I haven't diversified enough in Merlin for this to happen (I write the pairings that interest me and that's pretty much it), but this definitely happened in my Buffy fic.
I participated in an art before fic challenge and was enchanted by a b/w banner with Ethan, Buffy, and Giles. Now, I am not, and probably never could be, a Buffy/Giles shipper, but something about it called out to me. So I decided to give it a go. The result was This Wanton World, my very dark, very AU story about a Buffy who never went to Sunnydale. I had never really written Ethan before, and his part in it was...controversial to say the least. But the more I wrote on it, the more complex he became for me, until I was completely fascinated by him.
I still love that story - hell, the whole Worldverse. It's so broken and plays so much with the various roles people played.
Man, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it would be possible to add to it.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" story of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a story?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the story? Also, if you do chaptered story, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your stories (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies ideas, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied inspired from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a story you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your story? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your story? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a story?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your story?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite story you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!