#author spotlight: highkingfen

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot @highkingfen

So much goes into creating fanfiction even before the first words hit the paper. And in-depth spotlight on our writers and the process behind their work.

Tell us about your current project.

Timeline 30 for 39 grave Project

What is your current word count?

I am doing it as a comic form so I am aiming at pages and chapter instead of words

Do you try to write daily? Do you have word count or other goals you try to hit for each writing session?

I wrote the whole synopsis in one session, then did a storyboard of each panel of each chapter, then I lined them and now I am doing the coloring. I try to do one page per day but its hard sometime

What was the inspiration for this fic?

The prompt I had to go with on the 30th timeline. I wanted to go Quentin centric and have Fen included and BOY thats not where it went at all. My story is Julia centric and we barely see Fillory.

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

I did a Bujo with each steps of each chapter to do (draw, line, color ect.) and having a part of it being done in a todo list feels so nice and motivating.

Did this fic require any research? How much research do you typically do for you fics?

Since I played with timeline, not as much. I am rather well verse in The Magicians lore now so it wasn't as much. I did had a beta reader so my Julia sounded like her, it is the first time I wrote her pov.

Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

Post as I go. I am HITCHING to publish my pages.

How much planning and outlining did you do before you started putting words on paper?

As I said, when you do a comic you HAVE to plan and outline otherwise you don't work properly. It was nice to have a line to go back to when I wasn't sure how to attack a chapter's art.

Has it been pretty smooth sailing or rough waters? When things get rocky, how do you handle needing to rewrite sections or scrap scenes entirely?

Surprisingly smooth sailing. I know my art isnt perfect but I use it to improve and I think we see it from chapter one to chapter 14. And having a beta reader reading along the way helped me tweak rapidly.

Excerpt

The Great Blank Spot is an in-depth spotlight focusing on the writing process and previewing in-progress fics for our fandom. It is meant to be an organic, ever-evolving feature. Previously interviewed fic writers can reach out to us here, to have a specific work featured. If you’d like to have a work featured but haven’t done the author spotlight, reach out to us to get started. If you have suggestions for questions you’d like to see answered, shoot us an ask!

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot: @highkingfen

So much goes into creating fanfiction even before the first words hit the paper. And in-depth spotlight on our writers and the process behind their work.

Tell us about your current project.

Under Pressure: an alternate timeline where Rupert found the golden tile as a baby and Q and Eliot bring him and Arielle back to their timeline and continue their quest of the seven keys.

We’re well into the creation period for The Trials. Are you participating?

Sure do!

If so, is this your submission? What Tier did you select?

I am an artist! I am paired with an amazing writer that made me create way more than what was asked for.

What was the inspiration for this fic?

I love alternate universe and as I was writing the prequel of Under Pressure (The Golden Tile) I had the idea of exploring what Arielle and Rupert could bring to the gang.

Do you try to write daily? Do you have a word count or other goals you try to hit for each writing session?

I do, lately I have kind of a dry spell so I doodle instead. But in december, ill try to get back to the practice of writing daily

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

Kudos and Reviews. I am going to admit, they put fire under my ass. Otherwise, stubbornness mostly

Did this fic require any research? How much research do you typically do for you fics?

I re-read and re-watched the episode I am re-writing with the AU filter. I also like to be within the canon so it depend. I can spend hours on one chapter and then no research for the following one.

[Outside of the Trials] Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

Post as I go. I am to excited to show what I did for that. ahah.

How much planning and outlining did you do before you started putting words on paper?

I know the general arch of my fic (the main line and the ending it will have) then I outline every chapter as they happen.

Has it been pretty smooth sailing or rough waters? When things get rocky, how do you handle needing to rewrite sections or scrap scenes entirely?

It's been wavy just enough to get nauseous but not too strong to drown. Some chapter are written so smoothly and other I struggle for weeks and turn over and over ideas of how I could make the ideas I have interesting; lately I have come to term that one of the scene I want to explore on many point of view might be worth being its own side-fic. The struggle is real.

Anything else you want to add?

To anyone who left a review; I am terrible at answering them but know they meant the world to me. Truly.

Teaser

For the first time in her life, Arielle understood Eliot jealousy over Alice. He had carried it with him back at the puzzle but she had reminded him that Quentin ex was not a threat anymore. Not where they were. And now that they were in the future, surrounded by their friends, Arielle understood.

