TrekGirl welcomes Dave Rogers.  He of the humorous filks and thought provoking fan fiction with a touch of romance.  Dave is also one of the, what seems to me, small number of male writers of  ST fan fiction on the Net (I could be wrong but I think not), and, like yours truly, he's English!  Yay!

Dave's a busy guy, as you would expect, and so it took me a while to finally get this interview out of him, and for my own sins this entire interview gig is much harder work than I'd originally anticipated. ;-)  Serves me right for thinking I had loads of free time-- I don't!

Anyway I hope you enjoy reading Dave's erudite views.

TrekGirl asks:

How would you describe yourself?

A tall, dark and handsome forty-year-old scientist, railway enthusiast, modeller and writer, married with four children, with a very pronounced and unusual sense of humour and a fascination with knowing the sort of things most people would consider too trivial to trouble them. As a writer, I think I'd describe myself as someone who can't help making up stories in my head and needs to write them down to make room for more.

How long have you been writing?

A little over a year, or all my life. It depends what you mean by writing.  I used to write stories at school, but stopped when I specialised in the sciences, although I tend to try and write readable reports and suchlike.
I started getting interested in the Internet about four or five years ago, and found myself writing a lot of strange things on the Monty Python fan group, including the alt.fan.monty-python Ant FAQ and my greatest claim to anonymous fame, "The Newbie's Song," which has done the rounds on Usenet for the past four years.

What is your preferred fandom and why?

I've really only tried writing Star Trek fanfic, although I have been known to write filks and humorous articles on other subjects; I suppose some of the stuff I wrote a few years ago qualifies as Monty Python fanfic, although I didn't really know what fanfic was at the time. I write Star Trek fanfic because I'm intimately familiar with the characters and situations, because I like science fiction and (I think this may be a big part of it) because it provides a ready-made audience.

Why write about Star Trek?

Because it's fun. Because I know the Star Trek universe and characters.  Because I'm a lifelong sci-fi fan, and Star Trek is as well-realised a universe as there is in sci-fi. Because there's a very friendly and supportive community of Star Trek writers. Because the BBC tends to mess about with the schedules and take off Star Trek in favour of events of major global importance (last year this included Crufts, the national dog show - I kid you not) and I get impatient for a fix. Because I like showing off, and writing fanfic gets attention. Because I like to do unusual things, and writing fanfic is one of the more recent ones.

Who are your favourite characters and what drew you to write about them?

The Voyager crew in general seem more interesting as characters, other aspects of the show notwithstanding. In the previous three Star Trek series, while the central characters have their flaws they are, for the most part, Starfleet's finest (or Bajor's, or Cardassia's...), and are trained to be able to cope with the situations they find themselves in.

Voyager's crew is much more a collection of flawed waifs and strays, some of whom have already failed as Starfleet's finest, others of whom would never be considered even in passing. They're much more like people than superheroes, and so they're more three-dimensional. Even the Starfleet crew members are drawn with some flaws - Harry Kim's inexperience, Tuvok's inflexibility and ambivalence over his own Starfleet career, Janeway's excessive need for control. I enjoy writing about all the Voyager crew with the exception of Chakotay, who I've never really been able to work out.

If you write relationship pairings (e.g. J/C), which pairing is it and how would you describe the relationship in canon and in your own fictional interpretation?

I think of myself as primarily a P/T writer, and it never fails to surprise me how little of my work actually falls into that category.  Paris and Torres are certainly my favourite characters, though. It's rather difficult to say anything new about why they're such interesting characters; part of it is that we know so much about their troubled pasts, and the source of all the emotional baggage they carry around.
As types, they're very familiar to me, to the extent that I've occasionally used P/T writing as self-administered counselling.

I tend to use Tom Paris as a Mary Sue, I think, but that's hardly out of character since he's been romantically involved with Janeway, Kes and Torres, has an unusually traumatic past, has saved the ship on numerous occasions and has even died heroically (though he got better). I seem to find it easier, though, to get inside B'Elanna Torres's mind, and I don't really know the explanation for that one. I aim to write her as close to canon as I can, because she's such a well drawn character and has had some superb episodes centred on her personal development.

What sort of freedom of expression do you achieve when writing stories that centre on original characters (miscellaneous Trek categories)?

