the great fanfiction debate
Thoughts on my history in fandom and what bothers me most about the current debate on fanfiction. Just a note, this was written before I knew that GRRM had posted again and I haven't read what he has to say yet.
I grew up in fandom. I joined a Dragonriders of Pern PBEM weyr roleplay when I was 12, before my family even had a computer and I had to play in the library at lunchtime. The age requirement was 13 and I so lied to get in there. :) I was fairly involved with it for a couple of years--at least through 2001. To this day I don't know how I managed it. This must have been before my lurking instincts kicked in. I didn't realize it was fanfiction until a couple years ago, long after I discovered the actual term through reading for SG-1 and then finally writing for LOTR.
A big part of growing up in fandom for me was keeping it quiet. No one else seemed to be reading or writing like I was and I assumed if people knew they would think I was a freak. And you know what? Apparently I was right.
I recently read both Diana Gabaldon's and GRRM's posts on fanfiction. The blatant offense in Gabaldon's I can shake off without too much trouble. It's just so over the top that I tell myself she must be new. GRRM's post I find far more insidious.
He won't even use the term fanfiction. He puts it in quotes--"fanfiction"-- written with clear distaste. That distaste hurts. It is distaste for half of my life. I understand his reasoning behind it and that the term does not fit with his own definition, but there is something to be said for using the language of the community.
What I also see in both posts is the tendency for fanfiction writers to use phrases like "I have to admit I write fanfiction" or "I confess I write fanfiction." (Not all, not by a long shot, but enough that I noticed the pattern.) Fanfiction writers using language that says fanfiction is something shameful. It took me a long time to get over feeling ashamed for my fannish inclinations and to have that belief coming back at me really pisses me off.
So here we go: I am NOT ashamed of writing fanfiction or getting obsessed over that actor or using capslock all day because I am just that excited about the new episode coming out. Some of my best writing is fanfiction. When I am 70 and fandom has moved on to a new format that I can't even imagine, I will have been writing fanfiction for my entire life. And I will be proud of it.
I grew up in fandom. I joined a Dragonriders of Pern PBEM weyr roleplay when I was 12, before my family even had a computer and I had to play in the library at lunchtime. The age requirement was 13 and I so lied to get in there. :) I was fairly involved with it for a couple of years--at least through 2001. To this day I don't know how I managed it. This must have been before my lurking instincts kicked in. I didn't realize it was fanfiction until a couple years ago, long after I discovered the actual term through reading for SG-1 and then finally writing for LOTR.
A big part of growing up in fandom for me was keeping it quiet. No one else seemed to be reading or writing like I was and I assumed if people knew they would think I was a freak. And you know what? Apparently I was right.
I recently read both Diana Gabaldon's and GRRM's posts on fanfiction. The blatant offense in Gabaldon's I can shake off without too much trouble. It's just so over the top that I tell myself she must be new. GRRM's post I find far more insidious.
He won't even use the term fanfiction. He puts it in quotes--"fanfiction"-- written with clear distaste. That distaste hurts. It is distaste for half of my life. I understand his reasoning behind it and that the term does not fit with his own definition, but there is something to be said for using the language of the community.
What I also see in both posts is the tendency for fanfiction writers to use phrases like "I have to admit I write fanfiction" or "I confess I write fanfiction." (Not all, not by a long shot, but enough that I noticed the pattern.) Fanfiction writers using language that says fanfiction is something shameful. It took me a long time to get over feeling ashamed for my fannish inclinations and to have that belief coming back at me really pisses me off.
So here we go: I am NOT ashamed of writing fanfiction or getting obsessed over that actor or using capslock all day because I am just that excited about the new episode coming out. Some of my best writing is fanfiction. When I am 70 and fandom has moved on to a new format that I can't even imagine, I will have been writing fanfiction for my entire life. And I will be proud of it.