TO ALL WRITERS! What made you want to write?

I noticed from our first registered members that we have a few writers already. This is a quizz or survey for you guys! It's some kind of "introducing" thread to make you brag and there will be much rejoicing.

• What made you want to write your first T-visor story?
  
  
• Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?
  
  
• How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?
  
  
• Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.
  
  
• How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)
  
  
• If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!
  
  

[Edited for title change]

I do enjoy some healthy bragging occasionally.

# What made you want to write your first T-visor story?

The Cestus Deception; Nate was what got me into clones, and after reading that story (I was already a fan of Boba/Jango/etc. I just couldn't stop writing scenes. The picked up Hard Contact and that was it: Mando was IN.

# Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?

Eh... not really. I would write tons and tons of short scenes and clips that I collected over the years; no characters or plots ever went away, they just grew over time.

# How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?

Life experience, old-fashioned brainstorming, and a lucky knack for dialogue. Character building is probably my strongest writing area, if I had to pick one. I love fleshing out characters, and always make sure I know every little thing about what they like, dislike, and how they react to things.

# Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.

Yes, I talk; A LOT. But it seems to work out anyways. My stories are more about emotional development and people than raw action, so if you're into that, it works. I do tend to hurt people, however.

# How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)

At least half. Probably more. Actually... most of the day. Only moments when it slips my mind. The thought of finishing my story and having nothing to write traumatizes me.

# If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!

Ahem, let's keep this PG, now...

Interesting replies there! I'm impressed that you kept your original ideas through the years.

And, half the day, seriously? Again, impressive. And yes I totally understand how a lot of ideas can slip by the time we get to the keyboard.

Gonna have to work on those questions myself, but I'm really thankful that you took the time to answer them. It's nice to see someone who focuses on character development too I mean... that's what stories are for. You can't start writing a fanfic just for the sake of having a cool dude in armor kicking ass for 30 chapters and never changing at all.

With all of this foruming I'll try to find time to read your stories, mandomemory. I know I said this a while ago but now you kind of got me cornered

Yeah, that story's kind of been my life since the end of August... ha, no rush on reading it; I only just finally caught up reading Toft's fic; I tend to take a while, cuz I like to write things down that I like about each chapter so I can give really good feedback. Yours are next on muh list.

What made you want to write your first T-visor story?

After Hard Contact, I started writing an original scifi story that sort of morphed RepCom, Halo, and Ender's Game all together, then after Triple Zero I decided to form a commando squad and try to write a fanfic.

Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?

I had tons of scraps. I wrote down some names and personalities for Sigma Squad three years ago and tried to start stories twice. In all instances, Amiel was a Padawan and her Master Vannevar died, and the squad stayed somewhat the same, but the plot was waaaay different. I don't think I'd pick up those storylines again because I either touched on something similar or they were lame.

I did have one storyline where I ditched Amiel and made Signe the Padawan of Vannevar, and that one went for about a page before abandonment.

How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?

I've spent a long time making characters for RPGs, so I have an obsession with trying to be original but also workable with a plot. I wanted to make sure my squad was unique and I didn't take carbon copies of either Delta or Omega--and if I had similar qualities, I tried to put a spin on them. What helped me the most was giving my squad members nicknames. Like, Gev's the funny man, but I didn't want him to be the same as Fi or Scorch, so I made sure the things Gev said were "totally uncalled for"--hence his nickname, Mr Totally Uncalled For. :p

As for my Jedi, I'm still having problems with Signe. Amiel was easy--angsty teenager around semi-mature men. Hijinx. Avan and Harsh have a great relationship and their personalities foil each other, so that worked too.

Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.

I do. A lot. It's the one thing I've been trying to work on. Like Memory, my RepCom stories have a more character/emotional/drama focus than action, so mood is very important. That's where Sprocket and Gev come in. Or just making Morj uncomfortable. From writing my stories, I've been able to pay a lot more attention to what my characters say and do and how it makes the reader feel, which is good.

