In fact, I'm going to apply that to every writer. All writers love feedback
My...
precious!
AAAHHH!
*Remembers he has not made one comment in Razor's serial thread*
I mean well...
-Where are you from?
Michigan, where it's a priority to hit every degree in Fahrenheit between 0 and 100 at least once a year.
-When and why did you begin writing?
My... first grade teacher, was an educator... a nice person, probably like you, who tells me I shouldn't watch t.v. so much- who tells me I ought to be reading more. She gets in deep with the dry erase markers. One day, she spells a word on the board. And we have no boards at our desks. She can't take it. She just wants to see us write our own words. She just wants to know that we care about our education. So... I put a pencil on my paper, and I start forming letters, like this
"C-A-T"
on it. But I can't stand the sight of them! My handwriting is terrible. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always typing!
-What inspired you to write your first BW/G1 fanfic?
March of 2007, I found this site called Beast Wars International by (get this) finding one of Sapphire's fictions through an online search. When I got onto that site itself, I was looking through the different sections and noticed there was a fan fiction competition going on.
I thought for a while about how I would even write a Beast Wars story until I had a few ideas and just kinda'... wrote the thing.
-Do you have a specific writing style?
I'm told I write like I'm casually talking to somebody, but I don't know for certain myself. Either way, this is probably more true for English essays (it was in English class that I was told my style) than fiction, since fiction demands a less prominent "from-me-to-you, reader" narrative structure.
-How do you come up with a title?
It's been somewhat different for every fiction that I've written, but every title has still basically been based around at least one general concept in the story. If, for example, I was going to write a story about two Transformers talking about old wars in a restaurant, I might just call it... "Pizza Parlor".
Then I'd have to ask myself if Transformers really have anything like pizza (tries imagining a metallic sheet smothered in oil covered in energon filings... Ah... no. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's a recipe for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, not pizza).
But... yeah, I guess my titles are very general.
-Is there a message in your BW/G1 fanfic that you want readers to grasp?
I've been considering messages recently, and they may work their way into the stories I don't have done yet (actually I have yet to finish any of my series). But I suppose a lot of what I write is just based on making it fun.
Still, while I don't think of too much consciously, a lot of what I believe does naturally work its way in. For example, I have strong beliefs about absolute good and evil. My characters, then, are generally black and white on the morality scale.
And then, some of the things that work their way in naturally eventually become things I realize and intentionally try to develop. My short answer would be to say, I kinda' do, and hope to eventually give more complete effort in that area.
-How much of the BW/G1 fanfic is realistic?
Transformers is awesome because it goes a bit beyond what is realistic. Sentient robots are cool. So a lot of the events, at least in my fiction, are unrealistic.
But if I go back to the "messages" idea, I find, again, that a lot of what people believe about the world does naturally works it way in to stories. I think then, that a lot of the subtext that can be found in some fiction is at least realistic to the person who writes it.
-Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
No. But I wish.
-If you had to choose, which writer (professional or amateur) would you consider a mentor?
Well, if my experiences with reading have to have naturally helped me with my writing. That's just the way reading works. But... again, I can't think of any specifics. I must, therefore, extrapolate based on who I've read the most from, and enjoyed the most, and that would be Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series.
-What book are you reading now?
Do textbooks count?
-Are there any BW fanfic authors that have grasped your interest?
From almost every author, there are some stories that I really want to read, and others I'm generally disinterested in. So I guess any authors can be interesting.
Hmmm...
I think on fanfiction.net I have Jagna and 7KnightWolf on my alert list for what it's worth.
-What are your current projects?
"The Serengeti Series" (that thing has been nagging at me for over two years now): my general Beast Wars story, "Time Chords": my crossover of terminator and Beast Wars, and I'm also considering/have written maybe one page of a G1 fiction which details the conflict on Cybertron in the time while the Autobots and Decepticons were offline. This story might not end up getting written.
-Do you see writing as a career?
I don't see it, because I don't trust I could actually write something compelling or entertaining enough to earn livable wages. If I actually ever got something published, than that might be an indication.
I do, however, often find myself considering things I really want to write on a publishable level.
-If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest BW/G1 fanfic?
Yeah, I thin so. In fact, since neither of my series are completed I actually
might end up doing that.
For example, the first chapter in the Serengeti Series is written a lot more like a spark notes summary than a third person limited narrative. I might want to re-write it.
