Travel stuff and a fanfic meme

[oanja]

So, I booked myself a trip to Italy in late May (the plane tickets I got super super cheap, less than 100€ both ways) but then I still had to do the least favourite thing about booking a holiday, which is picking a hotel. There are so many options! People have such wildly inconsistent ways of reviewing hotels and it's really hard to compare them! When you travel to somewhere you've never been before it's hard to know what the area is going to be like! But I managed in the end. 4 nights in Rome and 3 nights in Naples (I'm gonna do a day trip to Pompeii!)

I'm going to go see so many historical sights and museums, you guys! I love Roman history and I've been dying to visit Italy since I was in highschool and not I'm finally doing it. This is my first time going anywhere other than London by myself, so that's a bit scary, but hopefully it will be okay. Super excited about this trip already :D

1. What made you start writing fanfic?

The first ever fanfic I started writing was a Spike/Xander fic, but I can't actually remember why I started? Maybe just because I'd always liked writing and when I realized you didn't have to make up everything yourself but could borrow characters you already liked, that was very neat! Also discovering that slash fiction was a thing was a real revelation. Haven't looked back since!
 

2. Which of your own fanfics have you reread the most?

I haven't written that many fics comparatively, but I think I've read my epic length fics the most, one is a hockey rps fic and the other one is a Panic! at the Disco rps fic. I'm still rather pleased with both of them

3. Describe the differences between your first fanfic and your most recent fanfic.

The first fic I posted was very short, like 1k max, didn't really have any plot and I don't think it was very good (I don't think it's up anymore. I posted it to a LJ community in like 2005) My newest fic is from 2017 Yuletide and it's more of a character study than anything else. It's not bad but I also don't think it's really "me" as a fic writer. I've noticed that I don't enjoy writing for someone else in particular and trying to fit into specific prompts. It makes me anxious and too cautious.

4. Do you think your style has changed over time? How so?

Yes, but I don't know how to describe it. My first real fandom was a rps fandom and I used to write pretty long and plotty wips, I think I had 3 stories that were close to 40-50k and I used to all kinds of melodrama and teen angst stuff (I think it was popular in the particular fandom and not just me). I'm kind of sad that I've lost my flare for writing drama, especially the type of drama you generally have in romance and slash fic. I have a hard time making that work logically... These days my fics tend to be low drama/angst or just pwp (I've written a surprising amount of smut, but most of it was for a pornathon...)
 

5. You've posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you'd written it?

I don't think anyone has read so much of my fics they could do this. Also I've never posted anonymously and I doubt I ever will

 

6. Name three stories you found easy to write.

All of them. If they get posted I haven't had trouble with them. The ones I have trouble with end up languishing in the wip folder forever

 

7. Name three stories you found difficult to write.

See above, but if I had to say some of them, I'd go with my yuletide fics, for the reasons I talked about earlier

8. What's your ratio of hits to kudos?

I don't know how you could easily calculate the average, but I'm close to 10% on most of them. pwp's seem to have lower ratios, as well as obscure and older fics

9. What do your fic bookmarks say about you?

I use bookmarks on ao3 as a place to hold fics if I see a rec but don't have time to read right then. This is not the most ideal situation as sometimes these fics are not actually to my liking, but I often forget to remove the bookmark. I don't bookmark that often anymore. I should go back to using Pinboard more I think, if I can get the addon to work again, that made it easy to add new bookmarks
 

10. What's a theme that keeps coming up in your writing?

Friends to lovers and some type of kink (discovery). I don't have tons of fics so there are no obvious themes as far as I can see
 

11. What kind of relationships are you most interested in writing?

Hard to answer. Maybe because that's not really the angle that usually inspires me to write? I think I'm more into the idea of the story, the scenario or the plot and then that guides how the relationship fits what I need from the story
 

12. For E-rated fic, what are some things your characters keep doing?

Kink stuff :D
 

13. Name three favorite characters to write.

Haven't written a ton of stories about the same characters, but as a type, I tend to like to write from the pov of the more "serious" or "more reserved" character
 

14. You're applying for the fanfic writer of the year award. What five fanfics do you put in your portfolio?

None of them. I don't think I write well enough for something like this, it would only make me feel bad about my writing when I would inevitably get like last place :D

 

 (I was going to hide this writing meme under a read more cut, but for some reason I can't get the cut to work and I'm too tired and lazy to fight with it right now... sorry for the long post)

Comments

[silverusagi]

Ooh, the trip sounds like fun!

[oanja]

(sorry for the late reply) it really does! I hope I'll have a fun stress free week. :D

[fosfomifira]

I’m currently on holiday in Rome and it’s fabulous, though there seems to be a serious shortage of useful signs everywhere. We hoped to do a day trip to Naples, but there’s just so much to see I don’t think we'll have enough time. On the other hand it gives me an excuse to come back?