Watching Alice looking at Quentin as he was taking a sleeping Rupert in his arm... there was so many unspoken feelings and stories. it made the room feel too small for the amount of emotion and attraction between the two of them. Like magnets that would stuck together when place on the right side, but if one was slightly off, it would eject the other swat.

There was nothing in the world that would calm Arielle as she watch her husband, their child and Alice walk into a magical door to go back to earth. What if they end up in another timeline like it happen for the Puzzle? Or Julia abs Josh? What if Alice will have to be the mother of Rupert because they are stuck in a parallel universe?

The Great Blank Spot is an in-depth spotlight focusing on the writing process and previewing in-progress fics for our fandom. It is meant to be an organic, ever-evolving feature. Previously interviewed fic writers can reach out to us here, to have a specific work featured. If you’d like to have a work featured but haven’t done the author spotlight, reach out to us to get started. If you have suggestions for questions you’d like to see answered, shoot us an ask!

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @highkingfen

Every week we are going to be interviewing a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

I am Cath, I’m 27 years old, I speak French and I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I met my husband on Tumblr, I love cosplaying and doing edits in photoshop. My main blog is @booksandanxieties and, my other side blogs are @themagiciansweirdface and @fillorymedia. I also co-own @neitherlandslibrary.

How long have you been writing for?

Since I am 12, there’s some french harry potter fic written by me in the dark web of ff.net.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

I missed writing! And there was not a lot of fics when I join (Still remember there were only 15 pages on ao3)

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Arielle and Fen, which is odd I am aware ahha! I adore writing about them because first, we don’t get to see them a lot and I love to explore what they could be and their story and I love writing about what it is to live in Filory and all of its lore, they are both great protagonists to do so.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

Lately, I have been fixed on 3x05 (life in the day) because I wrote an entire fic named The Golden Tile that is about the first five years of Eliot and Quentin in Fillory’s past. I love rewriting whole season with canon divergences. What if’s are fun to write especially in this fandom, the timelines make it easy to do it!

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

As some may know, I am currently writing an Unofficial The Magicians dnd book! ( @unofficialmagiciansdnd ) It is about 65% done. I have still some of the mechanics to write and a lot of lists to create (Such as a list of spells or a list of magical creatures)

I also write on the side Book 2 of The Golden Tile named Under Pressure. I finished the first fic with a surprise plot twist that was canon divergent, with the second book I explore the consequence; what if Eliot and Quentin found the golden tile 5 years into their quest and comes back on Earth 5 years older with Arielle and Rupert.

How long is your “to do list”?

Not so long, I try to focus on what I write and I tend not to think of other things. But I do have a Twin!Au with Fen and Q that I want to write and Book 2 of my Fenfic where we see her point of view during season 2 and 3.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

That’s cruel to ask. I have two that I am rather proud but if I have to choose, I’d say The Girl from the World in The Wall (that I nicknamed my fenfic) which is the story of Fen before Eliot. We follow her from her 2 years old until she married the High King, learning his name on the altar.

I had started to write it after season 2, totally in love with Fen and mad that we didn’t know anything about her and mad at how the gang treated her. So I wondered what it was to be raised knowing you might marry a king. The word might is important since they didn’t know if Eliot would ever come. I wanted to explore how did she join the FU Fighter and why, despite her beliefs, she accepts her forced marriage. There was a lot to explore there so I started to untangle everything and ended up having to create lore for Fillory because we do not know much of what it is to be a farmer, knifemakers, peasant, in this land. I fell deeply in love with the lore and discovered in Fen a strong woman that decided to choose love and kindness, not out of naivety, but because it is the right thing to do.

When Season 3 aired, I’d finished writing the fic (it was a NaNoWriMo goal) and I was more than happy to discover that what I’d written actually fit what they wrote about her. I ADORE that we got to know her more and don’t get me started on her being an acting king.

P.s: Some of the lore in the Fenfic ended up leaking in The Golden Tile; I love tying my fics in one large universe.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

My fenfic, hands down. I wish they would read The Girl from the world in the wall to see where most of the lore and my love of Fillory comes from. Fen is underestimated in the fandom (Though less since season 3) and deserve more recognition.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

I listen to podcasts all the time so when I write, I need silence. Music distracts me. I always need the thesaurus synonym because I tend to use the same word over and over or know what a word means but finding it imprecise. Which makes writing without internet hard, but now that I know its a must, I try as much as I can, to write where wifi is. Also, I can’t write if someone is in the room. Even if they are doing their own stuff. I don’t know why. Even when I was writing essays for classes it was like that.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I had nothing really going during season 3 and then episode 5 happen and I kinda exploded. Knowing it was a self-contained story (the life having already been lived by Q and Eliot) I started to write while it was airing. It is at the end of it that I decided that the ending of The Golden Tile could be interesting if it was canon divergent; I’m excited to see what Arielle and Rupert bring into the group and if it will lead toward the same choice. Only time will tell!

