Who’s Alelou?

Alelou is the name Sandra Hutchison uses when she wants to play with favorite characters who were invented by someone else — that is, when she writes fanfic.

Fanfic is usually only interesting to people who are fans of the universe (Star Trek: Enterprise and The X-Files, in Alelou’s case), but it’s a lot of fun, and a chance to publish pretty much at will. Fanfic writers can’t make any money at it, although some authors have transitioned into paying careers, especially in the genres of science fiction and erotica. It’s nonetheless a chance to develop skills, enjoy reviews, and make friends.

Many years ago a professor told Sandra not to waste her time with this sort of thing. Yes, he had a point — but she can’t regret the fun she’s had along the way, and certainly not the friends she’s made.

For example, a friend made this fun little “trailer” for one of Alelou’s stories:

(Click through to YouTube for links if by some miracle you’re a Trekkie and you want to read it!)

15 thoughts on “Who’s Alelou?

  1. I’m sure T’Pol would tell you that miracles aren’t logical. But then, here I am, so maybe logic isn’t the best determining factor, here…

    I’ve been lurking and reading and dropping a few comments for the last week or so, and I’ve loved this video (and linked to it on my blog) for longer.

    I came late to Enterprise, since I was in the process of moving by car from Yellowstone National Park back to upstate NY (home to me; not to him) in late September of 2001, with my Accomplice, our large hairy dog, two cats, and a three week old nursling. I remember being skeptical of that Quantum Leap guy, and yet another token Vulcan – this one a sexy woman, no less. I was sure I could live without it, which was just as well since we didn’t have cable, or money for cable, and I was making more people, anyway…

    Fortunately for me, I can admit when I’m completely wrong about something!

    I love your fan fiction, and intend to read it all, between my own writing, Enterprise and otherwise, blogging, hometending, and unschooling our two surviving young people, now 14 (!!!) and 11.5. You, perhaps more than any other writer, have inspired me to take the plunge and finally post my TnT stuff somewhere besides my own blog.

    Thanks for that, and all the thought-provoking, not-sappy-romance stories. Based on those, I’m going to branch out into your other work (even if I do happen to think just about any story is better with a Vulcan in it!).

    • I’m delighted to hear I’ve inspired anyone. I hope you’ll enjoy sharing your work with other fans. I always like to keep the odd Vulcan around, too — or Scully, if I can’t have someone born to be logical — but I’m happy to report that it can still be enormously fun to write stories without them.

      It’s very quiet there these days compared to its heydey, but there’s still a friendly group of fellow TnT fans hanging out at Triaxian Silk. You might want to check it out if you haven’t already.

      “Thought-provoking, not-sappy romance stories” probably sums up my entire body of work. Thank you for giving me something that carries me over from my fanfic to my original fic. And good luck with your writing. I’ll have to check out your blog, though I may wait until the first draft I’m working on is done — hopefully this month!!!

      • Scully and Mulder had a part in the early days of my romance with my Accomplice. Since we’re closing in on 19 (mostly) happy years t0gether, and we still like one another, I’d say we owe them a little.

        I actually do write things that don’t have Vulcans in them…but there are times when I wish I could pop one in to amuse myself if no one else. =)

        I recently registered on TriS after lurking for months, unable to comment on any of the great (and some not-so-great) stories I read. My quest to get registered was actually the catalyst that brought the glitches to light – which maybe will be a good thing in the long run, I hope.

        I’ve submitted one poem that’s also on my blog, and, once the fan fiction stuff is up, it will be my icebreaker (elessar was kind enough to let me email it directly to him, because I was ready to be brave and couldn’t!). Eventually, there will be stories, but I want those revised and beta’d first, and there’s all this life stuff…

        I understand about drafts. I’m revising a short story for a national contest, and the deadline is midnight today. Haven’t posted to the blog for a week, and it may be a few more days, because my brain will need a rest when I finish this.

        I don’t suspect the blog’s going anywhere, so feel free to come visit anytime. In the meantime, happy drafting! =D

        • Oh, you clearly maintain a much better blog posting frequency than I do. I will have to check it out. And I am glad to hear you already discovered Triaxian Silk. Some energetic new blood there can only help.

