#i love reading lotr fanfic that was written in 2009 it's one of the great joys of archival websites

[tunababyyyy]

love when i see kids posting online like "man i wish i was a teen in 2014" like you can't still enjoy that stuff. i'm literally listening to mcr and 5 seconds of summer and reblogging gifsets of dan and phil right now nobody is stopping you girl. do whatever you want!!!

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Ciule and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for sitting down with us for a chat.

SS/HG readers might be familiar with your stories “Awkward” and “Headmaster’s Wife”. 

Okay, let’s jump right in. What's the story behind your pen name? Well, I sort of took one of my real names, swirled the letters around in the air with my imaginary wand, and I ended up with this. Can’t begin to imagine where I got the idea from... ;-) Later on, I realized that Ciule is actually a name in Romania. I had no idea, but there are people out there carrying this name for real. I guess I’m #sorrynotsorry?   Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most? To be quite frank: No one, really. This is more about the characters I like, than truly identifying with them. I can relate to parts of some of them, but not the whole package. Primarily, I write about Hermione, Voldemort and Severus, and the one common thread between those three is the search for knowledge. That’s a trait I can identify with, but I’m neither an evil bastard, a grumpy protector nor a fretting, intelligent activist. I am, however, a swot. If you had asked who I’d want to be, the answer is clear. I want to be Albus Dumbledore. Though I can’t agree with the things he did, I feel absolutely certain that he’s the one who has the most fun during the books. I want to have that twinkling fun in face of absolute chaos.   Do you have a favourite genre to read (not in fic, just in general)? Fantasy! Definitely fantasy. While growing up, I read ‘everything’ in every genre, and in my twenties, I decided I’d spend my time reading what I loved the most. So, fantasy it is. Do you have a favourite "classic" novel? You landed me in an existential crisis right there. I mean, there’s so many to choose from! ‘Wuthering Heights’, I think. It hurts so good. Or maybe ‘Rebecca’, at least, I loved that when I was younger. Or the fairly obscure ‘Lorna Doone.’ When I was a kid, I wanted to be a film director, shooting Lorna Doone into an epic film. Oh well, there might be a theme in this selection of books which reflects in my writing… At what age did you start writing? The creative process has gone on since forever. I’ve told myself thousands of stories in my head, but rarely written anything down. At the age of ten, I had a co-writing project with one of my friends. We created this secret room in her basement, and painstakingly wrote a ‘novel’. It was fun, though the writing ended as it became too cold down in the basement during winter. How did you get into writing fanfiction? In 2009, I became completely obsessed with a TV-show in the last episode. I was watching the entire series, casually enjoying the murder mystery, and in the last episode, the villain said: “I can do the math,” and I was literally gone. That obsession sparked writing my first fanfic stories. Those stories are still on FFnet, but they aren’t any good. *shrugs* What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works? Compromise. The world isn’t a perfect place, and will never be. You can, however, make it more to your liking. It may not be perfect, but if you play the cards you are dealt, you might improve something. In Robert Jordan’s “the Wheel of Time”-series, one of the characters goes through a test in a parallel universe of sorts, and she thinks: “The world was not what she wanted, not anywhere near it.” I loved that: trying your best to make things as you want them to be in the face of dangers and difficulties.   And then there’s time travel! I love messing with time, and there are so many great Time-travelling fics. Plus, I have to say I have a certain love for the villains...   What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter? Currently, I’m not writing for any other fandoms. I read Star Wars, GoT, POTO and LOTR, and in the past I read Smallville. Though it’s more of a type of ship for me, because I only read Reylo, SanSan, Erik/ Christine, Lex/Lana and ….drum roll… the extremely small and quite oddball ship of Eowyn/ Grìma Wormtongue. If you’ve never tried the last one, go search for the fantastic stories by auri_mynonys. If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon? One change: duh, that’s easy, isn’t it? Severus lives. Or, maybe Dumbledore acting more rational, not keeping so many secrets. Maybe telling McGonagall that Severus is on the Order’s side… (Interviewer is laughing - ”NOT so easy”) I do write Voldemort wins AUs, but I wouldn’t want canon Voldemort to win. I prefer him to be more sane than in canon. My absolute favourite piece of fanon has to be the Black library. I thought it was canon, but it’s not. This is a thing that really, really should exist in canon! Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet? I’m very much inspired by music, and sometimes I listen as I write, but not always. Some fics are heavily inspired by music, such as ‘Absence’ and the last epilogue to ‘The Manipulation of Time and Matter’. What are your favourite fanfictions of all time? Definitely ‘Two Steps from Hell,’ by the amazing Ssserpensssotia, but that’s a Volmione. This was such a wild ride, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat, holding my breath the entire time. Those twists and turns were so unpredictable and … Well, I’m in awe. The SS/HG fandom is so massive, there’s a plethora of great stories out there. The unfinished ‘Self-Slain Gods on Strange Altars’ is a wonderful story by scumblackentropy, and I love Slytherpoufs stories, especially the wip ‘Ghosts’, but also ‘Angels to Fly’. And then there’s the one that got away - it means, I can’t find it. In this story, Severus watches the thestrals, befriending one of them, I think, but they’re unpredictable and maybe even dangerous. He’s heartbroken, and knows how it all will go down, having bitterly accepted his role. It made me cry. And then there’s the works by Aurette, and lena1987, Subversa, Kittenshift… Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process? I need (strike that: want) to draft the entire story before I post, to have some idea on how it goes. That makes it easier to write, but if it’s a long story, I’m happy as long as I know the general direction. This year, I finished a story that was on an unintended hiatus for two years, and I think part of my problem on getting back into writing it up was a too vague idea for the ending.   