Oh, I am eager to be the first, erm, . . . volunteer! I'm ready for anything! Bring it on!

That said, I now officially have to say that I am so excited to see this thread up and running, and can't wait to learn more about my fellow forum members! I have a good feeling that this is going to be a wonderful thread for our entire community.

Thanks for pursuing this idea and hosting this thread, again, @devilinthedetails!


Alrighty then, let's get the ball rolling with . . .

Gah, but this was a hard question to answer! Honestly, a dozen characters instantly came to mind at first. But I think that's why Star Wars as a whole has always appealed to me. This galaxy far, far away encompasses such a great ensemble cast, and the diversity of eras means that there's always someone or something interesting to explore through a vast multitude of different formats. But, to answer your question, I think that my grand trio of faves would be Leia, Mara, and Ahsoka. Princess Leia was everything to me as a young fan: a kick butt princess who was smart and brave and beautiful and didn't take no for an answer! She's the perfect mix of softness and strength, and I have always held everything about her in such high esteem. Then, Mara Jade was my first introduction to the old Legends novels back in the day, through the Thrawn Trilogy. She snagged my interest and refused to let go! Like Leia, I too appreciate her softness and strength. She's a woman who's walking her own path instead of conforming to the mold Palpatine tried to force her to fit instead; she's a survivor. She's made following the light a choice, and she keeps on making that choice all the while staying her snarky, classy self. Ahsoka is a newer love for me, but I adore her for the same reasons that I do Mara and Leia: her softness and strength. She's plucky and brave and resolute and not at all afraid to do the right thing, even when that means walking a difficult, lonely path in life. Basically, this fandom has no shortage of fantastic ladies, and these three in particular are near and dear to my heart.

I was born into Star Wars! My parents were both fans of the OT back in their heydey and they passed that torch onto me from a young age. TPM came out when I was just nine years old, and that's when Star Wars really hit me hard. I gobbled up the JA books following, and then delved into the EU as my love for reading and ability for comprehending longer novels grew. I very embarrassingly posted my first fanfic here on the boards when I was still just a wee youngling, and I've yet to look back ever since.

I had to think about this one for a moment, but, simply put, I love telling stories! Any pro format - from television to movies to novels - can only expand on so much due to their very nature. Star Wars is fortunate to have both the history and the surplus materiel enough to expand on its own lore and world-build better than most fandoms, but there are still so many blanks left to fill! That's where fan fiction comes in: to tell the stories that canon hasn't told, either intentionally or through there simply not being enough pages in a novel or minutes onscreen! Or, better yet, fan fiction is there to step in and fix things when canon gets it wrong. Because there's a lot to fix, sometimes, let's face it. Fan fiction, as a whole, tends to have such a depth of heart and a love for detail that's sometimes even unmatched by its source material. It's wonderfully transformative, at that. Human beings have been telling and retelling stories since the beginning of time; we love to come up with stories and listen to them in our turn - there's nothing more natural! That fan fiction lets us interact with our fellow fans and share something we're all passionate about makes it even better! Our little community here is especially unique for being so wonderfully close knit! Some of the stories I've had the pleasure to read and watch grow on these boards are now canon to my mind. 'nuff said!


Whew . . . well, that wasn't so bad! Don't be shy folks - step right on up to offer questions or to volunteer to be interviewed next. I promise it's a blast.

 

Oooh, more great questions!! Let me get right to answering!

This is an awesome question, and I have to thank you so much for the wonderful compliment, as well! But, in all honesty, I haven't had one inspire the other in a way I can consciously put my finger on! Consciously, at least - but I've undoubtedly traded bits and pieces between fandoms without even realizing it. For example, writing Luke and Mara's force bond definitely shares similar tones and key descriptors as writing Spock and Nyota's mental link for the new Star Trek, or any number of Tolkien's elvish couples who share telepathic connections. Though, that said, I'm going to have to keep an eye out in the future for parallels in my writing, because I'm curious now, too!

