Thank you Lexie for all of your effort in this interview. ~ Mindy
Interview: Lexie
1) If you could visit any place at any time period, where would you go and what would you do?
If I could choose a time and place in history to live in, it’d be Britain in the 19th century. It’s a period and setting I fell in love with through literature and films- all those Brontë sisters’ and Jane Austen’s novels, I guess; and let’s not forget those wonderful BBC miniseries. Now, what would I do there? I’m not a party person, but I’d really like to don a dress sewn in those days and maybe attend a soirée or a ball, be swept off my feet by some gallant and cultured gentleman. What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic at heart and, if there’s something I miss in the world we live in today is that absence of romanticism and chivalry of those times. Where have real men gone?
2) Have you ever met anyone famous?
I met a couple of artists who used to be popular in Argentina, particularly in the seventies, but whom you wouldn’t know of. I’d say the only person I met as I child that you must have heard of is San Antonio Spurs’ Emanuel Ginobili, who used to live with his family fifty metres away from my building- we’re both from the same town, Bahía Blanca (Province of Buenos Aires). I used to take English lessons with his eldest brother, Sebastián, another excellent basketball player.
3) If you could meet any famous person, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you say/do?
Pope John Paul II. What I’d say to him would be only between us two and God.
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’m very happy with whom I am and, although sometimes I feel I should have been born in another century, I’ve never relished the thought of living someone else’s life. Still, you’ve asked me this question and I’ll try to give you an answer. Although I admire many historical characters, there’s one who has a special place in my heart, General Manuel Belgrano. He was an Argentinean lawyer and military man, who went down in history as the creator of our flag but who was so much more- an extraordinary thinker and visionary, a gentleman and a selfless man of good. Now, I’m talking about admiration for a great man, that doesn’t mean I’d trade places with him. I’m determined to make a difference in my own terms, and I suppose being in the trade of education is enough of a challenge.
5) Who is your favorite author, alive or dead, and why?
I’ve got several authors who I enjoy reading but if I had to make just one name, I’d say William Shakespeare. Like most of you I was familiar with his plays from my childhood. What romantic girl hasn’t ever heard of Romeo and Juliet as a child or a teenager? I read his works in the original language when I started my teacher training career and fell in love with his artistry and his mastery of ¨puns¨. It still amazes me how modern and universal his plays are. The passions that move his characters are perennial, the thirst for power’s just the same as that of today’s politicians, and I could go on and on.
6) What is your favorite book and why?
That’d be A. S. Byatt’s Possession. I started reading it one more morning and couldn’t put it down until I reached the last page.
I admire the way in which the author has weaved together both the modern and the Victorian stories, jumping from the past to the present so smoothly. The prose is as rich as the ¨fake¨ period pieces she wrote to go with the fictional Victorian writers she created for the novel- the fairy tales and the poetry look decisively original.
A.S. Byatt accomplished a very difficult feat, to write a romance in the twenty-first century which is as much entertainment as it is a literary work.
7) Who is your favorite singer, alive or dead, and why?
These questions are really killing me because it’s so difficult to give just one name, so I’m going to give two this time. Dead- but very much alive- Frank Sinatra; alive… Neil Diamond.
Frank’s simply a pleasure to listen; from his days as a crooner with Harry James to his Duets albums; he was really A Man for All Seasons. He entertained several generations, and bridged the gap between them with his art, leaving an outstanding legacy that will survive for decades to come. I truly admire him as a professional, as an entertainer and as a man who wasn’t afraid of taking risks and making mistakes when it came to standing up for what he believed.
