Literary Fan Club

FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject. There are hundreds of FAQs on subjects as diverse as Pet Grooming and Cryptography. FAQs are usually written by people who have tired of answering the same question over and over.

You are the president of a fan club for your favourite author. Eager for literary discussion and insights into your author's works, you set up a mailing list and wait patiently for the flood of subscribers. After a week one member signs up. His first message asks the question, "What books did this author write?" This is not exactly the kind of literary discussion you had in mind. You decide to create some promotional materials to target the right audience for your fan club.

The Task

To attract members to your author's fan club you have decided to create your own web pages. You design an advertisement for the fan club and create a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list to distribute to new members. You can create these in Microsoft Word and will receive help in putting them up on the Internet.

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The Process

1. Choose an author whom you have read and enjoyed. Research your author to find out details of his/her life:

o where and how he/she grew up

o his/her personal relationships

o his/her works

o how his/her work has generally been received

o any other area of his/her life which interests you

2. Develop a FAQ list about your author. What should be obvious to fans of this author? What pieces of trivia would fans enjoy knowing about this author? Remember, your FAQ list should include answers to what you believe may be the most common questions, curiosities, and confusions about your author.

3. Create a full-page advertisement for your fan club. Include:

o a catchy slogan

o the goals of your club (what do you envision members discussing?)

o a few interesting facts about your author that might grab the attention of prospective members

o at least one graphic