MetaFic

And here i was hoping they would eventually finish Family Inseparable of FFA.net. Where do retired authors go after they retire? Do they just leave the HP world completely?

Such a list would be so long. There are some that may write in areas not read by some here. I know for example that there are three writers who have 'left the fandom' - whatever that actually means - becasue I have been involved in podcasting on their work. They are Creative Quill, Lavender Brown (The Final Reckoning) and Lori (Paradigm of Uncertainty). The last two left unfinished trilogies.

Could we ever really get a reall, true list of 'retired fanfic authors'?

I know someone the other day was saying something about moving to original work but I don't know who it was. Maya is one who has done so. When people publish original works they don't write fanfic anymore.

Yes, an author who wants to retire is understandable. But, one who retires knowing that they're leaving unfinished works behind can be annoying. Especially if there is not RL issues like illness etc. that's forcing the retirement.

However, there are a few names on your list that are not as retired as might be thought.

Minstrel Knight just posted a long but complete one-shot called "Strawberry Fields" on Mar. 22nd on FF.net. It's a interesting blend of the HP canon as sort of "reality" blended with a fanfic AU. He says that the story sort of jolted him back into writing and he will be resuming work on his other stories.

Both Intromit and Mr. Intel posted chapters ( in Mr.I's case, for 2 different stories) as recently as last Oct. While some might not consider that to be recent, everyone on this site is familiar with long waits between postings, hmmm Josh ;)

Just in the last day or two, I came across a new and very recent posting by Dolenbyd, who is using a new "nom de plume". I'll have to do some research to back track to find it. I don't have time right now.

To the reitred list, I'd like to add:
Velvethope--who has so thoroughly retired that she has even purged her Live Journal account. From an interview done with her at the time ( I can't remember whether it was on "Wizard Tales" or "Simply Undeniable"), there was no real reason for the retirement and she said that she would not finish any unfinished works. I found this particularly annoying as she had had a reputation for always finishing a story--she did several quite long ones--and therefore I had considered it to be a safe bet to read her stories. She left undone an almost finished story "In Essence Divided" which was a sequel to "Seventeen, Clumsy and Shy", the first of her works I read. It was a finished story but it was part of a "saga" that was to be concluded in the sequel.

The next one I can only list as perhaps retired or maybe use the MIA idea. It's the author Myth & Legend who seemed to post only on "Phoenix Song". At least, I have not found her work elsewhere. She was close to finishing a very interesting story called "Cursed" (which IMO, had one of the most fascinating takes on a AU, mature Harry that I'd seen) when she said that due to RL issues (wedding, moving etc. ) that she had to take a break from the story. That was 2 years ago today. I was in touch with her late last summer, and she said that she hoped to take up the story by Christmas. Sadly, nothing has yet shown up and while her PS bio (not sure how recently dated it is ) says that she does intend to finish the story, she also says that she might not be up to the challenge. If that is the case, I hope she will at least post a summary of how she intended to finish the story. However, her other works, all completed, are well worth the read.

There is a couple more authors I think should be added to the list, but I've run out of time for now.

I have also been hoping for a conclusion to Family Inseparable. Especially given the statement made after the nanowrimo event it was started for finished that stated that the story would be completed. :-(

Also to be added to the MIA list should be Elsielann who put her story A Matter of Circumstance on hold to write its companion piece A Matter of Perspective and bring it to the same point. Unfortunately she stopped writing before getting to that point, and has yet to finish either story, despite her most recent live journal post dated 23 Jan 2008 stating that it was time to finish the story, and the support for the idea expressed in the replies.

- SC

She last updated (The Dark and Winding Path) 09/20/2007, and then only on WizardTales (this last chapter still isn't on SIYE). She preceded the update with:

Author's Chapter Notes:
I apologize to all those who have been waiting for updates! RL has interfered these last few months - but I should be able to update regularly now! Thank you for reading!

Clearly, this hasn't happened.

Dolenbyd here.

I stopped writing HP fanfic (though I still read it and I am still in fandom) because I wanted to focus on writing original fiction (bibliography at my LJ page here: http://mmerriam.livejournal.com/profile). I tried doing both for a time, and in fact wrote Becoming at the same time I was writing a novel, but I reached a point where I had to make a choice. I only have so much time for writing fiction, and focusing on my own original works was the easy choice to make.

My best work in HP fanfic can be found here: http://gems.wizardtales.net/h-g_gems.html They are still rough, because I never did work with a beta: by the time I wrote these I was already shifting my energy and focus to original fiction. Sometime I regret that decision, because a beta would have made them stronger stories, but I was getting pressed for time and going through a major life change (blindness) and decided to finish them quickly, polish them as best as I could, and get them to the reader ASAP. I am proud that I finished every story I started in HP fanfic.

Some of my older stories from the early days of SIYE are not on the above site (Turn About, Sacrifice, Upon a Coppice Gate), but I would be happy to email the whole set to anyone interested. You can reach me at mmerriamATgmailDOTcom.

Peace
Michael Merriam
http://www.michaelmerriam.net

Thank you for the list. Most of the authors, I'm not at all familiar with. My fan fic reading is pretty limited to only a few authors. So I'll check out that list.