I could probably achieve more than I do. I found my way into writing original characters largely by accident, because I needed a supporting cast for my Tom Paris AU series. In the process, though, I tried to make them believable characters with some traits of their own, and in doing so I came to like a few of them. I didn't have the same compunction about killing off one of my own characters as I would have about one of the regulars, and I don't have to keep in line with others' views of them.
I have a vision, though, of the characters I've created, and I try as hard to stay in keeping with that vision as I do to reproduce faithfully the voices of the regular characters.

How do you manage to maintain such a high out-put of drabbles and filks, and is their short length a factor in producing so many?

I've always had the gift of expressing an idea concisely, to the extent that I find it incredibly difficult to write anything of any length. A drabble is the perfect way to express a single idea, or answer a single question, that doesn't necessarily fit into the context of a larger story. Then again, the limitation of exactly a hundred words imposes a very stringent discipline which requires a disproportionate amount of work to the length of the story, so it's probably not the most economical use of my time in terms of words per hour. That said, they are quick to write, and since on the whole I have many more ideas for stories than I have time to write them, they represent for me the most rapid translation from idea to text. The high output is more to do with not being able not to write them. The things are addictive.

The filks are nothing more than simple sleight of hand, really. They tend to start out as something akin to a misheard lyric - I know what it really should be but my mind puts another set of words to the tune - and once I've got the general idea, I find the song lyrics, put them in a text editor, and replace them line by line. It's almost more of an intellectual exercise than a creative one.

I'm curious, are these shorter works a way for you to keep writing while thinking/plotting out a longer story or do you consider the drabbles etc as a sepaerate genre, needing the same discapline you would apply to a regular story?

I don't ever think "OK, I've finished this longer story, so now I'll write some drabbles, then when I've done that I'll write another longer story."  Nor do I generally try to finish one story before I start another.  Rather, I have several things running at once. Right now there are six unfinished stories and two drabbles I'm not too happy with on my work-in-progress disk, and I'll work on them or start something else as the mood strikes me (and the needs of a family and a job allow). As for discipline, as I've already hinted, I think drabbles require more; especially so if, as is usually the case for me, I want them to be funny. Writing humour has its own rules and requirements, and it's much easier to fail. Filks require, probably, the most discipline of all, because the entire structure and rhythm is already set in stone.

What do you think makes for a good story?

The usual stuff, really - I have nothing new to say on this. Plausible but not predictable plots, believable characters, events having visible effects on the characters, and all the technical stuff like grammar and punctuation.
If I knew the secret of what makes a good story I'd probably write lots and sell them.

When you read another author's fan fiction what do you look for?  Are these elements to be found in your own work?

I think the type of story I like to read is very different to the type I like to write. A lot of my stories, particularly the longer ones, tend to be more action based, with a lot of events and rather less character interaction. I tend to prefer reading the more relationship-based, more internalised stories, partly (I suppose) because that's what I don't already have inside my head.

Do your stories have a theme, such as loss, belonging, abandonment etc, what are they?

If there's a single central theme to my stories as a whole then I'm not aware of it. Individual stories vary according to what I'm trying to do.  In general I aim to answer a question or fill a gap, rather than explore a theme in that sense.

I'd like to share an example of your writing style, please choose a scene from one of your completed works and describe what you are trying to achieve in the snippet (dialogue or narrative direction).

I had a hard time picking something here. This is a passage from "Justice," the fourth story in the Virtues series. The theme of the series is really redemption, and although this is purely an action sequence, my aim was to portray the turning point in an alternative Paris's life, where he learns to forgive himself and move on despite what others may think of him.

In the Virtues series, Tom Paris confessed to his piloting error just before, rather than just after, it was too late to save his Starfleet career. Here, after being treated as a pariah at Starfleet Academy, he has been posted to a science vessel where Nasir, the First Lieutenant, has treated him similarly.  In a live version of the training exercise that killed his three closest friends, Paris now suspects Nasir is trying to kill him.

From "Justice" fourth story in the "Virtues" series....

