Baaa...

[emmagrant01]

This one is all over my flist, but it sounds interesting. What the heck?

Ask Me My Fandom Opinion

How this works:

1. Ask me one fandom-related question in the comments. This can be fandom specific,general, or about fandom/lj stuff/fic writing/etc. in general. Ask anything...I'm really not bothered.

2. ONE DAMN QUESTION.-- Nah, you can ask more than one, but I might or might not answer it.

3. That's it. It can be as normal or odd as you like.

Comments

[oddnari.livejournal.com]

Mm-kay, this is just something that's been perplexing me for a while... tell me, do you think that the Harry-Draco fandom is facing a sort of slump these days? I mean, days go by without Hogwarts Today or Daily Snitch carrying a fresh story with the 'D/H' or 'H/D' pairing. Where are all the loaded multi-chaptered fics? (Your recent one doesn't count, yo! It's the only one I've read in the past three months). Do you think writers are outta ideas? Or has everything already been written about our favourite blond and his favourite brunet?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

That's a good question, and I really don't know. From my perspective, there hasn't been a lot of fic written lately in general, but maybe it only seems that way to me because my flist is so H/D-centric. I've seen a definite downturn in the amount of fic posted since January, and I'm not sure why that happened.

Maybe people don't know where to go with the pairing after HBP? The irony of having your pairing practically handed to you on a silver platter is that it can make it more difficult to write interesting fics about it. Of course, those of us who are primarily post-Hogwarts shippers don't face that problem as much as the folks who ship them during the school years. Maybe as we get more canon, the possibilities narrow, and that makes it harder to write long fic.

Not that I'm stopping, btw. I have two long chaptered H/D fics in the works. ;-)

[husht3hsilent.livejournal.com]

If you could have only shared one of your stories, which would you pick? Why?

:)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Well, it sounds like a cop-out, but probably Left My Heart, just because that was such a fun fic to write. I grew so much as a writer during the time I wrote it and really learned a lot about what I like in slash fic. The experience of writing it shaped me as a writer, if that makes any sense.

But I'd also choose it because, of all the fics I've written, that's the one I love reading the most. It's one of the only ones I can read and get absorbed in, just enjoying it and not getting wrapped up in technical issues about my own writing. I can lose myself in that universe, which is what fanfic is all about, really.

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

Q: Why Harry/Draco? :D

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I think I just have a thing for animosity as attraction. I loved it in Star Wars too, actually. I always liked Han/Leia and Luke/Mara as pairings and later enjoyed slashy ones that had that element of personal competition between the characters. It's weird because I couldn't stand to be in a relationship like that IRL, but in fiction, I find the dynamic fascinating.

I also like pairings where the two characters are actually quite a lot alike, but just don't (or don't want to) recognize it, and I see that in H/D as well. If Draco ever liked Harry at all, it would be because he just found him irresistable in some way. He'll never like what Harry stands for, I think. The idea of the two of them being attracted to each other despite not really liking each other very much is very appealing to me -- it sort of underscores what sexual attraction is all about, in some ways.

Something like that. :-P

[rubymiene.livejournal.com]

What do you most want to write that you haven't managed to yet?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

geoviki and abbycadabra and I have been tossing around ideas for cowriting a post-Hogwarts novel-length H/D for nearly a year now, and it keep getting pushed aside for a variety of reasons. I would really love to work on that, because I think it would be amazing to cowrite with those two.

Other than that, I've been wanting to write some "seventh year" post-HBP fic. I have several ideas, but it's a matter of sitting down to flesh them out. There are some fics that don't start out with a particular pairing in mind, just an idea for a story, and the ideas I have are like that. It would probably be some combination of Harry, Draco, and Snape, which would be interesting.

[husht3hsilent.livejournal.com]

Dunno if you're gonna answer this one too, but...:P

Do you feel the quality of a story relates largely, if at all, to the author's age? I've heard many a time that only people who have had some life experience can write truely impacting stories, and I'm looking to see if others agree with this.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

That's a good question. I really don't want to sound like I'm hedging, but I think the answer is "probably".

The older you are, it's likely (not definite, but probable) that you have had more time to learn to be a good writer. You've probably had a lot more life experience to draw on in your writing as well. Life experience and sheer number of hours of practice and struggle to improve have an impact, so in a sense, I think older writers are usually better writers. They simply have had a lot more time to learn to write than younger writers have.

But of course, there is a certain amount of writing "ability" that is present regardless of age. There are absolutely people who are better writers at the age of 12 than most people are at the age of 40. But again, it depends on what you do with it. A 40-year-old person who has a talent for writing and has been writing fiction for years is simply a better writer than she was at 20. And thank heavens for that, because if not what would be the point of continuing to write and improve your craft?