Now… my enthusiasm for Neil’s music started when I was four. It was kind of magical; I entered a shopping arcade with my parents when on holiday in Mendoza- an Andean province of my home country, Argentina- and there was a song playing (Crunchy Granola Sweet, if I’m not mistaken). I stood stock still in the middle of the corridor. Needless to say my parents and I followed the music like Hansel and Gretel until we got to a music shop. The song had finished by the time we got there so my mum asked the shop assistant what had been playing before we arrived. The man put on the LP and I kind of fell into a trance. My mum said ¨We’ll take it¨ and the man answered- looking at me- ¨But, madam, this music isn’t for children and it’s a double album. ¨ A friend of my parents who happened to be there on holiday with her husband told the man: ¨So what? Children are people, too. And music is music. ¨ Neil Diamond’s 1972 album ¨Hot August Night¨ was my first ¨adult¨ music album. With the advent of new technology, owning my first CD provided me with an address where to get in contact with him. I became the only Argentinean member of his fan club in the early nineties and got a wonderful surprise on my graduation day- a personalized congratulations card. It’s so nice when things like this happen, you know, when artists turn out to be so nice; I hate it when they sell an image which is fake.
What is your favorite song and why?
Frank Sinatra’s rendition of ¨My Way¨ or the string section of his version of ¨It Was a Very Good Year¨. They bring tears to my eyes in the same way as Albinoni´s Addagio or Barber’s Addagio do. I’m a masochist, I know, but sometimes I feel the need to experience that tightening in my gut.
9) What is your favorite movie and why?
Asking a cinemagoer to pick one film is like asking a child to pick a sweet at a sweetshop- or a candy an a candy store, as you Americans would say. A film I never get tired of watching over and over again is Gone with the Wind. Can you believe almost eighty years had gone by since it was released? It still amazes me how modern it looks and how much they managed to do without all the technology filmmakers now have at their disposal. I love everything about it, from the plot and the characters to the acting, the setting, the costumes and the music.
I can’t omit mentioning the Star Wars and Indiana Jones sagas, and the film which has made me cried the most- E.T., the Extraterrestrial.
10) What is your favorite television show and why?
I don’t watch much television; I prefer reading or going to the cinema. No show has sucked me in since the first seasons of SV. I used to watch more shows in the past- the CSI franchise, JAG, NCIS, Close to Home, 24- courtroom or detective dramas, mostly, I’m a sucker for a good mystery. Now I program the DVD recorder whenever I see something in the Cable TV magazine that might interest me- usually a picture that hasn’t been shown at the cinema or which I have missed. I haven’t got much time during the week to sit down in front of the television, so I leave the taped programmes to see at the weekend.
11) Who is your favorite actor/actress alive or dead and why?
Kevin Spacey. He’s amazingly talented and versatile, and the fact that he’s stylish and good-looking in the bargain doesn’t hurt at all. He acts, directs, sings and does everything well; and he’s one of the few American actors whose delivery is music to my ears.
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 watching the Justice League, Spiderman or X-men cartoons from time to time is something to feel guilty about when one’s to turn thirty-eight, then there’s your answer.
13) Do people in your Real Life know that you are a member of NS?
Yes, my family, friends and co-workers know it. It isn’t something I feel ashamed of, so why hide it?
14) Do people in your Real Life know that you read/write fanfiction?
The same as above.
15) When did you first start reading fanfiction?
I started reading fanfiction some five years ago when I got my own computer at home. I used to go to a cyber café to answer my e-mails and look for information, and one day I stumbled on a fanfiction repository devoted to Smallville and I decided to give it a try.
In those days I didn’t have Internet at home, so I’d save the fics on a diskette to read on my computer at the weekend. What really surprised me was how good some writers were- I also read some worthless stuff- and reading Lex stories became somewhat of an addiction, particularly during the long summer holidays.
16) When did you first get started writing fanfiction?
I began writing my own stories almost three years ago. After having read fanfiction for two years, I told myself it was high time I gave it a try. I’ve always been fond of telling stories- I remember having my mum put them on paper when I was too young to write on my own.
2006 was the breaking point for me; I realized I had spent too much time correcting other people’s essays and papers- an English teacher’s karma- and I asked myself: why not put pen to paper and do it for fun?
