Author Interview: Rosette-Cullen

americnxidiot Recommendation: Momento Mori By Rosette-Cullen

1. What compelled you to start writing Twilight fic?

What originally piqued my interest was the way the characters had such distinct personalities. I had been writing at the time and decided that I wanted to put out my own little one-shot, and then I wanted some critique via the anonymity of the internet. This ultimately has improved my written style and grammar ten-fold.

2. Where did you get the idea for Memento Mori?

Believe it or not, a dream. I had this one scene stuck in my head where two characters were pulled aside from everyone else and had this heated conversation, and then, without warning, they just pounced on each other and, well, chapter 9 was born.

I also had the idea of a girl being stuck with one boy, while hopelessly longing after another. That one sparked the old creative juices and I had the whole thing done in about a month.

3. How do you react when people (myself included hah) tell you how much they are bothered by MM's Bella?

I love it! The fact that people are both bothered and intrigued by her character and selfishness lets me know I’m doing something right. Towards the middle I hated Bella, absolutely loathed her, but when I thought of making her more likable by giving her more room to explain, she didn’t come out like I wanted. Her natural character—or the character in my head—was selfish and also guilty for what she was doing. If people like her for being new and exciting, that gives me joy, and if people are so worked up that they leave several paragraph-long reviews on all the reasons why she’s an idiot, that also makes me jump for joy.

4. One thing I love about your writing are the strange, but fitting details you use to describe the characters. Are these based off anything, or do they just come to you as you write?

Details, details, details.

Details are the key to making a fanfiction character seem real and likable. Every person has needs; every person has quirks and physical things that define them. When I create a character in my head, I see them clear as day in front of me. Some characters remind me of people I’ve known, and some just come naturally.

The one author that I actually strive to be as creative in detail is gallantcorkscrews. I started paying more attention to detail after actually stopping and going back to reread a paragraph that made me feel like I was actually with the characters. Ever since Stockholm Syndrome I’ve been actually—gulp—rereading what I write before sending it to be beta’d by Kitschisme.

5. You've written a ton of stories, both all human and vampfics. Is there any appeal of writing one genre over the other?

All of my chaptered stories have been AH with the exception of one. I think in the long run I’d be more comfortable with human over vampire because I write best with something I relate to. High school stories are probably better written because I live in that environment everyday, whereas I’d have to sit and think about the different possibilities regarding a vampfic. One-shots with vamps also help me to get into that mindset, and I absolutely love to write a morbid Edward.

6. Besides Otep, who you've named in your author's notes, what inspires you when you write?

Besides Otep? That’s probably for the best; I could write a whole paper on why Otep is my inspiration. I’m living for August 18th.

Music greatly inspires me when I write because it changes my mood. For example, if I’m listening to Shake It or Make it Rain by Tom Waits I might do something fun and lemony. If I’m listening to Brilliance of Shadow—which has spurred probably about ten one-shots—by Mainline, I might do something sultry. And if I listen to Otep, Slipknot or Thrice, I’d do something serious and emotional. And then with The Cure, well, it could be a mix between the three.

The other prominent contender in my writing is Henry Miller. His writing made me think that it was okay that maybe, just maybe, there didn’t have to be a happy ending to every story.

7. Which of your Edwards is your favorite and why?

Ah, tough one… tough one….

I would have to go with two. One would be Edward from Memento Mori. I think that Edward bothered me the most when writing because I am a full fledged romanticist and not being able to say that he gave Bella a sly glance or something to show that he was in love with her was torture. The fact that he’s so calm and collected, but also has all these quirks and issues and is basically the bad boy with imperfections is what I want in a boy down to a T.

The other would be the Edward from Worshiping Kismet. The naivety of being a newborn, and then the heartbreak of seeing the one you love go and standing by having no other choice but to let it happen ate at me. I had no idea where the story would end until he was walking out the door completely crushed and then came back in A Venerable Heart.

8. How do you think you've grown as a writer since you started writing fic?

I have changed so much since my first fanfiction. So much.

Not only has my grammar been perfected to the point where it’s improved my grades in school and in public speech, but also my sentence structure, my dialogue, my details, my plot and my character development have all become so much better. The critiquing and also reading other authors who have improved monumentally since their first posts also help. It’s a learning process well worth while.

9. What is your biggest pet peeve when reading stories?

My biggest pet peeve is when people put “he said, she said, he implored, she wondered” after every time a character speaks. If the writing is detailed enough that the reader can catch on after a quote to know who’s speaking, then there’s no need for it.

10. Having written both, which slash pairing do you prefer: Edward/Carlisle or Edward/Jasper?

Edward and Carlisle.

If I could redo Twilight and make it about them, I would. Carlisle is just the best character ever. Next to Eidolon and Wraith from the Daemonica Series by Larissa Ione.