Quill2Parchment

[quill2parchment]

Hi everyone! My name is Quilly, and, after discovering and browsing around through a few different writer’s journals on here, I’ve decided this might be something fun to start  

Ever since I was a little kid, writing has brought me immense joy, almost like an escapade from real life, and fanfiction writing has turned into something of a ‘self-care’ mechanism for me. As a native spanish-speaker/ raised in a hispanic culture, a lot of my inspiration would often come from watching telenovelas. Quite honestly, I don’t think all that drama/angst has ever - or will ever - really leave me  

I’ve been reading fanfiction for a really, really long time but I posted my first fanfiction (In This Darkness) sometime in 2016 over at HPFF and transferred it over here in 2017.  I kept up with it pretty rigorously for about 2-3 yearish but then life got hectic and writing took a backseat. When I came back to the story, I realized that it wasn’t exactly going the way I had envisioned it so I took another few months, almost completely rewrote the story, keeping the same plot elements but changing almost everything else, and then started posting it again. 

I really envy authors who can write multiple fics at a time and have a long list on their AP. Sadly, my mind can't handle much at a time, and I only have two current WIP at the moment: 

In This Darkness: 

The fic that started it all and that has been living in my head for so long, I swear the characters have become real human beings in my head and often do with the story as they wish - without my consent. It’s a Lily Luna Potter / OC Romance FanFic. It’s dark at times. There’s a bit of a mystery. There’s also fluff. 

In Light of You

This was written for RogueSlytherin’s “I’ll Read Fluff I Want To” Challenge. It’s Harry/Ginny, a part of the In This Darkness Universe, and takes place after the Battle of Hogwarts and will (probably) end right before In this Darkness. It might be a bit more angsty than your typical fluff pieces but I’m trying really hard to dial back on the drama and instead pour out as much fluff as I possibly can into these pieces. 

Anyways, feel free to ask any questions, share any thoughts, leave any comments - I have really loved becoming a part of this community and am looking forward to getting to know you all even better. 

All my love,

Quilly

[quill2parchment]

Some brief June updates: 

In Light of You (Fluff Challenge): Six chapters have been posted, one is waiting to validated, and about four more are waiting final edits before they can be posted. This leaves me with four more to write before I'm able to meet the fifteen requirement for the challenge, but I really want to make it to all thirty before the end of the month. I'm just going to have to really center down and focus on writing the rest of them. I'm not quite sure just how close in on the beginning of In This Darkness I want to end this collection at.. Right now, I'm thinking I might just meet it all the way until before Chapter Two... and let the stories somewhat link together? maybe? 

In this Darkness: Chapter 10 has been completely written out. It has also been completely taken apart and revised about seven times. It's still a bit rough around the edges though so I'm thinking there's going to be a few more revisions taking place before I'm satisfied with it (or at least enough to post it.) 

All my love,

Quilly 

[FlamingQuilltips]

Hi Quilly, 

Just wanted to drop in here and say hi! I've been reading In Light of You for the review tags and really enjoying this. PS: I'm a secret-drama/angst person too. A few questions for you: 

- What is your favorite era to read/write?
- What do you find most challenging writing In Light of You?
- Which HP character would you love to write apart from ones you're writing now?
- And lastly, apart from HP, what other fandoms do you enjoy?

[quill2parchment]

Hi Ysh! 

- What is your favorite era to read/write? I want to say second generation and marauder era fics are my favorite to read/write. With the second generation characters, they can exist almost as their own OCS. There's something very freeing about being able to take these characters that have a definite space in the HP universe and then be able to take them wherever you like as an author. The Marauder Era has some of my all time favorite characters. They also existed during a very difficult time. I've never been able to get myself to write anything from that period but some of my favorite fanfics of all time exist in that time period. 

- What do you find most challenging writing In Light of You? In Light of You is so out of my comfort zone, I'm tempted to say almost everything about it is a challenge for me. For one thing, I find writing established characters as are Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley intimidating as heck. Although the obvious goal is to create a collection of fluff pieces, the fact that they belong to my In This Darkness universe also comes with having to make some very conscious decisions in their development so that who they are in In Light of You bridges with who they come in In This Darkness. I've also never written a story in present tense, so that, too, has been an interesting challenge, though I'd mark it as a smaller one than the other two. 

