I was introduced to Erin Hunter's Warriors series when I was 10 years old, and devoured every single one of those books I could lay my hands on. Now that I'm an adult (and have been learning about how to develop my own writing), I've come to realize that they are not exactly the best-written books out there.
Nevertheless, the Warriors world is a lot of fun, and I certainly was a crazy fan when I was younger.
Honestly, I still have a bit of the mania, even if I don't read the books all that much anymore. Therefore, I have compiled a list of symptoms of being a Warriors fan. If you, too, have delved into the world of the warrior cats, you will probably find that some of these signs are present in you, or were at some point in the past.
1. Reading all (or almost all) of the books.
Okay, I admit that I have not read the newest books, though I have read the majority of the 74 or so Warriors books in existence. (I can also admit that I have at least read summaries on the wiki. I still care about the characters.)
2. Collecting the books.
The covers are so pretty. Also makes rereading that much more convenient, especially when you get treasuries at Costco.
3. Drawing pictures of warrior kitties.
I didn't do this as much, but it's fun. The picture here was drawn several years ago.
4. Arguing about who the best characters are.
Hollyleaf is the most interesting character in the series, with the best development. I will fight anyone who says otherwise.
5. Crying over character deaths.
Silverstream, no!!! This quote gets me every time: "Fireheart...left Graystripe beside the cat he had loved more than his Clan, more than honor, more than life itself."
6. Imagining alternate storylines.
Like maybe Silverstream doesn't die, okay? Actually, this is a lot of fun. What if Tigerstar was a good cat after all? What if Hollyleaf was one of the Three? What if we fixed some weird inconsistencies in the plot and family trees?
7. Making family trees.
The Clans are inbred like crazy, but that's beside the point. There's a lot of characters to keep track of, and how do we know who's related to whom?
8. Giving your pet cats warrior names.
In this picture, we have Stormwhisker the mighty hunter. Other cats in our Clan are/were Swanpelt and Bearwatcher, Lightfoot, Minkstripe, Foxfoot aka Deadtail, and Turtlecloud and Poppyfang. The names have changed slightly over the years, due to shifts in my naming preferences.
9. Giving yourself and your friends and family warrior names.
This has also switched around based on my naming preferences; currently, my warrior name is Rainheart. And yes, I make cartoons of real-life quotes with the people turned into cats. In this one, we have my mom, Fennelnose, and my dad, Ottercloud. (No pedestrians were harmed in the making of this comic.)
10. Experimenting with warrior naming styles in general.
Language is fascinating, hence my interest in names. There are websites out there that are devoted to naming warrior cats. You can give a cat name that just sounds nice, or you can give special meaning to the prefix and suffix separately.
11. Taking personality tests to find out which Clan you belong in.
RiverClan is the best.
12. Taking personality tests to figure out which character you are.
My favorite character tests are not usual quizzes, but charts based on MBTI personalities. Depending on which one you use, I'm either Hollyleaf or Bluestar. I tend to agree with the Hollyleaf one; but then, I'm also not a huge fan of Bluestar.
13. Participating in the "Reading Warriors" program.
It's not available on the website anymore (hooray for printed copies!), but basically, you would make up a character. As you read a variety of books, your character would age up and be promoted. There were also several fun activities.
14. Physically roleplaying.
Like actually running around outside, or making camps out of cushions and blankets indoors. More fun if friends are involved, but I happily played by myself as well. I haven't done this in years. (The cat on the left is Silver Kitty, and she is my most beloved stuffed animal.)
15. Playing tabletop RPGs.
There is an official roleplaying game for Warriors, but it doesn't work very well. So, I took nerdy to the next level and modified it to be more like Dungeons and Dragons. I've even playtested the new version with friends!
16. Writing copious amounts of fanfiction.
Because the concept of Clan culture provides a multitude of opportunities to play around with in stories, it can spark so many ideas. I've written oodles of one-shots/short stories, which has been a lot of fun. I have also started multiple novel-length fanfics, but never actually finished any.
17. Using Clan lingo in everyday life.
There was a phase for a while after I got into Warriors that I would say things like "mouse dung" when I was frustrated.
18. Going to book signings.
I've been to one book signing, when Victoria Holmes (one of the ladies behind the Erin Hunter pseudonym) made a stop at a bookstore about an hour away from where I live.
19. Making (or playing with) random character generators.
Tying in with my interest in names, I like lists. Lots of lists. Lists of all sorts of feline features and names and personality traits. Scratch is great for this kind of stuff.
20. Trying to fix the atrocious genetics mistakes in the series.
The study of genetics is one of my favorite things. I love thinking about how all of the different genes interact in cats to produce the variety of coat colors. It also bugs me that Warriors is riddled with genetic errors, even though it is fairly simple to look up that kind of information online. Then again, this is a childrens' fantasy series, so it probably isn't that important. (But still...)
In conclusion, I raise two questions: Have I outgrown actually reading these books about talking cats? More or less; I am an adult, after all. Do I still participate in nerdy Warriors activities in spite of that? I plead the Fifth.
