Hi There and Welcome!

My name is Kristin. I used to post here all the time but as with anyone life got extremely busy and I had to let go of something. Plus I kind of lost my creative spark for awhile while I dealt with some personal issues. Now that I have more time and have found my creative spark again. I am determined to finish ALL of my unfinished work once I finish the update of "Kindred Spirits Reunited" and finish "Rekindling the Music of the Night".

I have to give a very special thank you to my husband, who will most likely never read this but he has amazing patients when I am in writing mode.

Some of my writing background and opinions -

I have been writing creative stories since I was a young girl. I love writing and have dreamed of being a writer for as long as I can remember. I will always remember this quote from Sister Act 2 "I went to my mother. who gave me this book... called Letters To A Young Poet. Rainer Maria Rilke. He's a fabulous writer. A fellow used to write to him and say: "I want to be a writer. Please read my stuff." And Rilke says to this guy: "Don't ask me about being a writer. lf. When you wake up in the morning. you can think of nothing but writing... then you're a writer." I'm gonna say the same thing to you. If you wake up in the mornin' and you can't think of anything but singin' first... then you're supposed to be a singer. Girl." Last year I remembered that quote and realized that I am a writer even if my stories don't make me the next J.K. Rowling because I can think of nothing but writing.

I have written a few stories with my own characters and am in the process of starting my first novel. I discovered fan fiction when I used to watch General Hospital everyday when it was on soapnet and I was in high school. I still watch it sometime now but can't seem to get into the current storylines.

I thought of a different way I would like the story to go and in 24 hours I had my first fan fiction written which was "Will You Remember Me". Then I discovered FanFiction.net. I know fan fiction can get a bad wrap but even the most successful authors admit they have dabbled or gotten their start in fan fiction. Think "Fifty Shades of Grey". Some even still write it after they have found success.

I think fan fiction can give an author great practice because the characters and main settings are already established. Not to mention you can take them anywhere and create your own story which I love. This is my next warning about the kind of fan fiction author I am. I tend to write either AU or OOC. I try not to write OOC but sometimes it happens. If you are someone who likes when an author sticks strictly to canon my stories might not be for you but I do ask that you give them a chance if you like the genre and characters I am writing about.

I recently took a Beginning Writers Workshop Class Online and this is what I learned from it -

Being an author isn’t just knowing how to spell and using proper grammar. Having those things makes you a good author. What makes you a terrific author no matter if you are writing an original story or fan fiction is knowing your material. You have to know your characters inside and out. Every description and every part of dialogue has to help your reader to follow your story and move it along.

I learned a few important things in this class. After you write your first draft step away from it for a week or two. Then reread it to make sure your grammar is correct and your story flows the way you want it to so your reader stays interested. Description of every detail and feeling multiple times in the same paragraph slows down the story and gives your reader no idea where your story is going. After that draft continue the process until you feel you are done and have a good story. You'd be surprised to learn that one of the most important parts of your story is not the plot but the first paragraph. If you can't grab a readers attention in that time it is very likely they won't continue to read.

The same goes for advertising which is the biggest part I play in our businesses. If I can't attract someone to our business in 5-10 seconds it is likely they will move on to the next business that does what we do.

The best advice I ever got as an aspiring author is to keep your writing simple. These days those are the stories that get noticed and published.

Failure is always an option and that is ok. I have had my fair share of them. Not everything I write is going to appeal to everyone and get a lot of follows or reviews but when I write I write for me. So when I finish a story about characters that I care about to me that is a success in itself.

I do edit all my work before I post and have people read my work but there still may be some grammar mistakes. I apologize for them in advance.

Update 6/4/15

It seems this site is about to do another purge of stories they feel are not appropriate or violate their rules. If for some reason my stories disappear you can find me on AOA under KC_Vaillancourt.

Please do me a favor. Try to read more than one chapter before passing judgment on my stories. What happens in the rest of the story might surprise you and then you end up missing out on what many see as a great story.

I'd like to thank all my readers who support me. It means the world to me.