The AD's Office Interview: torch

Interviews by Fans
Title:	The AD's Office Interview: torch
Interviewer:
Interviewee:	torch (danakate)
Date(s):	June 13, 1998
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	X-Files
External Links:	part one, Archived version part two, Archived version
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The AD's Office Interview: torch is a chat.

It is part of a series. See The AD's Office Interviews.

Some Excerpts

I don't actually plan much... plot.. whatever. I usually have a pretty clear idea of the general mood of the story, and roughly where I want the characters to end up emotionally and in relation to each other... I get an idea and my mind runs with it. The whole "what if..." thing. Sure I occasionally get ideas from things other peopel say (or ask for <g>) but it's the exception, not the rule... I don't do chapter outlines. I do little scribbles on the backs of envelopes sometimes. And when I'm about halfway through, or two thirds through, a longer story I do a little outline of the rest of it to make sure I don't leave anything important out, but I usually do anyway. <g>

My Skinner issues. Oh god, we're getting serious here, aren't we... * _danakate looks nervous_ * Okay, I had something of a problem with Skinner.... that's the problem. <g> I found it difficult to get a grip on him which is why I haven't written him much. Never could figure out whether he had a sense of humor, and... well... I did figure out after a while that it's not so much canon Skinner I dislike as fanfic and slash Skinner--some of the slash Skinners. I personally dislike Big Strong and Butch-- it makes me aggressive. <g> I don't see the attraction. By now I'm figuring out (bright girl) that I'm allowed to write him my own way and make him more complex.... Yes, less defined characters can be a blessing, just look at Krycek. With Skinner it was just that a lot of early slash set him so definitely as the Big Dom Guy that I forgot it wasn't canon. <g>

"Midwinter"... All I started out with was "Mulder on the streets, future, meets Krycek instead of Skinner, a little darker." ... But no, I don't write myself into depressions. When I was done with the story I didn't feel it was that depressing and I was surprised at the reactions--because I'd been in there and it had felt so logical at the time, I wasn't even thinking about it being maybe a little sad.

And the truth is that I can't write about anyone without liking them, including the bad guys, so... I wasn't expecting to fall quite so badly in love with Alex though.

I'm definitely a generation latex girl. I worked aids concerns into the first m/m smut story I wrote, when I was twelve. And with slash set in a contemporary world, it's hard to ignore-- But I don't feel that people have to write safe sex slash if they don't want to- -I know there are lots of arguments about that. I like to be able to write the occasional story where I don't have to fiddle with condoms... (I am still sneakily pleased with myself for getting around that in Lovers) It was easier writing in Voyager, really. No worries about disease etc.... In RL I most definitely feel that people should practice safe sex. In fiction, I personally feel that contemporary slash should touch on the issues if it's aiming to be somewhat realistic. But I don't think anyone *has* to work with these issues, feel obliged to. Fiction is one of the few places where you *don't* have to think about latex-- ... reading a supposedly realistic story w/o safe sex does make me react, usually, yes. I suppose I draw a line between humor/fantasy type stories and more seriously 'grounded' stories.

Most of the time I tend to think of my characters as bisexual, unless they disagree really loudly. I tend to see the whole world as bisexual until told otherwise... I dislike labels, so I usually don't have them or anyone else say "I'm bisexual!!!" but my working assumption is usually that they are--with Mulder we have canon girlfriends etc, and with Krycek it's just so hard to imagine him any other way. Wait, wait... Better? I don't really think of anything as being better. But from a slash writing point of view, ti's easier to have the characters be bi than to have to let them go through this great big OH GOD I THOUGHT I WAS STRAIGHT thing in every story.... Of course writing a world where everyone is bisexual may cause its own problems if you're trying to be realistic. <g>

I'm really bad at remembering what I've written, exactly--I go back and reread and find whole paragraphs that I don't have any memory of at all.

I get some feedback that amazes and delights me. :-) Fortunately most people don't write detailed LOC's, I'd be too embarrassed and confused--sometimes I get feedback that's so much more intelligent than the stories themselves! I've met some wonderful people through LOCs, who have very patiently taught me a lot of things... I get people saying "I love how you did this" and I say "That wasn't me, it was my subconscious."