End Cap
First of all, I want to thank all of you for reading In Captivity. This was such a fun, and truly difficult, series to write for me. I am so thankful for being able to share this with so many readers, and to have so much feedback from everyone. There are a few that I have special thank you's for though. My first special mention is to Mfable, who was my chief editor and stress reliever. Whenever I was stuck with what to say, or unsure of how I was portraying the actual Resident Evil characters, Mfable was there to give me a helping hand, and I would not be able to do this without him.
The next two -and final- special mentions have kept me going when I felt doubt in the story. Thank you so much Sofistinha and kilroyactual117. This fanfiction, received so much opposition, that I started doubting in my capability of finishing this series, and it is thanks to the both of your kind words and reassurances, that I could get through it all. Thank you all so much!
Announcements:Due to the mass amounts of requests, I have decided to do an epilogue, where Chris discovers the polaroid's. This will be written during the polling assigned time. I will also use it to announce the next two stories, when Polling ends. As for those who want me to expand on, In Captivity, there is a five-part series that I have been mulling over. Though, you may just want it to end where it is… if you wish to expand/read the series, let me know and I can/may post up the five chapters as a sequel.
Questions:
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
This question makes me giggle, because many people don't actually understand what or how a spirit animal is. During my teen years, I took part in helping others experience Native American culture, with one of my tribe's elders. My mascot, avatar, and spirit animals would be completely different. So here we go with my long-winded answers.
Mascot: I'd like to say either a Bear or Panther. Both being courageous animals, but they both have different meanings.
Avatar: I like the idea of a book being my avatar.
Spirit Animal: My spirit animal is a Coyote.
How many unposted and half-finished stories do you have?
I have so many unposted fanfictions, it's not even funny! I have handwritten ones, where I was in class and inspiration sparked -many unfinished but there. I have tons on three 63 gb zip drives, and I have so many locked away in my head. Will I post all of them? Probably not, some aren't going to be popular, others I've thought just should stay with me. The zip drive that In Captivity and Dark Knight were on, currently has 39 stories, four one shots, six challenges, and three requests saved onto it.
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
It depends on how much I already know about the subject. Being that I was once a psych major, I relatively had an idea of what Stockholm Syndrome looked like. As for Wesker's personality, I've played enough Resident Evil to understand him, as well as, my psychology class assignment to analyze/diagnose the villains of our favorite video game.
Assuming it's on a subject I don't know well, and happens to be a huge part of the story, I do enough studying that I can understand the basic mechanics of everything. Then I start writing the story, whenever I need more detailed portions, I do a more detailed search for what I need. I prefer to get research from books at the library, though sometimes it's not possible to spend hours there. In those rare cases, I opt to using the internet, and then later reaffirm what I've looked at with books.
Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
Sort of, if that's an acceptable answer. I view write as a way of release. It releases strong emotions, stress, a heavy heart, it's my way of becoming at piece again.
How many hours a day do you write?
I don't consciously sit down and say I'm going to spend x number of hours of writing, but I'll estimate at least two a day. Instead what I do is, during the evenings I'll sit down and star writing. I try to add at least one sentence to every story I have started. This usually helps with writer's block.
How do you select the names of your characters?
Aha, don't get mad. So, what I do is I determine the character ethnicity first, then I write down a few personality traits. Afterwards, I google ethnicity names for example: Sanskrit Names. Then I search websites and pages of names, until something jumps out to me.
There are exceptions though, sometimes the name had significance to me, and on the rare occasion I choose the name to honor a fellow writer/friend/family member.
Do you read your stories reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Well first off, I don't allow anonymous reviews whether they are good or bad. My reasoning for this is, when I receive a bad review I like to talk to the person who made it. This way if it's something I can change or avoid, or even explain I can. Because of that, I don't allow anonymous negative reviews, and since I don't allow the negative I don't allow the positive.
I simply thank those who comment, when they are good. I appreciate all reviews, and when I'm in a rut, I like to glance at the goods ones. That usually does the trick.
Ok, so bad reviews. It honestly depends on who's saying what. I normally like to message the person so that we can talk about the problems they are having with my stories. Now I've only encountered one person where I've gotten defensive, that's due to the fact that said persons continuous dismissals, despite of my answers, as well as their having a hard time catching subtle messages in the story. Does that mean I don't respect their opinion? No, of course not, I'll just have to take a day or two to get back to them for a neutral response.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Personal secrets, or character secrets? I'm going to answer both. So as from personal secrets, yes. Many of my characters have some form of me in them. My personality varies depending on mood, people I'm around, and what's going on in a situation. In, In Captivity, I share much of the versatility in personality and motherly qualities that Emma has portrayed.
