Saras_Girl AMA

ask me anything

Saras_Girl

Turn and Foundations and more iconic drarry

disclaimer

AMA contains spoilers to Saras_Girl works.

Hi Saras_Girl! I’m so excited you are here. My question is which of your fics was your favorite to write and why?

Hi, that is such a good question and so hard to answer. I think probably 'It Takes a Village' as it just spilled out in a few days without any fuss and it took me to a nice place. I was asked to pinch hit for a pinch hitter in a fest so it was last minute but I had so much fun!

How long did it take you to write 'Turn'?

Hi! You know what, I'm not sure because I posted as I was writing so there were gaps when I was doing other things but maybe a year? The chapters were super long and I completed maybe one a month roughly. It felt like it was part of my life for longer, though and I was devastated when I finished writing and realised it was over!

Hi! I love your drarry fics, they're some of my favourites! I have a few questions but I'll try to go easy on them.
My first one is -- Every Draco & Harry you write are somewhat different. No matter the "time" in their lives, they are always different, and always compliment each other. How do you match & pair those different personality aspects? Because they never feel awfully out of character, and that's also rather fascinating in itself!

Hello! I hope I can get to all your questions. I wish I could answer this better but I just... I start with 'okay, so maybe Harry is a Healer' or whatever and then it just snowballs in my head. Maybe he's like this and maybe Draco is like that, and it just sort of builds itself. If you're asking if I sit down with some sort of process and match them up, no! I'm pretty chaotic as a person and as a writer too. Sorry it's not a better response!

Animal companions are so prominent and lovely in most of your stories, and I wonder if you have pets of your own? Where do you find your inspiration for these lovely little creatures that we end up welcoming into our hearts like little Stanley or Misu?

YES. I have two cats, two guinea pigs, three fish tanks and a snake. I LOVE animals and feel like every little thing has its own life and personality so it's more a case of who can I choose NEXT? I really love the animals that are maligned and giving them charm and making them loved and I love that you guys go there with me like hey, what if a beetle was massive and adorable? I wanna write more about Stanley.

I love the level of detail you put in your works (like the ledge for fruit for Ken in 'Light up the Night') and how Draco is a little weird in such an endearing way ('If the Fates Allow')--where do you get inspiration for the details that make your stories magical?

Thank you. I'm not sure but the details are LIFE to me. I've never been a big plot author and I just like to write about people and their weird little lives. I just let my imagination run wild and like for Ken, I just imagined Harry's house and how he would make a chameleon happy and I looked into what they like and it just spiralled. I think the magic is just in sharing every weird little thought I have, which my wife would tell you is just what I am like irl too.

Hi !!! I love your fics! I was wondering how do you feel about translations since I always wanted to translate 'Turn' to Spanish.

Yes yes I love translations, art, stories inspired by, all of that stuff. As long as you link to my original fic and give credit, I'm happy for you to translate away.

Hi! Could you describe your writing process? For long stories like 'Turn' and 'Reparation' or the "shorter" advent fics?

Oh my goodness. As I said before, if I have a process it's chaos. I have an idea, like 'what if Harry and Draco had a coffee shop' or 'I want to write about them being friends and things being awkward' and I usually talk to my wife because she's an amazing sounding board and also a big reader and she adds ideas and we shape them and then I write a ton of mad notes in Word and carry on until I force myself to start the 'real' writing, then I incorporate and change stuff as I go along. I am not an editor, in that I proof but hardly ever take anything out. I write with classical music on my sofa with my laptop and usually cats.

I absolutely love how you describe the emotions of your characters. It's usually simple and to the point, but never dry and always written in a way that makes you feel what the character is feeling. I was wondering, how do you get so into the characters' shoes?

Thank you. I think I have always had an ability to imagine anything from someone else's perspective. It makes me neurotic and probably a nightmare to work with but I think I'm quite empathic and I find it natural to do, to the point where I don't think 'what is Harry thinking' because I'M Harry and I'm living the story. I tend to describe emotions in the way that they physically feel because I find it connects me to the moment better, like he's not just sad, his chest HURTS with it. I hope that makes sense.

