Tagged by Emilieee (and didn't realise for, like, 2 weeks... whoops!)

I tag: get2herheart, taelighted, ohchen, amber_rose, holdon and anybody else who'd like to do it!  (Seriously side-eyeing Emilieee for also tagging several people I'd tag if she hadn't already done so.)

1. How did you come up with your user name and what does it mean?

Er...

That, for the time being, is going to remain a secret.

2. Which is your most subscribed to story?

The Blood Brother Code, by over double my next most subscribed, ha ha XD

3. Why did you pick your user photo/thumbnail?

Because there's something hypnotically charming about watching Xiumin smile and shrug like that.

4. Who is your AFF bestie?

           I would have to say get2herheart and Yifanforever, but there are a few others I'm very close to as well.

5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?

I only reread if something really captures my emotions and imagination (and most often I go back to specific chapters rather than rereading the whole fic), but there are a few.  For completed fics, Irony, Genie, Love & War, The Cutting Edge, Pretty Boy (I'm Nobody).  For ongoing ones, Darkest Hour, Experiment 11, The Dream Team, The Wicked Games, ing Kim Junmyeon.

6. How many stories are you subscribed to?

859, apparently.

7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?

I try to chop and change around various AUs.  I guess Mafia!au would probably be the biggest one by virtue of the TBBC-Blood-Sister-Blood-Bound trilogy being in a mafia au and Deer Luhan, With Love also having mafia elements.

8. How many friends do you have?

219

9. Is there something you'd like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!)

Not really.

10. Is there anything you would like to be better at on aff? Writing, graphic design (posters), replying to comments, updating regularly, etc..?

Graphic design and layout coding.

11. How many subscribers do you have?

Unique: 20774 Total: 48228

12. How many stories have you posted online to this day (finished and unfinished)?

Stories: 9 (if you count Letters from Luhan).  Projects (including stories): 15.

13. How many stories do you have saved in your writing program?

I have no idea and I don't dare open the documents file to check because there are way too many.

14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?

I usually keep them in my head.  Sometimes I write them down, but that usually means I have about 7 ongoing stories at any one time and that is not a good recipe for sanity.

15. Have you ever co-authored a story?

No.  I've been an actively involved beta reader on some fics, but I would not be able to cope with somebody writing a story with me, and I would interfere too much in the creative process if somebody else was the main author.  I'm very particular about my vision for plots and characters, whether a story is planned or unplanned.

16. How did you discover AFF?

EXO had a long hiatus between Mama and Wolf and in the course of trying to find more stuff about/on them, I stumbled on a fic called Office Antics.  I read it, and subsequently forgot about AFF until I stumbled across it again in 2014.

17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author on AFF?

No, lol XD  I know people more popular/famous than me on the site.  It is pretty cool that people recognise me, though, and whenever I'm on the receiving end of a Senpai-Noticed-Me moment.

18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?

Not really, but back when get2herheart and I were both posting actively (especially when she was posting Irony and I was posting TBBC), there were a lot of people who read both our fics and some of those readers called themselves kryptahearts.

19. Was there an AFF author who inspired or encouraged you to write?

Not really, but YifanForever has been fabulously supportive of all my fics and get2herheart always listens patiently when I'm trying to figure out story plots.  I guess that counts as encouragement, actually.

20. How many karma points do you have?

About 20k or something?

21. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?

Don't expect to be J. K. Rowling.  If you're doing this for the subscriber count, the kudos, the votes, to get famous - sounds harsh, but it's probably not going to happen.  If you set your expectations high, or want really quick material feedback, you are probably going to be disappointed.  Be realistic, but at the same time, be hopeful.  Popularity and good writing (which do not necessarily go hand in hand)  require hard work, and getting to a high standard of writing takes time, even if you're a prodigy.  Keep writing, read a lot, pay attention to how your favourite authors construct their stories, sentences, worlds and characters, and how authors you think aren't so good don't do things so well, and learn from them.  And then keep writing.  There's a saying in the writing world that the first million words you write will be utter garbage and only after that point will you start to shine.

So keep writing, because the more you write, the more you will improve.

22. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?

Depends on the story.  I had the plot of TBBC mapped out within a couple of hours of first coming up with the idea.  Rogue I've had to plan extensively, but some of the details are still changing in that.  DLWL I had a vague idea but almost no idea where it was going (but that was fine because it's a crack fic).  Most of them I have a vague to concrete idea of where they're going and then I work with what inspiration hits me as I develop the characters and plot.

23. Have you ever gotten a bad review or comment on a story? If so, what did you do?   

          Bad ones, no.  Rude ones, yes.  Most readers who don't like a story aren't rude enough to say so/leave a bad or nasty comment (though I have seen this happen to other people), but I have on occasion had rude comments from people whose comments made it clear they hadn't been reading the story properly.

24. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, , etc..)

           I find it quite difficult to pitch romance right, but usually I just struggle with particular scenes that won't quite go right rather than scene types.

25. What story(s) are you working on now?

Draw Me A Date, Blood Bound, Rogue and On Ebb.  Next up will be a Suho fic, after which will be a Chanyeol fic.  Then I'm thinking about doing a pirate au.  People keep asking when I'm going to write another Xiumin fic, so he might be a pirate captain or something, but I don't quite feel like I've given Chen or Kai proper fics to themselves, so I might make them the mains instead.  Or maybe even Suho or Chanyeol.

26. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?

Yup.  I try not to, but it just happens.

27. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?

Too busy for that right now :(

28. Do you think you've improved as a writer since you first started?

Yes, a bit.  I can read my earlier stuff without cringeing too much, but I have experimented with style and genre a few times, which has definitely broadened my horizons.

29. What is your favorite story that you've written?

They all have a special spot in my heart.  It also depends from day to day.

30. What is your least favorite story that you've written?

I tend not to write stories I don't like because I know I won't be able to commit to finishing them (not the same as just taking years to update!), so I don't have a least favourite story, but I did nearly give up on Blood Sister at one point because a small handful of readers were being really rude and demanding while I was going through a really tough time, and I almost deleted it and TBBC as a result because I was just so fed up.

31. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?

Broke XD

32. How many upvotes do you have?

4662, according to the stats on my profile page.

33. What is the easiest thing about writing?

Being struck by wonderful ideas.

34. What is the hardest thing about writing?

Not having time to write when you have been struck by wonderful ideas.  Or having too many to write at the same time.

35. Why do you write?

It gives me life.

P.S.  I'm too lazy to fetch up the links to everything, but for anybody who's interested, all my fics are easy to find by clicking on the stories section of my profile, and all the other fics mentioned (except for Office Antics) can be found in my recs list.

Questionnaire created by OnceUponAnEXO