Hello! I am Plum, I am going to be interviewing you via text. [ominous robot voice] Please State Your Name and Story for the Record. Aidan Mason, Cwej: The Judas Bargain What drew you to this series or project initially? Well, the fact that it was a Doctor Who spin-off! I’ve loved the series since I was a kid and the fact that it was a former companion made it all the more tempting. Plus I tried to pitch to Cwej before, but it didn’t work out, so when “Codex” was in development I had to jump on it. The fanboy inside of me was begging! What makes your story different or special? I know that’s a broad question, but work with me here. I think what makes The Judas Bargain so special is that it’s an allegory for fandom and their tendency to try and cut things into “canon”. The Slicers are sort of an allegory for people that are so obsessed with canon they miss out on some great stories. It’s a double edged sword really; it hurts the show because you get people saying, “you can’t do that because [insert story here] from 1965 already did it” OR people say, “well, that [insert story here] doesn’t matter, it’s not ‘canon’ and thus not worth remembering” and in the process degrade the hard work it took to make that book/comic/audio, etc. Both can coexist and that’s the point I’m trying to make in The Judas Bargain. There’s plenty of beautiful EU stories and there’s great TV stories that contradict the EU and vice versa. Let them all exist. It’s part of the beauty of this universe, the variations it provides. If anything, I’d say that Doctor Who isn’t just a series anymore; it’s a genre. A choose-your-own adventure story, if you will. I also like to think I have a different tone in some of my stories than you’d say the traditional Arcbeatle tone is. Not incompatible, but I like to think that I have an edge to mine that helps me stand out just a tiny bit. Maybe that’s me just being a silly college student, but hey, it works for me. Do you plan things out meticulously or write by the seat of your pants and let the characters guide you? Did your writing process surprise you? I tend to plan out the skeleton/backbone of a story, all the major plot beats and character arcs. That way when I’m adding the meat of the story, I have a general structure that keeps me from veering off into a tangled mess. It also gives me a lot of room to work in foreshadowing, that’s something I really like to do. But it also gives me room to improvise if I feel the need to. I can add tons of character moments, deaths for minor characters if I want to, etc, and keep it within the structure I have so it feels satisfying to the reader. Is there a writer or a creative artist that inspires you? A series? A part of life? Tons. Attack on Titan, Doctor Who and related spin-offs (obviously), RENT and Tick Tick Boom, Lord of the Rings Extended Editions, Phantom of the Opera and Star Wars. Oh and the stupid shit people do at my college (university for you Brits). Oddity keeps me going. What’s something strange and unusual about your work? I like bolding impactful words, especially if a character’s placing emphasis on it. I guess it’s kind of symbolic of how I like to do my stories; bold and impactful. When I do something I want it to stick, if that makes sense, I want to make it stand out from the crowd. Speaking of oddities, I have an exceedingly random question for you here. What’s your favorite colour? No, seriously. This used to be very important when we were young, I have to know. Black or green, depending on my mood. Both have a really good aesthetic. Writers are often described as having to kill their darlings. Is there anything you had to cut that you wish you didn’t? Anything that didn’t fit quite the way you wanted to? For Cwej, nothing much was cut. If anything, I’d say more was added between first draft and final draft than cut. That being said, I would’ve liked to perhaps make more mainstream references to the wider universe, but we don’t have the license so it’s a moot point regardless. Do you get writer’s block? All the time. It’s why I haven’t released a book in like two years at this point. College plus the drudgery of day jobs kinda sap the creativity out of me sometimes. Plus there’s just days that mentally I’m not up for it. What’s your dream job? Is it to write a particular thing or is it to do something else entirely? Just to keep on writing and actually have it be my full-time job. I guess showrunning Doctor Who would be amazing. There’s also a few novels/scripts on the pipeline. Stay tuned! Do your characters have secrets? Do we know those secrets? For The Judas Bargain specifically, I guess the secret is if Dasju survived or not. Like I said in the story, it’s all about what you think is true… Have you, or any of your characters, seen the 2007 animated feature film The Bee Movie? You’d have to ask Andy Lane or Hunter O’Connell about our main trio! (laughs) Dasju probably saw it as part of some Old Earth History Class. Maybe it’s enshrined in a future version of the Criterion Collection. TARDIS Wiki editors, this is absolute confirmation that Dasju watched Bee Movie, take note! (further laughs) When did you write your first story? Was it when you were young, or was it last year? What do you consider to be your first story? Are you proud of it? Well are we talking about published or written? Written would probably be a couple Star Wars fan fictions I wrote in first grade as part of a writing class. Published it’s Aesthetic from Arcbeatle’s very own 10,000 Dawns! And I’m very proud of it, though I think I’d give it another draft nowadays. How much do you redraft your work? It’s often said that writing is rewriting. How many iterations did you go through to bring us what we see now? It really depends on how much a client or story needs it. I think Judas Bargain went through two rounds of edits if I remember correctly. A27 / the Warsong and Cwej both have storied and detailed backgrounds. How familiar are you with their prior work? Is there another piece with these characters that you particularly enjoy? Cwej I was decently familiar with, I’ve read a few VNAs and I have the original print of Down the Middle. I actually reread a few of the stories in the anthology before I started writing. Flickering Flame I think is my favorite in the series (apart from mine). Can’t go wrong with an Iris Wildthyme team-up! Is your story exactly as you imagined