In the event, though, there was nothing for it but to suppress his suspicions and carry on. If he left the formation it would be in violation of a direct order, and once he was in place there was no alternative to the attack pattern. And maybe, Tom realised with a touch of resignation, it would be simpler if his worst suspicions were true. If he was to be dogged by prejudice and hatred even here, on the edge of Federation space, then there was nowhere far enough to run to escape his past, and a quick end here would at least be relief. There was a kind of justice to it too, of course, and in his imagination the irony of the situation was simply one more item of proof of Nasir's deadly intent.

So he was committed, and his training allowed him to put aside his fears. Mulholland's shuttle rose behind him, and when it was clear he slowed briefly to one-eighth impulse and dropped down into the last place in the formation, staying rigidly in formation with Shabeer as Mulholland moved into second place at three-eighths. One final order from Nasir, and the four shuttles struck off towards the third and greatest target.

It was difficult to judge size with no reference points, but Tom could see that this third asteroid was a completely different proposition to the first two. It looked huge, almost like a planet in miniature, although still irregularly shaped; one face was almost flat, but the rest was just as jagged and irregular as every other rock in the system. There was a small blemish on the flat face, maybe a hundred meters or so across, and it was slowly rotating towards them. By the time they made their strike, Tom decided, it would have rotated past them and they would be coming in low over the flat face, which should make it easier to judge the course Nasir had chosen for the attack dive - one way or the other.

As they neared the asteroid and charged phasers, Tom slowly became aware that he had drastically misjudged the perspective. The blemish on the flat face was - a chill ran down his spine at the realisation - the ruins of a Romulan city. So this must be a fragment of the planet's surface, blown far out of its orbit by the Borg's unknown weapon, and orbiting ever since, the silent tomb of millions of once thinking, breathing, loving, hating and living beings like himself. His stomach heaved, and he tried not to be sick; a shuttle wasn't as bad as a space suit, but it was enough of a confined space to make things very unpleasant.

Nasir's voice was silent now, the course locked in and Tom's fate sealed, whatever choice the Lieutenant had made. As he tried to estimate distance and angle, Tom realised that, even after Nasir pulled out, it would be a few moments before he could tell whether his own pullout would be possible. Looking downwards, though, he could see the formation was already above one edge of the asteroid's face, so there was no possibility of escape that way. And with such a wide plain below, turning to one side would only slow his pullout manoeuvre; no escape that way either. With a dull sense of fear, he knew that his life and death were totally in Nasir's hands now, and he himself was powerless. And over the next few seconds, he learned another new lesson; that a brave man, too, can die a thousand deaths. He died suddenly as his shuttle crashed headlong into the asteroid and exploded; died quickly as a hull breach threw him out into vacuum; died slowly as the shuttle spun away, air leaking slowly from a thousand fractures; died in gradual agony as jagged metal tore his body.

Ahead and above, he saw the flash of Nasir's phasers and breathed again. A few more seconds now, and he would know - or know nothing. Either way, it would be over; Nasir would never have a better chance, if that was his intent. Then Nasir's shuttle was gone, and Mulholland was firing. As he, too, pulled away, Tom saw that it would be so close for him that he still couldn't tell whether he could pull out, whether he would live or die. Then Mulholland was gone and Shabeer was firing, and time slowed down.

This had happened before for Tom. As events crowded in on him, he was able to divide up the seconds into fractions of seconds, and live in each one in turn, and act in the spaces between them. It was the secret of his piloting skill, that however fast events were moving, he was never hurried, never rushed or panicked. Rediscovering this ability now was his first ray of hope that he could somehow survive this test, even if Nasir had intended otherwise. So, in one moment, he observed Shabeer's shuttle pull away, then shake as a sizeable rock struck its port nacelle. In another moment, he saw the boulders thrown up by Nasir's strike, and knew without knowing how he knew that if he pulled away they would crush his shuttle like an eggshell. And in another, he saw the ravaged ruin of a river valley on the surface below him, and knew that his one safe path lay there. Another moment, and he was below the surface, the valley walls high on either side, twisting with the path of the long-gone watercourse. Again not knowing why, he held his phaser fire. A moment, and the river valley turned too sharply to follow. A moment, and his right index finger struck the firing pad one last time. A moment, and the phaser bolt struck the valley wall ahead, and behind the wall were stars. And in one last moment, he flew his shuttle through, not around, the edge of the asteroid, and out into safety; and he could live again.

