NonCanon Awards 2016

Interview by the lovely Star. February 9, 2016. The original interview can be found here.

I’m going to get back into the hang of things with interviews! So everyone I’d like to intro Buggy! She has graciously agreed to answer our questions for you all! Welcome Buggy!

Thanks for having me 🙂

So we are going to start out with some basic information for all of you.

All of me? Last time I checked, I’m a single person. No twin. *looks around* Nope. Just me.

Can you please tell the people reading this your name?

Buggy. Last time someone called me Anita was… well, real life related. And I don’t like the real world.

Where do you like to post, and can you give us the site of your preferred medium?

I usually post on fanfiction.net (buggyfiction), my wordpress site and BetterInTexas.

What do you like to snack on when writing?

I usually eat crisps/chips. And I’m a smoker.

Like the question above but what do you listen to when you write, do you have a playlist for certain stories?

Not really. I listen to Lindsey Stirling a lot when writing because her music has (barely) no words and instrumental music keeps you going whilst writing. Less distraction from words.

Tell us something about yourself that you think your fans would love to know about:  

What? How am I to know what people would love to know about me?

Thanks.  That gives us some basic information.  Now, about the writing –   I know you’re excited…

Why did you start writing?

When I was in primary school and saw that my pencil could create words on paper, I started to write. Later, I started to write in English because I loved the language and I had no one else to talk English with but my papers.

What do you enjoy the most about it?

I love putting characters into difficult positions and see how they work their way through it. How the psychology of it all works itself out and how the situation will alter, or not alter, the character’s personality.

What do you like least about it?

I find that there aren’t any downsides to writing, as long as real life doesn’t interfere that much. In this day and age, you can practically write everywhere with google drive. It’s been a long time since I wrote anything by hand (also mainly because holding a pen is agonizing these days).

That first time hitting publish, how did you feel?

I can’t remember. I know that I first started to publish my things online in 2004/2005 and I just posted it for the heck of it.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Reading books, watching shows, reading up on psychology… bouncing ideas off of Meeko or my RL friend.

What is your writing area like do you use computer or paper, or both?  Or another medium?

My desk is in my kitchen. I barely make use of my living room area as I need to keep an eye on Destructo!Kitty and the kitchen is a central point in my house. Also it’s next to the heater and everything I need food wise is within reach. Two years ago I had someone build me a monster of a computer that can handle just about anything as my laptop was severely lacking. There’s usually some bits and bobs on my table, but most importantly there are my smokes, my drink, my snacks.

Do you use an outline, rough draft or just write?

It depends. These days it starts with notes and a general time line/outline. When I know that it’ll be a short story I’ll do without.

What do you do while you’re writing (listen to music, TV in the background, etc.)?

If I’m writing solo, I like to play music. Instrumental music as not to distract me from writing. When I’m collaborating with Meeko, we’re usually on skype. Hell, even when we’re not collaborating we’re on skype. Getting distracted while writing.

What annoys you the most when you are trying to write?

The inability to get words in the proper order to make a sentence appear. Or someone bursting my bubble of silence when I’m writing, often losing train of thought. I guess I’m fortunate that I live by myself and my Destructo!Kitty.

If you have finished a fic, what was your feeling on it?

I’ve finished quite a lot of fics over the years, and every time I’m surprised when I complete one. Last year I felt very accomplished by what I’ve put out. Not just quantity, but also quality. When you’ve been writing for so long, it’s interesting to see actual growth.

What are your favorite fandoms to write?

Right now I like using fandom bicycle Bella Swan from Twilight and put her with some better, proper vampires from The Originals. Or even witches. Or you know… anything?

Who are your favorite characters to write

Currently:

Bella Swan (Twilight), because she was such a bland character and it’s great to give her some personality and real hell to go through.

Kol Mikaelson (The Originals), because damnit, he’s adorkable and misunderstood and if it wasn’t for Finn, he’s on the lowest ranking of the Mikaelson family. Poor boy.

Klaus Mikaelson (The Originals), because it’s hard to live under your brother’s scrutiny all the time. He just wants to be free but needs his family to keep him safe. He’s just a scared little boy being a bully so that nobody sees that he’s a scared little boy.

Isaac Lahey (Teen Wolf), because he’s an adorable puppy with anger issues.

Oliver Queen (Arrow), because his personality is like a revolving door. At any given moment he can be depressed, angry, sweet, fluffy, cute and rational but what he’s gone through often makes him irrational and naive.

