Author and Artist Interviews 2009: RaeWhit
Members,
We are delighted to open the 2009 Author and Artist Interviews with the author RaeWhit (joanwilder), who agreed -- after surprisingly weak blackmail -- to let us play with her skeletons.
An Interview with RaeWhit
November, 2009
“Is this entirely necessary?” WhiteCotton asked, raising an eyebrow.
“He’s late,” atypicalsnowman answered, “And we were bored. We’ll stop as soon as he gets here.”
“Should we really be doing this without the textbook?” Torina asked, looking around the lab as if hoping the directions would miraculously be there this time.
“Do you honestly think this recipe is in a kids’ textbook?” thesewarmstars responded as she held onto the wooden rod with both hands, straining to stir the thick mixture.
“Oh, give me that,” snow snapped. “You’re doing it wrong.”
Thesewarmstars leaned away from her. “I’m doing it fine!”
“No, you need to stir faster. Let me do it!”
“I can do it! I’m perfectly capable of stirring all by myself!”
“Um, guys?” Torina took a step back. “Is it supposed to be smoking like that?” she asked, but neither of them heard her over their bickering.
“If that explodes,” WhiteCotton announced, “do not expect me to mourn for you.” “Damn it, we agreed I would stir!”
Atypicalsnowman waved her hand through the air impatiently. “That was before you started fucking it all up!”
“Guys, seriously…”
WhiteCotton scowled. “You’ll be covered in it and make a very bad impression on our guest. Must you be so juvenile?”
“She started it!” snow yelled, elbowing thesewarmstars in the side.
“Did not!”
Torina’s eyes went wide. “You’re going to knock it…! Oh, there it goes.”
All four watched in horror as the cauldron tipped and spilled its contents across the previously meticulous workbench, instruments melting and ingredients sizzling as it went.
“Oh, fuck,” thesewarmstars said.
“Yeah,” snow agreed.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. “What is going on in here?” Severus asked, surveying the scene with a stony expression.
Thesewarmstars slowly inched toward the circle of chairs where WhiteCotton sat while Torina and snow scrambled to clean up the mess.
“Who is responsible for ruining my laboratory?” Severus growled.
“Sexy when he’s angry,” WhiteCotton murmured.
“Well, there are two Gryffindors here,” thesewarmstars pointed out, settling next to her fellow Slytherin.
Stepping toward his ruined workbench, Severus scowled. “I might have known. You do realize RaeWhit will be here any moment?”
“We didn’t mean to!” Torina insisted.
“It was her fault!” snow accused, pointing at thesewarmstars.
Severus, however, was more focused on the sludge spreading over the workbench. His eyes widened and he looked up in disbelief. “Were you dunderheads trying to brew a personal lubricant?!”
Just then, the door creaked open, and all eyes turned toward RaeWhit...
RaeWhit takes up the story
Her blue eyes widened as she took in the ruined workbench, then she narrowed them at the Potions master. "Did you just call moi a dunderhead? I'm a Ravenclaw, sir, and I certainly don't expect to be thrown in with that lot," she scoffed, eyeing the two Gryffindors disdainfully. "Nor them either—they're…conniving little tarts who just want a one-off with you," she said, waving a hand at the smirking Slytherins, who quickly pasted on outraged expressions. But before they could protest, Severus raised his hand.
"Silence!" he bellowed. "It's bad enough you've wasted ingredients, but you've put a stink in the lab just as our guest has arrived." He turned and inclined in a slight bow. "Ignore them, RaeWhit, I'll deal with them later."
Atypicalsnowman's face paled (pretty hard when you're already…a snowman), thesewarmstars blushed (also difficult when you're normal color is…warm), Torina let out a G-rated squeak (don't worry, she'll come around eventually), and White Cotton undid the zip on her jeans.
"I'll help you deal with them," RaeWhit muttered as Severus led her down the aisle toward his private office. She stopped, though, as she was about to pass by the botched potion. "Was that a personal lubricant?" she asked curiously, wrinkling her nose.
Severus *sighed*. "I should hope not—more the consistency of axle grease."
RaeWhit winced, feeling a sympathetic twinge in her nether regions. Casting a superior glance at the dejected women, she magnanimously offered, "I have a great formula for one. When I'm done, I might consider sharing it with you."