Otherwise, I usually write One Shot during airing season time, that way I don’t have to overthink things if what I write is not canon compliant anymore.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

My Fenfic. Maybe that’s why it is the one I am the proudest of. To have to create a whole character and yet stick to the canon was exciting. As well as reading as much as I can about Fillory. There was not a lot about it online at the time, so it had been meticulous research (I had the map of FIllory open most of the time I was writing just to be sure of the place I was saying were compliant. ) Before I never did much research before writing a fic, now it is one of my favorite parts

Are there any themes or tropes that you particularly like to explore in your writing?

Canon divergence, as you can see! I love to see the butterfly effect and how one thing can change the whole story. My first longfic Shake it off was about Eliot forcing back Quentin on his med. And that changed a lot of things! Yay for timelines that can make us say its canon!

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

J.K Rowling will always be important for my writing because her universe made me want to write. I read a lot of YA so I can say the author influence my writing because, through reading, I discover what I like and what I don’t which makes me better in the end.

Fanfic-wise, I discovered a lot of great author in this fandom and I hate naming people because if I don’t name someone they might be sad or get discouraged, and I don’t want that. I adore that we got so many writers and that the subjects are so different. It’s not only one trope on one ship over and over. Sometimes I read a summary and I laughed cause I wonder how the author came up with the idea! It made me want to be better and write more elaborate and less easy trope fics.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Depression had kicked my ass with reading. I went from reading 92 books last year to 4 this year. So yeah, I don’t read as much, but I try to get back in, now that I am feeling better.

I just finished reading There there be Gerblins, a graphic novel of the first arch of The Adventure Zone podcast. It’s really good and funny. In fact, this podcast is part of the inspiration of me writing the DND book.

The Dnd book writing means that I carry everywhere the 5th edition of Dungeon and Dragon with me. It is not a copycat of it, but there are mechanics that are the same or, sometimes, they help me just figure out how to structure the book itself. I love the weird look I get when I go to Starbuck with it.

I just bought a new book by J.K Rowling name Very Good lives and I am excited to read it when I’m going in my next trip; a plane without wifi is a good excuse to read.

Fanfic wise; I usually binge. I wait a month or two and then read everything I haven’t read. But one fic I read the moment there is a new chapter is The Mess We Made by Rays. I looooovelove love it. A must read

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Write first, edit after. Otherwise, you’ll edit the same paragraph the rest of your life.

that or

If 50 shades of gray can be published, you can do it.

they are my two mottoes.

Cringe time:

Are there any words or phrases you worry about overusing in your work?

oh, I have a ton of them. I can’t think of one example but sometimes I get stuck on a word on a paragraph and I am using it for like ever. Hense the wonder of thesaurus synonym website.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

A harry potter one, I probably can find it. I don’t want to. LOL

Rapid Fire Round:

Self-edit or Beta? Self-edit, trying the Beta for Under Pressure!

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes? COMMENTS FOR SURE I LIVE FOR THOSE. how many time did one comment make me continue to write! But honestly, anytime someone acknowledges they read my thing, I am happy and blown away. I forget sometimes, that people want to read my stuff.

Smut, Fluff or Angst? All of the above? Honestly? Depend on the mood!

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn? Depend on the mood too! Usually slow burn but sometimes a good Quick & Dirty is always good

Favourite season? 3

Favourite episode? Six Stories about Magic

Favourite book(The Magicians books)? The first one

Three favourite words? Bunny, kindness, writing

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Five@Five: @physicalkideliot

As a part of our author spotlight, we’ve asked each writer to highlight 5 fics and tell us a little about their experience writing (or reading) them.

"The Kind of Person I Wanna Be" @dwarven-beard-spores

"When he squinted his eyes, he could almost believe he was looking at a sophisticated man. His clothes were nice. His mess of curls was probably all wrong, but he didn’t know what all right looked like so he gave it a pass for now. He was somehow both fatter than he wanted and taller than he wanted, and even though he’d only bought these clothes six months ago, his arms and legs were already too long to fit them properly. He didn’t have nice shoes so he went barefoot, and he decided to pretend that he was a luxurious millionaire who had no need of nice footwear when he was spending the night alone in his apartment. The rain masked most of the farm noises, and he could pretend it was raining in the city." 