What is your writing genre of choice? Uh. I don’t know? Basically, you could argue that I’m a porn writer, or at least it’s fuelled by sexual tension and angst. So, romance or drama, bordering on erotica might be correct. To be frank, I haven’t really thought about categories after I started posting on AO3. Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why? Hard to say. I might go with “the Manipulation of Time and Matter,” because I think it’s the best plot I’ve created. Besides, I managed to write Hermione having a relationship with both Severus and Voldemort in the same fic. My favourite “clean” SSHG would be the short story ‘Grimmauld’. Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it? In Grimmauld, the house became a character. That was unexpected, and not something I had planned from the beginning. So the lesson would be “don’t start posting until you know what’s going to happen.” Or else, this story might have turned out very much different. I had to throw in a little made-up lore on how you set blood wards on a house too to make it sentient. That proved to be a quite chilling piece of magic.   How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write? I love old houses. Exploring abandoned houses, going inside to see what remains of furniture, tapestries and everything is so exciting. (It can also be dangerous, but that’s another matter). Such houses makes me feel .. nostalgic, plus I get those nice little shivers down your spine that is a little like a horror story. So, I wanted to use Grimmauld as a setting to explore that in a fic, to really dig into the aching loneliness of a lost house. The story came very quickly to me, so I guess that helped me.   What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing? Big question there. Hmm, I think … it’s hard to say. I’m a reader, really, and I couldn’t easily pick apart any influences. Though I have to say that one of the things I enjoyed when reading ‘Two Steps From Hell’ was the attention to magic. I think it’s important to include spells, rituals and the use of magic in my fics, because that’s what sets it apart from a Muggle AU, for example. That’s an important part of the world-building.   Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction? My significant other knows. I didn’t tell him, but he found out for himself, probably by spying on me. When he told me, I almost couldn’t stop laughing, because he… erm, he said he had thought about reenacting a scene in my PWP ‘Twenty Points to Gryffindor’, where Severus shouts the title as he… well… you get the gist. If he had done that, I’d have had a heart attack. I would literally be dead. Instead, I laughed non stop for an hour.   How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"? Haha, so true. You spend all those hours in front of your laptop - and if I wasn't motivated by doing it for myself, I can’t even see how I’d force myself through all those hours. It’s fun, though. I do this because I love it.   How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media? Very important. I'm on the publishing sites (visible interaction is why I prefer AO3 instead of FFnet) and on Facebook, mainly. I love feedback (as all authors do), and when people form theories or make comments, I get an insight into my own writing. I know how it’s going to pan out, but the audience doesn’t, and how they perceive things might be different from how I think it is. At times, it influences how I go forward, mostly because I need to add things, to explain what’s going on. What is the best advice you've received about writing? Don’t post until you know the ending, and remember: the devil on your left shoulder will be at war with the angel on the right side. Listen to the angel telling you to wait a little longer, and not to the devil chanting: ‘Post, post, post!’ In the end, of course, you’ll give in to the devil, regretting it until you’re done. What do you do when you hit writer's block? Read. Read a lot. And read some more. Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing? Certainly. I’m a foodie. For example, everything that Voldemort eats is stuff I love. His food habits are primarily mine, and I love cooking.   Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser? It’s a short piece, maybe three or four chapters, with the title ‘Transference’. The point of departure from canon is during their time in the tent at DH. Hermione wakes up in a bed, in a room she doesn’t recognize, having no idea where she is, but she spots a large, moving picture on the drawer:  Feeling panic rising, she stared hard at the moving and smiling pictures, and her heart leapt into her throat, pulse hammering as she recognized herself in the largest picture. A slightly older Hermione, in a white wedding dress, kissing and laughing at someone who simply had to be a much younger Severus Snape. It had to be him: Long black hair, hooked nose, sallow skin - but then he looked so young, carefree and happy - expressions she had never seen on her dour Professor's face. Beside the picture, there were numerous cards, greetings and well-wishings for their wedding - the date an impossible 21 August 1982, and amongst the cards, the largest one stood out, the black ink showing an elegant handwriting: “Dear Hermione and Severus! Best wishes for your wedding, Lord Voldemort.” Any words of encouragement to other writers? Read and write, in that order. Don’t worry about trolls, because when you contribute something that you created, it makes you so much more than people spending their time just raining on anyone’s parade. You brought something new to the world, they’re just reacting to things. If someone accuses you of a self-insert, go ahead and lecture them on the intentional fallacy. I promise, you won’t regret looking it up. ;-)   And please, mind the normal physical limits when you’re writing smut. Unless you give the male a stamina potion or put him under the Imperius, it’s unlikely that his refractory period allows him to come five times in one hour. Realistic smut is so much more sexy, lol. Thanks again for speaking with us Ciule.