- Which HP character would you love to write apart from ones you're writing now? James Sirius Potter is probably my all time favorite second generation character. There's a head canon story I have for him that already exists in my head (and does often peek out during in In This Darkness) but I don't think that'll actually get written for quite a while, if ever. Currently,  my mind is too wrapped in In This Darkness to allow much space to another story, so I feel like I'd have to completely finish that one before I can give another project the same level of energy. 

- And lastly, apart from HP, what other fandoms do you enjoy? Honestly, HP is the only fandom I participate as far as reading/writing fanfic. BUT I do enjoy the Mortal Instruments, anything Marvel, Game of Thrones, Bridgerton, etc. so if I always get a bit excited when I ran across a well written fanfic from one of those universes. 

Thank you for all the questions

Love, 

Quilly 

[quill2parchment]

In Light of You has ten chapter now! Yay! This means I only need five more to meet the entry requirement for the challenge (completely doable) and twenty more to meet my own personal goal of hitting all thirty prompts before the end of the month (a bit more daunting of a task.) 

Also - this is probably (and I when I say probably, I mean, I'm 134034% sure it is) a dumb question but can anyone tell me how to post status updates? When I click on the Create + on top of the forum pages, I see Topic, Event, and Blog Entry, but are any of these status updates? Am I just not looking in the right place? Thank you in advance  

All my love,

Quilly 

Edited June 6, 2022 by quill2parchment

[Oregonian]

Hi, Quilly! @quill2parchment I saw your question about the Status Updates, and I was going to answer, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen it.  So now I'm doing a little late-night trolling through the writers' journals, and I came across it again!  Looks like no one has answered your question, so I will.

Open up the home page of the Forums as normal, and look at the upper right-hand area.  You will see 'Upcoming Events.'  Scroll below that, and you will see 'Recent Status Updates.'  In between 'Recent Status Updates' and the most recent actual update that someone has posted, you will see the words 'What's on your mind?'  Click on those words  and a text box will open up in that very spot where you can type your status update, complete with italics or emojis or any of the usual embellishments.  Then just hit 'Enter.' 

Vicki

[quill2parchment]

7 hours ago, Oregonian said:

Hi, Quilly! @quill2parchment I saw your question about the Status Updates, and I was going to answer, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen it.  So now I'm doing a little late-night trolling through the writers' journals, and I came across it again!  Looks like no one has answered your question, so I will.

Open up the home page of the Forums as normal, and look at the upper right-hand area.  You will see 'Upcoming Events.'  Scroll below that, and you will see 'Recent Status Updates.'  In between 'Recent Status Updates' and the most recent actual update that someone has posted, you will see the words 'What's on your mind?'  Click on those words  and a text box will open up in that very spot where you can type your status update, complete with italics or emojis or any of the usual embellishments.  Then just hit 'Enter.' 

Vicki

Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, Vicki  

[Sapphire_Skies]

On 5/29/2022 at 6:36 PM, quill2parchment said:

I’ve been reading fanfiction for a really, really long time but I posted my first fanfiction (In This Darkness) sometime in 2016 over at HPFF and transferred it over here in 2017.  I kept up with it pretty rigorously for about 2-3 yearish but then life got hectic and writing took a backseat. When I came back to the story, I realized that it wasn’t exactly going the way I had envisioned it so I took another few months, almost completely rewrote the story, keeping the same plot elements but changing almost everything else, and then started posting it again. 

 

Hi! I'm Sarah. I've been reading fanfic for a REALLY long time too, when did you discover it? And what sort of things did you read back then? Has what you like to read changed since then?

I'm also jealous of those who can write multiple fics. I just don't have that space in my head; it's exhausting enough writing one fic!

[quill2parchment]

On 6/8/2022 at 11:34 AM, Sapphire_Skies said:

Hi! I'm Sarah. I've been reading fanfic for a REALLY long time too, when did you discover it? And what sort of things did you read back then? Has what you like to read changed since then?

I'm also jealous of those who can write multiple fics. I just don't have that space in my head; it's exhausting enough writing one fic!

Hi Sarah!!! 

