If a fanfiction falls on the internet...
will anyone read it?
(also know as V's latest attempt at quantifying the value of fanfiction. Yeah, still haven't figured it out.)
Like last year, I participated in mini_wrimo and I exceeded my goal - by how much, I'm not sure, the totals aren't in, but according to the spreadsheet, I'll be over by a comfortable amount. I aimed for 500 words a day and there were some days I dragged myself over that line, but I did it, even during the three days of my whirlwind trip to NY. So, you know, go me:).
But here's the thing - do people still read fanfiction? I mean, yes, of course they do, but I don't follow/participate in very active fandoms, so I wonder if writing in them has become more of a way for me to pass the time than to participate in those fandoms. Feedback has certainly become a thing of the past, although the few and faithful that continue to read TP always comment and offer encouragement (such a precious thing and I love you all) but yeah, I see the reader hits and compare them to the feedback I get and I conclude it must be one of two things - the story wasn't good or fanfiction is a product to be consumed, not a way to share the love. (This is not meant to be a whinge regarding lack of feedback/comments on my own stuff - this is just an observation and not a new one.)
To give a frame to my ramblings, there was a post on fandomsecrets about The Sentinel, the gist of which was someone had read the fanfic and went to watch the original and boy, they were disappointed. And I can't say that I blame them - it hasn't held up well, and all the things that bothered those of us who enjoyed the show back then now seem to be magnified. But TS fanfiction was my gateway drug both to fandom and to some wonderful friendships. And maybe it's just my rose-colored time machine, but we all seemed so close back then,the stories were coming out so fast, we all knew each other on some level - it was more of a community. I see that in the MUNCLE and Pros fandom still, which is lovely, but you can't call them new fandoms.
Fastforward to this month. I made myself join mini_wrimo so that I'd get back into a more disciplined writing mood, since time and again I've seen how beneficial it is to write on a regular basis. Here's what happened:
I worked on Torchwood Paranormal and was making good progress until I hit a crater of a plot hole. Spent the rest of the month staring at the story, growling at it, then moving on to something else.
I worked on a Hawaii Five-O story that I started oh, I think during the end of the first season. With so much canon happening since then, it needs a complete rewrite AND I'm over 10,000 words in.
I wrote - and completed - a Torchwood story in my Time Enough universe.
Issues? I have them. The TP story is the least of my problems, I think I've got that worked out. But the H5O story - man, I just don't know. It's back to the original question - I just don't have a grasp of the state of its fandom. The fanfiction is pretty scarce, even with all the fabulous canon we've been given lately (but tumblr sure was happy for a while!). So, do I polish it, bring it up to date, all that stuff - for a fandom I'm not sure would be interested? I'm game, I love Steve and Danny, and enjoy writing them, but has that fanfiction train left the station?
Even worse, the Torchwood story is a Mac story, a slice of life that I wrote to fill one of my cotton candy bingo squares. Why this story of all things came out of that, I'll never know. I have great prompts, and the first thing I write is a story for the prompt "without makeup," so that tells you something about how my mind functions. It is, of course, a Jack/Ianto story at its heart, but Mac is that evil thing known as an OC (and some might say a self-insert) and while I enjoy her POV and everything she's brought to my now ginormous TW AU, really - who'd read it now? TW as a fandom seems pretty dead, though there are still wonderful writers like lilferret contributing their talents - I guess the (somewhat rhetorical) question is, should it see the light of day? I had fun writing it and visiting with Mac and Jack and Ianto, so I don't regret spending the time creating it, I'm just not sure what to do with it.
I've been writing fanfiction for a long time now, and I still find happiness doing it. It's a hobby, it's a way to relax, it allows me to enjoy fandoms as they come and go. And go they do, it seems, these days faster than I'm ready for them to fade away, though some will self-destruct on their own (looking at you, Spartacus). And there will be others, of course, but the writing comes harder these days, the attention span of "fandom" seems shorter, and something like a short AU story in a faded fandom seems, I don't know - self-indulgent?
Ultimately, I think it's a matter of managing my expectations. The stories will get read, possible enjoyed, some may comment, some may hate them and mock them, but then they'll fade away, too. Yeah, I've over-thought and over-analyzed and come to no particular conclusion. Feel free to tell me I'm full of crap, I'm pretty much of the same mind :).
Congratulations to everyone who participated in mini_wrimo and nanowrimo - I know that leopardchic79 did the mini and byslantedlight and lilferret did the nano - if you participated, let me know! Nice to think we were all grinding our teeth together last month ;).