Auggie Anderson (Covert Affairs), because he puts up this tough guy act but he really isn’t.

Who are your least favorite characters to write?

Elijah fucking Mikaelson. His speech pattern gives me a headache and his self righteousness is nausea inducing.

That, and I’m terrible at writing girls. The story I’m working on now, Beautiful Soul, was supposed to be an Elijah/Bella but since Beautiful Soul is filled with girls, I decided to save me the extra trouble and made it a Klaus/Bella. Because you know… girls.

What is your favourite scene or story you have written and why?

Aw shit, that’s like picking my favourite animal.

What is the most difficult story or scene you have written, and why?

Sanctuaire.

You know, the thing is, I own the Twilight books and I have most of the movies but seriously… it’s crap. I’ve read the books once, seen the movies once or twice and it was easier when I lived in my old flat because I had a neighbor who loved it and got me ‘into it’.

Since Meeko and I’s reboot when it comes to writing (2014 was a terrible year), I got re-introduced to Twilight. AND I was a novice with The Originals. Sure, I watched it, but mostly for the pretty (Daniel Sharman, guh). So I had to rewatch that.

Sanctuaire was written with wikipedia pages open on both fandoms and I must have seen the episodes like ten times now.

But even though it was the most difficult story to write, it was also quite easy. I like doing research and the research I did proved to be a great base for my other stories.

Do you see any characteristics in the characters you write?

Uhm, yes, characters need personality? Personally, I love how Kol calls Bella ‘Cuddles’ in Sanctuaire and Pandore.

My stories usually have characters who have a strong sense of ‘Lion and cub’ syndrome. Borderline overprotective but willing to do anything for their partner to either save them, help them or make sure they’re alright.

Since I have actually no idea what you mean by this question, let me message you for clarification.

And you meant to ask if I recognize myself in the characters that I write. Ha. Okay. Hmm… Nope. Well, I think that everyone puts a little of themselves into a character, to be honest, draw from own experiences to shape a character, even if it’s an established character. It’s easier to do that with a semi-blank slate (like Bella) than with a stronger developed character.

However, I do realize that sometimes a little bit of me bleeds through when writing Bella. What parts? Ah, that’s my secret!

What do you like most about your preferred fandom?

It brought me in contact with a lot of people. It’s also quite scary.

How would you describe your fics?

Dark and angsty but always with a strong sense of humor and a happy ending.

What story would you recommend of your own for a new fan to start first?  

Go for The Woodnymph or Missed Connections. They’re not that dark. Then maybe Sanctuaire and Pandore. Fractured Marionette after? 🙂

Now the HARD questions:

If you could offer a suggestion to someone who is thinking of publishing their first story, what would it be?

Find yourself a decent beta first, one who isn’t afraid of telling you that your writing needs some work and offers suggestions on improving it.

Then, just do it. People will have their own opinion about your work, negative or positive, but you know what? Let those negative people talk and whine and complain. You shouldn’t be writing for THEM but for YOURSELF.

If you could go back in time, and give yourself one word of advice, what would you say?  (No Lottery numbers or anything like that!!!)

“That negative review you got? Yeah, she could have chosen her words a little bit better but you definitely need a beta because your English sucks. Also, your sentence structure? Where are the hard returns? Paragraphs? Geez, Buggy. You don’t know everything. Find yourself a beta who’s willing to help you out and don’t be afraid that your writing will suffer from it. In fact, it’ll improve significantly.”

What 5 stories would you recommend someone read?  Please list fandom, sites and name with pairing.

Oh, ouch. This is the part where I tell you that I’m a fraud. I’m a writer, but not really a reader. These days I don’t read that much of other people because I realized that my brain can’t handle that anymore. I also don’t want to subconsciously steal other people’s ideas, get influenced by them.

But let me pimp out my wifey, who doesn’t really need pimping because she’s generally awesome and got me writing again.

Taigai Ridatsu by Meeko. I’m privileged and I can usually read along when she’s writing this and it’s generally awesome. It’s Twilight/Teen Wolf, Bella/Derek. And I’m so proud of Meeko as this story is a tad darker than she usually writes.

Is there something you wished I asked, and if so, what as well as the answer.  

Did you know that Meeko and I collaborate on stories? Yes, we do! Our penname is meekobuggy and if we’re not writing something solo, you can bet your ass that we’re working on something together.

Thanks!!

Thanks! I had a lot of fun, thank you for asking me!

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