I think the FIRST fanfiction that I ever started reading was in the Warner Bros' official Harry Potter website. They had forums on the page and people would post fanfics on there. This before the last few books were published so there was a lot of fanfic trying to guess at what that ending would like for Harry. I remembering being obsessed with Jily fanfiction for a while. I didn't write anything during that time but I was reading anything and everything Marauder Era. 

I still really enjoy a good Marauder Era fic but I think that now I'm just drawn to good writing as opposed to specific eras/characters. 

Thank you so much for your question. It really took me down memory lane hehe. 

[Sapphire_Skies]

Oh my goodness, you sound like me! I used to read and not write as well, for quite a long time. I remember I used to keep a link to a particular epic Jily story in a word document labelled 'geography homework' when my family shared a computer so nobody would find it  I never knew the official site had forums, ah I feel I missed out. My friend showed me ffnet and I stuck there for a long time. I think that was around 2002/2003.

[quill2parchment]

6 hours ago, Sapphire_Skies said:

Oh my goodness, you sound like me! I used to read and not write as well, for quite a long time. I remember I used to keep a link to a particular epic Jily story in a word document labelled 'geography homework' when my family shared a computer so nobody would find it  I never knew the official site had forums, ah I feel I missed out. My friend showed me ffnet and I stuck there for a long time. I think that was around 2002/2003.

Haha oh I remember keeping fanfics under secret files because nobody would understand! 

And yes, the stories on the forums were posted on messages, not organized in files/chapter. People would write "bump" to keep the threads up at the top and encourage more writing. Good times. Lolol. Ffnet was probably was were I went to next, probably. Lol.

[quill2parchment]

How many times have I re-written Chapter 10 of In This Darkness?

The limit does not exist. 

It's not just this chapter. It happens every time. I will seriously write and rewrite and move scenes up and down the chapter and scrap scenes and bring them back but with a switched point of view, on and on and on... Does it drive me crazy? Yes. But do I enjoy the madness? Also yes  

[Oregonian]

So long as you're having fun, you can be as crazy as you like.    Isn't it nice that you're not facing a deadline (at least I think you're not)?

[jemima.moon]

9 hours ago, quill2parchment said:

How many times have I re-written Chapter 10 of In This Darkness?

The limit does not exist. 

It's not just this chapter. It happens every time. I will seriously write and rewrite and move scenes up and down the chapter and scrap scenes and bring them back but with a switched point of view, on and on and on... Does it drive me crazy? Yes. But do I enjoy the madness? Also yes  

This is very impressive Quilly! I tend to finish my chapters, give them a quick proofread, upload them and then notice something I want to edit...your way seems much better!

I'm also impressed that you've come back to a story you've been working on for such a long time and are treating it with so much care. I had some stories on HPFF back in the day (under a different name) that I was pretty proud of and that had some nice feedback, but I don't think I could bring myself to work on them again now! I'm always ready to start something new! I like that you've kept yours up and I'm really looking forward to reading it. 

I had a question for you too. You said you've been reading fanfiction for a long time. Do you have any all time favourite reads you'd recommend, either on this site or elsewhere? 

[quill2parchment]

11 hours ago, Oregonian said:

So long as you're having fun, you can be as crazy as you like.    Isn't it nice that you're not facing a deadline (at least I think you're not)?

Definitely! I try to give myself little deadlines, just to hold myself accountable. But at the end of the day, this is a hobby and almost therapeutic for me, so I definitely like doing it for the joy of it rather than putting too much pressure into it  

2 hours ago, jemima.moon said:

This is very impressive Quilly! I tend to finish my chapters, give them a quick proofread, upload them and then notice something I want to edit...your way seems much better!

I'm also impressed that you've come back to a story you've been working on for such a long time and are treating it with so much care. I had some stories on HPFF back in the day (under a different name) that I was pretty proud of and that had some nice feedback, but I don't think I could bring myself to work on them again now! I'm always ready to start something new! I like that you've kept yours up and I'm really looking forward to reading it. 

I had a question for you too. You said you've been reading fanfiction for a long time. Do you have any all time favourite reads you'd recommend, either on this site or elsewhere? 

If it makes you feel any better, I usually find things I want to edit after I upload too  

I think the reason I keep coming back to this story and can't let it go is because it's already so fully formed in my mind. Many of the details change as I edit the story but he overall concept, the plot, the characters, and the ending already have existed in my head for ages so I almost feel like I need to bring them into existence, if only for myself. 

