Why we picked her:

While kimberlite writes primarily Velvet Goldmine, she started in TPM and has dabbled with crossovers involving American Psycho and Queer as Folk. Her slash reading started with the original Star Trek zines. Whether she's sticking to VG canon or going out on a limb, like writing fan fiction for William Shakespeare's Titus, we like her a great deal. She's also having a baby! Champagne all around. Her fan fiction is located at kimberlite's fiction.

I know everyone hates this question, but how do you get inspired? What would you recommend for people who have trouble finding story ideas?

That's a tough question since I usually don't consciously think about story ideas. Instead, I'll just wake up with an image or part of a scene -- sort of like spontaneous generation -- and then think about how I can flesh it out into a fic. Sometimes I do remember seeing a particular picture or scene and thinking that I liked the visual and then a fic idea evolves from that. When in doubt, it's always good to go back to the source. VG has some pretty tasty moments and many details are hinted at but left nebulous, so there's a lot of room for your own interpretation.

When you're reading, are there any aspects that can make or break a fic for you? What impresses you and what turns you off?

Generally my turn offs are the traditional bad grammar, bad spelling, bad characterization. While I understand that different people write fic for different reasons, I feel it's a matter of personal pride and respect for the reader to take (at least) a moment to make sure such basics are addressed before posting. Sometimes the need for instant gratification seems to overwhelm the writer and something that might have been pretty good after beta ends up being pretty awful. I think this happens in VG because there are a lot of younger writers.

Oh, another thing that tosses me right out of a fic is using "cum" -- it's a picky personal squick, but it gets me every time. Ick.

What impresses me is hard to quantify since saying "good writing" can mean a variety of things to different people and saying "I know it when I read it" isn't terribly useful either. I like vivid descriptions, interesting situations, hot sex, character growth -- stuff like that.

What do you struggle with when you sit down to write, and how do you overcome it?

If I've made it to the "sit down to write" stage I'm fairly good to go. I usually have to see the story in my head, have a feel for where I'm going and how I'll get there before I can write it. If I'm struggling with an idea I usually find a quiet spot to relax in, close my eyes and try to see the scenes, hear dialogue, get into the flow of the fic, then I can get to the computer and start writing.

Do you ever get "blocked?" How do you deal with it? Any idea what causes it?

I'm sure it's fairly common to get blocked from time to time. I've found that after I've completed a longer fic I often have trouble jumping into anything else immediately since I've been so consumed by the longer fic. Usually taking a short break is all that's necessary. Forgive the TMI, but I've also discovered that being pregnant is a total distraction (must be the hormones). I'm still writing, but as my due date gets closer, I'm spending more time nesting. I'm hoping that after the initial exhaustion stage of caring for a newborn I'll feel more inclined to write (but no pregger!fic).

What are some common mistakes that you see new writers make in your fandom?

This goes back to the immediate gratification thing again. Some writers don't take the time to rework a fic or get a beta. Instead, they just spew something out, post, and beg for feedback.

How do you select what to read and what to feedback? Do you mainly read stories written by your friends or do you branch out a bit?

I got into VG through the Ewan connection, so I readily admit I'm not an expert on fic that was written by the original glam fans (or more recent VG fic, for that matter). Since I'm only on a couple lists, I tend to read most of what's posted. I try to send feedback on everything I read since even if it's not brilliant, I can usually find something good to comment on and I want to be encouraging.

What common mistakes do you see in your fandom in terms of characterisation?

In general, I want to see why a character is behaving the way a writer portrays him. If the explanation is reasonable, I'll go with the fic even if it's not how I see the character. If there's absolutely no justification, I lose interest very quickly. This is especially true for rarer pairings. While I love variety, I want a logical set up, not just sticking the characters together because they look nice.

What advice would you give someone who is just entering the fandom?

Watch the film, write the story that interests you, and take the time to get a beta -- if you don't know anyone, ask for beta help. I've made some of my best online friends either beta-ing for them or having them beta for me. A good beta is a priceless treasure.

How would you summarize the state of writing in your fandom? Are you generally impressed with the fic you see, or does it make you want to bang your head against the wall?

I guess I'm somewhere in between (but leaning closer to the bang your head side). As in any fandom, there are really good authors writing wonderful fic and there are less successful attempts. Some of it is personal preference, some of it is just bad writing.

Any other pet peeves/advice/general thoughts?

A pet peeve would be WiP. I know several authors who are masterful at handling a WiP, but more often than not, I get the feeling that the writer had a good idea, wrote a small section, posted, and then had no clue where the story was going. It's discouraging to see itty bitty "chapters" showing up every now and then (or eventually not at all). If the story is worth telling, it's worth telling as a coherent whole.

As a general thought, I'm continually surprised by the Curt/Brian, Curt/Arthur pairing debate. I like both pairings for different reasons and love the fact that there's such variety in the film. I don't think one is better than the other -- just different. Fortunately, it seems that most people, even if they have a strong preference, are willing to discuss why and not flame the "other side."

kimberlite's recs:

Ack -- I'm terrible with recs because I always leave something out and then feel bad later.