Old School X Interview: Circe Invidiosa
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Old School X Interview: Circe Invidiosa |
| Interviewer: | Lilydale |
| Interviewee: | Circe Invidiosa (Invidiosa) |
| Date(s): | January 05, 2021 |
| Medium: | online, Tumblr |
| Fandom(s): | The X-Files |
| External Links: | at lilydalexf; archive link |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Old School X Interview: Circe Invidiosa was conducted by Lilydale as part of the series Old School X Interview Series.
Some Topics Discussed
- "No one else really knows other than fandom folks I’ve met in real life. And some friends know I’ve written 'short stories’ but I don’t elaborate. I work in a stodgy, uptight industry where anything fun or actually having a life is frowned upon."
- how their fanart helped later with proficiency with paid work
- the fic rec site How Will It End?
- Veronica Mars
From the Interview
What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience?
I miss the collective excitement and discussions we had as groups. When you got in with a group in the XF fandom, you felt like you knew everybody there. Now the fandom feels a little faceless except for the people I still follow from my old groups.
Social media didn’t really exist during the show’s original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?
Most of my experience was on Yahoo Groups. I joined Scullyfic while it was still there and then E-muse when it became an e-mail list, which I’m still a part of. I was part of several Yahoo Groups (can’t remember all of them now), where I’d post my fic, RealPlayer slideshows (remember those?!), and collages. I never really took part in discourse because I’m shy and don’t think anyone cares about my opinions (still don’t!). The e-mail address I used for those groups was purged a couple of years ago, so I’ve lost all those messages.
What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?
My take away is that fanfic made me a better writer, thanks to having some great betas, and it made me a better professional writer for it (my real-life work is writing but not fun writing) because I learned to take criticism.
I also used to make a lot of fanart, collages and dustjackets for fic mostly. My big take away from that was that I really got into graphics and I got super proficient at Photoshop, which helped my own artistic endeavours and photography. I didn’t realize how much skill I had developed until I’ve had to help someone with their graphics or photo editing.
[...]
Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?
Veronica Mars was my next fandom experience. A number of my XF friends got me hooked on VM. The VM fandom was a LOT younger compared to the XF fandom. When I joined the XF fandom, I was the kid compared to most of the other fans who were all goddesses and royalty in my eyes. But in the VM fandom, I was in my 30s and the rest of the fandom were all in their early 20s if not younger. It often showed, so I stayed out of discussions and just posted my fic once I started writing it. I took a new handle (invida) when I started writing VM fic. Just in case these kids felt like my writing sucked, I didn’t want it getting back to the XF fandom that I’d branched out and failed spectacularly.
By then fandom experiences had moved over to LiveJournal. I never really got involved in the discourse or the fandom fights. I knew what people were saying and where the schisms were, but I was all about the fanfic and the pretty pictures. Most of my LJ friends just discussed the episodes and posted their fic and that was good with me.
[...]
Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?
Scully. She was everything! Lapsed Catholic, degrees in science, skeptic, always trying to work within the rules but still not taking crap. Yeah, she was the best.
Veronica Mars was great until she wasn’t. I have a lot of issues with her beyond S2. And don’t even talk to me about S4. For me, S1 was the best, I enjoyed the movie, the books were okay, but nothing else happened after that. NOTHING.
And the first character I ever loved was Princess Leia. She was also everything to me growing up. I wanted to be her. I still do.
[...]
Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?
I used to run an XF fic recommendation site called How Will It End usually with at least one other person (I went through at least 4 partners on that project because I’m a control freak). We’d compile our recs and then I’d post them on my site. We’d also feature authors we really liked and interview them. Not unlike these interviews!
I’m terrible at giving feedback/comments. So I solved that problem by making a rec site. That way I could tell authors I loved their fics by recommending them. I didn’t have to comment, I’d just say, 'I’d like to rec your fic’. And then they’d get promotion. Win-win. Back in those days, the fandom would absolutely roast you for promoting your own fic, so to get on a rec site was a big deal. Not that I had a popular rec site or anything. But I think authors really enjoyed being asked.
All that to say I’ve liked a lot of fics. I can pull up the archives of HWIE and show you all the faves I liked. :)