Be Gentle With Us Interview: India
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Be Gentle With Us Interview: India |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | India |
| Date(s): | 1993 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom(s): | The Professionals |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Be Gentle With Us Interview: India are answers to a questionnaire.
The answers were printed in Be Gentle With Us #8 and #10. It's possible that there were more replies printed in #9, #11, and #12 as well.
The Known Participants
- Be Gentle With Us Interview: Katy Deery
- Be Gentle With Us Interview: Cath Sprale
- Be Gentle With Us Interview: India
- Be Gentle With Us Interview: Ellis Ward
- Be Gentle With Us Interview: Felicity M. Parkinson
- Be Gentle With Us Interview: Tish
The Twenty-One Questions
Which of your stories do you like best?
Conversely, any you cringe about now with hindsight?
Are you inspired by external factors, such as music?
How much research do you do?
How many drafts do you write before submitting the story?
What makes you write slash?
How do you react to editor's criticism or reviews of your work?
Do you keep a piece of writing to yourself until it is finished, or would you seek the advice of others at a fairly early stage?
Do you worry about plagiarism?
How do you feel about another writer rewriting the end of your story, or writing a sequel (with or without permission?)
Do you prefer to write about the characters in the CI5 setting or is any universe/time fair game?
Do you keep rigidly to the characterisation used in the aired episodes?
Do you ever deliberately change the characterization, or does it happen unconsciously?
Do you work on more than one story at a time?
Do you write sex scenes to titillate the reader?
How do you go about writing sex scenes? (Resort to strong drink and let your imagination run riot?)
Would you like to be a professional writer?
Were you a writer before you discovered fandom?
If you were a writer before discovering fandom, has the experience of reading fan literature changed your own writing?
Have other writers in fandom or stories that you have read influenced your own work?
Have you been influenced by writers or writing from outside of fandom?
Some Excerpts
Which of your stories do you like best?
Actually, I always prefer the one I've just finished writing.
Conversely, any you cringe about now with hindsight?
Oh yes. One in particular. A Hooker/Ronano (not really slash) story, fortunately more funny than anything. I wouldn't write this again. But somehow, I don't really regret it because, at the time, I thought it was a pretty good idea. Forget all about it!
Are you inspired by external factors, such as music?
As a matter of fact, yes. I generally write while listening to some Tchaikovsky piece or, in a different style, the original soundtrack of Aliens. This is really inspiring. I also write according to the mood and my day to day life (which is actually not fascinating).
What makes you write slash?
The psychological approach and probably some personal experiences (Phantasms or otherwise. No details, sorry!). I like the improbable to become probable.
Do you worry about plagiarism?
Not at all. I don't write enough to fear it.
How do you feel about another writer rewriting the end of your story, or writing a sequel (with or without permission?).
I couldn't say. It hasn't happened yet. In fact, the only person who did a sequel to one of my stories is myself (don't laugh!). However, I imagine I wouldn't mind a sequel being written but I certainly would not care for the end of a story to be re-written.
Do you write sex scenes to titillate the reader?
If it titillates me, I guess the reader must be too (or I hope so).
Would you like to be a professional writer?
This is a hope, yes. But I must keep working very hard to make that dream come true one day. I keep believing in it (can someone find this foolish?).
Were you a writer before you discovered fandom?
Not really. I just wrote little stories for myself that I never showed anyone, and some articles for several fanzines. I can't really consider this writing.
Have other writers in fandom or stories that you have read influenced your own work?
For B/D, no. I joined the fandom too recently. But in K/S, yes. I've been very moved by Fetish written by Jenny Starr, it beautiful story which influenced me on my first real slash story.
Have you been influenced by writers or writing from outside of fandom?
Yes. I remember writing an historical story after reading Anna by the French author Paul Lou Sulitzer. It was as romantically as historically well written. The story was so beautiful, it gave me psychological ideas for my own story, it very good influence indeed.