All About Spike Interview with Shadowlass
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | All About Spike Interview with Shadowlass |
| Interviewer: | |
| Interviewee: | Shadowlass |
| Date(s): | between 2002-2006 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Angel and Buffy |
| External Links: | full interview is here, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Shadowlass was interviewed for All About Spike.
Series
For other interviews in this series, see All About Spike Interview Series.
Some Excerpts
A few days after the BtVS episode "Grave" aired, I was wondering how Spike would react to his soul. I didn't want to wait months to see it, so I wrote it myself. I wasn't even planning to write it; I was just thinking about it, and Spike's reaction seemed clear to me, so I jotted it down. That was Aftermath. After I wrote it I thought, Huh. I just wrote a story. I'd begun reading fanfiction in the fall of 2001. Prior to writing Aftermath I had no real impulse to write fanfic, but I did think there was a chance I might during the summer simply to stave off BtVS withdrawal. I actually assumed I'd write from Giles's viewpoint, because I identified with his slight remove from the situation; as a reporter, I was often in a similarly distanced position.
What do you enjoy about writing fanfic? Everything except for the snobbery it encounters, which seems so pointless and self-important. The best description I've ever heard of fanfic is from Annie Sewell-Jennings, who described it as free crack for readers, because they're getting what they want gratis, and also free crack for writers, because they're doing what they want and getting feedback on it. I really enjoy writing characters I've never done before and trying their voices on, and putting them into situations and seeing how they react. Sometimes their reactions surprise me.
Finding the time, especially as I'm a very slow writer. And sometimes, with a long series, a sense of hopelessness can set in: I've been writing this for months, and it's not even half done-I'll never finish! There's also the mystery of why some pieces you love receive little notice, while others you don't think as highly of are much praised. It can leave you a bit puzzled.