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often?
I don't write a lot of romance, in general.
When I do write romance, it's mostly canonical pairings who are neither very popular nor very rare at this end of their fandoms, like Duncan/Tessa, Nick/Natalie, and Nick/Janette. However, I am still besotted by the fork-in-the-road AU possibilities of Nick/Urs, which is a relentlessly rare pair. They could empower each other or destroy each other... and I see them saving each other.
12. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)?
118. All finished.
13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program?
Meaning, begun but not yet complete? Five or so that I intend to complete someday. And a cache of false starts and "15-minute challenge" rambles that don't count as "stories."
14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?
It depends. But eventually, most of them make it to either notes in my paper notebook or a locked thread in my DW or a ramble in a writing program.
15. Have you ever co-authored a story?
Yes. A few round-robins that did get finished and get shared. A single collaboration story that was never finished and never shared.
16. How did you discover AO3?
I don't remember who invited me when AO3 was new. Celli? Leela? Batdina? Surely one of them gave me my invitation. ♥
17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3?
Obviously not? Don't be silly?
Readers are very kind in the annual HL and FK fic events, and I'm very grateful! I hope I can bring some delight to people who choose to read my stories! But the numbers are very clear that I'm not a "popular" author by any stretch of the imagination.
18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?
No. This is not a thing my fandoms do, afaik, though, granted, Susan's OC Dorian does have his own faction/affiliation, so...
19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write?
Every author I read inspires me to write, and to write better.
Those of you who take time to engage with me on my stories, brainstorming or questioning or beta-reading or reading or commenting: you inspire and encourage me to write! Thank you.
20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?
Fanfic is for fun, for love, for learning.
Try, try again.
Read the best and observe what they do and how they do it.
21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?
I have to know the ultimate destination, or I can't get anywhere. I have to have an outline of some sort, with at least the major plot beats. Things can change after setting out! They can change utterly! But without knowing the destination -- the thematic point, the moral -- I cannot move. I'm stuck. And the clock is probably ticking...
So if you really want to get me going on a story, forget telling me the scenario; tell me the endgame and I'll build the road to its door.
22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do?
I hope that, at this point, I have learned to be respectful to everyone I reply to -- fingers crossed -- and can leave things unreplied-to if needed.
I admit, I still carry with me some expressions of disappointment and disapproval, both direct and second-hand. They refuse to be forgotten, yet. In the meantime, though it takes a while, I've learned things from them, even if they weren't what the individual meant to teach.
23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc.)
When I do try to write PG-13 to R romantic interactions, I really struggle. Not my strong suit.
24. What story(s) are you working on now?
Right now, I await my
hlh_shortcuts '22 assignment!I have an unfinished BSG78 piece with adult!Boxy remembering his father in the Celestial Chamber; I just need to devote a little time to it.
I have, like, 3 Journey to the West pieces, but I'm really nervous to move forward with them before finishing canon-proper: the unabridged original hundred-chapter novel (from medieval China), which is taking me a long time to read. I've watched a fantastic YouTube retelling, listened to a good podcast retelling, and read an abridged translation, but.. the original! the very dense original! intercut with poetry! and endnotes! and not putting new dialogue speakers into their own new paragraphs aaaaaaargh whimper...
I have a D&DC piece that I began last year as a fill for someone's request that hadn't gotten picked up in a fest, but they did find a pinch hitter, and I let it go. I meant to get back to it... but haven't yet. It was very much tailored to that person's request. Maybe I need to swing it back to me, a little, for motivation? Less about the requested pairing, as such, more about... themes I love in D&DC?
25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?
Not usually.
26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?
No. Sometimes I think about implementing one. I'm impressed by Celli and Skieswideopen!
27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started?
If I may echo Celli: Goodness, I hope so! We're going on three decades, here.
I use fewer words. I get to the point. I'm easier to read! I count that as an improvement for my audience and for my fidelity to most of my canons; '70s-'00s TV shows didn't live in nineteenth-century-literature sentence constructions.
I write shorter stories, generally, and less plotty ones. Or, at least, no more novellas or novels, as in my early days. I don't know whether that's inherently an improvement or decline, but I feel it as a decline. I have less time and passion to reshape understanding of canon through my fanfic... I wonder whether it might be different in a "live" fandom, but... that's not my world?
28. What is your favorite story that you’ve written?
I think some of my
hlh_shortcuts stories have worked really well, especially my Cierdwyn&Methos, Methos&Grace, and Darius&Richie. I'm very grateful for those ideas and how they bloomed. I'd recommend those.But my favorite...
There's a unique place in my heart for "Fireweed" (FK, 59K words). It is a landmark in my fanfic writing. I really, really, really wanted that feeling and interpretation to come full circle in "Amaranth (love-lies-bleeding)" (FK, 5K words), but I didn't pull it off as it deserved; the story duration should have been weeks, not a day, with a full police plot and flashbacks, around the center relationships.
That said, my favorite is actually: "Chante à Nouveau" (FK, 10K words). Previously, my favorite was "Kindred Spirits." Both feature Urs in the very, very earliest steps toward an eventual relationship with Nick.
29. What is your least favorite story that you’ve written?
"Cuts Deep" (FK) is perhaps my least favorite, through no fault of its own. It tried hard to be "dark" for its recipient in an exchange, and the story ended up being seen by someone I know in RL who had just started watching FK and, without asking, found and read this story on my old fansite because it was the newest there at the time... and they stopped watching FK, stopped reading fanfic, and looked at me with different eyes. SIGH.
30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?
Tough question. Same as now, but better and more? Stick with me -- we'll still love FK and HL in 5 years! (And I'll still love BSG78 and D&DC and the rest!)
31. What is the easiest thing about writing?
Editing. After the story is written all the way to the end, if I can sit down with time to make it better (not necessarily longer, but better), that is the best. That is floating on sweet air.
It's unfortunate that TIME OMG DEADLINES COMMITMENTS TIME you know.
32. What is the hardest thing about writing?
Figuring out what the ending is supposed to be. Or finishing before the deadline. One of those two.
33. Why do you write?
I consume and convey stories because I'm human!
I write fanfic because... fandom brings joy? fandom is friendship? the characters need me?
Hey! Yay! I've made it through this post without my brace! But, um, need to go ice now and put it on again, yep... baby steps.
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Thanks for sharing!
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I think I'll try the meme myself once I've finished my
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If you go to the mobile site (m.fanfiction.net), you can copy and paste the text to a Word doc. That's how I've been saving the E:FC fics. You can do it on a desktop, you don't need to attempt it on your phone.
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Go ice your poor wrist. :)
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I try not to read works-in-progress, as a general guide for happy reading.
So true, although not advice I always remember to follow.
the characters need me?
Ha! Yes, I've definitely written for that reason.
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Yeah, I used to believe there could be exceptions to the "no reading WIPs" rule, but... not unless I'm a beta-reader. (I will read stories that I know in advance will never be completed, though, like the Dorian novel Susan died without finishing. That's different.)
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I'm sorry that the story you wrote for me brought you so much discomfort. I did like it.
I hope your wrist gets better soon.
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I'm glad that you liked the "Cuts Deep" story from that long-ago exchange. It wasn't your fault, or the story's fault, that my friend decided to read it and to leap to unfortunate conclusions.
Thank you for the good wishes on my wrist! It's been almost four months now and it hasn't fully healed with just the brace, so I'm getting a referral to a doctor who specializes in hands.