starlights

I'm not exaggerating when I say that writing halfway home with Robin has been one of the highlights of my 2020. It was so much fun to work on this together, and the result was amazing, especially because we were both so happy with it! <3 So when we finally posted it, I thought what better way to end the process than interviewing each other about the experience itself?

Here are the questions! :]

☆ What was it like to work with each other?

Robin: Amazing, fantastic, spectacular, totally unique, never-been-done-before. Well, actually no on that last one, but in all seriousness I love working with Cony! Our projects together always come more easily than my own wips alone and having a person to gush about your fic with just makes the entire thing go so much faster. Even when we disagree, our conversations lead to the fic just becoming the absolute best version of itself! It’s also helped me grow as a writer because I’ve learned some of Cony’s strengths and applied them to my own writing. Long story short, I highly recommend collaborating! It’s just all about finding the right person to do it with, and Cony’s it for me!

Cony: Honestly, it was amazing. I agree with everything Robin said! Collabing is so much fun when you find the right person to collab with! And it’s funny, because I had eyed the prompt we wrote for a hot minute, but I didn’t feel confident enough to write it myself, mostly because Star Wars is such a big thing that I was a bit wary of writing a fic set in its universe. Robin was so excited about the prompt when I showed it to her, and really, she’s just such an amazing friend that I’m so glad I did. I can’t even remember who suggested to collab, but it’s truly one of the best things I’ve done this year!

☆ How about the writing process itself?

Cony: The writing process was surprisingly easy I’d say! At least in terms of the speed we made the whole thing happen. It tooks us one week to write like 17k. We had some back and forth discussions about some characters or topics, but even then, we were still able to make good progress. I think it’s partly because of those discussions, too, that we managed to bring out the best in each other, like Robin said!

Robin: Oh my gosh, yeah! The writing was literally SO fast it was kind of crazy. Then we took a break for a while, and when I came back I wrote the big battle scene at the end there. Honestly, for me the writing was super fun and I didn’t think too hard about what I was writing down, so I was glad that Cony was around to point out the blatant inconsistencies between what I’d written and the Star Wars lore at times. Honestly, we had a long conversation about the moment where Jaemin uses the Force to save Donghyuck, because that wasn’t exactly strictly possible considering that in the Star Wars prequels Anakin, a fully trained Jedi, had trouble lifting Padme with the Force. Eventually a few details about that scene were altered to make it more believable, and that moment was probably my absolute favorite by the time it reached its final form.

☆ And outlining?

Robin: Outlining was fun! We did it in a way where I started out by writing the basic outline, then Cony came in and made edits and additions. From there, we divided the outline up into who would write what, and then off we went! I think later on we had to do more specific outlines of a few scenes (the climax battle one for example) so that we could debate how things would go down, but overall the outlining went really smoothly and it was a stage where we eliminated a few plot holes right off the bat, so that was great! The idea of Jaemin and Mark being half brothers was born during this stage, I believe!

Cony: That was mostly Robin’s work, to be honest, and she did amazing! I stepped in to add a few scenes that I think would fit—for example, I thought about the tavern scene in Taharis because I wanted Nahyuck to have an opportunity to bond and to see each other on a different light. I’d like to think it was at that scene that Jaemin really started crushing on Donghyuck because of his personality. Anyway, overall it went pretty smoothly, and we split the scenes depending on what we wanted to write the most!

☆ What was the hardest or most challenging part or scene you wrote?

Cony: For me, it was definitely the last two scenes of the fic, where Jaemin confesses his feelings and then that last bit at Hoth. By the time I was writing the ending, it had been a few weeks since I last touched the fic, and I was a bit rusty. I actually re-wrote that part, because at first Jaemin was injured, but they only noticed it on their way out of Yavin IV. The next day, I realized I just wanted them to have their happy ending quickly, and re-wrote the whole thing <3 I really love how it turned out in the end, but I can admit that I had a hard time deciding (as always haha). The next thing would probably be when Jaemin was going back to Yavin IV after a few days? It was an important moment for him, and it was also hard to write all that space travelling stuff haha!

Robin: For me, it was the battle scene. I felt very unsure and worried that one, the pace would be off and be boring to read as a result, two, things would be repetitive, or three, that I would miss an obvious plot hole and have to rewrite it again. Like Cony, it had been a while since I’d written for the fic so I wasn’t super in the swing of things and I had to really press forward despite not feeling very satisfied at first. But after a bit of editing, I think it all came out alright!