.... End of Scene

I hate that question. The first story I ever wrote just won an award on ASC, so I suspect I haven't really improved much since I started. My experience is that I tend to develop in steps rather than steadily, so maybe I'll get better suddenly some day. I don't want to think of myself as the finished article just yet.

How do you keep improving your skills, what help did/do you have?

I write and I read, and Jenn, my beta reader, gives me feedback about what does and what doesn't work. I get feedback from alt.startrek.creative and one or two other online sources, and I try to gauge from that how successful a particular story has been, but there are various normalising factors to take into account; for example, Voyager stories will probably get more feedback than anything in the MIS category. I've experimented with different writing styles a little, although not much recently. I don't, though, have any well-realised strategy for improving my writing, and I don't know whether one would help; I write so impulsively that I'm always wary of stifling the impulse with too much imposed structure.

Do you consider beta readers a help or a hindrance and what do you expect from them?

I'm not sure whether my use of a beta reader is strictly within the normal parameters of the relationship. What I'm looking for from my beta reader is a sanity check, someone to confirm that I haven't made any stupid, glaring errors that make the whole story fall apart. I'll gladly accept any pointers on style - in fact, I've always revised stories whenever Jenn's suggested it, and I've always felt they were improved as a result - but what I'm really looking for is permission to post. It's a self-esteem issue, really, so Jenn, I think you should know I'm just using you to  overcome my own deep rooted insecurities. I hope that's OK with you.

The downside at the moment is that Jenn's quite insanely busy - she's got two round robins, two major works in progress and she's the alt.startrek.creative status of stories recorder - so there can be a bit of a delay. I accept that delay for the added confidence I get from just knowing that there's one other person out there who doesn't think the story's rubbish.  I don't get drabbles beta'ed, or some very short humourous stories, because I think I can trust my own judgement well enough there.

Is professional publication your goal or are you just having fun?

Just having fun. I have enough stress in my life as it is, and writing professionally, having to meet somebody else's standards, would be just one more thing to worry about.

Which of your own stories would you recommend to the Internet reader and why?

I come up with a different answer every time I think about this one. Why not start where I started myself, with "Takeover Bid"? I still get e-mails from people who've read it and enjoyed it, and it's as representative of my style as anything else that's followed it. The Virtues series attracted a lot of positive feedback, and is something I'd be happy to be remembered for. For those with an evil sense of humour, I can also recommend the "The Examination for Lieutenant" series of drabbles, which I'll continue to add to as and when the mood strikes me.

You have a chance to recommend another fan fiction, not your own, what would it be and who is the author(s)? (consider any pairing or characters)

"In the Space of Seven Days..." by Jennifer Lynn Rider, is as good as a Voyager whole-crew adventure story gets. "Habit," by Kat Hughes, is a superbly introspective look at the darkest period in the Paris/Torres relationship.  MJB's "Revolution" is as much fun as going to the pictures on a Saturday morning when you're seven years old. Suz Voy hasn't yet written a story called "Anything," but if she did it would be her most recommended story; I've often recommended people read "anything by Suz Voy."

Any other comments?

I recently came across a comment by Joseph Conrad, in the Author's Note to "Tales of Unrest," which largely sums up my attitude to analysing my own work.

"One does one's work first and theorises about it afterwards. It is a very amusing and egotistical occupation of no use whatever to any one and just as likely as not to lead to false conclusions."

It's nice to have at least one way to liken myself to Conrad.

Is there a question that you wished I had asked, and if so, what was it?

Is there a question you wished I had asked, and if so, what was it?

And what would your answer have been to that question?

See above.

Hmm, some guys....

Seriously though, you've been so very eloquent in your remarks that I've found it extremely difficult to come up with any more questions--or hold a grudge over your final answer. ;-)

So it just remains for me to say, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, I hope you enjoyed it, I certainly did.
 
 

The featured author's recommended own work :
Takeover Bid, The Virtues series, The Examination for Lieutenant

E-Mail the featured author : Dave Rogers

The featured author recommends *you* read :
In The Space of Seven Days - Jennifer Lynn Ryder
Habit - Kat Hughes (Dave Recommends the revised text version)
Revolution - MJB (If you want the full effect, don't download the three-part version. Instead, download one part every day, then torture yourself wondering how the latest cliff-hanger is going to be resolved.)
Anything by Suz Voy 

 Complete the Circle