Sue's interview with DoUTrustMe about her fic 'Died and Gone to Heaven'

Died and Gone to Heaven 

Sadly this fic has also been pulled I do not know why but it is no longer available (you can get a PDF here)

For recing me this story when I was stalking her Twitter feed (because I am a creeper like that) I have to thank the fabulous Writeontime123. If you have not read her fics I insist you do it.

WriteonTime recs some of the best stuff funny quirky amusing and just plain entertaining 

THAT is what this fic is 

Here is a her summary:


Accidents happen. Sometimes you die and meet God. Sometimes you live and meet SexGod.


Hmmmm now how do I describe this fic and why you should read it without giving anything away...?


OK Bella has an accident. She wakes up in the hospital and meets SexGod. She does not know who she is or who he is but she has a lot of fun commenting on his ass...


The banter in this is so cute and flirty and some of the stuff DoUTrustMe comes up with to say you just wanna crawl into her brain so you can roll around in her funny gray matter.


Ok that might be taking it too far... NAH!


Read the interview. Read the fic. Leave the love. The bonus of this one is that it is COMPLETE and not super long. This is a nice rainy afternoon fic. A fast read that is a great break from the massive angst fest of most of the fandom. ENJOY!



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What was it that gave you the 'spark' for your story? Was it a picture? A moment or event? Can you remember the initial inspiration?

pictures in this post might not have anything to do with the story

I hope you’re sitting in your comfy chair because there’s a bit of a story to tell about how this idea came to me but I’ll try not to ramble.  My father was put in the hospital back in May of this year and the doctors told my family to come say goodbye because they didn’t think he would live.  Long story short, after about four very exhausting and worrisome days, he perked up and got out of bed, ate, started walking and talking again and was released a few days later.  Needless to say, at the end of that very long week I was thrilled, elated and a little sleep-deprived but all of this got me thinking about doctors and hospitals.  All roads lead to Twilight and Edward Cullen so that’s where my mind ended up.  

I came home from the hospital with warm fuzzies flowing through my heart and head and plunked out the first chapter in a couple of hours and then kept that tone throughout the rest of the story over the next couple of weeks.   I had absolutely no idea of where the story would go at the beginning, but Bella had a distinct personality right from the start and her voice took over.  She really wrote herself and it was the best kind of stress-relief therapy for me because she made me laugh.


2. Do you have a particular process when it comes to your writing, perhaps a certain mood, environment or music? Do you have any 'triggers' to get you in the writing mood?

This to me says HOT DOC

I have to be in the right frame of mind to write something that would (hopefully) be considered funny.  Humor is very difficult to write and people laugh at different things.  There is no one-size-fits-all.   If I can’t make myself giggle when I write, I’m in the wrong mood and I write something else more serious and come back to it.  Caffeine is key—Diet Dr. Pepper is my drug of choice.  And I write humor better when I’m sleep-deprived and stressed out, apparently.  Also, I write late at night when I’m a little loopy and my kids are in bed so they don’t learn the meaning of words like ‘heat-seeking missile’ and ‘docking station’. 


3. Give us an elevator pitch. Say you're in an elevator with a prospective reader for 2 minutes – what would you tell them about the story?
I’m terrible at self-promotion. I’m anti self-promotion.  I’d probably say, “For the love of God, if you value your mental health, DO NOT read my story.  You CANNOT afford the therapy you will need after.  Think of your family, dammit!”  And then I would get right up in their personal space, grab their shirt front and start twitching uncontrollably.   And then they ran screaming from the elevator with a look of abject fear...um...I mean...they would probably run screaming from the elevator.  Not that that’s ever happened to me, of course.

 

On the other hand, if the prospective reader was holding a gun to my head saying ‘Tell me about your story, you deranged idiot, or I’ll shoot you”, I’d say, “You like guns?  Golden guns are really...um...shiny, aren’t they?  Do you like missiles, too?  You should really read Died and Gone to Heaven.  Weapons are involved. Lots of them. And they’re...big.”


4. Do you picture particular actors for your characters, or are they someone else entirely? If so, who?

I picture Robert Pattinson’s jaw as Doctor SexGod.  I’m jawgasming right now just thinking about it.  Goo Goo Doooooooooolllllls! But of course, the Captain has the starring role in this fic.  I know who I’d like to play that part, but I can’t say here.  Restraining orders might be involved.  Parts of Robert Pattinson might also be involved. 