I usually start longhand with a good old fashioned pen and trusty notebook. I do most of my outlining on paper, and I also jot down things like title ideas, key phrases, and lines of dialogue as they come to me. That way when I do sit down with my laptop I usually have a pretty good idea of where to start, and then I fill in the rest from there!

There's not a bad one in the bunch, and I'm lucky to have dabbled with them all! I love the intimacy of first person POV, especially if I am sticking to just one narrator. It's very easy to get inside of a character's head, and you can be looser and more experimental with tone and 'voice'. I've only ever used second person POV in ficlets and drabbles, but I love what it adds in terms of atmosphere and potential for emotional weight. Third person POV is still most natural for me, as I suppose it is for most of us, and it still works best for stories with ensemble casts when I want more than one voice narrating the plot. But all are great, and now that you mention it I am really overdue to dabble with second person again - it's been ages!

Oh! This is like asking me to pick a favorite child, and is all the more difficult since I have been writing for so long, now, for so many different fandoms that I all adore! But, um, if I had to narrow it down to a top three: This Taste of Shadow takes the cake for being my very heart and soul, first and foremost. It's my 450k + word collection of vignettes and short stories expanding on J. R. R. Tolkien's Silmarillion and other Histories of Middle-earth, with periodic forays into LoTR and the Hobbit. Yeah, I've mentioned that I am a nerd, right? After that, my entire Loki/Sif Steel!verse - and my All Our Winters to Pass novella, in particular - for the Thor fandom is something that I'm ridiculously proud of. It combines so much world-building and rewrites a ridiculous amount of mythology to fit into the MCU, even if it's now almost unrecognizable as Marvel fan fiction, truth be told. I grew so much as an author through writing this 'verse, and it remains near and dear to my heart!

But, my muse is currently smitten by my Song!verse on the Star Wars side of things, which, simply put, is a world where Anakin was not quite as dumb and Sithy and thus circumvented the events of RoTS and then the OT entirely. Yet Anakin remains vaguely aware of the fate he so narrowly avoided through visions, just as Darth Vader senses every painfully poignant what could have been through his own dreams. Oh, it's fantastically bittersweet in the best of ways, and has since grown past its initial parameters to let me explore several characters and events in this alternate timeline, and I love every word of it to a ridiculous degree. From a stylistic and technical point of view, it's probably my greatest achievement yet to date as an author, and I can't wait to see where this 'verse takes me next!

Oh, the middle is definitely the hardest for me! I usually have a strong beginning and a definite end point in mind. It's just the pesky business of figuring out how to get from point A to point B that tends to be challenging, sometimes.

In all honesty, my truncated work will likely remain so - which is probably the best for a majority of my early writing! I don't have the original files for the most of my older work, and I've grown so much as both an author and a person since those days that it would be hard to revisit those stories without completely revamping them! BUT, if I ever rewrote one of my old pieces, it would be my old Beautiful Ruin novel - which was a post-ANH AU featuring an amnesiac Mara Jade, à la Jason Bourne style. The idea was fantastic at its core, and I think that I still have that original outline hanging around in a very old notebook somewhere . . .

Autumn, hands down! I love the leaves changing color and the crisp air as the summer fades before the snow comes. I love chunky sweaters and cozy boots and cider mills and hay rides and corn mazes and pumpkin spice everything. For me it's a prime season for camping, too; I love being outdoors year round, but especially during fall time! It's a beautiful ambiance that you just can't beat!

I like too many decadent snacks to mention, in all honesty! But tiramisu and fruit tarts - oh, and good ol' classic cheesecake - remain a few of my faves!

Morning person, definitely! I love the time that I have to myself with my coffee and the sunrise before the rest of my family stirs, and that's usually when I'm at my creative best!


Thanks for the great questions, all! Keep them coming!

 

@Mira_Jade
What is your favorite NSWFF fandom to write in? To read in (if they are different)?

 

@Mira_Jade ! Two serious questions and two fun ones!

What do you love most about fan fic writing?

How did you come up with your username?

