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30 Day Meme: Fandom History & Inspiration
Originally yoinked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
paynesgrey, though several of my f-listers are filling it out right now...I saw this and knew it was right up my alley, considering how much I love blathering on about my stories and my processes and all the inherent meta behind the meta :)
Let's begin, shall we?
30 Day Fandom Meme
Day 1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
I first wrote fanfic when I was about 8 or 9 years old, before I even knew what "fanfic" was. I mostly wrote stories for the Baby-sitters Club, because I was too impatient to wait another month for the next book in the series, LOL. I'd even expanded the club, adding a new member with a twin sister who wasn't a member...probably just like countless other BSC/SVT fans :P A couple of years later, when it was announced that new characters would join the club, a pair of twins no less, I was ecstatic! Obviously I was Doing Something Right in my fan stories, LOL. I'd even entered the "name the twins" contest...but lost :( My twins were named Alison and Alyssa. (They had a surname, but damned if I can remember it off the top of my head.) Alison was the funky cool twin, a sort of mix of Claudia and Stacey fashion-wise, and she was very heavily into music. One of the book plots included her joining a suspiciously KI-like band, LOL. Alyssa was basically a reimagining of Jessica Wakefield, complete with snotty middle-school clique.
I still have those stories somewhere, and I even finished some of them! They were straight up BSC-style books, complete with baby-sitting subplots. It was awesome, LOL, and I was totally crushed when my twin names weren't chosen :( It destroyed the illusion that the Official Twins would be anything like *my* twins. Ah, well.
I segued from writing BSC fic (and a couple of SVH fics, not even gonna lie) into original work around age 12, I think. I wrote original novels throughout my teen years, then had a combination burnout/breakdown in college that more or less completely killed my creative drive for a good three years. I'd discovered fandom proper by then, realizing that my childish scribbles were, in fact, fanfic (of the worst kind, LOL), and it was actually falling head-first into Inuyasha that made me start writing again, period. For a long time I thought I'd never be able to write again, so my first tentative steps with Every Heart turned into something very important, indeed.
I've never shown anybody my old BSC fics (and I never will, LOL), so my IY fic was the first I'd shared with the greater world - and luckily, mercifully, the response was positive. I guess you could say I haven't looked back, LOL :) What drew me into IY? The story. I'd never read anything like it, and I'd never read manga before, so it was the whole experience - a new form of media, plus the anime (which I saw before I realized there was a manga), with all of these amazing, richly drawn, complex characters. It was the perfect storm of elements I'd already liked separately before - high fantasy, a sword quest, a love story, myths and legends, time travel back to the Middle Ages. And it was a pretty awesome way to start looking into the cultural differences between America and Japan. IY taught me a lot, and I'm forever grateful for that. It was a truly eye-opening experience, both the story and the fandom that sprouted up around it. I made some awesome friends, wrote some pretty cool stories (which I'm still hoping to finish!), and read a ton of amazingly good work. For the two or so years IY was my exclusive fandom, I probably read more fanfic than I did "real" books, and I don't really regret it at all. There is so much GOOD STUFF out there, even though IY fandom is vast and sprawling and wanky and full of crap. The gems of fic were worth all of the drama it took to find them.
I find it more than a little amusing that I'm writing for my 'first fandom' again, now that I've had a couple of years of experience in internet fandom. I love the BSC fandom because it's cozy and comforting and it's so much fun to have other people to squee with over the series that probably dominated my childhood. I doubt I'll ever write original twinfic for it now, but it's been a helluva lot of fun exploring pairings and minor characters and old favorites. I know I'm just settling in for a very long ride on this nostalgia train, and I'm looking forward to my upcoming projects - and whatever ideas spring to mind for my![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
babysitters100 prompt table!
Upcoming....
Day 2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Day 3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Day 4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Day 5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
Day 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Day 7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Day 8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
Day 9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Day 10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
Day 11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
Day 12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
Day 13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
Day 14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
Day 15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
Day 16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
Day 17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Day 18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
Day 19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
Day 20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
Day 21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
Day 22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
Day 23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
Day 24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
Day 25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
Day 26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Day 27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Day 28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Day 29 – What is your current project or projects?
Day 30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
paynesgrey, though several of my f-listers are filling it out right now...I saw this and knew it was right up my alley, considering how much I love blathering on about my stories and my processes and all the inherent meta behind the meta :)Let's begin, shall we?
