Interview: Ultra
1) If you could visit any place at any time period, where would you go and what would you do?
Seeing as it’s just for a visit, I’d love to go back to the Regency period here in England. I love the whole Jane Austen thing, and would love the chance to put on a fancy dress and go to one of those big important balls, find me a rich husband of the Mr. Darcy type. Of course, I wouldn’t last long back in those days, because the withdrawal I would get from no TV, DVDs, computer, and internet connection would be horrific!
2) Have you ever met anyone famous?
Not really… I once met a TV chef who is kind of famous here in England, his name is Ainsley Harriot. My family and I almost literally bumped into him on a railway station platform – he was a nice guy.
3) If you could meet any famous person, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you say/do?
I could give you a list of a hundred people I’d like to meet and for all different reasons. Various actors that I admit I wouldn’t so much want to *talk* to as… well, you get the idea
Other than that, I don’t really know. During my Buffy and Angel obsession I wanted to meet Joss Whedon to talk to him about his work on those two shows, as well as Firefly. That want is less in me now that my obsession has faded.
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 don’t think I’d want to switch lives with anyone permanently, as I’m very attached to my own life! Sure, it’s not perfect, but then whose life is? I guess I’d temporarily like to be someone famous, just to see what it would be like. A singer maybe or a movie star, not sure I could pick one particular person though…
5) Who is your favorite author, alive or dead, and why?
Jane Austen, without question. I think she had a real grasp on how people tick, possibly because she spent a large part of her life watching others live their lives instead of having her own. Writing meant the world to her, and I can understand that, as I get very into my own work. Not that I mean to imply that I’m anything like the next Jane Austen but I’d like to think that any of us that write have a certain understanding that those that don’t do it can’t have. Maybe I’m just babbling now…
6) What is your favorite book and why?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Half the reason why is covered in my whole ‘why I love Jane Austen’ spiel, above. As to the rest, I love all the characters, the twists and turns they go through, the fact that Elizabeth Bennett isn’t going to let her social standing or lack of same stop her from being herself and believing in love, etc.
7) Who is your favorite singer, alive or dead, and why?
With music, I have pretty eclectic tastes. Everything from old show tunes through classic rock, to punk and new-wave and pop-punk… I guess my heart really lies in straight forward rock music, particularly the stuff from the seventies and early eighties. Cheap Trick rocks my world, and their lead singer, Robin Zander, has the most impressive vocal range I ever heard on a guy. More than thirty years since their debut album, and he hasn’t lost much – definitely my favourite!
What is your favorite song and why?
This is literally one of the most difficult questions ever for me to answer! My favourite song changes pretty much every week and is entirely dependant on my mood and what’s going on around me. A few faves that I never seem to get tired of hearing are “Surrender” by Cheap Trick, “Stand and Deliver” by Adam and the Ants, “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies, “Shut Up and Smile” by Bowling for Soup, “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors, and “Baby I Love You” by The Ramones.
9) What is your favorite movie and why?
Another impossible question as it changes too often. I have more DVDs than CDs, the collection is just immense. I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin! I love everything from Annie Get Your Gun to Knocked Up, Importance of Being Earnest to The Little Mermaid, Star Wars to Bring It On – such is the eclectic-ness of me!
10) What is your favorite television show and why?
I had a huge obsession with Friends for years, and then Buffy the Vampire Slayer took over. These days I’m way into my old DVD boxsets and don’t watch that many current shows. I’m loving How I Met Your Mother because the actors and writing combined are just class – having Alyson H from Buffy, Jason S from Freaks and Geeks, and the comedic talent of Neil Patrick Harris all on the same show – awesome! Also love The Big Bang Theory, probably because I’m kind of a geek actually!
11) Who is your favorite actor/actress, alive or dead, and why?
I could name a hundred actors that I could call ‘favourites’ but that wouldn’t be based on their acting so much as their looks. I do think James Marsters is a fantastic actor, having seen him in so many things playing different roles and always pulling them off so well. Obviously he’s hot too, but he is a fantastic actor. I quite admire Nathan Fillion too, for his range as an actor, from pure comedy on Two Guys and a Girl to seriously evil on Buffy, and a little of all sides on Firefly. Michael Rosenbaum would be another example of a similar type of actor, and I think it’s that quality, the ability to play straight to down-right evil in one role and pure silly comedy in another, that I really love to see. Too many actors can only really do one side or the other well. As for the girls, Amy Acker is an incredible actress. Anybody who saw the final season of Angel will know what I’m talking about. You think Amy is just like Fred, all softly spoken and awkward, and then you watch the episodes where Fred dies and wakes as Illyria – one minute I’m bawling for her, the next I’m amazed. She’s definitely a favourite actress of mine.
