Creative Spotlight: erttheking, writer

[Aerosteam]

This spotlight is an interview with [user]erttheking[/user], a fanfic writer who has written stories set in
several universes such as Halo, Star Wars and Papers, Please. His largest fanfic, "From
the Ashes", a crossover of Mass Effect and Fallout has received over 2000 reviews and
even had a fan generously spawn multiple fan art of original characters featured in it.

It's worth noting he's the one who actually created The Escapist Creative Society [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Escapist-Creative-Society] (formally
User Generated Content) in the first place. You can check out his stories at fanfiction.net [http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1835782/erttheking]

[small]"People are so... complicated. Needlessly complicated. They have to come up with all of these standards, reasons and justifications for every last little thing that they do, setting up countless networks of what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable except sometimes it is actually acceptable because of different standards that weren't put in at first for some reason." He let out a bored sigh. "It's quite depressing really. We spend so much time bidding by a system that we set up purely to cause stagnation and monotony, willing to stick to the status quo instead of discovering what powers we are truly capable of." ~ Dr Goeth[/small]

[h4]Do you have any inspirations for your work?[/h4]I'm gonna have to say that Mass Effect was probably the series that inspired me the most. It just made me fall in love with the concepts that I commonly use in my series, massive casts, deep worlds, characters ranging from pure and innocent to unrepentantly evil with every kind of mix in-between them. Gray and Gray Morality is always fun to work with too.

[h4]How long have you been writing fanfics and why did you start in the first place?[/h4]I've been doing them since my Freshman year in high school, so for around half a decade now. Aheh, this one is actually kind of embarrassing. Long story short, I went through a shipping phase. I went looking for pictures of the couple but found little. Then I actually found stories, but there were barely any of them too. Eventually, I just decided to write my own out of the blue, and once that was done I moved on to writing other things and I found out that I really liked it. (Don't ask about those fics, I've wiped them from existence.)

[h4]Why do you mainly do crossover fanfics?[/h4]I dunno. I just really like writing them. I just did one one day and it kinda became my thing. Probably because of the sheer amount of possibilities it can create. Imagine what would happen if the worlds of Bioshock Infinite and Metro Last Light were to merge.

[h4]What can you tell us about your favourite character that you've created?[/h4]That's a tough one, I have so many that I love for different reasons. If you twisted my arm and forced me to give an answer, I'd say Dr. Goeth. I really only like to write two kinds of villains. The kind that kill a child and then proceed to cradle the body, crying gently, and the kind who kill a child, make a puppet out of the corpse and use it to tell nursery rhymes to the parents. Dr. Goeth is very much the second person.

I don't know why, but there is something refreshing and exciting about writing a character who is so knowingly, willingly and GLEEFULLY evil. Except he wouldn't use the term evil, because he finds the concept of good and evil to be stupid. In fact, he finds most of the things humans to be stupid. He considers society to be like a forest, a self sustaining system that exists simply for the sake of existing, something he finds boring as sin. However, when the forest catches fire, nothing brings him greater joy. In the end, Goeth doesn't care what he fights for, mainly because he finds many Human beliefs to be hypocritical. He just wants a chance to make as many twisted creatures out of Human beings as possible and let them out to play.

[h4]Why prefer to write stories in established universes as opposed to creating your own ones?[/h4]Firstly because I enjoy playing around with the elements of created universes, secondly because I feel like a Mass Effect story would get more noticed online than a generic what his face's story, thirdly because building an entire world from the ground up is easier said than done and it's a little too much work for something no one will read, and fourthly because sometimes I feel like I could have done something better. *Cough* Mass Effect 3 ending *cough*

[h4]How would you change Mass Effect 3's ending?[/h4]Star Child never existed. To be honest I'd probably take out the Crucible too. Just make it so that the races of the galaxy try to overwhelm the Reapers with sheer force. Anything less than perfect numbers results in devastating causalities, and if they're low enough, the Reapers even win. The united fleet would then have to move on to take out the less organized Reapers still raising Hell elsewhere (Around 50% of their main forces would've been at Earth, and they would be less organized with Harbinger gone) and if too many loses were taken the fleet would've been forced to be more cautious in taking out the remaining Reapers possibly leading to entire planets being wiped out while they were hesitating. Maybe the Reapers wipe out all life on Thessia or glass Eden Prime. Maybe they get massive reinforcements if their victory at Earth was decisive enough.

[h4]Why have the name "erttheking"?[/h4]It's basically a name that my brother helped me
come up with for the first MMORPG I ever played, it
was partially because of how ert is just spelled out
on a keyboard and I just stuck with the name.

[h4]Let's say a fanfic of yours gets published as an
actual novel, what would the front cover look like
and would you keep its original name?[/h4]The front cover of From the Ashes would be a hand picking
up a T-45d or T-51b power armor helmet up, a trickle of
ashes slowly falling out of the inside. I would keep the title.

[h4]Do you stick to writing or do you do other
creative things?[/h4]Mostly writing. Although I have been starting to do
some riffing on the side, not sure if that counts.

[h4]Which one of these do you create first before
production starts on a fanfic: the story's plot or its
characters?[/h4]It varies, although normally it's the characters, they tend to
be my strong point.