There were so many fanfics that I loved in HPFF. It really makes me sad that we can't have access to those anymore. Fortunately, I'm finding so many new fanfics to love here. I've added most of them to my Favorite Stories in my AP. I don't really follow too many stories outside of here, except for one called How Not To Be A Woodley. It used to be very popular in HPFF and she's since moved it and continues to updated it FF. 

[quill2parchment]

September Updates

I was fully intending for Chapter 12 of In This Darkness to have been completed by the end of August but work left me with little to no time to devote to writing. The few moments I'd managed to try and work on the story, I spent writing and rewriting the first scene of the chapter, and hating the way it was coming out. I was honestly tempted to do a flash forward and just ignore my original outline - but it was pretty important to the over all plot so I've been working on molding it into something halfway decent that I can use and I think I'm finally getting a little closer it, though not quite entirely. The goal right now is to have that chapter out by the end of September, but we'll see how much of that the muses allow. 

In Light of You is still pending its last three prompts. I really want to see this story completed but all my energy is currently going to In This Darkness so I haven't even attempted writing anything here. I am planning to return here once Chapter 12 of In This Darkness is completed though. 

Anyways, I created a Xander picspam in honor of Chapter 12 being so heavily Xander-focused (so I have at least that tiny bit to feel accomplished about ).

Love,

Quilly 

[Oregonian]

Hi, Quilly!

I can sympathize with what you say about endlessly reshaping your chapter, never hitting the spark that says, "Yes, I'm getting it right."  The same thing happened to me when I was writing Chapter 21 of Tiramisu and just couldn't get the vision of what I wanted it to say, although I knew where the story was headed.  Finally I just started writing Chapter 22, leaving the gap in the story like a bridge that's being built by erecting the big supports on each bank of the river first and then constructing the actual roadway afterwards.  It worked for me.  When I had Chapter 20 and Chapter 22 written, I could more easily see how Chapter 21 would have to be.

Glad to hear you say that you are finally getting a little closer.

Vicki

[Felpata_Lupin]

Hi Quilly!

Since I'm up to date with everything on your AP (when will the next update happen?  I know it's very hypocritical of me, but I'm so impatient for an update... ) I decided to stop by here with a few questions as your wishlist present... Happy holidays!

1. We all love those two idiots Xander and Lily, but among the rest of your OC crew, who is your favourite (and why is it Oscar?  Okay, he's my favourite, not yours, I'm just kidding... )?
2. Are you more of a plotter or a pantser? What is your plotting process, if you have any?
3. An old classic of mine... Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone or Invisibility Cloak?
4. What gave you the inspiration/how did you first get the idea for In This Darkness?
5. What are your writing habits (favourite place/time of day to write, background music or absolute silence, favourite hot drink to keep you going, etc)?
6. What three adjectives would you use to describe your writing?
7. In writing In Light of You, did you discover something about Harry and Ginny that you weren't expecting and what?
8. If you were to write a Marauder era fic, what would you most likely write about?
9. If you were to write a fic in another fandom, which fandom would you most likely choose?
10. Have you ever written anything (fic or otherwise) in Spanish and/or would you like to do so sometime?
11. And since it's nearing Christmas... what is some holiday tradition (or maybe typical holiday food) where you're from (or just in your family)?

Hope you'll enjoy these questions!  Happy holidays again!

 

Chiara

[quill2parchment]

5 hours ago, Felpata_Lupin said:

Hi Quilly!

Since I'm up to date with everything on your AP (when will the next update happen?  I know it's very hypocritical of me, but I'm so impatient for an update... ) I decided to stop by here with a few questions as your wishlist present... Happy holidays!

1. We all love those two idiots Xander and Lily, but among the rest of your OC crew, who is your favourite (and why is it Oscar?  Okay, he's my favourite, not yours, I'm just kidding... )?
2. Are you more of a plotter or a pantser? What is your plotting process, if you have any?
3. An old classic of mine... Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone or Invisibility Cloak?
4. What gave you the inspiration/how did you first get the idea for In This Darkness?
5. What are your writing habits (favourite place/time of day to write, background music or absolute silence, favourite hot drink to keep you going, etc)?
6. What three adjectives would you use to describe your writing?
7. In writing In Light of You, did you discover something about Harry and Ginny that you weren't expecting and what?
8. If you were to write a Marauder era fic, what would you most likely write about?
9. If you were to write a fic in another fandom, which fandom would you most likely choose?
10. Have you ever written anything (fic or otherwise) in Spanish and/or would you like to do so sometime?
11. And since it's nearing Christmas... what is some holiday tradition (or maybe typical holiday food) where you're from (or just in your family)?

