Dear Readers,

Welcome to the Lois & Clark The New Adventure of Superman Writer's Showcase. At the bottom of this web site you will findlinks to past featured writers. Just click on the any writer's name you might have missed or want to read again and you will be taken to their interview.

Now, in keeping with Annie's famous words, without further ado I am proud and honored to present this week's Writer in the Writer's Showcase ...

Annette, Labrat, Kaethel, Avia

Personal Information

Author name
Judith Williams aka Jude

E-mail addresses
judithwilliams@hotmail.com

Residence
Clyde Hill, Washington, which is east of Seattle across Lake Washington.

List, AOL, or web affiliations
LoisCla Listery, Zoom's Boards, LCN Fanfic and I may have signed up for others that I've forgotten about.

Lois and Clark or Superman Status

How long have you been watching L&C?
I watched the second half of the pilot but thought the actors seemed uncomfortable with their characters so I didn't really make it a priority in S1. That particular year we had a lovely fall and on Sundays my husband and I were usually out motorcycling, trucking or hiking until dark, which is well after 800 p.m. in this part of the country. I caught the last three episodes of S1 and was intrigued. I planned to watch the following September, but more great weather made my viewing sporadic. The episode that really hooked me was "The Phoenix". Watching became a priority and then an obsession. I was most unhappy when ABC cancelled the show, although I had been expecting it since the ratings went south starting with `Forget Me Not'. But when TNT started re-runs, I got to see about 1-½ seasons worth of episodes I'd never seen. I now have all the episodes on tape, plus some compilations I've made of my favorite scenes, and whenever I'm feeling low, I get out the L&C tapes. I would still be watching the episodes on TNT except that we have satellite and it comes on at 500 a.m.

How long have you been a fan of Superman?
I've never really been a fan of Superman. He's always been just a character in the comics to me. When the strip first appeared in newspapers back in the thirties, I could not yet read, and a `Dutch Uncle' read the `funny papers' to me every Sunday. I don't think I read the strip regularly after I was about 4 and reading on my own. I preferred comics that made me laugh.

How long have you been writing?
I've always written stories in my head for as long as I can remember, and I loved to act them out. I never played `house' or with baby dolls like most little girls. Adventure was more my style. For a while, I went through a phase of fashioning clay figures and using them to act out stories that were always romantic and greatly influenced by movies and events of WWII. The first thing I actually put on paper was for a junior high assignment, but instead of writing a lot of fiction after that, I was busy with expository things-speeches, term papers, student government constitution, and a lot of RL activities. In college I took a class in creative writing that convinced me that I was no good at fiction. I remained an English major but I went in for news writing and ended up editing the college paper. For the last 45 years I've written news releases, polemics, speeches, comparative analyses, policies descriptions, position papers, explanatory letters, etc...but no fiction. My artistic outlet has been writing poetry. If I'm in any way successful at writing fiction, it's probably due to having spent a lifetime since that creative writing class reading and analyzing good fiction.

How long have you been writing L&C fanfic?
I started writing `The Circle Game' in October 1999.

What types of Fanfic have you written?
I've written mostly humor and drama. The first thing I posted was a `for fun' comic strip crossover called, `That Peanuts Gang of Mine'. Then I posted a humorous revelation fic called `Revelation, Anyone A Smashing Discovery. I've done a second short humorous piece called `Married, With Children" about L&C with young children; a poem, `If I Had Told You' and a long serious drama, `The Circle Game'.

Most recent story posted? Where?
`Married, With Children" is posted on Zoom's Boards and in the Fanfic Archive.

Favorite story you have written? Why?
Blushing, I have to say that I like everything I've written so far, but for different reasons `That Peanuts Gang of Mine' because Charles Schultz had just died and it was kind of a tribute to him; `Revelation, Anyone' because it works on several levels; `The Circle Game' because it's long and serious and I wasn't sure I could successfully create something like that; `Married, With Children' because it makes me laugh and reminds me of when my own children were little; and `If I Had Told You' because I think it's the best poem, technically and emotionally, that I've written to date.

