First off--yes,  for those of you who are wondering, I like this color scheme very much, it makes me feel serious, dark, and mysterious.  Adds atmosphere, I think.  In any case, I think of it as rather my trademark, so anywhere you see me, you'll likely see this. ;o)

Okay, let's cover the basics first.  I'm a nineteen-year-old American college student, and a born-again Christian (see my personal testimony here).  I'm majoring in Computer Science, in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at my University.

About my stories:
It all started, believe it or not, with a 9th grade English assignment.  We were required to write a short story.  I enjoyed writing the Wild Card Factor so much and got so much positive feedback on it that I decided to take Creative Writing my sophmore year in high school.  If I ever write a book, it will be dedicated to Mrs. Hood, my incredible teacher.  I'd been warned that the class probably wouldn't be as good as I was hoping, but it was far better.  Mrs. Hood gave me just the encouragement I needed at a very critical time and I learned to become more critical of what I read, as well.  Which is in some ways a good thing and in some ways a bad thing ;oP  But I somehow manage to evaluate the style plot developement of a novel and still enjoy the story.

How did I get started writing Duck fanfic.  I watched the show.  I liked it.  I started making up stories in my head when I got bored.  It didn't occur to me to actually write any of it down until I found some fanfic on the web.  Zelda's first, I think.  So I started writing my stuff down.  I went through several characters mentally, actually.  Laurelai and Lanna were two.  Most of them were different incarnations of Lila--same basic premise, different details.  White or black hair instead of brown, and I must have changed her eye color a hundred times.  I think she was always brown, though. The differences weren't all physical, either.  At one point she was Canard's sister and dated Wildwing for a while while they were on Puckworld, at another she was more similar to Laurelai, older and closer with Duke than anyone else.

Jen Lai was a product of watching too much Anime, I'm sure of it ;oP  I don't remember which show, specifically, though.  Finding a name for her was hard, I went through several.  Meiko was one, I think...the whole di/clan idea came from a book I was reading at the time, The Broken Crown (book one of the Sun Sword trilogy) by Michelle West.

Milantha is probably more like me than any of my other characters.  We don't look a thing alike, but we've got the same don't-mess-with-me attitude, particularly around guys.  Same sarcastic sense of humor (I've actually been called a real-life Daria, which is a gross exaggeration in my opinion) and were you to ask two different people about us you'd get two very different descriptions.  We're also all bark and no bite.  No, wait that's not true.  We're MOSTLY bark and some bite.  Same temper, both impatient, both willing to all but kill ourselves to help a friend out.

Iliana's some of my qualities taken to the extreme.  I don't posess her patience or her self-control, but those are qualites I admire greatly in others.  I have a tendancy to be old fashioned and traditional, but not to the degree that she is.  I can hold a grudge just as long as she can, however ;oP

Slake and Cutter are a little harder to find similarities in.  I think I really have very little in common with Slake, except that the bonds that he forms to people he cares about are very strong and the same goes for me.  With Cutter the similarities are there, but they're too personal to go into, really.  Almost none of them are quite what I intended them to be, they've all sort of evolved--which is why I never put up profiles before.  Things were always changing and they would go out of date pretty quickly.

As for the stories themselves, I get my ideas in the wierdest places.  Star Trek--even Baywatch.  Yes, you heard right, Baywatch.  That, believe it or not, is where the inspiration for Beauty is More Than Skin Deep came from.  Mystic Ducks was inspired by the Anime series Slayers.  Some come from real life--Choice and Consequence.  Some just smack me out of no where ;oP  I take a lot of tips from my favorite authors, too--so if you notice something that reminds you of a touch of Timothy Zahn or a little Terry Brooks, maybe some Mercedes Lackey, don't be surprised.

About the cultural backgrounds of my characters, like Jen Lai and Kalani--it just kind of happens.  Sometimes I get excited about a particular concept that just won't let me go.  I try to be accurate to a point, but I'll also mix aspects when I feel the need.  I don't mean to offend anyone or intend any disrespect to any culture by doing so.  I feel I have a little leeway, seeing as how they're from another dimension and all.

Writer's block.  Yes, I suffer from it the same as everyone else.  I notice that it seems to happen after I've had a lot of ideas at once, or something to that effect.  I think I sort of drain myself of creative energy at times and have to give it time to restock.  I also think it helps to have a break from everything else too.  I know there hasn't been any major story updates recently, hopefully I'll be able to rectify that in a couple of weeks. I'm going through final exams right now--the pressure, the pressure!!  Once my vacation starts and I have less to worry about, I hope to get re-energized.  Last time I went home I came back brimming with new ideas ;oP  Let's all hope for a repeat, folks.  Stress and work do not do wonders for creative output ;oP

Moving on, I've also done a lot of work for the Brotherhood of the Blade lately--I find it fascinating, to be quite honest, it's quite dynamic.  Team effort, and all that, working together to build a world that works and is believable.  Eew, that sounded mushy didn't it...anyway.  Collaborative writing is an experience I recommend, let me put it that way ;o)

Okay, what's left...umm...my handle, I guess.  I go by Starsong for a number of reasons, none of which are very interesting.  Partially because I have too many characters to stick with just one as a name ;oP  So if anyone's been wondering who the heck Starsong is and why you can't find any fiction written by her--that's why.  Starsong is not a character, it's me.  "Deny thy father and refuse thy name--or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I'll no longer be a Capulet."  That was for you, Mrs. Patey--although if you ever see this page I'll probably die from embarassement...anyway, point being, names aren't all that important ;oP