Writers on Writing Interview with Rachel Howard
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| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Writers on Writing Interview with Rachel Howard |
| Interviewer: | uncredited |
| Interviewee: | Rachel Howard |
| Date(s): | November 22, 2001 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | X-Files |
| External Links: | interview is here; reference link |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Writers on Writing Interview with Rachel Howard was conducted in 2001.
The subject is the author's X-Files fanfic: Eclipse.
Interviews in the Series
- Writers on Writing Interview with Ascian
- Writers on Writing Interview with Elizabeth
- Writers on Writing Interview with Rachel Howard
- Writers on Writing Interview with torch
- Writers on Writing Interview with zero
Some Excerpts
Fanfic is a strange animal. As a general rule, I write because I have a story in my head. But about half of the fanfic I’ve written has been a direct result of some gaping plot hole or grating inconsistency in the show. I wrote "Point of Origin" in a fit of righteous indignation over "Gethsemane." I personally feel that for the sake of emotional consistency, 1013 should have started writing Mulder and Scully as lovers quite a while ago, maybe as long ago as "Memento Mori", so the fact that I mostly write MSR is probably a reaction to that perceived mistake. Looking back at what I’ve written, I’ve been a virtual auto body repair shop for Chris Carter and his crew. You could read "Eclipse" as another work in that genre, except that instead of just banging out some dents, in this case I replaced the chassis.
The process for "Eclipse" was slow...very slow. It took me nearly a year from start to finish. I did make an outline, but with far more detail than necessary for certain parts, and only a few words to indicate how other sections would progress. I am sloppy with outlines, and as a result, I sometimes forget to write important plot details because although they’re entirely clear in my head I forget to share them with the reader. Luckily, I have a phenomenal editor, Scott Carr, who gets me back on track when I leave things out. I wrote whenever I had time, or when I was feeling like writing. The last season of the show hasn't really fed my enthusiasm for the X-Files, which didn’t help. I used to write pretty fast...
I just posted "Eclipse" on my website. Rightly or wrongly, I figure that people who like my stories will go there to read it. I love it when people read my stories, especially when they send me feedback, but I don't worry too much about how many people they’re reaching. I meant to post "Eclipse" to atxc, but I'm too lazy to fart around with the formatting. I might get around to it eventually. Personally, I don't read stuff off the newsgroups any longer...I either read stories on my favorite author's sites, or rec sites, or stories other people tell me are good. I just don't have the time or inclination any longer to wade through all the stories to find the good ones. Plus, a lot of my favorite authors have drifted away to other fandoms or other pursuits in the last few years.