17) Is fanfic just a hobby for you or do you hope to go further with your writing?
I consider writing the perfect means of escapism. Still, I won’t deny I’d love to go further with it. At present I’m too much into Lex and Chloe to write anything with original characters. I suppose, knowing Lex and Chloe’s personal stories, where they come from and who they are helps when it comes to creating a fic around them. Starting a fic from scratch with characters that you infuse life to and whose backgrounds you invent can be liberating, but I haven’t reached the point of feeling comfortable with that concept yet.
18) When you aren’t writing awesome fanfics, what do you do and/or want to be doing?
I’m teaching English to university students who are studying to get a Doctorate or a Master’s Degree. I also tutor people who are training to become teachers of English; I specialize in grammar, phonology and academic writing. For the last three years I’ve also been tutoring secondary school students who are interested in taking the advanced exams offered by the University of Cambridge for people whose native tongue isn’t English. In addition, I translate and/or edit research papers written by scientists for international scientific magazines or journals.
In my free time- which isn’t much, by the way- I administrate my own Lex/Michael site and boards, and I co-administrate Michael Rosenbaum Italia with hamlat (Rosenbaum Media’s webmaster), the only Italian forums devoted to MR now turned international.
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’ve always been an avid fan of Smallville´s Lex and everything connected with him, and Chloe’s been a wonderful addition to Superman’s universe- undoubtedly one of the things Al Gough & Miles Millar can feel proud of.
The first SV stories I read were… (don’t throw shoes at me, please!) Lexana fics- and, believe it or not, there are a few LLers around who write some pretty decent Lexana fics where the Pink Princess is more than just tolerable. However, none of them have ever touched me as the Chlex fics that introduced me to this ship… Catheryne´s “A Dream of Angels” and “An Affair to Forget”. It was Catheryne´s writing which won me over.
I admire Lex’s strength to survive the bravest of storms. I love his humanity- he’s the one character we can identify with for he’s the perfect example of duality in Man. His frailty appeals to my maternal instincts, what woman wouldn’t love to hold him and make him feel loved?
Now, Chloe is a lot like me in many ways: her inquisitive nature, her curiosity, her passion for what she does.
I don’t hate anything about them, just what the screenwriters have sometimes done to them. I particularly disliked the lines they fed Allison in the last episodes of Season Seven when referring to Lex. Having her ask Clark to murder him in cold blood? What was that about? It was a very UnChloe thing to say, no matter her animosity towards the billionaire.
20) How and why did you first get interested in writing Chlex fanfiction?
Reading Catheryne´s fics got me started. I had penned a couple of Lexana stories but they were too much of an effort because I had to re-invent the cheerleader in order to make her worthy of Lex. Let’s face it, SV´s Lana isn’t that much interesting to write a mature story with someone as multi-layered and smart as the billionaire.
Chlex fiction was so much easier; I found Chloe’s voice almost immediately and writing their verbal judo was simply invigorating. They’re the perfect match on the intellectual level and I can’t imagine a more suited couple when it comes to passion.
21) Is there anything while reading Chlex fanfiction that you really like/hate?
I hate unfinished stories. I loath when a writer lets a fic end up in the graveyard; that’s why I never start posting a story unless it’s already finished on paper- I just can’t stand leaving things hanging.
22) What (if any) other fandoms do you read/write for and why?
I’ve never written for any other fandom and there’s no other character I feel more comfortable writing than Lex. I’ve written some ¨mild¨ SV-Batman crossovers. I’ve used the adjective ´mild´ because I tend not to balance both fandoms, the scales always tip in favour of SV- or I should say in Lex’s favour. I’ve toyed with the idea of penning some JAG fics- I saw all ten seasons when they aired and fell in love with the characters- but there’s the problem of jargon and all that legal stuff. With SV things are a hell of a lot simpler, and the degree of freedom to play with reality’s almost boundless.
