Alexandra Emerson AMA

ask me anything

Alexandra Emmerson

Author of Timeless, 14 Days and others

Hi!

Welcome. How long did it take you to write Timeless? I loved the story.

Hey! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. It took about four months to write. It was... epic. I don't think I could write something that big and that fast again. It just came about because it was winter and the height of COVID and there wasn't anything else to do. And it was the sort of story I had to write pretty quickly, otherwise I would have forgotten all the details and mixed up the past/present/future.

Wow. That is fast. Thank you for your answer.

Yeah. Now that I have a life again my current story is taking much longer...

Hi Alexandra! Time travel is one of my favorite tropes, but I know from experience that they can be INCREDIBLY hard to keep track of for plot-hole and continuity purposes. So I guess to that end my question for you is kind of a multi-parter:

1) What made you want to take the trope in a more unconventional direction than the usual straight-shot fix-it (which I loved to see!) and
2) What do you feel was the most challenging part of writing this kind of fic?

Thanks!

1) I was inspired by the Time Traveler's Wife. I was just trying to think of new story ideas and was considering stories I liked and when I thought of that book, I was like, "surely there's already a Dramione version of this." I looked it up and no, there wasn't. And then I quickly found out why, because it was pretty freaking hard. But I agree that fix-it time travel fics are hard because it leaves you wondering why they can't just make everything better. I liked the chaotic and uncontrolled nature of the time travel in Timeless and hadn't encountered it in a story before. I just had to think of a way to prevent the 'old man visiting a young girl' part of Time Traveler's wife, as it wouldn't have worked for Dramione, given their past, and was always sort of creepy to me. So I had the idea to confine it to a six-year bounded loop and the rest kicked off from there.
2) The trickiest part of this type of fic is that you have to sit down and outline the entire thing from the start. A lot of writers don't like outlines and even fewer writers can handle a very strict outline, but that had to be done for this story to work, especially since so much of the dialogue and feelings of later scenes was committed to in just the first five chapters of the story. So it took a lot more discipline and planning than normal which is not as fun as just writing, but I think was worth it in the end. The other hard part, keeping it from being too complicated. I still get people telling me they can't get into the story since the jumps don't make sense to them, but oh well. It's definitely not for everyone, and I'm okay with that.

Anecdotally, I actually love the disjointedness of the jumps. I think it helps you relate to the characters a lot more and how it must feel for them. On the note of characters, I loved your depictions of both Draco and Hermione. Do you have one you liked writing more or less than the other? And are either of them or favorite character to write overall, or is it someone else?

Hermione is the easiest for me, as she is me. We have the same personality so I feel like I understand her well. Draco is more fun because he's so snarky, but slightly trickier for me to write. And Harry's just the sweetest. I would say those three are all tied for favorite. And Theo is a really close second favorite. He's just so cute. You didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway, that my least favorite character to write is Ron. I just don't get him.

That's super valid! Ron is hard to write since his triggers sometimes don't make sense.

I know, right? I had to write from his POV for a few chapter in 14 Days and it was like pulling teeth.

Were any of the years more fun to write then other ones?

Oh man, you all are going to think I'm the worst, but I enjoyed the fights the best (so like year 2004?) I think couple fights are so fun and I liked how they looked one way from Draco's POV at the beginning but that when we finally saw what was going on, it was so much more than expected.
And I've told my beta this before but when I'm in the middle of writing big couple blow-outs I'm usually unnecessarily moody with my husband (sort of like when you have a dream about someone and then are angry with them in real life). So he's less of a fan of these scenes... lol

I'm admittedly not very knowledgeable about your fics so I'm curious about this, do you have any fic in particular that you hold close to your heart? And if so, which one?

Oh, easy. One Day at a Time. It's a Harmony fic with a similar premise as 50 First Dates. I got the idea one day, then outlined it that same night, and it poured out of me. I think I finished it (100k words) in three weeks. I think those sort of stories end up being the best, the ones that come so easily.
But funnily it's nowhere close to my most popular. Which is not super surprising. I don't think author favorites typically equate to fan's favorites.

I feel like I've asked you this before, but how far ahead do you normally write before you start posting?

Depends on the story and how complicated the plot is. For Timeless and Counterplay, which are my two most "plot intense" fics, I was about ten chapters ahead. Mainly so I could still adjust earlier chapters to correct errors before they were posted. Though I will admit that I've gone back and adjusted errors in earlier chapters that were already posted before....oops. And then for fics where I want to maintain an update a schedule, I'll make sure I'm about five chapters ahead. And then sometimes I want to be loosey-goosey and post as soon as I'm done writing and editing, which is what I'm doing now. I sort of flip flop around depending on how intense I feel like being.

I thought the Seven Magical Wonders concept was clever in Fourteen Days - I feel like I've heard this concept before so I was curious if it was inspired by anything?

The concept was really just inspired by the Seven Wonders of the World. And it started as a mechanism to fill a plot need. I needed Harry and Hermione to have a reason to be sort of "stuck" with Lily and James, mostly alone, for two weeks. So going on a trip seemed like a good idea. Then I was like, what would they be visiting? And then just thought of the seven wonders of the world, but the magical version.
Those were fun to create, too. And also timely, as I was desperate for travel after being cooped up from COVID, so my imagination was running especially wild.