This slightly steps on the toes of another question, but in my story, Dark Knight, there's an underlying theme of loss. Yes, it's a romance, but the actually story is about loss and how certain people take it. Mercedes is me, during times of loss. I started writing the story in high school, as a way of coping with my best friend's suicide and my grandmothers diagnosis of Alzheimer's. I later ended it during my years of college, which was after the loss of my grandmother.
What was your hardest scene to write?
I'm no stranger to violence, I love a good horror movie and action movie, but I found writing the torture scenes difficult. That's why I'd start it off, but kind of let it fade into the darkness, as it progresses into a more violent scene. Though the end of, In Captivity, was just a little more violent, I felt the need to show more of what's was going on.
What is your favorite childhood book?
I'd have to say my favorite childhood book would be The Giving Tree, written and illustrated by Shel Silverstien. I think it's an important lesson and such a heartbreaking story.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Writers block, I understand that at the end of it, the story is going to be wonderful, but I find it so frustrating, not being able to write what I'm imagining.
If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
So, growing up I was an avid reader, but when I hit my teen years a lot happened. In response of having to take care of my grandmother, work, school, and such I had to take time away from reading. I would change how many extraarticular activities I chose to participate in, so stay an avid reader.
Do you believe in writer's block?
Um…. I believe that it's an evil beast, sworn to destroy the art of writing. Just kidding, I do believe that it happens, but I think it's for some reason. Often when I experience writers block, it's because I'm more consumed with getting the chapter out. In return, writers block slows me down, but also offers different ways the story could go.
What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
Well, I do school and work during the mornings and afternoons. So, throughout the day, I have hordes of paper and a pen with me, for when inspiration hits, I can jot down the basic idea, and continue working. When I get home, I like to spend an active hour or two with the family, which means dinner at the table with no cellphones, and actively spending time with everyone before bed. Once everyone is asleep, I cuddle my dog, and start adding to my writing.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I'm going to be cheap and say, the fact that I obsess over what I'm writing.
When did you write your first story and how old were you?
I was twelve when I first wrote something. It wasn't a fanfiction, it was a small excerpt that my therapist asked me to write. Personally, I have a hard time expressing myself emotionally to others, so during a particularly hard time in my life I went to a therapist, who suggested that I start writing.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Sleep…. I also like the spend time with my friends and family, but mostly sleep. I also play D&D twice a week.
What do you think makes a good story?
Well, I tend to read everything I can get my hands on, but I'm partial to Romance Novels right now. In every book, I've fallen utterly in love with, I have found that they have an underlying tone of romance. Mostly the story is about a conflict that needs to be solved, or a mystery. There's something that captivates me, and transports me to another world.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
Well I bounced between three ideas.
Doctor
Author
Teacher
Were there alternate endings you considered?
Not for In Captivity or Dark Knight, for those two stories, I felt also though it couldn't end anyway else. There are plenty of stories where I wrestle with how it should end, but not for those two.
Who are your favorite authors?
Oh gosh, I'm going to only list my top five favorites, in no particular order, cause that list would get damn huge. My list for fanfiction writers is pretty long as well.
Authors
Fanfiction Authors
Ann Rice
SavannahRenae Fanfiction
Patricia Briggs
500daysofCharlieRae Fanfiction
Jane austin
Paige Elise Hale Fanfiction
J.R. Ward
EternalLamb Archive of Our Own
Laurell k. hamilton
Indiprincess Archive of Our Own
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
Again, The Giving Tree, was the first book I read by myself. Many of those who've I talked to about this book, often describe it as sad, but I never saw it as that. The tree gave everything it could, to help others around them. That tree touched so many lives, improving them throughout its life time. It's a beautiful story about selflessness, that tree got more from life than the people who only took. From that story, and my grandmothers story, I strive to be selfless.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I do. It took up one fifth of college ruled paper, and was written in black ink. I was in the height of my depression, after my best friend committed suicide, and after my first attempt. My therapist asked me to write out my feelings. The story was dark, it was about the release of pain through blood. Right now, it's framed and hanging in front of my desk at home. I look at it every day, to remind myself that I survived worse.
How did you come up with the idea for In Captivity?
Well I was majoring in psychology at the time, and our final assignment was to choose a villain from a list of Video Games, Movies, and Books. From there we were supposed to study the character's behaviors -movements, speaking, ect- and diagnosed them. Wesker happened to be the character I chose. I spent the whole semester playing games, looking at screen writes, and all that good stuff. I got an A, and message saying that I was very studious in my work, picking up on things few other noticed.
During that time, I had developed an infatuation with his behavior, often imagining scenarios and how he'd react to such things. Once the assignment was done, I decided to scour the internet, for fanfictions, to satisfy the beast. Most fanfictions consisted of him already being in love with a person, or you know usual romance. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge romance lover, but it didn't feel just right. So, I thought that instead of actual love, he'd string a person along…. But why? Information. That's how I developed Emma, she's the perfect personality to develop Stockholm Syndrome, and that's how In Captivity was born.