What I love about your Drarry characterisation is how they (in several brilliant fics!) go from acquaintances to lovers in this slow, gentle build. Your fics feel laden with the warmth and comfort of a weighted blanket. Could you tell us your favourite thing about writing the boys as you do? What keeps you coming back to them over and over?

Honestly, the exact thing you said. Slow build, pining, aching, wanting but being afraid to have. UST, oh my goodness. If I could just write stuff where they want each other but are mired in anxiety and longing, I would. I sometimes feel sad to break it so they can get together. The two characters just have this back and forth tension and chemistry that I will always love.

So first of all I LOVE YOU AND YOUR WORKS BRING ME HAPPINESS SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WRITING THEM. I have a lot of friends that love you to pieces too!!! Also, your wife sounds really nice, please send her my regards!!
This question is just here to justify that bit of fangirling at the beginning but: how much time do you spend on your OCs? Like do you have character charts or something? They're always so nicely fleshed out and it's really easy to get invested in them, even if you're not really one for original characters. Props for that!!

Thank you very much!
I told my wife and she looked very pleased. She is sitting next to me playing the Sims and she is indeed very nice! Character charts hahahahaahahahahaa I am not organised like that. I have never filled out a character sheet in my life. I envy that level of planning. My way is more organic and messy. I just sort of pick them out of the air. I am so lucky to have an imagination that just makes things for me to play with. I have a head full of people all the time and they all want to be represented, so I do my best. Some are inspired by people I know, too. My mother inspires a lot of the wiser characters!

Hi! It's so exciting to see you here. I've been reading your incredible stories for years, and they have a very special place in my heart. Your writing inspires me to write. Thank you for sharing your gift with us! 'All Life is Yours to Miss' is one of my all time favorite fics (and Stanley is one of my favorite of your wonderful creatures). You mentioned chatting about a new story -- no pressure, of course, but would you be willing to share a bit about what you're working on? So glad you're feeling back on your feet and prioritizing your health (and in the meantime am going to continue to enjoy much rereading). Thank you!

Thank you. It's been impossible to write and I've been trying not to put pressure on myself but I don't feel quite whole when I don't have a story on the go. The new story is one of those awkward 'we are friends and something changed and I can't I can't I can't' sort of things. It's set over a year, much of it at a beach house. There is a seagull friend! Btw Stanley is probably my favourite too.

My datemate and my anniversary is coming up and we both love 'Turn'. I was wondering if it was okay if I printed it out and bound it into a hardcover book so that we could have physical copies for my anniversary present to them! Sorry if this type of question has been asked before !!

Hey, thank you! Please go ahead and do that. A couple of people have before and it amuses me to think how big the book will be.

You've written a lot of advent fics, and many of your stories have Christmas / the holidays as a major turning point (or theme). It's always significant somehow! What's your thought process for that?

I really love Christmas. I genuinely think it's a time of year that FEELS magical, like something amazing and unexpected could happen under all those little lights. I stopped loving it as a teenager and then I met my wife at 23 and she was SO festive and she brought me around, so it's very special. We have a lot of rituals. All that Foundations verse stuff with the Christmas tree was based on real events our first year together. I also love the challenge of the advent fic, using every single day to tell the story and finishing with everyone together and happy.

Do you read back your own stories? What do you think of them?

Yes! When I first started writing fic it was for CSI and I had run out of fics to read as it's a smaller fandom, so I thought fine, I'll write myself one. Then I can make it what I call 'Nat proof' which means I can avoid words and plot devices that ruin stories for me. I'm so fussy it annoys me constantly. When I read back it's a split between 'good god this is terrible' and 'this is good, I'll never write this well again!' O.o

This might be an odd question but in 'Turn' Draco's tattoo is described as "There, directly above the Mark, barely an inch from the crease of the elbow, are four neatly-inked black letters: T U R N" are there actually spaces between the letters in your vision of the word Turn (or is that just Harry reading) and would you ever share when Draco got his tattoo in that timeline specifically? I'm sure it was a really profound emotional moment, mid or post war.

Again, just you're the best and I'm totally geeking out about you being here and your wife liking the Sims (my other love of decades haha). Thank you kindly for taking the time and to the Professors here for facilitating!

