Ask the Author: nutkin
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Ask the Author: nutkin |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | nutkin |
| Date(s): | May 15, 2011 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Supernatural |
| External Links: | interview and comments are here, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
nutkin was interviewed for Supernatural Roundtable.
Some Excerpts
I'm nutkin, or Addie, and I've been writing in online fandoms for about a decade now. I stumbled across SPN right at the start of season two, and after devouring all available episodes, I started devouring all available fic. And I've basically been here ever since! This is definitely the longest relationship I've had with any fandom; no matter how many others catch my eye, I inevitably circle back to the Winchesters. My primary interest has always been Sam/Dean -- I've been fascinated with fictional incest for a long time, both as a kink and a source of emotional dysfunction -- but I love the entire SPN universe, from the Roadhouse gang to the angels. There are so many nooks and crannies to their world, I could probably write fic about it forever and never lose interest.One of my first stories in this fandom (and undoubtedly the one that's most-read) was Waiting Games, a mid-s2 story about Sam having visions of hooking up with Dean. My favorite is probably Driving Down the Darkness, a 40k behemoth that spans the entirety of season one. They're both entrenched in the earlier, simpler version of the show, but pretty indicative of what I write -- usually the primary plot in my stories is the emotional development of the main character. I'm really impressed by people who can execute show-worthy casefiles, because that stuff always takes a back seat to characters analyzing their relationships and surroundings when I'm at the wheel.
On the J2 front, probably my better read stories are At Your Doorstep, an AU in which Jared is addicted to home shopping shows and Jensen is his UPS delivery guy, and Wild is the Wind, a fairly porny werewolf AU. I'm also pretty fond of More Than You Know, a non-AU about Jared and Jensen going on a roadtrip.
On the most surface level possible, I guess a lot of it has to do with just reading and watching lots of porn, and writing what personally works for me. I know some people write smut really objectively, but I figure it's not going to get anyone else hot and bothered if it's not doing anything for me while I'm writing it. And that philosophy has proven to be pretty true, I think -- the stuff that I've written while being like "LOL, NO ONE ELSE IS EVER GOING TO FIND THIS HOT, IT'S WAY TOO SELF-INDULGENT!" is the stuff that I've gotten the most comments on.On a more technical level, my basic rule of thumb is to think about all five senses and try to incorporate each of them into the scene. Rather than just saying something "felt fucking amazing", or whatever, I push for details -- what would that sound like, taste like, look like. I also personally think a lot of standard "writing rules" can be thrown out the window when you're writing smut. Pile on the adjectives! Let those sentences run on in a fucking avalanche of visceral, nasty description!
I also try to visualize the space in which it's happening, and thread details about that setting into the action of the scene. Like... if it's in a car, I want to talk about the creaky vinyl seats and the smell of the air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. If it's in a motel room, I want to establish what kind of lighting they have, the feel of the cheap and scratchy blankets, whether they can hear the neighbors through the wall or the fan humming in the bathroom. The mundane details keep it grounded in reality, and the dirty details keep it hot.
I guess another thing that's relevant is that I really strive to maintain a particular tone in whatever I'm writing, and keep the main character's perspective in mind -- how would that person describe things, what would his/her point of reference be in that situation. Some guys would use the word "cock" while some would use "dick", and some would think "come" where others would think "jizz". It seems like a lot of people worry that a sex scene won't be hot (or worse yet, will seem flowery and amateurish) if they don't stick to the standard porn vocabulary, but sex from Castiel's POV should absolutely read differently than sex from Dean's POV. The fact that an inexperienced character wouldn't know what to call something can be hot in and of itself -- because it highlights their inexperience, which is probably a key part of their characterization.