30 Day Fandom Meme
Day 1 - How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
I first wrote fanfic when I was about 8 or 9 years old, before I even knew what "fanfic" was. I mostly wrote stories for the Baby-sitters Club, because I was too impatient to wait another month for the next book in the series, LOL. I'd even expanded the club, adding a new member with a twin sister who wasn't a member...probably just like countless other BSC/SVT fans :P A couple of years later, when it was announced that new characters would join the club, a pair of twins no less, I was ecstatic! Obviously I was Doing Something Right in my fan stories, LOL. I'd even entered the "name the twins" contest...but lost :( My twins were named Alison and Alyssa. (They had a surname, but damned if I can remember it off the top of my head.) Alison was the funky cool twin, a sort of mix of Claudia and Stacey fashion-wise, and she was very heavily into music. One of the book plots included her joining a suspiciously KI-like band, LOL. Alyssa was basically a reimagining of Jessica Wakefield, complete with snotty middle-school clique.
I still have those stories somewhere, and I even finished some of them! They were straight up BSC-style books, complete with baby-sitting subplots. It was awesome, LOL, and I was totally crushed when my twin names weren't chosen :( It destroyed the illusion that the Official Twins would be anything like *my* twins. Ah, well.
I segued from writing BSC fic (and a couple of SVH fics, not even gonna lie) into original work around age 12, I think. I wrote original novels throughout my teen years, then had a combination burnout/breakdown in college that more or less completely killed my creative drive for a good three years. I'd discovered fandom proper by then, realizing that my childish scribbles were, in fact, fanfic (of the worst kind, LOL), and it was actually falling head-first into Inuyasha that made me start writing again, period. For a long time I thought I'd never be able to write again, so my first tentative steps with Every Heart turned into something very important, indeed.
I've never shown anybody my old BSC fics (and I never will, LOL), so my IY fic was the first I'd shared with the greater world - and luckily, mercifully, the response was positive. I guess you could say I haven't looked back, LOL :) What drew me into IY? The story. I'd never read anything like it, and I'd never read manga before, so it was the whole experience - a new form of media, plus the anime (which I saw before I realized there was a manga), with all of these amazing, richly drawn, complex characters. It was the perfect storm of elements I'd already liked separately before - high fantasy, a sword quest, a love story, myths and legends, time travel back to the Middle Ages. And it was a pretty awesome way to start looking into the cultural differences between America and Japan. IY taught me a lot, and I'm forever grateful for that. It was a truly eye-opening experience, both the story and the fandom that sprouted up around it. I made some awesome friends, wrote some pretty cool stories (which I'm still hoping to finish!), and read a ton of amazingly good work. For the two or so years IY was my exclusive fandom, I probably read more fanfic than I did "real" books, and I don't really regret it at all. There is so much GOOD STUFF out there, even though IY fandom is vast and sprawling and wanky and full of crap. The gems of fic were worth all of the drama it took to find them.
I find it more than a little amusing that I'm writing for my 'first fandom' again, now that I've had a couple of years of experience in internet fandom. I love the BSC fandom because it's cozy and comforting and it's so much fun to have other people to squee with over the series that probably dominated my childhood. I doubt I'll ever write original twinfic for it now, but it's been a helluva lot of fun exploring pairings and minor characters and old favorites. I know I'm just settling in for a very long ride on this nostalgia train, and I'm looking forward to my upcoming projects - and whatever ideas spring to mind for my
babysitters100 prompt table!Upcoming....
Day 2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
Day 3 - For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Day 4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
Day 5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
Day 6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
Day 7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
Day 8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
Day 9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Day 10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
Day 11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
Day 12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
Day 13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
Day 14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
Day 15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
Day 16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
Day 17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Day 18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
Day 19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
Day 20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
Day 21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
Day 22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
Day 23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
Day 24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
Day 25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
Day 26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Day 27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
Day 28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
Day 29 – What is your current project or projects?
Day 30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
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I never wrote BSC fanfic when I was a kid! I don't know why - I friggen loved them! I tended to write terrible, self-insert original fiction instead.
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LOL, this was pretty much my reaction when I first saw this meme! It's going to be so much fun...and I will simply modulate the potential for embarrassment. The fact that I've admitted to writing shitty BSC fic with insert twins is hopefully as horrifying as it's going to get, LOL :P
I wanted to write stories when I was a kid, and the only way I knew to do it was to copy a style I already enjoyed. I think that's the way everyone starts, on some level - imitating someone else until you develop your own style. I think that's another reason why the BSC books are so comforting for me... :)
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I started writing fanfic when I was around 8 or 9, too! Of course, I didn't know it was "fanfic" at the time. My first story was about Jordan Pike and it was really Mary and Gary Stu-ish. It involved the Pikes moving to England and finding out that they're royalty (don't. ask.) and I'm pretty sure Jordan dated Lindsay Lohan at some point, too. OMG, *head desk* Needless to say, no one will ever see my first fanfics either. ; )
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LOLOL @ your first fanfics. Here I was, all embarrassed about the idea that I'd invented twin OCs (because, come on, what other direction was there for canon to go?), but at least I never made any of them date tweenage celebrities :P I see your love for the Pikes is deep and abiding, though - and that's definitely interesting! :)
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See, now you don't have to feel so embarrassed about your first fanfics...
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