Octaves of the Heart Interview with Yseult
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Octaves of the Heart Interview with Yseult |
| Interviewer: | Octaves of the Heart |
| Interviewee: | Yseult |
| Date(s): | 2006? |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Buffyverse |
| External Links: | "online here". Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. (scroll down) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Octaves of the Heart Interview with Yseult is posted at the Buffy website Octaves.
For others in this series, see Octaves of the Heart Interview Series.
Yseult Said
I've been writing stories and poetry since I was in kindergarten. I took an extended break from anything literary when I hit college. There I churned out endless exciting essays on topics such as "The Importance of the Wife of Bath's Character in The Canterbury Tales" and "An Analysis of The Coda". I had little time for anything esoteric since I was working to pay for tuition. I started really writing again about a year ago. Mostly nonfiction work (but for fun). And then, god help me, I stumbled into the world of fanfiction.
A couple of things inspire me to write, really. Believe it or not, rain! I don't know why, but I do my best writing in front of an open window when it's raining. Drizzle or downpour -- it makes no difference. I wrote Vampire Overboard during a night of pounding thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Absolution was written Hallowe'en night to the soft sounds of falling rain.
Also, music. My life is filled with all kinds of music. I could be blind and live; I could never be deaf. My first fanfic piece, Just Like Heaven, was entirely inspired by The Cure. I got the idea for Random Thoughts after listening to Loreena McKerrit's "The Book of Shadows". The idea of Siul a Ruin comes from the song itself. This was a popular lament at the ceilidhs I attended as a child. As I write this, I'm listening to Doo Wop music from the 1950s: The Platters, The Marcels, and Frankie Lymon singing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"
[...]
Why B/A? There's no pat answer for this. The bare naked truth is.. it's entirely David Boreanaz's fault. The man makes me drool. I could elaborate, but it would just involve complicated descriptions of more drool. It's Angel's character that keeps me writing. Fanfic is an opportunity to explore his soul, emotions, needs, fears. And, last time I checked, UPN was not showing naked Angel on my TV screen. Which is too bad. Cause they could make a mint.
On a separate level, the world of BtVS and AtS is fascinating. Good and evil are not clearly defined, pain comes in many forms, the price of honesty can be death. There's just so much you can do with this world, so many things you can write about. It's like fertilizer for the mind. I've never been captivated like this with anything else I've seen or read, although Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon" sustained me for many years.
Buffy and Angel as a couple scare me. Everything with these two is intense, and I think that's what makes them exciting. Also, I like angst with my love. And with Buffy and Angel, it's first love. First love is the scariest thing I know. Nothing else compares. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I think of my first love. I suspect this is Buffy and Angel all the time.
I try very hard not to think of the shows. I prefer the first 3 seasons of BtVS. I watch it now, because, hello? Addict here. I've never seen season 2 of AtS. It disturbs me that the shows plays fast and loose with canon. (It bugged me whenever this happened in the Star Trek and X Files universes too.) I'm a latecomer to the world of BtVS. I discovered it in syndication.
Fandom is a weird place to visit. I definitely don't want to live there. But, there are some incredible writers out there.
As for Joss? Let's not go there. It's Lent. I'm trying to be a good girl and think only pure thoughts.
I think my own favourite story would have to be The Snowstorm. And yes, it was snowing that day! This story came spilling out of my keyboard. I was never happy with how Joss chose to present Angel's reactions to Buffy's death. I always felt like it was swept under the rug because of the separate network situation. It was disrespectful of the characters. The feedback for this has been unanimous in that it should come with a tissue and alcohol warning. I don't know that I would go that far, but I tend to be less emotional about my own stories.
My second favourite story? It's a toss-up between A Reason to Drown and Just Like Heaven. A Reason to Drown was written in 2 large chunks. I wrote the first half and didn't know how I wanted it to end, so I shelved it. It was only my third attempt at fanfiction. Three months later, after I had figured out my style (mostly angsty B/A), I finished it. I think this story captures the back and forthness of Buffy and Angel's relationship after he's left Sunnydale. It's told mostly from Angel's POV and his inability to completely resist his own passion
Just Like Heaven is a timeless piece. The reader knows it's about Buffy and Angel even though there's no conversation and no names. It depends a lot on the backstory (as provided by canon), and the reader makes many assumptions which fuel the plot. It's a different kind of story for me. I don't know that I could write it now. There was something about the anonymity of the characters which made me feel safer about getting feedback.