Lore:Can you please introduce yourself and give me an overview of your previous experience with writing fanfiction, including what fandoms you write for?
Alexa:Yeah. So I'm Alexa. I go by greywolfheir on most platforms. I began writing fanfiction in 2011, according to my Archive of Our Own account, and that first fanfiction was Harry Potter. And then, since then, I've written for a lot of fandoms [laughs]. I think more than the limit on the search, I guess, and the most I've made fanfic for is Good Omens.
And then I made a Big Bang event with She-Ra where I got with other writers. And right now I'm working on Stranger Things fanfiction. So.
Lore:And that is wonderful. Just for as a definition can you explain this She-Ra Big Bang project that you worked on a little bit more?
Alexa:Yeah. So a Big Bang is where artists and authors come together. So authors write a fanfic. It's usually over 5,000 words, I think, but a lot of them can get up to like 20,000 words, or pretty big. And then art--artists draw art based on the fanfics that the authors come up with. And then there's Reverse Bangs where it's the art that inspires the writing. But yeah.
Lore:That's great. Thank you so much for sharing that with me. My next question is: what inspires you to start writing a fanfiction?
Alexa:So usually what happens is I watch something or read something, and I get so obsessed with the--usually a character, but it could be anything. I get so obsessed with it, I can't stop thinking about it. And the way I do that is essentially word vomit [laughs]. So I just write out what I'm thinking of or write my own story. So yeah.
Lore:And that is really great. So then where do you position most of the fanfiction you write in relation to canon?
Alexa:So I--my favorite thing to do is alternate universes where I just take the characters and set, put them in non-canon-related settings. But lately it's easier to put them in canon or like after canon, but I usually go for directly after canon. So like a direct sequel is usually what I try for.
Lore:So do you just do the direct sequel to like whatever season is currently out, or do you usually wait until the property is kind of wrapped up and over?
Alexa:Usually I think it's whatever season is coming out, but if it--it depends on usually wherever I start it or like wherever I finish, like, I can't--I end up not wanting to wait, so I write my own sequel.
Lore:That makes a lot of sense. I definitely do that, too. So my next question for you then is: why fanfiction? Why do you write these stories through fanfiction and not another platform or medium, like fanart, fan videos, or other types of fiction-writing?
Alexa:So I don't do art or videos because I am not the greatest visual artist. But I--I've been writing since elementary school, and--and that that was like original fiction that I wrote myself that--and then I got introduced in the--I got introduced to fanfiction in high school. And ever since then, I've just been writing fanfiction, and it--
And I was also afraid of the publishing industry. So just being able to post it online immediately, it was, like, the biggest draw, I think.
Lore:Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So my next question is then: when you are writing a fanfiction, what elements of your story or narrative do you consider the most? So examples of these elements could be the tense you choose, the descriptions you write, the narrators' perspective, the plot structure, the characterization, or so forth. Like what--which ones are you most actively keeping in your mind when you're writing fanfiction?
Alexa:So, okay, so I think I like characterization a lot, and I think if I can't get the characterization down, I won't write the fic, but plot is what I focus on the most. So yeah, I pretty much write everything around the plot, but if--but, like, to get started, it's characterization. Because if I don't--if I can't figure out how to write their voice, then I don't think, I don't even attempt the fic.
Lore:That makes a lot of sense. Can you talk through a little bit how you do your plotting for your fics?
Alexa:Yeah. So, [laughs] okay, so I usually have an idea for like a scene that's in my head that I want to have written, and then I write, like, this, an out--I usually write an outline of how to get to that scene and how to get past the and how to resolve that scene. And then, yeah, I don't know, it's just kind of, that's my favorite part and it's kind of where like writing is like solving the puzzle of how to get to that scene.
Lore:No, that makes a lot of sense. So then I'm curious of: how much of the story that you end up with do you have planned out in advance? So does your outline kind of cover everything or do you leave room for interpretation or, like, adjustments or changes?
Alexa:Um, I leave a lot of room, but it's--it's pretty much all written out in advance or not, or the skeleton's written out in advance. So yeah, I'd say pretty much everything except for maybe the middle parts. I, like, add stuff here and there, but everything's pretty much planned out.
Lore:Yeah, that makes sense. Would you be open to telling me a little bit more about how, like, what scenes you usually structure your fics around? Like, what scenes are the ones that stick in your mind that are, like, okay, I'm going to write a whole fanfic around that. How do you come up with those scenes? Are those scenes a response to the fandom or, like, the show or the movie?
