Writing fan fiction is a many-faceted activity; for me it's partly a fan's indulgence, partly a self-directed writing course, and partly an open forum for experimentation. Over the years of being an author/member I've taken the liberty to try a variety of styles and forms of writing. While I also post at several other fan sites, this is the only one which allows self-posting of works, infinite revisions, and easy interaction with readers. This is a boon and a bane. In particular I see many writers treating the last, (the feedback reviews), as creative direction. Now while every writer seeks a measure of popularity, as in any art, public approval has to be balanced against personal goals. A story needs to be both accessible to the audience and satisfying to the creator. Yes, it's a balancing act, compounded by the fact that you can't please everyone, but a single truth overshadows fan fiction. It's not market driven; it's products are not for sale. No matter how many reviews a story receives, or the tenor of those reviews, for me the balance has tipped in favor of personal satisfaction. If you enjoy a story of mine, if it entertains you or gives you some new insight into a character or original production, then I'm glad. Beyond that, I feel as though each story has taught me something and allowed me to experiment pretty freely. As an author, I see this as the greatest benefit of fan fiction.

Now on to the stories. Most of my work revolves around the TV show Xena Warrior Princess, originally on air from 1995 to 2001. My writing is not "pairings intensive"...that is, I don't tend to concentrate on romantic fluff as a central theme. I have come to believe that Xena and Gabrielle were serially bisexual, were soulmates, and were romantically involved with each other by the end of the show. I write them that way, however their "X/G relationship" is seldom the primary focus; it's a given condition and part of the setting, like the ancient world as portrayed in the series. Subtext has become maintext as they say. (Guess I lost the X/A shippers right there, LOL). Otherwise for the most part I subscribe to the show canon, though the "Clonefic" series was purposely created to debunk the show's backstory.

Most recently I've been involved in a Silmarillion/XWP crossover which has grown as the original concept has filled out. I should have realized that following a character across 17,000 years of history, (that the original author fleshed out with something like 1,500 pages of text), would be a long undertaking. I've been posting updates since March 2005. The story will probably encompass about 1,200 pages when finished, or about 750,000 words...certainly not for everyone. (Well, I blew that estimate. The MS Word doc is already over 1500 pages and the posted word count has gone beyond 946,000 as of 8/2020). In part I'm emulating the serial adventures of pulp fiction, while creating a backstory for XWP that dovetails with JRRT's Middle Earth. For any uncertain readers, rest assured that this tale will be finished. (I started writing it in the fall of 2003 and I'd completed the final chapters in July 2005 so I know how it ends). I've long felt responsible for seeing Helluin's tale through to its conclusion, and so I'll be updating "In An Age Before" on Fridays.

Twenty years on Fanfiction.net last month, and my current story just passed 1 million words with update 196. Who'd have thought...

9/23/2021 Twenty-one years on Fanfiction.net!!! Happy birthday to my profile...it's old enough to drink legally, lol.

5/2/2023 "In An Age Before" just passed 2 million words with update 314. I never expected that, or that I would spend twenty years (so far) writing it.

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