Which one was your favorite wonder and why?

My favorite wonder to visit if it were real: The Song of the Stars. The Northern Lights are something I actually want to visit one day and the idea of hearing a song that puts all your thoughts /desires /feelings into different melodies is so cool. And the fact that Harry was able to find self acceptance after hearing his song was lovely - I would like that too.
My favorite wonder in the story: The Tear. I'm just really proud of how those chapters turned out on the page.

Hi, are you currently writing other fics?

Yes! I am always writing fics. lol As my friends know, I suck at taking writing breaks between stories. My current WIP is called 'Anywhere' and is a version of 'Timeless' where Hermione is the time jumper instead of Draco.
And that's it. I have several other stories outlined but I'm a 'one WIP at a time' person.

Awesome, thank you for you answer. Do you have any go to pairings you like to read the most?

Not really. I'll read anything that's well-written. I'm reading an H/HR/D fic now called Fourteen Thousand Galleons and Debt of Time. I think I do better when I read a pairing that I'm not currently writing. Otherwise I get confused.
And I read tons of Harmony, since it's what most of my friends write.

Do you have any tips for a novice writer?

Just to write every day (or at least pretty often). I think all my learning came from just doing. And the beginning stuff was shitty and as I went on, it got better. Also, when you get to the hard part of whatever you're writing, trying really hard to resist the urge to give up and write something easier. I think working through the issue builds confidence and makes it easier the next time around.

Do you have any music or anything you listen to when you write? Anything to get the creative juices flowing?

I'm not a music listener. I think it's because I have three kids under five and my life is constant noise and chaos. So the best thing for me is absolute silence. As long as I can get myself in a quiet and comfortable spot, I am good to go. I think it helps that when I'm not writing, I'm thinking through the next scene and playing it out in my mind so when I finally sit down, it's there and I'm ready to go. When I get stuck though, I rarely work through issues in front of the screen. My mind is probably most creative and ready to solve story "problems" when I'm doing something mundane and repetitive (like running or a jigsaw puzzle or crocheting).

Is there a particular commonly loved trope that you find difficult to write? Like the fandom or your readers/audience may enjoy it, but for you it’s hard to get on paper? Why?

Hmmm.... For Dramione it's probably the BSDM-esque smut. I think that's a super common dynamic for people to write between Draco/Hermione and I enjoy reading it, but can't make myself write it for some reason. I probably make my Draco too soft and kind in bed for most of my readers, but I'm trying to expand my horizons. Promise! For Harmony land... I don't do bashing. I know a lot of the Harmony world loves bashing Weasleys and Dumbledore but I can never make it work. Oh, also, I adore crack fics, like so much, but can't write them. I'm not funny enough for that. lol

Have you ever considered writing for different fandoms?

Not really. I'm not obsessed enough with any other worlds or characters. And I'm nervous about getting into the more popular ones everyone talks about because I already have like 30 HP story ideas and the list is ever growing.... But I'll probably give in and at least explore the other fantasy worlds I've heard about, since I think it helps with world-building to see how magic works in different fandoms.

Do you have a fantasy world in mind for whenever you give in?

No idea. I know a lot of people who I can ask though and I'm sure they'll scream recommendations at me.
There's too much to read and write. I need more time, just like all of us. Hopefully I'll still be writing when I retire (which would be weird, probably, writing 20-year olds when I'm that old) but oh well. Then I'll finally have time to read/write everything I want.

continued comment by questionner: I hope that you will continue to enjoy writing when you retire. I also don't think it would be weird to write 20-year olds no matter your age, as long as it's what you want to write. Although there is always the option of the older characters/timeskips etc if you wished to write characters at an older age.

I know. We'll see. I'm trying to keep the hobby enjoyable. It can be tricky, but the hope is to keep it going for awhile and slowly chip away at my "to write" list.

I wish you the best with that. I'm also now looking forward to checking your fics out whenever I'm back to reading HP fics, the ones mentioned before sound pretty interesting.

Do you have a favorite other-era character to read or write? Marauders, Founders, Next Gen, or otherwise?

Marauders! I wrote James and Lily older in 14 Days and it was super fun. I enjoy reading them younger but haven't worked up the courage to write it. I just can't think of a good plot since there are so many constraints setup in canon. Also, it would be sooo sad. I also adore Wolfstar and want to write that too, but again, no story ideas. One day, I'm sure.

Questionner comment: Wolfstar is a lot of fun!

Yes! And soooo much amazing fanart. Writing for a ship with tons of fanart is extra fun.

Is there another ship you’ve never tried that you want to attempt in future?

Hmmm. Well my beta really wants me to write Filch/Pince. Hah! Kidding. I do have a Neville/Ginny story semi-outlined I intend to write but other than that, nothing else. Not at this time. Besides attempting Wolfstar and Jily, and maybe circling back to Scorbus again, I'm good. I have sooo many Harmony/Dramione story ideas I need to get to, the last thing I need is to discover that I'm in love with another ship and didn't even realize it.
Oh and Nevmione. Duh. I'm writing that. Soon (ish)