Witness: Sillyboyblue

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Witness: sillyboyblue
Interviewer:
Interviewee:	sillyboyblue
Date(s):	February 14, 2019
Medium:	Tumblr post
Fandom(s):	Mad Max
External Links:	Interview responses
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In February 2019, the Tumblr community Mad Max Fanfic Awards (community) posted an interview with sillyboyblue, a Mad Max fanwork creator, as part of the Mad Max Fandom Creator Spotlight.

Interview

Creator name (AO3): sillyboyblue

Creator name (Tumblr): sillyb0yblue

Link to creator works: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillyboyblue/works?fandom_id=51060

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: I was introduced to Mad Max by two friends of mine in early 2017: first I saw Mad Max, then The Road Warrior, Fury Road and Beyond Thunderdome. My favorite is the first one. Dystopia, iconic villains and homoerotic subtext? I’m sold.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: I’m going to be honest, I haven’t posted anything related to Mad Max for almost two years, and I’m not very happy with my old writing, but I’m going to try to answer as many of these questions as possible, without putting myself down too much. Anyway, even though I may find most of my old works bad in many ways (plot, out-of-character characters…), I’m still proud of the writing style, though I wouldn’t know how to define my own style. My work almost always revolves around relationships, mostly romantic, because shipping is an activity that brings me a lot of joy.

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: The most fun to create: “Mad Max: Road Safety”. It all began with a single prompt from my best friend, and I just couldn’t stop writing about it. The most difficult: “Scream your heart out”. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy writing it though (I can’t write if it doesn’t make me happy anyway)! This one was a request, so I put more pressure on myself than I would have if I was only writing it for me. The most popular/The most successful: I’m not sure what the difference is, but the one with the most hits, kudos and comments is “There is no need for words”. My favorite: As I said earlier, in my eyes most of my works haven’t aged well, but they all hold a special place in my heart, so I wouldn’t be able to tell.

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: Hopeless and desperate, with a touch of unexpected softness. I just love reading (and writing) about characters being pushed to their limits until they break and being pulled back together.

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What’s your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: I just get an idea and write about it. I don’t write a summary or an outline, I just write as fast as I can. I use my phone for every step, from first draft to posting. I usually write when I’m on the tram or on the bus, in the doctor’s waiting room, at McDonald’s or even in a shoe store in Amsterdam. My creativity peak spanned from December to March, so I didn’t get to write on the beach, but I probably will! I’ve been going through a rough patch for almost 2 years, so I’m not sure how to get through it. But for less rough patches, I try looking at things from a different point of view. If I’m stuck on a sentence, I go back and turn it differently. If I’m stuck on what a character should say or do next, I make a list of all the possibilities. Or I take a break.

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: I don’t usually listen to music when I write. If the song has lyrics, it distracts me and prevents me from focusing on what I’m writing. I’ve tried listening to movie soundtracks, but it didn’t really help either. Sometimes I can get the inspiration for a story from a song, but usually I don’t listen to music while writing.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: Writing in English. I started writing fanfiction in English mostly because I wanted my work to be accessible to more people, but also because I love working on my English!

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: I only posted Mad Max fanfiction for 3 months, so I’m not sure that’s long enough to see any kind of growth, but I was into Mad Max roleplay for over a year, so I got the opportunity to flesh out my original character, Orion (@organic-mechanic on Tumblr). I’ve learned that I have a hard time keeping the characters in-character, so I’m going to be more careful to avoid writing them out-of-character.

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: The Toecutter is my favorite! He appears in more than half of my works but most of them are quite short so I didn’t really get to actually work on my portrayal of him. Other characters that I love to portray are Bubba, Johnny, Wez and the Golden Youth. My understanding of these characters has grown so much more by reading other people’s fanfiction than by writing my own!

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: No(t yet).

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?

A: Toecutter/Bubba/Johnny, and Wez/Golden Youth. I’m not quite sure what draws me to them though. Maybe for T/B/J, the complexity of their relationship with each other; the love/hate between Bubba and Johnny, the tension between Johnny and Toecutter, the bond between Toecutter and Bubba. And for W/GY, their backstory; the circumstances that brought them together, how they built their relationship, and what could have been if SOMEONE hadn’t cut their lives short. And vice versa.

Q: How does your work for the fandom change how you look at the source material?

A: Other people’s fanfiction have changed how I look at the source material more than my own, by making me see characters in a new light, and my opinion of some of them has changed, for the best or for the worst.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: Most of my works were written as stand alone one shots, but I don’t think they contradict each other.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: Most of my works could work with the source material, but I allow myself to break canon in my more recent drafts, either to fix it or make it worse. I’ve also come up with many alternate universes, headcanons and crossovers with my best friend’s help.

Q: Share some headcanons,

A: Bubba was an ex-cop - Cundalini lives - Johnny cut off his foot and survived.

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: I’ve said it before but it’s true, I just get an idea and write about it. I just think “this character needs a sibling/cousin/lover”, or “I like this actor, let’s make them a new OC’s faceclaim” and then I create them. None of my OCs have appeared in my works yet, but I’m working on it. My favorite is Orion Walker, an ex-firefighter turned medic for the Humungus’ marauders.

Q: What are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: Mates by Najanaja (AO3) The Birth of Evil by J.C. Bruyere & The Birth of Humanity by J.C. Bruyere (users.jam21.net/sandrab) All of Vanfu’s works (AO3) @crunkmouse Autotomy by Kalashnikorn (AO3) @main-force-patrol.

Q: What advice can you give someone who is struggling to make their own works more interesting, compelling, cohesive, etc.?

A: I think one of the reasons why I stopped writing and can’t get back to it yet is that I put too much pressure on myself. So my advice is: don’t think too much and just do it.

Q: Have you visited or do you plan to visit Australia, Wasteland Weekend, or other Mad Max place?

A: What I haven’t visited: All of the above. What I plan to visit: All of the above.

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: Orion’s story - Bikie grandpas (Toecutter’s gang lives) - Girl gang backstory (Toecutter’s gang genderbend)