Interview with Narida Law
by Nicola Simpson

Part Two

Okay, let's go on to another horse in your stable: "Worth Breaking." How did you go about planning such a long story? Can you talk about your plotting process and building character arcs? Or did you even stop to consider that stuff before you started?

Oh, that puppy had an outline, all right. I'm normally not a huge fan of outlines, not because I don't think they have merit, but because the way my brain approaches writing is pretty unstructured. Many elements in my stories, even plot points, result simply from the course of writing; they're unpremeditated. And then those events affect other events or emotions later on in the story, which can and often does change the rest of the story.

That's why, even if I have a very rough outline in my head, I normally can't even write one chapter before another. But style I chose for "Worth Breaking" -- with time jumping back and forth, I had a little more leeway in following my rough outline. I was able to write bits of things that happened ahead of time, or skip a chapter when I was stuck. But that also made it trickier, because I had to make sure that in the end, the details not only fit, but that they were introduced in a way that made sense. The story had to progress in a natural manner, without giving away details that had already happened, but which the audience didn't necessarily know about yet.

Before the whole thing even came together, I had written small parts here and there, and wasn't sure how I would fit them all together. That was process that was the most time consuming -- trying to make their relationship progress. I had to figure out how I was going to do that, and how I could make these pieces that I'd already written work to my advantage.

Don't get me wrong; most of it was written =after= I figured that out -- the end result would have been a choppy mess if it had been otherwise. As with any story, there were chunks that I ended up not using, for the reason that once I wrote more, emotions and other details changed, and they didn't fit the way they were supposed to anymore, and I had to cut them out.

As for building the characters, there's no process I go through. I write what feels right, in the context of the premise that I've set. As with my acceptance of fanfic in general, and as I see fanfic as a completely different animal than the show, I think I'm a lot more lenient about characterization when I'm reading or writing. In fact, I know that to be true. As I've already shared, when I first encountered fanfic, I ran away screaming. That's because =none= of it read "real" to me -- and it wasn't just that I had encountered badfic. I started out reading some very respected stories out there, by some very respected writers -- but not knowing that at the time. They didn't become "good" to me until I had developed my "fanfic character" sense.

There's Canon!Mulder and Fanfic!Mulder and Canon!Scully and Fanfic!Scully -- and this dual "personality" exists for all the characters, imho. But in my opinion, Canon!Character can only exist on the show. Fanfic can come very close, but in the strictest sense, it's impossible to claim that any fanfic has true canon characterization, which changes constantly -- perhaps not in colorful, overt ways, but subtly, with every new episode.

I'm a canon purist in that I try to internalize the characters the way they're portrayed on the show -- I don't take my notions of what I think the characters should be like and make canon fit into them, which it seems a lot of people do. There are lots of examples, but most recently, people were up in arms by the idea that Scully could have been so "immoral" or "weak" as to have had a relationship with an older, married man at one point in her life.

Instead of railing about how this is "not in character," which is futile because once an episode airs, it =is= "in character," whether we like it or not. We participate in a world that is created by other people, who may not -- and most likely don't -- have the same agenda that we do. That's the price we pay, and we enter into it willingly.

Fanfic is a fun, entertaining way to play with the characters a bit, and allows us to put them into situations we'd never see them in on the show. Some of my favorite stories fall into this category. I don't feel that fan fiction needs to try to conform to strict show standards all the time, because I think it's perfectly allowable to use this medium to just let off a little steam, stretch out a few creative muscles.

Not to mention, it's impossible to make fanfic feel like "canon" for EVERYone, owing to the fact that interpretation of canon changes from individual to individual. Of course, this is NOT to say that people should deliberately try to NOT write like the show. The last thing I want to do is take credit away from those who DO try to be faithful to their ideas of canon, which is something I admire and respect, and enjoy reading. I simply don't think that fanfic HAS to do that in order to be good, is all.