☆ What about the most fun scene or part to write?

Robin: FOR SURE THE CARD SCENE! Jaemin teaching Donghyuck Smuggler’s Run was an absolute blast, because I was just making up those rules on the spot and having the absolute time of my life. A close second favorite goes to the scene with Yangyang and Xiaojun in the empty bar on Taris. Special mention for Hendery at the front counter! Also, Xiaojun and Hendery aliens! I honestly feel bad for Cony, she kept having to restrain me from making all the NCT members different kinds of aliens.

Cony: I really did hahahaha. I remember you suggested Hyunjin to be an alien too but I couldn’t fit the description at that moment, so I didn’t end up adding it. But honestly, it was really funny! Anyway, the part I had the most fun writing was the part where they were in Taris. When Donghyuck discovers there’s only one bed, and also later, when he gets drunk. I loved writing them banter! Next would be the first scene, where Donghyuck tries to convince Jaemin to take him inside his ship. It was so much fun, and I wrote that really fast. It all started to seem like it would really work!

☆ Let’s talk about the title and summary!

Cony: The process of titling it was really funny, because it started it with a misunderstanding of sorts. I was writing how they kiss after they discuss their feelings for each other, and I was like “they meet halfway”, as in, they kiss, and then I thought about adding home (“they meet halfway home”). Even though it wouldn’t really make sense grammatically, it was really romantic to me. But Robin thought I was suggesting a title instead, and she was like oh my god I love that title. But in the end, I think it was really fitting. And the summary, oh god I have a headache just thinking about it. Personally, I really hate summaries, and I’m never satisfied with them, no matter what. This one was really hard too, because we had different things we wanted to do with the summary—I wanted a shorter, maybe lighter summary, whereas Robin wanted a longer one! But I think that after many attempts, it came out nicely!

Robin: The way I felt dumb as hell when Cony was like “that was not what I meant but okay!” LIKE OKAY I’M ILLITERATE whoops! But seriously, even though the discovery of the title was an accident, I love halfway home. Also fun fact, Cony counted and we had nineteen versions of the summary before settling on this one. The summary is another one of those things that I feel like it got way better as we debated it out and got down to what we have now. Also, did you catch the little “Save me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope” reference in there?

☆ What about the posting process, tags, etc?

Robin: Honestly, this was Cony’s job, since I was the one to do the formatting and posting last time! Back then, I had really cursed formatting and I didn’t want to subject Cony to reformatting it. But this time around, she did the formatting and added tags, I just signed off on them! So for me, the process was easy.

Cony: The cursed formatting thing is real, our doc for our previous collab was really something hahaha. In all seriousness, posting feels like a chore, mostly, but it’s nice, because then it means it’s really done! I always have fun writing the notes, and this time was even funnier, because I was trying really hard to not use the word “we” there hahaha.

☆ What has changed since let’s cast a spell, our first collaboration, until now?

Cony: Personally, I feel like I can be more straightforward now? Not that I wasn’t before, but now I don’t feel so bad when I disagree about something. I know Robin may not agree, but she respects my opinion and won’t take it badly, if that makes sense! We also did a lot more world building, but I think that mostly because of the setting of this fic. Lastly, I let Robin read my unedited writing, which I have never done before! She really helped me a lot with editing too.

Robin: Well, I got rid of my cursed formatting while writing the collab, for one! Also, I agree with Cony! I wasn’t as scared to edit or disagree because I knew it wouldn’t hurt our friendship and only make the end product better! I also feel like we’ve both advanced as writers since let’s cast a spell (just you and me), and we knew what collabing together was like, so this new fic together was easier and even better than the first! Hopefully it won’t be our last collab fic either. I think we’re a great team!

☆ What was your favorite part that you wrote, and your favorite part from the other?

Robin: My favorite part was the part where Jaemin saves Donghyuck using the Force. But if we’re talking a whole scene, probably the scene where Mark explains Jaemin’s backstory. I thought both of those scenes were the best I wrote for the fic. My favorite scene that Cony wrote… I think we have a tie, because I can’t decide between the scene at the waterfall and the scene on Taris with Chenle and Jisung! Both of those scenes were amazing and 100% Cony and I loved them!