I didn't see one person on the list. She's one of a handful writers who became novelists. hwimsey (Sarah Glover) She's moved on to writing full time. She's working on a novel and I hear it's going to be published. Her one big story was The Coven of Echoes on PS.

While I have not spoken to this author, he just released a new short story "Strawberry Fields" on 24 March.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4940094/1/Strawberry_Fields

The authors note indicates he wrote this trying to overcome writers block. Hopefully we will see more from him in the future. I really enjoy his works and The Last Song is one of my favorite HP fanfictions. Don't let the strange crossovers put you off. It's a great read:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4106974/1/The_Last_Song

Haha! When I first read the title, I though YOU (Josh) were retiring, which made me think, "WHAT?! I'll never find out what's happening in Echoes of Power now?" :-)

I believe Bobmin was dealing with RL issues. HOWEVER! In checking the group to see if there was activity, I found notice of http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4960536/1/The_Obligatory_Marriage_Law_Fic which has posted today. I guess I have something to do here in a few minutes now. :-) Unfortunately, it looks like it will be a while before Mutant Storm returns. :-(

I would also add "Lord Dwar" on FFA as being gone. Sigh, I so wish he'd finish the saga started in "Summer of Change", but that is still nowhere in sight.

Kevin

I strongly suspect the author Hamm on Rye died. The last posting from him said that he had a heart condition and was going to under go a surgery that the chances of him coming out alive were 50-50... Its been several months since anyone heard from him...

Last I heard she was writing in another (managa?) fandom and discovering the joys of writing 'man love' lol! She also had a baby last year so that could also have contributed.

She does run the beta site Perfect Imagination as well (well, she did last I heard) .

Josh, maybe you should re-name this thread "Retirees from HP fanfiction". Just to avoid medical complications.

Imogen is retired from fan fiction but is writing original fiction.

She had several Pre-OotP stories, most notably Carpe Diem and Alpha and Omega. There are two or three of her stories (not the ones mentioned) that I wish she had finished, especially A Pensieve Affair. Her stories can be found on several sites.

Thanks for all the useful additions. I've added all comments thus far.

A few passing notes . . Mr Intel's site still has him listed as retired, so I've whimsically renamed the status on him to "Flirting with" the idea as opposed to quasi/semi retired.

Also, I'm not one to point a finger at slow updates, so that stone was thankfully a miss. Thanks for being gentle with a small rock, there, Miri, instead of the mountain you could have thrown :) Anyway, I listed the authors as MIA if there was no indication that they were going to be slow/out for a while. Even at my worst period of non-involvement, I still put out notes in various places saying that I was alive but updates were delayed. That's in contrast to the "black hole" syndrome. Bobmin would be a good example, he and his (better?) half left messages that they would be out, so they got filed differently.

Also, as I suspect some authors would be better listed under "Re-charging" or some such, I made a new category and stuck Minstrel Knight in there. To be fair, since he (she?) just posted, I could drop the name entirely -- but it sounds like from the comments people left, it's not clear that postings will resume any time soon. Since this category may grow, for now I'll just leave it in as a working label until the complaints pile up.

I'm not trying to make an exhaustive list -- just a list of the authors from readers that frequent this site. As someone mentioned, making an exhaustive list . . . well, that would just be exhaustive.

Jade is around, just not interested in Soul Nexus much anymore.

I was enjoying that story…

Providing a pointer to the source? Does this mean "retired from HP" or retired from Soul Nexus? The story hasn't been marked abandoned AFAIK.

Full Pensieve is officially retired. I've never read his stories but i saw his profile on fanficauthors.net.

The 'source' is me, because I'm his current beta. I was the beta for about the last five chapters of SN, as well as a new (shorter) story he's fiddling around with that I haven't gotten around to going through yet.

So, retired from Soul Nexus, not HP. But less interested all around, in my opinion.

Bummer. Or stated more simply, that really sucks. I can understand it, though. Is he going to allow it for adoption? Or is it just going to be tagged as "Complete" ?

That definitely sucks as that was IMO one of the best stories out there.

I don't know. He certainly hasn't mentioned anyone else taking over the story, though if someone is interested I imagine he would hear them out. As far as I know, though, the story was written chapter to chapter, with the only outline existing in Jade's head, so whoever wanted to adopt it would be starting in the middle, but starting from scratch nonetheless.

Hi. Like Michael (Dolenbyd), for the same reasons, and partly at his urging, I (mostly) stopped writing fanfic after "Minding the Baby" in August of 2007. I've been concentrating on original fiction since then, with varying levels of success and frustration. I'm learning a lot.

I do occasionally step in to do things like judge challenges or write fanfic drabbles, so I son't know whether "retired" is exacly right. How about "Emeritus status?"

As someone who remains awed by the power of your stories, I second the title "Fanfic Author Emeritus" for Rhetor!

You are very kind. Thank you.

Sorry was distracted going "Hey, I know that fic ... I know that fic ..."

Then I remembered podcasting it *facepalm* That's completely off topic .... carry on!

