Day 4: What are the origins of your penname/username?
I've been called PaulaMcG ever since I entered the Harry Potter fandom in August 2003, because back then I thought that I was not exactly young, as Hermione says about Minerva McGonagall in OotP, and because I loved a couple of poets called Paul.
Day 7: What's the longest time you've been in a fandom. Not necessarily your oldest fandom, but a fandom that you started and still continue to read/write/create content for in some way.
The longest uninterrupted time that I've been active in a fandom (Harry Potter, of course, because I've never been in any other) was seven seven years and five months. And after a eight-year hiatus (when I didn't even read any fanfic), I've been back (posting fic) for two years and almost five months. In a couple of months I can celebrate my ten-year anniversary of fandom life. :)
Day 3: What's a favorite, or at least memorable fandom meeting/interaction that you've had?
Any interaction related to fanworks always makes my day. I feel I've done something meaningful when I've posted a comment on a piece of fanfic or fanart and when I can at least imagine that the feedback will be received. My favourites are those situations when a fellow writer or fanartist whose work I admire also shows interest in mine and we can continue to enjoy and discuss each other's stories or pictures and styles.
There are several writer relationships I remember fondly from my first fandom home, the small Snitch forum, from FictionAlley, and from LJ. The most significant one started from a definitely memorable, brilliant and emotional comment on one of my Grimmauld Place fics in June 2006, and led to mutual mentoring, friendship and love, and to a major change in my life, even though that brilliant person and I called each other the significant other only for a few months, travelled to meet only seven times in 2007 – 2014, and couldn't live together as partners.
I've been called PaulaMcG ever since I entered the Harry Potter fandom in August 2003, because back then I thought that I was not exactly young, as Hermione says about Minerva McGonagall in OotP, and because I loved a couple of poets called Paul.
Day 7: What's the longest time you've been in a fandom. Not necessarily your oldest fandom, but a fandom that you started and still continue to read/write/create content for in some way.
The longest uninterrupted time that I've been active in a fandom (Harry Potter, of course, because I've never been in any other) was seven seven years and five months. And after a eight-year hiatus (when I didn't even read any fanfic), I've been back (posting fic) for two years and almost five months. In a couple of months I can celebrate my ten-year anniversary of fandom life. :)
Day 3: What's a favorite, or at least memorable fandom meeting/interaction that you've had?
Any interaction related to fanworks always makes my day. I feel I've done something meaningful when I've posted a comment on a piece of fanfic or fanart and when I can at least imagine that the feedback will be received. My favourites are those situations when a fellow writer or fanartist whose work I admire also shows interest in mine and we can continue to enjoy and discuss each other's stories or pictures and styles.
There are several writer relationships I remember fondly from my first fandom home, the small Snitch forum, from FictionAlley, and from LJ. The most significant one started from a definitely memorable, brilliant and emotional comment on one of my Grimmauld Place fics in June 2006, and led to mutual mentoring, friendship and love, and to a major change in my life, even though that brilliant person and I called each other the significant other only for a few months, travelled to meet only seven times in 2007 – 2014, and couldn't live together as partners.