"That is a possibility," Severus growled. "But I insist that you and I test it before allowing these…dunderheads anywhere near it."
"Oh. Of course, sir. We Ravenclaws completely appreciate the subtle art of experimentation and documentation. "
"Finally," Severus *sighed* again. "A woman who makes sense." Robes swirling (dangerously), Severus stalked toward his office, flipping the curtain of black hair out of his face with a practiced (and obviously affected) gesture.
RaeWhit turned and smiled at the women before slipping into the office. "I'll leave the door open, just a crack, so you can hear. But no peeking," she warned, blushing slightly at the low rumble of laughter on the other side of the door.
Questions
1. How did you start writing fanfiction?
First I read it…copious amounts. Started with Snape-centric stories, Snape/Hermione, some gen fic, then when I got to the point that I was mocking some of the writing, my daughter opened an account for me on FictionAlley and said, "Think you can do better? Go for it." And I did.
2. But why slash?
Hmmm, seems I do a lot of mocking. When I heard of Snarry, I said, "Ewwww." Not in a million years (not because it was slash, but because I didn't think Snarry believable). Then that same daughter pointed me to Cybele's If You Are Prepared, and a few weeks later, when I could walk and talk and dress myself again, I thought, 'Okay, I have to write this pairing.'
NOTE: As I'll be linking to my and other's stories, please make sure you read the posted warnings by returning to the fic headers before diving in.
3. Is Harry Potter your first fandom or did you wet your feet in another?
Nope, I firked my fandom cherry with Harry Potter. (No, not with Harry Potter himself….the fandom. But one can dream…) Oh um, yeah. I did write some Beatles fanfic when I was thirteen.
4. Which character do you enjoy writing most?
Snape and Harry equally. For females, I'd have to say Luna. I wrote her for the first time this past spring in the hd_worldcup, and I think she has so much hidden potential as a character.
5. What is it about Severus *sighs* you find sexy?
Ever read Anne of Green Gables? Well, there's this part in there where she says she might be attracted to a man who was dangerous. When she's challenged about how stupid that is, she says (sic), "Oh not that I'd want him to be really dangerous or bad, but I like the idea that he could be, if he wanted…" Severus is dark, clearly dangerous, but even in canon, there's the suspicion that the kernel around which this whole persona has formed is basically 'good' in some way. When I think of actual sexiness, it's not his physical characteristics that are alluring (AR aside, because canon Snape is ugly), but the sum total of the parts that make him Snape: his sarcasm, his voice, his hands, his ability to articulate, his presence. And in real life, I find that same sort of man 'sex-ay.'
6. Of your own work, which is your favourite?
The Sensible Garden, and since I see there's a question to come about this story, I'll save my reasons for why until I answer that one.
7. Which one do you think is your most underappreciated work?
There would be a tie between two fics. The Invisible Son, which is a gen fic about the redemption of Percy Weasley; and my very first fanfic, Scar Mates, which is a gen fic about Harry's first year through Snape's eyes. Some of the writing in this second one makes me cringe, but it's plotty, contains some Snape/Lily (written long before there was a hint of it in canon), and is composed entirely of 'missing scenes,' none of which contradict canon that was known at the time I wrote it.
8. Do you have a favourite piece written by another writer, perhaps one that drew you into the fandom or which you tell yourself you actually did write in another life?
Well, it was a Snape/Original Female Character that sucked me in: Aashby's Brave New World. Her Snape is sublime, her plotting complicated and brilliant, and this story convinced me that fascinating original characters can be done. I've already mentioned Cybele's IYAP above. The other outstanding story that I return to often, one that I had a love-hate relationship with when I first read it because of the ending (but now wholly embrace as the best one) is Maeglin Yedi's Penance is the Play. It's a Snarry.
9. Is there a genre/pairing/kink you would like to write, but seem unable to do to your satisfaction?
I've been tempted to try Snape/Hermione, because I think the dynamic works, but for different reasons than why Snarry works. I think Snape's and Hermione's intellects and verbal abilities match well. I'm afraid, though, of making Hermione into a 'female' version of Harry. I'd also like to be able to write something truly humorous, outside of a drabble, but my propensity to characterize neatly lands the death blow to any attempts. Kinks? Nah, anything I've wanted to write, I've managed. I do like to push the envelope, though, and choose new ones that are out there on the fringe, but mostly in ficlets and drabbles. In longer stories, sex is never the main thing for me.
