If I ever get off my figurative arse, by sitting down on my actual, factual, physical arse in front of my computer and write something – I'll let my work do the talking, so I'll be only telling you a little personal stuff in this profile. Where I think it might further understanding of writing decisions, author's notes are a different matter.

The Waspeater (Vespaphaga parma) is an arboreal dinosaur of therapod descent that lives in tropical forests on the continent that would be called Africa if humans had ever evolved in its 'verse. It eats wasps. It also happens to be the very first of the 'New Dinosaurs' described in one of my all time favourite books - Dougal Dixon's wonderful speculative evolution called, funnily enough, The New Dinosaurs.

A GENERAL DISCLAIMER

If it belongs to someone else, I'm not trying to claim it and I'm not seeking to profit monetarily from such. Insofar as such a beast exists, I claim only my original creations, be they characters, places, environments or situations, remembering of course that true original thought is largely a myth.

As a lecturer told me as I was failing an architecture degree "Any time you think you've come up with something original, Le Corbusier thought of it decades before you were even born". Inspirational.

Unless you are an evil lawyer (there are good and decent ones too) who has turned their back on common sense in their search for targets, or a forum troll, or both {shudder}, you are here because you recognise that the basic, nay fundamental human activity of storytelling has always relied on recycling previously created material. Any sensible definition of the fair use of copyrighted or otherwise legally protected intellectual property should recognise this as well.

Also, because it is part of the expected social niceties – I AM POOR IT WOULD BE STUPID TO SUE ME YOU'LL MAKE NO MONEY DOING IT YAH BOO SUX.

A SPECIFIC DISCLAIMER WITH REGARD TO RECURSIVE FANFICTION

Some of the fanfiction I write is based on works that are themselves fanfiction.

It is said that it is easier to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.

I am interested in neither.

I have never understood the attitude, quite common amongst the fanfic community, that says whilst extrapolating, expanding or just plain playing with the intellectual property of published authors, rights-holding corporations or, in the singular case of Peter Pan, The Great Saint Ormond Street Children's Hospital, London (which holds the rights FOREVER, by unique act of Parliament, it will NEVER enter the public domain) is fine and dandy, somehow "doing that" to your fellow ficcers is wrong. Overtones of theft and cannibalism stink up the discussion.

This is in my (less than entirely) humble opinion, nothing but rank hypocrisy.

If playing in a copyrighted fictional world is justifiable as fair use, the same logic applies to your work, Mr,Ms,Mrs and/or non-value-judgement-title-signifier-of-your-choice Fanfiction. The same logic applies to anything I write as well.

If I consciously base something I write on someone else's work I will say so in the author's notes.

I will also notify the originator, because I want them to know that I enjoyed their imaginative leaps and the qualities of their prose and it made my tender brain meats go all fizzy. I hope this will open an intriguing creative dialogue (but as most anything in this category will be me doing continuations of deadfics that hope may well be forlorn).

I will not ask permission. This is fanfiction. It's kind of the point.

ON SPELLINGS AN' SPEECHIFYIN'

Some people are British, get over it.

I'm one of them and I see colours, taste flavours and smell odours. I also hear the letter 'U' in all those things, even if it's silent, so that's how I'll write them. I have a genetic predisposition towards Grammar Nazification. I try to stop it spoiling my social interactions. I am not always 100% successful.

The vast exception to this is characters' actual speech. I try to reflect how people really talk, which means I may use contradictory spellings if American or American-influenced characters are talking in my British fiction - y'know to show that they are Yanks 'n' that.

I may also, unwisely, attempt regional accents, reflected in variant and deviant spellings.

For example, someone from Manchester, England (where I live) might say "I have not eaten yet". They are more likely to say "I int et yet". Int is the local aint and et, ate. Clear as mud.

Also some characters can't spell, so if I'm writing them writing things down, all hell can break loose.