It's my goal to get it as a tattoo someday

It's not odd, I get obsessed with details all the time. I think it is sort of spaced out, I imagined that it would be clear they are separate letters. When I got my tattoo (in the same place, right above my dark mark) the artist put dots so mine is a little different, which I quite like. I think he got the tattoo pretty quickly after the end of the war. I imagine he wouldn't have had time before but it was important to him for starting his new life, and I think Harry would have been with him. Geek away, this is SO much fun!

Hi! I'm Phoebe, and I'm a new Drarry author and first I just want to say thank you for all your stories! They've been a huge inspiration to me, particularly 'Turn' and 'All Life Is Yours To Miss'. I've been a writer for years, but I've only been writing fanfiction for about a month (Ive been reading fanfic for like 2 years). I've only been able to write short fics so far, up to about 3k. Any advice for writing long stuff?

Hi Phoebe! You are welcome, thank you for reading and I'm so happy they have inspired you. I'm not sure how to advise on how to write long fics because I have the opposite problem... everything I write comes out WAY longer than I mean it to. I think the reason is because I love details and I put in little scenes that don't advance the plot but just made me happy to imagine. I think I just fail to edit! Maybe the take away is don't ignore inspiration or take things out because they aren't 'important'. Little things are what make life interesting.

Hello Saras_Girl, I just wanted to say that ‘this summer’ is my favorite comfort fic (and my holy grail of pining). Do you have any tips on how to keep pining nuanced? Or any elements you kept in mind when writing Drarry’s relationship for that particular story? (Thank you!)

OMG I love 'holy grail of pining'! I'll take that. I am an afficionado of pining! As for how to do it... I think for me it's that old 'show don't tell' thing. My year 8 english teacher taught me that and it's such great advice. I try to show what e.g. Harry feels by letting his thoughts run wild and showing a change in his behaviour, and by describing physically how he feels, rather than, say, saying that he misses/loves Draco. Does that make sense? In 'This Summer', I felt a lot of it was linked with the rising tension and heat of the weather than finally breaks in a summer storm.

Was there a scene or story that was particularly emotional for you to write? Like in 'Turn', when Harry comes out to Arthur, I was BAWLING lmao.

OMG yes definitely. That one definitely made me tear up too. Another difficult one was when Romilda died in 'Foundations'. I didn't want to do it but I had to. And that one fic no one talks about, which I wrote while sobbing throughout. To be honest though, any time Harry's eyes sting with tears mine usually have when I'm writing. Ooh, and when he talks to Molly and she says 'I'm your mother'.

Hey Saras_Girl, thrilled to have you here. my question is about 'Foundations'. This story series has inspired my writing progression and I constantly use it as my goal in quality. Question: what inspired the string and flapjack Thursday?

Wow, thanks very much
Trying to remember back now... the string was a little thing I just imagined Draco doing that became a THING and that happens a lot. I write something casual and then it comes back again and again. I think it's my idea of romance, like tiny things that would be nothing to someone else, but to you and your person, they are everything. My wife has a string. She has had a number of them over the years as they wear out. Flapjacks... I'm not sure but I do want to say once and for all that I mean the oaty British kind and not the American kind. Why are they both called flapjacks??

Not a question, but the fic no one talks about is a fic I go back to every time I have a bad day. Just to get it all out. Thanks for writing it, it's been there for me through many breakdowns.

That is actually really nice to hear because I know it's a REALLY sad fic and I feel bad for upsetting people. I like the idea it has a purpose in purging sadness!

[Editor's Note: This is about the fic 'The Next Twenty Four Hours']

Hi! I absolutely adored 'Turn' (could write sonnets!) but I just recently finished 'Reparations' and 'Foundations', so that's on my mind. I absolutely adore the way that you wrote St. Mungos (and esp Chem Dep); it felt like a real hospital to me, without being too jargony either. You did a fantastic job of melding the magical and mundane.

With that in mind, what was the most difficult part of writing St. Mungos for you?