23) What type of environment do you need to write? For example: extreme quiet, blaring music, subtle background noise, etc.
I’ve been known to write in the oddest of places- from a bench in the park to the waiting room at my dentist’s. I don’t need to be anywhere in particular to be able to write. I’ve always been a multi-tasking kind of person and can work even with background noise- that doesn’t mean, though, that there has to be noise around me to get me started. I’ve got the ability to create my own bubble at will even when I’m not alone, to the point that sometimes I don’t know what’s going on around me.
The best time for me to sit down with paper and pen are the summer holidays– I’m old-fashioned; I only use the word-processor once the story’s finished on paper. As a teacher/tutor I get a forty-day summer holiday every year, and I take as much advantage of it as I can so as to have enough material to post throughout the year. Once the holidays are over, I simply go over the drafts correcting any grammar mistakes or making some minor changes.
24) How do your ideas come to you? Do you always write them or do you let them disappear?
There isn’t a fixed pattern. The germ of a story may appear while reading something, while looking at a photo of a particular scene of the show or while watching a re-run. Most often than not ideas seem to come out of the blue; it’s as if someone were whispering them in my ear.
I always start writing when an idea comes to me. I don’t keep a notebook with notes, though, I begin the story right away.
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 only planned a fic once, and I have to say it was the least satisfying of my works. Considering most of my stories have an element of mystery in them- either a crime or a secret- I prefer not to know what’ll happen ahead. It’s the best approach to surprise readers when the enigma is solved- hey, I like surprising myself too!
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 try to remain faithful to the characters, so I never include references to books, music or films I like unless I believe they would suit their taste.
27) Do you associate your writing with any songs even if it isn’t a songfic?
A song or an instrumental piece can trigger one’s muse just as an image, but so far I haven’t used music as an inspiration for fanfiction. Still, there are times when I listen to music and feel it´d suit either character. Given the kind of music I listen to I’d say Lex is the one that comes more often to mind- Lex-obsessed, aren’t I?
28) Do you prefer writing easy, quick stories or long, layered stories?
Long stories come easier to me than one-shots- the only one-parter I’ve written thus far is The Christmas Gift. Writing well rounded one-shots is a true gift that only a few privileged ones have got- take Peggy/PMD, for instance; she’s great at this art.
29) Which do you find easier to write: dialogue or description or are the equally hard/easy?
Well, my first fics looked more like scripts because of the amount of dialogue in them. However, as time went by and the stories got more mature, I veered more to narrative. Still, given the nature of both central characters, using dialogue is hard to resist. Both Lex and Chloe are at their best when fencing with words, and I love writing their verbal judo just as much as I enjoy working on Lex’s tête-à-têtes with Lionel. Internal monologues are also frequent in my stories, and I usually employ them with Chloe for her internal debates. I imagine, given her principles, that there has to be a permanent internal struggle when pairing her with someone as complex and dual as Lex.
The more I distanced myself from action-driven fics, the more prose I started to use. At present my fics tend to focus on character exploration- the plot being an excuse- so I’m using more narrative. I need prose not so much to push the story forward as to put Lex’s inner world in words. As much as I love having Lex use words to give advice, hurt, manipulate or extricate himself from any situation; it’s his inner self which fascinates me, and I believe there’s no better way to let the reader into that amazing world than through prose.
I can’t say I find one or the other more difficult to write. I suppose my resorting to dialogue or prose depends on the mood I am in when writing or on the story I’m telling; in other words, it’s up to my muse.
30) Is there anything that you won’t write or feel uncomfortable writing?
Smut is something I don’t feel comfortable with and it’s something I’m pretty sure I’ll never write. Whenever I include a bedroom scene- I like to call them love scenes- I don’t go for graphic imagery or language. It’s my belief that whenever intimacy is included in a story, it should be integrated into the plot; I really don’t enjoy writing or reading gratuitous sex.
