Why fanfic?

[elfwreck]

Why don't we write our own stories, if we've got the talent?

Once we set aside the legal issues (which are complex, and plenty worthy of discussion on their own), and the ethics issues (wac, apwodoto), we're left with the key question of why do we do this--why write (or draw or vid or game or whatever we do) in someone else's universe, with

Comments

[gessatrude]

*applause*

I have to say, I don't game, I don't read or really even understand all the fuss about fanfic. Hell, didn't even know it existed till people started getting banned for it. (I live under a rock.)

But in saying that, having read this essay, I can definately understand your point of view, and whole heartedly agree with you that, no matter anyone elses feelings of the thing, it definately falls under your rights of free speech. And, if as you point out, that it is commentary in literary format, perhaps I should start reading some of it. :-)

[elfwreck]

I should also point out that a lot of the commentary, being in story form, is often less than obvious, and some of it draws heavily on fanon ("Those conventions and extrapolations from canon which become so popular and widespread in a fannish community, that they turn up in much fanfic")--ideas like Draco's penchant for wearing tight leather pants, or Sirius and Lupin being lovers before Sirius went to prison, or Voldemort's tendency to Crucio whoever shows up last at his meetings, or the Death Eaters' orgy-and-torture fests.

That said...
What's yer poison? Got a favorite fandom that you'd like to see explored in text?

[gessatrude]

Hmm.

I'm trying to think if there are any stories I've read that would even have spawned the interest to create that kind of thing. The only one I've ever really heard of is the HP stuff.

Though I suppose that's probably a good enough place to start as any. The only other 2 series that are coming to mind that I enjoyed enough to probably get into it are john sanford's Prey series, and the MZBradley Avalon stuff.

there's another one that's escaping me. My brain is gone today.

(I followed that link after I finished typing this. According to that site, most fanfic is about TV shows? Interesting. In which case I'd be at a total loss, cause other than Law and Order, I don't really watch all that much tv. hmm... Law and Order fanfic?

[elfwreck]

There's a lot more about tv shows than books; they're shared more widely. TV shows count viewers in the millions; books count sales by the thousands. (There's possibly room for an essay about HP being the first literary fandom to compete with TV fandom because it had that much shared popularity.)

The good news is that fanfic isn't limited to currently popular shows. You must know there's seven hundred bazillion Star Trek fics, ranging from the original series through Enterprise. There's Due South fic archives. Lots of comic book fics, which I'm barely aware of but have read a few incredible stories. (There's a lot of Smallville fic, and while I've never watched the show, I know enough about "teenage Superman" to read the fic.)

Since I haven't found any good L&O resources (I've read one or two good fics, but can't find them again today), I'm gonna point you at something else: Yuletide is an "obscure fandom" fic exchange that's been running for several years; they get entries in hundreds of fandoms that are too small to have their own

[gessatrude]

yeah, i went and did a google search.

I have to say, I've only read about maybe 10 pieces so far, but I can definately see where there is a fine line that may look non-existant to someone who just stumbles across the fic stuff, as far as the difference between literary commentary and just plain stories.

it is interesting though :) and yet one more thing to keep me glued to my computer :)

[slashpervert]

I believe that all those reasons exist, in addition to the commentary aspect, and yet, the best fanfic are the ones that do include a commentary on either the original stories or on society through their fiction.

I recently did a literary analysis of one of my own fanfiction stories, giving both behind the scenes looks at the writing and a psychological analysis of the characters in the story. One of the things I said there was that one of the issues I explore is the affect of violence in the lives of people and I beleive that comes through in my stories, especially that one. One of the things I haven't said and intend to write about is that it is one of my biggest critiques of the Harry Potter stories - the level of violence and the way the impact of that is glossed over in the canon.

I wrote most of my Harry Potter stories from Draco's perspective (my co-authors write Harry) and find it an amazing tool for actually criticising the original stories and characters. For example, Draco has no trouble saying he thinks Dumbledore was

[arethinn]

Wordity word. With word sauce.

[kattahj]

Yes yes yes yes yes. Oh God you're so smart. *hugs*

I wrote a post myself based on that discussion, but you put it so much better. :-)

[elfwreck]

Not "better," I'd think, as much as "different." I'm focusing on the whys of fanfic; your post is about the ridiculousness of trying to convert a (presumably unwritten) fanfic into non-fanfic.

I don't think I'd ever encountered that particular idea before... "file off the serial numbers and release it as original fic!" Gaaah. Don't commit copyright infringement; graduate to plagiarism instead!

[kattahj]

I had encountered it before - in fact my post was made after my initial comment to the OP but before she actually suggested to rewrite fanfic into original fic.

I've even heard authors suggest it, which really doesn't make me think highly of them. "My characters are so generic no one would notice if you changed their names and called them your own!"