I could be counted among that fandom at thirteen years of age. I became so engrossed in the storylines I wrote my own and sent them via the television station to the producing company. When all I received back was a stock fan package, instead of the feedback I had desired, I resubmitted the ideas directly to the Executive Producer at the address on the package. Many months later, thinking I had been all but forgotten, I received a wonderful letter from the Head Writer of VOLTRON who had read my materials, although the show had ended. His praise and words of encouragement -- that I had potential if I stuck to writing -- led me on the road I've been on for fifteen years that has brought me to this point.
Years passed. VOLTRON fans remained, isolated but unable to communicate as they grew older, never completely letting go of the show that captured their imaginations in childhood.
Enter the Internet.
I don't remember what got me started on the search. Maybe the discovery of a fan site for a different show. But one day in 1996, as I prepared to move to Los Angeles, I typed voltron; into the Alta Vista search engine -- http://www.altavista.com -- and found more information than I imagined. I came to realize fans of the show, now adults like me, were networking over the web and sharing their knowledge and passion! My interest in VOLTRON put me on the road I’m traveling now, a story that deserves a column of it’s own. I felt I had to get on the bandwagon. It seemed a perfect way to leave my "fannish" past behind me and share all the information I'd collected years before, not to mention my Voltron fiction.
So, I created Shannon Muir’s Voltron Pages at http://members.aol.com/shanemuir/voltron... then I headed off to Los Angeles thinking it was behind me.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Shannon Muir's Animation Production topic, please visit the Discussions page.