Welcome to the boards, hopefully-no-longer-miffed Muffin
One pretty good way of getting a response is posting a short "hi, I'm new here" message, maybe in the Off Topic section. Those usually get prompt friendly replies.
Also, as Artemis mentioned, a lot of people are off their normal schedule for the Thanksgiving holiday, so that'll slow things down some.
Please do try your hand at fanfic!
PJ