Crazee thing called fanfiction

[kellifer]

So, as I said, a second RL friend has found this journal *hands* and I guess if more do they might not understand this whole fandom thing.

Don't get me wrong, the geek quotient in my particular group of friends is pretty high and we salivate to a similar degree over TV, movies and other things (World of Warcraft which I myself don't understand but *can* relate because of fandom I guess...)

Which leads me to really look at why I do this, what I get out of it, why I laugh politely when the RL people who do know I do this tease me and am inwardly mortified.



Point the first - Writing is a lonely thing.

Unless you spend your whole writing career collaborating with someone else (which I'm just now dipping my toes into with estei and am having a ball!), writing is probably the loneliest career you can embark on.

It's just you and your brain for the most part. I like my brain but not *that* much where I would choose to spend time with it over other people. That's not to say that I don't have a writer's disposition. I actually like being on my own for chunks of time and actually get strangely stressed if I haven't had some *me* time for days.

Fandom is probably one of the few places you can feel a sense of community as a writer. There are certainly other ways and yes, it's mostly online but that's the way we are living these days. I have friends on the other side of the world that I mostly communicate with over email and see maybe once a year. It doesn't make them any less my friends.

I like being able to shoot off a story to someone and have them go over it and suggest ways to make it better. I like seeing the ways trends shift and grow and how other people approach writing. Ficathons mean you generally *trade* stories with other people and where else are you going to get that?

Point the Second - Instant gratification

Like most people, I like feedback. I even like the kind where people say "Hey, I liked your story but here are the things that didn't ring true for me". I actually rewrote and expanded a story because of feedback like this because people got so invested. They took the time to break down what didn't work for them without being mean about it and I ended up with a much better story because of it.

Each and every comment on a story gives me a little glee moment, whether it's ten people or one hundred. I read an essay once where they talked about writers falling into two categories, either writer's writers or reader's writers. The way I'm developing and my goals, I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up as a reader's writer. Critics will probably turn their noses up at what I do, but if I get just one person loving what I create then I'll be happy. (I would rather a million people love what I do, I'm not crazy... heh).

Everyone has a book they adore and will reread. My personal one is The Stand (yeah, I know, shutup!)

I want to write that book.

Point the Third - Practice Makes Perfect

Maybe two years ago before I found fandom, I hit this slump where I just wasn't writing anything. You kinda hit a point where you start thinking maybe the job you're doing is your career. I didn't want to get there but there you have it. I lost motivation to write and would feel guilty whenever friends would ask what I was writing.

I stayed with a friend for a little over a month when I was between houses about that time who introduced me to fanfiction and I started reading with a kind of morbid curiousity, not really sure what it was all about. As rent, all she asked was that I write some Sam/Jack fic for her. I did, but kinda felt like I was buying porn or something. It felt a little dirty.

I joined my first yahoo group (yeah rowan_d, you're pretty much responsible for my fandom presence!) and was fascinated. People loved this show I loved and actually wrote stories, did questionaires and meta'd about it. I'd never seen such a thing.

I already had a personal LJ and after some prodding, finally started posting the stories I wrote for Kate to the newsgroup and when I'd friended a couple of writers on LJ, there aswell. (Heavily friendslocked because heaven forbid anyone who actually *knew* me would see me doing this!)

I eventually moved my stuff over to a writing journal and expanded my fandoms. I moved away from S/J because I discovered this thing called slash and gen (I came late to gen, yes, I'm bizarre!) and went from there.

Suddenly, I was writing again and I was actually improving. My grammer is nowhere near as bad as it used to be (at least I hope!) and I've kicked some terrible writing habits I had and also learned how to use commas. I've learned valuable lessons about structure and pacing and how to be descriptive without waffling. I used to be terrible at ending stories... I would kinda just peter out like I was at the end of a traintrack or something and I'm hoping I've improved there.

Point the Fourth - You gotta start somewhere

Neil Gaiman started out writing fanfiction. (Okay, that's what I've been told, I'm not *entirely* sure that's true.)

A couple of my longer FF pieces have given me ideas for original fiction that I'm now working on. I'm not above cannibalising my own work and actually working out if story ideas work in an established world has given me a type of freedom I've never experienced.

I love world building which is probably why I tend to dabble in AUs quite a lot. I've actually started using more OCs of late that people seem to have liked a great deal so I feel like I'm finally getting a little of my mojo back.

Point the Fifth - Are virtual friends *virtually* your friends

Some people I've met through this medium have become real friends. I know it sounds strange but I kinda feel like it's the new penpal (remember those? Does anyone still have those??) You end up knowing a lot about this person who is sometimes on the other side of the world that you've never met face to face.

We trade Xmas cards and fun packages (because I have to admit, while email is all well and good, there's nothing like getting something in your letterbox!) We share music and *ahem* legal *ahem* downloads.

Point the Sixth - Oh yeah, and it's fun

I'm a voracious reader. I love scifi, fantasy and supernatural stuff (the show *and* the genre... heh). I devour books and I can't think of anything better than reading an amazing story over my lunch break.

There are people on my flist and outside of it whose novels and original work I'm really looking forward to because some of these people should be published. Yes, there's some shockers but there's some shocking published work too.

I love the TV shows I am involved with and actually feel a little spoiled. It's a good time in TV if you like super heroes, spooky stuff or scifi. Two pretty boys investigating ghosts and caring about each other? Hell yeah. A crew of humanity's last flinging themselves through space and trying to find a home from an unstoppable enemy? Bring it on! Normal people finding out they have superpowers? Yeeha!

You also get to be someone else. I can understand the draw of World of Warcraft, you have this presence online completely removed from who you are in reality. It's fun to playact. That's what that scary looking Real Life 2 online thingum is all about. You can put yourself out there but still be relatively protected by the anonymity of online. Yes, there is abuse and flaming and general nastiness, but thankfully I've never really been affected by it. I might have turned up on a hate meme or two but I'm blissfully ignorant.

In conclusion, it's fun and I'm writing. That's all I need.

Comments

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*smishes yooooou*