1. What shall we call you?
Sheila, although my nick is usually SheilaH to distinguish me from other Sheila's.
2. How long have you been writing L&C fanfic?
I started my first L&C story within two weeks after I got on-line (February 1996) and realized that there was a place to "publish" such stories.
3. Have you ever written fic for other shows?
No, although I've written some alt-world real person fic (George and Lynn stories) under the name of echo.
4. Current stories you're working on?
I'm editing "Without a Trace," my DVD fundraiser story, to provide more setting details and more show/less tell. I'm also working on my NaNoWriMo novel, which is an original suspense/speculative fiction story with romantic elements.
5. Your first fic?
"A Shot in the Dark," posted May 1996.
6. Piece of work you're proudest of?
Usually, I like the story I'm working on most, but I've been pleasantly surprised when I've gone back to re-read some of my earlier pieces. I've also been unpleasantly surprised by what I now consider an unacceptable amount of head-hopping. I guess that means I'll probably like WoaT most when I'm done editing.
7. Piece of work you had the hardest time writing/finishing?
The non-L&C romance novel I mentioned in my showcase interview back in 1999. I began it in 1996 or 1997 and finally finished it in December 2003. Working on that and a G&L novel pretty much pre-empted my L&C fic from May 2000 until October 2005.
8. Your greatest strengths as an author?
Probably that I'm a good storyteller. I don't write beautiful prose or sparkling dialog or emotionally powerful scenes, but I write stories that seem to draw readers in, that make them want to keep reading, that are generally suspenseful and emotionally satisfying. I also seem to have a decent ear for the characters' voices and a good sense of pacing.
9. Your biggest weaknesses?
My writing weaknesses are a tendency to tell instead of show and to leave scenes less than fully developed. As a writer, I suffer from procrastination and a lack of discipline, as well as being an almost terminally slow writer. That's how I can have finished the first draft of WoaT in January 2006 and still be editing it 2 years later.
10. Preferred genre(s) to write?
Drama, I'd guess. My favorite story to write has a good A-plot (that is tightly integrated with and drives a B-plot that illuminates something in Lois & Clark's relationship. The story's got to end well and have enough WAFFs that readers aren't left feeling depressed. My personal preference is for stories that have some kind of WHAM in them, too, just to make the WAFFs sweeter in contrast.
Otherwise, my favorite genre is superfutures: anything that picks up from where the series left off. I don't particularly like to mess with canon because, for me, that's a story about an Alt-L&C, not the L&C I fell in love with. So to keep from stepping on canon, I tend to write stories that take place after the series ended. I wrote stories for each of the fan-driven seasons (TUFS, S5, S6), and my latest one basically continues the S5-S6 continuity.
11. Genre(s) you won't write?
Although I used to write nfic versions of all my stories, I don't write nfic anymore. I'm not interested in cross-overs, mostly because they spend too much time on characters I don't know and don't care about.
12. What makes a fic good for you?
Lois and Clark have to be in character; that's the deal-breaker. After that, the language is a pleasure to read; the narrative is scenic (i.e. the story is told in scenes that the reader can visualize rather than in long stretches of introspection); and humor laces either scenes or dialog. There is enough suspense of one kind or another to keep me turning pages, yet the story also has a good sense of pacing and gives the reader a break after some really intense scenes. The dialogue not only sounds natural to the ear, but also sounds like the characters did on the show and either moves the story along or illuminates character in some way. The fic also
has to end happily.
13. What ruins a fic for you?
L&C being OOC or the writer exclusively blaming one of the two for the problems with their relationship ruins a fic for me. In addition, as a college composition instructor, I have to read enough poorly written, incoherent sentences that I won't waste my precious leisure time reading them in fics. I don't like stories where the characters move from irreconcilable differences to "I love you forever, happily ever after" in just a few pages, so I'm not keen on a lot of vignettes.
14. Author you wish you could trade places with?
I like being myself, but I'd sure like to have Nan's plot creativity and prolificacy.
15. The best fic you've read recently?
I can't list a single best. I like the ones during the past year or so by Nan Smith, ML Thompson, DJ, Sue S., CC Aiken. I'm sure there are others, too, but those are the ones that come to mind immediately.
