The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Capalxii
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Capalxii |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | Capalxii |
| Date(s): | August 28, 2015 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Doctor Who |
| External Links: | The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Capalxii Part One, Archived version The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Capalxii Part Two, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Capalxii was posted at The Doctor Who Fanfic Review on August 28, 2015.
See: The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview Series.
Some Excerpts
TDWFR: You’re a long time Doctor Who fan. Do you have any inclination to write for any classic Doctors and companions? Would you consider Classic Who prompts?
Capalxii: I don’t really have any inclination, and I think it’s because there’s a lot of childhood nostalgia attached to the classic series for me. I didn’t get into it as a geeky teen, I got into it as a geeky kindergartner—so I don’t know that my characterizations would be any good! Even when rewatching certain stories as an adult I find I’m less able to pick out themes & structure because I’m too busy acting like a little kid again. So probably no classic writing for me.
TDWFR: Recently there’s been a flood of fics from tumblr prompts. What have you enjoyed about taking prompts rather than coming up with your own ideas? Have you found that it has grown your skills as a writer to work under a different kind of ‘pressure’?
Capalxii: It definitely grows my skills as a writer. I’m forced to get into someone else’s head in a very different way. Writing fanfiction already forces you to do that, in that you’re getting into the original writers’ heads as well as the actors’ heads in some cases, but prompts add another layer. Coming up with my own ideas, I usually have a scene in mind at the same time that I have the base idea; for instance, in Once Upon A Time in Cardiff, I saw some tumblr “imagine your OTP” post and right away had the idea of Clara tattooing flowers up the Doctor’s arm, and the idea of him eventually getting two hearts on his chest. All of a sudden I had a florist/tattoo artist AU. If someone else had said to me, “Could you write a florist/tattoo artist AU,” I would have had to think a bit longer about that, and might not have had that same idea in the end.
So I think by being forced to think about someone else’s idea, I’m yanked out of my comfort zone. It’s not as instantaneous, and the ease of not having to come up with an idea is negated by the difficulty of working with someone else’s thoughts. When you’re writing your own idea, you know what you want it to look like, but writing someone else’s idea makes you wonder if you’re getting it right, too. I do think that kind of challenge is fun, though, and generally good for growth. Growth often happens when you’re stretching yourself, so I try to take different opportunities to do that when I can.
TDWFR: Writers improve their craft through many different ways. Some read another people’s work and pick up tips. Others get the most out of discussions with other writers. Some find that thoughtful critique helps them the most. What is the most helpful for you in terms of improving your writing skills?
Capalxii: Definitely reading other people’s work helps. Sometimes it intimidates you because you think they’re better than you, but if you read someone you think is better than you, you’ll learn things. Also, specific to fanfiction, reading and writing meta helps. It helps to get your ideas about the characters and storylines down. Prompts for writing—not just fic prompts, but any kind of prompt—help you to write things you might not have thought to write on your own.