Features » Oyangelina Interview with Oy! Angelina
Fanfic pen-name: Oy! Angelina
Real name: Courtney Wells
Age (as of interview): 23
Educational accomplishments: B.A. in Sociology
Began writing fanfics: December 2002
Fanfic writing credits: Pensieve and Snogwarts: A Parody
Current Fanfic projects: Completing Pensieve
Current Original projects: The Woven series of books as well as other novels independent of it.
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What reason, besides being a fan in general, do you have for having written fanfiction? What purpose has it served?
My friend and roommate at the time, Carrie, convinced me to read Harry Potter. I finished off the first 4 books in the series (which was all that was available at the time) in about a month and found myself very charmed by the world of Harry Potter. It was around then that I started appreciating how big fanfiction was and thought it might be a fun distraction from my winter finals.
Initially, I wrote this other fanfic called The Hogwarts Hellions – heavy on the Mary Sue. Pensieve – the fanfic I’m actually known for – was my second attempt at fanfiction. Ironically, it was done to promote readership for The Hogwarts Hellions, but it took me about 7 chapters of Pensieve to realize which was the better story. I think that’s a great comment on writing, no matter the medium. You can’t plan success anymore than you can plan what you’ll feel passionate about doing.
How has reading and writing fanfiction in general affected your original writing?
I think it’s helped me develop the base skills that any writer needs to create a successful and engaging story – creating a unique and intriguing premise, consistent characterization, plausible plot development, and the avoidance of clichés. Fanfic, when done right, helps young writers find and hone their voice as well as style of writing without having to go to the trouble a creating a world and characters all on their own. They learn how to work around common pitfalls and trappings in a genre so that their fanfic’s tale will stand out from all the rest in some way.
It’s not really any different from trying to write a book. The fantasy genre is no stranger to swords, sorcery, elves, dragons, and all the rest. The task of the fantasy writer is to touch-base with why people read fantasy without giving them a story they’ve already read. It’s not impossible, just challenging. I think that if someone can make their fanfic stand out against hundreds of thousands that are similar to it, then they have the talent and innovation they need for original writing.
Do you think reviews have helped to improve your writing?
Absolutely. I harbor no delusion that my writing is perfect and that I have nothing to improve upon as an author. In fact, I would be very depressed if I thought I had reached my peak for writing.
What I’ve learned about reviewing is that it draws a thick line in what is constructive criticism and all the rest. A lot of people had nothing but glowing, encouraging things to say about Pensieve and a few people wrote flames that were so ridiculous that I had to wonder if they were reviewing for the wrong fanfic. I can’t recall any specific review that made me completely rethink my story-telling approach, but a great many told me what people liked seeing in my story and that helped. It’s important for a writer to know what is appreciated and looked for in their style because they know who their readers are, what their readers are responding to, and can keep them happy by catering to some of these expectations.
When did you know that your story Woven was worth pursuing to completion? I get lots of ideas for stories, but oftentimes I don't feel it's a BOOK.
Tough question. That’s up there with asking someone “how do you know you’re in love?” The best and only answer I have as a general rule is that you have to feel that this story you’re creating is real somewhere and deserves to be known. When the idea starts haunting you and you can’t go a day without getting a new direction or development for it, you might be sitting on a book.
Woven started out as an idea I had one day when my criminology class got cancelled and I had to wait around for Carrie to show up so we could walk back to the dorms together. I started lazily penning ideas and character concepts into my notebook, but I didn’t really flesh things out until I asked Carrie “what would it be like if we had to physically wonder around my imagination?” To which Carrie replied: “I’d be pretty scared and more than a little pissed.” We shared a laughed and began to make up things we might encounter during the adventure.
A few weeks later, it stopped being a joke between friends and a game for bored minds – it was a book.
What is most rewarding when writing?
Writing is a process, so I find several things rewarding about it. I feel rewarded when I get a unique idea that could be a book, when I have epiphanies that make the idea feel original and clever, when I write out a scene or dialogue that I feel is inspired, when someone eventually reads it all and has the reactions I had hoped for, and when someone reads between the lines of my story and gets an impression from it that I hadn’t thought of before they mentioned it. I find all of that very rewarding because I feel like I’m making a real connection with the reader as well as creating a story that people want to believe in, even if it’s just for a short time.
Where do you find inspiration and how does it strike for you? Does it come slowly while you're thinking of an idea or out of nowhere?
Inspiration comes in no one way to me and probably no other writer would say the same thing. Sometimes I’m writing and follow a logical train of thought to a satisfying end and, other times, an idea might as well be a bolt from the blue or an act of god. I can say, though, that some of the places I most consistently have a great idea are when I walked to classes listening to music, when riding as a passenger in a car, or while taking a shower. Some of my very best ideas are the result of a hot shower.
Do you write everyday day no matter what or only when you're inspired? Is there any particular time you like to write? Midnight, for instance?
With the exception of personal obligations or major exhaustion I do try to write every day. Usually this ends up translating to me writing 5 times a week between 1k – 2k words a day. This is about 10 – 20 pages a week that I try to produce. Since I’m a bit of a night owl, most of my writing gets done after 4 – 5 p.m. and later into the night. It’s always been harder for me to sit down and seriously write in the morning or middle of the day.