Haha, I would love to read a Turn sonnet! I'm so happy it felt real. I loved writing it because I have worked in a hospital as an auxiliary nurse and also in a rehab and also been IN a rehab so at that time it was combining so many of my worlds together. I think the hardest part was making sure they didn't just have fun all the time like my brain wanted them to (think episode of 'Scrubs'...) because I wanted it to be realistic and new doctors are worked really hard and can be dumped on a lot by patients and more senior staff. But that gave me the chance for that sort of gallows humour camaraderie which was a lot of fun to write.

Do you have a favorite smut scene you've ever written? For example, the ballroom mirror scene in 'Turn'. There are NO WORDS for its brilliance.

Wow this is a hard question (pun unintended). I just asked my wife and she says the one on the stairs in 'On a Clear Day' and the ballroom scene. Also the rimming one from 'Foundations'. I have a particular attachment to the Christmas Eve one in 'Helix' in the boys dorm but there are probably loads more. I liked writing the long lead up to the sex from the bookshop in 'Salt on the Western Wind'. I really have to get myself in gear to write sex scenes, I feel so awkward when I start!

Hi! Thank you for joining us. I love your (OC-) children characters like Maura and Clive. Where do you find the inspiration to write these kids and how do you work to make them act and talk 'age-appropriate'?

I always struggle with this question because I am kind of scared of kids. I don't know what to do with them! I am 35 and I have no children but I suspect I am still a child inside so I just imagine myself as a ten year old or whatever and it's easy to do! It's a skill I'm really, really lucky as a writer to have because I am not very social at all. I love writing kids because they say whatever tf they are thinking and it's refreshing and funny. Clive is small and fearful and Maura is confident and full of questions and Al is WEIRD and I love being every one of them
I don't know how I get it right but I always try to make them just like little humans. Which they might be...

Are there any authors you're inspired by/look up to, fandom or otherwise?

My first favourite author in fandom was Cheryl Dyson and I still think she's awesome. I wanted to write humour and sex as well as her. Outside of that, I read James Herriot and Gerald Durrell as a child and I still do. I loved how they described animals and eccentric people in general. I have just started getting into the Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards which is a M/M sort of fantasy action and I love how it blends regular things with magical in a way that feels so normal. Definitely recommend.

You’ve given us some of the most memorable characterizations ever, and I wonder, do you also read Drarry fic? What kind of characterization or tropes do you prefer?

Thank you! I don't read much fic besides re-reading my own at the moment but I sort of dip in and out of it. I like lighthearted things mostly. I will read a darker story but god it has to be worth it! I like group dynamics, found families, animals (obviously) UST, surprises, people doing things you wouldn't expect, slow burn. I like there to be a rivalry or tension but not too much animosity. I like a Harry who is a bit ruffled and confused and a Draco who's frosty or a bit odd. Friends to lovers. Wtf are you doing here in my life? I am forced to spend time with you!

And what are some of your all time favorite stories, the way yours are close to all our hearts?

I am so bad at answering this question because I haven't read any fic for a while but one that comes back and nags at my head is 'Tempus Fugit'. I honestly read my own or my wife's more than anything because I am SUCH a giant pain in the ass for getting thrown out of a story by a word or single line I don't like.

Hi!! I love all your stories so much, thank you for writing them!! Each one is so unique and special with their own details and they’re just amazing!! You’re literally my favorite Drarry writer ever (I’m always bugging all my Drarry friends to read all your stories) so this is such an honor to talk to you!! (also hello to your wife I hope she’s enjoying the sims!) I adore your advent fics, they all put such a big smile on my face (even when harry is being so oblivious) so my question is, which advent fic of yours is your favorite and why?

Thank you! For recommending me and just for being so nice
She is enjoying herself I think. She says she is trying to get two characters to be best friends. It baffles me but she seems to know what she's doing. That's a hard question because all my advent stories are really close to my heart but if I push myself I have to say 'Helix' because I LOVE snails and I was so happy writing about them so much. Plus it's my only Hogwarts era advent so it's special.

'Turn' literally changed my life. Like Harry I was unhappy with my career and after reading it actually made a change after reading the fic. The story means so much to me, and I related to it a lot. That said, Blaise was one of my absolute favorite side characters in it, and we make bathtub gin jokes in our Drarry server now. Do you have a favorite side character and/or side pairing to write? If so, who and why?