Hope you'll enjoy these questions!  Happy holidays again!

 

Chiara

Hiiiii Chiara! 

Quote

1.  Awe I’m so glad you enjoy Oscar! He’s such fun to write and definitely one of my favorites as well.  I think my favorite character will always be Hugo though because I feel like he’s so pure at heart. 

2. I'm totally a plotter. I have to know where the story will end in order for me to write. It’s kind of a hindrance though because it keeps me from being able to “just write.” Sometimes I’ll get gusts of inspiration for new fics but if I can’t see where the story is heading clearly, I’ll be unable to get past the first few paragraphs. 

3. Invisibility Cloak. 100%. I’m too dang clumsy to own the Elder Wand, tbh lol. I wouldn't trust myself with it. And the resurrection stone is just a concept I can’t really get my mind around. Besides, I find the idea of becoming invisible a very relaxing thought. 

4. Gosh, I honestly don’t know what started me on In This Darkness. I do remember wanting protagonists that were flawed. Like I remember reading other YA novels at the time and feeling sorry for the “mean girl” and the “evil guy.” Not that Lily is a mean girl or Xander necessarily an evil guy. But I think I wrote them as sort of what would happen if the popular girl was really sad deep down inside and the cold, calculative guy actually did care about people. 

5. I tend to write late at night, which is why not much writing happens when I’m busy with work or having to wake up early hehe And always with music. There’s usually a song that sends me into a fit of inspiration and carries me through a chapter. 

6. This is such a good question. Hmmm. I think I’m going to go with melodramatic, dark, and personal.

7. Yes, definitely! One of the things I realized is how dependent Harry had become on Ginny. Young Harry very much followed his gut-feeling but when the war ended and the two began a more serious relationship, he started much more on Ginny. He was still his own person and made his own decisions, of course, but Ginny sort of became that voice of reason that he could always rely on, and so taking that away from him really sort of shapes the Harry we now see in In This Darkness. 

8. I honestly don’t think I could ever write a Marauders. Only because I love them too much and I don’t think I could ever do them justice in any way. But I adore reading Jily fanfics, and anything with Sirius and Remus. 

9. Probably Games of Thrones because it’s a large enough world to play in.

10. I haven’t written anything in Spanish, and I'm not sure if I would write a fanfic solely in Spanish. However, I’d love to write something where Spanish is incorporated. Actually, there are a few characters in ITD that are Spanish-speakers, but they’re such minor characters, they haven’t even been mentioned much at this point. Who knows though. Perhaps one day they’ll get a fic of their own

 

11.    Something that we do is celebrate on the 24th instead of the 25th. Christmas Eve is this big night where everyone dresses up and gets together and opens gifts. Christmas Day is when we do “el recalentado,” which literally translates to “the reheating.” We reheat food from the night before and serve it for lunch. But it’s a much more informal event. As far as food goes, tamales are a winter-staple.

 

 

Thank you so much for coming by with all these wonderful questions. They definitely got me thinking and doing so much needed introspection so I really, really appreciated it  

Love, Quilly

 

[starlitcastles]

Hi Quilly! I thought I would drop by with some WJ questions for you as part of your wishlist:

1.  What is the hardest as well as the easiest thing about writing so far?

2.  What's your ship (or ships) in any fandom? Why?

3.  What color or color(s) would you describe your OC: Xander and why?  Also this question is inspired by this song on Youtube by an artist named Stella Jung and she sings: "What's your color?" and that's how this question has come about.

4.  What's your favorite quote or quotes that inspires, motivates, or helps you to write? If not just write, in general then.  Why?