I’m not much of a smut reader, as you must have guessed. Zannie´s fics are the only exception to the rule; she’s one of the few fanfic writers I’ve met whose work manages to engage my attention from beginning to end. Her plots and character studies are admirable, and her smut is always an instrument and not a goal in itself; it always helps us get into Chloe and Lex’s minds and understand how they’re feeling and at what point their relationship is. She uses smut as other writers use dialogue, and I respect her for that; although, as I said before, it isn’t something I’d try doing myself.
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 try to take a break and not force things because the harder you try the worse it gets. Some of my best fics were finished after a long writer’s block; it always helps to distance oneself and pick up an incomplete manuscript with fresh eyes. Sometimes I put down a fic and start another or stop writing altogether for a few weeks; maybe watch some old episodes or keep reading other people’s fics to stir back the mood.
If you’ve never posted a fic before and writing is something new to you, my advice is to write, write and write. Practice is the only thing that helps you grow as a writer, and the more you do the more critical of your own work you become. Posting is a necessary part of the creative cycle and one we should never skip. We start writing to satisfy a personal need- the beginning is definitely selfish- but the reader is an indispensable part of the artistic act. Now, if you’re one who doesn’t take constructive criticism well, you’re in for trouble because once you make your work public you expose yourself. Still, there’s good news… this community’s filled with nice people and I’ve noticed they always try to encourage budding writers, so don’t be afraid. If your mother tongue’s not English, and you’re worried about your grammar, you can ask for help- there are several members who have offered their beta services.
32) Have you ever read someone else’s fanfic and wished you thought of the idea first?
It happened to me a couple of times to find someone had started posting a story with a premise which I had toyed with for a while- take superag´s Chloe-Wild and Shy, for instance.
33) Have you ever wanted someone else to write your story idea?
Not really. The ideas I’ve had so far are ideas I feel comfortable with and confident enough to write.
34) Are reviews vital to keep you writing or will you finish a story even if you aren’t certain people are reading?
Reviews aren’t vital for me to finish a story since, as I said before, my fics are finished by the time I start posting them. Nevertheless, reviews are fantastic encouragement for me to keep writing other stories.
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?
The only time I rewrote the final chapter of a fic to improve the pacing- after I got a couple of reviews with some constructive criticism- was my first Chlex fic, Second Chances. This happened before I joined NS and in no way did it compromise my vision for the ending remained the same. Since then I’ve never felt the urge to edit any story- perhaps because I go over them several times before they see the light here.
36) How badly do you want to write for Smallville or at least rewrite some of the seasons?
Now that MR is no longer on the show I really don’t care much about what they do- I’d hate to see Chloe’s character destroyed, nonetheless. Rewrite a season? Yes, pretty much everything that happened after season three. I’d maybe use some of the stuff that has happened but change the people involved or, at least, I’d put a twist to the plotlines to make it a Chlexy SV.
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?
I’ve used a couple of events in a Harrison Ford film as the trigger to write a Chlex fic and I can imagine Lex and Chloe as Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. One never knows where ideas can 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?
Michael would be happy to see that for once Lex gets a happy ending in spite of all the angst and suffering he has to undergo before the epilogue. Now, Allison… I really don’t know… maybe that she believes Chloe’s only got eyes for Clark… (Not in my world, girl!).
As regards having someone from the show read my fics, we all know this is common practice and on more than one occasion I’ve seen ideas brought up in fics which ended up on the show. We’re all aware there’s nothing we can do about it; we’re working with copyrighted characters here, but hell it´d be nice to get some credit, don’t you think?
39) If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? Would you use it for good or evil?
Superspeed. The hours of the day aren’t enough to do all the things I’ve got to do. It´d be nice to have the power to put behind all the unsavoury chores in a millisecond and enjoy the rest of the day doing whatever you feel like doing without having to worry.
Evil? Nah. I’m a good girl.
Forum thread: [Interview] March 2009 Interview: Lexie
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