lethargicGanked from
heyheyrenay and parron.1) Keyboard or biro?
I'm going to assume that a biro is a sort of pen. Therefore, the answer is keyboard, although I have been known to set pen to paper when I'm inspired and no computer is to hand.
2) Beta or no beta?
Depends. Used to be no beta, first because I didn't know anyone well enough to ask them and then because I wasn't in the habit. Then I started on the collaboration, which in some ways is like working very closely with a beta. Now I will ask a friend to read sometimes, especially if I'm unsure about a plot or characterization, but I don't have a regular beta. On the flip side, I've discovered that I quite like betaing for others.
3) Title?
Usually the last thing to come; I read over the story and a name jumps out at me. Sometimes they are lame, sometimes they are inspired.
4) Smushy or smutty?
I tend more toward the smush, although I'm slowly getting more comfortable with smut.
5) Summary?
Hate writing them. Will go to great lengths to avoid doing so.
6) Funniest fic?
I almost never write humor. Some of the drabbles qualify, I guess.
7) Most popular fic?
The FF.net one-shot fic that has gotten the most hits is "In the Kitchen", the Gippalai short I wrote for
iamleaper in a fic exchange last year. "Fate" is a distant second. "A Guardian's Legacy" has the most favs by far. But I've never really gotten a sense of which story people like the best. If you're talking about the story that's the most well known, anecdotal evidence suggests that it would have to be "The Confessional". 8) Most fun to write?
Pairings: Paine/Nooj. Not that they are a "fun" pairing, exactly, but I do so love writing them.
Characters: Gippal and Baralai. They are so fun to work with, in their completely different ways, both seperately and together and especially playing off Paine.
Fic: DSHnD. No contest. I love collaborating; reading another writer's mind is the very best creation high. I got a similar charge out of "The Confessional" and trading Paine/Nooj/Rikku shorts with
cupcakemonster.9) Best and worst?
This is an impossible question. I at least like everything I've posted; otherwise I wouldn't have posted it. If you put a gun to my head, I think I would have to say that the best, in terms of storytelling and character growth and technical skill, is probably "Salvage". But my favorite is "The Cat". Worst? Ah, I don't know. Maybe the Aurikku. I know it was well received, and I think it's probably the best possible Aurikku I could write, but it still feels all wrong to me.
10) Could have been contenders?
I think I'll put all the long fic here. All three have moments of goodness along with weak spots. Someday I want to go back and do a savage, "take-no-prisoners" re-edit of AGL.
11) Strengths?
Dialogue. And Paine.
12) Weaknesses?
Over-editing. I think sometimes it ends up too slick. Also scenes that are explicitly physical, like close quarters fighting and sex. I find them really difficult to write.
13) Dirty little secrets?
I edit compulsively, and I do it as I write. There is no such thing as a rough draft. I'm always going back and fixing things. I write long stories terribly out of order -- I have no self discipline for writing what has to come next. And I am a terrible sucker for a reunion/reconciliation scene.
