The Benefits Project ; phan au

Q&A

So here it is! The tbp Q&A <3

You made Phil the 'bad boy' in the beginning as opposed to Dan who most authors opt for, is there like any particular reason you chose Phil?

Obviously most authors do opt for Dan as some of the phandom believe he is more the 'bad boy' type and believe Phil is innocent. However I've always believed Phil had some sort of dirty, seductive, 'bad' side to him and I wanted to express that through here. #philtops inspired me a little actually :)

How long do chapters take you to write?

In the beginning it usually took me a week but nearing summer it took me weeks due to lack of inspiration but as of recent they usually took 1-2 weeks considering on if I had motivation and felt like the chapter I would be publishing was at a good enough standard for the people reading.

Did you ever rethink the whole plot of the story and had to change it?

This question was asked in various ways so I'll answer it by using this question instead of repeating :) yes, I did rethink the plot. Originally it was just going to be a super smutty fic,the whole reason tbp was originally named The Benefits Project was because Dan and Phil were going to be friends with benefits however then this plot stuck into my head and I loved it so much I changed the fic plot completely!

Were there any times where you just wanted to give up on TBP?

There were many times this happened, especially during the summer since I couldn't find any inspiration to write at all! But I'm glad I never gave in :D

Are any of the characters based on someone you know IRL?

I guess Tilly was based off one of my old friends' little brother called Finley but I did tweek bits here and there like how hyper she was all of the time and her looks.

Would you ever consider doing a spin-off of select characters in this story (i.e Chris/PJ) if you couldn't think of an idea for a sequel but still wanted to do some sort of continuation of this story?

That is actually a great idea! It depends really, I wouldn't write a Chris & PJ or Tyler and Troye as I don't ship it anymore. I am now writing anime fics instead.

How do you balance writing the stories with school and how do you stay motivated to write?

I don't know really, if I'm honest its unhealthy how much I don't care about school, which is mainly why I pile up my homework till the weekend and write whenever the hell I want to (do not follow this pattern you will stress yourself). So technically I don't balance the work out at all xD. But motivation wise, sometimes it just comes however I do have my amazing friend Rebekka (@destiel-pie) who is amazing at motivating me!

What was the hardest chapter to write?

Probably Homophobia Project, or Coming Out. They both I wrote while I was having a huge writers block and since they were both filler chapters it was hard to make them to my 'good' standard of writing.

What inspired you to create this plot?

Nothing really, its kind of like one of those moments when you're lying in bed and this idea just comes into your head and you're like "shit I've gotta write this!" and that's what happened aha.

What were you doing/what inspired you when you came up with TBP? Like where did the idea even come from?

Now that I think about it this question is a lot like the last one oops. But really, the inspiration for the change in the original plot probably came from the fact that I was tired of bad boy Dan and wanted to see a bad boy Phil since I hadn't found any phanfictions with such a character. Haha, when I came up with the idea I was lying in bed in a Cornwall holiday home in Falmouth at about 12am watching anime - typical me.

How did you feel writing Phil's personality in the earlier chapters?

Pretty excited really! I was really glad I managed to shape Phil's character the way I wanted :D

Favourite character aside from Dan or Phil?

Tilly definitely, omg I loved putting her in chapters and writing about her.

Did Troye and Tyler end up together?

Troye and Tyler never got together, they were romantic interests though.

Was it difficult writing Phil with almost a completely different personality?

I wouldn't say so tbh.

How did you choose the names? (for other characters)

First names that came to my head really.

Did you plan a lot?

I did a hell of a lot of planning. Winging it every time wouldn't work with me at all!

How do I get my writing up to a standard like yours?

My writing isn't that good. But reading helps your writing a lot, you learn various pieces of vocab which you can use in your writing. And lots of practice! I've been creative writing since I was nine years old (ugh cringe). I think the best way to practice is if anything comes into your head just write it down or scribble it in a creative way, or if you like going outside, sit outside and write what you see. Or you could even sit in your room and describe what you see. For example, you're sat in an exam hall, but could it be just a plain exam hall? Maybe its a bees nest, filled with fuzzy black and yellow bees doing their daily duties and making all that sickly sweet honey.

I hope that helps for anyone who wants help creative writing :)

Thanks for all the questions ^-^ I really enjoyed them aha! I love you all and I'll see you in other phanfics!