Octaves of the Heart Interview with Wisteria

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Octaves of the Heart Interview with Wisteria
Interviewer:	Octaves of the Heart
Interviewee:	Wisteria
Date(s):	2006?
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	Buffyverse
External Links:	"online here". Archived from the original on 2007-06-08.
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Octaves of the Heart Interview with Wisteria is posted at the Buffy website Octaves.

For others in this series, see Octaves of the Heart Interview Series.

Excerpts

Talking about my fic is not something I often do, because I don't really think of it as something to be considered and/or discussed. I just write and post, and let things fall as they may. Perhaps that's a mixture of zen and lack of self-awareness, but most likely it's just insecurity.

In the area commonly known as "real life", I'm a middle school language arts teacher, an internet addict, and a fandom serial monogamist -- I become drawn into a fandom, then experience intense loyalty, often to the bitter end. At that point, I'll move on to something else.

I first started writing X-Files fic as "alanna" (my middle name) back in 1997. Stayed in the fandom until 2001, and wrote dozens of stories that primarily featured Scully/Mulder and the occasional Scully/Krycek. I was perfectly happy in the fandom, and it gave me the opportunity to develop as a fic writer.

I'd watched BTVS off-and-on since the second season, but I became full-fledged obsessive at the beginning of season six, just as my XF fandom was tapering off. I immediately became fascinated by Spike, and I was helped along by some wonderful friends who encouraged me in the fandom. My first fic was Gardening at Night, a short Spike-Dawn friendship piece. Soon afterward, I began writing Spike/Buffy, due in large part to the complicated relationship I saw playing out onscreen at the time.

As a writer, I have to say that although I've written some frighteningly mushy romance fic (ironically, those are the ones readers seem to prefer :), my personal favorites are ones like Happiness, which -- contrary to the title -- is dark and depressing and without a happy ending. I love exploring the characters' internal worlds, and portraying them in a way true to *real life*, even if that's contradictory to what we see onscreen or what we want to see in fanfiction. At heart, though, I'm hopelessly mushy, and I do want my characters -- whom I love as if they were real friends -- to be happy.

Coming full-circle, I have trouble talking about my stories because I don't necessarily give them a lot of thought going in. I just come up with an idea and see where it and the characters lead me. And when it leads us in an intriguing direction, I'm happy.