Cony: My favorite part was probably the bit in Taharis, where they go to the tavern. Just describing the place, and Donghyuck, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung interactions—like the bit where Donghyuck is like aren’t you two underage? And Chenle laughs. And the fact that Donghyuck gets drunk and Jaemin has to help him was just so funny. I also loved the waterfall scene, because it was the turning point, but also the peak of their conflict. Their make out session was just great, and describing Jaemin wet? I definitely enjoyed that a lot LOL And I just love writing misunderstandings in general, so the dialogues were fun to write! This line right here I also really loved “It’s only until the sight of the waterfall has vanished and Donghyuck is all alone in the lovely jungle of Yavin IV that he lets the tears fall.”

For Robin, I have so many! First of all, I have to mention the scene where they play the card game, because I remember thinking oh my god she’s really a genius! And laughing like crazy and feeling so lost because of all the rules. I felt like it was so well written and immersive! Also the scene where Jaemin used the Force to save Donghyuck! [“I swore I would never use it again after I left the Order,” Jaemin says, voice barely above a whisper. “But it turns out I would do almost anything for you, Donghyuck.” He tightens his hold on Donghyuck, like he can’t believe he’s here, that he’s safe.] This line right here has stuck with me until now, to be honest!

As a bonus, I love the part where Donghyuck is talking about Mark to Jaemin, and Donghyuck teases Jaemin because he starts “crying,” and Jaemin is like “for your information, crying is good for the soul!”. I really loved that whole exchange.

☆ Best and worst part of collaborations?

Cony: Best part for me is having a second opinion about everything, because I’m really really indecisive! And gushing about your fic with your co-writer? There’s nothing like it, to be honest! I just loved working with Robin so much, there are no words for it! Worst part… I don’t really know? Maybe when we couldn’t reach an agreement? Those times were a bit stressful. Like, at first, I didn’t want to mention the Jedi Order, or that Yangyang knew Sicheng. But in the end, I learnt that if I want creative liberties for both, I have to let go sometimes!

Robin: I guess I’ll start with the bad so we end on a high! Accepting criticism, even when it’s constructive, is hard, and you have to accept that the fic you’re writing isn’t just yours, so you do not have total creative freedom. But on the flip side, the criticism only makes you better, and assuming you’ve chosen the right person to collab with, disagreements about the fic doesn’t impact your friendship because in the end, you know that both of you want the best for the fic! I think the best part about collabs is that we’re able to learn and grow from one another. And hey, not having to write half the fic but still getting a 25k fic is pretty great, too!

☆ Why do we like to work with each other?

Robin: Because Cony’s an amazing writer and an even better friend, and I know that our friendship won’t be hurt by any disagreements. I trust her judgement and I think (hope) she trusts mine too, and both of the fics we’ve done together are amazing. She’s amazing at realizing plot holes that fly right over my head, and is much better at sticking to the outline than yours truly. I feel like we complement each other because we’re better at different things, so we can fix one another’s mistakes and compensate for each other’s failings. Also Cony’s just a straight up sweetheart and legend, so. Of course I love working with her!

Cony: Robin is honestly amazing! Her descriptions are so good, and she’s really good at editing too. She helped me a lot with that, and I really appreciated it. I was a bit embarrassed because I know my unedited writing has a lot of mistakes, but I know Robin won’t think less of my writing because of it, and that’s also why I love working with her! She’s just amazing and really sweet and enthusiastic. I also love that I never felt like I was being too much, for example, when I started the slide’s share, because Robin was on board with everything TT I think we really have good chemistry, and that, like Robin said, we complement each other well! For example, she’s really good at plots and thinking of scenes in general, and descriptions and world building. Personally, I think I’m good at writing romance, establishing dynamics, and maybe also world building? Anyway yeah, we work really well together! <3

☆ Any last words for each other? ^^

Cony: Thank you so much for collabing with me again, Robin! I know I can be a lot, but you were always kind and helpful! ;_; Also, thank you for accepting to do this really extra interview-thingy. I know I’m going to look at this and our fic in the upcoming years, and always think of it, and you, very fondly. I hope we can be friends for many years to come, and I also hope we can do this again, because I really enjoyed it. We really make the dream team! <3

Robin: Cony!! You are literally the sweetest ever, and I’m feeling very emotional now!!! I too hope that we collab again someday, and that our friendship lasts for a long, long time. We make each other’s writing better! And never say you’re too much TT If anything, we’re both too much. I guess we’ll just be stuck collabing together forever :D Much love, Cony! To halfway home, our greatest work yet! <3 The Conybin brain cell is still going strong <3

That's all!! If you've reached here, thank you so much for reading ☆

Lots of love,
Cony and Robin!