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Fan Fiction Survey Questions
Fan fiction title: "Magic"
Summary: Lizzie doesn't often run into ghosts, so when she comes face to face with the boy leaving her socially awkward notes in her new but old house she doesn't expect to meet one of the greatest friends she'll ever have. The only problem is that he doesn't intend to stick around.
1:What inspired you to write the fic this way? I read “The Anatomy of a Fall” by novermbersmith on livejournal and was hooked on the idea of a friendly ghost fanfic. You often read these ghost fanfics that are written with a lot of despair and lack of humour (nothing wrong with those!) but she had the right combination that made up an interesting plot and beautiful, descriptive scenery. It had me excited to try and emulate what she'd done in my own story. I decided on a plot involving a ghost because the supernatural is something I had never attempted in my work before.
2:What scene did you first put down? The first scene I wrote was the beginning. It’s stereotypical to have the protagonist describing a house, but I had a lot of fun pulling random pop culture facts from a lot of my favourite movies and TV shows. It was probably the most descriptive I’ve ever been yet in setting a scene.
3:What's your favorite line of narration?
- Lizzie stated stubbornly and shoved the car door open. It whined and squeaked, tired from the drive and just getting plain old. Everything in Lizzie’s life seemed to scream for lighter fluid.
- Here she was starting from scratch, the bottom of the social food chain and with one more year left of high school this was the most inconvenient situation to stand at the threshold of.
4:What's your favorite line of dialogue? “So, like, have you killed a man?”
5:What part was hardest to write? In terms of writer's block, I think the trickiest parts to write so far were scenes in which I didn't have a solid plan. Conversations that weren't really going anywhere...
6:What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics? I feel like I’ve put a lot of myself in this one. More than I usually do, because a lot of characters are based on friends or situations I’ve been in before. This story is essentially about letting go of someone. I started writing this story in October of 2013, less than a month after one of my best childhood friends passed away (natural causes). Two and a half months later someone I knew and acted with in high school (and thought a lot about while writing Jesse’s character) sadly took his own life.So the theme was and is very relevent in my life.
7:Where did the title come from? I was listening to “Magic” by The Cars when I first got the idea for this story. I consider it the working title still. I might change the title when the story is complete, but for now I haven’t come up with anything too clever.
8:Did any real people or events inspire any part of it? Yes, yes, yes. Many little moments. Lots of banter between Lizzie and Frank is based on the relationship I have with one of my oldest (oldest in the sense that I’ve known him since we were in grade 2) friends. He’s not exactly charming like Frank, but he has his moments and says some of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I’ve ever heard. And Gloria's personality is based on a friend of mine who I consider to be a "wild child woman" who is a writer and often travels between here (where I live), Toronto and New York for work and inspiration. She has a keen sense of fashion and tells it like it is.
9:Were there any alternate versions of this fic? Yes, but I haven’t reached the end yet. I did write up something I’m no longer going to use though. And I did have one idea that would have put a huge, unsettling ending to the story. Maybe I'll reveal it once the storie's completed.
10:Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story? Whilst I will read Frerard I don’t write and post it. I don’t know, I’m not against people who write those kind of fics, I just feel a bit awkward writing them myself – like maybe I’M crossing some kind of boundary by doing so. And after meeting Frank even writing this story feels like crossing some kind of invisible line too. But as I’ve told some other people before, when I write Frank as a character that’s all he is. He might look like real Frank, but he’s as fiction as Lizzie, Jesse or Gloria to me. I’ve met Frank in real life, he’s nothing like the way I write him.
11:What do you like best about this fic? I think it includes some of my best writing yet. It also includes original characters that I’ve actually had people compliment. Jesse and Gloria feel particularly real to me some days. Or at least I wish they were real. I can see them in my head when I write and that for me is rare. Lizzie can still be a blur when I try to picture her.
12:What do you like least about this fic? As I approach the end (2 chapters and an epilogue left I think) I can sense myself dragging it out (it’s already so long) and rushing all at once. I feel like I’m not story telling properly anymore and will need to go back and fix it. I also wish it was all original, but I’ll get there one day.
13:What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading? I listen to A LOT of music when I write, and often include a list of songs that inspired each chapter. No music, no inspiration, no writing. For this one I’ve mainly been listening to 80’s rock and some newer poppy kind of music. I don’t know, it’s just whatever clicks I suppose. When I write Jesse, for example, I often listen to The Cars, Danger Danger and Inward Eye.
14:Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic? It’s all the little moments we tend to take for granted that mean the most. To acknowledge or pause to realize that those little moments make for the best kind of memories. E.g. staying up late to have a movie marathon with your best friend. Or joking around with your sibling in the middle of a classy restaurant/store.
15:What did you learn from writing this fic? I’ve learned that I’m capable of writing decent original character that people do enjoy. I learned that I’m also capable of creating a fictional reality - a place where my mind can wander to and play when I’m bored, instead of visiting someone else’s fictional reality. I also learned that I should pause and live in the moment with friends and family while its happening. Just to appreciate those little things a bit more.
Summary: Lizzie doesn't often run into ghosts, so when she comes face to face with the boy leaving her socially awkward notes in her new but old house she doesn't expect to meet one of the greatest friends she'll ever have. The only problem is that he doesn't intend to stick around.