That's amazing, seriously, it makes me feel very humbled to think I helped make your life happier. Bathtub gin! God, I love Blaise. I saw him so clearly in 'Turn' and he's been that way in my head ever since. I really like Blaise/Ginny but also Ron and Hermione have this domestic loving bickering thing going on that makes me happy and they'll always be there in the background. I like to suggest pairs like Remus/Snape or even Lucius/Snape when I'm being daft, in fact, in silly fics the weirder the better! I also love Narcissa where I can fit her in. She's so classy and arch and a delight to write.

I'm still not over you saying you don't edit... is this something you've taught yourself not to or does it come naturally? I will edit and edit forever.

I just can't do it. If I put something in, it just wants to stay in! Apart from typos and using the same word fifteen times in a sentence, I don't really change anything. I suppose some part of me is just like 'that's how you wrote it, that's how it was supposed to be'. I feel like I should edit more but I'm probably not going to start now!

Hi!! 'Turn' was the first drarry fic I read and I absolutely loved it. Mephisto Marley is a character that’s been stuck in my head since I read the 'Foundations' verse though, I adored him. I’m wondering if you could tell us what happened to him after though, whether he ever find anyone or anything like that?

That makes me happy. I really like Marley, I think he's a really interesting character. I think he would continue to work at Foundations because he's good at it and he likes working with Draco even though they drive each other mad. Obviously he knows he can't have Harry but I bet he ends up with someone like him - you know, strong and rugged and magically powerful - and when Harry meets him it's like... 'oh, dear god'.

I’m still a bit dazzled that you’re here and I can ask you questions. Sorry if this has already been asked, but I was wondering how you say goodbye to a story. So many of your stories are so long and you just spend so much time in those worlds. Do you miss them? Do you still think about the characters? Are you sad? Thank you for every word you’ve given us

Thank you, and YES. I find it really hard to let go. Usually when I write the last line of a story I am in tears. I get so attached and I am unbelievably sad that my time in that universe is over. Hence why I end up writing so many additions to long stories, I want to go back there! I do think about them too. I wonder what 'Turn' Harry and Draco are doing, like last year they turned 40 and I wondered how they would celebrate and what Misu would think about it all. It makes me want to write more in that story just thinking about it, and the brilliant thing is, I can!

Hiiii, ok I am so glad you are here and I just want to take a fangirl moment to say I discovered fanfiction through your writing 3 years ago when I was going through a very hard time and it was so helpful to me. I read every single piece of your writing on AO3 in like a 2 week period then felt bereft when it was all over, but I have come back to your fics time and time again, particularly 'Turn' and my other favorite 'All Must Draw Near' a lot of others have asked about some of my favorite parts of your writing (animals! Amazing OCs!) but I want to ask how you decided Draco smells like lemons and likes stripey things?? And why you keep this detail consistent in your stories even as you reinvent them over and over? The first time I read a fic where Draco was described as smelling like leather or oak or whatever I was like NO he smells like lemons!

Hi! I'm so happy you found your way to this amazing fandom through my writing! I too feel bereft - that is exactly the word - when I finish writing a story. I love your question! I think Draco first smelled like lemons and liked stripy things in 'Reparations', which was my first HD fic other than a tiny oneshot, and I felt like once I'd established that it was someone part of my own personal canon and I kept it! Harry's scent can change but Draco's never does, a bit like the way that Harry always eats a lot of toast and drinks a lot of tea and coffee, or Ron is always a good cook (and Hermione isn't) and it's always important to have a Good Clean to improve your mental state. I think after all this time I'd it to amuse myself and anyone else who's paying attention. My wife calls it 'Nat Bingo'.

If you’ll allow me, based on what you’ve said you enjoy, if you’re ever feeling up for an achingly lovely, entirely moving story, I would love to recommend grounds for 'divorce' by tepre.

My last question is this one: what advice would you give a writer who is only starting to venture into the pairing?

Thank you! Though I'm scared it will be sad! I'm such a wuss. My advice would be: be yourself. There are so many conventions and clichés and people who thinks Draco should be like this and Harry should be like that and it's at best restrictive and at worst completely numbing. Write them how YOU want to see them and write something that YOU would want to read.