What is your favourite gif?

What was the last REALLY GOOD sandwich you had?

 

Oooh, what excellent questions! So! Here I go with answering . . .

Your questions really made me think! In the best of ways.

Star Wars has so many fascinating non-human species that it's hard to choose a favorite, but I am going to have to go with Togruta. I love their design aesthetic, and find what little we do know of their culture fascinating. Then, they're one of the species I have dabbled with expanding on in my own work - especially once I get my butt in gear and pick up writing my Ahsoka diary again in earnest - so I may be a little happily biased.

I hate to be cliché, but I have to go with the Mandalorians! Boba Fett has been a favourite of mine since my early days in the fandom, and it's been fascinating watching how the lore that sprang from one sole character design has grown and evolved over the years. Plus: space Vikings! You don't get any better than that.

Honestly, I couldn't think of one off of the top of my head! I will have to think about it, and if something comes to mind I will get back to you.

This is another great question! I think that Star Wars has taken some interesting inspiration from RL cultures already, but there are definitely dozens of times and places you could draw from in history to answer this question. Well, I already have my Space Vikings, so from there the first answer that comes to mind is the various Polynesian races: a people of skilled navigators who've explored different planets - rather than islands - leading to a shared culture that's bound together over a multitude of different planets, differing to adapt to the environments of the new worlds they've colonized. Any RL nomadic cultures would be interesting to explore on a galactic scale, that said.

Almost everything about the ST, minus the gems that we got in Rey, Finn, and Poe. But that's a whole different question there, isn't it?

I don't think that I'm enough of a tech guru to answer this question, but thinking about the Infinite Improbability Drive used in SW gave me a bit of a chuckle.

Yes to all! But you can't beat classic chicken pot pie, especially my mom's recipe. Mmmm, that's making me hungry just thinking of right now!

What another great set of questions! To answer this first one: at least for me, they are all part and parcel of writing. One doesn't tend to stump me over the other. Though, I usually start with my dialogue first and then fill in my prose from there. So maybe that's more of an answer now that I think about it!

My brain is always working on overdrive when it comes to new story ideas. So I do quite a bit of plotting, even on ideas that will never make it to an actual published stage. I tend to keep a fairly detailed outline, just to help me keep everything straight - especially since I usually have a handful of WIPs going at any given time! But I do try to allow for a certain amount of wiggle-room in my outlines - maybe too much! - because, as you well know, my initial plans always seem to have a life of their own as they grow! Something that can be one chapter in my outline can easily become three or four chapters in actuality - I don't know how that always seems to happen, but it does!

I would love to see more in the Old Republic era. KoTOR opened up all sorts of possibilities, and the idea of a galaxy that was still trying to be, you know, a galaxy - with different peoples and traditions and ideas coming together as one, especially with the Force touching and unifying all life, has all sorts of fascinating potential! Especially since I am not quite a fan of what Disney has given us post-RoTJ. So, let's go backwards now!

I couldn't even begin to guess where Disney is going next! But you know that Mara remains at the top of my list. She, and the Solo children, in particular, will always be the preferred canon of my heart!

Ooh, I've actually thought about this: a galactic flight attendant!! (Much like my current RL job. ) There has to be a commercial transportation division in the GFFA comparable to what we know in RL, even if we've just seen glimpses of it in canon. Something tells me that getting passengers to properly stow their luggage and fasten their seatbelts would be just the same, but imagine the locations you'd see and get to explore on your overnights! Combine that with working as an artist on the side, and I would be one happy camper.

All of it! I just love food, and there's something good to be found in every cuisine! But I'm especially partial to Tex-Mex. I can eat my own weight in tacos. Oh, and Lebanese food on the other side of the spectrum! I am fortunate to live close to some of the best Lebanese food in the States and I make the most of that as often as I can.

Yes, I very much do! I love art, so whenever I can I try to make the most of the museums I travel by.