          Good luck with your midnight deadline, and happy reading and writing!

          Sandy

          • It helps that I don’t sleep much!

            I’m about halfway through what I think will be the last major revision pass. I’ll sleep on it for a few hours when I’m done, then polish. I’m aiming for Good Enough, because I know I’m never going to think it’s perfect. I figure I’ve got nothing to lose, and I’ve already gained a pretty nifty, slightly dark, and more than a bit surreal story, so that’s a win.

          • I’ve found ff.net a little….disorienting? Dizzying? I’ve had the same trouble with Craigslist – my Accomplice has to handle navigating that. I may brave it at some point, but, for now, I’m OK with a smaller group. I’m rather fond of baby steps. and there’s a LOT of good stuff at TriS (you just unwittingly kept me awake all through your Season Two Missing Scenes. Might be sorry at my writing group later, but so worth it). A belated thank you for that! =)

          • Finally hopped over to Triaxian Silk and read some of your comments — thank you for those! I love TS, but you will get more readers at fanfiction.net, and it will also forward you all your comments so you never miss seeing them. There’s also a lot less waiting to see things posted. (You’ll also find it a lot easier to read Missing Scenes Season Three in order at ff.net; chapters are scattered all over the place at TS for some reason.) So personally I would recommend using both sites. Happy writing!

          • I would have posted more comments, since I read through Season 3 (except North Star, which I couldn’t find), but commenting on my Kindle is less fun than my laptop, and that’s where I was reading…

            Once I get my bearings at TriS, I’ll likely check out ff.net. It’s just that I’m shy about some strange things, so it’s actually preferable for me to start with something smaller and more manageable, first. =)

            I’ll be bringing at least a couple of loyal readers with me, because TnT are all over my blog, and they’ve done what they do so well…gather an audience.

            BYW< I read your Walter Mitty story…there'll be a review pending, because I giggled my way through it! Happy writing, yourself!

          • You can read TS on a Kindle? Oh my, I have to figure that out. Although I just have the paperwhite without wifi, so maybe it wouldn’t work on that. I just hope they figure out how to post stories again at TS! And Wally and Jon will be very excited to get a review, I can tell you that. I’ll have to check out your blog soon. (North Star is in there somewhere at TS — a lot of season three got mixed into season four for some reason. At ff.net you just hit “Next.”)

          • I probably should have specified that I have a Fire. Much more like a tablet than an e-reader. Sorry if I got your hopes up for nothing.

            You’re definitely selling me on ff.net. I’m still playing a bit of catch-up after the deadline-meeting, but I’m putting that on my short list of things to check out. might be a very nice reprieve after the siege of meaningless-to-our-lives-but NYS-required homeschool paperwork I need to wrap up. Dullest writing ever!

            I’m going to give Wally and Jon a proper Amazon review, but, if you come visit my blog, you can find lots of TnT by searching The IDIC Romance. It’s not necessarily in order; T’Pol tends to demand I write certain things at certain times. Now, I’m not questioning her logic or anything, but she seems to have definitely decided that the Vulcan Science Directorate has no clue about time travel, because she does not reveal things in chronological order. Human influence, maybe? =)

            I’m also hoping they can take submissions at TriS again soon – there will be a special little thrill when I see my poem go up there. In the meantime, I’m prettying up the story that’s the lynchpin to my entire version of events, and getting ready to write more stories for Blogging from A-Z in April.

          • Hmm…I thought I responded to this, but WordPress isn’t showing that I did. So, if I’m repeating myself, you can just ignore me. =)

            I have a Kindle Fire, so it’s really a tablet. Wasn’t trying to give you false hope.

            I’ll be giving Wally and on an Amazon review – hoping to do several I “owe” in the next week or two.

            That said, I’d love a blog visit (and TnT have recently appeared here: http://shanjeniah.com/2016/02/06/definitions-and-interpretations-for-socs-and-jusjojan-day-25/) . It’s rough, but it was fun to write. =)

          • Maybe WordPress is just having a snit. It’s happened before. Of course, I’ve also been known to get distracted by a child or spouse or canine or feline or a shiny something and just not hit send, too…so I figured it was better to answer twice than not at all. =)

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