#author spotlight: minister-for-femslash

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @minister-for-femslash

Every week we interview 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.

Hi I'm Minister-for-Femslash, also known as Mini. I grew up on a tiny island that nobody's ever heard of and I now live in a tiny village that nobody's ever heard of. I'm an aspiring writer who probably watches too much television.

How long have you been writing for?

I've been writing since I was about fourteen.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

For me, it was the small, subtle moments. Those moments that don't command the viewers attention but just exist. Those pieces of dialogue that reveal so much about the characters, who they are and how they feel in a way that just makes me want to pick that moment apart, analyse it to death and then build an idea around it.

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

Right now, I love writing for Penny-23. His use of the term “soulmates” to refer to Julia is so fascinating that it just makes me want to explore everything about him and what happened in his timeline, what made him use that term and what he feels when he looks at Julia-40, because it must be so hard to look at the face of the woman he loves and know that it's not her.

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

I just tend to keep up with the show, to be honest. Wherever the show is, is usually the time period I'm writing for.

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

I always have something brewing, but right now, I have some personal deadlines I've been neglecting that I need to get finished, so fics are on the back burner. There is a Kady/Penny/Julia piece I've been wanting to write for a while, so hopefully I'll be able to get to that soon. I also have an Alice/Julia piece that's half finished but I'm really not happy with how it's working right now. Maybe in a few weeks I'll go back to it and try again.

How long is your “to do list”?

Too long.

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

So It Turns Out You're Not My Soulmate is probably my best fic, but my personal favourite is the sequel You Love Me So Much You Did It Twice. I just had so much fun coming up with the little plot twists, finding ways to include characters like Humbledrum, Rafe and Abigail, and Bayler, as well as exploring different dynamics and relationships that we don't see much of on the show like Alice/Fen, or Julia/Margo. Plus, multiple Julias, that's always a good time.

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?

I mostly write for myself, my fics are usually the stuff that I want to read. So as long as I'm happy with a piece I tend to treat other people liking it as a bonus. But if I had to give an answer it would be You Love Me So Much You Did It Twice simply because, even though I loved every minute of writing it, it was just so time consuming and it did kind of take over my life, for a little bit at least.

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

It's a little slap dash. If a thought or an idea strikes me, I'll just go ahead and write it, which means a lot of the time I have lots of small scenes or moments that I then have to find a way to slot together into something cohesive. But I do write everyday, which is something.

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 do write while the seasons are airing, and because my fics tend to follow the plot of the show, canon has a huge influence on then. Each new episode brings a flood of new ideas.

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

I Just Want To Feel Warm Again. There was just one particular moment that I could not figure out how to make work, no matter how many times I tried.

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

Every since the show brought them up, I've been really fascinated by the other timelines and the consequences of Jane's interference on the group's dynamics/relationships.

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

Joss Whedon was a big influence on me as a teenager, but now there are too many brilliant authors/writers to list them all.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

It Should Have Been Me by Susan Wilkins, but I've almost finished so I'll probably be starting No Tomorrow, the second in the Killing Eve series soon.

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

It can be fixed in editing, so get your first draft finished then work it out.

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

I definitely overuse the phrase, “and again, and again.” Also “after a moment”/”a moment later.” You'll find those phrases littered through my fics.

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

It was a Naomi/Emily from Skins fic, and no I don't have access to it, which is probably a good thing. It really wasn't very good. I can however still remember a lot of it and I cringe.

Self-edit or Beta?

I self-edit, although I should probably get myself a beta.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

Comments. Nothing makes me happier than reading why people like a particular fic. They also make me want to write more.

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

Angst. Definitely angst.

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

Quick and Dirty

Favourite season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

Twenty Three. I've watched this episodes more times than I can count. It's just brilliant.

Favourite book?

The Magician King

Three favourite words?

Bish, bash, bosh. Said in that order.