Oh, where to begin? I love travelling; this world is absolutely stunning, and I want to see as much of it as possible. There's something worthwhile everywhere you turn! But, I am going to have to stay local to answer this one: the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with all of its waterfalls and natural beauty remains the most vivid in my memory. Especially the Lake Superior shoreline around Munising and Pictured Rocks; yep, it's home to my heart.

All!!! Honestly, it's 1a as opposed to 1b, but seeing as how I just picked Michigan over Hawaii, I am going to have to stick with it and pick mountains and rivers to an ocean view.

A lazy afternoon is made perfect listening to good music, with a good drink and a decadent snack, pursuing some sort of creative activity, either writing or reading or drawing. Or all of the above!

Yes, I have! I love musicals and concerts, though I have yet to see an opera live. That's definitely next on my list. For performances that have stood out most to me, seeing Hamilton in Chicago was an absolutely unparalleled treat! I've seen quite a few musicals in my time, but as far as the music and acting and lighting and choreography and sheer emotional depth, you just can't beat it! Talk about an experience! On the other end of that spectrum, my favorite concert remains seeing the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish live, and I make sure never to miss them touring in the States. Floor Jansen singing Ghost Love Score in person is just a shiver inducing experience that's undescribable. Gah, but I have goosebumps just remembering the power of her voice when paired with Toumas' genius! Absolutely stunning.

Oh no, I have to pick a favorite child again! But I am going have to think quick and say that Tolkien is my favorite fandom to write in. Out of all of the NSW fandoms that have snared my muse, that one was probably the most intense. For NSW reading, I am kind of an odd duck. I have several fandoms I read for that I don't write in - like ASoIaF and A:TLA, and ones that I write for, I don't really read - like with the MCU. I suppose that if I am happy with what I am reading, that helps curb my plot bunnies! And if I am not satisfied, then I just have to pick up a pen and write my own.

Oh, I like these questions! How fun, Bri! To answer this first one: I love how fan fiction can fill in all of the missing pieces. Whether it be fleshing out a particular characterization, delving into a backstory, expanding on a missing scene, or just simply writing what comes next, fan fiction has you covered! Plus, it's there as a cure for when canon gets it wrong. Which, you know, is sometimes sorely needed.

Oh lands, but this question takes me back! I was very young and newly very much smitten with Mara Jade when I first joined the boards way back in 2004. Mira is short for my own RL name, so voilà! There you have it! I am just glad that my younger self picked something that aged well with time. Some of my other options would have been decidedly embarrassing, in retrospect.

My mind literally short circuited for this question. There are SO MANY, and I really had no idea of where to even begin! So, I will have to narrow my answer down to a favourite SW gif, that my social circle often shares for giggles:



It gets me every time.

Ooooh, it was actually just this week!!! I met a coworker for lunch in a hotel lobby in Toronto, of all places, and I had this crispy sesame chicken sandwich with an Asian style slaw and Sriracha mayo on naan bread, and oh my goodness, but it was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Worth every penny.

You can never have enough bubbles, but I am picky about scents! So yes, they are wonderful! . . . mostly.

 

These were more great questions, all! Keep them coming!

Now that I think about it, it's been ages since I wrote a proper songfic! Back in the day they were all the rage on the boards - which I know you remember! - but it's probably been ten years or so since I wrote one myself. I wouldn't mind trying my hand at one again. It could be a very interesting exercise to see how my approach has changed from them to now!

I really enjoy both reading and writing flashbacks! Personally, I tend to make quite a bit of use of them in my own stories - heck, my current DDC is all flashback as of now, even if that's half the fun of the format I chose, and it's a very interesting experiment to have had tackled so far. I think it's a much better way to share information without just dumping a load of exposition on the reader. I may be paraphrasing a bit, and I'll have to search for the actual quote now, but I agree with Victor Hugo when he said that all fiction is a digression from real life, and in his work he digresses from his digressions more often than not. I enjoy doing the same when it fits the story!