How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)

More than is healthy. Most of my daydreaming encompasses some aspect of my story. I get a lot of good plotting done when I'm working out or as I'm trying to go to sleep, which sometimes prompts me to get up and write something down. :p

If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!

I think I would pass out, and hope that when I woke up, Jatne Meshkad was giving me mouth-to-mouth. :D

# What made you want to write your first T-visor story?

It was a creative writing challenge, of all places, at thedentedhelmet.com. Guidelines was for a 4-man squad of mandalorians fighting/outrunning other mercenaries, 2 of the mandos had to be women and one of the team-members would have to die in the end. So "Death of a kin" was born. I ended up writing something longer than I thought, and never even got feedback for it. So my writing lay dormant for almost a whole other year.

# Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?

Actually, I don't. The only story that's not finished is the current one I'm writing, which is "mandalorian commandos" (yeah I know, a very highly original title) On chapter 4 of a 6-7 chapter "novella". And my chapters are kinda ginormous.

# How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?

I cheat. Two of the main characters in the story are based off of characters that were created by two other people. (Svoor and Nimadi, who I both adore) I write the story, and they tell me if it holds water... or not.. I took some liberties with their actual "canon" characters, but it's been discussed that I will put a disclaimer when I eventually release the abomination to the unsuspecting world. Music is also a big idea-giver, and sometimes my own doodling ends up being ret-conned into the story and vice-versa. "Betrayal at Premula Prime" (chapter 2) is featured prominently in my DA gallery.

# Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.

Not so much worry, but I do realize that I can't have action all the time, the story would end up being trite. So I do kind of oblige myself to pace down and develop characters when I can... and even "romance". God I suck at writing romance, but I've been told I write like a girl, so I guess I don't suck at it as much as I think.

# How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)

On and off, throughout the day.... uh... it depends if I have plenty of work to do. On light days I get to just type away a first draft of a scene and then edit it on the spot. Other days, I lay down notes when I happen to think of something I want to add. All in all, I'd say I think of it/get ideas a couple of hours a day, maybe more if I get e-mail from my "proof-readers/critics".

# If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!

Order pizza and chill with the gang.

What made you want to write your first T-visor story?
Well, eons ago (probably about 12 years by now), I wrote a story about Boba Fett because I started to get intrigued by the mystery of the man beneath the armor (back before Karen Traviss remade him), but I was looking to twist it and bend it so that by the time the ending came, it was a surprise. Of course, I came to find out about five years ago that if I had posted that story anywhere, I would have been shamed from writing forever. I didn't know much about fan fiction when I started it, and I had no idea that my OC was a Mary Sue. So, I keep that story as a reminder of what NOT to do!

When I read Hard Contact, I began daydreaming in another way and tried to come up with some way to place a Clone or a squad of Clones in a modernesque fairy tale. I finally got brave a few months ago and began posting that fairy tale-esque story onto fanfiction.net.

Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?
Again, I have that Boba Fett story. Every now and again I do pick at a scene to try and make it less Mary Sue. For the most part, I write a multitude of scenes, paragraphs, sentences, conversations, etc. for all the genres I write. Sometimes it's very bad and other times it's something that can be used. I like to think of all these brainstorming notes as my palette from where I can pull ideas to put into whatever chapter I'm working on at that moment.

How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?
Daydream...daydream...daydream!!!
Seriously, besides daydreaming, I read and I always let my mind go on autopilot. I can be washing dinner dishes and while I'm mindlessly doing that task, I'm picturing people, places, conversations, etc. in my head. Listening to music is also especially a wonderful trick I use. Sometimes a song lyric jumps out at me, and I'm just like "That's IT. That's what the characters are trying to tell me!"

In addition to daydreaming, I also let my mind just run pictures like still images of clothing, a facial expression, an object, etc. For example, in my Voltron story, I kept seeing this image in my mind of a knight and a princess and I couldn't figure out where that would take place in the story because there was just nowhere it would fit. I came to realize a number of months ago, that this scene wasn't for Voltron, but it was the core idea for my Republic Commando fairy tale story. So, even crossing genres has be very helpful for me. I never throw any idea aside, even it it doesn't fit in the current story I'm writing.

Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.
Pacing is what the story makes of itself for me. Yes, I do enjoy my action every now and again, especially as a way to draw me in suddenly. But, I'm a sucker for romance...even though I've never read a romance novel. I prefer to have the romance discover itself as the characters are discovering it for themselves. And, a grandiose first kiss is always a draw for me. So, with the right balance of action and drama, I find that first kiss is even sweeter...just like a Christmas present I waited all year to finally receive.

How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)
The question should be how much time do I NOT spend thinking about my story in one day! Like I said, I can go on autopilot and just fantasize. Often, I'm setting up a spreadsheet at work, and I'm not thinking about the Excel program, I'm in the woods with my commando squad watching them react to what's around them or I'm in the midst of a robeast battle watching Voltron fight over Arus. I think the only time I shut it off is when I'm with my son and I want to dedicate my time solely to him.

If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!
Well, feed them, of course! Cloned men are hungry. I guess then I'd try to convince them to stay for a while and spend some time with my family and then invite them into my clan and give them a home to come back to.

I feel awful. I wasn't sure what the bar on the side was with the plus and negative was so I pressed the negative on Catika's post just to see what it did... and then I realized that I gave her a bad rating.
I'm sorry!!! I'm a drunk idiot!! Someone give her a good rating. I feel bad. But, I was drinking a really strong rum and coke so I'm not that dumb. Don't worry, I won't make a habit of drinking and writing.


What made you want to write your first T-visor story?
I tried to write a Jedi story in junior high but it was awful and dumb like most of the things I wrote then. I didn't try to write anything Star Wars based until I read Republic Commando and Clone Wars. Then I just started to wonder "What do clones do in their free time when they have it?" and then that's when I started writing my first T-visor story.

Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?
I write scenes over a lot because I didn't feel the idea came across very well. I have a lot of scraps and ideas that have changed. Sometimes when I'm writing or thinking I realize that I can fit in or tie in an old idea. And am I good at this? I've gotten better.

How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?
Think about what would make my characters uncomfortable or test them. It helps to talk to other people about things to and bounce back ideas. Or have someone tell you wants a bad idea and what isn't. When I'm stuck in a rut I talk to a friend.

Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.
All the time. I'm concerned that it's boring because there's a lot of talking and characters thinking about stuff. I use to hate writing action scenes but I think I'm getting use to them more.

How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)
I sneak some time even when I'm being steam rolled by school work. It might be as little a thing as "Oh man, I need to work on that story" to "What if this happened to so and so?" If I'm doing something like cleaning, then I think about it a lot. It helps to think about something enjoyable like a story when I'm doing something I don't like (ex: cleaning) or if I'm so busy I think my head might explode.

If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!
Call the police or have a party. But not both.
Probably party.

Have not written anything tangible, yet, but I have started a couple of stories here and there for a few years and at other times just had fun planning characters.

What made you want to write your first T-visor story?
My first character I ever penned down was after reading Open Seasons in 2002 and saw all those different guys with names like Myles and Silas and thought it would be fun if I had a personal Mandalorian character. It was very short on a piece of paper I did in school when in class (not a model student) and involved being killed at Galidraan by a deflected blaster shot, because after all - Mandalorians were all supposed to be dead right there. Then later on I went back to this character whenever I was bored and had thought about making a costume and whatnot, but didn't act on that. But then I had thought it would be cool if brown and gold would be prominent colours. Didn't do much about that character until in 2006 when I began playing SWG, and after I had read all the new Mando stuff I found out that the Death Watch were actually Mandalorians so I decided this guy should be a former warrior in that faction.
With the new Mando'a dictionary out I played around with Kandosii Thyle (how lame is that?) because back then it wasn't very widespread to take Mando'a names straight from the dictionary. Later when I figured it was a stupid name I got a name change to Cuir'ad Thyle (And right now I'm thinking of having it Cuirad Thyle). After playing with him and roleplaying a lot it just grew and I really overwrote his entire life (66 years). Since quitting it I've just been fiddling with different characters and am seriously considering writing some fanfic short stories in the near future, because after all - it's exercise in English and writing and imagination, so there are benefits to it other than fun.

Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?
Ahem, I have too many abandoned ideas I'm refitting here and there. It's called obsession.

How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?
I'd feel bad about writing canon characters as a protoganist (spelling?) right now, so just OC's. And for them I get ideas mainly from newspapers, books, movies, TV shows, games and real people. I often brainstorm ideas on a piece of paper, too. Can't say they are all interesting, but certainly try to make them less than cliché.

Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.
When I'm planning out stories I worry a bit about that but mainly I have the problem of thinking in Icelandic when writing which can make the dialog seem rather restrained because of tight dictionary use and grammar review. I have the habit of checking out how the pacing is usually in other short stories, so that solves itself by seeing how others do it. And tutorials, which you can't get enough of in my opinion.

How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)
When inactive or bored. I'm trying to get ideas for original stories as well (not in English) so when completely stumped there I try with the fanfic and often get ideas for originals through that as well and vice versa. Whenever I'm at work and bored out of my mind I get into the fantasy spirit.

If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!
Real case scenario, call a mental hospital and commit myself. But beforehand I would ask if I could try out the kit, of course.

Thanks guys for being so many to play the interview game and I would want to comment on each off your answers since you all have inspiring opinions about writing, which always works on a very personal process... I'm kind of going through a little blocking here so I'll answer my own questions.

What made you want to write your first T-visor story?
It goes way back. My brother and I were about 14 and 15 when we got really into the first Jedi Knight PC game and played a "Mandalorians" mode which allowed the player to use various Boba Fett skins. We invented our completely random clan of Mandalorian bounty hunters without even knowing anything about them. I remember that we sat down and played with dialogue to make it seem cool and funny.

Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?
I got tons of scraps, most of them are manuscript, some are around 100,000 words long and never seem to end. I wrote a lot of Jedi-centered stories which was kind of a waste of time. My general awareness of the Star Wars canon now is far too advanced to go back to those old ideas but sometimes I do try to get some inspiration from certain characters or events I wrote a decade ago.

How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?
By watching a lot of TV and movies, mostly comedy but I'm a great fan of the recent war stories (to name a few: Generation Kill, The Hurt Locker, Over There), thriller and action stuff with lots of realism. And I mostly get ideas from awesome shows like Supernatural, Flashpoint, Leverage (GREAT CON ACTION!) and many, many more. For dramatic situations I just tap into my everyday experiences to transcribe raw feelings. I hate writing introspection because I know I can be very irrational and I don't expect my characters to assume or guess what's troubling them for the sake of pressing the story on.

Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.
I have this old "map" in my mind when writing chapters: talk-drama-action without a repeat of the same element in each chapter. Also I take care of sometimes mixing drama with action to make things exciting. For example if two people are exchanging emotionally heavy accusations and arguments I will tend to describe what they're doing in between the lines instead of what they're thinking. And the more upbeat action usually has room for my characters to reveal a lot from their state of mind without explicitly saying anything. I know, it's like an art

How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)
Not so much, I'm afraid. I tend to put my entire mind to whatever I'm doing which makes for very busy days. Though when I sit down to write my mind will have the will to express things I've felt or thought about during the day and transcribe those things into my stories. At random times I will often think of my characters, of what would be cool for them to do or if I have to mentally escape a situation I go like "what would Bardan do...?" but that barely exceeds a full 5 minutes in a day. It's easier for me to think about that in my sleep!

If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!
I'd stop writing

# What made you want to write your first T-visor story?
I wanted a reason to be making my armor, I wanted a story behind what I was planning to wear in the future. It kind of spiraled out of control after that. At first it was just an exercise in first person POV, but then it kept going... I eventually bashed out a plot and am tooting along steadily.

