Started this cause I finally thought up a question and the other thread is about to hit 50 pages LOL.
In fanfic who is your favorite author, and how has that person helped inspire your work?
That is such a hard question!! I feel like I have a lot of favorite authors, both on AC and off. Oddly enough, the authors whose work I read fairly regularly and the authors of my very favorite fanfics of all time are not necessarily the same people. I guess some authors I like for their overall style and consistency, and some authors I like for one amazing story they wrote.
If I had to put it all together and name one author who has consistently written stories that I've read, enjoyed, and been inspired by, I think it would be Carrie (Jenna on AC). I've been reading her stories since 2000, and although I haven't read all of them, I've read a lot of them, and she tends to write the kind of stuff I enjoy - medical dramas, tearjerkers, and suspense. The Swollen Issues series, which she co-wrote, was hugely inspirational to me and led to Broken, which is the story that I feel kind of put me on the map as a fanfic writer. She would also be one I'd name for the "Who could you bring back?" question. I'm not sure she's necessarily "gone" from fanfic; she's one of those who tends to come and go.