And here’s our first writer spotlight!
Firetestsgold has an incredible knack for capturing Clarke and Lexa’s traits in both AU and canon verse while keeping them realistic and deeply layered, which can be an especially daunting task when writing AU – but this author makes it look easy.
The intricate worlds she builds are vivid and compelling, imagined utilizing captivating prose and equally excellent pacing. Clearly an enormous amount of thought and effort is poured into her work which leaves you with but one question: WHEN. IS. THE. NEXT. CHAPTER?
Featured in the book is an exclusive one-shot which we can’t wait for you to read!
Special announcement! In addition to the piece in the book
she has written, in celebration of the Clexa art book, firetestsgold has written two additional chapters of “blood
rush in the hazy glow,” the first of which has just been posted over a03!
What is it about Clarke and Lexa that inspired you?
The
potential. As the couple we saw on screen, they were fantastic. But the
reason I love the ship so dearly is because of the potential stories
that could have been told—and that, truthfully, I was expecting. Two
young women leading different cultures clash as their two peoples come
into conflict and contact, then they start to fall in love even as they
struggle with politics and morals and survival. That set-up is golden in
any setting, but the world of TheLoo was even better for it. Imagine
Clarke and Lexa traveling to different clans together. Imagine them
fighting a real war together. Imagine them being on opposite sides of a
war despite their romantic feelings for each other. There was just so
much potential; I wanted to explore all of these stories, especially
after the show failed to.
What is your favorite Clexa moment?
The
Bow is probably the best moment of the entire series, and everyone
knows why. Honorable mention, however, goes to the moment in the second
season when Clarke and Lexa are marching side by side to Mt. Weather and
Lexa looks over and gives Clarke a small smile. The first time I ever
saw that, I loved it even more than the kiss from the same episode: two
total badass young women, marching together at the head of their army,
to save their people, hopeful for the future where they can be together.
That moment kinda encapsulates everything I love about them.
Can you briefly describe your writing process? Do you outline extensively?
My
outlines are pretty simple, just one line descriptions of what I want
to happen and convey in each scene of each chapter. When I actually get
to writing, I write the first draft of everything by hand in a notebook.
It’s fast and messy and godawful. Then I copy that draft onto my
laptop, re-writing it as I copy it, then I edit the version on the
laptop a day later. If I want to re-write a scene, I re-write it in the
notebook and start the process over from there.
You’ve written a popular canon piece “strong in the broken places” as well as a popular
AU piece "blood rush in the hazy glow”. Was it more difficult to capture the
characterization in the AU piece? Does your process change at all when
writing AU vs. canon?
The
process doesn’t really change, but both are difficult to write in their
own way. Characterization is way more difficult in AU pieces because so
much of the our understanding of the characters in canon comes from
their situation, and we only get brief glimpses of the way they would be
if they weren’t constantly in survival mode or burdened with the
responsibility of leading their people. But once I get the AU
characterization down and I understand their actions, AUs as a whole are
easier to write: dialogue, setting, action, etc. Canon characterization
is easier but canon world-building and style are real challenges. In a
good way.
When a fic becomes popular, do you feel an extra pressure to “perform”?
Yeah,
definitely. It’s weird to read so many different comments saying, “Wow,
I hope this happens!” or reading into a throwaway joke line—then I
started to consider the possibility of a storyline in that route. Or
even just if a lot of people like the chapter, I feel bound to put extra
effort in to make sure the next chapter is just as good and that it has
the same elements as the last one. I really love it, though, the
comments and feedback on stories are great, plus they jumpstart the
inspiration to get me writing.
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