I started writing fiction in my teens (early 80's). I had one "world" mapped out and stories going on at various places and times therein. Proto-romances, most of them, though it was a sci-fi background.
When I was 21-ish, I saw the entire series of Blake's 7 (on fourth-generation video tapes) and the ending to that was way traumatic. The bad guy won; everyone else was shot. Luckily for me, the boyfriend who'd showed me the whole series then took me to a small convention, where I discovered fanzines & fanfic. B7 fandom was tiny compared to Trek, but there were a number of 'zines if you knew where to look. And after a bit, it occurred to me that if they could do it, so could I. So my first fanfic was a 5-part "fix the end of the series" story. I don't think it was too awful, actually. I worked on it a *lot* and I can still remember being deliriously happy to see my name & story in *print*! My husband-to-be remarked that he hoped that someday he could make me that happy.
But anyway, he can't say that he wasn't warned; I was writing fanfic before we even met, let alone got married.
After that, though, I sort of drifted away from fandom, at least until I found an online fan group (CompuServe!). Even so, I didn't write anything else in the B7 universe. Hubby and I were enthralled by Babylon 5 -- but I didn't write for it.
I saw L&C when it premiered but didn't fall for it until late second season (revelation?? I'm there!). I already knew where to find other fans, so I was plugged in immediately, and reading every scrap of fanfic I could get hold of. It didn't take very long at all before I wrote my first L&C fic. And then my second, and my third... by the end of that summer I was co-writing a multi-part story. And y'all have been stuck with me ever since
I wrote that first fanfic because it was so *frustrating* to see L&C be perfect for each other but always mis-communicating or running off. Lois was sad, Clark was sad, and Pam was ticked off
Hence,
Getting Away From it All .
That must have been pre-ATAI. The next two were LCWS "get me through the summer" stories (there were a lot of them that summer!). Shortly thereafter was the inevitable-now-that-she-knows Lois amnesia story.
In some ways I think it's easier to write fanfic for a show that's off the air -- the writers don't come along every week or so and destroy your plots!
Those first stories do have some cringe-inducing moments for me, and there's always my internal editor telling me how I *should* have done things... but I think they're pretty decent, overall.
PJ