[h4]Any advice to give to other writers?[/h4]Practice practice practice. I also find TV Tropes to
be a big help. And peer review.

[h4]Do you already know how From the Ashes will end?[/h4]I have a good idea.

[h4]Do characters on your fanfics represent
real-world people in any way?[/h4]Not particularly. Though, without trying to sound
pretentious, I will say some of them do come from
parts of my personality. My bitterness for one, my
eagerness in another, my desire to believe in the
Human race for a third, etc etc.

[h4]What would you say are the best type of endings?[/h4]A happy ending, but the happy ending where the main
characters had to earn it with their blood sweat and tears.

[h4]neko-hime-cfi: Do you enjoy mutilating your characters
or do you honestly think it makes a better story?[/h4]A little bit of both, I hate invincible heroes and I like to make
it clear that my characters can bleed.

[h4]Do you use literature as a platform to give out
your opinions or ideas about the real world?[/h4]I try to avoid this but I will admit it's a pit I've
slipped into a couple of times.

(Image deleted, sorry.)

Fan art of From the Ashes characters by neko-hime-cfi
Click here for a larger view​

Have a question to ask erttheking about any topic,
or anything to do with the Creative Spotlight in
general? Ask away! Are you creative or know an
Escapist who is? Nominate away!

 

[Dragonbums]

This is great!

Let's get ourselves out there!

 

[Erttheking]

This is great!

Let's get ourselves out there!

Yeah, it is a pretty fun thing. So, you got any questions?

 

[Able Seacat]

Congrats erttheking! I'll look forward to checking out some of your work.

I like these spotlight things It's good to hear about the talents peoples have.

 

[Miyenne]

Yay, the first one is out! errtheking is always there in the group for support and comments and just happy chats.

captcha: jerk store. Um, not our group.

 

[Aerosteam]

This is great!

Let's get ourselves out there!

Yeah, it is a pretty fun thing. So, you got any questions?

I do. I forgot to ask this during the interview but here goes.

What was your favourite mission/moment in the entire Mass Effect trilogy?

 

[Erttheking]

This is great!

Let's get ourselves out there!

Yeah, it is a pretty fun thing. So, you got any questions?

I do. I forgot to ask this during the interview but here goes.

What was your favourite mission/moment in the entire Mass Effect trilogy?

Oh geez. That's another one where you have to twist my arm and make me chose. I'm gonna have to say...the moment in Mass Effect 2 where everyone is escaping from the exploding Collector base and the "No man left behind" achievement popped up. There was just a rush I don't normally get.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

erttheking I still think you should try to write some original fiction, I know you say it's a lot of work for something no one will read, but have you considered a webcomic? You might even already have an artist. If you give them pretty pictures, they might read. Also world building is fun.

 

[Ninjamedic]

So, you got any questions?

WHERE DID YOU DUMP THE BODIES ER!?


Though if I have to ask a serious question would you have any literary influences?

 

[Fappy]

erttheking I still think you should try to write some original fiction, I know you say it's a lot of work for something no one will read, but have you considered a webcomic? You might even already have an artist. If you give them pretty pictures, they might read. Also world building is fun.

I second Eclipse. It can be difficult and time consuming, but it is well worth it and exercises a lot of creative muscles that get neglected in fanfiction-type works.

Actually, speaking of webcomics, you should totally do the art for one yourself, Eclipse

OT: This is pretty sweet, guys. Since the community spotlight is on hiatus I guess it falls on community members to keep this kind of stuff going. I actually spoke to one of the site admins last week (won't name names) and he said they're looking into possibly starting the spotlight up again. Be sure to shout at Tito if you want it to come back! I know I do!

 

[Miyenne]

erttheking I still think you should try to write some original fiction, I know you say it's a lot of work for something no one will read, but have you considered a webcomic? You might even already have an artist. If you give them pretty pictures, they might read. Also world building is fun.

That is a great idea. Pair up the writers and the artists we have that have enough time. The artists in the group are amazing and we have some really good writers, too.

And I second Eclipse, you should really write something original too. It's more difficult, but more rewarding.

 

[Erttheking]

So, you got any questions?

WHERE DID YOU DUMP THE BODIES ER!?


Though if I have to ask a serious question would you have any literary influences?

Hm, that's a tough one. To be perfectly honest I feel like I draw more inspiration for my writing from TV and video games nowadays. When I'm writing, I'm thinking of things like Game of Thrones, Dark Souls, Mass Effect, things like that. Though I will admit I did think I had Macbeth in mind when writing one of my villains, started off with good intentions but went mad as he got more and more power. I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare's works but I do love the ideas he came up with. Sorry if that wasn't very helpful.

 

[Erttheking]

erttheking I still think you should try to write some original fiction, I know you say it's a lot of work for something no one will read, but have you considered a webcomic? You might even already have an artist. If you give them pretty pictures, they might read. Also world building is fun.

erttheking I still think you should try to write some original fiction, I know you say it's a lot of work for something no one will read, but have you considered a webcomic? You might even already have an artist. If you give them pretty pictures, they might read. Also world building is fun.