I like my Bellas a little spicy with a feisty personality.  Kind of an Anne Hathaway-type, but with more costumes.  


5. Is the story all planned out or do you do it as a fly by the seat of your pants thing?
Usually I have a plan that’s pretty elastic and can change as the story goes on, but clearly, I had no plan whatsoever for this one.  And the plot kept trying to horn in and interfere with the story.  I hate it when that happens.  Stupid plot.


Do you have a Beta and would you like to give him/her a shoutout here? 

I don’t have a beta and let that be a lesson to you kids.   *shakes finger*   I’d like to shout out that I need a beta.  I‘d like someone who actually knows how to write so they can shoot my plot bunnies and boil them a la Fatal Attraction before they multiply uncontrollably into full-blown stories like this one, but that would just be embarrassing.  For them, of course.  I mean, these people have self-respect and reputations to uphold.  They are real people.  I couldn’t do that to anyone.  It would just be cruel.   In summary, I need a beta who is also a therapist.  To keep me from shouting out inappropriately.


6. Have you got any other projects going on? Any planned for the future?
I’ve started two other fics, but I’m kind of overwhelmed with extra work hours right now.   One story is supposed to be a little dark, but I keep throwing in lines that make me laugh.  That’s not good.  I have to force myself to write serious stuff.  I want to sneak in a joke in the midst of heartache to relieve the pressure.  I plan to keep writing until I run out of ideas.  Or I’m institutionalized.

7. What was it that brought you to Twilight fanfic? What is it that has kept you here (besides your own writing)
Wide Awake by the stupendous AngstGoddess003 brought me to Twilight fanfic back when it was still a work in progress.  I had online friends who recommended it to me.  I resisted for a while because I didn’t think anything written and posted on the Internet could possibly be that good, but I was so very wrong.  I’m not a big fan of angst, but Wide Awake was so well-written and I didn’t feel like I was being manipulated as a reader into feeling sorry for the characters. I came to genuinely care about them and was captured by every word.

. 

AngstGoddess003 set the bar high and the absolutely unbelievable creativity and astounding quality of writing keeps me here.  There are so many good stories and writers. I’m so proud of Twilight FF writers.  It takes a great deal of time, dedication and cajones to put a story out for people to read and critique.  It’s like sending your baby out into the world and hoping people will love and care for it as much as you do, but knowing they may not.   

Another thing that has kept me here is the wonderful people I’ve gotten to know, both readers and other writers.

8. Do you have a background in writing?   

Rob's jaw

I had to laugh when I clicked on the link to this blog and saw it was titled, ‘So You Think You Can Write.” I’m under no mistaken impression that I’m a writer. I’m still learning and hope to give myself that label someday, but I’m not there yet.  The only writing I’d done before FF was little stories in elementary school.  I loved writing then and I love it now, and I’m not sure what happened during the large gap in between, but I lose a little bit of myself when I don’t write.  I think it might be my verbal filter. 

I wrote a blog (which I don’t consider writing) for a while last year, but it was exhausting.  And people would email me saying, “THAT WAS FUNNY, NOW COULD YOU BE EVEN FUNNIER?”  It was terribly stressful.  I got one email with a picture attached saying, “WRITE SOMETHING FUNNY ABOUT THIS PICTURE”.  I did.  She laughed.  I took down my blog.  I can’t do funny-on-demand. 

One of the reasons I put my stories up on FF was to try to discover the writing style that best suits me.  It kind of makes me nervous when someone says, ‘I’m going to read your other stories now’ after reading Died and Gone to Heaven because I’ve tried to use different techniques in each one.  Died and Gone to Heaven has very short, snappy sentences, a lot of dialogue and very little description.    It works well for this story, but it’s difficult to take for too long because it can get obnoxious.  That’s why the story is so short.  Unlike my answer to this question.   


9. How about your creative self-confidence? By nature writers tend to be a notoriously insecure lot so how are you finding the online writing experience?
Strangely enough, I find that writing gives me self-confidence and expands my creativity. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.  Dear God, THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME, ISN’T THERE?  I have weird ideas rolling around in my head all the time, but when I put them down something just clicks into place. Like the resounding echo of heavy metal doors closing in a mental institution.  Not that I’d know what that sounds like, of course.  But now that you mention it, I’m starting to feel a little insecure. Do these answers make me look fat?

