Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Lois & Clark: The New Adventure of Superman Writer’s Showcase, pioneered by Annie Lansbury back in 1998! In the last few years, FoLCdom has seen a resurgence—old FoLCs coming back, new FoLCs joining, long-time lurkers de-lurking. It’s heartening to know just how awesome and long lasting FoLCdom is!
Earlier this year, Carrie Rene started a monthly newsletter (which gets posted on the L&C Fanfic Message Boards and in the Discord server—yes! We have a #loisclark Discord server!), and with that, she’s brought back the writer’s showcase!
Now, in keeping with Annie’s famous words, without further ado we are proud and honored to present this week’s Writer in the Writer’s Showcase …
Sara, Carrie, and Michael
Featured Writer of the Month
Kaylle
Personal Information
Author Name:
Kaylle
Email Addresses:
kayl.aluenne@gmail.com
Location:
Ohio
Lois & Clark or Superman Status
How long have you watched Lois & Clark?
I started watching somewhere during Season Two, I think. I don’t remember exactly but it was definitely before ATAI because I remember that moment very clearly. I was super excited and super impatient that I had to wait all summer to find out what Lois said!
What was the episode (either entire or in part) that made you love the show?
I don’t remember there being a specific episode during the first run. Watching it again in ~2000, I loved it from the beginning but I *really* love the second half of season two and the first half of season three. Whine Whine Whine is probably my favorite. When Lois lets go of the fantasy and commits to the reality of Clark Kent.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing my whole life. I remember dictating stories to a tape recorder as a very small kid. One of the earliest things I remember writing on paper was a Rainbow Brite story when I was probably around six or seven. Clearly I was destined for fanfic writing someday <g>. Seriously, though, writing feels like how I make sense of the world. I work through my feelings by writing.
How long have you been writing Lois & Clark?
I started writing L&C in late 2000. I was newly in college and I had always-on internet access for the first time. I was reading a ton of fanfiction at the time, Star Wars and Gargoyles and The Matrix and such, and I just wanted to try something different. Somehow I stumbled on the archive and started reading, and from there I found Zoom’s boards, and then I was off to the races. I used to print fanfic in the school computer lab (size 6 font, landscape, three columns to save paper). I must have printed hundreds and hundreds of pages.
Eventually I posted looking for a copy of the tapes, and someone very graciously copied theirs and sent them to me for the cost of postage. (Things younger fans will never understand!) My friend and I would just watch the tapes over and over. We would just put them on in the background while we did homework or whatever. It was constantly on. I don’t know that I was really thinking about writing anything at that point — I just wanted to get all the references that other writers were using— but then I got to Tempus Anyone and poor Alt-Clark’s story was so tragic. I thought, if there is a universe out there with a Clark Kent and no Lois Lane, surely there must be a universe with a Lois Lane and no Clark Kent, and surely these two belong together. I felt like I had to write that story, and I started In Dreams.
I don’t know why I started posting it when I only had a chapter or two written. Maybe I was looking for a beta? I remember I posted the first chapter in the nfic folder (despite there being no nfic in it) because there were so many good stories being posted in the gfic that I felt sure no one would read it, but nfic was a little less crowded. I admit I was kind of doubtful I would ever finish it— I was not good at finishing things— but the readers were so welcoming and so encouraging that I felt compelled to keep going.
What types of fanfics have you written?
I mostly write about relationships and feelings. I don’t have a lot of a-plot in my stories, usually. I like writing conversations — they feel like piecing together a puzzle, getting the characters to go where I need them to go and keeping their voices honest at the same time. I do like to play with structure a little bit — In Dreams had the a-plot and b-plot carefully spread out over the nine days, and it was tricky to get the timing right. I’ve done similar things in other stories I have worked on and it’s always a challenge but fun too.
As far as fandoms go, I have posted fic for L&C, Star Wars, Gargoyles, Wicked, Aida, and Enchanted. I have old wips for a few other fandoms as well but haven’t posted anything else.
Favorite story you have written? Why?