 This one was from a conversation I had with @dwarven-beard-spores one night about our Eliot themed head canons and it was the first work someone took the time to write for me. I think it will always hold a special place with me. 

"Eliot Waugh and the Case of the Cocooned Conjurers" @all-hale-eliot

“Because, madam, the corpses found previously had bank notes on their persons, discovered after the wrappings were removed at Brakebills,” he said, speaking of the graduate-level school of magical pedagogy where some magicians—myself included—had learned their trades and discovered their specialties. 

“Then explain the wrappings,” Quinn challenged the tall detective, and Waugh looked thoughtful for a moment. Fogg knelt down and used a thin knife to cut through the bands of material. They gave way after a moment and snapped upward, like thick industrial cable. 

“They were not used to subdue the victim,” Waugh noted, pointing. “Look there.” 

Honestly, just the idea of Eliot as Sherlock. I am in love. I love the quips and the wit and Eliot and these characters fit so well with this AU and I am so glad Lexi imagined it. 

"Sharing Skin" @oneeyeddestroyer

"Without waiting for his response, she rises from the couch and starts to make her way upstairs. Eliot nods his tacit agreement and pushes himself to his feet. He catches up to Margo in two strides; she reaches her hands behind her, a simple peace offering for a complicated situation. Acknowledging the weight of the gesture, Eliot laces his fingers into hers and allows her to lead him upstairs. When they reach the bathroom, Margo drops one of Eliot’s hands so she can open the door. A quick dance of her fingers around each other causes the candles lining the tub to ignite, one by one. The warm flickering illuminates the room with a soft glow. Something in the way the light catches Eliot’s face breaks Margo’s heart, and she reaches up to cup his chin, stretching onto her toes to be able to reach. Eliot’s face contorts in confusion. He is completely thrown by the softness of her touch, but it is most certainly welcome." 

Honestly, this is what I want to be when I grow up. I admire her writing so much. She has a way with words that just draws you in and I am just amazed with each story I read. 

"The Golden Tile" @highkingfen

"Eating his oatmeal, looking outside, the young magicians started to realize that, despite always looking for time alone like this, whenever he or Eliot was going to the city, they always end up missing each other. Maybe it was that they had been pulled from one another so many time and now they literally had to live together, but there was always an anxiety rising in Quentin's chest when Eliot wasn't around for more than a few hours. 

Or maybe it's because you've been thinking about him yesterday when you masturbated and now you feel guilty. 

Annoyed by his own mind talking to him, Quentin quickly threw the dirty bowl into the sink and went outside to start the day. Soon the dairy farmer that was selling them cheese and unpasteurized milk would come deliver their weekly goods against the few piles of money they'd gather by doing small jobs here and there with their magic. They always made sure the person asking for the service was not seeing it, but repairing a barn is easier with the Joseph Englewood spell number four than doing by hand." 

The amount of work and devotion that went into this one truly shows. Cath really did so much with this and I love it. From the Filliorian lore to the subtle details. I love it. 

"The Bed's Too Small" @thevolunteertomato

"This was another hard topic. He wasn't jealous of Margo- not in any way. She deserved to be king more than anyone. What he was jealous of, is that they were all doing something. Quentin went to get his masters, Julia was a goddess again granting miracles, Kady and Penny had worked out their issues and had kids- plural. Alice was simultaneously running the Library and Brakebills. And Eliot was lying in a bed that was far too small for him. He finally thought that'd he found something that worked. Fillory was supposed to be his life, but everything had promptly gone to shit. Then the ordeal with the quest and getting magic back, then making magic free. And the monster. He tries to stay positive or at least hopeful for Quentin’s sake but it was getting hard. Things seemed pretty bleak from his point of view. Everything he had ever had hope for turned into something terrible and worse than he'd ever feared." 

A good example of short but sweet. Credited with the shortest fic to make me cry. 

"Just Imagine Dragons...." @physicalkideliot

“This creature, whatever it is, took over and we don’t know when it’s him or if it’s him or...” 

“I have to do something.” Fen said as tears began to well up in her eyes. 

“All we can do is hope it’s not too late.” Margo whispered. 

“When I was a girl and I was sick, my father would sing lullabies to me. I don’t know any earth songs or even what Eliot’s favorite songs were.” She started to cry. 

“Hey, it’s ok, you can still sing to him if you want.” Quentin tried to comfort her. 

