Okay, that index is freaking HUGE! I wanna answer so many of those questions, but I think I'll narrow them down to 10.
Which authors do you look up to? I'll start with fanfic writers. JX Valentine was my inspiration to create an account on this site, so there's one. Bobandbill, Cutlerine, and The Great Butler are also people I really look up to. As for more well known authors, while writers such as Stephen King and Rick Riordan come to mind as people I like to emulate, my favorite author is without a doubt Orson Scott Card. Reading many of his books might be the entire reason I love starting chapters with a conversation or some other kind of cold open, as he does those so freaking well.
How did you get an idea for a fic? Does it come to you? Or if you get inspired? It really depends on the circumstance. Honestly, though, many of my ideas come from me binge-watching let's plays. Case in point, Convergence stemmed almost entirely from me watching an LP and then playing a little bit through Bioshock Infinite and wondering how the multiple universe thing could work in Pokémon. Inspiration can come from the weirdest places.
How do you handle getting back to writing a story after it's been on hiatus for a long time? Aplologize profusely, and then get your *** in gear. There is no better way for a writer to lose the confidence of their audience by apologizing for not writing for a while, and then not writing anything for an even longer period. Trust me, this comes from experience.
Have you ever seriously considered a career in writing? And if so, what sort of stories would you write? Never have, never will. The reason this question resonates with me personally, though, is that I had this conundrum for a different method of expression: music. This is a bit of a side tangent, and trust me, I will get back on topic eventually, but for many years, I was told that if I really wanted to, I could have tried to become a professional trumpet player. And to be honest, I may have been good enough. But for me, it was always a hobby, and even though I probably could have been successful at it, and constantly felt pressure to do it by my peers, it never truly resonated with me.
To get back on point, I do understand that many people can have that same conundrum when it comes to writing. Sure, it's a hard field to break into, but if you love it so much, then why not? For many, it's because they don't want to ruin their hobby by making it something they depend on to survive. That's why fanfic is such a nice outlet. You can still write, and write well, but you don't need to depend on it, and there are always people suggesting ways in which you can improve.
That was long. Sorry about that. Moving on.
What characters or types of characters appeal to you the most? Snarky, sarcastic characters. I love them so f-ing much. That kind of humor just resonates with me. If someone can write a character that has just that perfect amount of sass, I get the best feeling inside.
What's the longest you've ever had your audience wait for a new chapter? How does that compare to your normal release times? Ten months. That was bad. It's also not normal for me to leave people hanging like that. At all. It's something I seriously need to fix. And never do again.
What can make a story lifeless and souless? Essentially pulling a Shyamalan. And I don't mean having a sudden twist ending, but telling instead of showing. Too much needless exposition can weigh down a story to the point where it becomes completely lifeless. It's why I have a personal vendetta against have characters give huge exposition dumps for no reason other than plot progression. Believe me, I've seen it, and it isn't fun to read.
How far ahead do you plan before you start writing? That's actually a really good question. To be honest, the way I plan for a fic is to think of a beginning, envision the main characters and a few versions of their personalities, and loosely drum up a couple of key moments in the story. Other than that, though, I plan nothing. The reason I do that is because I believe progression should be natural. If you have everything planned out to the punctuation mark, and then someone comes along and tells you that something isn't working, it could be very tough to respond. That's why I like to keep things very malleable. If someone tells me a thing isn't working the way it should, I can change it, and there isn't much harm done.
Does anyone in real life know that you write fanfiction? I stopped keeping it a secret from my friends and family around the beginning of second semester freshman year. To be honest, my friends are the way in which I get a lot of my proofreading done. After I finish a chapter, I go to one of my friends and ask them to read it with me. They are, essentially, my beta readers.
When do you think it's okay to bring a character back from the dead? Nnnggh...I really don't like it when people do that. In any medium. I've always felt that it's a copout, especially if it was a fan favorite character who was killed. I mean, the death had a purpose, why try to undermine it?
...Jeez that took a while. That was fun, though.
It's surprisingly versatile. And by leaving the description minimalistic, I focus more on the dialogue, which results in it coming out more colorful, more like the backbone of a scene. At which point I've likely figured out what expressions each character is making and what actions they're performing, so I can go back and fill those places in. 