Now it's just an exercise to see if I can 1) write a novel(or novella) length story, and 2) write chapters that are 3~4k words in length each. (I have trouble writing more than 1500 words in any one setting)


# Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?
I always have something unfinished just sitting around waiting for me. I have serious problems finishing a story as well (I'm more of a one-shot, flash fiction type writer), so this is an exercise in discipline.

I'll probably pick up my stories and finish them as I find time. Not counting all of my Star Wars and Mando related stuff, I still have a long Cyberpunk/Steampunk Legend of Zelda story just sitting and waiting for me to finish, not to mention a steampunk original story and a futuristic!sci-fi!dystopian original story... ugh.


# How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?
(Warning: sounds like I need to go into emo!timeout) I don't know if she's interesting or relatable at all. It's kind of hard to get any kind of feedback, and hearing from the same two people all the time doesn't give much perspective, so I don't know if she's interesting at all. I'm not even sure if my writing style for 1st POV is reasonable, or filled with glaring issues and hard to read. Bleh!

And reading your own story over and over is not all too conducive to actually continuing the story... although that may just be me. I do most of the editing/spellcheck/grammarcheck/etc. myself.

This might sound a little weird... But she's basically her own character. I can't make her do what she doesn't want to do, and she basically runs the story now. I just put her in a situation and let her play it out however she sees fit.


# Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.
I worry about pacing all the time. I think I put a steady balance of drama and action though, so I think I'm all right in that area. Usually if I feel like a chapter isn't working out right, I try to go at it from a different angle, maybe throw in some drama, or throw in some action, and see if that works better than what I had originally planned.


# How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)
Not much actually. Maybe I'll have a very very rough idea of what should happen next, and I'll let it roll around in the back of my mind, but I won't really concentrate on it at all.


# If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!
I think we'd sit down, maybe go out for some coffee and a light lunch, and just relax. I'm all about the relax, the peace and quiet after a hard journey. I wouldn't mind playing host to them.

# What made you want to write your first T-Visor story?
I think it was playing Republic Commando for the first time. It just made me want to be a part of the Star Wars galaxy.

# Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones?
Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?
I had my first RC story scrapped, mainly because I was just going way to fast with it. I had a good prologue to it, and I may just have to reuse that part. But the rest of that story is really going to be incorporated into my newer one. And the old one never even got past the first chapter, so no plots there.

# How do you get your ideas to keep to your characters interesting (OC and canon alike)?
Ask me around two or three in the morning (my time, of course) and I just may have an answer for you.
(Seriously, that is the only time where I can add creative and 'good' parts to the story. When my brain is so tired it can't keep the ideas in. Or maybe it can't keep the sanity in control?)

# Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.
Well, yeah. Just I don't revolve around it all too much. Mainly because when I'm writing it, practically everything I throw in there sounds good. And it takes me til the next morning to actually get rid of alll the crap I had put in. Sometimes I even surprise myself when I wake up.

# How many hours do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)
At least every hour, I feel as though I'm abandoning my story by not making additions or subtractions to it. I make myself believe that if I can't add things that have come to me through the day right at the moment they come, I'll lose them forever. Which is mostly the case. Or they just don't come.

# If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!
I'd stop talking to any of my other friends. And hug my characters.

# What made you want to write your first T-visor story?

I've always loved and adored Star Wars, but when I first got into it, I was all about Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi (as played by Ewan McGregor, LOL). I did some minor SW writing in 2009 time-frame, but it was all Jedi-centric. I wouldn't say they were lame, but they were definitely AU in the context of everything that's come out since then. Anyway, I digress... What inspired me to write my first T-visor story was my discovery of the clones. If there's one thing I think the TV series has managed to contribute positively to the world of SW, it's an actual human portrayal of the clones themselves (and, of course, Karen Traviss just took that train and ran with it). So, I was inspired by the TV show...then by the RepCom books...and I started reading all of the clone/Mando-centric fics I could find on FF.net that caught my fancy...and things just spawned from there...

# Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?