As a writer, I try my very best to keep the characters familiar. I definitely want my audience to think that they really are reading about Mulder and Scully, not just fictional incarnations of them that possess their names and general looks. But I can accept that my characterization may be spot-on for some, and not so to others. It's all part of the fanfic extravaganza! <g>

It depends on the kind of story I'm writing, actually. When it's something that's light and humorous, Mulder is my man. I tend to inject humor into everything, if unchecked. <g>

My favorite XF episodes are the humorous ones ... I =loved= season six; I think it's got to be my favorite season. This makes me an oddity, I know. That's okay. I also like the hedgehog hair.

When it comes to "serious" fic, Scully is a lot easier to write. That's not to say that she doesn't have a sense of humor, because obviously she does, but in a narrative sense, she's a lot less likely to be a smartass.

I've found that Fanfic!Scully tends to go to extremes. Either she's a total rigid bitch that I wouldn't want to walk on the same side of the street with, or she's a simpering doormat. Neither, imho, are fair representations of Canon!Scully. Fanfic!Scully also seems far more tortured over Emily than Canon!Scully is.

Obviously, all this angst makes stories more interesting, but isn't necessarily true. I think the way that Canon!Scully behaved in response to the events of Christmas Carol/Emily was appropriate for a woman faced with those circumstances. But -- perhaps in deference to the fact that it's network television -- it's apparent that she's not angsting about it every moment of every day.

There's nothing wrong with taking what canon gives us and working with it to round out the characters and explore their emotions further -- that's what fanfic is for, after all. But the fact remains that in canon, Scully doesn't break down every time she's confronted with something like baby graves. Like it or hate it, an episode like "Terms of Endearment" is part of canon. Maybe we think this is too cold-blooded of Scully, so to rationalize it to ourselves, we write fanfic that "explains" why she wasn't openly torn apart. That's wonderful, but it doesn't change canon.

Mulder, too, tends to be a lot more tortured in fic and a lot more ... aware. For instance, I highly doubt that Canon!Mulder has ever consciously thought about the fact that he "ditches" Scully. Fanfic!Mulder is so into self-castigation that that's just one of the many things he beats himself up about. Not that I'm opposed to reading or even writing this kind of Mulder -- but I do think that it's a fanfic manifestation and not strictly canon. I think Canon!Mulder =is= tortured, but I don't know that he harbors the intense kind of guilt over Scully that it now seems to be a given he does.

It's not laziness, exactly. Especially not for the writers who aren't looking to reproduce canon. It's not exactly a creative process to take characters that someone else created and spin stories around them. The hardest part about writing original stories is in building characters, making them real, getting the audience to care about them. That part's already done in fanfic -- at least, for the primary heroes.

Sticking strictly to canon is both easy and hard. It's easy because there's a template to follow; there are lots and lots of examples. You're hardly flying blind. Then again, mimicking another's work isn't an easy task — we all have our own individual writing styles, and conforming to one that isn't yours is hard. Not to mention that it's not straight reproduction; there is still a ton of creativity involved.

Fanfic is a creative outlet, and most of us write differently from the writers on the show -- that doesn't make us lazy if we don't write exactly like them in our fanfic. For many of us, that isn't the point. The point is going where the show CAN'T or won't go. We have a lot more freedom; we can write things -- like blatant romance -- that the show cannot or will not. We also have the freedom of knowing that we can write something just for fun and it won't affect canon characterization in any way. And because we don't have guidance in this area, no example to follow, we have to use our creative juices and our knowledge of the characters to give satisfactory answers to hypothetical questions.

Writing in prose is also different from writing a script for the show. We can get into a character's head the way canon would find hard-pressed to do. This also has its own inherent difficulties -- it's a lot harder to be ambiguous, which is an XF trademark.

All fan fiction is borne of someone's creative spirit, whether they're trying to write canon or not. It's not the same =kind= of creativity as writing original stories, but I think we all know that. The fact that fans of the show choose to pursue their interest and enthusiasm in this particular way, unlike many of the NON-creative routes they could go, says a lot.

