What got you into writing fiction?
I'll be honest, I have no idea. I know I've always enjoyed creating things, starting with music at a young age then moving on to stories. Never anything written though, at least not at the time. I guess the best way to answer this would be to say that I've always been
creating fiction, but
writing it was mainly just a form of maturing for me. That, and it's way easier to keep track of a story once you write it down ^_^;
What sources outside of Touhou do you draw inspiration from?
It depends. You can't write a horror fic if your source of inspiration is freakin' Lucky Star, after all. Since I tend to do a lot of comedy with slight yuri undertones, I guess my biggest inspirations would be the comedy anime I watch. Namely, Zetsubou-Sensei and WataMote are two big ones for me, though I'll often toss in this or that slice of inspiration from another thing. Obviously, if I write a crossover, the big source of inspiration would be the thing I'm crossing over with, lol.
Which Touhou character is your favorite to write? The most difficult write?
I have a few favorites for different reasons, though I've taken an odd liking to Raiko lately. For mile-a-minute no-holds-barred comedy, I'd say my top two are Suika and Shinmyoumaru. One's a loli drunkard who could probably beat Atlas at arm wrestling, and the other is a naive princess who, at least when I write her, has a very "VERY ENTHUSIASTIC! ALL THE TIME!" thing going on. Beyond that, Mokou is nice to write once in a while, and I've gotten plenty of praise for my Sanae too. The most difficult one to write might be, at least from the ones I
have written and that I can think of, Yukari. How do I properly portray somebody whose very purpose for being is something I can't get a grip on? Yukari's all sorts of mysterious, so I try to write her as little as possible since it gives me a hard time. ^_^;
Out of all the stories you've written (Touhou-related or not), which one is your favorite?
I had a Touhou fic called "A KaguMoko School Story" about an alternate-universe city called Tohohana. It's an AU I've visited a few times since then, but the KaguMoko story was well-written and flowed kinda nicely. Add a couple of OCs for good measure, toss in this or that big plot twist, adapt Mokou & Kaguya from canon to our world as best as possible, and the whole thing just sort of comes together. I also had another one called "The Ultimate Showdown: Kaguya Vs. Mokou" which was a full-blown comedy fic. That's probably a close second if not a full tie because of the weird scenarios I got to use, running gags in the story (at Reisen's expense), and a smooth flow from the two being enemies to friends to something more. So pretty much every KaguMoko story I actually finished. ^_^;
Outside of Touhou fiction, what other works have you written fiction for?
Surprisingly, just two, at least that I can think of. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, for which I recall having two fics (both starring Sayaka, the best magical girl) and a Touhou crossover, and Yu-Gi-Oh, though that fic was more like "write one chapter and forget it exists" ha-ha. I've planned to do ones for Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon tons of times, but somehow I never seem to get them started. I even make maps of my own Pokemon regions and figure out the decks of each Yu-Gi-Oh duelist, but getting all the ideas together and turning them into a story only seems to happen with things about magical girls, be they from here or Gensokyo.
What do you find to be the most rewarding aspect of writing? The most challenging?
The most rewarding aspect of writing is hands-down seeing what others think. The "this was good" reviews, the "this part needs work" ones, even the "I'm sorry, but this just sucked" reviews are all ones I enjoy reading. It's a nice feeling, even when I'm being told I did a bad job, because I at least know people are reading it, so I didn't just write for absolutely nothing to happen. The most challenging part for me, as my answer to the last question may imply, is getting a fic started, especially in the last year or so. When I do get one started, I have trouble keeping ongoing fics that last more than three chapters, so I stick to one-shots these days. Even then it's a bit tough, since most of my mental plot bunnies have been reduced to smut or blatant fetishism that I wouldn't feel comfortable posting even if it was really a nice story. I hope to work on fixing this soon. ^_^;
If there is one aspect of your writing you would want to improve, what is it?
I'm always told my pace is a bit fast. But I'm okay with that. The one aspect I'd like to improve is how deep I can make
each character. My deepest character is easily Sanae, but a lot of them are quite a bit shallower when I write them. Reimu, for one, is pretty much just the grouchy "give me donations" type. Suika, despite the praise I gave her earlier, is little more than a drunken ball of "I'm gonna go do this because I wanna do this." Alice isn't much beyond the typical tsundere, and the worst offender is, of all people, Patchouli. As of when I'm answering this question, my Patchouli has literally no personality at all. I'd like to get better with portraying each girl differently if nothing else.
When writing Touhou fiction, how do you usually approach official canon material? Do you build on top of it; do you go around it; or do you try and stay within it as much as possible? Something else?
It depends on the fic. A lot of times, I'll just go "You can take your canon and shove it, here's what
I wanna do" to a certain extent, most notably in how my Mokou and my Kaguya have visited the Netherworld at least twice each. But some things in canon I really prefer to keep canon. For one, though it barely counts as canon, I like to have a small pond behind the Hakurei Shrine where Genjii lives if I should ever need him. Another canon I kind of like is how Kagerou apparently has a thick coat of fur. I haven't done anything with it yet, but...I might down the line. Then there's some stuff where you sort of have to do what you want, like with Ruukoto. Where's Ruukoto? Did Reimu deactivate her? I guess in summary, I just take the canon bits I like, then look at the ones I might need. ^_^;
What are some of your favorite things to read, including but not limited to books?
Anime subs. I also like reading Touhou doujins (rarely NSFW) with my downtime if I legitimately have nothing to do and get to thinking "Huh, maybe I should read this or that doujin again." I might actually read some Miko Miko Suika after I answer these. Short of that, two big ones for me are strategies for Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, the two things I most competitively follow. I don't really do as much reading as I should...
What particular genres do you enjoy reading? What particular genres do you enjoy writing?
I'm all for the comedy genre. I've been told a lot of times I have a nice comedic spark about me, so I want to try and use that to my advantage to cover my flaws when writing and hope a little deep down that nobody notices the flaws since they're too busy laughing. So for writing, my favorite is the comedy genre, usually with slight yuri undertones. I also enjoy writing slice-of-life fics a fair bit too. For reading, as long as I like the premise, I'll read up just about anything. If I had to put out a guess though, my two favorites would be comedy and fantasy. Which would explain a few things to me.
Do you have any big projects we can look forward to on the horizon?
Regrettably, no. I don't really have the concentration (or stability right now) to write a longer-lasting, grander-scale fanfic or anything of the sort. But rest assured, if I do end up having a big project underway, it'll probably take weeks for me to shut up about it. ^_~
Is there a word of advice you'd like to give to aspiring fiction writers?
Don't give up! The biggest problem with a lot of fanfic writers - myself
verrrrrry included - is that they'll start a story, then just...stop. Might be after one chapter, or might be after twenty, or maybe they'll stop mid-draft and go "Okay, yeah, I'm done." This is the worst way for a fic to die; slowly and quietly. If something doesn't feel right, or the flow of your story feels off, just taking a second look. Ask yourself, "Does this part have to be here?" If it does, maybe you just have to re-write it a bit. If not, maybe rewind a little further back and see where you can pick up without hurting the story. A story is, in a sense, a part of the person who writes it, so you'll have to take good care of it just as you would your arms or ribs. That also means seeing what damages how well it flows.