“I want something that will speak to his soul and his heart.” She said between tears. 

“I’m sure you’ll do fine Fen.” Quentin half smiled at her. 

“No it has to be something for him, that’s how it works.” 

“Ok... ummm.... Eliot’s songs....” 

“Dirty Dancing?” Margo chimed in. 

“He loved the movie but not sure the songs were that close to him.” Quentin said beginning to pace. 

“Ok... songs... he had to listen to music...” Quentin continued as he tried to think of a time when Eliot had music playing or any lyrics he may have quoted. 

“He listened to a variety.” Margo added. 

“Yeah but what song was like his?” Quentin stopped and looked over at Eliot and Fen. He walked over and sat next to the bed. 

“When the days are cold and the cards all fold and the saints we see are all made of gold...” Quentin started singing. 

“Really? Is it all just Imagine Dragons and Taylor Swift with you?” Margo quipped from the doorway. 

“I think he likes it.” Fen spoke after a moment. 

“Really?” Margo looked at Eliot then Quentin. 

Quentin sat back down next to the bed and continued singing. 

After a bit, Fen began humming along with Quentin’s singing. 

“Don’t get too close, it’s dark inside, it’s where my demons hide, it’s where my demons hide.” Quentin finished and wiped the few tears from his eyes. 

Eliot’s eyes fluttered. 

“Eliot?” Fen sat up. 

“Where am I?” His voice was hoarse. 

One of my season 4 ideas. I like exploring the sides of Eliot not many see. Adding in a bit of vulnerability adds a different dynamic. 

There are so many amazing writers in this fandom and I am so thankful for all of them. I am truly thankful and honored to be among them. To the writers in this fandom who have given me advice and helped me become a better writer I am truly thankful. 

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot: knowledgekid

So much goes into creating fanfiction even before the first words hit the paper. And in-depth spotlight on our writers and the process behind their work.

Tell us about your current project.  

The 39 Grave Project: we're writing every timeline. I have timeline 11.

The fics are finally posted from The Trials. Did you participate?

No, I wasn't writing fanfic then or I totally would have!

What is your current word count?

94909

Do you try to write daily? Do you have a word count or other goals you try to hit for each writing session?

I wake up at 5 am every single morning and write for about 4 hours. This doesn't count the work I do in the evenings. All of it is a mix of professional work (gotta pay the bills), OG work, and fic. I just keep writing. I get bitchy when I have to edit instead of actually writing. 

What was the inspiration for this fic?

I got the idea from the stipulations they gave me. The more I thought about them, the more I realized that this was the way the story needed to happen on a thematic level. Though I have to credit my husband for telling me the ending. He looked and me and was like, "Duh, this is what happens." And I was like, oh, yeah, that. Obviously. 

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

I don't. I'm never in between anything. I always have something to do. 

Did this fic require any research? How much research do you typically do for your fics?

39 Graves required a lot of questions to a lot of people who know the universe better than me: like, I was informed I needed magic mushrooms to do one spell, and exactly how to cast a probability spell. 

The amount of research I do depends on the fic. I am working on another one right now that's seriously research intensive because it's VERY time-dependent: I need to know EXACTLY how much time passes between events in the show. So I have to go online and bug Theo into telling me. 

Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

I post as I go, though I try to know where I'm going with something. A lot of the time I don't, though, which is a big part of the fun. 

How much planning and outlining did you do before you started putting words on paper?

Some? I'm not a planner or an outliner. I have very bad ADHD and that kind of stuff frankly freaks me out. I did enough that I knew how stuff was going to work out --- I like solved my major plot dilemmas -- and that's about it. 

Has it been pretty smooth sailing or rough waters? When things get rocky, how do you handle needing to rewrite sections or scrap scenes entirely?

This particular fic was super easy to get through. I knew the characters and where they needed to go and they went there pretty well, except for the excerpt I'm about to share: that was like fucking banging barbie dolls together until I got together and talked it out with a friend, which is what I tend to do when things get rough with either my fic or my OG work. I send up a distress signal to another writer like "This is my issue, WTF do I do now?" and usually @thevolunteertomato or @hoteldestiel can fix it for me. 

Excerpt

Their feet crunch on the grass. It’s one of the first frosts of the year, and it’s cold tonight, the wind whispering through the trees. Quentin takes off his jacket and drops it over Jules. She gives him a half smile he can see in the slanting white moonlight. His stomach is sinking and fluttering at the same time. He feels like a stupid preteen at his first middle school dance. “Do we do this, then?” 