What's your favourite type of comment to get?

One about the details! It makes me SO happy when someone mentions something I put in to amuse myself or a geeky reference or just that they liked how Draco sat in a particular scene or how Harry failed at describing something or whatever. I also love it when people say that something I wrote helped them somehow.

Hi, first of all I want to say you are my fanfic-author role model. I feel honoured to even be here. I was wondering, when you write a story do you as soon as you start know what feeling will be at the heart of your story / a focus, or does that also come naturally while you write the story?

Wow, thank you! I am honoured to be here too, this whole experience is wonderful! I think usually I know what the heart of the story is, but sometimes I can be several chapters in before I suddenly realise... oh, THIS is what this is all about! And it's like a lightbulb moment and a huge relief. The story always starts to come together much more easily then. My wife calls this moment 'the story has legs'!

Thank you for all the wonderful replies. Do you mostly write in chronological order? Or do you sometimes write later parts first?

You are welcome, I am having so much fun. Usually I write in order but I note all over the place. When I think of a line or idea or scene I scribble it down on the nearest thing (sometimes an envelope or ripped open pill packet or my arm) and then type it in my document in a chaotic way and use it later. So I can have a whole scene that needs tidying up but I have a terrible memory and if I don't note it, I lose it.

I know I said it was my last question but your replies are so insightful that q’s keep popping into my head!
hahaha. Do you usually have a time when you prefer to write? Or are you the kind of writer who gets the words out whenever possible?

Nooo I love the questions! I have this annoying tendency to think of something like a whole scene when I trying to sleep at night but I scribble it down so it gets out of my head and deal with it the next day. I used to have terrible insomnia and write in the middle of the night but I'm a little better now and prefer to write during the day as my mind is clearer then. I'm quite ritualistic and like certain music and certain places to sit for proper writing but when ideas come they must be listened to!

Thank you so much for being here! 'Turn' and 'Reparations' as our library reads in January and March got me a loooong way into shipping Drarry, and then I just sorted your AO3 one-shots by most bookmarks and went from there.

I've noticed that in a lot of your fics, Draco is already "reformed" or at least having a change of heart. What do you like about starting his character arc there? Have you written any fics where you explore more directly how he gets to that point? (analogous to his rehab time in the Foundationsverse, for example)

I am loving being here, thank you! Good question and I'm not really sure why I do that. Perhaps because I tend to write them older (unless it's fluffy!verse and I am pretending Voldemort doesn't exist) so Draco is already there because I imagine he goes through that transition as a young person. I don't think it's a conscious choice as much as just the way it happens for me. I would consider writing his journey one day. In 'All Life is Yours to Miss' he talks a little more about his youth, including living in Glasgow.

Your answers are so insightful and it's such a treat to have you here with us!! Every author draws inspiration from different things, and I'd really love to know some of what inspires your ideas and thoughts, especially when it comes to fic.

I feel like I'm rambling, so that's really nice, thanks. In answer to your question, a lot of the time it's real life. Conversations I have had with my wife have inspired fics. People in my life who are wise, like my mother and my counsellor, who taught me 'there is generosity in receiving' among other things! I often let my mind wander and think 'what if?' and then that starts a whole thing. Sometimes I see an animal I like and write about it. It's amazing there aren't more fics about spiders to be honest. Nature is a big deal to me. I think I can literally be inspired by anything.

I'm not sure comments will ever be enough to express everything I've felt all of the times I've read your works...(I was reading 'Turn' when it was published and I've read it...a lot, since.)

Have you ever thought of setting up a Patreon? Not necessarily to write for people but for readers like me who would love & are able to compensate all the hours I've spent enjoying your stories

Bless you. I will look into it, but I honestly don't need anything. This is an amazing reward all by itself. You guys make me feel inspired!

