Topics: The Basic Interview · Fan Fiction
What if I don’t see my question below?
Please ask! I’ll answer, and if it seems that your question is appropriate for this page, I’ll probably also ask your permission to post it here.
The Basic Interview
(With thanks to Kathy Tyers and Michael Stackpole for this great idea.)
Is Jennie St. Thomas a pen name?
Yes. It is a doing business as (d/b/a) name that I use for my fiction writing.
Are you a writer in real life? How much money do you make?
If you’re asking whether I write full-time for my primary income, no. I work in a corporate business position, and have done so since my late teens; that is my primary source of income.
However, most authors — including me — define “writer” as someone who writes. It isn’t necessary to do it full-time, or to have it be your primary income or career. In addition, I am open with family, friends, and co-workers about the fact that I freelance as a creative writer outside of working hours.
As a matter of fact, the vast majority of creative writers don’t write full-time or use it as their primary income. I’m a little unusual in that my full time job isn’t writing-adjacent (such as editing or teaching), but that doesn’t mean I’m not a writer in real life. Writing ability is a valuable skill across all career fields.
How much time do you spend writing each week?
How long does it take you to write a novel and/or a short story?
Where do you get your ideas?
What are your strengths as a writer? What are your weaknesses?
Which is your favorite of your own stories?
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always been a writer. I have clear memories of sitting with my mother during the Great Blizzard of ’78, when I was a toddler, dictating stories to her about children climbing on windows and doors because they were so bored. I began writing them down myself not too long after that.
I am fortunate that my mother was an elementary school teacher who was able to teach me to read as soon as I was ready, and who insisted I learn and use proper grammar and vocabulary from the very beginning. She and my father, who was an engineer, were both voracious readers. I grew up listening to my parents discuss the things they read, whether they be from newspapers, magazines, books, or elsewhere.
What do you like most about writing? What do you like least?
Who are the writers who most influenced you?
What advice do you have for a beginning writer?
Fan Fiction
What’s fan fiction?
On the Writer’s Digest web site, Moriah Richard defines fan fiction as stories about popular fictional characters written by fans of the original story and most often posted on the internet. She continues by elaborating:
The earliest known usage of this term comes from a 1939 article that disparages early sci-fi writing. While many writers look down on fan fiction writers, it can be a great place to flex your creativity, play with writing popular tropes, and build a supportive writing community around yourself.
Why “Cat Lady Firebird”?
Way back before there even was a world wide web, I signed on to my high school’s VAX/VMS system and it requested the use of a handle. I’d first read Kathy Tyers’ book Firebird (the original Bantam Spectra edition) a couple of years earlier and had strongly identified with the main character. As such, I chose “Firebird” as my first handle. That led to questions about the type of car I drove, so I added the character’s honorific title of Lady to the handle as a clarification.
As an adult, when I began posting fan fiction, that handle had already been taken. However, when it became clear that I likely was not going to have children, I chose to fully embrace the lifestyle of “crazy cat lady.” I noticed that the last word of that phrase was the same as the first word of my old VAX handle, and thus my fan fiction pen name was born.
Are you involved in any other aspects of media fandom?
I am! But here is where it got to be too late on a work night so I stopped working on this page’s copy. I’ll come back later to add in details of my fandom activities.
Is fan fiction legal?
The legality of fan fiction is a hotly debated topic. At this time, most copyright holders will look the other way, as long as the fan fiction activities don’t compromise their own revenue from the intellectual property. (Some even consider it free advertising.) The majority of fan writers, including me, consider attempts to circumvent the copyright holders’ rights to be disrespectful at best.
Can you copyright or sell fan fiction?
Fan fiction writers cannot assert copyright to any of the source material. However, we most certainly can assert copyright over any aspects of our work that are our own original creations. In cases of blatant plagiarism or exploitation, we will, and I have. That said, I only do so as an absolute last resort. I’ll try and work it out amicably first.
Most web-based fan fiction is free. As a matter of etiquette and respect, when fan fiction writers sell hard copy books or eBooks, the proceeds are first used to offset printing and distribution costs. Any remaining earnings are then usually donated to charity. My own excess royalties go to Back Street Kittens.