She looks up at him, and she’s all big, dark eyes. “If we want to bring Penny back, we do. And if it makes you feel better, I trust you, Quentin.” 

“I trust you too, Jules, it’s not about that, it’s —” 

“I love you, Quentin.” 

“I love you, too, Jules. But we both have —” 

“And sometimes saving the world means making some sacrifices. Come on.” She takes him by the hand. “I promise it won’t hurt. Let’s go be sex heroes.” 

Anything else you want to add/think we should cover?

This fic has Julia and Quentin, as kids, specifically getting rainbow sprinkles on things all the time. This was written pre-Season 4 and now it has all kinds of terrible associations that make it totally hilarious. I refuse to change it.

The Great Blank Spot is an in-depth spotlight focusing on the writing process and previewing in-progress fics for our fandom. It is meant to be an organic, ever-evolving feature. Previously interviewed fic writers can reach out to us here, to have a specific work featured. If you’d like to have a work featured but haven’t done the author spotlight, reach out to us to get started. If you have suggestions for questions you’d like to see answered, shoot us an ask!

Screenshot credit to @highkingfen

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight @cldfiredrgn

Every week we are going to be interviewing a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

I’m cldfiredrgn on Tumblr, Coldfiredragon on ao3

Well, I’m in my early-thirties. College consisted of a combination of political science, english, and psychology. (not a combination I’d recommend unless you want to take it to grad level or beyond), though it is useful for writing. I’m a gamer who grew up on comics and anime. I’m an all around geek who listens to EDM, electro industrial, jazz, electro-swing, and punk. We have 2 cats, no kids, and a spare bedroom dedicated to our toy collection.

How long have you been writing for?

I started posting fic in high school. I wrote a few original pieces for 4-H projects, because mom wanted me to participate but I wasn’t the ‘get dirty/hands on’ kind of kid. I made it to state one year for my writing. I floored the regional judges with something that was more anime inspired and adult, they loved it.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

Watching the first episode, shortly before season 2 premiered, and my jaw hitting the floor that Quentin and Eliot seemed to be flirting! I was hooked from the first episode. I hadn’t written anything in a couple of years. It was so nice to have a fandom again.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Eliot and Quentin, but Eliot is the character that hooked me. I kinda share his backstory. I’m the rural farm kid from a heavily Christian family who got out. Thankfully I still have a good relationship with my parents.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

I prefer either season 1, or season 3. I’m absolutely dreading when ‘Shoulder to Shoulder With You’ reaches season 2 material and having to fit Eliot’s season 2 arc into that universe.

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

I’m also working on ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ (StS). It’s my monster and my baby! We crossed 100,000 words together 2 chapters ago. Hmm, an idea about it? Well, I hate to give too much away, but a few things are coming up.

My version of the Virgo blade storyline is just a few chapters away! The resolution of that will be the end of the current ‘Fall’ arc….

Wait? You still want a Spoiler? I can I can give you one… Arc 3 is titled ‘The Chatwins’ and will focus on the group finding out about the time-loops and the roles that Jane and Martin play in their lives. Then they are off to Fillory!

How long is your “to do list”?

I have a lot of ideas on the back burner. Officially though:

The next chapter of my Queliot soulmate AU -- ‘My Hands Pass Through’

Never Ending StS chapters

My Trials project, which I’m not 100% decided on yet.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

“Shoulder to Shoulder With You’ is the story I’ve put the most work into ever. It has to be my favorite or I couldn’t continue it. I love the universe. I love how it’s already diverged from canon, I love where it goes and how I’ve been able to put my own spin on the arcs from the show so they will be fresh for readers of my story. Quentin and Eliot, the whole group, they continue to surprise me as the story evolves.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

‘All Part of the Deal’ The summary doesn’t do it justice. The fic started as a response to a kink meme but truly is an exploration of Eliot’s relationship to his telekinesis. It explores how he quietly hates his powers even as he clings to them because they’ve given him the only family and home he’s ever had. It’s also a subtle commentary on his addiction and how he’s sought out this thing that he thinks he needs, even if inherently destructive.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

Once I write something it tends to be written. I edit and tweak it once its on paper, but the majority of major edits are mental. I’ll think through a series of events a dozen times but the version that gets typed is usually the version I adhere to.