When you develop characters do you already know who they are before you begin writing or do you let them develop as you go?
It's a little bit of both really. By the time I start writing I have a general idea of who the person is. I know their genealogy for at least ten generations. I already know what their hopes and dreams are, I know their strengths and weakness. I have a general idea of who they are, what they do for a living, what their relationships are with others. But as I write, their personalities truly come out. Snarky comments, body language, those things form as I'm writing. Everything I know about this fictional person, becomes an actual person on paper, instead of a thought.
Tell us about your writing process and the way you brainstorm story ideas.
Oh no, this question. I knew it was going to come up, but I still haven't planned a suitable answer! So, I suppose this will have to do, I have two types of inspirations, Fanfiction and then Original stories. They both generally are the same but there are glaring differences.
They begin with a spark. Something sparks my attention, drawing me into an obsession. Not the unhealthy kind, but the kind where your just curious to learn more. For Fanfictions, it's often I notice something interesting. Maybe it's something no one else thought about, or maybe it's something that I see an interesting proposition.
After the Initial spark, and the obsession comes, different scenarios flash in my mind periodically. That is until one idea or scene sticks, overpowering the others and submitting them into the background of my mind. Depending on what's going on, I slowly develop a plot and original character. Now I don't like when others follow the exact story line, I feel like there's little talent in doing that. So personally, I like to make up my own plot, that touches and interacts the movie/game/book plot. That way there are familiar scenes and yet much of it is new and exciting.
Finally, it ends with my writing. Now this truly isn't the end, because as I write, things change the plot may even go in a completely different way than I originally planned, now that the characters personalities are an active part of the story.
Where is your favorite place to write?
I know this is lame, but I love to sit in my living room. Here's why, there's an old brick fireplace in the center of the room, beside there is a small loveseat, where I sit and my dog curls up beside me. Though she' hard to snuggle with while I'm writing, it's so worth that alone time. I wait till everyone else is asleep, and I'll spend a few hours typing before going off to bed.
How has your environment & upbringing colored your writing?
There aren't many stories with strong women of color main character, at least not when I was a kid. So, I feel the need to always have a woman of color as the main character, but I also don't want to alienate those who aren't. I combat directing my writing to one group by always choosing a different ethnicity for each character, but also by not singularly expressing that this woman is black or Hispanic. I hint at what the characters ethnicity is, so that most people will read through it, but those looking for it see it.
Describe what your ideal writing space looks like.
Haha, ok this answer comes from what I think would inspire me the most. My ideal writing environment would be deep in the mountains of Alaska. Somewhere, where not many people visit, or would go. A wooden cabin, where my office was a giant sunroom where the two walls facing the wilderness were glass, so I could watch the rain and snow fall. My desk would be made of oak, and placed so I could see out both windows, my back to the door. The other two walls of my office would be nothing but books. Placed neatly on my desk, would be a mug of hot chocolate, my computer, a picture of my husband and children in the corner.
A fire dancing in the fireplace, keeping the rest of the house warm, from the bitter cold coming from my office. Somewhere in the distance my children would be playing with the family dog, and my husband in the kitchen making dinner... or dessert, since he's the backer and I'm the chef.
What Do you do with your stories when you're done with them?
Well, every fanfiction that I have posted up is taken from my zip drive. But because I'm a little horder, I print each page off, so that I can keep a hard copy archived in my house. Nostalgia I guess.
Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?
I like the idea of Fanfiction writing because, well the way I see it is, it's a way of adding a new perspective to a prewritten story. I personally don't like following stories plot lines exactly, but many of my fanfictions do touch the plot lines a bit, all the while having it's own story. Now for, In Captivity, I noticed that there were gaps in time between each video game and movie of Resident Evil, so I posed what I thought happened during that time. Since In Captivity, had the potential of being far too heavy of a subject matter, I had Alexia Ashford in for comic relief, so I did mess a little bit with a few things.
Now, I right romance, because it's my guilty pleasure. I read tons of romantic novels, whenever I'm alone. I also find that they are just a little easier to write than mysteries and such. Only because if a character's personality and such swerve a different way than expected I don't have to freak out too much about the new direction. With my stories, I often find that I have multiple plots planned, due to my characters actions.
I do, however, write other genres. How do I balance them? Well I usually have an Idea of how I want things to go/end, and from there I do a brief outline of what I want and such.
These are three questions that were posted in my reviews, that I thought were important to answer.
Who is this Emma girl? Why should we care for her (the readers)?
This question is hard for me to answer, mostly because I'll have to answer it two ways. Please bear with me, because I'm going to answer this from the prospective of me as a reader, and then me as a writer, because those are two separate people.