Feel free to ask any questions if you want :)

(So jealous of the cheap plane tickets)

[oanja]

(sorry for the late reply)

Ooh! I'm really glad to hear you've enjoyed your time there. I'm trying not to get too excited about it, but I'm not sure I'm successful tbh. I can't wait to see all the historical sites and museums. :D

Did you have to book tickets in advance to some sites? Was it worth it? Was there something you would suggest skipping? like for example I've heard there's no point in going inside the Colosseum.

[fosfomifira]

I did have to book advance tickets for the Galleria Borghese, but on hindsight I think I could have skipped that visit. Unless you really, really like Italian Renaissance art history it’s not that fascinating, let alone worth the hassle and the €20 ticket. It does have some great Roman mosaics, but it's more of an art collector's house than a proper museum. The decoration of the villa itself is fun to see, but as I said the ticket is expensive and you must book in advance. There are better Caravaggios at some churches. The Capitoline Museum also has that, uh, eclectic approach to museology, but has some fantastic pieces, including a fabulous equestrian statue of Hadrian.

On the other hand, I heartily recommend the Villa Giulia Etruscan museum. The ticket is mercifully cheaper (€9], doesn’t require booking and is wonderfully put together; it’s very educational and the collection is simply beautiful. I was very much intrigued by Etruscan history before my visit; I came out absolutely enthralled. It’s also located on the Villa Borghese, so you can enjoy walking around the park and crossing it down to the Piazza del Poppolo, which is beautiful.

I agree that one could skip the Colosseum and not miss much. Some of the more interesting parts are only accessible if you’re on a tour. You must be willing to queue forever, even if you have a ticket. Of course, you could pay extra and book a time slot to get inside the Colosseum, but even then you’ll have to queue. I thought the Roman Forum was far more interesting and it made my Ancient Rome nerd go all *heart eyes*. There’s just so much to see and some sites within the Forum aren’t open every day (the Villa Livia comes to mind), that a two day visit to the Forum alone rather than the Forum and the Colosseum might make sense. I recommend thinking about getting a guide book if you visit the Forum as there’s precious little signage to help you understand what you’re seeing.

I skipped the Vatican Museum on purpose because I’d heard that, once again, it’s more of an art collection with some antiquities on the side than a proper museum and the queues are horrid. I don’t regret not going there.

I’ll be happy to answer any more questions you might have. I really enjoyed my time in Rome and definitely look forward to coming back.

[oanja]

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely add the etruscan museum to my list, that sounds so cool and I was already planning on going to see the Forum and the way you write about it makes me even more excited to go see it!

What about general impressions, like safety? I've heard there are a lot of pickpockets and such, but how about going around town in the evenings/nights?

How was the food, quality versus price?

[fosfomifira]

My advice re museums is to look as at the collections as much as you can beforehand and see what appeals the most to you. Sometimes a single piece can make it all worth it. I adored the Forum. I've just started going through my photos. I’ll try to post them later this week. Maybe it’ll help you know what to expect :)

I’d heard about pickpocketing as well, but never had any problems nor did I see anything out of the ordinary. Rome felt as safe as any city that size. I didn’t go out at night a lot, but the biggest risk was getting lost as opposed to anything else. Exercising the usual amount of caution should be enough. Having said that, our hotel was near the Vatican, which is one of the safer/quieter areas. I was advised by an old fandom friend (who’s a Roman native) to avoid the areas near the C metro line. Apparently that line goes to the less nice areas of Rome, so it’s safer not to be near it. The area by the bus station (Tiburtina) didn’t look all that nice, but it’s out of the way.

Food was expensive, as expensive as in Paris. You’ll get charged for bread (free in my part of the world) and water (ditto). It can be very tasty, but you have to choose wisely and try to avoid places that are too close to the more touristy locations to save a little money. I’d buy a big panino and eat it as I got hungry, then look for a nicer place for a proper meal at dinner time. There are a lot of small water fountains all over the historical centre, especially in the Roman Forum. The water is very cool and refreshing, so I’d take a water bottle and fill it as you find another fountain, otherwise you might end up paying €2 for a half litre bottle (as sold to people queueing outside the Colosseum)

[smilebackwards]

Italy sounds awesome!

I use bookmarks on ao3 as a place to hold fics if I see a rec but don't have time to read right then. This is not the most ideal situation as sometimes these fics are not actually to my liking, but I often forget to remove the bookmark.
I used to do this and I was super excited when I discovered the Mark for Later button so I can put stuff I'm maybe interested in when I have time later there and use Bookmark for stuff I've read and loved and truly want to save.

[oanja]

(sorry for the late reply)

I really should do this more often! I mean the feature is right there after all... :'D Thanks for reminding me