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.
Well, I guess it’s kind of embarrassing that I like The Jeremy Kyle Show (a daytime talk show here in the UK for those who don’t know). You’re not supposed to enjoy daytime TV as a rule, but I love seeing that guy yell at his guests who act so dumb! The other thing would be that I have all the DVD boxsets of Saved by the Bell and I do watch and enjoy them still!
13) Do people in your Real Life know that you are a member of NS?
Yes, my family knows (i.e. my Mum and my Nan), but none of my friends since I only have one that’s actually even a Smallville fan, and she’s not the forum type so it would be pointless telling her about it.
14) Do people in your Real Life know that you read/write fanfiction?
Yes, same as above, plus a few friends though none of them are all that interested. I think one of them actually read some of my stuff once… it was a long time ago, back when my writing was not so good!
15) When did you first start reading fanfiction?
Early in 2002 I stumbled upon Fanfiction.net and started reading Princess Diaries fics, and then Smallville fics.
16) When did you first get started in writing fanfiction?
Not long after I started reading. The publish date on my earliest fic at Fanfiction.net is 30th June 2002 – a Smallville fic called ‘Chloe’s Double Crush’, and now that I look back at it, it was soooo bad!
17) Is fanfic writing just a hobby for you or do you hope to go further with your writing?
I have grand ideas about writing original fiction and getting it published, in fact, I have various stories on my computer – both short and novel length – that I plan to do something with. Unfortunately, I never do make the leap to actually get the ball rolling on the whole getting published deal. Maybe one day when I have more confidence!
18) When you aren’t writing awesome fanfics, what do you do and/or want to be doing?
Sometimes my writing is my world and I want to spend every moment doing it, which is frustrating when you have to go to work and do other important things! Other times the need to write leaves me entirely and that’s when I’m usually in Photoshop making art/manips or in Videowave making vids! I enjoy other people’s creations – vids on You Tube, fic both here and at FF.net – and the other online thing I enjoy is TCGs (online trading card games). Away from the computer, I love watching my extensive DVD collection and listening to my music. I’m an indoor girl, and all my hobbies are pretty geeky, I guess!
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 was a Chlark girl originally, I think mostly because I just loved Chloe and hated Lana, so I wanted my favourite character to get her man! I don’t remember exactly when that changed… I think probably when I realized Clark didn’t deserve someone as great as Chloe, and it really didn’t take me long to notice! My first fics were love triangles between Clark, Chloe, and Lex, because I was still playing with the idea of both couples working. I think Lex is just a more interesting character than Clark, much more able to hold Chloe’s interest as well as my own. I think they work together because they have similar characters and yet clash so well at times too. They won’t take crap from each other, they give as good as they get, and they’re complex people, not least because of their backgrounds and what has happened with their parents and all. I love them for being complex and interesting, and passionate about everything they do. The only thing I really hate about them on the show is that Chloe is too eager to let Clark walk all over her sometimes, and Lex is going over to the dark side far too much! I know it was inevitable but I hate that, especially when he hurts Chloe in the process.
20) How and why did you first get interested in writing Chlex fanfiction?
I loved reading other people’s fics, but none of them said exactly what I wanted to say, so I decided it was time to do it myself! That’s pretty much how I got into all my fandoms/pairings.
21) Is there anything while reading Chlex fanfiction that you really like/hate?
I pretty much love all kinds of Chlex fic whether they go from friends to lovers or enemies to friends or whatever. So long as they’re both in there, getting crazy with the verbal judo and such, I’m happy.
I guess the only stuff I hate in Chlex fic, or any fic, is certain types of violence – there is enough badness in the world, I don’t need to read about it in stories that I’m supposed to be enjoying. The other thing is a dislike rather than a hate, I’m not into smut and I don’t read NC-17. As Willow once said in an episode of Buffy (re: Buffy’s night with Parker) I don’t want a detailed drawing, just a blurry watercolour – that’s what I prefer to write and to read usually.
22) What (if any) other fandoms do you read/write for and why?