Me as a reader: I read everything, but that was bound to happen as a kid whose mother is librarian. I have read books where I had no connection to the main character, in fact there are books where I've read a six-book series, and I wished horrible things on the main character, but as I said I made it through an entire series. That's because I read for the story, a good story will keep me coming back for more, but also -and the most importantly- is that I believe we all have a different connection to the main character.
I see it as, we all read a book/story through the views of our experiences, and as I said in chapter 1, Emma wasn't going to be someone most people could relate to. If you have never been in an abusive relationship you won't understand some of the actions Emma took. For example, how many people truly understand why at the end, her entire being was telling her not to go back to him, but she does it anyways? I personally don't, but my mother went through an abusive relationship with my fathers, I did have a point of reference. I will never have the same connection to a main character, the way you will, that is just how it is at the end of the day. My experiences are vastly different from yours.
Me as a writer: I still think that you as a reader have a different relationship with the main character, based from your personal experiences, personality, and views of the world. So instead of trying to manipulate Emma into something everyone can relate to, I put things that the readers can do so. Such as, everyone's felt fear, happiness, and confusion when it comes to another, those are moments where I knew most could relate to. I pose this question to you, what is/was your relationship with Emma?
Why did Wesker want to kidnap her?
I'm hoping everyone can see the answer now that the stories over, but Emma had knowledge that was necessary to progress the Umbrella corporation's goals, as stated in Chapter 9, and some hinted to in Chapter 3. I've read adult fiction book since I was twelve, meaning that I'm fairly used to the story slowly answering the important questions of who, when, what, where, why, and how. For the first couple chapters, I focused on developing the setting and Emma's personality, so that you as the reader could find something to care about. These three questions were posed on Chapter 1, when I barely had the sixth chapter posted up.
Why is Wesker OOC?
I personally didn't see Wesker as out of character, and neither did the five-other people I check in with to try and keep him as in character as possible. I'm sorry that you did. I got this story idea during my college psychology class assignment, where my teacher had us analyze our favorite video game villains…. If they were on the list. So, I did tons of research, yes, I did manipulate his personality a bit, since we never saw Wesker in love.
Series Polls:
These are a handful of ideas where I already have a plot laid out. Some will already be started, some just ideas, and some almost completed. It is up to you, as readers, to tell me which one I'll be posting next. I wanted to have a variety of stories on here, so none of them are Resident Evil characters, or characters from Durararar. If you do not like the choices I've laid out before you, I will accept a character suggestion. With each pairing, I will have the Title and a brief summery under, so you can make a well-rounded decision. I will be accepting your poll choices for two weeks, again only through PM/Polls.
Bates Motel:
Dylan Massett x Original Character
Death of A Family Member
Being in the drug business is a dangerous job, but with the help of his friend Ethan, Dylan is managing things rather well. Ethan's sister a young woman with heart issues, meets the sandy blond man when her brother invites him over, sparking an instant friendship. When her older brother passes away, Dylan offers to watch over her. Will their relationship flourish into a beautiful flower, or crash and burn?
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens:
Kylo Ren x Original Character x General Hux
The Cook
Joline, a young chef on the rise, can never resist a request from her childhood friend Armitage Hux, General of the Finalizer. When he asks her to take over as the head chef for the higher-ranking officers, she's exposed to a world of chaos. Kylo Ren's temper tantrums, Phasma's constant need to be right, Hux's need to protect Joline, the Resistance, and so much more, how is a girl supposed to figure out what she wants for her future?
The Flash:
Barry Allen x Original Character
Blind Date
Rogue a librarian in Starling City, was more than happy to help Felicity, her friend, with a blind double date. Though it was only a blind date for the quite woman, and it was only with the fastest man on earth! Her quiet life quickly crashes into the Arrow Flash superhero realm of existence, leaving some wreckage in its wake.
Prometheus:
David 8 x Original Character
Personal Engineer
This isn't normal, she tells herself pacing through the quiet halls as her mind flashes back to David. The exceptional engineer, assigned to make sure David functions to the best of his capability during the trip to the Engineers, can't keep her mind from wandering to dangerous places when he's around. Would it hurt to succumb to darkness when the very earth seems to want to kill those on the ships?
Containment:
Jake Riley x Original Character
Control
A mass breakout of an unknown virus prompts a city-wide quarantine. Meanwhile in a different part of the world, Jayani, a CDC specialist, is called back home to aid in the rush to finding any sort of cure. Predominantly an outspoken, by the books person, Jayani forces the hand of Sabine by entering the Cordon. Being Lex's friend, she insists on keeping both him and the CDC aware of what's going on. How will Jake react when seeing his Ex in her element? Or maybe the better question to ask is, how will Jake function whilst watching Jayani work in the environment that prompted their brake up?