Well, I've sort of already said my piece on this issue. I don't think it's ever been possible. Canon!Scully and Canon!Mulder are found strictly on the show. But canon-like characters? It's hard to say, because as stated previously, everyone's take on the characters is different. What may be canon-like for one person is not so for another. But I think the answer has to be yes, I think it's possible for people to find characterization that they see as being canon-like.

Mulder and Scully have surprised us so much over the years that I think the definition of what is considered "canon-like" is broadening. Who's to say Scully wouldn't say this or do that? So we accept those things, and they become canon-like in our minds.

Well, being that I don't have the benefit of being a pioneer in this community, my speculations have no root in history or tradition; it's all just wild guessing. <g> I don't even know for sure that part of what I consider fanfic convention isn't in fact rooted in canon.

Scully being called the "ice queen," for example, stems from her perceived cold and reserved nature, rather than from canon. It's interesting that her character has developed in this way, because in S1, this cool, authoritative behavior was not so blatant, and one could make a good argument that her experience with the X-Files caused her personality to undergo this change. In S1, we see her trying to be professional and mature, but her inexperience is pretty obvious. We see her fire in "Beyond the Sea" as well as in "Ice"; we see her half-smiles at her partner's lame jokes and cuckoo tendencies. S1 Scully is far from being an "ice queen," and given that she's has never been referred to as such on the show, it seems that it's a fanfic nickname based on her more recent "iron woman" demeanor.

Another fanfic convention is that Scully hides her mole with makeup. That's a writer's prerogative, of course, but canon-wise, Scully doesn't HAVE a mole. It was a decision -- rightly or wrongly -- made by Chris Carter about the Scully character. Gillian Anderson has a mole that she covers with makeup; Scully does not (no matter how poorly a makeup artist might have concealed it in a particular episode <g>). Like with many other things, fanfic can contend that Scully has a mole that she conceals, and it creates another interesting twist to her character. But this is something I accept as part of the context of the particular story I read; not as part of canon.

As for Chinese takeout, certain kinds of shampoo, perfume, bath oils, Armani suits, etc., those details, I suspect, are cultivated in a writer's imagination or in his/her own personal experiences. In fanfic, we often venture into places the show doesn't and can't go -- due to time and dramatic constrictions. We can't gloss over "lull" times as easily. We have both the luxury and the curse to fill in the blanks. When Mulder and Scully aren't actively investigating a case, what do they do? What happens when they're on a case and they retire for the night? They have to eat at some point; how/where does this happen? Mulder's suits seem much too perfectly tailored ... where does he buy his suits? If they are designer suits, how can he afford them? When/how does he get them cleaned? If we are to see the characters as "real" people that we can empathize with and relate to, we have to think that they go through the same mundane tasks, the same odds and ends that we each have to face everyday.

Another fanfic convention is that Mulder is a psychologist -- which can perhaps be blamed on poor writing/planning/erroneous thinking. As he himself states in "Terms of Endearment," he is NOT a psychologist. He has an undergraduate degree in psychology; that does not make him a psychologist. Scully refers to him as an "Oxford-educated psychologist" in the pilot episode, but as we subsequently learn, she is mistaken. (Oh, the joys of "take back" in the world of XF!)

I have to admit that I haven't memorized each and every episode. <g> So it's possible that the ones I have watched less than others -- and are therefore less familiar to me -- hold the key to demystifying these fanfic conventions. Maybe someone else can point me in the right direction. Where does the convention that Scully is a better shot than Mulder come from, for instance? Or that Maggie Scully adores Mulder? Or that Mulder is Jewish? Or that Bill Mulder was abusive? Or that Teena Mulder was a horrible, cold mother? While it's obvious that the Mulder family is hardly conventional and isn't very close, Canon!Mulder has never seemed hesitant about approaching either one of his parents, and they touch freely. Just like all families, the Mulder family has layers. It's a lot harder to write those layers than it is to pigeonhole those relationships into purely "evil" or purely "ideal."