Or, in my latest chapter of that same series, I think I cringe any time I read the dialogue between Arctosteel and Quickrim when they fight on the road. It is... either really cliche, or so melodramatic and un-realistic that it's never even had a chance to become cliche. I haven't heard any complaints about it, so I might be over-analyzing, but I do wonder.
-Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Well, I never really liked it. But then in high school I found this site. And than the essays in English became rather philosophical. And then I realized that writing good for online debates.
So I suppose I've only recently moved away from dreading it as homework to seeing it as a creative outlet and rhetorical medium.
-Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Just so long as you give it back once you're done with it. What to use... Uh... what the heck:
“I’ve had enough of this.” said the cat. Just as the car was about to come to their side of the overhang, he grabbed Quickrim and threw him against the car. Glass was shattered and the metal on the side of the car was dented. Quickrim fell over dazed as the cat climbed onto the back of the car. He began climbing on the roof in order to get to the front of the car. Quickrim grabbed the back bumper just as the car would have gone out of his reach. Sparks flew again as he was dragged by the car, but this time he was the one holding onto the car, and he climbed onto the car, and then the roof quickly. As the car sped on, Quickrim and his enemy faced each other on opposite sides of the car roof. The cat was frustrated. He grabbed his guns again and began firing at Quickrim. Quickrim was hit in chest and the laser actually hit some internal wires, but his spark wasn’t even nearly touched. Quickrim got closer, and then tackled the cat. They both landed on the car hood. The cat threw what for even professional boxers would have been a beautiful punch, which hit Quickrim’s face with a sickening thud. The cat took advantage of Quickrim’s temporary daze and actually got the balance to stand on the hood. Panting heavily, he aimed both his lasers at Quickrim’s head.
“This wasn’t an easy fight, I’ll give you that.” said the cat. Quickrim noticed they were about to round a corner. The nearest road under them was still far below. He gripped either side of the car since the windows were rolled down.
“When would you like to schedule the next one?” It was all the spunk Quickrim could muster, meager as it was.
“Oh, I’m afraid you’re going to have to miss it.” laughed the cat triumphantly. Quickrim looked past the cat and judged they were close enough to the corner. He had been trained to be flexible. He swung his left leg around and inside the car where he found the break and pushed it. The car came to a screeching halt, as the cat flew over the corner. Quickrim held on for dear life. When the car stopped moving, Quickrim climbed off the hood and looked over the edge of the road. Quickrim noticed a dent where the cat landed on the first road below them. The cat, however, had bounced off and fallen to another road beneath that one. Quickrim had to zoom with his optics to see him at all. Right where he was, the cat vanished.
All the passengers in the large transformer climbed out confused and shocked. When everyone was out, even the driving car transformed. They all asked Quickrim what was going on.
“I’m not sure.” he responded.
Then his comlink turned on.
“Agent E, this is Wirecat. Is there a security breach?”
Quickrim’s face dropped in enraged disbelief.
“Yes sir.”
-Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I write so slow. Sooooooooooo slow (hence, the non-completion of my the series I've been working on since May, 2007). Or rather, I can write at a standard pace, but the ideas of what to do next come so slow. I sometimes second guess my ideas, but the real problem is simply coming up with, and then
liking them.
Who is your favorite author (professional or amateur) and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I'm not sure. It might be Brain Jacques, for his ability to write characters and situations that give them something to stand for (his books paint most, though certainly not all, of his characters black or white). Maybe C.S. Lewis, because I like his theology.
Well, there are a ton of great writers, and I supposed I've never really decided any of them are the best.
-Have you/do you consider creating artwork to accompany your BW/G1 fanfic?
Yes I have considered.
I once tried.
I knew I shouldn't have.
I won't try again anytime soon.
In fact, I might be capable of earning a living by putting on a comedy routine which only consists of me drawing things, showing those things to the audience, and asking what they think I drew.
Did you learn anything from writing your fanfic and what was it?
I have a tendency to phrase things awkwardly. Fan fiction helped me practice writing ideas where the right words are in the right spots in the right sentences. I haven't perfected this, of course.
-Do you have any advice for other writers?
I guess not. Whenever I give constructive criticism in feedback for stories, it ends up being very specific to the story the feedback is being given to.
Well, duh.
But yeah, my advice depends on the story it's being given for.
-Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I, like Razor, like feedback. But I guess there is one other thing: I really am trying to finish these stories, and thank you for reading them.
I ask, to make it interesting, that if you decide to answer, that you answer at least 5 (they can be random). All fanfic writers are welcome!
As for other people's opinions, I'm not so confident XD
