Old School X Interview: MaybeAmanda
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Old School X Interview: MaybeAmanda |
| Interviewer: | Lilydale |
| Interviewee: | MaybeAmanda |
| Date(s): | August 4, 2020 |
| 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: MaybeAmanda was conducted by Lilydale as part of the series Old School X Interview Series.
Some Topics Discussed
- reactions from mundanes about her fiction writing
- the origins of her pen name
- finding navigation on LiveJournal and later platforms confusing and scattered
From the Interview
What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?
It was great. It was fun. It was educational. It was a godsend. Even with the occasional bouts of back-stabbing and flame-throwing, it was mainly a welcoming, inclusive place to be. I made so many online friends who have turned into meat-friends (do they still call them that? Probably not). During the first run of the show I had small children and we had relocated for my husband’s job. I had very little social life, but the fandom gave me a chance to meet and connect with people who liked what I liked. Then I discovered online fanfic, and it was even better!
[...]
What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?
I found XF fanfic - somehow - probably by accident, or by way of a recommendation - and it blew my mind. I had written fanfic (of a sort) with my friends in highschool, so I was familiar with the beast, but to find what amounted to excellent story after excellent story for free within (relatively) easy reach (because dial-up, right?) written by people who, for the most part, were thrilled you read their story and were happy to talk to you about it, about writing in general, about your shared obsession - that was amazing. As I am sitting here typing this I am feeling that thrill again - discovering Karen Rasch, Madeliene Partous, Paula Graves, Sheryl Martin and all the other early BNFs was, well, the only word is exciting. I felt like I was a member of a secret society and that I was sitting at the popular kids lunch table, all at once. (Don’t forget, in the early days, shippers were considered delusional outliers - seriously!)
What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?
Good? It’s not as lively a place as it once was, but I haven’t renounced my citizenship or anything. If I get a rec, I check it out. I know there are those who like to pretend they never had anything to do with the fandom, but why? I am still a proud XPhile.
Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?
Angel (a teeny tiny bit) while XF was still running, but those fans were - I don’t know the word. Hardcore does not begin to do it justice. I wrote two short pieces at a friend’s request then backed away slowly. Sherlock (a bit) - it is/was very LJ centred and that made it hard to find things. A lot of it moved to tumblr which made it harder, then to twitter, which - no. I was involved in one of the less fashionable facets of the Sherlock fandom, so I was really a fringe-dweller there, too. It seemed clique-ier than XF, and they all seemed so young, and they all knew EVERYTHING about everything, and every damned thing was political, and, and, and… GET OFF MY LAWN!
But maybe I am remembering the XF fandom wrong. ;)
[...]
What’s the story behind your pen name?
Okay so…many years ago I was on a (smallish) fic list with a friend. There was a challenge posted - a bad fic challenge. We knew we could write some truly bad fic if we really tried. One of the rules of the challenge was to post under an assumed name so no one would know who they were voting for. Well, my friend and I wrote something truly, painfully horrid and we were very proud of its ghastliness, so were brainstorming possible pseudonyms. She hated everything but had no real suggestions of her own. I knew that she was a bit of a Trekkie (like me) and I said - What about Amanda Greyson and Joanna McCoy? And she said - What?? Huh?? Why?? And I said - Spock’s mother and McCoy’s daughter and she replied, “Maybe Amanda is Spock’s mother but on Star Trek there is not a Joanna.” By this point, I was SO DONE, and I became MaybeAmanda and she became NotJoanna. Really.