Interview: Avalanche
1) If you could visit any place at any time period, where would you go and what would you do?
I would go to the future and live on Mars. I’d be some crazy frontier scientist. Studying whatever I can on Mars and being as close to the Wild West as I can without the horrible, horrible slavery. Also, I like to think that in the far future, they’d let me genetically engineer the hell outta stuff.
2) Have you ever met anyone famous?
Yeah, I’ve met some authors, voice actors, and actors. But my favorite? Johnny Yong Bosch. He played the second black Power Ranger and he does a lot of voice acting for anime, my favorite being Vash from Trigun. He tells these hilarious stories. One of them involved some random dude, who was a fan, asking him to give him a ride from an airport. The guy just has this deadpan sense of humor. Also, he likes playing hangman and was delightfully sarcastic when the 15 people around yelled out some pretty random letters. He turned around, incredulous and said “This is hangman! You’ve all played before, right?”
Cracked me right the hell up.
3) If you could meet any famous person, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you say/do?
There are so many, but if I absolutely had to choose? I’d go with Jules Verne. He is considered one of the fathers of science fiction. That man had the privilege of helping to mold the nascent genre and it’s amazing. Journey to the Center of the Earth? From the Earth to the Moon? Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea? Classics all and every author in science fiction, whether they write hard or soft, looks to that guy. And even if you don’t like the genre, you know these works.
What would I do? I’d pretty much just talk to him. To live in the time he did and to imagine the things he did…it’s magic. And maybe he’d give me the privilege of showing him the current times and maybe I’d be able to teach him something, which would be beyond awesome.
4) If you could switch lives with any person, who would you choose and why? If you want to switch with a person who is dead, we’ll assume that you wanted to live their life while he/she was alive.
I honestly don’t want to switch with anyone. My life is pretty awesome and I’m doing exactly what I want to do and switching won’t make me any happier than I am right now.
5) Who is your favorite author, alive or dead, and why?
This is difficult because I’m very eclectic in my reading; but since I have to choose, it would be Frank Herbert. The guy wrote Dune, which is hands down my favorite book series. The biggest reason is because of one sentence he wrote: Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife — chopping off what’s incomplete and saying: “Now, it’s complete because it’s ended here.”
And that line is significant to me because of the philosophy. When something is over, ya move on. It’s done and you deal with it.
6) What is your favorite book and why?
Watchmen. It’s a graphic novel, but whatever because it’s genius. To me, this work was important because it said that our heroes could be flawed people and by extension it gave us permission to be flawed people. Our heroes could be incomprehensible, profoundly weird, cowardly about some things and brave about others, violent, emotional…in short, they could be human and if your hero doesn’t tell you something about being human, then you’re hero is worthless.
There is so many ways to read that book and you always come away with something different…the way you thought about something, your notion of good and evil, right and wrong. Morality is a theme that is woven throughout. It’s just a fantastic character study and your interpretations truly reflect who you are.
7) Who is your favorite singer, alive or dead, and why?
Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen of Scat (nothing dirty, you pervs), First Lady of Song. Her voice is amazing. Her phrasing, her tone, how she used music and improv to make the listening experience something wonderful was amazing.
8.) What is your favorite song and why?
You people are gonna read this and laugh at me, but in all seriousness, the “Happy Birthday” song. I have very good and thoughtful reasons. Let’s start with the fun reasons: you can sing it however the hell you want and no one cares. You can hum it, yell it, sing off key, randomly start a round, make up stuff and no one cares because there’s cake, presents, and it’s, presumably, being sung by your buddies.
As for the serious reason: it’s the fact that, in most cases, the people who love you the most and who you love the most is taking the time to say “Dude, it is so freaking awesome that you were born and I get to know you so here’s a minute of me singing a ridiculous song to celebrate this.” And even if you aren’t with the people you love the most, you’ll eventually find them and it makes the song much more meaningful. And beyond that, it’s even an ode to your parents, like “We have the opportunity to say Happy Birthday, thanks for not choosing abortion”.
9) What is your favorite movie and why?
Pan’s Labyrinth. I am a sucker for fairytales and violence and cinematography and that movie combines all three. The story is amazing and the visuals serve as a vehicle to elevate the story, not consume it. The actors are simply fantastic and there were parts that genuinely creeped me out, made me happy, and/or made me sad. There is nothing about this movie that I did not like. It was just beautiful.
