Hey everyone, I’m putting this up a day early because a few days ago my laptop refused to boot up, then last night the desktop killed over, and Radio Shack is closed until Jan. 2nd so I have to wait until then to try and get my laptop fixed or look into buying a new one. Meanwhile, I’m at the Public Library trying to be stealthy so none of the ladies catch the website I’m on and get on my case, also trying not to smack the two teenagers who are being rude with talking above the necessary level not only for a library but just by the mere fact that they are sitting right next to eachother while also talking on cell phones that are supposed to be turned off. Suffice it to say, I won’t be able to update anything or work on anything new for a few days.
Anyways, I’ve decided to take the month of January because it’s my favorite month (hopefully it will be better than December was for me) and I have the power to do so. All that said, I still feel guilty that this interview is longer than most of my updates. Oh well, chalk it up to egotism. Oh and if you like Twilight, stop reading before the last question.
Interview: westwingwolf
1) If you could visit any place at any time period, where would you go and what would you do?
There are many different times in history that I find fascinating for one reason or the other. I would choose the Golden Age of Hollywood, specifically the 30’s and 40’s. I love the screwball comedies from that time and would love to work either onscreen or offscreen at that time.
2) Have you ever met anyone famous?
Let’s see I met Ron Jeremy when he came to my college to participate in a debate about sex in the media. The author Bret Lott was my college professor for Creative Nonfiction. He wasn’t too keen on my work but I wasn’t that into Creative Nonfiction so it was a fair trade. I live up the street from the artist Jim Harrison, but I’m not sure how famous he is since he doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. May just be a South Carolina famous person.
Most of the time, I’m some how connected to people who know famous people. For instance, my best friend’s sister’s best friend is the niece of Stephen Colbert so you know he’ll be returning my phone calls soon. My Introduction to Theatre professor worked with Michael Rosenbaum in the production of Unto These Hills and he told us what I thought was a funny story about him from that time. I’d repeat it but I feel like I’ve already told everyone this story so if I haven’t let me know and pass it along. Sadly, I think I was the only one who perked up when he mentioned MR, coincidently that was right around the time when I had just gotten really into SV. Kismet, I tell you.
3) If you could meet any famous person, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you say/do?
I would like to meet Steven Spielberg so I could easily get into the movie business. I wouldn’t leave him alone until I got some kind of job that would get me a movie credit. I’d work for Kraft food services just for that.
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.
Matthew Perry’s girlfriend. Whoever she is or will be, I just want to be her as long as she’s with him and then when she stops being his girlfriend I switch into his next girlfriend.
5) Who is your favorite author, alive or dead, and why?
I could go contemporary and popular and say J.K. Rowling…or I could go collegiate and say William Shakespeare. But in all honesty, it’s screenwriters M. Night Shyamalan and Aaron Sorkin. These two made me fall in love with the idea of writing professionally. They made me see that movies were inspiring me to want other careers and that what I really wanted was to inspire others through writing.
6) What is your favorite book and why?
Something in me won’t let me reread a book like I do fanfiction or like I’ll watch a movie again and again. I’ve reread certain passages but generally when I’m done with a book, I’m not going to pick it up again for a full read through. That said, while I know this is a play, I’m going to pick Shakespeare’s Othello. I fell in love with Iago’s manipulating ways from the get go and he’s what drives the entire story. Plus I think it makes some great points about human nature and like all of Shakespeare’s plays can be interpreted different ways.
7) Who is your favorite singer, alive or dead, and why?
Garth Brooks…I grew up listening to country because of my dad and at least one of Garth’s songs can always fit my mood.
What is your favorite song and why?
“Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks. It’s got a fun message, but I also love it for nostalgia’s sake. I loved that song since I was a kid and mainly because I confused the lyrics when I was younger, when I finally did realize the lyrics I still liked it because it’s a fun song. It is my fail-safe karaoke song.
9) What is your favorite movie and why?
The Princess Bride, it may be a cliché to say so but that’s just because it’s got everything you could possibly want from a movie. Even if you don’t like storybook love stories, it’s not really one because it makes fun of itself. And it’s grown with me as I’ve gotten older. I love it when I can watch a movie at different ages and pick up something I didn’t get before. Of course, I’m not that old, but if I make it to 60, I bet I’ll still be laughing with this movie.
10) What is your favorite television show and why?