I started out writing for The Princess Diaries as well as Smallville. I left school and was unemployed for a while, so I read The Princess Diaries series of books (of which there were only 3 at the time) over and over, and then felt the need to give these young people a future, so I wrote it.
Then I moved on to the Buffyverse. I think I put Spike and Buffy together in just about every possible way over the course of several years. I was obsessed with the show and the character of Spike in particular. I really came into my own with my writing then, I think.
Now, I’m into Veronica Mars, for which I ship Logan/Veronica as well as Mac/Dick. The first was my favourite pairing from the start, and since they didn’t exactly have a lot of happy times on the show, I like to make it happen in fic. The second never did happen at all, but there is a decent-sized fanbase for them who think they should’ve so it’s cool to make that happen too. Additionally, I have read some Veronica/Weevil and Mac/Weevil, mostly because I love the character of Weevil and often feel guilty that he never really gets the girl in my own stories!
I also read/write for That 70s Show, and the pairing of Jackie and Hyde, if only to fix the fact that their relationship ran less than smoothly too (oh, how I hate Season 8!)
Other fandoms I have read in, and written a little for are: Freaks & Geeks (Nick/Lindsay), Press Gang (Lynda/Spike), Firefly (Jayne/River, Jayne/Kaylee sometimes)
23) What type of environment do you need to write? For example: extreme quiet, blaring music, subtle background noise, etc.
I can pretty much write any time, any place, anywhere, if the inspiration hits and I really want/need to do it. If I’m struggling, I prefer quiet but not silent. My Nan loves classical music and I have been known to borrow various CDs of hers for when I’m writing – it really works wonders! If I have my own music playing I like to sing along and throws me off what I’m supposed to be writing, and the TV can be too distracting at times. Extreme quiet can be just as off-putting for me as noise might be for someone else – I just don’t function in silence, the only thing it’s good for is sleeping!
24) How do your ideas come to you? Do you always write them or do you let them disappear?
Pretty much every idea I ever had for any kind of fic is written down somewhere. I have notebooks, scraps of paper, documents saved on the comp – basically physical and electronic folders full of notes and ideas for stories, poems, songs, etc. If I don’t write it down when I think of it, I fear forgetting the details later. A lot of ideas get made into stories soon after I have them, a whole bunch more sit waiting to be rediscovered later and become full stories then. There are some I know I will never write, like certain old Buffy ideas, because I have moved beyond the fandom, but I can’t ever abandon them completely, just in case!
The ideas themselves are often inspired by music – so many of my stories are at the very least named after a song title or lyrics, even if the fic itself has nothing to do with that song. I also draw inspiration from movies, TV, and real life situations that happen to me, my friends, my family, etc.
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?
That is dependant on the story. Most I have a beginning, an end, and a couple of plot points planned from the start, then it gets fleshed out as I go along with extra ideas. The characters take me off on a journey sometimes and I love it when that happens. Other stories are very structured and I have a definite plan for each chapter from the beginning – but not many work like that – and just occasionally I have a flash of inspiration, write a really good beginning and just hope that when I get to chapters 2, 3, 4, etc. I can figure out where the hell I’m going!
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?
Songs are definitely a thing, in all the fandoms I write for. My likes and dislikes slip in and become one of the characters choices or opinions. I only do it when it seems plausible though – you can’t have a character who has expressed a hate for something turn round and love it just because you do!
27) Do you associate your writing with any songs even if it isn’t a songfic?
Yes, I think I mentioned this in an earlier question. I name fics after songs, whether the plot has to do with the lyrics or not, although a good example of a Chlex fic entirely inspired by a song is ‘Such Good Times’, the title of which is a lyric from the song ‘Don’t You Want Me Baby’ by Human League – the whole story was borne out of that song, and then the song itself was featured in the final chapter. Another different example is ‘What Is & What Should Never Be’ which is itself named after a Zeppelin song, I associate ‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues with that one, because that’s the song I used for the trailer vid I made for the fic.
28) Do you prefer writing easy, quick stories or long, layered stories?
That’s dependant on the idea and the mood I’m in. Sometimes I need to get a little scene out there and that’s what I do, a drabble or a vignette and then I’m happy. Other ideas spiral out of control, join up with other ideas, and suddenly I have enough for 20 chapters, so that’s what I write. Sometimes the longer stories can be a pain in the ass, because it takes so long to get where you’re going, but I find it’s usually worth it in the end.
