Dear Readers,
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Lois & Clark The New Adventure of Superman Writer's Showcase. At the bottom of this web site you will findlinks to past featured writers. Just click on the any writer's name you might have missed or want to read again and you will be taken to their interview.
Now, in keeping with Annie's famous words, without further ado I am proud and honored to present this week's Writer in the Writer's Showcase ...
Annette, Labrat, Kaethel, Avia
Personal Information
Author name
Shidrati Ali. Lote Tree is the English translation of my name. So I go by the nickname Lote on Zoomway's message boards.
E-mail addresses
Too many <g>. But my main one is kestrel@pacific.net.sg which I've had for a long time.
Residence
Singapore. Born and bred, there. It's just a tiny island but it's home.
List, AOL, or web affiliations
Hmm...I'm a lurker on [JoshAndDonna] fanfic list. I'm also subscribed to a few other mailing lists for West Wing, Forever Knight and JAG.
Lois and Clark or Superman Status
How long have you been watching L&C?
Since season 1. However, the show wasn't shown all that regularly in Singapore after its last season. I tried to catch it whenever it aired.
How long have you been a fan of Superman?
All my life, it seems. <g> Used to watch the cartoon, you know, the old ones. And then came the old Superman series. I remembered one particular episode where Lois dreamt that she found out Superman and Clark was one and the same person. Boy, was she disappointed when she realized that it was all a dream. <g>
Of course, I watched all four Superman movies. Christopher Reeves was just a dream. I liked the first two the best. Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeves just have this screen chemistry.
How long have you been writing?
Writing...since I was in grade school <g>. No really. I've just started writing since June this year. LnC fanfiction, of course.
How long have you been writing L&C fanfic?
Since June this year.
What types of Fanfic have you written?
Just LnC.
Most recent story posted? Where?
That would be Strangers and Friends - Lois's Story/Hope springs Eternal. In Zoomway's message board.
Favorite story you have written? Why?
My favourite story? Can I have two? <g> Actually it would be the Strangers and Friends series cowritten with Jon Wolff. Why? That's tough to answer. I guess because we had a great time collaborating on them. Writing them had helped me learn to get in touch with my emotions and made me grow as a person.
Current project/projects?
Right now, I'm working on "Wounded Angels", my longest story to date. That's not saying much since I just started to write. <g> It's basically about an investigation which Lois is working on. What's interesting, to my mind, is the story behind the story. While handling this investigation, she also has to settle certain issues with her last investigation which comes into the story as flashbacks. It's the only project I'm doing at the moment.
Personal picks of other Fanfics you have read?
There are a lot. 'The Penfriend', 'Green Card' and 'The Healing Time' by Wendy Richards. 'Life in a Different World' series by Mobile Richard amongst others. 'Dawning' series by Debby Stark was one of the earliest stories I've read in LnC world. The 'Future' series by Tank Wilson is another of my favourite.
Chris H.'s 'Brave New World' and 'Till There was You' series are just great. Yvonne Connell wrote a fantastic story called 'Trust Me, I'm a Reporter'. On Zoomway's message boards, 'Lonely is the Man' by Jon Wolff is another one that I'd recommend.
There are a lot of other authors which I've enjoyed which I've not mentioned here. They deserve recognition, so I'll just have to say that I've enjoyed most of the stories posted on the LnC Fanfic Archive. :)
General Interview Questions
What attracted you to writing Fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
I just sort of stumbled into writing it. <g> I've been a lurker for years. Never was tempted to write but one day I was inspired to write a very short story, a joke really, poking fun at Lois's fascination with chocolate. I screwed up enough courage to post it on Zoomway's message board. That was the start, I guess.
I enjoyed writing because it affords me an avenue to express myself which I have difficulty with otherwise. It's also quite empowering to be able to shape another's life even if it's only fictional <g>.
What about the L&C and the characters do you like the most?
Lois, definitely. The interaction between her and Clark is just great. I first watched the show because I was a fan of Superman. But I learned to appreciate the different emphasis of the show. I don't think any other series on Superman that I've watched actually developed their relationship as much as this show or given Lois a fair share of air time as Superman. Here too, the Superman being portrayed was more human than the other series/cartoon. I'm not saying that the show had no flaws but somehow, they managed to do justice to the character development even the supporting characters of Perry and Jimmy.
How do you interpret them in your work?
I like to write about Lois, more than any other character, where her characters and idiosyncrasies are being explored, I guess.
How did you begin writing in general? What are you working on now and where do you see it going? What is your opinion about the following types of L&C fanfic's?
Drama? Humor? Round Robin? Nfic? Has *everything* been done in your opinion, and if not, what is left? What do you think makes the best story? Would you like to add a link or URL to your favorite fanfic for the readers to sample your writing? Open Forum For Author Comments I'd also like to take this time to thank the people on Zoomway's message board who had encouraged me to write, especially Merry Truitt. And to those who wrote to me to give their feedback on my stories.
A special thanks to Jon Wolff for his support and his friendship.
I wrote several essays in school which were mediocre. <g> (That may still be true
"Wounded Angels" which alludes to the girls who were tricked into prostitution by their professors. As to where it's going, it's very difficult to say since this story seems to have a life of its own. No end in sight so far. <g>
Action?
I love a story with action - A-plots are good. But it would be better when they have a B-plot too. I don't like only B-plots without a good A-plot to drive the story with certain exceptions, of course.
This reminds me of the TNT snapshots of the actors defining what's drama. I think, in everything, there's always drama. But if it means dramatic or tension, well it shouldn't be overdone. Instead a healthy balance is what I like to see in a story.
Of course. Humour is essential to any story; it lends a certain flavour to the story. But again, not too much, though.
Very interesting to see how the different authors take the story and put their spin on it and yet make the whole story come together.
While I read some Nfic, I'm not really a fan. There are some tasteful LnC Nfics that had been written, though.
No, I don't think everything has been done. As long as people have imagination, we can never run out of stories. Yes, maybe, the topic has been dealt with before. However, each writer deals with the various topics in different ways. Just for example, how many fanfic have been written on TOGOM? Numerous and no two stories are identical...each one unique in the way the topic is being approached.
For me, it's got to have the following ingredients humour, action/adventure, character development, great dialogue, good plot. But most of all, it's got to strike a chord in me...so no real formula. I mean I've read a few stories with all of the above ingredients but I just didn't like them.
All of my stories are on Zoomway's message boards or on the Archive. :)
Used to read this section quite a bit and enjoyed the interviews of my favourite authors. So, I'm honoured to be asked to do this interview even though I'm very new here. I'd like to thank the team for their invitation.