10. Do you ever feel the need to experiment, to try your hand at death!fics or extreme BDSM perhaps?
If by 'experiment', you mean stretch myself, then yes. And mostly it's a matter of pairings that tempts me. Could I write a Snape/Percy? Or a Harry/Kingsley? So far as genres, if it's something that occurs naturally in life, I wouldn't shy away from it, and that includes death fic. I've only written one fic in which both of them die, and it was a very short, gentle treatment of old age, but I think at some point I'd like to try something more drastic and angsty. Hardcore BDSM I've already done in a Bill/Snape. I've done two non-explicit mpregs, and believe me, I'm not going there again. Don't see any reason to force myself into places I don't really want to go.
11. Tell us the plot of up to 5 fics you'd love to write but haven't yet and why.
-Snape and Gregory House, M.D. are thrown together at a medical conference. Haven't done it because of time. But I've worked on it in my noggin.
-Neville can't leave Hogwarts without telling Snape he's been attracted to him for his entire seventh year; this one I've actually started, but again, it's a matter of time.
Dumbledore/Grindelwald meet again when the first war's brewing, and Dumbledore tries to pull him into the action. Haven't done this, mostly because it involves characterizing a person from scratch.
An abstract sort of fic based on Snape and Harry's color wheel. I'm stumped because there's no plot, and I'm running out of words for green.
12. Is there a fic you almost didn't write, but which you are now pleased you did?
Starry Night, which is a Snarry written for the Beltane fest. I almost pulled out, because I was writing for the snarry_games at the same time, and was finding my first time writing Draco difficult (no H/D in this one). I'm glad I stuck with it, because it made me think a great deal about Draco's possibilities as a mature character, something I explored in depth in a later Snarry and the hd_worldcup.
13. How important to you is your writing? For example would you sell your first born for it?
Hmm, I can sell my first born? How much is the going rate (ebil grin)? The easy answer is that writing is a passion with me, and if I'm not actually doing it, I'm researching or planning in my head. I can't imagine my life without it now. I'm also hoping it will help stave off senility and Alzheimer's. You know, keeping those gray cells active.
14. Do you have a pet beta, one who you always turn to first and who is collared and tied to your desk?
Yes, I do, and her name is jadzialove. It was pure serendipity, how we met up with each other, and I beta read for her as well. She's my sounding board, my best friend, and I consider myself the luckiest writer on the planet. amand_r also beta reads for me sometimes. I figure I changed her diapers, paid for her uni education, so she owes me. Money and time (and love) well spent!
15. Do you have any bullet-proof kinks and squicks, ones that would even tempt you to read Severus *sighs* and Colin Creevey?
I do have a weak spot for BDSM and D/s done right. So long as the writer isn't trying to 'instruct' me on the lifestyle. God, that'll make me back out of a fic; I'll read the manual if I want that. Explicit mpreg, epithets and pet names squick me, as does OOC portrayal for which the foundation hasn't been properly or believably laid.
16. Which character(s) do you think you are most like?
Hmmm, how hard can this be? Brooding, introspective, bookish, jaded, cynical and sarcastic, sometimes petulant and cruel. Ding ding ding: Snape! Oh, and a dash of Hermione: control freak, list-maker, rather buy books than food, mother-hen, but with a romantic streak.
17. What character do you struggle with most when writing?
Two Weasleys. Ron, because it's so easy to make him stupid when he's really not, but so often Hermione needs a foil. And Ginny, because even though I've once painted Ginny as 'not very supportive', if I'm writing post-war fic, some explanation for Harry's sexual orientation has to be made, and I despise Ginny-bashing. I think she's level-headed, smart, funny and easy-going, at least once the war is over, so I struggle with getting rid of such a sympathetic character.