10) What is your favorite television show and why?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Because when it was about the characters, it was the best thing on television. It had allegory out the wazoo and that’s the special thing about it. They were flawed, they were teens, they did good things that were acknowledged and sometimes not and they made horrible mistakes and paid the price. It was good story-telling because I could see the people they were in the people they became and that is magic.
11) Who is your favorite actor/actress, alive or dead, and why?
I’m about to be infuriatingly wishy-washy. I can’t answer this. It’s too hard. There are so many that I absolutely adore and to me it’s like trying to decide which is your favorite apple from a bushel of perfect apples. How do I choose between Bogie, William Holden, Robert Mitchum, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Hillary Swank, Harrison Ford, Raymond Burr, Ed Norton, Michael Keaton, Chow Yun Fat, Sigourney Weaver, Denzel Washington, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alec Baldwin or anyone else?
Should it be based on the fact that the classics are apparently better? Arnold was in Terminator, which informs so many modern movies. Sigourney Weaver was in the creepiest space thriller imaginable and William Holden is generally awesome. So I can’t choose.
12) What is the one movie/television show that you would never admit to family, friends, co-workers that you watch? Yes, I know asking defeats the point, but spill your guts anyway.
Pishaw! I tell everyone what I watch and no one is ever surprised. I have no viewing secrets because I like what I like and I don’t care how anyone feels about it. But here’s something for you people: Dora the Explorer.
13) Do people in your Real Life know that you are a member of NS?
I think so. I don’t hide it, but I don’t really talk about it. I have some friends that like peeking over my shoulder.
14) Do people in your Real Life know that you read/write fanfiction?
Yep.
15) When did you first start reading fanfiction?
Man, it was a lifetime ago. I actually don’t know when I started reading fic online, but I joined FF.Net in 2001. My first fandom was Forever Knight. And it blows my mind to see the changes in fanfiction. I remember when Fanfiction.Net wasn’t a seething cesspool where X-Men grammar goes to die and souls are crushed with terrible prose. I don’t think I was in on the ff.net ground breaking, but when I joined it wasn’t this huge beast and there were lots of quality writers.
There were two major evens (in my mind) that heralded the ending of something magical: no more NC17 fics, and the movie. The no NC17 thing wasn’t just about the lack of sex, it was the fact that it all of a sudden got harder to tell mature stories, whether violent or sexual in nature. Because of that you had writers, who had never and were probably never gonna write NC17, leave because of the censorship and the lack of personal responsibility. It was a mass exodus of them and NC17 writers. And also, you had this paranoia about a fic just being take down because all of a sudden you had people reporting *everything*. And then of course the X-Men movie and the Rogue/Wolverine shippers. It was like everything about tweeners, self inserts, and terrible writing was first embodied in that ship.
Wow, that was a rant…memories. 
16) When did you first get started in writing fanfiction?
My first fic was a FK shortie in 2003.
17) Is fanfic writing just a hobby for you or do you hope to go further with your writing?
Just a hobby. At one time, I thought it would be interesting to be a writer. I could combine two great loves: science and writing. But then I realized that I didn’t have the drive necessary for that field.
18) When you aren’t writing awesome fanfics, what do you do and/or want to be doing?
I play with animals (cats, dogs, cows, goats etc), collect bugs and release them, read, or just do whatever. I’m a random person and on any given day, I’m doing any number of things because it’s fun. Some of the studies I’ve done is in linguistics, randomly learning how to play the recorder and getting really good at it (which is kinda sad, but the thing was lying around and I had fond memories of 3rd grade music class), rock collecting…I just do whatever.
19) How and why did you first get interested in Chlex? What do you like most about the characters? What do you hate about them?
I think regular shouters know, but I’ll tell y’all. I am not a Superman fan. I honestly do not like him as a superhero and it took me a long time to even admit that he might almost be considered worthwhile, and this was *before* Smallville made Clark Kent a raging douchwaggle. At any rate, I saw the promos for the show and was excited because I was like “This show is gonna be about Clark Kent before he’s Superman! It has got to be interesting! He’s gonna have a journey and everything and the insufferable douchewaggle in the comics will be real to me!”