[spiderman-homecomeme]

1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 besides petermj, 19 besides mcu, 24, 34 for misconceptions, 36 and why, 45, 47, 49 -- you know who it isss, and if you have lots of time

oooo wow thank you for all the questions!! everything after 4 is gonna be under the cut bc i talk too dang much LMAO

thank you again <3

1. things that inspire you

other writers!! when i see all the talented writers in this fandom putting out amazing content (especially over spideychelle week!!) it just inspires ME to keep writing! 

3. name three favorite writers

absoLUTELY too many to name or to pick just three, so we’ll do Jane Austen, Rick Riordan bc MY CHILDHOOD, annnnnnnnnd i’ll also say Tolkien, not because I particularly enjoyed reading the LOTR trilogy (it was hard to get through okay) but because Lord of the Rings is such a big part of my life

(this is embarrassing bc I feel like I need to read more books lmao)

4. name three authors that were influential to your work and tell why

So, I know for a fact I started actually writing when i was little because of reading Bill Wallace books, but honestly, the writing that really has been influential on my work has been fanfiction. Like I wrote here and there until I started actually reading fanfic back in i think 2009?? And it was just writers from those other fandoms that go me into it, and all the stuff i read that built my writing style

6. how did writing change you?

hell yeah let’s get deep in here!! 

I think writing just gave me an outlet for all the feelings I had as a pre-teen and teen. It was a good use of creative energy that wasn’t playing the sims LMAO And the fact that I was able to talk about it with my sister was great. It’s been something that i’ve been passionate about and as stressed as I can be from it sometimes, it always makes me a lil happier :)

I also think it’s made me a much more hopelessly romantic person, if that makes any sense lol 

7. early influences on your writing

answered here! :)

14. easiest character to write

lmao Peter Parker, hands down. He may not always be in character (in that i always like to AMPLIFY the dumbass-ness of his personality) but he doesn’t take as long for me to write

15. hardest verse to write

I’m assuming this means like a line that I had a hard time writing?? if not i will happily re-answer lol but it has to be anything in May I Stand Unshaken, mostly bc it’s old timey language and I have a much more modern style lol

16. easiest verse to write

Anything modern! just flows much easier

17. favorite AU to write

OOO i LOVE the whole fake dating thing. I haven’t written much of it, but the little one shot i did was just *chef kiss* so fun

18. favorite pairing to write

OOF this is hard bc I don’t really write for other ships, but the one that I have included in stories is Ned/Betty, or NETTY!! They are pretty fun to write though! I haven’t ventured out into other ships yet, but maybe i should try!

19. favorite fandom to write

I was in the jurassic world fandom before this and it was a lot of fun to write dinosaur stuff!!

24. favorite scene you’ve ever written

answered here! :) 

34. alternate pairing for Misconceptions

OOOOOo a very interesting question!! I don’t really think I could see it as being Netty, but maybe like.... another student pairing? or maybe tony and pepper when they’re younger?  The thing is, I don’t think it would work in high school for any other pairing but maybe?? this is hard! lol

36. one-shot or multi-chaptered story?

honestly, even though one-shots are a million times easier, i LOVE seeing the characters grow and change throughout a multi-chaptered story. And I love going through that as both a writer and a reader

45. share the synopsis of a story you work on that you haven’t published yet

well, I’m currently in the early stages of planning a Pushing Daisies AU. basically:  

MJ can reanimate the dead with one touch. If that being is left alive for longer than a minute, a life of equal value within proximity is taken in their place. If she touches the reanimated person again, they die permanently. In the story, Peter Parker is mysteriously murdered during a field trip, and it’s up to MJ and Ned, and a newly revived Peter, to solve it. 

not the OFFICIAL synopsis, but it’s getting there :)

47. how many unfinished ideas/stories are you working on at the same time?

TOO MANY lol I was supposed to take a break after Spideychelle Week!! I think right now I’m at 5 actual ideas, and as of yesterday, a title for a 6th. 

49. writing advice

Another thing that I always try to remember, which i haven’t been following lately OOPS, but that’s to try and write ahead as much as you can. I find it really helpful and a lot less stressful if i have some wiggle room! 

Another thing you can do that kinda goes with my first tip, is to just set a timer for 20 minutes and try to write for that amount of time. Take a break for a while, and then you can go back to it! I do this sometimes if I’m starting to feel myself becoming overwhelmed with how much I feel like i need to write. idk, sometimes doing that also helps me!

Thank you for so many asks!!!!

asks for fanfic writers