I don’t know if I can answer this! It’s like picking my favorite child. In Dreams holds a special place in my heart because it was the longest thing I had ever written and finished. I think it’s still the longest thing I have actually finished, although I have some wips that are longer. But I also really loved Ordinary Lovers — I really loved that conversation. I started it and couldn’t piece it together and set it down, and I picked it up and set it down several times over the years before I finally figured out how to make the pieces fit. I really love Clark’s vulnerability and uncertainty there and Lois being the reassuring one. In Virtually Destroyed, despite Clark’s lack of experience we never really see him feel uncertain or unsure of himself and it was interesting to see the tables turned a little.
Current project/projects:
I have two young kids now so my spare time is pretty limited. I’m trying to find more time for myself and my writing. I’ve been working on a couple of original fiction novels. One is a time travel love story, and one is a superhero story. I would love to finish those someday.
I don’t have any active L&C wips at the moment. I have things I started over the years. I made a trailer once for a story called Finding Noplace, which was about a plague that infected half-Kryptonian children and then spread to human children. Lois and Clark spent time visiting hospitals, cheering up sick kids, and when they retired the Superman Foundation hired actors to play them and continue visiting. The story was mostly from the point of view of the actress playing Lois in the future. I think that would have been fascinating. But at this point, having children of my own now and having lived through a pandemic, I’m not sure I will ever have it in me to write fiction about kids being sick and/or dying. Maybe someday.
I could see myself writing more fluff or relationship stories though! I just need to carve out a bit more time for myself as my kids get older.
Personal picks of other fanfics you have read:
I don’t know how to pick just one but my first answer is always, always In A Better Place by C. C. Aiken. Honorable mention to everything else she wrote, especially The Late Great Lois Lane and the Through The Window series. I also really love Caroline K’s Field of Dreams and Stardust. (The story Martha tells of surviving grief in Field of Dreams is so accurate and heartbreaking!) And I have a soft spot for Labrat’s Are You Lonesome Tonight, which I remember being the first story I read in parts as it was being posted on the boards. I could list off a hundred stories so I will stop here but we are so, so blessed with gifted writers in this fandom.
General Interview Questions
What attracted you to writing fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
Fanfic lets me spend more time with characters and/or worlds that I love. I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t read fan fiction. I was writing it as a child before I knew what the word was — I remember writing Rats of NIMH stories in 4th and 5th grade and sending a letter to the author to ask her permission. (She was *so* kind and sent me back a letter encouraging me!)
We got internet at my house somewhere around 9th grade, which was also when I started really getting into Star Wars and reading all the profic books that were out at the time. It just felt natural to go looking for Star Wars or Gargoyles pages online, and from there I started discovering fanfic archives. It was like a revelation — other people do this, and they put these stories out for free for me to read! From then on I was hooked. I printed so many stories and kept them in binders or file folders. I emailed them to my work computer and read them when I had downtime. Nowadays I read them on Kindle, so at least I’m saving paper!
What is it about L&C universe/characters that you enjoy exploring the most?
The universe is ridiculous. Most of the a-plots are ridiculous. In pretty much every episode there is some kind of absurd plot hole. But through it all, no matter how ridiculous everything else is, somehow these two characters feel like such a realistic, grounded, and loving relationship. Somehow they are real. It makes no sense because almost everything that happens to them is absurd. Clones and New Kryptonians and virtual reality and body switching and amnesia and…! But there they are, supporting each other and loving each other through all of it. There’s something fascinating about them for me. And the idea that these two people belong together — that Lois Lane is as much a part of the team as Clark Kent, that they both need each other to do what they do, balancing each other’s strengths — that is so appealing to me. I love to just spend time with them. I love to see all the ways they struggle through the secrets and the fears and find their way to each other. Because they always, always do.
What do you think makes the best story?
For fanfic specifically, I just want the characters to feel like themselves. Put them in an interesting situation and see what they do! I just want to spend time with them.
We had a conversation in the Discord recently about whether people “see” stories in their heads or not. I don’t. I have very dim pictures in my mind when I’m reading or writing; I never have a “movie” unless it’s something I have seen in person before (like remembering a scene from the show). So when I’m writing, I’m not aiming for a mental picture of a scene. I’m aiming for a mental *feeling* of a scene — what does this moment need to feel like. And that’s what I’m looking for in a story. Writing that *feels* like something.