10. Do you tell your friends and family that you're an online author with a devoted following, or is this something that you tend to keep for yourself?

Hell to the no. That would just be embarrassing. Kind of like my answers to these questions.

12. Is there a particular character in your story that you identify with the most?
Edward’s boxer briefs.  They are missing vital components that render them dysfunctional.


13. Which RL author(s) inspires you?
There are so many.  Science fiction is my first love and Orson Scott Card is one of my favorites in that genre but I like all kinds of books including fantasy, mystery and romance.  Reading is my escape.  I don’t want anything too heavy or sad unless it is really well-written, but I love a good puzzle to solve. 

14. Did any FF authors inspire you? What was it that had you reading FF and thinking "I could do this"?
Again, there are so many great FF authors with great stories. I tend to gravitate to stories rather than authors, but there are a couple of authors who have more than one story that I love.  If I name any I’ll miss someone and feel bad.  Ideas for stories kept popping into my head as I read other stories so that’s what made me start writing.  My purpose in life is to try to make other FF authors look good in comparison.   They owe me.  Big time. 


15. What advice would you give to an aspiring fanfic writer?
Do it!  Start with a one shot.  Write what you like.  Write for yourself.  Don’t shout out things inappropriately...like “penis’ in the middle of your office team meeting.  Not that that’s ever... Okay, it happened last week.  But just the one time. 

16. Give us a Random Fact about yourself?
Sometimes I embellish a little.  In the author’s notes, I said half the doctors in Canada look like Edward Cullen and the other half like Carlisle Cullen.  That might have been a bit of an exaggeration.  *hangs head in shame*   Actually, only two thirds of Canadian doctors look like Edward and Carlisle.  The other third look like Emmett Cullen. 

yeah more jawporn

17. If you could have 15 minutes with anyone alive or dead real or fictional who would it be and what would you say to them?
Is that a rhetorical question?  Edward Cullen is why I read/write FF.    I would yell, “I brought a measuring tape.  Can we just put the question of size to rest right now?” as I was chasing him through the forest trying to hop on his back. And then I would apologize for shouting out inappropriately.  I’m Canadian.   We like to apologize.  Sorry about that.




18. What is your FanFic Pet peeve?
FF writers are at many different stages.  It’s all a learning process so I feel for beginners like me who make mistakes and don’t have a mentor to tell them, “Don’t tell your readers not to read your stories, you idiot.”

Truthfully, it doesn’t make sense when an author has a character describe himself in overly flattering terms.  It’s better if another character describes him instead.  Edward would never say, “I brushed my long, nimble fingers over my sharply chiseled jawline, marveling at how the simple action emphasized my rugged, masculine features.  Rubbing the sexy stubble, I thought of all the ways I could use my spectacular jaw and dexterous fingers to pleasure DoUTrustMe.”  Okay, maybe he’d say that last part.  Especially if I wrote the story.

19. What is your Fandom Pet peeve?
I eschew drama of any kind.   I’m a drama eschewer.    I also eschew tobacco.

In reviews, I appreciate honestly and directness couched in insincere flattery like, “DoUTrustMe, your story makes no sense, but you have awesome bewbs.”  

Truthfully, it’s frustrating for a writer to get a vague comment like ‘I didn’t like this chapter.’  I’d prefer, “I didn’t understand why Edward would put his dexterous fingers in DoUTrustMe’s nostrils while hanging upside down from the crystal chandelier with her.”  If such a situation actually happened.  Which it hasn’t, of course.   Well, maybe the one time. In my head.


21. Anything else you would like to add?

Thank you to everyone who read my story and reviewed, alerted or tweeted. You’ve been very, very sweet and funny.  I’m baffled, astounded and appreciative of the love you’ve shown. 

A special thanks to WriteonTime who started a tweet-fest explosion by recommending my crazy little story and it grew from there.  Her generosity knows no bounds. 

Another special thanks to Tabitha who fixed my grammatical problems on the last ten chapters of my longer story, bolstered my sagging energy, talked me down from the roof when I wrote my first lemon and encouraged me to keep writing after reading my very first one shot.  

And thank you to you for asking me to answer these questions and for featuring my story.

Minestrooooone!

Sue's interview with DoUTrustMe about her fic 'Died and Gone to Heaven'