If something gets deleted on accident it tends to be gone. I’m never as happy with a document I have to recreate from scratch as I was with the original.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I write during the season and all through the hiatus. With ‘StS’ I watched season 3 while constantly editing how the events would shift the story. StS is at its core an alternate 40th loop, so the general rule of thumb has been ‘if it happens in the show, then some version of it will happen in StS’

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

“Shoulder to Shoulder’ because it has so many moving parts now. Every change I make to canon is a domino effect. Penny and Alice dating now effects Penny’s arc with Kady and Julia later, Eliot dating Quentin before Fillory impacts his ‘marriage’ arc(s). I had to completely change what happens with Loria because he and Idri would never end up engaged. I had to re-arrange who found certain keys because certain people are in different places. It’s a never ending cycle of cause and effect.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

I like to use music when I can. I have a weird relationship to water and rain. I love the theme of soul-mates and chosen family. Exploring emotion is something I embrace, as most of you know I’m a great lover of angst.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Lev obviously inspired me. He gave me my current fandom, but he’s inspired my personal writing too. I love how he can breeze through large amounts of time in a few paragraphs. Herman Wouk is inspirational because of his scale. ‘The Winds of War’ and “War and Remembrance’ managed to put the reader into every phase and conflict of World War II.

J.K. Rowling, I was a huge Harry Potter fan writer for a long time.

Alan Moore for ‘Watchmen’ Dozens of comic writers

C.S. Friedman’s ‘Coldfire Trilogy’ (where my main username draws influence)

Fanfic writers: EdgarAllanCat ( @goddessjuliawicker) Lexalicious70 ( @all-hale-eliot) , Rays ( @under-the-shady-tree) @gwendolynflight, @oneeyeddestroyer, Sullyandlulu ( @highestkingbambi) , LadySilviana, @highkingfen , @echomoon , dozens of others. This has been the best fandom I’ve ever been part of, all of you make it amazing!

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I devour fanfic! I’m finishing ‘The Magicians Land’ I follow real world news despite how depressing it is.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

That my whole body of work was horrible. I wrote for a comics fandom for several years, and found a rant post on a blog site that tore a lot of what I did to shreds, but ultimately at lot of points they made were valid. I wrote volume instead of quality, to fill challenge tables with poorly executed AU scenarios. They weren’t good, they were dark for the sake of the challenge prompts. It made me stop for a while, and get back into writing with focused projects.

Cringe time:

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

I’m sure there are, and you guys probably know them better than I do.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

It was a Gundam Wing fic, and I don’t.

Rapid Fire Round:

Self-edit or Beta? -- Self-edit with an editing program

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes? -- Comments

Smut, Fluff or Angst? -- Angst

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn? -- Slow Burn

Favourite season? -- 3

Favourite episode? -- ‘A Life In a Day’’

Favourite book(The Magicians Books)? - 'The Magicians'

Three favourite words? ‘Symmetry, cacophony, sisyphean

Anything you want to add?

My ask box is always open, I love to talk about my writing, and I love user feedback

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Five @ Five: @highkingfen

As a part of our author spotlight, we’ve asked each writer to highlight 5 fics and tell us a little about their experience writing (or reading) them.

1. All some Children do is work by EdgarAllanCat

What the hell had they done? Penny looked at the children around him. His friends. “What the fuck did you asshats do?!”

“You sweared!” the girl with curls said, absolutely delighted. “Two times!”

“Right, yeah, I did. So…Margo?” There was no mistaking that loud, shrill voice. He bit the inside of his cheek to try and hold in his laughter as Margo put her hands on her hips. Honestly, this was probably the best outcome to fucking with Chronomancy. It was certainly the most hilarious.

—

This was the Big Bang Jasper(@goddessjuliawicker )wrote and I did art for last year. All credit comes to their genius to create a timeline where a spell goes wrong and everyone but Penny becomes kids. Not only don’t they remember anything, but they return to who they were at that age and it shows us sides of all of them they try to hide as adults; Alice adoring her brother Charlie, Margo bossing around because her mother is never there so she has to tell new nannies what to do every other week, Quentin having traumatizing experience with therapy…. It just explains how we get to meet the broken adults they are in season one.

Just like Penny you just fall in love with their tiny selves.

Bonus: Eliot and Quentin screaming about goats for no apparent reason.

2. The Mess We Made by Rays

Quentin felt responsible not just for his son’s happiness but also Arielle’s and Eliot’s. He wanted to make everything easier for everyone. To him, that was Eliot getting to sleep at night, his son having him there for him and Arielle getting his support as well. He had never expected Eliot to take it personally. In hindsight, Quentin could see how it could seem like he was pushing Eliot aside. Between the baby and he and Arielle getting married, Quentin and Eliot had not had much time for each other. They had their work on the mosaic, but that had been all they had recently.