How do you add depth to your characters?
I try to build characters from the ground up with all the little facts and trivia any real person would have. It’s important to know your characters’ backgrounds and what roles you intend for them to play in your story, but you need to know a lot more about them than the milestones of their lives. If you can answer questions about a character like “what’s his astrological sign?”, “is she a cat or a dog person?” or “how likely are they to skip out on the bill?” then you’d be surprised how much these little details add up to a complete character.
Are there any characters you've written that turned out differently than you planned? If so, how and were you happy with the change?
Characters are a lot different in action than they are when they’re just a concept or a function in your story. Generally, my villains can prove surprising. I’ll usually sell their villainy and motives short until they take on a life and personality of their own. Initially, I try and force the character back into the original box they came out of, but they’ve outgrown it by this time and prove surprising even to me. I’ve long since accepted that, once you’ve created a character, you can’t make them do anything they don’t want to and that’s usually in the best interests of the story.
Is there any scenario or situation that you've always wanted to write but never could?
The first two words that popped into my mind were sex and religion. Between Pensieve and Woven, I’ve touched upon both but not really to any extent that explores either topic in the way or respect it deserves. Sex and religion are very personal, very private topics for a great many people and, at this point in my writing, I’m not sure I want to risk offending or belittling people with something I wrote on either topic. I’m sure that when I stop feeling squeamish, gathered some more life experience, and have decided how to best articulate myself, I won’t be nearly so shy on writing about either.
Are there genres you like to write better than others? Do you adopt different points of view?
I feel that, through and through, I will be a fantasy writer. That doesn’t mean I won’t have subcategories attached to certain books (i.e. Dark Fantasy, Fantasy with romantic elements, Young Adult Fantasy), but I like fantasy for its mutability and limitless potential. As for points of view, I favor the third-person narrative. I think that you get to see more of a character’s adventure when you follow them over their shoulder or have an omniscient perspective to attach yourself to. If I have several strong characters, I might shift perspectives for the reader so they can see the story from a different set of eyes.
What gives you ideas for titles of stories?
The stories themselves. I prefer if I can think of a single word to sum up the feel and purpose of the story, but I’ll settle for a phrase if it’s befitting the book. Generally, I favor titles that you have to actually read the book to completely appreciate.
What motivates you to keep writing?
As glib as this sounds – me, myself, and I. Writing is a solitary process by nature. Unless you’re collaborating on a story with someone else, you have nobody to help you come up with ideas or phrase things effectively. There are people in my life that enjoy my writing and hope for my success in doing it, but it’s my ambition and desire to finish a story the best way I can that keeps me going. I’m thrilled to have fans and people who love my writing, but I wouldn’t be writing at all if it wasn’t important to me and I didn’t feel personal satisfaction in doing it.
You've said often that dedication is important for a writer - do you think that's the most important thing? Or what is?
Dedication is the most important thing for a writer – provided you actually are a writer. It’s an unfortunate truth, but not everyone is meant to be good at writing. Just because you’re literate, have ideas, and can string a sentence together doesn’t mean another living soul will enjoy reading it. It’s like comedy, in certain respects. Nobody can teach you to be funny or to take a joke, you’re just born and raised with some extent of the ability or you’re not. There is something innate to writing that all the classes in the world won’t teach.
I would say that the most important thing for a writer to have is charisma. If you’ve got that, then dedication is the most you can expect from yourself. You have to be dedicated in all steps of the writing process - in creating ideas, researching them, bringing them to life, completing them, refining them, and getting other people excited about them.
Is there any advice you'd like to give to aspiring writers?
Find an outlet for your writing that will encourage you to keep writing, get ideas, and accept feedback. Maybe this is fanfiction, maybe it’s table-top or online role-playing, maybe it’s a writing contest, or maybe it’s just the enjoyment of your friends. Whatever it takes to make you write something, finish it, and do your best is where you need to start.
Never sell your idea short. Do all the researching and outlining you need to tell it right and make it feel real. Nobody will ever care about the story as much as you will and if you can’t give it the attention it deserves, other people won’t be bothered to either.
Have people you trust to read your work when it’s finished and give you honest feedback. Professional editors and agents won’t spare your feelings or forgive errors as easily as your friends and family. The best thing for an aspiring writer is having someone to help make their writing as best as possible with the criticisms that are needed to accomplish this (even at the expense of the author’s ego) and to support the writer when they get rejected (which will happen more than you’ll like it to). Think about all those people on “American Idol” who get laughed off stage – they needed a friend to tell them that maybe they were reaching too high or needed to practice more than blind support that led to public humiliation.
Finally, some people take years to get recognized for their talent. You’re in good company because even the current bestsellers had to suffer through slush piles and deal with countless rejections before someone gave them a chance. If you believe your story deserves to be published, don’t stop until you find someone who agrees. One hundred rejections might hurt, but when your story finally gets accepted it makes it all the more sweet and rewarding.
Last updated by   Solarism the November 24th 2005, 9pm.
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