5.  If you were stuck in one of your works, original fiction or fanfiction, which work would you want to be stuck in?

6.  What telenovas would you recommend to those who are new to it and or interested in starting or watching them? (I may be curious so...xD) 

7.  Are you a tea or coffee drinker? If neither, what do you prefer to drink? 

8.  What is a genre that you would love to write? Why? Is there any genres that you would avoid or not write much of? If so, what is it and why?

9.  So do you have any phrases or words that you enjoy saying in Spanish? If so, what words and or phrases come to mind? 

10.  Since it's the holiday season, going to try and ask a holiday related question and that is: what is your favorite aspect about the holidays? Why?

Okay that's all of the questions that I can think up of so far but hope that you enjoyed answering them so far!  

-Diana/Di

[quill2parchment]

On 12/10/2022 at 4:48 PM, starlitcastles said:

Hi Quilly! I thought I would drop by with some WJ questions for you as part of your wishlist:

1.  What is the hardest as well as the easiest thing about writing so far?

2.  What's your ship (or ships) in any fandom? Why?

3.  What color or color(s) would you describe your OC: Xander and why?  Also this question is inspired by this song on Youtube by an artist named Stella Jung and she sings: "What's your color?" and that's how this question has come about.

4.  What's your favorite quote or quotes that inspires, motivates, or helps you to write? If not just write, in general then.  Why?

5.  If you were stuck in one of your works, original fiction or fanfiction, which work would you want to be stuck in?

6.  What telenovas would you recommend to those who are new to it and or interested in starting or watching them? (I may be curious so...xD) 

7.  Are you a tea or coffee drinker? If neither, what do you prefer to drink? 

8.  What is a genre that you would love to write? Why? Is there any genres that you would avoid or not write much of? If so, what is it and why?

9.  So do you have any phrases or words that you enjoy saying in Spanish? If so, what words and or phrases come to mind? 

10.  Since it's the holiday season, going to try and ask a holiday related question and that is: what is your favorite aspect about the holidays? Why?

Okay that's all of the questions that I can think up of so far but hope that you enjoyed answering them so far!  

-Diana/Di

Quote

1. The hardest thing about writing is that sometimes I feel like there’s this disconnect between how I imagine a scene in my head and the way it actually comes out sounding on paper. Like, I’ll have this fully developed image in mind, complete with dialogue and all, but then I’ll start typing it out, and suddenly this magical scene that existed in my head starts to sound like gibberish. The easiest thing is… Honestly, I don’t think there *is* a part of that I find easy about this whole process, but I do find it to be sort of therapeutic to be able to get lost in my own imagination and bring these stories out to life. 

2. I tend to like most ships because I’m such a romantic but one of my all time favorite couples is Alec and Magnus from The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

3. Xander would be the color black, just because he's very much all or nothing, and very set in his ways, but also more of introvert than an extrovert. 

4. Oh I love this question! Isabel Allende once wrote, “Before I was called a liar. Now that I make living with these lies, I am called a writer. Maybe we should simply stick to poetic truth…” She also said, in that same publication, “Writers are like good thieves. They take something that is real, like the letters, and by a trick of magic they transform it into something totally fresh.” This approach to writing has always stuck with me. My characters and stories are not based on real people but, in a strange way, they still come from a place of truth. 

5. I think it would have to be In Light of  You because the domestic bliss in there makes my heart happy. 

6. I haven’t seen a good telenovela in such a long time. I used to watch them religiously when I was younger but kind of lost track of them. I did recently watch Hotel de Luna, which is a K-drama and I definitely enjoyed it  

7. Tea  

8. I like writing romances. I’d probably be nervous to attempt a historical fiction or horror. 

9. There’s so many good Spanish phrases! Two that come to mind are “Desgracia compartida, menos sentida” means something like “A disgrace that is shared is less felt.” And “Al mal tiempo, buena cara” means “In bad times, a good face” basically meaning to say that one must face bad times with optimism and good spirits. 

10. Spending time with my family, definitely. We’re a big one and sort of spread out all over the map lol so Christmas is one of the few times a year I get to see many of my relatives.

Thank you so much for coming by with these wonderful questions @starlitcastles! I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season  

[Oregonian]

Hi, Quilly!  I was intrigued by what you wrote in your very first posting in your Writer's Journal, back in May.  You spoke of how In This Darkness had been existing in hour head for years, such that the characters have become real human beings to you.  I mention it because I have felt the same way about OCs in my long works which have existed in my brain for years.