—

Have you ever fallen in love with a fic? You know when the chapter finish and you are sad. Or when you get an email saying a new chapter is posted and you stop whatever you are doing to read it? That's what is happening to me with this fic.

During the 3x05 timeline, while Arielle is away, Eliot and Quentin have to face the void that Rupert created in their relationship. Not able to talk about their feelings and making problems and unspoken wounds ten times worse until it explodes. If you want some good angst, this is the fic.

Not only is the story captivating and you just want to shake those two idiots in love, but the prose is amazing and each sentence is like a brush of paint that creates a masterpiece. It is more than a Queliot story. It’s a story about love, about relationships, about how to grow up with someone you love despite your demons.

3. My Hands Pass Through by coldfiredragon

His soul mark had manifested with a wash of terror, a burst of pain along his side, and the taste of phantom blood in the back of his mouth. The rush of emotion and fragments of memory had taken Quentin to the ground and doubled him over his knees as he'd cried. He'd lost consciousness to the sound of Julia screaming for help and he'd woken up in a hospital room as a specialist tried to explain how a soul mark worked to his father.

—

Two words: Soulmate!Tattoo AU. I am a fucking sucker for those and this one is so well written you just want more and more. There's a dynamic we see between Quentin and Eliot that is so different than other fic, it touched my heart right away.

Did I say Soulmate!Tattoo!Au?

4.The Girl from the World in the Wall by HighKingFen (me)

The Beast had entered the house through the fire, literally walking out of it. Moths had covered the entire room and darken the window, blocking the sun of any reassuring light. In the wave of his six-fingered hand, he extinguished the fire. Alistair had scooped up Fen and through his mother's order, he'd hid with Emlyn in a trapdoor under their pantry, where they would put meat and other food that needed a fresher temperature during the summer heat. Her big brother didn't have to silence her, by the way he was acting, little Fen knew something was wrong. Her earliest memory was sitting on that wooden floor, the iron smell of blood deepening as the red liquid was falling on her brother, the scent of salted meat hanging thick in the air. Fen had never liked the taste of ham after that day.

—

This fic, also nicknamed Fenfic, started as a self-imposed challenge for NaNoWriMo and ended up being one of the projects I am the proudest of in my life. Written between season 2 and 3, we didn’t know a lot about Fen and I always wanted to explore what it was to be raised knowing you had to marry someone that might never show up. I like the duality of Fen wanting to be there for her king and yet learning she was a FU Fighter. So I wrote about her. It is from her second birthday to her walk to the altar toward Eliot.

I am more than happy the season 3 confirmed how amazing Fen was and how some of my writing is semi-canon! If you love Fen or are intrigued by her and want to explore her character a bit more, I encourage you to give it a shot.

5. The Golden Tile by HighKingFen (me)

Arielle expected to see both men hard at work doing gods knew what with the colored tiles. But instead, she found them soundly sleeping, tangled in each other, a blanket covering them.

‘’Are they half dressed?’’ Chuckle Lunk quietly as she noticed as well their open shirt and some piece of clothes clearly tossed away.

‘’I think so. ‘’ She giggles. She bites her lips, not trying to show how handsome they both looked that way. She never saw them without lines of worried on their forehead and sorrow in their eyes. ‘’We should let them sleep. ‘’

She quietly put near them the bags of plum and peaches Lunk gave her. They will pay her next time, she had known them long enough to trust them on that. She looked at them one last time before smiling affectionately, amused at the tableau. She linked her hand in Lunk and they walk away in silence, not wanting to wake up the boys.

‘’They slept together right?’’ She finally asked when they were far enough.

‘’Oh yes they did. ‘’ He laughed ‘’They totally did. ‘’

—

After watching 3x05, it took me one day before my writing document was open and I was ready to explore Eliot and Quentin’s story in Fillory. Having fallen in love with the land while writing my Fenfic, I was excited to explore it through the eyes of two strangers that would be king of the land in its future.

What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with their dynamic. To explore Arielle was an amazing treat to me and, just like Fen, I adored writing the side of someone who grew up in a magical world. I expected it to be a sappy love story between people and ended up writing threw young adult discovering themselves and falling in love even harder with each other every time life threw something hard at them.

p.s: Some NSFW chapters happen from time to time

p.p.s: I managed to link my Fenfic lore of Fillory into this one, big nerd that I am, I wanted both universes to be linked.