snarrymod (snarrymod) wrote in snarry_games, @ 2006-03-23 22:27:00 |
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Current mood: | busy |
Entry tags: | interviews, team romance |
INTERVIEW # 16
Original poster: snarrymod
Your Name (and lj name, if different): Montana Daniels - montana_dan
Your Team: Romance
1. What made you decide to agree to compete in these games?
The sheer exuberance of a certain mod was a key factor. Her allusions to this soo-per seekrit event which would turn the fandom on its ear were so compelling and contagious that I couldn't help but jump on board.
2. Why did you choose the Romance Team?
There is currently too much angst in my present work in progress, plus I must have my happy ever after. Romance seemed the logical choice.
3. Have you always been interested in the Severus Snape/Harry Potter dynamic?
After reading GoF and finding no book 5, I began to explore the fandom and found Fiction Alley. I was amazed. I always loved the dynamic between Snape and Harry but I didn't discover slash until about a year after I started reading fanfiction. Most pairings didn't 'do it' for me until I stumbled on a Snarry archive. Needless to say, I had found my OTP.
4. What is more challenging to you – working WITH strict canon or working AROUND strict canon?
It depends on the story really. The way I think, I know canon pretty well and if it isn't canon, I don't use it or change it (unless it's a spell or a magical creature). Anything that hasn't been made canon yet (ie. Harry's Animagus form) is up for grabs and the writer is granted literary license. In the same vein, if I stray from canon, I say what I'm doing. Plus there's nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of a perfectly good canon-based fic when the next book comes out, all but destroying your well-laid plot.
5. What motivates you?
Writing is necessary for me. If I don't write, I get depressed, I can't sleep and I get all fidgety. Stories and dialogue are constantly running through my head. I write them down and they're happy, although they're soon replaced by others. So basically, I write to stay sane. I'm not sure if it's working.
6. Do you have plans for (or are you already writing) original fiction?
I have four completed manuscripts, which I've solicited. I have two others in progress. My baby, a sci/fi/fantasy trilogy, will get an overhaul before being sent out again.
7. What three things are necessary for you to enjoy a story you are reading?
Characterization, passable grammar and spelling and respect for the reader. In reading fanfiction you know the characters and love them. If the characterization strays too far from canon and becomes a story about a boy whose name happens to be Harry Potter, then I don't bother reading any more. I'm one who gives slack with spelling and grammar if the plot is good and the characterizations are wonderful, although if a canon character's name or something equally important is misspelled then I'm turned off. Those things make me feel that they didn't care enough about the story to look it up. Of course, if the sex is great, then a LOT can be overlooked. A little like real life, really. ;-)
8. What are your Top 5 favourite fanfiction stories?
So hard. So many… These are fics that inspired me some way and are in no particular order.
The Medean Curse: A Romantic Comedy by Lydia Lovestruck
Flawed Lines by Diagonalist
A Bit of Alright by igtow
Every Flavour Beans by Erin LaCroix
The Courtship of Harry Potter by Diane Williams
9. Do you have a story (any fandom) you’ve done that you are most proud of? Would you link it here for us?
I'm proud of all my stories. Not to say that they couldn't be better, or that they're works of literary genius or anything. But they're little pieces of me and they're good pieces of story telling, so I guess I'm proud of them.
I think that once I've completed the "To Have" series that it will be my favorite because it will span a large area of change and maturity for both the main characters but for now, I guess I would have to say that I'm proudest of 'The Balance of Power' series. As my first fanfiction, I agonized whether or not to post it all. It's riddled with little errors and Americanisms (as it was never beta'd) and is written a little differently from the way I usually write (I tried to emulate JKR), but the characterization and the plot is pretty original, IMO. I don't think I've seen any done with quite the twist I used. It's not slash (*gasp*)
10. Are you excited about the Games?
Oh, yes. Not only because of the 44 new stories that will be released, but these interviews alone are worth reading. Finding out a little bit about each of these authors is very interesting, plus recommendations to boot. The teamwork and the interacting with all the other writers is also fun and different, especially since I'm something of an introvert (ok, I'm socially challenged).
Thank you, and good luck!
Thank you, montana_dan!