There are also traits that we accept as part of the characters' personalities, despite only witnessing them a few times or less. Because The X-Files is a dramatic television series in which plot is driven by the cases the two heroes investigate and not on the heroes themselves (though over the years, that line has become rather faded), focus cannot be made on the characters' personality traits. We only get glimpses. So even though Mulder's penchant for porn is in actuality only referred to a few times in over more than 120 episodes, it's a personality "given." We see Scully drawing a bath a few times, and we assume that this is her preferred way to bathe. We see Mulder's fish tank empty a few times and we figure that he can't keep them swimming to save his life, and as far as I know, neither of the canon characters have ever remarked on it -- yet Fanfic!Mulder and Fanfic!Scully quite often discuss it freely.

It's all part of the fun of "getting to know" Mulder and Scully and the different manifestations they each can take. Every writer explores different possibilities, and some possibilities have so captured people's imaginations that they become accepted as part of the character's fanfic persona.

I have long been a huge fan of post-colonization stories. I don't know why I like them so much -- perhaps it's the idea of a stark future with nothing for Mulder and Scully to hold onto but each other, with no such reasons as professional protocol for holding back their feelings for one another. <g> In any case, as with any genre that one admires, one wishes to make oneself "worthy" of it. In other words, I wanted to write a post-colonization story, but I didn't want to do it until I was ready.

This was kind of shot to hell when Brandon, Trixie, and I started an "improv" dare. They had already written theirs, so I couldn't back out without feeling terrible about it. Brandon listed it as one of my improv elements -- that all or part of my story had to be set post-colonization. I have to admit that I was kind of upset and wanted to protest, since I had made that vow to myself and didn't feel anywhere near ready to write in that genre. But they hadn't protested any of their elements (and I was much crueler than they), so I knew I had to just suck it up.

The tone is different out of necessity. I've already mentioned that I always inject humor into my stories -- most are lighthearted. However, I've never seen the post-colonization genre as one that is conducive to lightness or fun. I like it =because= of the unique kind of angst that it allows for, and something light and funny just doesn't seem right. In my mind, post-colonization Earth is a bleak and desolate place, with only the most important things in life are worth sustaining. Mulder and Scully, who are heroes in any sense, will naturally become even MORE righteous, courageous, and noble, in the face of that. Everything is heightened, including emotion.

I do think it requires a different creative process when writing post-col; you have to be willing to write human beings at their most broken; you have to be willing to approach despair for your characters -- I personally am not sure how it could be any other way, if aliens have indeed taken over the planet (and we've seen that they're not exactly benevolent beings). That doesn't mean that the story has to be mired there indefinitely, because one of the most appealing things about post-col stories is the immense capacity that it has for love, hope, joy, vindication ... all those feelings are magnified. Of course, this is under the assumption that the post-col we're speaking of is an angsty fic (I've never seen post-col be anything but, unless it was satire). Earth's not going to be a fun, happy place; I think that much can be assumed. Beyond that, it is completely dependent on the writer to lead the reader into a post-Project world -- what will that entail? What will the world be like? We really have no idea. It's the ultimate challenge of imagination.

There wasn't conscious preparation on my part when I was writing "Absence," but I could tell, after coming out of a writing jag, that I needed to shake myself out of a kind of funk. It was pretty draining. I never tried to work on it unless I knew I had a significant chunk of time. With some stories, it's easy to go back and forth (not ideal, but possible) between the story and whatever else I'm doing on the side. With this one, jumping in and out like that would have been really frustrating and unproductive. It was hard to get back to that bleakness once I left, so I avoided doing that as much as possible.

In creating the universe, I had to let my improv elements guide me — that was the point, after all. They all had to fit in some way, and I was determined not to "cheat" on a single one. I can't tell you how it is that I decided how they would come together. Three or four elements ran amok in my mind until they congealed and the basic premise I wanted to pursue was set, and the other two, I actively worked in after that.

Writing "The Absence of Memory" was infinitely difficult and rewarding. I went into zombie-like states in order to write it; meaning that I reread it not too long ago and can't remember where half of it came from. I had to be more miserly with words, sparser ... tried to add to the bleakness of the world I was trying to create. Every sentence, I think, was carefully crafted; because of the subject matter, overdoing it would ruin it. So what few words I allowed myself had to convey a wealth of things about the characters, their situation, and their world.