Yes, most definitely. In fact, the very first story I started, oh, back in October, I've decided to scrap. And I have half-written scenes galore on my on-line journal that I keep to store everything. The half-written scenes I horde, in the hopes that they'll actually go somewhere some day and/or get rewritten into my current projects at some point. The first few stories I tried writing and gave up on? They'll probably stay dead. I've concluded that sometimes, writer's block comes around for a good reason. LOL

# How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?

I torture them, plain and simple. And I draw from a LOT of life experiences. In the current story I'm writing ("A Thousand Suns") I pull from my experiences in the military - my own experiences, experiences I've heard about, experiences I've watched go down from my safer spot on the sidelines. I've pulled in a lot of what I know of depression, suicide, PTSD, and just general human angst. There are two scenes that are directly inspired by life events (I won't say what they are, because they're that personal), but I'm not afraid to weave real life into the mix. I think readers know instinctively when something feels "real"...and I try very hard to deliver that. I have what I call "the All-mighty coincidences" to keep the plot moving along, but I try to keep even those as believable as possible. What helps is that I believe that life, is really a long string of coincidences and that everything ties together, usually, in some way or another. But, I digress yet again. I just don't make life easy for my characters - canon or otherwise. I try hard to keep my canon characters canon and I try to make the OC's as realistic in the settings I've placed them. No one gets an easy ride and when I feel a character has it too easy, I turn up the heat - just to see what they're made of and how they react. After a while, my characters just take on a life of their own...and I do think that's how it should be.

# Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.

Not particularly. This is one aspect of writing I've never worried about. I just let the characters "find their voice" and after about two or three chapters, they set the pace. They've never steered me wrong (at least, not in a major way). For the most part, I think I'm quite happy with the pacing balance I manage in my writing - most of my writing is more romance-relationships-drama-suspense, anyway, so I don't worry too much about things getting "boring" or "slowing down." LOL

# How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)

Oh, pretty much all the time. LOL I put a LOT of time and energy in my writing - especially since it's a big release from schoolwork, wifely duties, and just the daily grind. I'm almost always thinking of something story-related in the course of my day. So far, it hasn't interferred with real life and it keeps me entertained when I don't feel like engaging actively in the world around me.

# If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!

I would invite them all in and feed them. And replace my dad with Saa. LOL And then run away with them and never look back.

•What made you want to write your first T-visor story?

Well, when I got hooked on the Mandos, I really wanted to portray the strength of their connections, their families, and the honor that comes with all that. I also wanted to portray the struggle they have in the waning years of the Republic (Clone Wars era) and with the Jedi who they fought with years before.

•Did you have many scraps and unfinished plots or abandoned stories before your current ones? Would you pick them up again now that you're good at this?

Oh yes, and I will most likely never go back to them. I mean, a few of them were good, but they pale in comparison to what I'm writing now.

•How do you get your ideas to keep your characters interesting (OC or canon alike)?

I really enjoy the elements of darkness and hidden secrets in a character, the things people keep hidden because of shame. For alot of my characters, this is the biggest trait they have in common. I usually start with a particular character, pinpoint the things that make them up, and then figure out how to include a shameful secret or mentally scarring event of their past.


•Do you worry about pacing? For example, having at least some action and a healthy dose of drama in between every event that happens.

Oh yes; writing action is not my forte, but it keeps the story going. I can't have too much drama or too much action-y stuff.

•How much time do you spend thinking about your story in one day? (when not writing)

I usually spend most of the day thinking it through; working through the plot twists and character development, what could I possibly throw in to make it more interesting, and oh yeah don't forget to include such-and-such event or so-and-so person.

•If your characters were real and rang at your door, what would you do?!

I think my first reaction would be a little disturbed- I mean, it's not every day a group of Mandos and Jedi show up at your door, seven of them being not-human. But, I'd get them inside, give them the equivalent of tihaar or whatever it is they usually drink, and then apologize for all the horrible stuff I've put them through, but it was really for their own good.... I think I would ramble a bit and then plague them with questions to get to know them all better.