Writers on Writing Interview with Ascian
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Writers on Writing Interview with Ascian |
| Interviewer: | uncredited |
| Interviewee: | Ascian |
| Date(s): | April 19, 2002 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | X-Men |
| External Links: | interview is here; reference link |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
A 2002 interview with Ascian was conducted at Writers on Writing.
The subject is the author's X-Men fanfic: Duty Calls: Lifelines.
Interviews in the Series
- Writers on Writing Interview with Ascian
- Writers on Writing Interview with Elizabeth
- Writers on Writing Interview with Rachel Howard
- Writers on Writing Interview with torch
- Writers on Writing Interview with zero
Some Excerpts
I can always find something wrong with my stories--comes from being a nit-picker, I suppose. Weak plot or villain--a screwy piece of dialogue or misspelled word. There is one story, however, that I still feel fairly good about, and that is Duty Calls: Lifelines. It's not the first story, nor the last--and it isn't particularly long or complicated. But it feels *complete*. Like, everything that was supposed to be there, is. It's also a story that makes me feel good, from beginning to end. Anyone who reads my fiction will probably figure out before too long that I enjoy writing stories that explore friendship, and the love that is built upon friendship. 'Duty Calls' is an example of my favorite trip into that realm.
I don't use beta readers. I probably should, but I'm kind of shy about letting people read my things, which doesn't make any sense at all, considering the forum in which I've chosen to publish my fan-fiction. I suppose writing is a very personal process for me, one that I chose to hammer out on my own. Then when the story is done, I just close my eyes and throw it out to the wolves.
This story came from a picture in 'Millennium Visions', a Marvel sketch book of sorts, showing possible ideas for different X-Books. One of those ideas involved a universe where peace between mutants and humans has come to pass, and some of the X-Men have become intergalactic peacekeepers. Wolverine and Jubilee are such a pair, and the picture of them in their uniforms really sent the story into a spin. I sat down and wrote 'Duty Calls' in two or three hours. My stories usually come from music and poetry. A passage of poetry catches my eye, or I hear a certain song, and things just start to flow. Little snippets of ideas, or dialogue. And from the poetry, from the quotes, come the themes that make the stories unwind - give them focus. I need focus when I write - something to come back to and shape the words in my head.