I'm really loving this read through, and all your answers, and am desperately trying to keep in my fannish excitement. If I could ask one more question (though I imagine you're exhausted! Thank you for all your responses!!) -- what's one piece of advice you would give yourself when you first started writing? Thank you again and I'm looking forward to meeting Conrad and anything else you might share with us in the future

I'm a little tired but excited and please ask anything you want to! That's such a cool question... I think it would be simply 'believe in yourself. You have a unique style and people will be here for it'. I think I was too worried at the beginning what people would think and I still worry about if people are going to like a new story. Perhaps I should just tell my previous self 'STOP WORRYING'.

What are some of your writing pet peeves?

Do you mean things that other people do or things that I do?

In others? I suppose you wouldn't do your pet peeves in your own writing anyway :p

Haha. You'd be surprised how often I annoy myself. Before I say this, these are things that trip my stupid little brain, not things I think people shouldn't do or enjoy. But. exclusive top/bottom roles. One of them being feminised in order to achieve said roles. Everyone hating Draco. Homophobia in place of plot. Break ups. Cheating. Epithets. Weird euphemisms in sex scenes. Overly clinical words in sex scenes. Rushing to get to the sex scenes. Cliched trash talk. Weird obsession with ritualised preparation. Lube spells right up the arse. Why are so many of these about sex scenes. Shut up, Nat.

You've written so much through the years! How did you get started in fanfic writing? And has your process or experience of being a fic writer changed over time?

I have! It's crazy to think how many words I have written! Back in 2008 I got really into CSI and through a fan forum discovered slash fiction (Nick/Greg). I started writing my own because I ran out of stories and also I wanted to write fic for myself that didn't have any of the weird things that put me off. I tried it and people seemed to like it! Then once again I ran out of things to read and thought hmm... I like Harry Potter, I bet there are LOTS of stories... who can I pair him with? Draco was the OBVIOUS choice and off I went. I went from being a big fish in a small pond to a tiny fish in an ocean but I definitely found my home. My process is much the same but I have become less worried about obeying conventions and happier to just do whatever tf I want, partly because you guys are so supportive. So thanks!

Related to that: are there any part of your craft you still feel like you need to work on?

That's interesting... probably! I mean, everyone can get better and I do think I've progressed as a writer over the years, mainly because I've found and become confident in my own way of doing things, who I am and what I sound like. I wish I could write big plot driven stories with complicated twists, I really admire that, but I always get mired in the tiny details of relationships and maybe that's just who I'm supposed to be.

Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this; I've loved reading your answers so far. One of my favorites of yours is "All Life is Yours to Miss" because it feels like such a character-driven story (more about Draco than Draco and Harry's relationship, if that makes sense). Do you prefer writing stories that focus on a specific character arc or the relationship in general?

I really like this question. And I'm not sure what the answer is. I think like both equally. I love writing about how someone develops and learns and changes, how their experiences shape them and how the people they love (and don't) alter them. But I would be sad if I didn't write the interaction, the pining, the aching, so I suppose the ideal thing is a combination of both and I think that's what I try to do.

Ooh that brings the question, what’s your favorite kind of magic to write and explore?

btw @emaly, i bet sex magic CAN be well done, just... i haven't seen it yet. I enjoy things that would be useful that we just don't have, like a stasis charm or a charm to keep your tea warm. Also anything that's got a bit of drama to it, so something explodey or transformative. I think some of the most fun I had was in 'Turn' when Harry was charming wood and blowing glass. And all the magic that animals can do.

I've got one more question if you feel like it! What's something (a story, a setting, a creature) you haven't yet written, but want to write?

Yesssss so many things. I have this idea for Harry and Draco getting stuck on a boat that I haven't done anything with yet. I would like to write more with sea creatures generally. I have a dark story with a happy ending concerning Horcruxes too.

Before you leave is LJ the best platform to follow you on and support you? Thank you for all the time you've spent with us all today

You are welcome, thanks for all the questions! LJ is the place I post the most and I want to make more of an effort to update about my life when I'm not writing. I think all my fics are on AO3 as well. I'm rubbish at keeping things up so this has been amazing!

And on that note, any tips on writing not laughable sex scenes?

Yes. Focus on feelings and sensations rather than anatomy. You can write a really hot sex scene without even mentioning a penis, I'm pretty sure. Put yourself in their position and just imagine. Use all your senses. Don't use the word penis. Lol.