Thanks everyone for the comments! They really do spur me on to write more. Not that I'm good at that, but I did get another 40 words written yesterday - for a total of 50 in the last five weeks.
Here's hoping I can kick it up a notch before I run out of buffer (I have through chapter 33 written and I had started 34 before Rye was born, so I'm about 2/3 of the way finished with it now.) Sadly, there's a lot of story left to be told even after that, though, so I'm no where near finished.
IolantheAlias - Yes, Lois does seem like a pod person, doesn't she? I have to say that while I see this as a Clark story, I have been surprised over and over by how much I enjoy writing Lois in this story. She just keeps surprising me. Maybe it is because it's a Clark story, so we can't see into her head and her actions are so strange. I often find myself surprised by what she does and then having to make sure her actions can be justified in some way. So far, I've managed to do it - although admittedly, sometimes it takes awhile to figure out what was going through her mind.
amberlea - I completely agree - I almost see this Clark as more like the Clark we know than Lois is the Lois we know. He's basically the same well-intentioned but sort of stupid guy as he was in the show. I do think his thoughts here are reasonable, but he does go about things in the wrong way. On the other hand, while it seems silly to disappear to Costa Rica for the day without saying a word to Maddie, I often wondered in the show about his inability to tell Lois - didn't it occur to him at some point that being Superman and wanting a normal life meant he was going to have to come clean to someone? Why did he always seem to be trying to find the right words like the need to tell Lois crept up on him? Maybe in general, Clark isn't good at thinking things through?
Darth Michael - Oh, I like the idea of Luthor running over Paul! No plans for that right now, though. I haven't planned for Luthor to play a role in this at all. I do sort of wonder what he was like as teenager, but I have another story started to explore that. (To be fair, I'm not sure I'll ever write the other story, though.)
And yes, there will be a payoff. Whether or not it's a satisfying one, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure I haven't written it yet (sadly, I can't remember). But once I do and post it, you'll need to tell me how satisfying it is.
sarahg - I can understand your frustration, but don't expect an easy fix anytime soon. I see this story as showing how Lois and Clark became the Lois and Clark from the show. Obviously they have a different history and as such this is a different universe, but their personalities at the end of the story should be much more recognizable. I will tell you that Lois will get there long before Clark does.
