Well, I've told my story to anyone who will listen, but I love telling it, so I'll go through it again for anyone who has missed it. Prepare yourself, I'm sure this will be a novel.
In the Spring of 2001 I moved from DC to Raleigh, NC. I was planning to attend UNC in the fall, and in the meantime, I was working as a live-in nanny. I was dying of boredom because the kids' mom (single parent) was gone for weeks on end, leaving me with a five year old and twin two year olds for company. LnC was on at just the time I got back from dropping them off at school,and I quickly became addicted again. I even began writing my first fanfic, though I had no idea what that was at the time. Eventually I discovered Annesplace, the archives and then Zoomsboards. I read the boards voraciously, but couldn't bring myself to post. I was too scared people would either think I was dumb or just plain ignore me. It wasn't too hard to lurk because there was never really anything I felt I HAD to say because someone else would always say something similar.
Then Pam began posting Hearts Divided, and I just *had* to tell her about this quote from the book Dune. She was really nice and encouraging, so I posted some more feedback. Eventually I was posting occassional feedback, but I never thought I'd do any more than that. I certainly was not going to post my own stories or chat on IRC. <G>
I had IRC installed on my computer from when my sister had set it up, but I'd never used it and didn't really have any intention of doing so.
Then came Sept. 11. I was a scared, lonely student who had only been at my new school for three weeks, had no friends or family in the area and was coming from Washington DC where a plane had just crashed into the building where many of my friends and many or my friends' parents work. I was terrified and just really needed to be with people. I live off campus and couldn't tear myself away from my tv long enough to walk there.
Then I saw a post on the mbs saying the password had been removed temporarily and that anyone who wanted to come chat was welcome. I didn't know where else to go, so I decided to try it. There were dozens and dozens of people there supporting each other, updating each other and worrying about each other. I remember NYC folcs signing on and everyone cheering. It was so sad, but it was also really encouraging. It was exactly what I needed.
I stayed mostly quiet, talking to a few people I recognized. But after that I felt really close to people and I started coming on IRC more often. The more I chatted, the more I felt comfortable posting. And the more I posted, the more people got to know me.
Eventually I let it slip that I was a writer, and people began demanding stories. Since I secretly wanted to write stories, they didn't have to do much begging. A few months later, I began posting Anybody's Baby, and the rest is history.
Shutting up now,
Annie
