To be a Fan Writer or Not to be a Fan Writer...

Coalescent has been saying very nice things about me, but in doing so described me as a fan writer. This (and his references to Paul Kincaid) has triggered some debate about what a fan writer is. After some thought I posted the following:

I honestly hadn't even thought of myself as a fan writer, and was terribly chuffed to find my name here. But that made me think:

There *is* a difference between my blog and the rest of my writing. I use the blog for initial thoughts, general rants and unsubstantiated sidesweeps. Whatever else it is, it isn't criticism and I'd be in deep trouble if I tried to publish it professionally. The eventual book for which the blog is a research diary will look very different.

So given all that--that the blog is a diary (if of a very specific kind)--and that it's meant for a fannish, not a professional community....

Dammit, I have become a fan writer.