Why we picked her:

For a relatively new fandom, Bliss has a lot of stories under her belt. If you're looking not only for the motherload of wrestling slash and related links, but of opinions on the fandom, you need look no farther than her web site and LiveJournal. In short, she seems to work her butt off. Even though she hasn't written wrestling slash in awhile, she still knows her stuff. She also writes Metallica, Megadeth and Matchbox 20 slash, i.e. Metal and Rock RPS.

I know everyone hates this question, but how do you get inspired? What would you recommend for people who have trouble finding story ideas?

By watching the show. That's the main inspiration. Discussing the show with other people will work just as well. Even with people who don't know that I write slash. I've also been known to go back and obsessively watch older matches and pay-per-views.

As for the second part, my advice is to just keep watching. Something will hit you eventually. I had been watching wrestling for months before I got hit with inspiration.

When you're reading, are there any aspects that can make or break a fic for you? What impresses you and what turns you off?

Definitely.

I'm not that picky on grammar, but I am on spelling. Especially since there's a spell-checker right on Word. There's no reason a word should be misspelled, in my opinion. Another thing that will completely turn me off a fic is bad formatting. A fifteen-page fic that appears all as one paragraph is not something that I'm going to bother to read. That and when there are odd characters, like , where quotation marks should be.

As for the actual content of a fic, I won't read stories that misspell characters' names or obviously do not make any sense. At this point, I pretty much refuse to read any story that involves the "twinking" of any character. Really bad, unrealistic plots and/or dialogue are a pet peeve of mine as well. That and authors who beg for feedback at the end of each post.

As for what makes me like a fic, it doesn't take much. Proper spelling and an intriguing plot and I'm there.

What do you struggle with when you sit down to write, and how do you overcome it?

Sticking to my original plot. I tend to go off onto tangents in my fics. I used to just flow with where my muses took me, but now I rarely post fics unless I know for sure that they're not going to do that.

My other problem is sex scenes. Most of the unfinished fics on my hard drive are there because I can't write them. I usually force myself to write the scene a sentence at a time until it's done. Or wait for a burst of inspiration. Whichever comes first. (No pun intended)

Do you ever get "blocked?" How do you deal with it? Any idea what causes it?

Oh yeah, of course I do. In fact, I've been blocked for months in the wrestling fandom.

I've dealt with it so far by throwing myself into other fandoms. I suppose that's really just ignoring the problem. Lately, I've been forcing myself to go back and reread some of my unfinished fics. Sometimes if I reread them enough, something will pop out at me and I'll be able to write a couple of paragraphs more.

Well, I can't say what causes it for everyone. Basically, for me, I know I'm blocked because I don't watch wrestling anymore. At first I just didn't have time because of school. Then, when school was over, I gained other interests. I'd like to think that if I started watching again, I'd stop being blocked.

Another thing that seems to work is picking a picture of two wrestlers that looks slashy. Give yourself a half-hour to write something. You'll either come up with something or at least be distracted by the pretty picture.

What are some common mistakes that you see new writers make in your fandom?

Spelling and formatting mistakes are the biggest thing. After that, begging for feedback and posting several very small parts of a story in one day. If you had all of that written, then why not just post it all as one?

Also, new writers seem to have a tendency to either copy the plots of older writers or write the same pairings as them. Since there are so many wrestlers out there, there's nearly an infinite amount of pairings. Pair two (or more) wrestlers that you like. Don't write Jeff/Matt just because your favorite author does or because those characters seem to get a lot more feedback.

How do you select what to read and what to feedback? Do you mainly read stories written by your friends or do you branch out a bit?

In the beginning, before I even started to write, I read everything. I'd only feedback stories that truly touched me.

When I began to write, I only read stories that featured characters and/or plots that were interesting to me. During that time period, I feedbacked everything I read.

Then, when I started to write less, I'd only read fics from authors whose work I was already familiar with. And I'd feedback them, of course.

Now I pretty much lurk. I read some fics and only feedback those that truly touch me in some way. Those that really make me think or inspire me to actually come back and write.

I really have come full circle on this, haven't I?

What common mistakes do you see in your fandom in terms of characterization?

Wrestling is a fandom that blurs the line between RPS and FPS. Some authors will write, for instance, Hunter as a total bastard. That would be according to the story line. But other authors will write him as insecure or something totally different, which might fit in more with how Paul, who "plays" Hunter is in real life.

So there's very much a duality to characterization in wrestling fic.

The problem comes in when people write Hunter as a nice guy and have the story take place in story line, because in the story line, he's not a nice guy. The author has to decide when they write the story, "is this in story line or not"? And then they have to stick with it. All the way, including the characters' names. If you call Christian "Christian" then call Edge "Edge." Unless you have a good reason for doing otherwise, of course.

The biggest problem that seems to plague wrestling slash more than any other fandom, is "twinking." It doesn't really make sense that Christian (in story line or not) would be some whining, feminine, ditzy slut. There's nothing out there in canon that supports this type of characterization as far as I know. Same with other wrestlers like X-Pac, and Shannon Moore. Just because they're smaller and seen as prettier than other wrestlers does not warrant this type of characterization.

What advice would you give someone who is just entering the fandom?

Run away while you still can?

Just kidding. My advice is to read as much "good" fic as you can. For the love of Vince, watch the show if you plan to write fanfic about it. Although I've never really used one in this fandom, get a beta reader. Even if it's just to skim your fic for obvious errors.

Don't put any of the following things (or facsimiles) in your notes:

"TBC, if I get more feedback."

"I know there are spelling and grammar errors, deal."

"I'm new, so if I screw up, that's why."

Don't write something just because you think the pairing/plot/characters will please someone else. Try to be original. There's only so many Jeff/Matt incest stories that one can read in this lifetime.

If you hate a character, don't bother to write about them. Making them the villain in your fic (forgoing characterization) just because you dislike them will only hurt your fic.

How would you summarize the state of writing in your fandom? Are you generally impressed with the fic you see, or does it make you want to bang your head against the wall?

Oh my. Well, certain writers out there impress me. Some of them really do produce astounding works that I find myself rereading several times.

Which would bring me to why am I rereading fics when there are so many new fics out there? Basically, to be honest, a lot of the new stuff isn't that great. I'm not saying that every new author out there sucks. There's just a problem of new authors trying to copy what they've read. Which is why we end up with so many fics with the same characters and/or plots. There's a lot of repetition in wrestling slash. Not plagiarism, but recycling of the same ideas and pairings.

So yeah, a lot of the fic does make me want to bang my head against the wall.

Any other pet peeves/advice/general thoughts?

I'm repeating myself, but again, be original. Don't write pairings like Jeff/Matt or Edge/Christian just for feedback. In fact, don't write for feedback. No one should be writing for feedback. Write for yourself.

Use a spell-checker. Or, even better, a grammar/spell-checker. Unless you're very confident of your grammar skills, get a good beta reader that knows her/his grammar.

Step away from the story before you post it. Take a breather, get your mind off it. Then go back and read it. Inspect it; go over it with a fine-tooth comb. Look for obvious mistakes. Basically, think before you post.

Make sure to use proper headers, at least on the first part. Use ratings and warn of things like incest, rape, etc. Trust me, this will prevent flames.

Bliss' recs:

Available weekly at http://www.geocities.com/naobliss/recs.html.