Current project/projects?
Currently, I'm working on (or more accurately, fearfully avoiding) a sequel to `The Circle Game' called `Secrets'.

Personal picks of other Fanfics you have read?
Because I have a vision problem and have to print everything to be able to read it with a magnifying glass, which makes rather slow going, I don't read a lot. I would be hard put to name specific stories, but anything that has the name Sheila Harper attached to it would be my top choice. The first Fanfic I ever read was by Zoomway from an old board of her work that I just stumbled across. I spent hours one Saturday night printing and for weeks afterward immersed myself in her delightful stories. I love most of the work done by the TUFS, S5 and S6 writers and always read anything from them when it shows up. There are many recent good writers, but I'll only mention two Nan Smith who always has something intriguing and Judith Tylke, an inventive writer who seems to have gone away, but who I wish would return.

General Interview Questions

What attracted you to writing Fanfic and what about it do you enjoy?
Reading all the different kinds of stories inspired me to give it a try. I wanted to find out how I would stack up and I just wanted to help keep the L&C saga alive.

I like to explore what L&C's relationship might have become as they had children, and lived together through the years. I'm also interested in righting some plot wrongs that I really didn't like in the series.

Every now and them I go to the hardware store, picking up one of the many gadgets found there, turning it upside down around or sideways trying to figure out some use for it other than the one that was intended. In the same way, I like to turn L&C sideways or upside down or slightly askew, uncovering different facets of their lives or personalities, shining a light on them that caroms off in a new direction. I try to do this; I don't always succeed...but then who does?

My writing seems to be very visual because I visualize the story before I write it. I will sometimes deliberately not show thoughts because I want the reader to think and make choices about what has happened. Everything is about what the reader sees and how the reader imagines the characters are affected. I want my readers to be active creative participants in my stories.

What about the L&C and the characters do you like the most?
The character of Lois, as Teri crafted her, really touches something in me. She is beset with neuroses, ambition and misanthropy-- hiding behind her cynicism, while hoping to find that love and happiness really do exist. She keeps getting knocked down, complains bitterly, grouses angrily, whines and moans, and then suddenly jumps to her feet and attacks life again, never giving up, still secretly hoping. Perhaps it's because I have 2 daughters pursuing careers who bracket Teri in age; perhaps I see something of myself in Lois; perhaps it's Teri's excellent acting or Teri herself. I really don't know why. I just find Lois wonderfully rich to write for. And, of course, one can't ignore that powerful chemistry between Teri and Dean.

How do you interpret them in your work?
Besides the many facets of Lois's persona, I am particularly interested in the relationship between L&C. It is their human qualities that I like to explore as realistically as I can. I like to think of Clark as a man with human frailties and problems who just happens to also have some incredible abilities, which create more problems for him. I want to see how these two characters will interact in strange, humorous and traumatic situations. Superman heroics are not important.

How did you begin writing in general?
I began with school assignments and just naturally seemed to be able to put words together well. I've always loved words-what they mean, the different ways one can put them together and how moving words around in a sentence can change its meaning. I love the word wealth of the English language and get really excited at the challenge of writing about a topic without using the same key words over and over. Only a few things give me the rush that I get from satisfactorily completing a well-written paragraph or poem. Of course I don't accomplish that feat very often. Usually I'm still finding things to change long after I should have put the piece aside.

What are you working on now and where do you see it going?
Right now, I'm still trying to learn to write good fiction and good poetry. At my present rate of progress (procrastination) I'm going nowhere, fast. However, as I said, I'm working on a sequel to `The Circle Game', which will be followed by the final story in what was designed to be The Circle Game trilogy. It's playing around in my head and is tentatively entitled, `Great Expectations'. I also have an idea I'd like to run with which re-writes the last scene of `Seconds' and goes from there, eliminating the painful rest of S3. And I want someday to write an Alt L&C story because I'm just a sucker for those.