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

[daily-snitch]

The Daily Snitch - Friday, August 4, 2017

Joanne K. Rowling – Life and Books: • J.K. Rowling is back to the world's highest paid author, thanks for Cursed Child. Harry Potter – Actors and Movies: • Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge) dies at age 91. • J.K. Rowling and HP actors mourn the loss of Robert Hardy. • Jessicab (Mugglenet) about the death of Robert Hardy. • Raise Your Wands for Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy), former Minister of Magic. • Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) started filming new movie 'Whaling'. • Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) sparks debate among Star Trek fans. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: • Full original London cast will bring Cursed Child to Broadway beginning April 2018. • Original Cursed Child cast coming to Broadway. (MuggleNet) • Cursed Child New York cast and ticket announcements. • Cursed Child Broadway cast reacts to joining New York shows. • #LondonIsOpen Campaign supported by many of the West End's shows, including Cursed Child. • Jack Thorne (writer) to re-write Star Wars: Episode IX. Prompt Challenges: • slythindor100 announced the Week 4 Results of the on-going H/D Last Drabble Writer Standing Challenge. Communities: • interhouse_fest is looking for a third mod! The fest will be happening this year. ♥ • one_bad_man posted the Weekly Sign-up Post for reccing fan creations about the two bad men, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. (At time of posting, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are still open.) • hd_erised announced the List of Participants of the 2017 H/D Erised Fest. • hd_erised posted Pinch-hitter Sign-ups. • The BBTO_Challenge announced the 11th edition of Bring Back the Porn. (all fandoms) Masterlists and Weekly Round-ups: • snape_potter posted the Harry's Birthday Challenge Masterlist. Fandom Recs: • madeleone recced a Hermione Granger/Severus Snape fic (PG). • germankitty recced a Severus Snape gen series (G). • evening12 recced a Millicent Bulstrode/Pansy Parkinson fic (NC-17). Archive News: • OTW: This Week in Fandom, Volume #57. (fandom-wide) Discussions: • @dictacontrion posted On Happy Endings. • casmicheals posted a discussion post on whether Hermione would be a 'good' or 'bad guy' in regards to H/D. (fic advice, Drarry only) Essay/Meta: • John Granger wrote Rune Magic in Fantastic Beasts? I wish. • John Granger lectured on Is Harry Potter One Story or Seven Different Adventures. (video) • Alexa Paoletta and Aniela Schaefer wrote For the Love of Luna. General Fandom News: • Lori Morimoto offers a Fan Studies for Fans lecture course on Patreon, starts September 1. (free preview audio) • Quantum Harry, the Podcast is now available for free subscription on iTunes and youtube. Searches: • daily_snitch is looking for your recs (fic, art, podfic, meta ...) for the Special Edition: Newt Scamander. Community Spotlight: ♥ femslashficlets – weekly femslash prompts for ficlet inspiration A weekly challenge prompt community based on the now-defunct femslash100 comm. Every Thursday, a prompt will be posted which writers can use as inspiration for a femslash ficlet. Femslash is defined as a relationship between two or more characters/people who self-identify as women. Ficlet should have a length from 100 to 1000 words. There are coloured hearts as rewards. ♥ Please send your fandom news to the Daily Snitch.

[themagiciansreccenter]

Five@Five: @minister-for-femslash

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.

I Just Want To Feel Warm Again

The Siphon remains firm.

“Aa'eaysley! Aa'eaysley! Aa'eaysley!”

Frustration settles in her chest. She feels a wave of anger wash over her as the Siphon drags every ounce of power from her. Her own molecules vibrate. She feels a familiar twinge in the back of her neck. An electricity that runs across her skin.

The niffin. It calls to her.

The Siphon’s grip on the fountain has loosened. She can do this. She knows that. She can feel it in the heart of herself. But the electricity is moving from her neck, down through the rest of her body. She can feel the fire raging in her veins. She will crack before the Siphon does. Alice knows that as well.

-----

I wasn't at home when I wrote this fic and I can clearly remember sitting in a living room that wasn't my own, writing and rewriting the scene where Alice tries to remove the Siphon, over and over and over again, and becoming so frustrated because I just could not make it work (and I'm still not quite satisfied with it), to the point where I almost gave up. But I loved the mermaid stuff (I'd been sitting on the idea for a while) and I do love writing Julia/Alice, so writing this fic was very much a love and hate experience for me.