Oh, great question! I can see it taking a few years for them to marry, just because there is still so much to be done with defeating the remnants of the Empire and setting the groundwork for a strong New Republic. For Leia, we know it's always going to be a trick balancing time between her public service and her personal life, but they'd figure it out before too very long.

Oh goodness, what a question! You know I have pages with theoretical plot bunnies I can spend on this topic! But, I think the simplest approach is the best one here: I love their story in VoTF, I just wish that it had happened years earlier. I guess that there's nothing flashy about my preferred headcanons for Luke and Mara, I just like the idea of them carrying on and building from the foundations of a friendship they set in TTT and naturally watching that progress into something more, without Luke sidelining into the cringe worthy Callista days. They've had all of the right elements for a relationship since TLC, they just weren't thrown together earlier enough for my taste!

I really love all colors! But I am more than partial to a deep, wine-like purple.

Oh, confession time: I'm the shame of my family when it comes to cars! I live right outside of the Motor City and I don't know an inkling about cars. My brother-in-law even restores classics for a living, and it's still not my thing! But the snazziest car I ever rode in was for my sister's wedding. They rented a classic 1975 Chevrolet red stretch limousine for the wedding party that really was all sorts of awesome!

This one is a hard and definite no! I am a funny one - I can ride on airplanes for a living, and even serve drinks, through the worst turbulence without blinking (my record is a 200 ft uncontrolled drop for a wind shear on approach, though thankfully we were seated by the captain for that) - but roller coasters make my stomach twist and turn in all the wrong ways. Nope, no can do. It's just not my cup of tea.

Off the top of my head, I want to say Naboo, because: wow, Padmé's wardrobe is absolutely stunning, but to get a little more creative than that, I really love what we saw of the Pantorans in TCW. Riyo Chuchi really had some wonderful costumes!

I really love Maasai beadwork in RL, and appreciate the history and tradition behind their approach to fashion. When plotting out my Ahsoka diary, I have scenes coming up on Shilli, and I envisioned something similar for the Togruta people - who are also semi-nomadic hunters and herders across their own grasslands.

Oh, Padmé Amidala, without a doubt! Say what you want about the PT, but the costume designs were quite literally out of this world; there's really not a bad one in the bunch!

 

Ooooh, but I absolutely love the questions that came courtesy of today! Thanks for asking, and now, let me get right to answering.

Oh, deadlines are definitely better for my muse. Anything to guard against procrastination - as much as I can, anyway! - and to inspire productivity in a relatively timely matter is always helpful. But, I appreciate and am grateful for a variety of both in the challenges I sign up for!

I think that any trope can be interesting, depending on how it's handled by the author. I've read some absolute gems using both tropes, and have even written versions of them myself!

I love the violin. If I ever learned an instrument, that would be it!

Oh but this brought back memories!! I went through such a Sailor Moon phase as a youngling, I'm not even ashamed to admit! When I was a little older, Lois and Clark and the Pretender were the first live action shows that snared my interest! Both aired too late for me to watch on school nights, so I remember taping the new episodes on VHS and watching them on the weekends as a treat. I had such a crush on Dean Cain, in the interest of complete honesty.

Yes I did! A white, spotted teddy bear named Sua that I still have. She's been too much of a dear friend to let go of just yet.

Definitely flowers and shrubs out of doors! I love getting my hands dirty in the soil and working in the sunshine. I'm particularly proud of my ability to artfully trim hedges - that used to be my go-to role when I worked for my family's landscaping business. At home, I love growing herbs and vegetables to cook with, too. There's nothing more satisfying than gardening!

Nothing formal, no - art school was too much of an expense to justify with it being such a difficult industry to sustain a career in. But my father was formally trained, and he passed his skills and knowledge onto me.

EC/EC! I usually write OCs as supporting cast for my ECs, and don't have nearly enough of them featuring in stories of their own. I hope to fix that in the future, though!

I have really only done it once, with my Kyp/OC DDC back in the day! But it was a fun experience and I wouldn't mind doing something similar for future projects. Especially with all of the wonderful OCs we currently have on the boards serving as such bountiful inspiration.