18. What's the most challenging thing about the process of writing fanfiction?
Well, with Snarry, it's the believability factor, along with consistently resisting the urge to take shortcuts with their relationship. The other thing, more and more, is finding new and fresh ways to write them: in varying circumstances, at different stages of their lives, in AU settings, in non-magical ones. Getting stuck in a rut-writing the same story over and over again, but just changing the words. Also, it's a challenge to keep them human, and by that I mean not letting their magical heritage spare them what is common to all men. And, so not news to anyone, keeping my word count *cough* reasonable, not letting research and backstory bog the fic hopelessly down. There are some readers who love this, others who scratch their heads and say, "Can't she shut up?" My standard answer is, "No, it's a disease and I can't help myself."
19. At which point does your personal ‘canon’ deviate from book canon? And which of your stories tells what really happened?
Well, obviously, if I'm writing post-war stories where Snape is alive, I'm writing AU, and in most cases ignoring the epilogue. But there's another facet to this question. By extension, given what was learnt about Snape in DH, some readers object to Snape being anything but mean and cruel and emotionally stunted beyond redemption. Actually, I don’t believe that anyone is beyond change, experiencing an epiphany when a life-changing event occurs. But like Scrooge, there is a fail-safe point beyond which one cannot tread and have any hope of turning back. I've not led Snape into those waters, except perhaps tipping his toes in a bit in Fallen Far From the Tree and more fully in The Scarecrow"
As for which story tells what really happened, that would be Occam's Razor, in which I don't come up with some solution for why he's not dead, but face the 'dead' head on: he is dead, he has a portrait presence, but during his life, he arranged something that leaves him an 'option', one that it's not certain he'll cash in on. This was the only canon-compliant Snarry that I've written.
20. When you began to write sex scenes, did you rely on what you had already read in fanfiction or kidnap and interrogate a gay acquaintance?
Reading fanfiction helped, both with what 'works' and what doesn't. Also watching all five seasons of the American version of 'Queer As Folk' gave me lots of visual material to think about. Reading regular fiction too. How I write male sex has evolved over the years, though. I get bored with the 'A to Z' approach, putting all the steps in order (you know what I mean—foreplay, fingers, lube, step-by-step clinical description). It's more of a challenge to write sex from the vantage point of what the characters experience, rather than showing the reader a picture of what they look like.
21. Of your favourite fics, which do you consider to be your best and why? Go on, don’t be modest!
The Sensible Garden. It's not my absolute favourite, but I believe it's my best. Finding themes that recur during a story is something I try to consistently do, and this fic was full of them. Cycles of life and death, sorrow and happiness, health and sickness, guilt and redemption, dereliction of duty and responsibility--using metaphors taken from the growing seasons of flowers to represent all of these. A huge amount of time and effort went into the research for this story, something that's one of my favourite parts of writing.
The primary focus of this story was grief and how it works, and how characters work through it. And since I'm talking about this story here, I'd like to take the opportunity to clear up a misconception. Many people know about the tragedy that occurred in my personal life at the time I was writing this. However, the fic was entirely plotted out before this occurred, and the chapters treating Winnie had already been written. How I portrayed grief, though, was altered by these circumstances. Although I'd already experienced a fair amount of grief in my life up to that point, after the death of my son-in-law, how I painted grief couldn't help but be affected: richer, deeper, more intense, more understood, less underestimated.
Also, this is a story in which I did exactly what I wanted to do: portray very adult versions of Harry and Snape, concoct a wartime scenario that was catastrophic, lay out post-war sequelae that were necessarily messy and complicated. No one in this story was untouched. And although I did post this in the D2D Fuh-Q-Fest, it wasn't really written for it. This was one story that I tackled because I had it in me; when it turned out that it 'fit' the fest, I decided to post it as part of it. But there was no deadline for me, as it was already finished.
22. Do you set specific characters always to be a friend or an enemy to your heroes?
I love Albus, so he's always a sympathetic character, although at times humorously conniving and manipulative. Draco and Remus have always been 'good guys', Sirius not so much. Honestly, I use original characters in primary roles more than auxiliary canon characters. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny make appearances, and although they're not enemies, they often aren't terribly supportive, mostly because I believe their lives would go off in such a different direction than Harry's and Snape's. There is one canon character who irritates me, and that's Molly Weasley, so I have written her in a less than favourable light. I've never written Lucius Malfoy, but I'm in the process of doing that now, and he's…well, you'll have to wait and see. Sorry!