To be fair, I say you can’t compare sitcoms to dramas, but I’ll choose Friends. Even though I use The West Wing for part of my screenname, it’s Friends that I can always come back to at the oddest moments in life. Random things will always make me think of Friends. It was and still is an obsession that’s just synonymous with me, and even more than a love for Matthew Perry, it’s the idea that you can be such great friends with someone that they are more than just a person you see on occasion. It’s the kind of friendships I like to have.
11) Who is your favorite actor/actress, alive or dead, and why?
If we go classic it’s Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, each would just light up the screen in all their movies. Modern, it’s Matthew Perry and Sandra Bullock. I love Matthew’s humor and Sandra has this fun personality that I would want to be friends with her and rarely has she played a role that I didn’t like. I really would love to see them in a movie together.
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.
If nothing is on and I’m really bored, I’ll watch The Girls Next Door or Keeping Up with the Kardashians. I know I’m the first to say that reality tv is crap unless people are actually working to prove themselves for a job, but in my defense I haven’t watched in a while and those people are all too crazy not to watch.
13) Do people in your Real Life know that you are a member of NS?
My friends do and my mother has seen that I’m on what she calls ‘that naughty site’ though I constantly tell her it’s just a name and not what she thinks it is (even though it so is!).
14) Do people in your Real Life know that you read/write fanfiction?
Yes, my friends do, one even reads my stuff though she doesn’t watch SV and has no idea about the characters. I also had to tell my parents because I had to explain how I won that Friends’ script.
15) When did you first start reading fanfiction?
When I was 14, I wanted to read West Wing fanfic because I was dying to see Josh and Donna together somehow and knew I’d have to wait for it on the show. And yes I so read the naughty stuff and clicked that I was 18 when I wasn’t.
16) When did you first get started in writing fanfiction?
I wrote a West Wing piece back when I first started reading but I never published it. I’ve lost it now, which is for the best because it was a weird WW/The Devil’s Advocate like crossover. I didn’t really start until summer of 2007 when I told that the shoutbox that I had been writing a story which became “Suitable Specimen”, and was then forced into posting.
17) Is fanfic writing just a hobby for you or do you hope to go further with your writing?
I want to be a screenwriter, I’ve just got to get over this fear of failure and crippling laziness/procrastination.
18) When you aren’t writing awesome fanfics, what do you do and/or want to be doing?
I rewrite history on Wikipedia, I watch tv and movies, surf the net for fanfiction, listen to music, and occasionally look into job opportunities to starve off the idea that I’m a lazy bum.
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?
Here’s the part where my horrible secret comes out, though I’ve posted it elsewhere. When I first started watching SV, I wasn’t all that interested, I just though MR was hot and I liked the character of Lex. I don’t read fanfiction unless there is romance and I needed to pair Lex with someone. Now, keep in mind that I wasn’t really paying attention to the show so I didn’t think about Chloe. Basically all I knew of the show was Lex, Clark and Lana, and being that I was already a fan of Lois & Clark, I knew who Clark was going to end up with so I thought it couldn’t hurt to read Lexana. Found out quickly how wrong that was, I couldn’t get through one fic without being bored to tears so I cut myself off completely. I didn’t get back into the show until 5th season and that was because my college roommates were always watching the reruns on ABC Family and being bored with nothing better to do I watched. I finally paid attention to the greatness that is Chloe and immediately went to ff.net. When I was done with everything viable there, I went searching for fics via Yahoo Groups and found one called electricchlex. They didn’t have much but someone on there told me about NS and here I am. I think one of the reasons I’m so adamant about a hatred of Lana is because I’m overcompensating for that initial thought of pairing Lex with her when I didn’t know any better.
What I love is just how human they are. They get to be both wrong and right and suffer the consequences when they are wrong. There is little to no ‘oh that’s okay, you didn’t know better, you weren’t yourself’ for them. They have faults and I like imperfection. And I’m big on belief that quality banter (that that doesn’t feel forced) between characters equals unsaid sexual attraction and tension. Chlex has what I think of as the F or F quality, in each scene they look as if they want to fuck or fight, or both. Alternatively I also call it the K or K quality, kiss or kill.
I hate Lex’s random love for Lana because it was clear it was just done to cause problems for Clana and there was no real progression and no explanation for it. I hate when Chloe seems to be on board for everything Clark is: “Let’s save Lana!” “Clark and Lana have the most perfect love!” “Lex is evil and absent of love!” And I believe that by now she would have broken down and snapped more at Clark; she’s done it some but not enough where she’s either forced Clark to accept his shitty treatment of her and changed or broken off their friendship. I know firsthand keeping in those feelings makes you snap repeatedly until you face the situation and deal with it. I think that’s something Chloe should have done by now.
