snarrymod (snarrymod) wrote in snarry_games, @ 2006-04-11 16:49:00 |
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Current mood: | busy |
INTERVIEW # 30
Original poster: snarrymod
Your Name (and lj name, if different): empathic_siren You can just call me siren.
Your Team: Romance
1. What made you decide to agree to compete in these games?
I love Snarry and this pairing has taken too much of a beating as of late. By far, though, the biggest draw for me was the opportunity to write, commune, and “compete” with such phenomenal writers. It wasn’t something I could pass up. I am very, very pleased to have been included.
2. Why did you choose the Angst/Romance Team?
I love angst, but I have to have my happy ending.
3. Have you always been interested in the Severus Snape/Harry Potter dynamic?
Yes. I stumbled into fanfiction two years ago and read my very first piece of erotic fiction (aka slash!) about two months after that. It was a forgettable bit of Snarry, but what I came away with was the idea, the promise, of what Snarry could be. I’ve always been struck by how similar these two characters are and, yet, their life philosophies couldn’t be more different. Why? How? How can we play with that? Fascinating is the closest word I can think of to describe them and the dynamic they share.
4. What is more challenging to you – working WITH strict canon or working AROUND strict canon?
Hmm . . . this is actually a tough one to answer. It depends on the context, I suppose. If I had to choose one, I’d say working around strict canon can be more challenging, mostly because I wouldn’t really want to do that (unless I was writing a complete and admitted AU). A word about “strict canon,” though. I think that in our fanfiction world, canon has to stretch and bend to account for our “what-ifs?” There’s a difference between deciding as a “convenient” plot twist that Sirius never died and imagining that, in between getting in a few snogs with Ginny, Harry had wanton and lascivious thoughts about his Defense professor.
5. What motivates you?
Honesty motivates me. Not in the sense of telling the truth (though, that’s always a good thing), but in the sense of committing to a plot, a character, a motivation and owning up to that commitment and making no excuses for it. I write because I want to and I want those words, those ideas, to mean something. I think we all give little bits of ourselves away every time we write something—the joyous, sad, and even the profane. I guess I just want to mean what I give.
6. Do you have plans for (or are you already writing) original fiction?
I have ideas for original fiction and have made some half-hearted attempts. Right now, though, I’m content with what I write.
7. What three things are necessary for you to enjoy a story you are reading?
Characterization. I stop reading if the character does too many things that are illogical for that character as “created” by the author. A word about characterization vis-à-vis fanfiction canon—I take an approach that not everyone does, I guess. I think that characterization has to bend and is tempered by what we do. The minute we start a new story we are, for the most part, taking established characters into uncharted territories. I am more concerned with whether the author has kept the character “in character” based on the story line than if she has adhered to a rigid or formulaic approach to the character. Along those same lines, one-dimensional characterization will make an otherwise well-written fic seem lackluster to me. People are complex and paradoxical—our characters should be too, I think.
Logic. If the story doesn’t make sense, or if there are too many plot contrivances and conveniences, the story loses credibility with me. Yes, this is “fiction,” but the situations we create, in and of themselves, are not. The plot needs to make sense (in my humble opinion, of course). The best stories, I think, are the ones with clever, detailed plots that have been carefully tended to and thought out. I love a wicked plot twist, especially when the author gives us the hints, but doesn’t hit us over the head with them.
Language. I’m a sucker for fics that use language as both a way to convey the story and as a way to create the subtext of a story. I find that I gravitate towards fics that have an inherent sense of lyricism, irony and/or whimsy. At the same time, though, I am not a big fan of stories that have an “affected” tone to them. It’s a tough line to walk, I think. I like stories that are able to infuse a sense of lyricism, but, at the same time, maintain an overall sense of naturalness.
8. What are your Top 5 favourite fanfiction stories?
Parseltongue-Tied by DemetorDelta, Paying the Piper by Sansa, A Bit of All Right by I Got Tired of Waiting, Too Wise to Woo Peaceably by McKay, and Dumbledore’s Folly by DementorDelta. Each of them, in their own way, left me breathless.
9. Do you have a story (any fandom) you’ve done that you are most proud of? Would you link it here for us?
Artificial Life. Here’s the link: http://www.hpfandom.com/eff/viewstory.p
10. Are you excited about the Games?
Absolutely! What a fantastic way to bring our community together and write and read some wonderful works of fiction.
Thank you, and good luck!
Thank you, empathic_siren!