23. What is the most valuable piece of advice you've ever received about writing stories (fanfic or otherwise)?
My daughter advised me very early on, "Show, don't tell." Good, sound practice. The other piece would be on writing dialogue: read it out loud to make sure your characters talk like real people. Leave out parts of speech that we leave out when we talk. It makes your dialogue come alive.
24. Are you hurt by bad reviews or criticism?
Hmmm, to lie or not to lie, is the question… Heeee! No, seriously, it depends on what makes the review bad, doesn't it? If it's mean-spirited, then no. That's their problem. If it's a matter of personal preference (and this is most often the case with a 'bad review'), then no. If it's truly concrit, I love it, because it means I have the chance to learn something, although I don't always agree. I can't say I don't care about reviews, because I do. I value every single one, but I will say that I don't write with them in mind; I'll never subjugate what I want to do, choose to take a story in a certain direction just so readers will like it. And if a reader disagrees with something I've done, or is unhappy with me, I'll do my best to explain my 'vision', and let the chips fall where they may.
25. If your Severus *sighs* were to play a musical instrument, what would it be?
Oh, definitely a stringed instrument—a violin, viola, or cello. So much potential for expression, in the strings. And so much opportunity for him to use those long, slender hands. *shivers*
26. Would you consider writing professionally? Or do you?
I don't, and I probably wouldn't consider it. Mostly because writing is a hobby, and when you move something from 'hobby' to 'job', you lose a certain degree of control over what and how you write. For example, there's this politically correct version of 'adverb usage' that some writers like to expound upon—not to use any adverbs ending in '-ly-'. Makes me crazy. I write the way I want to write, and if readers like it, fine; if they don't, that's fine too. Getting paid to write changes that, and I'm not willing to give that up. I do write original fiction, but keep it mostly to myself. Maybe someday I'll consider publication, because this is a story about my grandmother.
27. How has your involvement changed over the years, and where do you see yourself fandom-wise in 5 years?
I started writing in the fandom over six years ago. At the time, I only posted to archives and the Fuh-Q-Fest, then discovered Snarry fandom on LJ. It was a great place to get to know folks and find stories that were only posted there. Some of the communities issued prompt-oriented challenges, and I started to write for those as well. In 2006, I attended the Lumos Convention and met fellow writers. Fandom then became more real to me. I still tend to personally stay on the periphery of meta discussions, and 'do my own thing', which is mostly write. Where will I be in five years? I don't know. Don't have any plans to stop what I'm doing or write in other fandoms, but I think I'll probably begin to explore other pairings and characters more.
28. What is your most prized fandom memento/collectable?
29. You are considered a queen of fanfction, does this adversely affect your enjoyment in the fandom?
This question makes me uncomfortable because I see myself as one of many writers who like to turn out long, well-written stories. There are so many excellent authors out there. At times, I've felt a bit overwhelmed by the response to what I post. It's both humbling and frightening, because I realize that people have expectations when they see my name on a story, and there are times when I have to remind myself why I write (for my own pleasure), and resist the urge to feel a burden to 'produce.' I'm my own worst critic, and if I think too much about how a story will be received, then some of the fun goes out of it. So I try not to think about it.
30. Sensible Garden was a brave story in that you breached two sensitive themes: the death of a child character and assisted suicide/euthanasia. How would you answer the critics who moaned about lack of warnings (for this and others) and ignored the outstanding and delicate manner in which you dealt with these themes?
But there was a character death warning on the story, so I'm puzzled that anyone would groan about a lack of warnings. I did make it clear that the character death was of original characters. I think the intense reaction (a surprise to me) was because it was a child who died. One meta writer even stated I'd 'broken a rule' by doing this. What rule? Death is part of life, and no one is immune to it. My purpose for doing it was complex, but I believed that some adults who've become inured to death will be brought to their knees by the death of a child. As for the assisted suicide, I didn't have an agenda. Although this is an issue I feel strongly about, it was tied to Snape's potions work and Harry's desire to help a friend die with dignity. One reader did scold that I should've warned for 'assisted suicide', but I replied that if that was a problem for her, then perhaps she shouldn't be reading stories with 'character death' warnings. I don't feel obliged to divulge a major plot development in such a specific way, especially since it fell under the 'character death' warning. Don't even get me started on warnings….