So It Turns Out Your Not My Soulmate

“I’m afraid.” He lifts up his head and looks at her. “I don’t understand why she…” He comes to a stop. He presses his lips together, shoves his hands into his pockets and then takes then back out again. “She left me.”

“Penny…”

“She just left me in that infirmary. Ran off to Fillory with Quentin and Alice, and I don’t understand why. I don’t understand and I guess I’m wondering…”

“Wondering what?”

“I’m wondering if it’s because I wasn’t enough for her. If my love for her just couldn’t compete with Fillory.”

-----

This started out as a simple idea about Penny-23 being reunited with Julia-23 in the Underworld, that steadily morphed into an in-depth examination of Penny's feelings about Julia's death. It was suppose to be a simple fluffy fic with a happy ending and instead it was just angsty as fuck, and I love that that is what it became because angst is pretty much where I live.

The Five Labours Of Alice Quinn

Fen stands and watches, and Alice feels desperately uncomfortable. She places the mug on the bedside table and tries to sit up, but the moment she does the room begins to spin and she has to lay back down again.

“You need to rest,” Fen says.

“No. I need to kill the squid.”

“What?”

“I need to kill the squid.”

“The one in the lake? The unkillable squid?”

Alice closes her eyes and laughs, because of course. Of course the squid is unkillable. Of course Ember set her an impossible task.

“Yes. I need to kill the unkillable squid.”

-----

This is a fic that was based on an idea that I was so excited and enthusiastic about, but because of time constraints (it was an entry for Welters) I kept having to scale it back. So what started as the Twelve Labours of Alice Quinn, slowly became the Five Labours of Alice Quinn, and yet I really enjoyed writing this one because I got to create/explore this friendship/relationship between Alice and Fen which I had never really considered before, and actually found really interesting.

Home

“You should hate me,” Kady whispers after a few minutes of them kneeling in the cold and wet alleyway. “Why don’t you hate me?”

“I tried. Believe me I tried and all of this would be so much easier if I just hated you for what you did, but I can’t. Kady, I just can’t.”

“Well you should. You should hate me.”

“I know. But I can’t because I…” Julia’s voice shakes. “I love you.”

-----

Honestly, this was kind of a tester fic for the larger Kady/Penny/Julia piece that I've been thinking about writing for a while. I wanted to find out if I could create/write the version of Kady that would be needed and I like to think I was pretty successful. So while this fic is really just a snippet of a much larger idea, I'm really happy with it.

You Love Me So Much You Did It Twice

“Look at me, look at me,” Margo says. She grabs the back of Julia-10’s head and pulls her close. She kisses her. “You are here with me. You will stay here with me.”

Julia-10’s other arm has faded and her shoulders are going too.

“Margo,” she says. “I…”

Margo tries to cling to her, tries to grip her shoulders but they’re already gone.

“Julia.”

“I love you,” Julia-10 says.

Those are her final words before the rest of her fades away and Margo, who is still trying to hold onto her falls forward. She collapses to her knees. There’s moments pause as everybody in the elevator – everybody still left – holds their breath.

Then Margo sobs.

“No.” Her body shakes. “No! No! No!” She screams, slamming her hands down against the floor.

-----

What ended up being my Trials fic was not originally intended to be my Trials fic (I actually had a Julia/Margo/Fen adventure fic in mind first). I started writing it not soon after I finished So It Turns Out Your Not My Soulmate, because I realised that while the ending was happy for Penny, some of the other characters (particularly Julia from timeline 1) really needed some closure, so I'd already written a lot of the original version of this when my hard drive crashed and I lost everything. At the time I was devastated, but in the end it worked out for the best, because this small little fic idea became so much more than it ever imagined it could be... For a long time I didn't actually have a beginning and almost every time I sat down to write this fic, I came up with another idea, or another character, or another detail that I needed to add, and it just got longer and longer and longer, and I loved every second of it.