Why we picked her:

There was no really obvious choice for this fandom, simply because the BSB fandom, for whatever reason, hasn't matured the way other RPS fandoms have. While Fluttergirl is fairly new to the fandom (Feb. 2000), she came highly recommended by the people we asked. Her slash adventures started in 1999, and when she got her own computer she went looking for some Mulder/Krycek. The BSB involvement is "all Howie Dorough's fault." Most of her stories hinge around said Howie Dorough, and they always contain some interesting ideas. To check out her writing, venture over to Lose Yourself.

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

Talking to other people helps a lot. Finding someone to talk to about how the Boys interact tends to spawn ideas. Also, I've found that you can create new situations if you take a character or pairing that you don't normally write about and figure out how you can make it work in a way that you'd want to read about it. And pictures. There are tons of slashy pictures floating around the internet. Take one of those and write what you see in it. It's a great excercise.

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?

Well, obviously grammar and spelling mistakes are a turn off. Not enough people have a beta or even use spell check. I can sometimes look past that, but if there are constant mistakes, I can't help but cringe. Also, badly written sex. And there's two sides to this -- there's the sex that uses words like "pole" for penis, and there's sex that reads like an awful harlequin romance. And sometimes I've even seen both used in the same sex scene! Some people like that I guess. *shrug* But me? Nope.

What impresses me... The details. As they say, god is in the details -- they make the relationship, the sex, the whatever, that much more interesting. Because you've got that little bit of info that shows you how the character's shirt feels, or the perhaps the odd things running through his mind during foreplay.

Also, I'm a sucker for authors who can pull off writing a story that has metaphor or something like that drawn out through the whole story. Done well, it gives the story that extra layer to consider.

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

Lately, I have good ideas for stories, but lack in a way to flesh them out. For example, I'll have one scene or half a story written, and then realize that I've run out of places to go with it, even though it's not finished. Usually, I end up thinking about it a whole lot after that -- playing the scenes over in my head. Other times, I'll close my eyes and simply type whatever comes to my mind, and it doesn't even matter if it sucks or even if it has nothing to do with the story, because I can always edit it later. It's all about getting the ideas to start flowing again.

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

Yes, I get blocked. I was the queen of getting blocked at one point. Sometimes I had to sit myself down and force myself to write just one sentence so I could have at least a little progress. And you should still read when you're blocked. And not just slash, either. I read a lot of gay short fiction anthologies. Or read a novel you've been meaning to tackle. Sometimes reading outside of the fandom can help to spark new ideas.

As far as what causes it, I don't really know. It could be anything from personal problems to irritation with the fandom, or even just the need to regenerate before writing again.

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

Most of the time, the biggest mistake is simply not knowing enough about the real life people that they are writing about. It's not that you necessarily have to stick to the facts and leave it at that, because it is fiction. But it's a good thing to keep in mind that Kevin and Brian are married, or that Brian had open heart surgery, or that they toured in Europe for a length of time. You can get around those things sometimes and still be realistic, but straying too far lands you in AU territory, which is a whole different ball game.

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?

I try to read at least part of every BSB story that graces my inbox, and then I'm always finding BSB slash out on the web that never gets sent to the slash lists. Usually, I read the first few paragraphs to see if it interests me, and if it doesn't, I sometimes don't finish it. If it's an author I've read before and like, I'll probably read the whole thing, same thing if it's an author I've never read before. And as far as feedback, lately I try to feedback every story I read through to the end. *Try* being the key word. It's hard to feedback everything. But it's a nice thing for the author, even if it's just a simple, "hey, I liked that, and this is the part I liked best..."

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

In RPS, we draw from a somewhat set public persona -- the personality that the celebrity has in the public eye. But as with any characterization, you have to make the reader believe that your character would actually do what you're having them do. So if you write, for example, Howie as an insensitive prick or Kevin as limp-wristed and flamey, you really need to go into some of the history as to why they're acting like that, because that's not necessarily something you'd see them do in real life. People don't do that enough. They have the character do outrageous things, and don't back it up.

But on the flip side of that, you also run the risk of making the characters too stereotypical of their public personas. Especially since boyband members tend to be described in a specific role -- the wild one, the religious one, the sensitive one, the heartthrob, the father figure. You have to break them out of that role to an extent to make them real characters rather than pin-ups.

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

Write, and write a lot if you can. Because you're going to improve your writing that way, through the practice, and get a better feel as to how you want to write and explore your characters. Read a lot, too. It's good to see how other people are interpreting the characters. And don't be shy -- authors are usually pretty eager to talk about writing. Also, it wouldn't hurt to get a tape of some of the BSB's past performances and interviews (or to watch their current ones). That way you can see their personalities and see how they interact with each other in real life.

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?

I do a lot of headbanging. Heh. There isn't a whole lot of BSB slash, especially when compared to Nsync slash. And since there aren't as many people writing BSB slash, it hasn't had the chance to develop like Nsync slash has. So a lot of people are still hung up on the physical part of it (the sex, the kissing -- the basic want to see the Boys touching each other) and don't take as much time to craft the physicalness, and then, to craft something good, plot-wise, around that. I'm not saying that it's all lacking in plot, or that it's all badfic, I'm saying that it's like there's not a much of an emphasis on writing well, than there is on just getting the story out there.

Any other pet peeves/advice/general thoughts?

One word. Howie. The reason I got into BSB slash was so I could read slash about him. But guess what? It was difficult to find any. So me and another fellow slasher and Howie-lover had to be vocal about it and get other people excited about slashing him, too. And it worked to an extent. But there still seems to be a large bias against him -- people think that he's not slashable enough. Which is completely bizarre. Because you have a lot of non-slashers proclaiming how gay he seems, and then slashers who ignore him.

Two things that have surprised me in this fandom:

I was surprised to find how far back the BackstreetSlash list archives went. There are messages dating back to October of 1999. So one would think that the fandom would be larger than it is, but it's not. Especially when compared to the rapid growth of the Nsyncslash list, which was started back in June of 2000.

Another thing I've found in the BSB fandom that I didn't see as much of in the Nsync fandom, is that you can find a large amount of slash hidden amongst the het on general fanfiction sites. And they're not necessarily calling it slash, either. The stories are labeled as having "gay themes" or mention "homosexual content" in the summary. I just think it's interesting how het and slash are mixed so much in this fandom.

Fluttergirl's story recs:

I tried to find a variety of good things, so here goes:

Schism by Jericho

Looking for Satellites by Rachel

Duet (a WIP) by Amy

Kevin's Body of Work by Matthew

Quartet by Chandrah