20) How and why did you first get interested in writing Chlex fanfiction?
I was reading ruafair’s “Under a Bewitching Spell” and loving it but wondering what it would be like if instead of every guy be attracted to Chloe, if she in turn could only stand to be around one guy, all others making her sick. That stayed with me until it got to the point where I had to start writing the story or drive myself crazy keeping it inside my head and therefore “Suitable Specimen” was written. From then it just spiraled, mainly as a need to rewrite the crap from the show.
21) Is there anything while reading Chlex fanfiction that you really like/hate?
I love real AUs, the kind that put them in different places and time periods but stay true to the essential Chlexy nature. Must have some quality banter. And I love anytime Lex gets really possessive…yeah yeah I know that’s not politically correct and whatnot, but the fangirl in me just squeals anytime Lex wants to punch a guy for getting to close to Chloe or when Lex asserts that she’s his. And I’m only for it, if he believes that he’s equally only hers.
I don’t like it when a problem is solved too easily, though I’m probably guilty of that myself. I also won’t read a fic that features one or more of the couple is with someone else and it’s going so well that my couple is in serious danger of not getting together. I don’t multi-ship, once I’ve chosen my couple, that’s it and nothing can change my mind.
I just realized that all of that, the love and hate could really be applied to any fanfic I read. Oh well.
22) What (if any) other fandoms do you read/write for and why?
I don’t write for any other fandoms. I do get ideas for others, but I’ve never really taken the step to actually write them down. As for what I read, the main ones are: Josh/Donna for The West Wing; Snickers for CSI; Spuffy for BtVS; and Tonks/Remus for Harry Potter. And if some people got around to writing Eliot/Parker for Leverage, I’d read that.
23) What type of environment do you need to write? For example: extreme quiet, blaring music, subtle background noise, etc.
It really depends how I’m feeling at the moment, sometimes I need music or background noise. Sometimes I’ll get so irritated by sounds that I’ll mute everything. One thing that is essential is having the tv on all the time, even though I mute it most of the time, I like to stop and look over to see that something is on.
24) How do your ideas come to you? Do you always write them or do you let them disappear?
They usually come as I’m outside walking around and listening to music. I like to pretend that I’m actually in a story or show, so I’ll come up with a plot and act it out in my head while I listen to music. Sometimes the music directs how the plot is going to go, sometimes I’ll into a plot and search for right music to pair with it. Mostly, I just think up dialogue and act out expressions or actions while imagining another character’s actions. I’ve been caught several times talking to myself, singing, dancing, doing lame ass karate style moves. It’s a wonder I haven’t been locked up yet.
Sometimes the dialogue comes out of nowhere usually as I’m trying to get to sleep and I have to write it down or I won’t sleep. I also having trouble shutting my brain down for the night so I think of a plot as kind of a cool down or essentially telling myself a bedtime story. Of course, it can backfire and that’s when the idea will become so prominent that I’ll have to write it down. Oddly, “Modern Step-Family” dialogue showed up just as I was finishing wrapping Christmas presents. Chloe’s reaction to Gabe’s news just popped in from nowhere and before I know it, Lionel and Lex had to have their say as well.
Most ideas I let go knowing I’ll never write them because they usually rely on an original character and even though I never pair the OC with anyone, I don’t want to be accused of writing a Mary-Sue. Plus the plot is just too random that I doubt I’d be able to explain it properly. So those ideas go to the wayside and are just to amuse me.
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 get a basic plot and that usually has a beginning and an end with some high points for the middle of the story. Some plot points come as I’m writing and most of the story is written as I write it. I like to know how a story will basically end before I commit to writing it. I know all the important plot points for “Back to the Present” and “Fulfilling Her Request” from now until the end, I just have to get myself back on task to write them.
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?
Yes, but usually only if I have a deeper reason behind it. I had Chloe like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups because I think it’s a common candy that people love but the idea of Lex shopping for them instead of some imported expensive chocolate was to show he cared more about what she liked than showing off. And I had them watching The Cutting Edge, because I think if Chlex had been allowed to flourish, they would have gone from that reluctant partnership to respect and love with all the witty banter thrown in. Plus it was a great example of a love that isn’t all puppies and roses.
The exception is the Wiki Series because that was born out of random discussions in the shoutbox, so nothing in it would probably actually appeal to Lex & Chloe, but it’s a fun and different way for me to vent my frustrations.
27) Do you associate your writing with any songs even if it isn’t a songfic?
