An ode to fanfiction

[luxken27]

It's not quite strong enough to call a love letter, but there's a new article in this week's Time magazine about fanfiction and its cultural trappings. It has a fairly heavy bias towards AO3 (and lots of examples of Harry Potter fic), but it's probably the first mainstream article I've read that doesn't dismiss fandom out of hand.

Read it here. Interesting stuff.

Comments

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

Ah, you're the second person I've seen post this. I'm glad it's going viral. Such a good article!

[luxken27]

LOL - I saw it on a friend's f-list and was curious enough to click through. I'm used to bemusement or disdain when people outside of fandom talk about fandom, so it was a pleasant surprise. Even if I don't agree with them on the definition of AU :P

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

To be fair, NOBODY in any fandom can agree on the definition of an AU. I've tried myself and always found some varying voices of dissent.

[luxken27]

Yeah, but to say canon is completely booted out the door is a little bit extreme, in my opinion. I realize I'm of the minority in that I try to at least parallel the canon direction of the characters in my AU fic, but it's not totally unreasonable to say some folks still work within the confines of canon characterization when writing alternate universe work :P

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

This is true, especially in the IY fandom, and I agree with you.
I've just found that when I've tried to present discussion on AR (Alternate Reality), Divergence and AU, the meanings varied from fandom to fandom.

Now I can see trying to keep the canon personalities of the characters in an AU as strict as you can, otherwise they just become original characters in a new world with the same names. And we both know that happens a lot too. ;P

[landofthekwt.livejournal.com]

thanks for posting this story. If Card, Martin and Le Guin don't want fanfiction on ffnet all they have to do is add their names to the list. Game of Thrones already has 60 stories based on the HBO show which just finished its first season. Card, Martin and Le Guin came across as whiny. "there are stealing my children".

[suerum.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for posting the link to this article. It certainly was a mostly positive analysis of the phenomenon and I always appreciate it when fan fiction gets a serious mention in the mainstream press.

[suerum.livejournal.com]

Actually, I am in the process of posting a story based on Sabrina on the GH fan fiction site. It's set about ten years in the future and pairs Spinelli with Molly Davis. It wasn't until I was reading the Time article that it came to my mind that 'hey, maybe my piece is AU!'. LOL I still don't know if I should or shouldn't go back in and mark it as such...

[aamalie]

Ahh, I saw and read this earlier on tumblr, and was both delighted at an ~outsider~ commenting so, IDK, positively(?) on fandom, and then also super bemused because, oh fandom, you are so weird sometimes. That said, I think it hit a lot of good points and was pretty balanced in its portrayal of the various motives fans have.

[ozqueen]

Oh, I saw the online interviews for that! I was going to participate but it looked like he had more than enough volunteers already ;) It was all done right here through LJ.

[luxken27]

You're welcome for the link! I agree that the authors sound a bit childish and insecure in calling their characters their "children". Remember the Galbadon wankfest when she discovered people writing fic of her work? Yeah. It can get pretty nasty out there o.O

[luxken27]

Yeah, it was definitely a nice change of pace! =) I've never seen fandom spoken of in less than divisive terms. (For instance.)

[luxken27]

commenting so, IDK, positively(?) on fandom

Yes! This! It was less "let's point and laugh at freaks we don't understand" than most takes on fandom and fanfic, in general :P

That said, I think it hit a lot of good points and was pretty balanced in its portrayal of the various motives fans have.

*nods* I agree. Considering it's basically written as a primer for people who have probably never even heard of fandom? I can't feel too grudgey about the things I don't agree with :P

[luxken27]

Oh, really? LOL no wonder there's such a huge HP bias in the examples then. I'm shocked the author didn't mention fandom BNFs who went on to become professional writers in their own right. Talk about blowing folks' minds! :P

It was all done right here through LJ.

I'm sorry I missed this primo opportunity to use this oh-so-appropriate icon, LOL! (Which was made in response to the Diana Galbadon wankfest over at fandom_wank, so it would've been *doubly* appropriate!)

[chaoticgood0405.livejournal.com]

Decent overview of fandom. I'm glad the article brought up mainstream works of fiction that borrow heavily *ahem* from original material. I don't see how Girl with A Pearl Earring doesn't qualify as fanfic to a certain degree. Or any historical fiction for that matter. Or something like The Red Tent--total bible AU fanfic...I guess that depends on one's definition of AU ;P

It would have been nice to include in the article a quote or two from authors who embrace fandom and what it has to offer readers.

[luxken27]

Agreed - I think a pull quote from an author who enjoys the fandom that surrounds their canon would've done wonders for dispelling the rumor that fannish folk are doing their thing in spite of the author's wishes. Considering the heavy bias towards HP in the examples, I'm kind of surprised that there was no mention of the fandom BNFs who went on to publish successful original work.

Considering this is like a very basic "here is what fandom is and how it's defined" I thought it was pretty amazing. From Time, no less! My mind, it boggles, LOL. I just wish the MeFi response wasn't as negative as it was *sigh* (Not that the fan author in that thread is doing any of us any favors, let me tell you *eyeroll*)

[starzki.livejournal.com]

This was a really good article. It really is nice to see something that is balanced and actually reflects fandom and fanfiction to some degree.

The interesting thing is that fanfiction is so pervasive. Some of my favorite stories are, in some ways, fanfiction. Reboots are fanfiction. Any author taking the storyline and expanding it (as is so often seen in comics) is fanfiction. The play "Wicked" is fanfiction. Hell, almost all of Disney is fic'ed from Grimm. Just sayin'.

As for the authors that don't allow fanfiction, I figure that's their right. HOWEVER, to me, the fact that they are so negative toward fanfiction really colors my attitude about their writings, their characters, and the worlds they build. No author can tell every little story within their canon. No author can fill in all the blanks. It irks me that they wouldn't allow others with the time, motivation, and love for the characters to do so. I start to lose respect for not only the authors, but their stories, if they basically piss in a circle around them and allow no one else to see what those characters are capable of in different situations or in different worlds.

Not all fanfiction is great. Hell, most of it sucks. But there is definite love there and I was glad to see an article that really seemed to honor that love from fans.

[isabelquinn]

I love this line:

"Fanfic writing isn't work, it's joyful play," she says. "The problem is that for most people, any kind of writing looks like work to them, so they get confused why anyone would want to write fanfic instead of original professional material, even though they don't have any problem understanding why someone would want to mess around on a guitar playing Simon and Garfunkel."