So then the reality of the show hit me and it was bitter. I was bitter and still am. But I’ve always liked Lex Luthor as a villain because he was such a smart and awesome character. He’s number three in the DC universe in terms of intelligence I believe. And Chloe was everything I could ever want in a Lois Lane-type and in a female character period. She was a kid dealing with high school and still being strong and knowing what it is that she wanted out of life and the cool thing was to discover, with her, how she was gonna get her McGuffin. So it was just me putting the two coolest characters together, friendship or otherwise, in Google and hitting “enter”.
I like that they’re smart. They’re focused and if something goes wrong, they adapt as best they can. There’s nothing really I don’t like about the two characters, plenty of things I hate about how they were written, but the characters presented have flaws and virtues. They can be jerks like anyone else and that isn’t a reason to dislike the character. It’s a reason to celebrate them so there isn’t anything I hate about them.
20) How and why did you first get interested in writing Chlex fanfiction?
Ha! I really had no interest in writing for this fandom, but then the shoutbox came along. Then it was “Hey, Ava, when are you gonna write a fic?” and “Hey, Ava, stop being such an asswipe and write a damned fic already!” And then one day, skauble literally called me on my shit because I was hemmin’ and hawin’ and she was like “Oh yeah? You got an outline that you don’t want to write and are generally uncomfortable writing because you only wrote shorties? Hand it over.” And since I didn’t have an outline and they knew that I was a cocky bitch and wasn’t really worried about putting fiction out there, I was cornered. So of *course* I had to write a fic.
21) Is there anything while reading Chlex fanfiction that you really like/hate?
I’m gonna get booed here, but I cannot stand songfics. I understand the convention, but for me, it always breaks the mood. No one is gonna hear a song and feel what you felt or see a lyric and interpret it as the emotions felt by the characters. I’ve honestly tried. But if you have this awesome slow dance goin’ and *insert characters being all heartfelt/lusty/angry/whatever* and in comes a lyrics, you have broken the tension for me. And it doesn’t necessarily mean that the fic sucks. I just can’t get into ‘em. Sorry to songfic lovers and writers.
And I’ll pretty much read anything as long as it’s written well and you have established consistency. There are degrees to my liking, but by and large as long as your fic doesn’t make me feel like a tool as I’m reading it, then it’ll go in that “like” pile.
22) What (if any) other fandoms do you read/write for and why?
Well, Forever Knight because it had a macho/often emo lead vampire, who was a detective (Nick Knight did the whole “detective who is centuries old and is trying to atone for past evils first!). It had an amazing villain/teacher/father-figure in Lacroix. That guy is the very definition of “wow he’s a manipulative bastard and he made the good guy”. And you had the supernatural and then later, girl power in the character of Tracy Vetter.
I didn’t really write for any other fandom, but I have a bazillion that I read for in all genres and I do it because I like variety. So yeah, I’ll pop over to an X-Men site, then maybe Trigun, and then Buffy, and then and then and then…it’s whatever catches my fancy.
23) What type of environment do you need to write? For example: extreme quiet, blaring music, subtle background noise, etc.
I don’t really need any particular environment. I’ve written with loud music, while reading The Washington Post and a genetics text and watching tv. And I’ve written in a study room in the library. When I’m ready to write, I just do it.
24) How do your ideas come to you? Do you always write them or do you let them disappear?
“Dreaming the Wolf” came in the shoutbox because the incomparable westwingwolf was all “I want a werewolf fic!” I don’t think I came close to giving her what she wanted.
In general though, I write them as they come.
25) Do you plan a story from the beginning to end or start with an idea and let the chapters come to you as they do?
I know how it begins and how it ends and then I write and see what happens. Funny story: So I write bits and pieces and then hand them off to skauble and then if it passes the sniff test, I’ll link them together in a meaningful way. Early in our relationship, I kept doing that to her, randomly sending her stuff and generally being non-linear, and she just kinda goes “How are you a scientist and this disorganized?!” Her question was met with a resounding “Eh, it’s how I roll.”
26) Do you ever input certain aspects about yourself into the lives of Chloe and Lex? For example: Do you have Chloe listen to your favorite song or have Lex watch your favorite movie?
I haven’t seen any evidence of it, but I think I have phrased things in a way the character of Lex and Chloe probably wouldn’t.
27) Do you associate your writing with any songs even if it isn’t a songfic?
Nope.
28) Do you prefer writing easy, quick stories or long, layered stories?
I go where the story takes me, so I don’t really have a preference.
