WOW GUY! Look at our fourth interviewy-ness thing!!! We have today, and if I might add, we can all congratulate him on recently becoming a monitor (for the record, this was happening before Poet was all bumped up to "Mo(d)unt Olympus" to rule and things. But enough about him being better than us, let's get onto the interview!!! Disclaimer: Poet does not think these things, I posted them for a joke. Poet is a wonderful person who does not think in any way, shape or form that he is better than us...he's also one of my favourite writers so hush bad news spreader you!
THE POET
ABOUT THE POET
Username: The Poet (though for some reason some people call me "teoP"...probably because of that annoying stalker...)
Gender: human...male...
Age: Its impolite to ask...
Languages: English :) and a little Spanish...
Favorite Fictional Character: Riddler/Nightwing/Alfred/Sherlock Holmes/I could go on but you asked for Character and not characters...
Taste In Comics: I like adventures, thrillers and mysteries. I don't like the bloody dark kind of comics.
THE QUESTIONS!
1) What Fan-fiction are you writing currently?
Well, currently I am a part of the DC Legacy fic group, which continues the DC universe as if Flashpoint didn't happen. I'm writing a series called "Batman's Butler", which focuses on Alfred Pennyworth and his adventures. The first arc is called "Berettas and Lollipops" and focuses on his time as a spy.
2) An interesting story as well, so what can we expect to see from Ol' Alfred?
Expect to see Alfred team up with some surprising individuals (surprising at least in my mind...I look forward to seeing what you guys think of these characters). You'll also see some revisiting of some pre-crisis concepts in this arc and even more in the next arc which might be interesting. I've planned out 4 arcs after Berettas which I am entertained by and, I hope, so will you guys.
3) So what encouraged you to start fan-ficing?
Well, I have always considered myself a writer (some would call me a poet, but they're crazy :P ). I have played with doing a fan fic ever sense I joined the site. In fact, I found comic vine when I was researching the Riddler because I was playing with doing a story about him. I have never written that story, but I did find comic vine. The reason I actually got into the fan fic forum was because I saw the sign up for Primepower53's DC's 5th world Order.
To satisfy my curiosity about what the 5th world was, I clicked on it. I read the description and saw that, in addition to writers, they were also looking for editors. I always enjoyed creative writing groups and my editing was getting rusty, so I volunteered to be an editor for the group. So, that was how I got into fan-ficing. I just took a different route than most people.
4) So, do you think your work for DC's 5th world order is your best or do you think "Batman's Butler" us superior?
*chuckles* Batman's Butler is definitely superior.
As a member of the 5th World Order, I was pretty much just an editor who also kept track of the stories in the 5th world order Library. I did start a story staring the Phantom Stranger, Green Arrow, and John Constantine (with Dr. Fate joining in later) called DC: 5th World Order- Tales of Mystery Chapter One , but I actually didn't feel like continuing it for a little bit. Of course, the group was discontinued around this same time. It was a fun experience I will say. I liked being an editor for that group (if you look at the stories in the library hard enough you will find at least one person I know of who was sloppy enough to leave a few letters bolded from when I edited them).
All the same, I enjoy the freedom of this series where I can focus on Alfred and his adventures. I feel a little more comfortable with him than with Tales of Mystery...
5) So is it safe to say you like DC characters more? Or is it just you've never really thought of doing a marvel fic?
I prefer DC more. Mind you, I like some Marvel characters (Spider-man and Gambit for examples), but DC is closer to my heart. i hold no grudges against marvel but I just like DC more. I know DC characters more than I know Marvel characters so I think it is easier for me to write a DC-related story.
6) What about the fan-fic board appeals to you?
I think the thing about CV's fan-fic section which really appeals to me is how much thought is put into most of the stories. I've read a few fics on other sites which were dry and not too much energy was put into them. However, here we have a large selection of good writers and aspiring writers.
7) Why should other users visit the fan-fic board or write their own fics?
I dare someone to take 5 minutes out of their day and look at least one fan fic. There are a lot of good writers and some of the ideas and concepts are interesting. Writing a story is a nice way to express feelings and from what I have seen and heard we definitely have a lot of passionate people here on Comic vine. If you like to RPG then I think you can easily do a fan fic (its less crazy and also people aren't trying to recruit you to join the registration/anti-registration parties!).
8) Any advice you'd like to give to other fan-fic writers?
Well, as a person who has just begun writing in the fan fic section I am not sure I am really qualified to give much advice regarding this branch of the vine. As a former fic editor, I would say always reread your work so it makes sense and so most of the spelling is correct. As a reader, I would say always try to have a compatible web browser so you can format your stories and so they are not all scrunched into this humongous paragraph (I have seen a few new users who are wonderful writers but the format was really why not many people could read it and appreciate it).
The only other advice I can think of connects to communications and advertising stories. Maybe I'm preaching to the choir here, but it seems to me the fan fic section of the site needs some more attention. As a host of several community projects and a monthly poll, I can sympathize. I am playing with an idea which might help a lot of sections of the site, but it might remain an idea for a little bit. My only real advice is keep talking to people who don’t usually visit the fan fic section and see if you can get more people interested.
Pretty obvious advice I must admit, but that’s what I can think of.
9) Are there any Fan-Fics you think would work well as/are better than comic books out now?
Well, fan fics can do things comic books can not. For example, stories in a fan fic are not limited to what is popular or what will sell. they are about stories the writer wants to see. Plus, most fics are not limited to a certain contingency. If a writer, say, wants Alfred to team up with some big names they can do that without seeking approval.
Fan fic writers can do most anything. They can have crossovers stories which legally would not be possible. They can write "what if?"s or "Elseworld"-like stories and make them cannon without protests from other readers.
I wouldn't call fan fics BETTER than stories in comic books (well...I could name a few which are better than some comics...); Merely the writers have more leeway in what they write. I love reading some fan fics about characters you rarely see in comics; you know, the non-A listers (especially ones about a certain green-wearing fellow with certain punctuation marks).
10) Do you read many fics? If so, what do you look for/are attracted to. If not, why not?
I do try to read fics when I have the time. I will admit I am not a regular reader, but when I have some time I look at the fan fic section. I stay away from batman and superman and focus on less obvious characters fan fic writers decide to write about. Its more fun that way because I can read stories I don't believe i would read when I go to the comic book store. Of course, whenever I see a title involving a certain Eddie Nigma I do have to click on it.
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