(also know as V's latest attempt at quantifying the value of fanfiction. Yeah, still haven't figured it out.)
Like last year, I participated in mini_wrimo and I exceeded my goal - by how much, I'm not sure, the totals aren't in, but according to the spreadsheet, I'll be over by a comfortable amount. I aimed for 500 words a day and there were some days I dragged myself over that line, but I did it, even during the three days of my whirlwind trip to NY. So, you know, go me:).
But here's the thing - do people still read fanfiction? I mean, yes, of course they do, but I don't follow/participate in very active fandoms, so I wonder if writing in them has become more of a way for me to pass the time than to participate in those fandoms. Feedback has certainly become a thing of the past, although the few and faithful that continue to read TP always comment and offer encouragement (such a precious thing and I love you all) but yeah, I see the reader hits and compare them to the feedback I get and I conclude it must be one of two things - the story wasn't good or fanfiction is a product to be consumed, not a way to share the love. (This is not meant to be a whinge regarding lack of feedback/comments on my own stuff - this is just an observation and not a new one.)
To give a frame to my ramblings, there was a post on fandomsecrets about The Sentinel, the gist of which was someone had read the fanfic and went to watch the original and boy, they were disappointed. And I can't say that I blame them - it hasn't held up well, and all the things that bothered those of us who enjoyed the show back then now seem to be magnified. But TS fanfiction was my gateway drug both to fandom and to some wonderful friendships. And maybe it's just my rose-colored time machine, but we all seemed so close back then,the stories were coming out so fast, we all knew each other on some level - it was more of a community. I see that in the MUNCLE and Pros fandom still, which is lovely, but you can't call them new fandoms.
Fastforward to this month. I made myself join mini_wrimo so that I'd get back into a more disciplined writing mood, since time and again I've seen how beneficial it is to write on a regular basis. Here's what happened:
I worked on Torchwood Paranormal and was making good progress until I hit a crater of a plot hole. Spent the rest of the month staring at the story, growling at it, then moving on to something else.
I worked on a Hawaii Five-O story that I started oh, I think during the end of the first season. With so much canon happening since then, it needs a complete rewrite AND I'm over 10,000 words in.
I wrote - and completed - a Torchwood story in my Time Enough universe.
Issues? I have them. The TP story is the least of my problems, I think I've got that worked out. But the H5O story - man, I just don't know. It's back to the original question - I just don't have a grasp of the state of its fandom. The fanfiction is pretty scarce, even with all the fabulous canon we've been given lately (but tumblr sure was happy for a while!). So, do I polish it, bring it up to date, all that stuff - for a fandom I'm not sure would be interested? I'm game, I love Steve and Danny, and enjoy writing them, but has that fanfiction train left the station?
Even worse, the Torchwood story is a Mac story, a slice of life that I wrote to fill one of my cotton candy bingo squares. Why this story of all things came out of that, I'll never know. I have great prompts, and the first thing I write is a story for the prompt "without makeup," so that tells you something about how my mind functions. It is, of course, a Jack/Ianto story at its heart, but Mac is that evil thing known as an OC (and some might say a self-insert) and while I enjoy her POV and everything she's brought to my now ginormous TW AU, really - who'd read it now? TW as a fandom seems pretty dead, though there are still wonderful writers like lilferret contributing their talents - I guess the (somewhat rhetorical) question is, should it see the light of day? I had fun writing it and visiting with Mac and Jack and Ianto, so I don't regret spending the time creating it, I'm just not sure what to do with it.
I've been writing fanfiction for a long time now, and I still find happiness doing it. It's a hobby, it's a way to relax, it allows me to enjoy fandoms as they come and go. And go they do, it seems, these days faster than I'm ready for them to fade away, though some will self-destruct on their own (looking at you, Spartacus). And there will be others, of course, but the writing comes harder these days, the attention span of "fandom" seems shorter, and something like a short AU story in a faded fandom seems, I don't know - self-indulgent?
Ultimately, I think it's a matter of managing my expectations. The stories will get read, possible enjoyed, some may comment, some may hate them and mock them, but then they'll fade away, too. Yeah, I've over-thought and over-analyzed and come to no particular conclusion. Feel free to tell me I'm full of crap, I'm pretty much of the same mind :).
Congratulations to everyone who participated in mini_wrimo and nanowrimo - I know that leopardchic79 did the mini and byslantedlight and lilferret did the nano - if you participated, let me know! Nice to think we were all grinding our teeth together last month ;).