29) Which do you find easier to write: dialogue or description or are the equally hard/easy?
I loathe long rambling descriptions. I mean no disrespect to those that write them, that’s your choice, but I find reading about the colour of the carpet, the position of the furniture, and the exact shape of the clouds in the sky outside all a little tiresome, and I certainly couldn’t be bothered to write it all. It’s not that I find it difficult, I can do it, I just find it so tiresome! Dialogue is the easiest thing for me. As creepy as it might sound, the character voices live in my head, for all the fandoms I love most. I hear them speak the words as I write them and I know if they work or not. That’s the easiest part of any story for me, getting the words right – maybe it comes from being such a chatterbox myself!
30) Is there anything that you won’t write or feel uncomfortable writing?
The same things that I don’t like to read – detailed sex scenes and smut, and anything wantonly violent and/or gross. I don’t like men being violent to women or children as a general rule. That whole area squicks me out.
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?
The only sure fire way for me to cure writer’s block is to stop trying so hard. I have to move away from the fic, sometimes to go write another story I have on the go or to start a whole new one. Other times I have to stop writing altogether, go do something else for a few hours/days/whatever, and then I get over it, find a way through the block and move on.
I don’t think anyone should be scared to post their stories. If you don’t think your fic is good enough, ask just one person to read it through for you (i.e. a beta reader), whether you just want them to check for spelling/grammar/etc. or more serious issues like plot holes and OOC-ness. I think one person telling you that you’ve done good is sometimes just enough to make you brave enough to share with more people. And obviously posting your fic at N-S is always the best thing to do because everybody is just so nice here!
32) Have you ever read someone else’s fanfic and wished you thought of the idea first?
Yes, absolutely! I have no fics in particular I can give you as examples, but I know there have been various stories in various fandoms and ships that I so wish I’d had the idea first, but then, I have also been told by others that they have felt that way about some of my stories, so all’s fair in love, war, and fanfiction, I suppose.
33) Have you ever wanted someone else to write your story idea?
Yes, to this one too. Sometimes I get big ideas and I know I just can’t be bothered to write it all, but I’d love to read it.
34) Are reviews vital to keep you writing or will you finish a story even if you aren’t certain people are reading?
Reviews are vital to my sharing a story, not my writing it. If I start a story and I get into it and I love it, I’ll finish it, I just might give up posting it to the web if it seems nobody is reading (i.e. no-one is reviewing)
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?
I’ve had some very interesting reviews that have made me think twice about choices I’ve made for a story, but I’m not so sure I ever actually changed a major plotline or plot twist because of what somebody said in a review. I’ve added little things in or changed little details, but never big stuff. I usually have a plan in my head of where the story is going, to a certain degree anyway, and I’m very set in my ways then, I like to stick to said plan.
36) How badly do you want to write for Smallville or at least rewrite some of the seasons?
There are episodes I would like to rewrite, not so much the whole ep, but the Chlex parts… or should that be the anti-Chlex parts! If I had my way, Chloe would have been the deciding factor that stopped Lex going completely over to the dark side. I think it might be too late to fix Smallville now, unless we pull a Dallas and have someone wake up to realize it was all one big horrendous dream!
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?
Not really, but I do think of them when I hear songs. I’ll hear a lyric and imagine Lex or Chloe thinking those words about the other, or I’ll start to think how the song is telling the story of their relationship in a certain way. That’s where my music videos come from!
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 think I’d be mortified if they read my early work, because it’s shockingly bad! The new stuff, I wouldn’t mind so much. I think they’d find it interesting, and I’d like to think maybe as good as my readers do. I don’t know what their opinions of the ship in general are though. Since I don’t hugely bash any characters and I don’t write rampant sex / smut, I wouldn’t be all that bothered if MR, AM, or anyone else from the show saw my fics, actually I think it might be kind of cool if they did read them!
39) If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? Would you use it for good or evil?
Whatever power I had it would be used for good, because I’m a good girl at heart. I think something in the realms of super-speed or maybe teleporting would be awesome. I’m always in a hurry to get someplace and never want to waste the energy trying to move! I used to think telekinesis would be good, but I think that would be very tricky to control and there could be the potential for nasty accidents since anger could take over and a loss of control could set in. So, yeah, I think I’m going to settle for teleporting.
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