Getting to Know Reiya

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Interviews by Fans
Title: Getting to Know Reiya
Interviewer: Sarabel
Interviewee: Reiya
Date(s): June 2017
Medium: online
Fandom(s): Yuri!!! on Ice
External Links: "Getting to know Reiya". Archived from the original on 2017-10-17.
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Getting to Know Reiya is a 2017 interview with Reiya, a Yuri!!! on Ice fanfic writer.

She was interviewed by Sarabel from the Yuuri/Victor fanfic community, viktuurificwriters.

Introduction

If you’ve been in the Yuri on Ice fandom for a long time now, then I bet you’ve already heard of Reiya. She is the author of the highly acclaimed Rivals series on AO3. The series’ first fic, entitled Until my Feet Bleed and my Heart Aches, is the YOI fic with the most number of kudos and hits.

Reiya ( @kazliin ) even has her own group of dedicated readers, who form a sub-fandom within the YOI fandom. Her blog is proof of that–being comprised of replies to the variety of asks she receives daily, different posts about the Top Ten’s of Yuuri and of Viktor in the Rivals world, reblogs of different fanarts and fanvids about her stories, and a whole lot more.

Excerpts

Even though Reiya writes fanfics about YOI, she admits that she doesn’t really watch anime. She became interested in Yuri on Ice when she kept seeing it on her dashboard around episode two or three. She was also curious about it being a figure skating anime because, as a child, she used to dream of becoming a figure skater herself.

Before YOI, Reiya used to write for the Marvel fandom. She didn’t write a fic for seven months after her last Marvel fic due to writer’s block, but then she found Yuri on Ice and it gave her the inspiration she needed to write again.

“The source material is wonderful and there’s so much potential in it for both canon verse fics and AUs,” says Reiya. “And as a member of the LGBT community, it was so wonderful to finally see a canon, healthy, happy queer couple, so it gave me a lot of inspiration to write.”

As soon as Reiya started watching YOI, she kept imagining different scenarios to put the characters in, which she thinks is a good precursor to starting a fic. Yuri on Ice was also a new fandom, with new material coming out each week–getting reader response and feedback was very high.

“Inspiration to write is so heavily based on getting response for what you do,” Reiya adds. “Being in a big fandom like YOI and having so many people being enthusiastic over my fic really pushed me to keep writing.”

And so, Reiya started writing what turned out to be the most popular YOI fic ever.

Reiya’s advice for aspiring writers:

Don’t compare yourselves to the big fics and don’t write what you’re not comfortable with. Almost all the big fics in any fandom were written right at the beginning when popularity is highest and when people read the fics with the most kudos first. Once a fic is on the first page it’s very difficult to knock it down or get another fic up there instead. It happens in every fandom. If you come into a fandom later and write, don’t feel down by comparing yourself to fics like that. Popularity doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best fic out there, and just because your fic isn’t the most popular, it doesn’t mean it isn’t good. I know it seems patronizing of me to say that, all things considered, but YOI isn’t my first fandom and I know how hard it can be when you feel like people care so much more about other fics than yours. I’ve deleted or stopped fics before because I felt like no one cared. But you know what? People do and you should always write what you want to write regardless of what anyone else is doing. You never know, to someone out there, your fic might make their day.

As for not writing what you’re not comfortable with, don’t be pressured into writing something just because all the other fics are like that or people want it. If you’re not comfortable with writing sex scenes, then don’t write them. If someone wants your fic to go in a certain direction and you’re not sure about it, don’t do it just to please someone else. Write for yourself first and everyone else second.

I think a lot of writers (and I include myself in this) can get caught up comparing themselves to other people and trying to please everyone which is never a good way to go.

Other Interviews in the Series

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