Are those like based on fanart? Is there something that inspires those very specific scenes that you're like, I'm going to build a fanfic around this?
Alexa:Oh yeah. Well, usually it's the character dynamics. I like romance in general, which is also the big draw of fanfiction. So I usually write the scene where the characters, like, get together and, like, and that's the reason that I'm writing in the first place, is because that's my favorite part of like romance is, like, the characters finally getting together.
But yeah, and then sometimes fanart can inspire it. I actually, like, most of the time it's inspired by fanart if it's not directly at the show. So yeah.
Lore:That makes a lot of sense. Thank you so much--and that actually leads really well into the next question, which is: what role do pre-established tropes have in your fanfictions?
Alexa:So [laughs] fanart and, like, pre-established tropes have--there, a lot of inspiration for what I like to write, but I usually end up going in the other directions or going on little tangents and getting focused on that one instead. So like they're the great inspiration, but I would say that they're not the biggest thing in my final product, I guess.
They, like, when it comes time to, like, tag them on Archive of Our Own, I actually forget which ones are even in there. Like, I don't think about them at all when I'm writing.
Lore:That makes a lot of sense. Are there then specific ones that you find that you've actually written for a lot or are there--or do you find, like, your work kind of resists some of the other tropes that we see very common on Archive of Our Own?
Alexa:I mean not--there there aren't any I can think of that I do consistently. Yeah. The big ones like there's only one bed or like the fake relationship. Like, I don't usually end up writing those a lot. So--I don't know.
Lore:Yeah--no, that makes a lot of sense. That helps a lot. [Recording stops, restarts.]
Alright, the next question is: while in the process of writing, when do you recall or think about the canon text?
Alexa:Um, okay. So it depends on--the story. So obviously that the characters are important, so like their voices and lines that they've said are what I focus on the most, but, like, birthdays and little things here and there are what I think about the most, I guess, you know.
Lore:Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So the next question is, then: have you ever written a multi-chapter fic?
Alexa:Yes [digital echo].
Lore:Okay. So then: how do you determine when one chapter or part ends and the next one should begin?
Alexa:Um, that's, um, I--I don't have, like, a formal, like, way of figuring that out. So, um, basically it's just when the scene ends and it doesn't make sense for the next scene to be in the same chapter [laughs]. So, a lot of times I'll just--or like, it'll be a good ending to me, which I don't have a definition for that, but it'll be a good ending. And then I'm, like, okay, let's go onto the next chapter.
Lore:That makes a lot of sense. Do you ever write chapters that have multiple scenes in them?
Alexa:Yeah. Well, yeah. I think--there's not like a goal, like most people--I assume--have, like, goals for their chapters, but I just, like, I'll write a bunch of scenes and then--I think, like, occasionally it'll be like day one is chapter one and then day two is chapter two. But, if I struggle with endings, I guess, so if it feels like an ending, it's a new chapter.
Lore:That makes a lot of sense. I definitely relate to that. Um, so then the next one is: how are the narratives you've told through your fanfiction stories relate to the story of your life?
Alexa:Um. Not at all. Um, I don't know. I--I guess fandom would be kind of an escape for me. I I like it re--being realistic, but I've never been great at writing what I know, which is kind of why I like fandom in general, because my life is boring and then canon is really interesting and I get to play around with different things that happen.
So I'd say the only thing is that writing romance so often makes me feel like I should be a romance expert and I'm not, so. Yeah.
Lore:I definitely--I definitely get that. Yeah, I've definitely been there. [They laugh.] So then the last question that I have for you today is: what typically moves the plot forward in your fanfiction, like--yeah, I can, I can, I can explain the question in more detail if you'd like. But if not, then--
Alexa:--no, yeah. I mean, I get it. Okay. So most of the time when I'm writing a plot, it's just to--either it's just to get the characters together or it's a way for me to show people what is in my head. So again, like, it's nothing formal, but [laughs] to get the plot forward, it's kind of getting the characters to go where I want them to and for it to make sense.
So wherever I start them off, they have to end on that scene that I was imagining. And it's--it's what makes sense for the character. but also--how to make it interesting. Yeah, [laughs]. That's so vague [laughs]. I'm trying to think of what, like, actions they do, but usually it's--it's dialogue. I'm--I--I love dialogue, so it's however the conversation goes to get to where I wanted to go.