In what way is your relationship with Xander and Lily Luna Potter different (deeper, more spiritual, more genuine/organic, more familial, more whatever...) from your relationship with, say, Harry and Ginny in In Light of You ?  Would you say that it is harder to make such a connection with canon characters who are already well defined?

What's your reaction to the possibility of never actually finishing ITD?  How much of a loss/disappointment would that be, if it came to pass?

Does writing a long story, such as ITD, in which you are greatly invested, make it harder for you to write short stories of only a few thousand words?  What if they are not little branches off your larger works, but rather completely independent little stories?

It is heartwarming to see how you have held the story of In This Darkness so safely tucked inside your brain for so long, like a baby in the womb, slowly growing...  

[quill2parchment]

Hi Vicki! Thank you so much for coming by with these thought-provoking questions  

12 hours ago, Oregonian said:

In what way is your relationship with Xander and Lily Luna Potter different (deeper, more spiritual, more genuine/organic, more familial, more whatever...) from your relationship with, say, Harry and Ginny in In Light of You ?  Would you say that it is harder to make such a connection with canon characters who are already well defined?

This is such a good question. Xander and Lily were always these fully-formed characters inside my head. If I write a scene, and I am not being true to who they are, they'll  let me know. There's been so many times where I've tried to push a certain plot ploy on them, like an argument, for example, and I immediately start getting this ick feeling because it doesn't feel like something they'd actually argue about or whatever. 

With Harry and Ginny, I was constantly having to ask myself 'Would Harry feel this way about this? Would Ginny say this about that? What about Harry/Ginny after the war? What about Harry/Ginny as parents?" 

12 hours ago, Oregonian said:

What's your reaction to the possibility of never actually finishing ITD?  How much of a loss/disappointment would that be, if it came to pass?

I think I'd be greatly disappointed but it's really not something that I've really entertained as a possibility. Even during that period were I was sort of on hiatus, ITD was always in the back of my mind, and I always knew I had to come back and give them an ending. 

12 hours ago, Oregonian said:

Does writing a long story, such as ITD, in which you are greatly invested, make it harder for you to write short stories of only a few thousand words?  What if they are not little branches off your larger works, but rather completely independent little stories?

In general terms, I'm not very great with one-shots, so I wouldn't say it's been made more difficult because of ITD. I'd say it's just something I struggle with in general. Also though, I think it comes down to the fact that I'm so limited on the time I get to spend writing, so when I do have time for it, the energy goes towards ITD, where I already know what I want to write versus another story that's not very well defined in my head already. 

12 hours ago, Oregonian said:

It is heartwarming to see how you have held the story of In This Darkness so safely tucked inside your brain for so long, like a baby in the womb, slowly growing...  

Thank you so much  It's definitely been a process but I'm rather fond of the characters in there and greatly enjoy the time I get to spend in their world.  

Thank you again for these wonderful questions! I hope you're enjoying the season 

[quill2parchment]

The little picspam I created to help me push through the last scene of Chapter 14 in In This Darkness.  

[quill2parchment]

March Updates

The past few weeks have been absolutely chaotic in both my personal and professional life and have left me with no time to write but writing really is my place of peace so I've been trying to get back into the groove of things. Here's basically what I'm planning to work on this month/ next few week-ish.

In This Darkness

The good news is that I am about 2000 words into Chapter 15. The bad news is that I am not sure I am not sure I want to keep any of them at all.  I keep writing and rewriting that first paragraph/scene. This is typical for me though. It always takes me forever to find the flow of a chapter. I know where I want this chapter to go, and what information I want to be delivered, but the characters keep changing their minds about how they're going to react/interact with each other, so we'll see if they can settle on something and let me publish something sometime soonish  

In Light of You

I need two more chapters to finish the 30! In reality, I feel like it could've been marked complete at 28, and ended nicely there, but I really want to reach my original goal of hitting all 30 prompts. Plus, I'm rather attached to Harry and Ginny at this point and not entirely ready to let them go yet. Problem is, I still don't really know where to end this story. I keep going back and forth on what I want these last two chapters to sound like. I do want to start drafting them out though and hopefully have them both published before the end of May. 

Hope everyone is doing well. 

Love, 

Quilly