Attn: Authors

[rusty_halo]

A while ago, I had asked people what features they'd like to see added to All About Spike. One of the most popular choices was author biographies. Now that I'm out of school, I finally have time to set this up. And I have a feeling that if I don't do it now, it'll never get done.

So. This will be completely optional, of course, and will go on the author pages at All About Spike. Authors who don't fill this out will continue to have what they have now: a page listing all of their stories that are archived at AAS, plus their email and website addresses if those exist. Those who fill this out will have all that plus their bio.

I'm going to provide a questionaire, which authors can fill out if they so desire, or can choose to completely ignore. (It's just to give an idea of what to say--authors can also just write up a text bio instead of answering questions.)

Before I go sending this to everyone, I want to make sure the questionaire works. So if you're interested, please take a look and let me know if you think of any other questions I should add, or if any of these are silly and should be removed, or if any need to be reworded/clarified.

Preliminary Optional Author Questionaire

You're welcome to ignore any questions that you prefer not to answer. You may also insert additional questions and provide answers to them. Or just ignore these and write your own bio.

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How did you begin writing in general?

What inspired you to begin writing fanfic?

What do you enjoy about writing fanfic?

Why have you chosen to write about Spike? What do you find interesting about his character?

What other characters or relationships do you find most interesting to write?

Of the work you've written, which piece is your favorite? Why?

Which piece was the most difficult to write? Why?

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a fanfic writer?

Do you feel that your work has improved as time has passed? If so, in what areas do you think you have improved the most?

What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of writing fanfic?

What advice would you give to new fic writers?

Do you read other fanfic? If so, what are some of your favorite stories and/or authors?

Do you write original fiction? Or fiction in other fandoms? (If so, where can we find it?)

If you're an author, you can go ahead and answer now, or wait until I have a final version. (I'll post again when I do, then send emails to those who don't answer through LJ.)

Answers can be provided in LJ comments or sent to me via email at drinkthepoison@hotmail.com. Emails can be in plain text, HTML attachments, or MS Word attachments. Length can be as long or short as you want.

Comments

[spikewriter]

Actually I think it's a good starting point. I've done bios before for writerly things (comes from giving presentations at large conferences) and if someone has no idea where to begin, this should give them some idea.

In addition, there are some questions which are good ones to have answered, such as whether or not the author writes in other fandoms and where you can find it. If it's an author who's work I enjoy, I'll read a story set in a fandom I don't follow because they're usually worth my time (unless its a series I really, really, really don't like).

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I've never done this before, so I'm glad you think it's a good start.

If it's an author who's work I enjoy, I'll read a story set in a fandom I don't follow because they're usually worth my time

Yeah, I must admit, I put that one in there because it's what I, as a reader, want to know. There are some fic writers whose work I'd read no matter what fandom it's in. Unfortunately it can be very difficult to find an authors work in a fandom with which you are unfamiliar.

[riani1.livejournal.com]

YOu might put in a question about how open they(we) are about their(our) fannish tendencies in the non-fic world and why. Hubby knows I write, but he doesn't get to read anything. Simpler to say No than to say, "How dare you think I write like a drunk gecko, I'm calling a lawyer." Or something like that.

Are you thinking about anything possibly personally identifiable, like age and gender? I'm really curious about the age breakdown and if there are any guys writing.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Hmm ... I think age/gender is maybe too personal. I guess I could make it an option though...

I do know that I've archived at least two guys who write good Spike fic: Moose and Mikelesq. (Which makes males less than 1% of my total authors....)