Old School X Interview: Bonetree
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Old School X Interview: Bonetree |
| Interviewer: | Lilydale |
| Interviewee: | Bonetree |
| Date(s): | November 24, 2020 |
| Medium: | online, Tumblr |
| Fandom(s): | The X-Files, Sherlock |
| External Links: | at lilydalexf; archive link |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Old School X Interview: Bonetree was conducted by Lilydale as part of the series Old School X Interview Series.
Some Topics Discussed
- fandom and the lasting relationships it can offer
- Sherlock fandom and the blurring of the lines between fans and TPTB
From the Interview
What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?
I think of my spouse, first and foremost, as I’ve been with another X-Files writer for almost 20 years now, and married for four. I have two large groups of close friends — one from graduate school and one from fandom — so writing in all forms has given me a lot of friends over the years. I took away those friends and a lot of writing discipline. I tend to ritualize my writing time and XF gave me that, writing a chapter a week and using the weekends as a deadline to write toward. I also learned a lot about plotting and dialogue from writing so much in such a relatively short period of time. It was my writing for fun, mostly staying outside of the competitive world of pro writing.
[...]
What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?
I think I took away a surety that fandom is just another interest that people affiliate around. People thought it was bizarre then (and probably still do now to some extent) that people could make good friends through a television show or a movie or video game, but it’s really just another interest that people have, like sports or book clubs or whatever. I was surprised at how close I could become to people I hadn’t met, or who I only saw in person a few times. Overall, I think it’s a very positive thing in people’s lives. Fandom’s given me a lot, most of it really really good.
[...]
Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?
I don’t know if I was involved in the Sherlock fandom as much as I just followed the show closely and did write a couple of novels for that. That fandom was likewise pretty engaged (*cough*). It was strange with social media to have such access to the creators and actors (and their friends/families), and I think that gave it a very different feel online. People would trash something on Twitter and then suddenly the person who’d written or acted in the thing would just show up and start talking. It blurred the lines in an interesting — and sometimes unhealthy — way, I think, for the actors, creators, and fans. I did make some good friends from Sherlock, as well, and am glad to have been involved to have them.. I had fun writing the novels there too, but I am done with that. Nothing since then. I loved “Game of Thrones” and “Fargo” and “Stranger Things,” but I never wanted to be in the fandoms or write anything about them.