Let's get into "Closet Doors" a little. That story was the opposite of the old writer's axiom, "show, don't tell." How did you go about doing that?

I think people tend to be a little more forgiving when it's obviously something that =has= to be told as opposed to shown -- you are, after all, seeing events unfold between two people through a third person's eyes. A story is being told to you by this "outsider" -- not by omniscient narration or by one of the two people involved. That being said, what you're told holds a lot more value when you "know" the person telling the story. Like when your friend Jane announces, "I'm going to be fired," you know to smile and roll your eyes because Jane is prone to exaggeration, as opposed to if your quiet and earnest friend Richard says those same words, you know to be concerned. Of course, in person, we also have the inflection of a person's voice to clue us in as to what they're "really" saying.

Lacking that in the written word, familiarity with the narrator is the only flag we've got. I tried to make the narrator in "Closet Doors" as "real" as possible by having us witness his interactions with other characters, having him share some of his own history, creating situations in which the way he reacts provides insight as to what kind of a person he is, letting him ramble on a bit as he lets whatever is in his mind be known. It became such that though on a superficial level he was a jerk, chauvinistic, and clearly without a clue if he thought that Scully would actually be interested in him when she had Mulder, by the end, I actually thought he was kind of sweet. I had many people kind enough to write tell me, with some bewilderment, that although they wanted to hate the narrator, he ended up endearing them instead. I hope it's because he made them laugh. :-)

But I think that perhaps it's only once you "like" him that you can enjoy and appreciate what goes on between M & S. It's all about trustworthiness -- we can better trust the details he's sharing and his interpretation of the events when we know who he is and hopefully see that he's not really such a bad person.

How did you create the narrative from the voyeur's POV and still keep Mulder and Scully true? It's extremely tricky to get across characters' *character* when you're not writing in their POV. Do you think it was easier with "Closet Doors" because you knew that your audience already *knew* Mulder and Scully's characters?

The answer to that would be: yup, it definitely made it easier. It's part of the beauty and ease of fan fiction -- you have ready-made characters that you can use and abuse without impunity (so far!). I wouldn't have tried something like "Closet Doors" as an original story unless I were prepared to make it a lot longer, with more flashbacks that would have allowed us to "get to know" the characters who get spied on (still through this narrator's eyes, of course). As the story stands, the flashbacks that occur are more for us to become familiar with the narrator and to provide an idea as to where M & S are in regard to their romantic relationship, than it is for us to get to know Mulder and Scully. Their dominant character traits are primarily supplied by the reader's familiarity of their characters. This is actually =necessary=, to a certain extent, in almost all stories.

Frankly, I think it would have been boring to have the narrator "tell" us the things about Mulder and Scully that we already know. I've read many stories that attempt to summarize everything that has happened to the characters up until the point where the story begins. I get impatient and often just stop reading. I =know= Mulder has a sister named Samantha who was abducted at age 8 and that he went to Oxford University. I =know= Scully's father was in the Navy and that she gave up a career in medicine to pursue law enforcement. I want to be told something new ... something that will change how I see the characters, or add to how I see them, without having to rehash all the things that I already know, without further insight.

The fact that a fanfic writer's audience is familiar with all the major players is something writers should take advantage of. Unless it's part of deliberate crafting, it's unnecessary and tedious to "introduce" the characters to the audience. One of the many elements exclusive to the fan fiction genre. Take that gem and run with it.

In some ways, I think it's =easier= to keep the characters "in character" through third POV, and familiarity with the characters has a lot to do with that. I think it can be lot harder to get into an established character's head and go through an entire story trying not to deviate, knowing that every word is part of the characterization, than it is to write that character through the eyes of a third party, whose description doesn't have to be prolonged, and more importantly, can be open to interpretation. That interpretation is often filled by our preconceived notions of why a character might say or do a particular something, keeping them "in character" without the writer having to break a sweat.

Go to Part Three to read Narida's advice about creating muscular prose, marketing, beta reading and making your voice heard in fanfic.