The Lightning Awards Season 3 [IN SESSION]

Meet Judge Dawn

Now that we have entered the last days of the application period, we have noticed our new judges haven't received as many entries as others, so we want to give them an opportunity to introduce themselves in a short interview. The Head Chief interviewed Judge Dawn (animatix07). We hope you enjoy this, and if you are prospective applicant, chose Judge Dawn.

Heya, Dawn. Thank you so much for accepting to be a judge for TLA. You were one of the first supporters when it was a mere idea. We have known each other for quite a few years, but do introduce yourself and your writing to our followers.

To everyone who have not heard of me, Hi! I am Dawn. I've been a writer for more than three years now (almost four) and I could say that I have written Inazuma fanfics since.

I could say that my writing started the hard way. My first ever fanfic was titled Sixth Sense, inspired by some sci-fi story I couldn't remember. Ever since I watched IE, the Fubuki twins had been my favorite, yet I didn't know what brought me to write about Hiroto, Nagumo, Fuusuke, Midorikawa and Reina. I remember writing with the thought that it was as easy as telling a story, but the more I wrote the more I realized how hard it was. My second story was CroX Intersection, inspired by an art made by Miyukiku of Endou, Fubuki, and Gouenji. For some reason I thought about a group composed of Gouenji, Nagumo, and Atsuya, and I wrote that while Sixth Sense was already a long way ahead in chapters.

I think the reason I had a hard time was the fact that both stories have mystery as their main genre, and realized too late that I wasn't a panster (a writer who writes as he goes) but a planner (a writer who plans the whole story before writing it down). In the end I didn't know what to do with them and I ended up discontinuing both and taking them down. It was honestly a hard time for me, and I remember not being active for a time. And it wasn't fair for the readers who liked the stories (despite me being not that good), so by that time I knew I had to come back with something.

I started Fabricated during the Camp Nano last April 2018. I finished the outline of the story on July. Now I had five chapters out in their best quality (and I'm currently learning prose, so it might get even better), and the rest of the story waiting for me to edit and revise. That one time of absence from wattpad and the fandom was a time for me to learn a lot about writing, and hopefully Fabricated will make its purpose of showing what I've learn to the rest of the IE lovers.

May I asked what prompted you to accept being a judge this season? And what do you expect do achieve as a judge and look forward to?

I have many reasons why I accepted being a judge. First, I've known the TLA chief for as long as I can remember being in the fandom and I've turned her down last season (or was it the first season?) because of schedule. Second, I've already learned a lot for the last years, and I wish the IE fandom could produce and discover good stories we all could enjoy. I wanted to help TLA dig up those good stories from the writers of the IE fandom and help them with the improvement of their stories. The rest of those reasons are unexplainable and vague in the back of my mind, but the general idea is to discover more stories and more IE fanfic writers worthy to be discovered, and to help others improve.

Considering I'm only a new judge, not a lot of people know me yet, and I could understand if I have one or no entries at all. Also, considering the heaviness in my restrictions and the genres I prefer, I believe some entries would prefer other judges. But as a judge, I'll be looking forward to the stories I could read that is actually in line with my interests and how to help them improve or shove them into the light.

So as your writing is coming back, let's talk about your reading preferences. What are some of your favorite IE fanfiction that align with the stories you accept for this contest?

When talking about my favorite IE fanfiction, that's gotta be "Club of Abominations" by AisukiNoTakuto. Although the main character is Fubuki Shirou who had been on the spotlight not just in the series but also in many fanfics, the way he was OOC in the story was both awesome and funny. The story also did not focus on soccer but more on mystery, and it contains a group of characters we've never seen. So far, that is the only story I can't get enough.

The reason for my preferences is because I thought more about "How would they react if this happens to them?" I love stories that makes me anxious because of the lack of information that would connect the dots. I love something dangerous, and I don't care if they're 24 years old or ten years younger. I love the interaction of a group of IE casts that seems unlikely to be together. And what's more exciting than limiting their capacities to protect themselves such as setting them in a universe that hissatsus and powers don't exists? These things I mentioned seemed present in "Club of Abominations," and I wish I could see more of things like this in the IE fandom.

You have mentioned you are majoring in English (congrats!). What are you going to focus on your reviews the most from what you are learning/have learned?

Thanks!

Before I enrolled, I thought I've learned most of what writing is about. When I entered, I suddenly felt like an amateur. I found people who had good prose and I realized I should learn more on that field. I want to focus on the use of words, because I learned that some words or phrases may sound exactly the same yet may differ in the atmosphere it's trying to let the readers feel--horror or mystery may use more darker words, while teen tragedies may use something more tragic, and these words will decide the overall tone. Also (and not all may agree with this because I didn't at first), the use of POVs may depend on how the story is told, not because the writer prefers it. When I finally realized this was true, I had a dilemma with my original story which is supposed to be in third POV limited but is more appropriate with first person (and I always preferred third POV limited).

I also became more sharp at the reasons where some things or elements came from. Everything placed in the story should have a reason why it's there, otherwise they either fall as plot holes, plot devices that don't work, or mere decorations that don't serve any purpose. One of the reasons I wasn't able to update with my story right now is because of what I learned as well. There will be parts in the story where they could be more appropriate in a faster pace or should be dramatized to give some buildup, and it's more difficult to criticize your own story than having someone else do it.

I may use these all in the critique, hopefully it will not discourage anyone. It's harsher if you experienced the criticism from the prof first-hand, I promise. But mistakes always help us turn to the right direction. I just finished my first semester, by the way, so I'm still not that good, but I hope I can help with the little things I learned.

Taking writing classes definitely helps polishing one's craft and getting timely feedback. Finally, as an AU writer, how are you planning to handle AU entries? 

The difficult thing about an AU story is that you make up elements in the story that entirely comes from you. Because of that, it takes a lot of work to let readers believe where they come from. If we take a story about the same super-dimensional soccer, we don't have to explain much because the series will have to do it. But if you change a lot of things--no hissatsus, no aliens, a twin being alive, a sister not in a coma--you have to support these facts and convince readers why this happen. So, in AU entries, that's most likely the first thing that comes to mind. Why is this here? Why is that there? It also applies to OOC characters. Everyone has a background. There is always a reason why Gouenji is more talkative than the series, why Kidou is super-protective to his sister, why Shirou loves the sun, and the story should gradually show these "why"s sooner or later. It's almost like making your own original story, your own characters, your own settings, but reusing already existing elements or characters.

That's a wonderful perspective in AU stories. Dawn, thank you so much for your time. You are the definitely the judge to go for AU stories and intentional OOC characters.

Thank you! It's a pleasure to be TLA's judge.