Updated: 07/02/2009

When and Why the X-Men?

I've always admired the comic book artist style of drawing. The bold lines and colors. However, it wasn't until 1997 that I actually picked up a copy of the Uncanny X-Men Annual and got hooked. The art was good and the story was interesting. I read that issue so many times that I wore that book out. Eventually, I did replace that copy with a 'mint' one though. That was over 1000 mint condition comic books and thousands of trading cards ago. As for the 'why' I like the ideal that the X-Men represents the fight against racism. Stan Lee himself said that the X-Men were his way of speaking out against oppression in modern times.

Favorite Characters?

"You mean you can't tell by reading my stories?!"  ;-)

I absolutely love Bishop (Lucas Bishop). Not the way he is portrayed in the real Marvel-verse, but for the potential he could be portrayed, as a 'real' African American man. I know that since Marvel prefers to write him as a dud, the character will never be developed to more than what he is ... stiff, dull and void of any type of life. But I can dream. Although Storm (Ororo Munroe) was considered the main character [a first for an African American and a first for a woman character] she had never had a decent relationship with a African American man in the X-verse. Finally! They decided to give her to the Black Panther. Which I don't think was the best thing to do because now instead of being on the X-Team, she guess stars from time to time. Now if Chris Claremont had listened to me, she'd still be right where she belongs as one of the X-Men. Gambit (Remy LeBeau) is what you would refer to as a 'grey' character, not bad or good. He's good when he has to be and bad when he has to be. His accent, stature and demonic eyes make up for the bad. Rogue (name unknown) is the strong southern bell on the team that all of the men admire from afar. Until the fans sort of made Marvel put her with Gambit because so many wanted to see it. "A" for effort.

Writing?

I initially started writing fanfiction because the stories in the comics made less and less sense to me. Characters were being written, how shaw I say... "out of character" and inconsistent. I attribute this to guess writers in a book or the reassignment of a new writer to an all ready established story line. Let's face it, no one think exactly like someone else. In my years of surfing, I found that if people didn't like anything else, they like continuity and completion. Comics today don't have that. I started searching the web for fanfiction. I found some that was really good and some that just plain stunk. It was when a favorite writer of mine started uploading less frequent that I decided to try my own hand at writing fanfiction. I figured, "What harm could it do? It was my site, people could read it if they wanted or surf to somewhere else." Man, was I mistaken! My first story was 'Always His Woman'. I loaded it and waited. "BOOM", it was very well received. I got letters from all over the world from people telling me how much they like it. I was shocked at how many were paying attention, but never let me know. I couldn't believe that my very first attempt at fanfiction went over so well. That was so long ago that I don't even remember what came next. :-D

Linda's Writing Tips

Here are five things I go by when writing fanfiction:

1] Know your character-Know how they would speak and react in situations. That will make them more real to your readers.

2] Setting the stage-Paint a picture with your words where and what is happening to your character. If you can see it in your head make sure your readers can see it in their's when reading.

3] Flow-Tell your story from the beginning to the end in consecutive order. Don't jump around. I see this a lot in Romance Novels and I hate it. If you are going to tell a story, tell the entire story.

4] Timing-Timing is every thing. If you have multiple action and plots going on in the same story, you must jugle things to where it all can come down to a gratifying ending for your main character(s). For Example: When I'm doing a Bishop/Storm story or a Gambit/Rogue story I generally follow both the characters through their day. However, if I want to end the chapter to where both main characters come together, I have to 'time' their activities so that this will happen. This is not an easy task to do. I have to sort of dedicate a segment to this character then in the next segment, I'll dedicate to the other. Hopefully, in the end, it all works out.

5] Conclusion-Leave them wanting more if you are going to do a sequel. Cliffhangers are good. I try to leave one at the end of each chapter. However, if you aren't going to continue the story, give it a good satisfying ending. I, myself, like happy endings and find it very hard not to write something that doesn't have one. But to each it's own.

On to other things in my life ...

What else do I collect?

Teddy Bears - Six Bears Beanie Babies - 150 Beanies Barbie Dolls - 176 and counting Comic Books - 990+ X-Men (Related team/character books) 15 Albums of Comic Trading Cards Well drawn cartoons - If it's drawn well and has a workable plot, I will record it for my video library. DVDs - If I run across a movie I like and it's at a good price, I'll buy it.

What is my most prized possession?

That's easy. It's my 2005 Super Black Nissan Maxima SE V6.

Other people have children, me? I have cars. This is my latest baby and my fourth 'black' vehicle. I got her in January of 09. She is totally loaded and totally beautiful. I just started tricking it out, but here she is so far. The only thing left to do on her is to have the windows retinted ... darker, get a billet grille for the front, replace the factory tail pipes with chrome ones and add a chrome bezel for the back tag. Yeah, I'm taking donations. (Just Kidding)

What is my 'second and third' most prized possession?

My computers. My desktop is about three months old and I haven't killed it once. That's alot coming from me because I believe it putting computers through their paces. Just ask my old boss. I think I went through four of them within a five year period. And there's my new laptop. It really comes in handy while I'm doing my laundry.  ;-D But seriously, it comes in handy because I use to write out my chapters in long-hand then transcribe it on my computer. Now I can type every thing directly in the computer without the transcription. Saves a lot of time.

Favorite TV Shows?

I like Numbers, Cold Case, Millionaire and Gossip Girl.

Favorite Cartoons?

Yes. I do like cartoons. The better it's drawn, the better I'll like it. Oh! It's got to have a good plot to it also. I have a small video library of X-Men, Superman, Spider-Man, Wildcats, Batman Beyond, Gargoyles and even Aladdins to name a few. Whenever I'm bored, I just pop a tape or DVD in and enjoy. However ... recently, I've developed a liking for Yu-Gi-Oh! The plot is good and the art work is out standing, most of the time. So much so that I can get by the Manga part. The Battle City Arch and the last chapter, Dawn of the Duel are really good. Here's another one I like. It's not drawn good at all, but is really funny ... Johnny Test.

Music?

I love music. I think that anyone who can play an instrument or sing has a God given talent and admire them for it. My taste ranges from Rhythm and Blues/Soul, Easy-Listening and Pop, I've heard Country and some Rap that I really like, but that's on rare occasions. I would love to get into Opera and Classical. Hey, you've gotta have an open mind about some things.

Summary:

I'm an average run-of-the-mill woman with a great sense of humor and a pretty good imagination that likes to go to church, tell jokes, write short stories, collect X-Men comics and tinker with dolls whenever I can.

Toodles,

Linda

lindasxmenfanfiction@gmail.com

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