I like to listen to music as I write and certainly while I think about story ideas. I’ll hear a song and think it would make a great video. I’ve gotten really close to writing a songfic once or twice, but held back. I like to use lyrics when blocked for titles. “Accidents and Accusations” came from the Dixie Chicks’ song “Easy Silence.” Music propels me to write but I’m not sure if I could go back and tell you what song I was listening to as I wrote something.
28) Do you prefer writing easy, quick stories or long, layered stories?
Somehow, I can’t get a story to be as long as most people can. I can’t do novel length, 30 plus chapters though I’d want to and feel pathetic when I can’t. According to my professors, my writing problem is that I don’t explain enough or expand my thoughts, but I get to the point in writing where my brain just won’t go any further and nothing I could say will improve the story. So as much as I’d like to do the longer stories, it seems the quicker ones are all that I can get out.
29) Which do you find easier to write: dialogue or description or are the equally hard/easy?
Dialogue, every story that I write happens because a huge portion of dialogue pops into my head. If it was just a plot, I could let it go, but once the characters start talking to me, I feel like I’m killing them if I don’t write. Sometimes I’ll just write straight dialogue and then I have to force myself to go back and add expressions, feelings and whatnot. It’s really difficult when I don’t know what to say but I want to add more than just dialogue tags of ‘he said/she said.’ I think it’s because I’ve trained myself to write in play/script form and going back to story is difficult when you could just get away with writing an action in the form of Chloe: [soft laughter] then change it to Chloe smiled softly as she pretended not to laugh at the joke Lex made about Clark’s lack of fashion sense.
30) Is there anything that you won’t write or feel uncomfortable writing?
I would have said smut but I did try it even though it wasn’t hardcore. Not sure how long it will be before I attempt that again because that was more difficult than anything else, so I’m in awe of those who can do it so well and make it flawless. I think it’s a safe bet that I will never pair Lex or Chloe with anyone else beyond it being a plot point just to make them realize they want each other. My brain just isn’t programmed to accept multiple pairings. Disney and fairytales really got into my head.
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?
I move on and get my mind away from writing when the ideas stop. Sometimes, I go for a walk or take a bath because I know that’s when I’m most likely to get an idea. I don’t try to write through it because I don’t think it will be good and I don’t want to write something I don’t like but force myself to use it because I have nothing else.
I’d give the story to someone I trusted to get an honest opinion if you are worried about posting for the first time. And I’d really listen to their opinion if you want to post something that will get good reviews. If they say they don’t like something or they think something is confusing, it’s not because they hate you. If they did, they’d let you post it and get flamed while they sat back and laughed. I still run ideas by people before I decide to make it a permanent part of the story.
32) Have you ever read someone else’s fanfic and wished you thought of the idea first?
No, I’m generally happy to get to read a cool fic and I like that I don’t have to do any of the work. That doesn’t stop me from wondering where it’s going next and what I might do if I wrote it, but I always like what the author does with the story.
33) Have you ever wanted someone else to write your story idea?
All the freaking time! But only the stories that are still at their most basic plots like what if Lex was a western outlaw in the 1800s. Once I get dialogue or the plot gets so complex that I know beginning, middle and end, then it’s mine for life. “Fulfilling Her Request” and “Modern Step-Family” were ideas I tried to pawn off on someone else, but then the dialogue popped into my head and I had to take them.
34) Are reviews vital to keep you writing or will you finish a story even if you aren’t certain people are reading?
I will finish a story because I’ll feel like a bitch if I don’t, but I’m more eager to write when I get reviews. Of course, sometimes I hold off after a while and the reviews drop off because I’m not writing, and because I’m not getting a review I think no one likes the story and I go into a downward vicious cycle. I’ve really got to learn to keep writing while I’m getting reviews and then everyone will be happy.
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?
When the reader doesn’t understand something because I didn’t explain it enough is very helpful because I know sometimes my brain will go in circles that even I have to stop and remember how I got there. I’ve been known to have a dizzying intellect like Vizzini during that whole deal with the Iocaine powder in the wine. So it helps me to know how to walk the line for being subtle in order to not give away too much and when I’m just flat out not getting something across. But I’ve never made any major changes because of a review, just fixed something that if I had been thinking correctly wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
36) How badly do you want to write for Smallville or at least rewrite some of the seasons?