29) Which do you find easier to write: dialogue or description or are the equally hard/easy?
They’re equally hard and easy. If it’s flowing, it’s all flowing and it comes as if by magic and bunnies. If it isn’t, then it isn’t.
30) Is there anything that you won’t write or feel uncomfortable writing?
Sex. Not that it’s squicky or anything. I just don’t think I’ve written it well; and I know SE! I haven’t submitted anything for critique, but whatever! I’ll cross that bridge, burn it down and mock the heroes stranded on the other side when I get to it; but in plain English, when a fic would be well-served by including it, I’ll see about writing it.
31) What do you do to cure writer’s block? What advice can you give to new writers who might be scared to post their stories?
To cure writer’s block I just go do something else. Anything else to take my mind off it. For me, I can be so focused on one thing and if it isn’t flowing for some reason, it frustrates me the more I think about it. Sorta like how you have this name or answer on the tip of your tongue and the more you try to remember it, the harder it is to actually remember. When that happens I forget about it and generally remember hours, maybe days later. So that’s what I do when I find myself stuck.
For a new writer? My wisdom comes aplenty. Listen to Nike and just do it. It helps to have a beta to give you a kick in the ass or a pat on the back or to be a vehicle to peruse your work and iron out possible kinks that way you aren’t putting crap out there for some jerkface to eviscerate. Lots of people take pleasure in that kind of thing so ya gotta remember that the interweb is a cesspool. Yeah, you’ll do battle with a thousand assholes before you find that one generally good person, but believe me it is more definitely worth it. And the last, no one knows who you are so take an asshole with a grain of joke and move on. They’ll always exist and the internet makes it so that you don’t have to give them more of yourself than you have too.
32) Have you ever read someone else’s fanfic and wished you thought of the idea first?
Nope.
33) Have you ever wanted someone else to write your story idea?
Yes.
34) Are reviews vital to keep you writing or will you finish a story even if you aren’t certain people are reading?
I’m one of those focused people (re: obsessive) so I’ll finish it. I may find it hard to post in a place where I can’t tell if someone is reading it, but it will be finished. Reviews are not vital, but they are motivating. Who the hell doesn’t like it when someone is patting you on the back saying “Go! Go! GO!”? We all learn that when we’re first learning how to ride a bike. Of course, critiques are good too. You know how I knew that I wasn’t riding my bike properly? Well, first when I crashed, and second when my mom said “Yeah steer away from trees, baby.” It’s important for growth.
35) Have you ever had a review that made you think something about your story that you never thought of before? Has a review ever made you want to make a major change to your story?
A thousand times, yes! somethingeasy makes me do this all the damned time. There has never been a time when an SE analysis hasn’t made me go “Whah? Damn! Missed opportunity!” However, I have never changed something major to DtW. I’ve clarified certain things and obfuscated more depending on the reviews, but never changed a major element. But yes, between somethingeasy and skauble and reviews in general, I’ve done tinkering. Fleshed out a concept here, took away some chaff there, confused in certain ways all over the place.
36) How badly do you want to write for Smallville or at least rewrite some of the seasons?
Not very. It’s a crap show and it could’ve been better, but I would be wasting my time on a hero that I don’t really have an affinity for.
37) Do you see Chloe and Lex or other Smallville characters in different television shows or movies? Meaning, do you watch a movie like Star Wars and start thinking that Lex is just like Han Solo?
Nope. If I can’t see a distinct character in the shows I’m watching, then something is off with me, the show or the universe.
38) What do you think AM and MR would say about your fics if they read them? How would you feel if someone from the show did read your writings?
I actually don’t know. I like to think they’d get a kick out of it. At the very least, it won’t be like Jared Padalecki being visibly squicked out when asked a question about Wincest. That was a hilarious response at a con when someone asked him.
I think I’d feel flattered if someone from the show read what I wrote. I’ve tried to be fair with all the characters. Of course, if it’s AlMiles, then I hope that they feel shame and dirty because they suck giant ogre…ahem…yeah.
39) If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? Would you use it for good or evil?
I’d like to be able to read, speak, and write any language. I like talking, I like reading, and I like observing so that power would let me read from any culture, talk to anyone; and most important, when I’m on the bus and some random language pops up, I’ll totally know the score. Never know when a dude will try to fly a plane into a building…uh…too insensitive? Eh.
It’ll also come in handy in the future when I’m on Mars.
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