AQ = Alpha Quadrant - the part of the galaxy that includes Earth and most of Federation space

AU = Alternate Universe - meaning the story diverts from the facts as established on the series

CANON = Facts as established in the episodes themselves

 

FANON = Details about the show that have been used so often in fan fiction that they feel like canon even though they're not

P/T = Paris/Torres - fiction featuring the romantic story line pairing Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres (similarly J/C = Janeway/Chakotay, etc.)

DTR = "Discuss the Relationship" - Tom's favorite place to DTR used to be the turbolift. Lately, it's the Delta Flyer.

MISSING SCENE = obvious: a story based on a scene you're just SURE they meant to include in an episode but somehow overlooked.

SPOILER = a story or article that divulges the plot of one or more Voyager episodes

PWP = "Plot? What Plot?" - stories that are just a thinly-veiled excuse for putting the characters in intimate/romantic situations. I don't write these stories, but some do.

TPTB = "The Powers That Be" - usually means Star Trek's producers and writers, though can mean the higher-ups at Paramount or UPN [Also deemed TIIC, or "The Idiots In Charge" by one friend...]

Everything you are about to read is true. Not even the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

When I was in junior high school in the late 1970's, I became penpals with another teenager who lived in the Pacific Northwest, 3,000 miles away from my home on the East Coast of the USA. (This was clearly way before the internet....) His name is Eric Stillwell. Our only link at the time: our mutual love of Star Trek.

We exchanged letters regularly for at least ten years, and have stayed friends ever since, but what's remarkable about Eric is that he lived every Star Trek fan's dream: he ended up working on the show, and even co-wrote the stories for several episodes, including TNG's Yesterday's Enterprise and Voyager's Prime Factors. You may recognize his name from the credits of TNG, where he was Pre-Production Coordinator for many years.

I'll let Eric tell his own story, but I encourage you to check out his web page. He's having a real private life (now after working with the late-great Michael Piller as an Associate Producer on The Dead Zone), and gives hope (and a cautionary tale) to Star Trek fans everywhere.

Barbara