What is your opinion about the following types of L&C fanfic's?
Action?
I think a good story includes events that the characters get involved in which is, I guess, a very loose definition of `action'. I'm not a fan of stories that are just a character's WAFFY thoughts. I do like WAFFY actions, however. I usually avoid stories that are all about super hero activities.

Drama?
For me, this is the most enjoyable kind of story. I wish that L&C could have had a 900 or 1000 p.m. time slot as originally planned so they could have tackled some serious themes.

Humor?
Good humorous writing is a favourite with me. I love to read it; I try to write it.

Round Robin?
Because of my vision, problem I have to prioritize what I read. I know some very talented writers participate in these, but I find the form really intrudes into my enjoyment of the story, and there are sometimes grammatical errors that bother me, so I rarely read them.

Nfic?
As an adult, I prefer mature stories and I have found some excellent ones in this category. I've also found some graphic descriptions that are hilarious. I often listen to `bodice rippers' on tape from the Library for the Handicapped, and hear the same language, which provokes the same hilarity. But I still like reading the stories and listening to the tapes. I know from experience how difficult nfic is to write and I have the greatest respect for those authors who do it well.

Has *everything* been done in your opinion, and if not, what is left?
Let's see; what did L&C say? There are no old stories, just new angles. As long as humans can think and create freely, there will be no end to the stories. Every generation seems to re-invent a meant-to-be love story like Lois and Clark's, many of them ill fated-- Tristan and Iseult, Lancelot and Guinevere, Charles and Di. Personally, I prefer a happy ending so I hope L&C is around for a long time. I think H.G. Wells said it best in `Tempus Fugitive' "Not stupid, Miss Lane. Blind. It's one of the many things that makes your story so timeless why children never tire of hearing it at bedtime, why parents never outgrow it, generation after generation. We're all blind when it comes to love, especially that one great love that will change us forever."

What do you think makes the best story?
I believe that the best stories have a balance of good characterization and interesting plot; action and romance; humor and pathos; and worthwhile theme and well-paced, absorbing events. It never hurts to throw in a little mystery and suspense. In addition, a story has to be written well. This means paying attention to grammar; spelling; punctuation; sentence structure; vocabulary; and language, appropriate to the theme and commensurate with the intellectual level of the characters. All of these traits should be combined in a conscious attempt to craft an artistic whole. That's my yardstick. Trying to meet the measure is what makes writing difficult and fun. "Ah, but a Man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"

Would you like to add a link or URL to your favorite fanfic for the readers to sample your writing?
If I knew how I would. I'll just suggest they visit the Archive. All my stories are there under Author's Name Jude.

Where is the best place for a reader to locate your work?
All of the PG stories are in the Lois and Clark Archive, under author's name, Jude. The nfic version of The Circle Game is available at Anne's Place, and from Joyce who manages Debby's list. Several stories are also on Zoom's Boards, both Fanfic and Nfic.

Open Forum For Author Comments
Reading the outstanding stories written by good writers about a television series that was never in the top 10 and was cancelled several years ago is amazing and gratifying to me. To know that so many people found many of the same things to admire that I did gives me a special feeling of kinship with them. Those I have met on the List, and on Zoom's Boards and as a result of my writing, I count as friends.

The breadth of knowledge displayed in list and board discussions is astounding and I am constantly learning fascinating things about the myriad individuals and cultures represented there. The willingness of FOLCS to help each other is unparalleled. I've often thought that I might be the oldest FOLC around, and I really enjoy the many talented young people who are just beginning to write, as well as the multi-talented mature FOLCS with whom I come in contact. I hope L&C continues in reruns as long as Lucy and Desi, because every episode inspires new fans and new writers.

jw
judithwilliams@prodigy.net
january , 2001