Author Interview: eibbil

Blondie's Recommendation: Finding the Key By eibbil

1. What was it about the Twilight Fandom that made you want to write fanfiction for it?

When I first finished the series, I didn't have any intention of writing in this universe and held that intention for quite some time – and then a plot dropped straight into my lap and I had no choice but to follow the muse. So it was more a need to write out the plot than the fandom itself – what keeps me writing? The ever-elusive "What if..." and "wouldn't it be neat to see..." that will probably have me continuing as long as the plots hold out. Not to mention – vampires and werewolves. What's not cool about that?

2. Is writing a new venture for you and how are you finding your way through the process?

No, I started writing when I was still in middle school and never really stopped. I carried that love into college and majored in English with a Creative Writing concentration. I stopped writing for a long time while I was busy raising two beautiful little boys, but got back into it through fanfiction when they were a little older and I had more time (several fandoms but most notably Xfiles and Harry Potter) and found it a great way to indulge my love of writing and still have time for work/family.

3. What made you choose the genre you write in versus the others?

I've always been a sucker for a love story, in the fiction I read I will choose a love story over every other. I love the dynamic of two people finding each other and working through the problems to find their way together – I also enjoy writing lasting love, proving that the love story doesn't end when the I Do's are said.

4. What do you do to avoid writer's block? If it's unavoidable, what do you do to surpass it?

It is unavoidable – blocks will happen even on the best thought out plot. Almost every time I've been blocked, I've found that I'm forcing the story, or the characters, in the wrong direction. When I shift gears, or start over, and just let the story tell itself, the block fades and I'm in full writing flow again. Sometimes it means deleting a paragraph, sometimes whole pages.

5. Do you find that any certain characters are more difficult to write than others?

The biggest challenge I've ever faced was introducing and Original Character into a canon-based fic. I wanted her to be real, to fit seamlessly into the canon story without the stigma of Mary Sue attached to her – because she wasn't me, she was just a character that wanted her place, her story to be told.
In the Twilight Universe, I've not yet had a problem connecting with any one character in order to write them, except maybe Rosalie (knocks wood) but I have a difficult time envisioning or writing non-canon pairings.

6. What do you like to see in a review?

While I adore the "omgfabulous write more nao!" enthusiasm (and the "update now!" ones we just won't get into), I prefer a review that comments on one (or more) element from the story/chapter that the reader enjoyed.

7. What made you pick your pen name?

It's my real name spelled backwards. Back in the Potter fandom, I was known for evil cliffhangers. Around that time I did an LJ meme that asked for your name spelled backwards and realized that I truly was eibbil. It stuck and I've used it ever since.

8. Tell us the guiltiest pleasure you indulge in ;).

That'd just be telling, wouldn't it? My current guilty pleasure is time spent with a wonderful friend and a very long string of emails, but apart from that? My guilty pleasure is McVitties Caramel Digestive biscuits. They're positively sinful. (We won't mention ignoring the clutter in my house in favor of writing – isn't that everyone's?)