Ugghhhh, I have a cold and I feel TERRIBLE. It is just a cold (I can tell because, for one thing, I'm starving; I've been eating everything that isn't nailed down) but I will be glad when we get the feeling-lousy part of this process out of the way.

Since I can't concentrate on writing because I currently have the attention span of a distressed moth, I decided to do the "30 days of fanfic questions" meme that's been going around (recently seen at yalumesse, for example). It looked fun, and last winter when I did the December questions meme THAT I NEVER ANSWERED ANY OF BECAUSE I'M AN AWFUL HUMAN BEING, someone asked me how I got into fandom, and several of these questions address that, so you'll finally get your answer, person whose question I am so sorry I never answered!


1: How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?

The first fandom I wrote for -- that I finished stories for, rather than just writing scraps here and there -- was the anime Trigun. The two things that drew me in were the worldbuilding (which was really lovely and fascinating, and set my imagination on fire) and the desire to fix certain aspects of the anime's ending.

I was quite a bit older than most people are when they start writing fanfic. I think I was around 24 or 25. I had run across the concept of it when I got online in college, and then I got interested in Stargate SG-1 and read a bunch of fanfic for that (this was circa 1999 or so), and when I moved to Illinois I was lonely and miserable and unemployed and ... watching a whole lot of anime. Which was how I got into Trigun, and got completely fascinated by this weird and wonderful post-apocalyptic desert planet, and interested in unraveling all the dangling mysteries that the anime never really resolved. So I ended up channeling most of my free time and homesickness into this massive long post-series AU with tons of OCs, basically ALL the dead characters resurrected in increasingly unlikely ways, kids of main characters, long-lost relatives ... it was huge and sprawling and cracktastic and amazing, glorious fun. I wrote it as a WiP, posted biweekly updates all the way to the end, and eventually spun off an illustrated version because people kept sending me fanart. The non-illustrated version is on AO3 if you're curious.

ETA: Although, thinking about it, that's just fanfic qua fanfic; I've always made up stories about the stuff I read or watched, just for fun, but never really thought of writing it down before the Internet, though I did write spec scripts occasionally in high school. I took it all very seriously! I was going to be an AUTHOR! (hahahaha, and look how that turned out, she says from just shy of 40. /bitterlaugh) But I would make up EXTENSIVE alternate seasons, sequel seasons of canceled shows, and so forth to entertain myself -- I had, for example, a whole sequel series for Quantum Leap that was all about Sam's daughter going back in time to look for him, and the adventures she had along the way.



All the questions:

1: How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
2: Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3: For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
4: Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
5: If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
6: When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7: Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8: Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9: Pairings: For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10: Pairings: Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11: Genre: do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12: Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13: Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14: Ratings: how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15: Warnings: What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16: Summaries: Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17: Titles: Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18: Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19: When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20: Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21: Sequels: Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22: Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23: When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24: Betaing: How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25: Music: Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26: What is the oddest (or funniest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27: Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28: Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29: What is your current project or projects?
30: Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!