So much so that I rewrote almost all of season 7. Though if I really had the chance, I’d start over with season 4. Pretty much the same as anyone else: Lana stays in Paris, Lois never comes to Smallville, Lex and Chloe continue their friendship and expand it into something more which troubles Clark because of his friendship Chloe and his mistrust of Lex along with the fact that she’d still discover his secret. So it becomes a struggle for her to be truthful to her relationship with Lex and not wanting to risk harming Clark. Drama without pointless relationships that make people want bang their heads against a heavy object. Did I mention no Jimmy or Kara? Maybe Oliver will show up once or twice just because I think Justin Hartley is hot, and I’ll give him someone better to hook up with than Lois.
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?
When I was very early into my Chlex obsession, I was watching Rebecca for my Hitchcock class, and I kept comparing Lex to Maxim and thinking Lana was like Rebecca. Of course, Chloe is so much stronger than the 2nd Mrs. De Winter so it didn’t work so well. Usually for older movies it happens, like His Girl Friday. This is why I would have given anything for Lex and Chloe’s relationship to have been more than complete hatred when he took over the planet. But the comparisons do creep in even though I’d never write anything based off it because I know I couldn’t get close to how good the movies are and I’d end up hating the movie if I tried.
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 if they ever read The Wiki Series, they’d be scared and/or think the entire Chlex fandom is crazy. Probably just laugh it off if they read anything. I’m not entirely sure KK would be angry at the ways I kept killing off Lana, something tells me she’d be on board with it. I would be fine with them reading it so long as I never had to hear their opinion face to face.
39) If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? Would you use it for good or evil?
I would like to time travel so I could learn the mysteries of the past and know exactly what happened, like who really was Jack the Ripper. But I wouldn’t change the past because I know you can’t, you’d only create a paradox that would fix itself once you didn’t change the past in the new timeline because you had no reason to change the past. So I guess it would be a neutral power, maybe a little good because now people don’t have to wonder, maybe a little bad because I could at least try to fix things and didn’t.
40) nonky asks “If you could get away with murder, who would you kill?”
First off, I think I should start by saying murder is wrong and I would never do it without necessary defense/self-defense reasons. Now, that the legal stuff is out of the way. I would murder television executives who thought more of wasting money on several pointless reality shows than a few quality scripted television shows. Who cared more about ratings than stopping to think that some shows bring in more loyal viewers on a weekly basis than other shows who will bring different people in big numbers but who likely wouldn’t give a crap if the show stopped airing all together.
Again, murder is wrong.
41) nonky also asks “Why do you hate The Middleman?” with a follow up of “Why must you be so cruel?”
I do not hate The Middleman. I just don’t watch the show because I’m not into comic book based stories. I know I watch Batman because I like Michael Keaton and Tim Burton, but that’s the only incarnation that I like. I watched Lois & Clark because I thought Dean Cain was hot and the romance of Lois & Clark was interesting. And of course, I watched SV for MR and because of Chloe and Lex. But those are the only exceptions of the general rule that I don’t like comic book/superhero stuff. And I know that you will counter that Matt Keeslar is hot and he is but it wasn’t enough to make me watch. I hope you can understand that I just don’t want to watch the show just as I know you don’t want to watch every show I like. This in no way means that I hate The Middleman or disrespect your love for him because when I saw the previews I did think it was cleverly written and added something to the genre. Again, just not a genre I happen to watch.
As to why I’m cruel, I don’t know maybe that extends from my feelings of abandonment after my sisters lost me at the state fair.
42) Avalanche asks “Who is your favorite hero and why?”
Indiana Jones because he’s smart, sexy, witty, and has flaws. Plus, you gotta love a man who basically just says “Screw it!” and shoots a guy during a sword fight.
43) Avalanche would like to know “If you could erase one movie from existence which would it be and why?”
I’ve already gotten permission from Ava to extend this into erasing the book Twilight so that I’d in essence erase the movie. The book and subsequent movie just takes away everything we’ve built vampire lore on, everything that makes them great, and everything that gives them a reason to be such a longstanding myth. The new generation will grow up not knowing how freaking sexy Spike could be as the Big Bad. Plus it’s an insult to authors who put effort into making their characters interesting and developing a real troubling love story. “Oh woe is me. I love a vampire who is not at all scary and neither of us have any real problems keeping us apart because the author relied on the lame excuse of ‘I’m (supposedly) dangerous’ to keep readers dangling throughout four books.” I’d erase it so fictional vampires everywhere can go out at night without the fear of being mocked, because you know they’d only go out at night and they aren’t afraid of anything owing to the fact that they’d BURN in daylight and would KILL anything that slightly pissed them off. Expect a future installment of the Wiki Series to build more on this.
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