hd_writers | Interview with lomonaaeren!

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Our second

hd_writers interview is with

lomonaaeren, author of fabulous stories such as The Marriage of True Minds, Practicing Liars, and Veela-Struck. You can also view her many other wonderful stories on her ff.net page.

I hope you are inspired by Lomona's writing methods! If you have additional questions, she will be available to answer them in the comments!

Approximately how many stories would you say you've written for fandom? Original work? Well, I've written a few hundred stories for HP fandom (200 under this name!) I have a couple of dozen complete original novels.

How long on average are your stories? Do you prefer to write shorter fics or longer? Why? If you can trust FF.net (which I don't, particularly), the average length of all my stories put together is 33,000 words. But I definitely write a lot of short one-shots as well as novel-length stories. Generally, I prefer longer ones because I have more time to develop the plot.

Where do you find your inspiration? Everywhere. Dreams, common twists on other fanfic and original novel plots that I would have liked to see, mixing two plots together to see what comes out of them, and taking a cliche and trying to rehabilitate it are probably the most common.

What's the first thing you do when an idea comes to you? Usually, subject it to criticism. I know that probably sounds weird, but I have so many ideas that I can afford not to keep the ones that have gaping plot holes or would require too much setup for the payoff (like, say, really weird AUs).

Do you have to be in the zone to write or is it more about consistency and dicipline? More about discipline. There are times I slack on fics, but I always write fest fics to deadline, for example.

How many fics do you typically work on at a time? Three main novel-length ones, and three or four WiPs that are updated more slowly, plus some one-shots I'm picking away at.

How do you like to work? Quiet? Music? Where? Always with music. I live on a busy street with tons of noise that would otherwise distract me. I use a desktop instead of a laptop since both the screen and the keyboard are bigger.

Do you have a writing schedule or routine? Everyday? Certain time of day? Certain number of words? Number of minutes? It tends to change with my work schedule, but yes, I do try to write every day. Chapters of my WiP are usually 4000 words, while my one-shots vary a lot more. I usually write between 5000 and 7000 words every day.

What are your writing habits? Editing as I go along- something all the writing books say is bad for you, but it means fewer mistakes to cope with at the end. Typing really fast. Sometimes getting a better idea in the middle of a scene and going with it instead.

Do you force yourself to write even when you don't want to? Yes. When I'm extremely sick or worried, it doesn't work, but it does most of the rest of the time.

Do you keep a handwritten journal? No. I write a lot by hand in my daily job. For fun writing, I prefer to type.

Do you plan or outline your stories in any way? Can you describe your process? A few of my long stories- especially ones where everything led up to a big reveal of a secret- I've planned. The rest I usually have a beginning scene in mind, sometimes an ending, and I jump out and see where it goes. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.

What motivates you to keep writing? Because it's fun. Isaac Asimov said that to be a prolific writer you must not like much of anything but writing, and that's true for me.

How do you stay excited about your writing? New stories (sometimes to the detriment of old ones). New ideas. Coming up with those ideas I mentioned in the middle of scenes.

How do you stay focused while working on longer fics? Because there are always Good Parts somewhere around the corner: that ending scene I might have in mind, the explosion of tension between two characters, or maybe just the moment they finally get together. Sometimes there's a lot of boring middle to get through first, although I try not to make it too boring, but it's worth it.

Do you find deadlines stressful or helpful? Helpful, unless they're the kind that spring on you the night before! I think one of the best fics I wrote last year was a pinch-hit with a very tight turnaround of about ten days.

What is your biggest challenge in writing and how do you overcome it? Too much introspection and analysis of emotions, not enough action. I'm not sure I have overcome it, yet, but I experimented this year with characters who do more things casually and impulsively. Results were mixed. I'll try something else next.

Do you have a system for organizing your story ideas and notes? Not really. I do occasional posts about story ideas, but most remain in my head until I write them.

Do you write in a linear form, from beginning to end, or do you jump around as the muse strikes? Always beginning to end. Because I often don't know much about what the middle will contain, I have to go linearly. The exception is sometimes I think I have to include a scene that I decide to cut because it'll add nothing to the story.

Do you have your story planned from start to finish or do you just start writing and let the rest work itself out? Just start writing. A solid beginning is much commoner for me than a solid ending.

What are your tips to overcoming writer's block/slump? Work on something else, at least if you can. Introduce something totally unexpected (the old writing chestnut is "And then a man with a gun comes through the window") and see how it changes the story. Work out what in the story is causing the problem- lack of ideas for plot resolution? too many cliches? a plot that you don't really want to write?- and see if that helps.

What do you do if you lose interest in a fic? Especially if you are writing for a deadline? Grit my teeth and push on. This has happened sometimes with fics written to prompts, where I really didn't share the kinks I was writing about, but there I can at least have the satisfaction of knowing it's done.

What sources or websites do you find helpful for writing tips and information? Author blogs. I have read how-to-write books, but I don't have any specific titles to recommend that were really good.

Do you share your writing process along the way with a support group of friends, betas or cheerleaders? No. I've had betas in the past, but most of them, unfortunately, just can't keep up with my speed.

Have you ever co-written a story with someone? No. I'm too much of a control freak. Same reason I don't RP; it would be a disaster because I would get anxious about where the story is going and want to wrench it back when I thought something was too OOC.

How have you evolved as a writer over time? I (like to) think that my ear for dialogue has become better. I used to be terrified of writing sex scenes; now I'm okay at it. Being more sympathetic to minor characters is still a challenge for me, but I think I can avoid outright bashing.

What is your favorite fic you've written and why is it your favorite? Hard choices, since it often changes when I've finished a fanfic I really struggled with. At the moment, I think it's The Marriage of True Minds; a lot of people responded well to it, and it was an idea that had been in my mind for years, so seeing it emerge fully-formed was wonderful.

Thank you again Lomona for taking the time to share your writing processes with us! It is very much appreciated!