Violette

Name or Pseudonym:
Violette

Email address:
violette@uplinktech.net

Website (if any):
http://www.uplinktech.net/violette

Where are you from (Country and/or State)?
Suburbs of Boston, MA

How did you get into the Mag7 fandom?
I got hooked on the fandom when I read Cindy Coombs’ crossover fic Refuge. I’m a fan of her Sentinel fic and came across the story on a Sentinel site. From there, I found BlackRaptor and all the other wonderful M7 sites and was firmly hooked on our guys.

How long have you been writing Mag7 fanfiction?
Well, I started writing in 2000, but didn’t post anything until 2001.

How has your writing changed since you first started?
I like to think my writing has improved as I get more practice and experiment with different techniques. It helps that it’s so easy to write about the guys. I know my style and dialogue is much better now than in my earliest efforts in my first fandom.

Is this your only fandom, your major fandom or one of the many?
My first fandom was MacGyver. I’ve been a part of that online fandom since around 1990, though I didn’t write anything there until 1994 or so. I’m still active there, but focus mostly on M7 for my writing. I do follow a couple other fandoms, but M7 is the only one in which I’m currently writing.

What is it about this fandom that you like?
I like that there are so many characters with different personalities. The chemistry makes it so much fun to write them. The people in this fandom are great, too, especially my fellow writers. People are nice here and fairly tolerant of different ideas or deviations from canon – something that is often rare in fandoms. There are also so many good writers here, too. The quality of the writing is much higher than in most of the other fandoms I’ve come across. There are some writers here whose work is as good or better than many published novelists.

Did you like the Old West before Mag7 or did that come afterwards?
I’ve always been a fan of the Old West. I have many fond memories of Saturday afternoons watching reruns of old Westerns on television. There’s just something about cowboys that has always appealed to me.

Did you see the show before you got into the fandom or after, or haven’t you seen the show yet?
I had seen the show before getting into the fandom and thoroughly enjoyed it, though I didn’t get into the fandom until I discovered all the great fanfic out there.

What do you think about the show opposed to the fandom? Is the show your main interest and the fandom comes after or the other way around and why?
I did enjoy the show a lot, but I’m not the kind of fan that collects memorabilia and such. It was the characters that drew me in, and all the good fanfic writing that kept me here. It’s the writing that is really my main focus.

What are you working on right now?
I’m currently trying to finish a new AU fic called Reveille. It’s turning out to be quite an epic, so I’m not sure how long it will take to finish it. I also have a half-dozen or so other works-in-progress.

How and where do you write?
I write in all sorts of places. At home, at work, on airplanes, in hotel rooms... I’d probably even write in my car if I could figure out how to do that and drive at the same time. I used to write strictly on paper, then transcribe into the computer with voice recognition software, but when I had surgery on my writing hand, I couldn’t hold a writing implement, so I adapted to writing at the keyboard. Now, it comes naturally to me either way.

What’s the hardest part about writing in this fandom?
When I finished my first story, it took me a while to get up the nerve to post it, since there was so much excellent fic out there that I didn’t want to suffer by comparison. The other hard thing is that there are so many different directions to take the guys that it’s often difficult to choose. I have tons of story ideas just waiting to be written.

Why do you write?
I need to do it. I work as a software developer, which usually requires more logic than creativity, and writing allows me to let loose all the creative instincts I can’t use at work. I think my head would explode if I couldn’t release my imagination in some way :-)

What writers do you think you've been influenced by?
I’ve always been a voracious reader, so it’s hard to pin down any specific influences. I’ve read everything from Shakespeare and Milton to trashy romance and hard-boiled detective novels. I admit to a fondness for mysteries and thrillers, in particular, which might explain my tendency toward action and angst in my own writing. I’ve also been influenced by a lot of the great fanfiction I’ve read over the years.

What advice would you offer to beginning writers?
The first thing I would say is, “Just write.” The second would be, “Get thee a good beta reader.” Everyone makes typos, and even the best spellchecker won’t catch them all. When you review your own work, you see what you expect to see, not necessarily what’s there on the computer/paper. Others can usually find those boo-boos better. I learned this mostly from my ‘other life’ in computer work. There, a missing semicolon or incorrect letter can make a world of difference, and they are often impossible to spot in your own work. Even professional writers have editors.

Where do you get your inspiration for your stories from?
Anywhere and everywhere. My first M7 fic was inspired by a dream. One of my others was inspired by a documentary I saw on the History Channel. Music, television shows, vacations, books – you name it, and it can inspire a story.

Do you read any of the other AU’s (ATF, LB and so on) out there and do you have a favourite?
I read a lot of AU’s, though my favorite has to be ATF. The first M7 fic I read was in the ATF AU, and so far, that’s where most of my writing has been focused. I do like Old West fic, but don’t find it as easy to write as a modern AU, which is why I haven’t yet completed any OW fics.

What do you look for as a reader of fanfiction?
I like a good plot. I also need reasonably happy endings. I can’t read death stories, since they bother me. When I read any fiction, I’m looking for entertainment, so I don’t like stories that leave me feeling sad or depressed. The grammar and spelling have to be reasonably good, too. Mistakes always jump out at me and disrupt the flow of a good story, and too many of them just make it too difficult to read. Oh, and I really dislike MarySue fics.

Do you think there's anything missing in the fandom? Types of stories or certain characters that you'd like to see more of?
I’d like to see stories that focus on all of the seven, rather than just one character. I’m somewhat guilty of this myself, due to my fondness for Ezra. Still, I do like stories that keep the guys in character.

Are there any characters or situations that you don't think you'll ever write?
I can’t write deathfics, slash, or het romance. I don’t read deathfics or het stories, either, and while I do read some select slash fics, I can’t write them at all.

Who’s your favourite character and why?
Ezra, without question. I was especially drawn to him, since I’ve always had a fondness for smart-alecky characters. I like that he’s flawed. It makes him more complex and gives him depth. He wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if he were perfect.

Who’s your second favourite character and why?
Vin. I see him as something of a counterpoint to Ezra. He’s complex, but in a different way from Ezra. I like to play the two off of each other.

Who’s your favourite bad guy and why?
I think Governor Hopewell is my favorite. He’s so deliciously sleazy.

What’s your favourite episode and why?
It’s a tough choice, but I think I have to go with Serpents. I’m partial to angst, and this episode has that in spades. It’s also nicely emotional and focuses on my favorite guy, so that’s a plus, too. It shows Ezra’s conflict with himself and has a classic mystery plot.

What’s your favourite story and why?
There are far too many to count. There are so many good writers and so many different kinds of stories that I’m able to find one to suit whatever mood I happen to be in at the moment.

Any favourite author?
I enjoy many different writing styles, so I don’t have any one clear favorite.

What storyline would you most have liked to see in season 3?
I would have liked to see Hopewell and the statehood issue revisited, and I think having a follow-up to Obsession would have been interesting. They left both of those storylines open-ended, and it would have been nice to have some closure. On the other hand, it does allow more potential story ideas.

If you could change one thing about the show, what would it be?
I would have liked to see all the guys get equal opportunities for storylines and delve more deeply into their characters and backgrounds.

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