There's also the issue of life experience to consider. A great deal of what we write comes from our own experiences with relationships and sex and other things like that. A great imagination and research will definitely get you far, but it's nothing like having first-hand knowledge, particularly where relationships are concerned. That can work the other way as well, though -- it's very possible that a teenager would write a much better (and more realistic) fic about teen characters than someone my age would. But still, it's rare that I come across a fic written by a very young person that I find a genuinely compelling read. I would love to be pointed to some, but I really don't know of many.

So if you pick at random a 15-year-old writer and a 40-year-old writer, the odds are that I would think the fic written by the older writer was better. I would probably like it more for all of the reasons I state above, and that would just be my opinion. But I'm talking probability here, so there are absolutely exceptions to be found. I just think the probablility of finding an exception is low.

[zully.livejournal.com]

What's your take on Sirius's death? Do you think he's permanently gone, or does the fact that those who have seen death can hear voices from the veil indicate that they may not actually be dead?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Gosh, I don't know. JKR has said over and over that he's really, truly dead, and I don't think she would have so it so often or so emphatically if she didn't mean it. She hasn't ever gone back on something like that before, and if she weren't sure about it, I don't think she would have said anything at all.

However, I think it leaves an awful lot of grey area for fan fic writers to explore, and that's a great thing.

[hardticket.livejournal.com]

Snape, good or evil?
And are you going to write anymore H/R?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Two questions! Ah, what the hell.

Snape is GOOD, I say! Good!! I completely, utterly believe that. I think JKR has dropped way too many hints that he's good (despite the fact that she hedges when asked about it), and as many other fans have said, it doesn't really make sense for him to turn out to be evil.

More H/R fic: I would really like to. If reallycorking keeps drawing hot H/R art, I may be unable to resist!

[best-of-five.livejournal.com]

what's a pairing other than r/hr that you think would complement h/d nicely in a fic?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... Remus/Severus? Sort of the same dynamic, and those two adults play similar roles in their lives.

[laughingcamel.livejournal.com]

1.) What is going on with STG? When do you think the final version will be posted?
I had been waiting for the final version but finally surrendered at started to read it this week (I am up to chapter 16 and OMG, part of me wants to say up for 2 or 3 more hours and finish reading it now.)
2.) What would you say your fav paring is other the H/D?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

STG: Meep! I'm working on it! I just keep getting distracted with other things... I have a goal to get the final version posted before Lumos, though. And it won't change that much, really. There are some things that will be smoothed out and a few small things that I will add, but nothing major.

Other fave pairing: It's a tie between Harry/Remus and Harry/Bill. ANd there's not nearly enough of either of those!

[laughingcamel.livejournal.com]

I have never read Harry/Remus, actually I might have read something were Harry had a crush on him; I could see that ship working. As for Harry/Bill, I read one fic with them…my fav Weasaly with Harry is George, for some unknown reason I have convinced myself they could total be a cannon couple.

[silentauror.livejournal.com]

Ooh, fun stuff! :)

My question: Mpreg. Yea or nay. Are you a fan?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I've only read a few mpregs that I thought were well done, but I don't dislike it on principle or anything. I take a sort of feminist perspective on mpreg -- that it's an interesting way of exploring something that is a uniquely female experience through a male point of view, either to torment men or to relect on what pregnancy and childbirth really mean to us as women.

But I haven't met many women who wrote mpreg who thought they were doing either of those things, I have to say. And I've read a few where it seemed like the idea was simply to make one of the male characters the "female" in the relationship, so he basically loses everything about him that's male and becomes a chick with a dick. Those fics tend to disturb me a bit, to be honest. I'm like, "Just write het, okay?"

[elsie.livejournal.com]

What's your favorite fic you've written?

and/or

Which one was the most difficult for you to write? Inquiring fangirl minds want to know!

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I think I've already answered the first question above so... most difficult. Hmmm...

I think maybe Flicker was the most difficult one. It was a pairing I really wanted to write, but I agonized over how to make it come across well. I wanted both Draco and Remus to seem like they'd stepped out of HBP, and I wanted the progression towards their brief encounter to feel real. I really struggled with that fic for a long time, and IIRC I had to ask for an extension on it. But in the end, I was really happy with the fic. :-)

[lilmissclassy.livejournal.com]

Ok, my question is more just out of idle curiousity, but how and ever: what's your favourite fandom kink/ or alternatively, biggest turn off?

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

*rubs hands together*

Favorite kink: without a doubt, rimming. Yup. It kills me every time. The more detailed, the better. :-P

Least favorite kink: crossdressing. It just does nothing for me, even though I know it's something a lot of people really like. It's something that actually makes me hit the back button, more than just about anything else.

[lilmissclassy.livejournal.com]

hehe, that reply really made my day - I'd almost be the exact same with favourites and turn offs! I asked because I was so like "I never notice any major kinks with Emma's fics". Now I realise that's probably because they're so similar to my own I don't even view them as such anymore. Awwwww, *warm fuzzy feeling*......... :D