1:What inspired you to write the fic this way? I read “The Anatomy of a Fall” by novermbersmith on livejournal and was hooked on the idea of a friendly ghost fanfic. You often read these ghost fanfics that are written with a lot of despair and lack of humour (nothing wrong with those!) but she had the right combination that made up an interesting plot and beautiful, descriptive scenery. It had me excited to try and emulate what she'd done in my own story. I decided on a plot involving a ghost because the supernatural is something I had never attempted in my work before.
2:What scene did you first put down? The first scene I wrote was the beginning. It’s stereotypical to have the protagonist describing a house, but I had a lot of fun pulling random pop culture facts from a lot of my favourite movies and TV shows. It was probably the most descriptive I’ve ever been yet in setting a scene.
3:What's your favorite line of narration?
- Lizzie stated stubbornly and shoved the car door open. It whined and squeaked, tired from the drive and just getting plain old. Everything in Lizzie’s life seemed to scream for lighter fluid.
- Here she was starting from scratch, the bottom of the social food chain and with one more year left of high school this was the most inconvenient situation to stand at the threshold of.
4:What's your favorite line of dialogue? “So, like, have you killed a man?”
5:What part was hardest to write? In terms of writer's block, I think the trickiest parts to write so far were scenes in which I didn't have a solid plan. Conversations that weren't really going anywhere...
6:What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics? I feel like I’ve put a lot of myself in this one. More than I usually do, because a lot of characters are based on friends or situations I’ve been in before. This story is essentially about letting go of someone. I started writing this story in October of 2013, less than a month after one of my best childhood friends passed away (natural causes). Two and a half months later someone I knew and acted with in high school (and thought a lot about while writing Jesse’s character) sadly took his own life.So the theme was and is very relevent in my life.
7:Where did the title come from? I was listening to “Magic” by The Cars when I first got the idea for this story. I consider it the working title still. I might change the title when the story is complete, but for now I haven’t come up with anything too clever.
8:Did any real people or events inspire any part of it? Yes, yes, yes. Many little moments. Lots of banter between Lizzie and Frank is based on the relationship I have with one of my oldest (oldest in the sense that I’ve known him since we were in grade 2) friends. He’s not exactly charming like Frank, but he has his moments and says some of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I’ve ever heard. And Gloria's personality is based on a friend of mine who I consider to be a "wild child woman" who is a writer and often travels between here (where I live), Toronto and New York for work and inspiration. She has a keen sense of fashion and tells it like it is.
9:Were there any alternate versions of this fic? Yes, but I haven’t reached the end yet. I did write up something I’m no longer going to use though. And I did have one idea that would have put a huge, unsettling ending to the story. Maybe I'll reveal it once the storie's completed.
10:Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story? Whilst I will read Frerard I don’t write and post it. I don’t know, I’m not against people who write those kind of fics, I just feel a bit awkward writing them myself – like maybe I’M crossing some kind of boundary by doing so. And after meeting Frank even writing this story feels like crossing some kind of invisible line too. But as I’ve told some other people before, when I write Frank as a character that’s all he is. He might look like real Frank, but he’s as fiction as Lizzie, Jesse or Gloria to me. I’ve met Frank in real life, he’s nothing like the way I write him.
11:What do you like best about this fic? I think it includes some of my best writing yet. It also includes original characters that I’ve actually had people compliment. Jesse and Gloria feel particularly real to me some days. Or at least I wish they were real. I can see them in my head when I write and that for me is rare. Lizzie can still be a blur when I try to picture her.
12:What do you like least about this fic? As I approach the end (2 chapters and an epilogue left I think) I can sense myself dragging it out (it’s already so long) and rushing all at once. I feel like I’m not story telling properly anymore and will need to go back and fix it. I also wish it was all original, but I’ll get there one day.
13:What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading? I listen to A LOT of music when I write, and often include a list of songs that inspired each chapter. No music, no inspiration, no writing. For this one I’ve mainly been listening to 80’s rock and some newer poppy kind of music. I don’t know, it’s just whatever clicks I suppose. When I write Jesse, for example, I often listen to The Cars, Danger Danger and Inward Eye.
14:Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic? It’s all the little moments we tend to take for granted that mean the most. To acknowledge or pause to realize that those little moments make for the best kind of memories. E.g. staying up late to have a movie marathon with your best friend. Or joking around with your sibling in the middle of a classy restaurant/store.
15:What did you learn from writing this fic? I’ve learned that I’m capable of writing decent original character that people do enjoy. I learned that I’m also capable of creating a fictional reality - a place where my mind can wander to and play when I’m bored, instead of visiting someone else’s fictional reality. I also learned that I should pause and live in the moment with friends and family while its happening. Just to appreciate those little things a bit more.
Not sure if we have a thread like this on here. My bad if we do!
I've seen this done on other websites before (that's probably where I got these questions from... I honestly don't remember. It's been sitting in a folder on my computer forever). Basically, copy paste the survey, pick one of the fanfics you've written (or are working on) and answer the questions. Fill it in multiple times for different stories if you'd like. Just thought this might get the forum on here rolling again and it's a fun way to promote your stories (and I always love answering survey questions...). It might be a good idea to include a short summary of what your story is about before answering the questions.
1:What inspired you to write the fic this way?
2:What scene did you first put down?
3:What's your favorite line of narration?
4:What's your favorite line of dialogue?
5:What part was hardest to write?
6:What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?
7:Where did the title come from?
8:Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?
9:Were there any alternate versions of this fic?
10:Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?
11:What do you like best about this fic?
12:What do you like least about this fic?
13:What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn't listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?
14:Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?
15:What did you learn from writing this fic?
7/20/17