The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Teen Writers Round Table Interview
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Teen Writers Round Table Interview |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | Jack, Danny and Sky |
| Date(s): | August 16, 2015 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Doctor Who |
| External Links: | Teen Writers Round Table Interview Part One, Archived version Teen Writers Round Table Interview Part Two, Archived version Teen Writers Round Table Interview Part Three, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview: Teen Writers Round Table Interview was posted at The Doctor Who Fanfic Review on August 16, 2015.
See: The Doctor Who Fanfic Review Interview Series.
Some Excerpts
TDWFR: It’s interesting that all three of the stories you chose have hurt/comfort elements. Some of our other recent interviews were also with hurt/comfort writers and we had some interesting discussion on what makes a great h/c fic. What do you like about writing this genre and what makes a great h/c fic?
Danny: ... You’ll notice a trend with my stories. I never really write anything action-packed. Suspense, sure. Angsty quite often, but there’s something so intriguing about h/c that really brings out a side in my characters that I enjoy seeing. I enjoy physical h/c because I get to play around with how each character reacts to a certain stressful or uncertain situation, how they cope, and different methods they use to take proper action. I enjoy the emotional side because of the ability to explore a side of them deeper than what we see on TV. No matter how good the writer, you can never really see true depth to characters when you merely see their facial expressions and hear their words. Emotional h/c is a fantastic way to dive into a deeper side and see even the grumpiest (*cough* twelve *cough*) of people flip completely around from what we’re used to.
As far as what makes a great h/c fic, I think it all depends on the style, the writer of course, and where it’s aimed. H/c is very broad and so much can be done with such a genre that it’s difficult to narrow it down to a specific positive trait.
TDWFR: Now, I know that some of you are involved in role play on Tumblr, but you also post fanfic the traditional way too. RP seems to be a lot more popular with the younger crew of writers. What do you like about this type of writing? Is it the collaboration with another writer or do you enjoy the spontaneity of having to respond quickly?
Jack: I really like how quick-to-change RP can be. You can think that it’s going one way, but then your RP partner throws a curveball, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s an adventure or romance or friendship or /anything/ that you’re writing with another person. It’s also a very good way to make friends and meet all sorts of different people, which is a lot of fun.
TDWFR: Writing fanfiction is nothing to be ashamed of but sometimes it’s a hobby we prefer to keep to ourselves instead of sharing with our friends in real life. Sometimes it’s not because we are writing anything rude, it’s just that our writing is so deeply personal that we fear sharing that part of ourselves in case they ‘don’t get it’. Do your parents and school friends know that you write fanfiction? What has been their reaction to you having this hobby?
Sky: My Mum doesn’t know. Once I had mentioned it to my Dad and he didn’t say anything bad about it - he probably didn’t take it much seriously and we never talk about it. Four of my real life friends know and their reaction was quite positive - they even seemed to be quite impressed. But they don’t read them and I’m sure they’re not interested and don’t care. However, I probably won’t tell anyone else in real life unless I see they really love show and pairing I write about. And then only maybe because fanfics are “personal” in a way to me - my own world.
Danny: My family knows. At the beginning it was encouraged, but I’m just so immersed in everything Doctor Who that my parents in particular really don’t appreciate it anymore. As far as friends go, my internet friends all know about it and some of them write too. But out of the one or two real life friends I have… I would never hear the end of the teasing if they found out. Fanfiction is a way to express myself in my own personal world. If I knew that people in my personal life had access to read what I wrote, it would make the task far more difficult. It really all boils down to a simple fact that society sees this sort of behavior as the one of “nerds”.
Jack: Yeah, most of my family knows. My sisters don’t really care either way, and my Mum kind of.. stumbled over one of my fanfiction notebooks. I was mortified to hear that she read them but she said they were good, then a few months later she happened to find my tumblr. Long story short, pretty much everyone in my life that’s important knows, and they don’t really care either way. If anything, they rather like it.
TDWFR: If an older, more experienced writer offered to mentor you, would you like to do that? We’re talking someone here who writes your kind of thing and is a little further down the track in their development as a writer. You can also be mentored from afar. That’s when you, just by reading another person’s work, take lessons from their writing without them even knowing it. Do you have a writer you have learned a lot from?
Sky: If someone offered to mentor me, I don’t know if I would like to do that… Maybe. Could be interesting and I surely could learn to do things better, so that would be good.
However, I mostly learn by reading fics by various writers.