Monday, August 20, 2012

Fan Fiction

This has been bugging me.

I recently read an article a journalist wrote about fan fiction and there were just some things they said in the article that really annoyed me.

I realise that it is more a reflex against a book like Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm sure everyone knows what the controversy is but I'll say it anyway. This book originated as a Twilight fanfiction. I'm not going to debate the rights and wrongs of this, nor am I going to read the book. For one thing, I don't like Twilight. I've never written a fanfic about it, but I have read some fanfics, mostly because they have been crossovers with other fandoms I'm interested in.

Yes, I write fanfic. And while the journalist writing the article is extremely critical of it and considers fanfic writers to be mediocre at best, I am not one of those mediocre writers. And many of the writers' work I have read is definitely not mediocre. These are talented people.

I care about what I write. Yes, I borrow characters from other fandoms, but I have no intention of using those characters for any stories I would attempt to sell. The original plots I come up with, the central themes of the stories, yes, I will use those, but only if the characters in those particular stories are original. I do put in original characters, but let me clear up a common misconception. While the original characters I write are drawn from real life, and I use some of my own experiences to help give those characters form, they are not Mary Sue's. I don't insert myself into the fandom universe. Put it this way, if I did, my characters would be extremely dull and boring and no one would follow the story.

Fanfiction writing, for me, has been a Godsend. It saved my sanity in a time when everything else in my life was going so badly and it has given me not only a creative outlet but it also allowed me to perfect my skills in writing. I don't have a huge following in fanfic, mostly because I prefer to write plot-driven, dramatic stories or humorous stories rather than just one small piece, whether it is a character-study or, as some others call it, PWP (porn without plot). This is not intended as a criticism to other fanfic writers. They write PWP because that's all they feel like writing and while I admit I do envy those who get huge responses, I focus on the fact that I am writing because it's what I do. Because it makes me feel good.

I've noticed lately that others are saying one fandom is dropping off. Just because a show has ended, it does not mean the fandom is disappearing. Not for me anyway. If I get an idea for a plot for a fandom, I will continue to write it even if I get no responses, because my brain will not let me let it go. It's just who I am. And I've seen a few fandoms which continue years after the show has gone.

One of these days, I will have an original work published. I am in the midst of such a project. And this work is not derived from any fanfiction. I have been writing this story since 1996 and it has dominated most of that time. I have mentioned the story on this blog before.

And that is all I have to say about that.

5 comments:

  1. Big hugs sweetie!

    *Jan/eternal_moonie/Jan_van_Es*

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  2. I didn't mean for own shipperdom stuff to get you down, but well said about the original article.

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  3. Hi J Bridger - no worries. I didn't quite like what I wrote so I edited it. And it's not just you. A friend on another site has said it too.


    And thanks Jan, for the hugs.

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  4. My dear Leanne, i had to leave you a comment about your outburst because i totally agree with you. It is way more difficult to write abotut characters we don't own than any original characters. Everyone is allowed to have their opinion but to say that fanfiction's writer are mediocre is very prejudiced, maybe the journalist who wrote the article should read some fanfiction before saying something like that. ;) I know i've read some amazing stories from different fandoms and your are, for sure, one of them.

    I read Fifthy Shades knowing it was originated from Twilight fandom. Well, i started reading Twilight as soon as it was released but couldn't read more than 5 chapters. Not my cup of tea hehehe I just finished the Fifty shades trilogy and couldn't see one single similarity with the twilight plot or characters (maybe because i never read the book, idk...). The writer surely made some important changes on her original idea.

    It's far from being the best book i've read but it was a good and easy reading

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    Replies
    1. The journalist claims he did but like 2-3 bad fics from ff.net does NOT count

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