This is an interesting question. Most of all, I enjoy the additional layer of intimacy it adds to portraying a relationship, along with the opportunity it presents to flex my creative writing skills as far as dialogue and imagery are concerned. As for what's challenging, I think it's much the same as any plot element: knowing when and where to include mentioning such bonds, then in what quantity and how to do so in a way that's believable to achieve just the right emotional impact. So, you know, typical author's dilemma.

We've seen a little bit of them in the NEU now, but I would love to see more of the Kiffar, especially as far as their psychometry is concerned! That may be more of a latent Force talent than an actual tradition, but there has to be such an interesting culture behind that gift that I would love to hear the official story on. (And in the meantime I am having lots of fun coming up with fanons of my own for my Sintas diary! )

The Vors! Their design was interesting, I thought - something that was avian and mammalian and reptilian all at once - and I was always intrigued by the way they made music out of the wind through how it interacted with their architecture. It was a beautiful element that I would love to have expanded on.

To be completely honest, I found the ST lacking in their non-human designs. The few new species they did introduce were very bland and one note. I mean:

Spoiler: Big ol' Picture Behind Cut

Especially compared to the creativity of the PT and OT, not a one of those designs impresses me or makes me want to know more - especially when knowing the creativity sci fi concept artists/authors are capable of otherwise!

But, as far as the NEU goes, I do love the Lasat from Rebels! Especially for the great stories they've inspired here on the boards.

I hate to be disappointing with my answers, again, but I have to admit that I personally found the ST bland and uninspiring; it's just not to my taste! In my opinion, there was a lack of fleshing out the main characters, let alone thinking of a side character that I really want to know more about. So I couldn't even tell you, in answer.

Ooooh where do I start? I've been reading and writing for so many years in so many fandoms that I have quite a list now! I'm going to stick to ones I write for in an effort to be succinct.

So, to write: Luke/Mara, Han/Leia, Jag/Jaina, and Rex/Ahsoka are my faves for Star Wars. (Though Cara/Din has recently snuck up on my heart even with me first going pfft, this show doesn't need romance, and I'm currently really diving into Sintas/Boba for my diary. )

For NSWFF, my top OTPs to write for are Sif/Loki from the MCU (more through my uber long 'verse than canon now), Spock/Uhura from Star Trek, and Shiro/Allura from Voltron. (And too many from Tolkien to even begin to list! )

What draws me most to a couple is mutual respect and support. I love couples that compliment each other, couples that are friends and partners first before they are lovers. Couples that would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that their significant other is safe and happy, but without enabling their respective flaws or glossing over their rougher edges. Couples that are awed by each other, who build each other up, and who are better for loving each other. Yep, those are the couples that I adore reading and writing about.

Oh that's easy: Luke Skywalker/Mara Jade, for the win! Obviously he woke up next to her after the ST and had to tell his wife all about his horrible, no good, very bad dream!

I usually like the pairings we see in Star Wars! Though you can definitely call Kylo Ren/Rey a NOTP for me. That's a villain, and a ship, that I really can't get behind, personally, in any way.

I kinda answered that above for devils' questions!

Well, my Sif/Loki definitely counts in the MCU. Back in the day I had all sorts of fun writing a Kyp/Mara AU - sacrilege, I know! - and I am currently enjoying reading both a very intriguing Hera/Thrawn and Boba/Leia story over at AO3. Then of course there's the great Poldopalooza! Honestly, I am open to giving most pairings a try. Crack pairings always have the potential for great fun!

I don't want to be too negative here after voicing my ST opinions, but I am a veteran of the A:TLA ship wars back in the day and I still ship Zuko/Katara as one of the great loves of my heart. So Aang and Katara was my first instinctive answer to this question. Same goes for Lance and Allura in Voltron. No . . . just no. More definite NOTPs for me. But in both instances I love all the characters involved and want there to be a strong friendship . . . just not romance.

. . . but I also acknowledge that people can love whatever they want and ship however they so desire! Those are just my opinions.