I second Eclipse. It can be difficult and time consuming, but it is well worth it and exercises a lot of creative muscles that get neglected in fanfiction-type works.

Actually, speaking of webcomics, you should totally do the art for one yourself, Eclipse

OT: This is pretty sweet, guys. Since the community spotlight is on hiatus I guess it falls on community members to keep this kind of stuff going. I actually spoke to one of the site admins last week (won't name names) and he said they're looking into possibly starting the spotlight up again. Be sure to shout at Tito if you want it to come back! I know I do!

Well it's not that I don't want to, it's that A. I got a lot of other projects I want to work on and B. I'm not 100% sure if I'm ready for something like that. I actually did quite a bit of world building in From the Ashes so it's not like I don't do that, but starting something completely new...I think I may need a bit more practice first.

Also, not sure how I feel about a web comic. I'd certainly need an artist because I can't draw for shit.

 

[Ninjamedic]

Sorry if that wasn't very helpful.

No no, I was just curious if you had any specific literary works that influenced your writing style. I ask since the only people I know who write are fairly (or extremely) invested in literature, since you listed what works inspired you in terms of ideas, I was wondering what influenced your style, if anything.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Actually, speaking of webcomics, you should totally do the art for one yourself, Eclipse

I've seriously thought about it...
Every time I do though I either get swamped with work or become lazy and discouraged, or both.

OT: This is pretty sweet, guys. Since the community spotlight is on hiatus I guess it falls on community members to keep this kind of stuff going. I actually spoke to one of the site admins last week (won't name names) and he said they're looking into possibly starting the spotlight up again. Be sure to shout at Tito if you want it to come back! I know I do!

This site has a lot of creative people, and there aren't many ways to show them off. It's hard to ask for critique or show your work to anyone since it can get you warned for advertising. I like the creative spotlight for that reason, it gets people who make stuff out there.

 

[Dragonbums]

This is great!

Let's get ourselves out there!

Yeah, it is a pretty fun thing. So, you got any questions?

Totally.

I'm a pretty secluded person in real life. I have my ships, I read fanfiction, and I like to headcannon things. However I never had the guts to display any of that either in real life or on the internet.

It embarrassed me in a sense?

I guess my question would be- did you ever have second thoughts writing your fics? Not in the sense that you didn't want to do them, but like "what if my friends or family see this? What will they think of me?" kind of way.


I suppose for me it takes a lot of guts to not only write fanfics, but to proudly admit it as well. There are a lot of assumptions about ff writers out there so to me anyone who does it without regrets has guts.

 

[Erttheking]

This is great!

Let's get ourselves out there!

Yeah, it is a pretty fun thing. So, you got any questions?

Totally.

I'm a pretty secluded person in real life. I have my ships, I read fanfiction, and I like to headcannon things. However I never had the guts to display any of that either in real life or on the internet.

It embarrassed me in a sense?

I guess my question would be- did you ever have second thoughts writing your fics? Not in the sense that you didn't want to do them, but like "what if my friends or family see this? What will they think of me?" kind of way.


I suppose for me it takes a lot of guts to not only write fanfics, but to proudly admit it as well. There are a lot of assumptions about ff writers out there so to me anyone who does it without regrets has guts.

I suppose I did in a way, but to be honest not THAT much. It's mainly because in my house I'm the only one who can really be classified as a hardcore gamer. Just about everyone else plays besides my mom but my Dad only does COD, my sister only GTA, and my brother only the above two with some Madden. Not to mention they all don't play very frequently so even if they did find my stuff they'd stop reading halfway through the first chapter the second they realized they had no idea what the Hell I was talking about. Sure I do talk to my Mom about it at times as she is an English major, but apart from that I can really only talk about it to my friends. It goes much better there as they're all giant nerds like me, one of them even being the one who convinced me to buy a PS2 so I could play Persona.

That being said, somehow I don't have too much trouble admitting it to my family, sure I get teased a bit, but it doesn't bother me too much because the really nerdy shit I get up too while writing gets kept under wraps. I had one woman with rocket propelled power armor and twin chainsaw swords as a character, but they'd have to get through 50+ chapters to know that.

That being said, I probably would feel uneasy talking about it to a stranger. It's one thing if it's someone I met at a gaming convention, but if it was just someone on the street, I'd feel uneasy.

 

[Aerosteam]

Not sure how I feel about a web comic. I'd certainly need an artist because I can't draw for shit.

What about audiobook form? You really don't have to do anything, you just tell voice actors about their character and their lines.

 

[OutworldSorc]

Not sure how I feel about a web comic. I'd certainly need an artist because I can't draw for shit.

What about audiobook form? You really don't have to do anything, you just tell voice actors about their character and their lines.

Audiobook/radio drama is also great for the poor/cheap artists among us. Very cheap to do. Download Audacity for free. Plug in Rock Band mic (only a problem when your father wants to play rock band while you are also recording...) and you're set to go!

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

This is excellent, I look forward to more of these in the future.

I also second the opinion that you should look into writing your own fiction ertt! Even if you think you're too busy now, don't push it out of your mind as an option. Writing about your own creations is one of the greatest joys in life I know.