The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Random-Battlecry
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Random-Battlecry |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | Random-Battlecry |
| Date(s): | April 20, 2015 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Doctor Who |
| External Links: | Random-Battlecry Part One, Archived version Random-Battlecry Part Two, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Random-Battlecry was posted at The Doctor Who Fanfic Review on April 20, 2015.
See: The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview Series.
Some Excerpts
TDWFR: You’ve written an enormous amount of fanfic with 178 stories on FF.net in dozens of fandoms. There are so many great fandoms out there competing for your attention. What is it about Doctor Who that is currently appealing to you as a writer?
Random-Battlecry: I’ve loved the show for years, and the basic set-up of “aliens and time travel” is very appealing to me, just because it gives so much scope for ridiculous things to happen (and I love ridiculous things). That said, the biggest draw currently, the reason I’m writing for the fandom again after three-ish years, is the Twelfth Doctor. I love prickly, difficult, snarky characters, and Peter Capaldi has made me more excited about Doctor Who than I have been in quite a while. I’m especially intrigued by how Twelve and Clara play off each other.
TDWFR: You’ve used AO3 and FF.net. What do you feel are the pros and cons of each site?
Random-Battlecry: I started off on FF.net because that’s what there was. I still go back to it to look for reading material, but only when I’m feeling like going wading. Badly-written fanfiction has its own peculiar charm. Spending too much time on FF.net is a little bit like being on the Satellite of Love with Joel, Tom, and Crow. If I want to find something well-written, I’m more likely to go to AO3. There’s no guarantee either way, of course, but apparently that’s just how my brain works. Technically, I find FF.net a little easier to post to, but I like how the review-replies feature works on AO3.
TDWFR: Often writers will hear certain a character’s voice in their head very clearly and others they have to work harder to hear. You’ve written for the Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth doctors as well as companions Ace, Rose, Amy and Clara. Which ones have been the easiest to write for, and were there any you had to work harder to get their characterisation right?
Random-Battlecry: I think how it works for me is I don’t start writing unless I already hear the character in my head (generally, it’s the only way to shut them up). The Doctor Who fandom is noteworthy for having very distinct, wordy characters, so I feel that they’ve been relatively easy to write for, especially compared to some other fandoms I’ve written in. To a certain extent, thought, characterization is in the eye of the beholder, so what sounds in-voice to me might not to someone else. I think out of the Doctors, Ten has probably been the easiest for me, just because he’s almost a little bit of a caricature sometimes.