Michelle Kiefer
is our feature author this month! Michelle is a 2000 and
2001 Spooky Award Winner. You can find all her XF fanfic
on her web page: Michelle
Kiefer's X-Files Fanfic.
When did you start writing XF fanfic?
How did you start?
I posted my first story on Oct 20, 1999. I had been a lurker
for years, reading
tons of fanfic. I knew nothing--not who was who or that
there was a tremendous
variation in quality and approach to the characters or even that
a reader could
or should write feedback. Gradually, I got the "lay
of the land" and developed
a taste for a certain kind of writing style. And I found
out that readers could
communicate with the authors of these wonderful stories.
I wasn't clued in yet
to the online world, so these emails were my only link to like-minded
people.
Some authors were kind enough to chat back and forth and two of
them,
Katvictory and Kestabrook, recognized that I wrote a good letter
and encouraged
me to try my hand at either essays or fanfic. So, with their
encouragement and
a lot of Kestabrook's technical help, I started writing.
I've tried to be a good guide
and encourager myself to newer writers.
Have you written fanfic for other fandoms?
I haven't formally written for any other fandoms. When I
was a kid, I used to
think up stories about the shows I watched, sometimes running
long epic story
ideas in my head, but I never wrote them down. I read fanfic
for a few fandoms,
but haven't felt the urge to write for them.
What else do you write?
I do a lot of technical writing for work, but beyond that, nothing.
In the years
between college and fanfic, the most I'd written were notes to
my kid's teachers.
I think that one day, I'll bridge off to writing short non-fanfic
related stories, but I
have no idea if I'd ever try to submit them for anything. I'd
just like to see if I could
do it.
What kind of process do you undertake when
you write? Do you write a
whole story in one sitting? Do you make story outlines or
let it flow?
When I get an idea in my head, I outline the story briefly. I
usually plan the whole thing out--
characters, possible scenes, dates, plot points, evidence--before
I even write the first line. I'm
a bit of a control freak, so starting something and not knowing
how it will end is not something
I'd ever do. I rarely write a story in one sitting--since I know
where I'm going with it and exactly
what I want to accomplish, I can take my time and build and polish.
I've written a couple of
stories within a day and a half period, and was pleased with both
of them, but they were
exceptions. Usually, I'll take weeks on a short story and months
on a long one. Casefiles can take
a long time, because I do a lot of research. Getting the plot
to fall together and make sense,
making sure that I'm not making huge mistakes in police procedure
or medical information--they
can take time. Time is always an issue, with family obligations
and work pressure, but since I
break it into smaller pieces, I usually can find time even if
it is just an hour here and there. When
I'm working on something, I try to write every single day--even
if it is just a paragraph or a single
line.
You have written a lot of post-ep stories
lately. What has inspired you to revisit these
episodes?
I hadn't written many post eps from season 8, until Mulder returned.
I had joined a post ep
challenge group, After
The Fact, mostly planning on reading the other writer's stories
and
found myself caught up for a while in the "glory" days
and wrote four post eps in as many
weeks. I've slowed back down, but you never know. I so enjoyed
looking at M and S before
they became so damaged and then through periods like the cancer
arc. The early episodes
have a charm--M and S are practically babies in them.
And of course, with all the news regarding
the XF lately...How will it end?
or how do *you* think it will end?
I feel much more comfortable knowing that David Duchovny is going
to have a hand in the
finale. I have confidence in his view of Mulder and Scully. He
sees the romance and attraction
between these two and knows the deep bond. I'm hoping that M and
S will be left in relative
peace at the end. I'm hoping that my favorite characters will
survive the last few minutes.
Other than that--I have no idea what will transpire. I'd love
to have one last look at Mulder
and Scully, perhaps doing nothing more than sitting and talking,
heads together, a laugh here
and there. That would please me..
Is
there's anything else you'd like to tell readers out there? Upcoming
stories to look out for?
I've been in a slump lately. I just haven't felt the urge to write,
though I've been reading a ton
of fanfic and probably beta two to three stories a week for other
writers. So my hand is in.
But--I do have something on the horizon! I'm going to be collaborating
for the first time in my
fanfic career. TCS1121,
a great friend and amazing writer, and I will be working on something
together. I won't reveal too much, but it will be heavily relationship
based and, of course, pretty
emotional.
