FAQ
Here are some questions I get asked a lot in
emails, so instead of typing up the same answers all the time, I’ve decided to
make a page for them so you don’t have to email me and ask.
Q. When
are you going to write the companion story to “The Other Child”?
Um… good question LOL. Honestly, I have no
idea. I’m not even sure if I’m going to
write it or not. I was planning to, but
now I don’t really want to anymore LOL.
All I can say is wait and see, and if I get inspired in the future, I’ll
write it. But I’m not making any
promises.
Q. How
can I send you a story to host?
Go to the Hosted Stories page. There’s a link towards the top of the page
that says “Rules for Hosting”. Click
that and find out.
Q. Will
you collaborate a story with me?
Please don’t ask me this question. The people I collaborate with are friends of
mine, people who I know pretty well and get along with fine. I enjoy writing with them because of
this. I am not interested in writing
stories with people who I hardly know because I don’t know anything about their
personalities or their writing styles.
If I want to collaborate something with you, I’ll ask you. So, not to be rude or anything, but… don’t
ask me. ;)
Q. Do
you know when you’re going to update “[insert name of hosted story here]”, and
if not, can you give me the email address of the person who wrote it?
Usually, I don’t know when the hosted stories
will get updated. I post chapters when I
get them, but I never know how often I will get them. Sometimes chapter will sit around in my
email for a few days until I update, but the answer to this question will
always be “soon” (meaning I have the chapter(s) and just have posted them yet)
or “I don’t know”. It’s better if you
email the author and ask her instead of me.
And if you want her email address, don’t email me asking for it. I have an “Email [insert author’s name here]”
link posted on every story, so just click on the story in question and look it
up.
Q. I'm
having trouble writing fan fiction. I think of really good ideas but I'll start
writing a story and never finish because the next day I think the ideas are all
lame and I can't seem to continue the story. All I wanna do is get at least ONE
story finished. Do you have any advice at all for me or tips on writing fan
fiction.
Here is a summarized version of my tips for
writing a fanfic:
1.
Think of an idea you really like, and
make it something that will be easy to write (I would suggest a simple romance
or tearjerker, not a complex mystery, sci-fi, or suspense.) If it’s your first story, you might want to
combine ideas from other fanfics (or books, movies, etc.) to get your own
original idea. As long as you don’t
totally copy one certain thing, it’s okay.
2.
Plan out your story. Think of what the basic plot will be and how
it will end. Make sure to include lots
of conflict so it will not get boring for you to write and for people to read.
3.
Once you’ve got a few chapters or so,
get your story online. Get it hosted,
start a website, whatever. Get people to
read it. Feedback is really helpful and
motivating.
4.
Don’t give up. Writer’s block happens to everyone, and even
seemingly bad cases can be resolved. If
you’re completely stuck, ask for some help from your readers. They can give you ideas and suggestions that
can help you out a lot. If you know what
you want to write and just can’t get going, take a break and come back to it
when you feel more inspired.
5.
Don’t get into a hurry to finish or let
people pressure you to update. Take your
time, and you’ll be much happier with your story in the end.
Those are my main suggestions for those of you
wanting to write a fanfic, but are having trouble getting started. Hope this helps!
Q. Why
are almost all your stories about Bsb getting hurt or sick and ending up in the
hospital?
I have always loved tearjerkers, whether they
be movies, books, whatever. I love
things that can make me cry, and when I started reading fanfics, the
tearjerkers were the ones I liked best.
Since I like reading those kind the best, it
makes sense that I like writing them as well.
I want to write stories that will tug at people’s emotions and make them
cry, just as other stories have done to me.
I have found that stories like many of mine, where members of Bsb get
into car accidents, or get sick, or whatever, make
great tearjerkers, and that’s why I write what I do.
Q. Where
do you come up with your ideas?
I get ideas from lots of places, such as other
fanfics, books, songs, and movies. Some
of them I’ve gotten from other people, and some of them, I’ve thought up all on
my own. If you’re wondering specifically
where I got the idea for a certain story, just ask, and I’ll let ya know.
Q. How
do I add a picture/midi/link/frames, etc… to my website?
I have worked very hard to make this site, and
I have learned a lot about HTML and website-building in the past year. However, one – I suck at explaining things,
and two – I use Microsoft Word to make my site, which I’ve found is a lot
different then what most people use to build their sites, so I don’t know what
to tell most people who ask me how to do certain stuff. If you need help with things, here’s a few sites that show you how to do certain
stuff. (Note: I haven’t thoroughly gone through these sites
to see how easy they are to understand and stuff, so I don’t really know how
good they are, but they’re better than nothing, I guess LOL)
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Campus/1924/index.html
http://webhelp2000.tripod.com/
http://members.aol.com/sskufca/webhlp.htm
If you’re wanting to
start a website and don’t know where to start, I personally suggest using
Microsoft Word to build it. If you
already know how to use Word for word processing, website building is not much
harder. If you’re looking for a place
to get your site hosted (you know, like Geocities, Angelfire,
Tripod, etc…) I
would go for Geocities. Now, I’ve really
only used Geocities and Angelfire, but Geocities is
really easy to use, user-friendly, and it’s up and working most of the
time. Angelfire
is pretty easy to use too, but the thing I don’t like about it is that you get
stupid pop-ups or banner ads at the top of your site, and if you have a banner
that you want people to add to their sites to link you, and it’s uploaded to Angelfire, it won’t show up on their page, unless they’re
hosted by Angelfire too. And believe me, that’s
really annoying. So, yeah, Geocities is
overall pretty good.
Got any more questions?
Just email me or sign the guestbook (there’s a spot
for questions in there), and I’ll be glad to answer them.