When I read "Counting to Five Thousand" I knew good and well that you have that something special that many writers, professional or otherwise, don't. That's why I encouraged you to try original fiction. You're damned good.

You wouldn't happen to have "Lost Children" with the original ending would you? Also.... do you know what happened to lecook4? There are no longer any stories anywhere, by that pen-name, and they were really good!

That will be posting here, probably sometime after Becoming finishes. I'm not involved in that one, so I can't offer details.

As for lecook4, I have no idea. Sorry. The name's familiar, but I can't place it.

Good news on this front. I got a notification the other day that Hamm On Rye's stories would be updating in about a week, so it looks like he made it and just had a long recovery. :)

Kevin

Not read any of his works... links?

These are his 2 latest projects and what I was hoping he would get a chance to finish. They sort of go together.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3186974/1/He_Did_it_His_Way
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3844447/1/The_Mudblood_Revolution

I believe you'll want to read them in that order, although in ch 25 an A/N in "He Did It His Way" points to "The Mudblood Reveolution". Note, I read them for the humor and they are NOT H/G fics.

Kevin

Does anyone know if intromit is retired? The author of "Harry Potter and Fate's Debt".

This doesn't necessarily mean anything, but intromit hasn't even logged on to SIYE since 5/17/2009. And on the front page of his Yahoo group is this message: "Chapter 24: The Prophecy: In final beta. Due 10/12". Chapter 24 was the last chapter posted. So it doesn't look good.

Then again, it had been over a year between updates on "Harry Potter and the Nightmares of Futures Past" and we just got another one. Similar situation for "Erasing the Future". So who knows?

I talk to the author of "Erasing the Future" every now and then. She's going to post another chapter soon. Its currently with her beta.

It does seem like the good ones are posted few and far between chapters. All of my favorites are either posting chapters very slowly or writing short stories/novels. I've already lost several of them, as they turned pro. Duh...the cream always rises to the top. The endless, repetitive writers produce them as assembly workers churning out Dell computers. So I really only read a handful of them. I should talk. I can't even write. But I love a good writer. So this listing is really helping me.

I don't post on the forums here much (nothing personal -- I just don't have time to get everything done that I need to PhoenixSong, much less do much on other sites ;-)), but thought I'd add a couple of bits to this general topic...

Myth&Legend is indeed writing in another fandom (I believe someone mentioned anime, and that's what I remember as well). I haven't had much contact in the last few months since she mostly migrated to a site other than LJ, but she has mentioned a few times that she'd like to eventually finish "Cursed", but hasn't been able to get her muse going on that particular fic. So... there's still hope, but it may be a long, long wait (even for those of us who are accustomed to long waits, and/or long times between writing ourselves!).

Imogen's pre-OotP-based fanfics are available (most of them, at least) on PhoenixSong and her own site (http://www.harryandginny.co.uk) (though I'm currently getting a "closed for maintenance" message there...?) She's moved on to original fiction, both online and in publication (or at least, she was working on getting published, last I heard, which was quite some time ago).

Elsielann reappeared on LJ only a 2-3 months or so ago, and has just had all sorts of major changes in her life over the last couple of years. She has, however, started writing little bits, trying to get back into the swing of things, and mentioned that she's likely to just try to finish her original fic (MoC) before anything else, so hopefully she'll be able to get something done on that before toooo terribly long.

There may be others that are in similar situations as some of these already mentioned that I'm just not thinking of at the moment. If y'all think of any others to ask about, feel free -- I'll try to remember to check back here and see if I can add anything further.

Has anyone heard what's happened with Aaran St Vines? I note that it's been about 11 months since a posting, and with at least 3 stories going, I would have expected at least 1 to have had movement. I know they are somewhat interconnected, but still. :)

Does anybody know the status of Sib? Author of The Awakening Power

Sib hasn't posted much of anything since Awakening Power, I believe that was the last story put out in fact. Never planned any sequels nor promised anything either unfortunately. Sib's stuff is still posted I believe on either PS or Siye.

One of the very first fanfic authors I came across was a lady called something like "Jaquelyne". (spelling?) I want to say I recall she passed on? Hoping I'm wrong, but perhaps someone more knowledgable can chime in here? Perhaps I have the name wrong? It's been a few years now.

Hi

I'm sorry to say that she is no longer with us mortals. More info is on the SIYE site but as I'm about to leave for work I haven't got the time to hunt it down at the moment (sorry).

Here's the link to the SIYE news post about Jaquelyne.
http://www.siye.co.uk/siye/news.php?action=newsstory&nid=1110

-SC

I found this thread while searching for some lost fics I wanted to re-read again, and even thought the thread is probably dead I though of posting about Creative Quill.

This is really not verified, but a few years back we were working with CQ on an LJ rpg along with many others, and one day she disappeared. There was no fight or anything to speak of and as far as I am aware she had a condition so we were worried something might have happened to her. Though we tried to contact her we were unable to, and as far as I know her stories had not been updated since. I do hope she's ok, but the general idea back then was that something had indeed happened to her.

That's all. :-)

Greta