Stephen Zacharus:
In the summer of 2000. I had just finished "Night," and what would eventually become The Graffiti Wall was then just a one-page promo site for my new and upcoming work. That 15-year-old starved-for-attention phase, remember.
Later, I began teaching myself website design (using website editing software; it wasn't until 2003 when I finally taught myself raw HTML), and the site evolved into "Stephen Zacharus' Sonic the Hedgehog Fanfiction Library." Which was quite a mouthful. First it was just a personal site for my own stories. But then I developed a page with links to fanfiction by other writers that I liked.
Christmas of 2001 was when I renamed it "The Graffiti Wall" and moved it to Tripod (it was originally on Geocities). I thought it was a neat title because it enabled me to play around with the style and ambiance of the site. By then my cartooning skills had developed to a point where I felt comfortable showcasing my work in public, so I created this Sonic-ish fox guy to "host" the site in a series of original illustrations on each page. Incorporated into the page headings and logo design and so on.
Later, that fox would evolve into Kevin, the focal character of my 2003 comic strip "House Blend," which I wrote under the pseudonym Steve Sharp. That was short-lived, though. The comic strip began in September and ended by Halloween. I couldn't keep up with it.
Anyway, when I first created The Graffiti Wall, it was just pages and pages of links to stories on FanFiction.Net. It wasn't until 2002 when I decided to ask for the authors' permission to host the stories myself. I completely redesigned the style and interface of the site in 2003, and it's much more streamlined now. Kevin no longer hosts the site; Sonic does. I think it's more appropriate.
Sean Catlett:
I think I agree. Who were the first authors to make it on?
Stephen Zacharus:
I had collected the work of Drazen and Pistone and DeLaCroix even before I started writing my own fanfiction, so naturally those were the first stories I linked to. And the first I hosted myself, of course, since I already had the files. But more contemporary authors (A. Fleury, Falconess, Orin, Tristan Palmgren, Danse Macabre, M.C. Griffin, and--gasp!--Sean Catlett) made it on there around the same time. And many more authors, too.
It was a LOT of work to sort through all those stories and upload them to my own site. Now it's just a matter of keeping up with the updates. Which... I don't do very well, given how busy I am with more important things. But what the hell, at least it's still alive. And I still get new submissions, on occasion.
As far as I know, The Graffiti Wall is the only Sonic fanfiction library on the 'Net that enforces strict quality control. Most other sites post anything that's written in basic English. And since it's user-controlled, FanFiction.Net will post anything, even if it's not a story.
Of course, "quality control" is a sort of paradox anyway, since it's completely subjective. It's basically my *opinion* if the story is good or not. But whatever. That's the sacrifice we make, I guess. There are plenty of other sites for fanfiction authors to submit to.
Sean Catlett:
Well, you certainly get away with it. My understanding is that it's pretty popular. How many hits does it get?
Stephen Zacharus:
I don't know, I never put a hit counter on there. My experience with hit counters is that they become distracting. When I did the TDA site, for instance, I became obsessive about checking how many hits we got and blah blah blah. Personally, I like keeping the blind approach for the Wall. But yes, my understanding is that it's reasonably popular.
It received a Site Of The Month award from Sonic HQ in 2001. Or was it 2002? Christ, I can't remember.
Sean Catlett:
That's pretty damn sweet.
Stephen Zacharus:
Must have been early 2002, because it wasn't called The Graffiti Wall until December of 2001.
Anyway, so yeah. I was pretty stoked at the time.
Sean Catlett:
I know I get asked all the time if you're still updating it. Like I'm your fucking wife or something.
"Is he updating?! HUH?!"
"How the fuck should I know?"
Stephen Zacharus:
Hehe. That's funny. Yeah, people bug me about it all the time. Like I have nothing better to do than post Sonic stories all weekend. A number of people have suggested that I "give" the site to somebody else to maintain. What the fuck? It's my site, and it will remain my site for eternity. If there ever comes a time when I lose interest in it, I'll hang a "closed" sign in the window and leave the site online for archival purposes.
Sean Catlett:
I know you were upsetting some fans when they thought you were taking it down in, what, 2003?
Stephen Zacharus:
Yes, that's when I completely overhauled the design. But before I decided to overhaul the design, I came THIS close to abandoning it. In fact, I deleted it from the server entirely. I kept a backup on my hard drive, of course, but my intent was to sever all ties from fanfiction altogether, because it was consuming me. Even after I had supposedly "retired" as a fanfiction author, since that goddamn site was so much work. By streamlining it, though, it became much easier to maintain.
Sean Catlett:
Easier to navigate, too. I likes it.
Stephen Zacharus:
Yes, I do too. And I have no plans to redesign it again. It's currently in Version 7. It went through seven different site layouts, can you believe that?
Sean Catlett:
Knowing you, yes I do. You know what I'd like to see more of, though? Contests. Those were figgedy-fun.
Stephen Zacharus:
Yes, they were fun to judge, too, but ultimately too much work. I loved the 2002 Halloween contest. Loved it. The Christmas contest was fun, too, but it felt like an obligatory spinoff from the first one. Occasionally I entertain the idea of bringing back the Halloween contest again. But we'll see.
Sean Catlett:
Oooo, mysterious...
Stephen Zacharus:
I still "decorate" the site for Halloween. Which is funny, since I don't decorate it for anything else.
Sean Catlett:
Why not? Too much work?
Stephen Zacharus:
No, I just don't have the motivation. But I enjoy Halloween enough to make the extra effort. I consider Robotnik to be a sort of digital Halloween costume. It's fun. Every year, he "takes over" the Graffiti Wall and selects 13 horror-themed Sonic stories for the main page. He, of course, was the host of the original Halloween contest.
Sean Catlett:
And he always will be, right?
Stephen Zacharus:
If I continue the contest, yes.
Continue to Part Eighteen