it? Is it different? It’s pretty close to what I imagined. From the beginning this was intended to be in a shorter, “date” format. I think Hunter or Jim/Jeanne, I can’t remember who, said the limit was a certain number of pages. I tried to fit that originally, but then someone suggested it needed an extra scene or two, so I added that in. Can the main character of your story defeat seventeen rabid wolves? The wolves are hungry. Does Dasju or Cwej have a gun? Cwej probably. Dasju on the other hand would probably be wolf chow if he didn’t have a wandering traveler to save him. Which character do you have the hardest time understanding? The least? I don’t think I have much trouble understanding them if I’m being honest. I might not know them as deeply as some others here, but I get the general character archetypes. I guess ironically enough it’s one of my own, Kaiden. Him and the Slicers, what made them do this? Maybe I could explore that in another story, if I ever get the chance. Is there a message you’d like to tell the world? Read The Judas Bargain! Please, I crave validation 🥺
0 Comments
Hello! I am Plum, I am going to be interviewing you via text. [ominous robot voice] Please State Your Name and Story for the Record. Elizabeth Tock, writer of "Stage Blocking". What drew you to this series or project initially? Jim and I have been friends for years. I was part of the original “10,000 Dawns” project, and when they reached out asking if I wanted to write for this it was a no-brainer. What makes your story different or special? I know that’s a broad question, but work with me here. I guess the level of angst in my story is a lot lower than other works in the Academy 27 verse? Like, in certain ways, mine could fall into any story about high schoolers. The drama (no pun intended) Amelia deals with in “Stage Blocking” is mostly relegated to the A27 high school; unlike the main arc of Sang Mi’s adventures in the series. Do you plan things out meticulously or write by the seat of your pants and let the characters guide you? Did your writing process surprise you? I kind of do both? Sometimes I plan down to what I imagine the character’s are wearing during the course of the story. Sometimes I write different scenes as they come to me and then figure out what order they go in afterwards. I guess what surprised me in this writing “Stage Blocking” was how easy it came to me, as I didn’t have to edit much after the first draft was done. Is there a writer or a creative artist that inspires you? A series? A part of life? Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted author), Tolkien and everyone in the “10,000 Dawns” project honestly. Oddity keeps me going. What’s something strange and unusual about your work? I think I get ideas for stories from the weirdest places sometimes? One of my current personal projects I got from watching a band I like’s movie they made based on one of their albums. Speaking of oddities, I have an exceedingly random question for you here. What’s your favorite colour? No, seriously. This used to be very important when we were young, I have to know. I like a lot of colors, but if the color of my responses is too subtle, my favorite color is Purple. With Turquoise being a close second. Writers are often described as having to kill their darlings. Is there anything you had to cut that you wish you didn’t? Anything that didn’t fit quite the way you wanted to? Not in “Stage Blocking”, but I’ve definitely had to do so in other projects. Do you get writer’s block? ALL.THE. TIME. One story I’ve been working on since 2020 and it’s still nowhere close to being done. What’s your dream job? Is it to write a particular thing or is it to do something else entirely? I mean, I wouldn’t hate being able to write something that got as popular as “The Lord of The Rings” series. But one of my other passions is live theater and I wouldn’t mind working backstage professionally. Do your characters have secrets? Do we know those secrets? As of now, Amelia in “Stage Blocking” doesn’t have any secrets. In other projects of mine, I’m not at liberty to say ;) Have you, or any of your characters, seen the 2007 animated feature film The Bee Movie? I’ve seen the memes, but have not brought myself to watch the whole movie. So my characters haven’t either. When did you write your first story? Was it when you were young, or was it last year? What do you consider to be your first story? Are you proud of it? Pffft, um, I think the first thing I would call my first story was written in 7th grade? I don’t even remember the plot, but I imagine my mom has it in the box of school stuff of mine she’s kept over the years. I remember being proud of it at the time, it was for a school assignment and got a good grade and was liked by the elementary kids I read it to. How much do you redraft your work? It’s often said that writing is rewriting. How many iterations did you go through to bring us what we see now? Like I said, for “Stage Blocking” I didn’t really do much editing, at least content-wise. Grammatically that is a Jim question haha! I’ve always struggled a little in that department. A27 / the Warsong and Cwej both have storied and detailed backgrounds. How familiar are you with their prior work? Is there another piece with these characters that you particularly enjoy? I’m probably most familiar with A27/ the Warsong. I like the journey Sang Mi has been on so far. I’m just getting into Cwej. Is your story exactly as you imagined it? Is it different? For “Stage Blocking” pretty much. A very solid plan came to me pretty quick when Jim approached me to write for A27. Can the main character of your story defeat seventeen rabid wolves? The wolves are hungry. I highly doubt it, as far as I know Amelia has not experienced many wolves in space. She knows enough about tech that if the rabid wolves were a computer virus she could at least keep them at bay though. Which character do you have the hardest time understanding? The least? I have a hard time with the villains in that I have to wrap my brain around their thought processes. The high schoolers are pretty easy, since I’ve been a high schooler before haha! Is there a message you’d like to tell the world? Live well, and do no harm, but take no shit. |
Arcbeatle PressWe're a small press working to create stories by many diverse and spectacular talents. Archives
February 2025
Categories
All
|