In retrospect, though, I spent months writing this story, and had far more time to adjust to this child's death, while readers, who on the whole tended to fall in love with this child, had no warning. But that's the way of stories, isn't it, and of life too—some things happen without warning. It wasn't a cheap plot device, though; it was necessary, and in the end, I believe it was clear how that child's death played a major part in the development of both my characters and story themes.
31. From where did the concept for Down the Rabbit Hole (snow whispers, “That was awesome!”) come? Was it a nightmare to work out the delicate twists?
My daughter wrote a Snarry, Odysseus's Last Days, in which she cleverly misdirects the reader. It's a brilliant story (there's character death), and from the moment I read it, I wanted to try my hand at a major misdirection. Honestly, the fic gave me fits! For the entire first half, I had to work at making the reader believe that reality was something it wasn't. Every encounter Harry had with someone besides Severus had to be used to accomplish this. My beta reader was invaluable as an alpha reader, finding the places where I gave things away or had inconsistencies. Once the reader was made aware of what had actually happened, the writing became easier. The other concept I really wanted to work into the story was the idea of the castle being sentient. I'd seen a few movies ('The Others' comes to mind) in which a building seemed to possess a consciousness and a will to work against the characters, and the idea that Hogwarts, with its centuries of imbued wards, could be such an 'animal' was too delicious to resist. And Binns. I'd always wanted to do Binns. He was fun!
Well, that's the last question. And as usual, I've been wordy. Why should my interview spare any of you when my stories don't? Hee! Thanks to the Webmistresses for letting me play. I love the Group, the camaraderie, and of course, Severus *sighs*.
...Sometime Later
“‘Awesome!’” WhiteCotton hissed. “You used that word – a squee word if ever I heard one – you used that word in front of RaeWhit?”
snow started to shrug her shoulders and grin, but hastily turned it into a cringe of contrition when she saw the deadly look in WhiteCotton’s eyes. Actually, she felt it. It seared into her for a moment, before the eyes were lowered back to Torina’s notes.
With a sigh of relief, snow turned to the other two Webmistresses, who were giving her that ‘while you have our sympathies, don’t expect our help’ look. She stuck her tongue out and started to fiddle with a sheet of parchment WhiteCotton had slid from out of the question pile earlier, having marked it as irrelevant with long red scratches of her quill.
She had just folded the parchment into a swan...or pigeon...or kiwi...or...She had just folded it into a ball, when her face quirked into the image of Mischief. Leaning forward slightly, she sneaked a quill off the table.
thesewarmstars and Torina, noting the capitalization, frowned and tried to dissuade snow from whatever the Mischief was with small hand gestures. Unfortunately, as neither wanted to attract undue WhiteCotton attention, the twitching of two little fingers and the odd – very odd – thumb movement completely missed their target.
Torina was poised ready for physical intervention when a “don’t shuffle so” set her back into her chair with a thunk.
A moment later, WhiteCotton finally removed her spectacles and rose. “Well,” she said, “I think that’s all for now. I shall see you two—” she pointed at thesewarmstars and Torina “—at the next meeting, and you, snow, at our next beta session.”
Rushing over to her, snow said, “Why wait until then? I’ll meet you in the Leaky in five minutes – oops,” she added and took her hand from WhiteCotton’s back when it tensed under her fingers. “Sorry.”
WhiteCotton looked suspiciously at snow; but unable to discern quite what was amiss, she nodded and turned on her heel, making her way towards the door.
Behind her, thesewarmstars and Torina stared, horrified, at the sign snow had pinned onto the back of WhiteCotton’s robes: I squeed for RaeWhit! Deciding snow was on her own, they packed up their things and headed for the land of Texas.
On behalf of Severus Sighs, we would very much like to thank RaeWhit for taking part in this interview.
The Webmistresses
Enjoy the darkness and sweet sensual pleasure that is Severus *sighs*
Webmistresses of Severus Sighs Site Owner – WhiteCotton Site Moderators – atypicalsnowman, thesewarmstars, and Torina Archelda Artwork by Cluegirl and banner by Bielol Severus.sighs@gmail.com