Welcome to the Jungle!

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

The inaugural posting for the You Write What?! blogsite is finally here. Are you all as excited as we are? 

No? Stick around…we’ll win you over.

So, we figured that this first post should tell you a little about the site and what you can expect to see. 

You Write What?! is intended to be a place where fanfiction writers, readers and fans can come to see what’s going on in fandoms all over the world!

Fanfiction might have begun as a subculture on the fringe (anyone remember the Star Trek fanzines?) but we have morphed into a large, growing community of superfans with the power to affect the popularity and longevity of the shows, books and movies that we love. Gone are the days of hiding in the closet; trolling for stories and minimizing our screens when someone approaches, covertly tapping away at our computers in the dark of night so as to avoid the judgmental eyes of  people who don’t consider what we do ‘real’ writing. Fanfiction writers and fandom members are out, proud and here to stay!

Like any community, fanfiction, in all its varied fandoms, has its own set of beliefs, practices and rules of etiquette that serve to govern and guide it. We have our own celebrities (Cassandra Clare, author of The Mortal Instruments, got her start as a BNF in the Harry Potter fandom), experts on the craft, vocal, rabid fans and newbies who join the fold by the hundreds every day. We are passionate about what we do even if there is a whole world out there that doesn’t really understand why we do it.

You Write What?! was created to bring you the very best in news, opinion, humor and instruction on fanfiction writing. Whether you write for Twilight or Harry Potter, NCIS or Bones, Naruto, Glee, iCarly or one of the other thousands of fandoms out there, we want to provide you with the opportunity to improve your work, learn what affect fandoms are having on the world, share your work with fellow writers and have a laugh while doing it.

Posting three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) we’ll provide articles on the craft of writing, showcase authors and stories, provide an opportunity for thorough, extended story reviews and spotlight a different fandom every week. Mixed in among the more practical aspects of fanfiction we’ll poke fun at ourselves and shedding some light on the more humorous side of the fanfiction world (lemons written by the inexperienced, story stalkers, fanfiction addiction, and reviews: to beg or not to beg?). We’ll also do a weekly story recommendation list, show you people you can follow on twitter and offer you the opportunity to offer your beta, fanvid/fanart and banner creation services to the fanfiction community.

You Write What?! doesn’t pretend to be the first blog of its kind, on the contrary, there are a plethora of blogs and websites out there catering to the fandoms we love. What we’re doing isn’t revolutionary, we just want to be a part of the movement. We want to share what we love and what we’ve learned with the thousands of writers, readers and fandom enthusiasts out there and hopefully learn something in the process.

This blog is a work in progress, we’re learning as we go. But every step of the way we want you – all of you- to be a part of the process. We want to hear about your fandoms: why do you love them? Why should we? We want to hear about your writing: what have you learned? What do you still need to learn? We want to hear about your experiences with fanfiction, positive, negative and everything in between. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been writing since Kirk and Spock slash stories started, we want to hear from you.

We are looking for guest bloggers, story reviewers, authors who’d like to showcase their work and story recommendations. All fandoms are welcomed, celebrated and invited to help us make this something we can all enjoy.

If you’re interested in being a part of it all here's how you can find us: 

Email: bloggingfanfiction@gmail.com

Twitter: @BlogFanfiction

Facebook Fan page: You Write What?!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Oh…and I guess you might want to know who the ‘we’ I keep referencing is. No? Well, I’m gonna tell you anyway. We are Dee & Sam, two pretty cool chics with BIG dreams (fame...fortune...Taylor Lautner on speed dial) who’ve found a creative outlet (and a bit of an obsession) in fanfiction. Here’s a little about us.

Dee

Since it’s the internet and you never know what kind of whackadoos are out there I’ll just give you my first name (not that I’m saying any of you are whackadoos…but you can never be too sure).

I am a novelist (I would say aspiring but someone once told me that’s like saying I aspire to eat dinner…don’t aspire, just DO it). I finished my first novel during NaNoWriMo last year and I’m working on my second novel now. I’m and English major with aspirations to write for television at some point (California here I come).

Some important things to know about me: I am a mom to the most amazing kid in the universe, I used to call myself a night owl until I realized it was actually chronic insomnia…either way, I write A LOT. I don’t write because I want to, it really is a necessity. If I don’t write I’m a cranky, edgy, moody mess. Seriously…if I had a dog, he’d hide under the bed.

The only thing I love more than writing is talking to other people about writing and I’m always up for making a new friend. You can find me on twitter @IdRatherBWritin or on www.fanfiction.net (TheWrtrInMe). You can email me at bloggingfanfiction@gmail.com.

Your turn Sam…

 Sam

Oh hey look it’s my name. In case you haven’t noticed by now, Dee is the more serious one in this partnership. I like to use the excuse that I’m only 19 and still have a few more months until I officially consider myself an adult. What can I say about me? Uhh well I guess I could start with the fact that I’m a writer (obviously) and I have big ol’ dreams and goals for myself (which may or may not be the same thing). I’ve been writing since I was 11 and I’ve been writing fanfiction since I was 14. Currently I’m working on my first novel (we can’t all be overachievers) that I wrote for my first NaNoWriMo (I guess we can all be overachievers). I love it, it’s my baby. Writing is one of the top five most important things to me under God, family and friends. 

I spend most of my time working and when I’m not working I’m writing or I’m with my family. I’m one of three girls, middle child, and I’m going to be an aunt for the first time in September (I’m really excited about this). I’m random all of the time and weird most of the time (they usually go hand in hand) and I have a small obsession with BooG!e (T-Bo) from iCarly. I’m really not that interesting of a person to be honest. I’m just me, living my life and enjoying every minute of it. I suppose I should copy Dee now…I’m on twitter @bigcitydreams92 and www.fanfiction.net as Samantha Nicole Trewyn.Hope you enjoy the site! {happy panda dance}