Do you remember your first introduction to fan fiction?
I do actually. A friend of mine, (who used to write fanfiction) told me over a beer one night, that there was this site where there were stories, and I should go look. She was somewhat vague about it all, and I had never heard of fanfiction before. This was the original Pink Rabbit Consortium. Anyway, lo and behold, I did like it, and was very glad she told me about it. The concept was not foreign to me, but I did not know it existed outside my own head. This was back in 1998, you know, when we were all thinking that a 56k modem was all that...
What main character that you've written femslash for, would you most like to hit upside the head?
Um. Let me think. (the list of characters is so long) Probably Lilly Rush from Cold Case. I wrote my first Cold Case fanfiction, because I could not find any and I was so frustrated with her character in some ways that just had to 'fix it', at least in my own sordid imagination...
Is your fan fiction writing limited to femslash or do you also write gen, het or male slash? If so, is there a difference in style or content (besides the obvious) between them?
I write femslash, though I have thought to write male slash...
Have you ever been tempted to write a Mary Sue?
Yes. But, thankfully I keep my Mary Sues for my original works, if even there. I am sure there are plenty of people who would find me interesting and heroic enough to like me as a character in femslash, but honestly, I think I would try to make the environment mould to me, versus somehow get myself to mould to the environment of the specific femslash/genre. So, it would be a disaster. As it is, I sometimes only barely stick to canon.
Are there certain genres you find easier to write for?
The ones where I can do deep into character exploration, versus have to know heaps of technical details or background details for the show. It is not that I am not paying attention when I watch TV, but I am actually focusing on the strong women that interest me and capture my imagination, so the details can become quite fuzzy. I love Star Trek Voyager, but all the terminology, and all the technical stuff, are only familiar to me through reading fanfiction, so me writing it, would have to mean that I would need to isolate the characters from the ship and the show, pretty much.
Do you research subjects before you write them and, if so, in how much detail?
If I am writing episode specific stories, I will wiki and imdb and tv tome until I am blue in the face, to make sure I get the names and details of the characters involved spelled right, and the episode parameters correct. Otherwise, I will do enough to get names right, basic time lines right, and aspects of the show that matter to my story, or are included in it, right. Or as right as I can make them. But as I tend to do character explorations, and how these characters interact with each other, the level of other detail varies, therefore the level of research also varies...
What's your preferred length of story to write and read?
I like to write a story in one sitting. But that sitting could mean anything from 500 words, to 20,000 words. It depends on my inspiration and the time I have. Only sometimes do I have to go back to a story and finish it. Even the very long ones... Read. Any length. Really, from wee drabbles, (though they leave me wanting more) to epic tomes of huge proportions.
Can you touch the tip of your nose with your tongue?
No. But I can write the alphabet with it. (my tongue -- though I suppose I can also do it with my nose)
Are you, yourself, a fan of other fan fic writers and, if so, who are they and what is it about them that appeals to you?
Oh dear. How much time do you have. The list is quite extensive. I will read just about any genre, any fandom, wether I know it or not. So, quite a broad spectrum gets covered, and hence, many many authors. As to what I like, well. I like confident writing. Even if one has no clue, write with confidence. A bluff works more often than not. Humour, make me laugh, even amidst a serious story, and make me think! Also, I like it when descriptions of feelings, be they mental or physical, does not rely on mechanical bland descriptions that belong in bad porn stories or anatomy manuals or harlequin romance novels, and where I am not reading 'the blonde', 'the redhead', dozens of times in order to delineate between the characters. And, I like stories. I am the same when I read books. I am not so interested in an hour of someone's life, or a week, but rather, a story that is part of their life. Probably explains why I don't get soap operas at all... But, I am extremely honoured to be included in the group known as fanfiction writers. They rock, and by association, it must mean that I rock as well. I like that.
Ever wanted to head butt another fan for dissing your pairing?
No. I mean I know I have gotten emails from fans who just don't get it. But they have still liked the story. Before Serena Southerlyn came out on Law&Order I got some interesting emails, not quite understanding the appeal, but still liking the stories. After she came out, I got emails asking me if I had some sort of inside knowledge on the matter. But as a whole, even though fans have not understood my pairings sometimes, they have liked and loved my stories. Feedback means everything to writers, so even the less than positive reviews I have sometimes gotten, it has all helped, or at least been interesting.
Do you have a favourite cliché, one that you'll read with joy even though it's been done to death?
Cliche. Hum. No, can't say I have a favourite, or conversely, have one that I especially dislike.
Would you lend me twenty pence if we were stuck at Charing Cross station and I was dying for the loo?
Of course.
If you've written real person slash how does it differ from writing about fictional characters?
Real person slash. I have written original fiction modelled on people, in a vague sort of way. But usually I put them into such strange situations that they are only really recognisable to me. It usually follows along the line of me being fascinated by someone and wanting to explore them. As for feel. It is easier to write fictional fanfiction, then real-person fanfiction. For me anyway. So I don't do it a lot. Though I do write a lot of original fiction in general.
Do you find you're more inspired by subtext, maintext or barely there text shows?
Barely there text, really gets my juices going. And once I cook with my juices, things happen for me. I am often amused by maintext, and appreciate it a great deal, and I like subtext very very much, but it really is the barely there text that does it for me.
Where do you get your inspiration for specific stories; missing or extended scenes from the show, ideas from other shows or real life situations?
Unless I am being episode specific, in which case I tend to want to rewrite the episode(s) according to the lesbian ideal of well, ideally there are lesbians everywhere and no one is afraid of showing them, I am often writing because I want my Lesbian TV, and as I can't have it, I must write it. It is just fun and unique for me, that so many others want it too.
Do you like cheese?
Melted on pizza, grated on pasta, or fresh, as in ricotta, yes. Otherwise, no, not at all.
Every read over one of your stories months or years later and thought 'What the hell was I thinking!'
Oh hell yes. Also, I am not from an English speaking country, so the development in my confidence and ability to use English has really left my older stories in the dust. But I do like them, for what they represent. Also, when I was a teenager, (eons ago) I was forced to be extremely closeted due to where I lived, so it took me a while to be able to get my writing out of the closet. I am much happier not to fade into black and let my mind go wild, but the progression of stories and confidence in my writing, is interesting. But I do have the 'what the hell was I thinking' moments.
Why do you write fan fiction?
Several reasons. Mainly, because I want to. But, otherwise, because I want my Lesbian TV. (movies etc.) Also, it is fun, having a certain framework is very relaxing, and keeps ones writing muscles limber. But, when I started to get feedback, and fans, I actually started to write for my audience as well. That is a huge motivator, to say the least...