Writing - Meme

[misanagi]

Since I am a sheep, and I've been asking questions all around...

Ask me any one question about my writing, then post this in your LJ, so I can satisfy my curiosity about yours.

Comments

[merith.livejournal.com]

What do you find most satisfying about your writing and why - characterization, plot, or writing structure?

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

This is a difficult one.

I'll go for characterization. The characters are the life of the story, they are always the most important part so remaining true to them, exploring their personalities is what "writes" the story.

I read a quote once (and I can't remember who was it from) but it said something about how he/she didn't write stories, he/she created characters and they told him/her their story, rather loudly.

Writing structure is a technicality. I like to explore and develop it, but if you don't have a something to write about, then there's no point to any style thing you want to implement. When I create or "borrow" characters, they are the ones who guide me and find their story, so that's what's more satisfying.

[meritjubet.livejournal.com]

What genre do you like to write the best?

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

I have a thing for angst. As I told Merith, I like to explore characters and angst is a very good way to do that. Still, I have to be careful when I write angst or it could be too much. I don't like characters drowning in self pity. I actually like them fighting their way through adversity, so I place them in difficult situations, be it emotional or physical, and watch them come through.

For me, they will always come through, so I guess I like writing angst with a happy or at least hopeful ending.

[darthanne.livejournal.com]

What do you prefer to write, one shots or long multi-parters and why?

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure...

I like them both, they appeal to me in different ways, but if I had to pick one, I guess I would go with the one-shots.

Writing something short gives you the chance to explore just the topic or thing you want to and focus on that. I like using the small, and sometimes nearly inexistent plot to explain an idea or a concept, and you can do that much better with a one shot that with something long.
n
Poe used to say that the key to a short story is that someone can read it from the beginning to end in one sitting, and it would leave an impact. So writing something short is a challenge, and I like challenges.

However, there are many things you can't do with a one shot. If I want to develop a complicated plot, a one shot is not the way to go. Also, with multiparts, you can write many ideas and concepts, but the thing is that sometimes they get lost.

So I guess that for plots I would go to the multipart, but when I have something specific to say, I would always choose a one shot.

[dysis.livejournal.com]

Do you prefer writing in one language (Spanish or English) - and the counterpoint, are there advantages to one or the other? (I'm very curious about this.)

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

This is gonna sound weird.

I prefer writing in Spanish. It's my first language. I love it and the words flow better. So you would ask why I write fanfiction in English? Well, one reason is that more people would get a chance to read it but the truth is that I couldn't write fanfics in Spanish. At least not for the fandoms I write.

When I first saw Rurouni Kenshin (my first fandom) and Gundam Wing in CN, I watched them in English. The dubbed Spanish voices were terrible so I decided to go with the English ones. The result is that no matter what, the characters would always speak in English in my mind. So you see, when I write fanfiction, I think in English.

Of course there are some drawbacks when writing in Enlgish. First is that I still have a lot to learn. I make terrible grammar and spelling mistakes (just ask Anne, she gets to read and correct the raw version), I miss use words and end up repeating some for lack of vocabulary.

When I write in Spanish, things are very different. Sometimes I have to search for an appropriate term in English when I know how to say the same thing in Spanish in sex different ways. I just think that no matter how much I learn, I would always feel more comfortable writing in Spanish, so any original thing I write is in Spanish.

However, I will always think of fanfiction in English, so I'll always write it in that language.

[dysis.livejournal.com]

I don't think that sounds weird at all - actually, it makes perfect sense to me. I was wondering because I've considered writing fanfiction in my second language, and it seems so overwhelming sometimes. So I guess I kind of wondered how you felt about it, since most of the work I read of yours is in English.

Thanks! :)

[misanagi.livejournal.com]

What's your second language? *is curious*

And yeah it can be overwhelming, especially at first, but it's fun and you learn a lot.

[dysis.livejournal.com]

French. I studied it all through high school, and did a degree in English and French Literature in university, with the end result that I can speak academic French pretty well and analyze literature, but the basic day-to-day stuff I don't have a great vocabulary for. I teach it at the high school level (or rather I did when I was teaching high school - I TOC it now), and am teaching French to grade 5 students now.

I haven't done a lot of writing in it, though. Best way to learn is to do, I know - but it flows so much easier in my first language. *wry grin* Maybe I'm just lazy?