Aw, crap.
I have a deep and abiding inability to just let things goAs I may have mentioned in a previous post, I got into a small argument with the writer GoH, Michael Stackpole, during a CONduit panel this weekend. The argument was whether you can learn anything by writing fanfic. I, of course, am firmly in the camp that you do. I maintain that I would
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I remember that horrible thing I wrote in high school. Which I never actually finished. I think I might even still have it around somewhere, scarily enough.
But you do develop your own voice when writing fic, just as you do writing anything else. If you put fics in front of me, in the same fandoms, written by three different friends of mine, I'm betting I could tell you who wrote which. Just because you're writing in someone else's 'verse doesn't mean you don't have a style all your own. Look at the tie-in novels that are phoned in, versus the really exceptional fanfic written by people who love the characters. It's easy to tell the difference.
I don't think Mr. Stackpole ever wrote "fanfic" per se, but many of us in the fan community regard tie-in works as, basically, glorified fanfic. And he wasn't "nasty," just...rather firm in his opinion. Lee Goldberg, now, he's another story. And he's a mystery writer. ;)
I never got inspired to write as an adult until Spike started whispering in my ear. I created original characters to interact with the canon ones. I put them in different places than the show--such as Moab (that scene is still one of my favorites I've ever written), and Lampasas, and Africa. People seem to think that all you do is parrot what's on the screen, which couldn't be farther from the truth. We do things with them and to them that could never happen in canon, and not just with smut. We pair characters up who will never even kiss onscreen. Sometimes we pair characters up who will never even meet onscreen. I wrote crossovers between shows that take place 500 years apart. You're flexing a creative muscle there, especially if you want to make it plausible.
And, at least in the 'verses I played in, you have so many disparate characters to work with, all with their own unique voices and mannerisms. It's a shortcut to characterization, sure, but it helps with consistency. If you can write a story with no dialogue tags, but everyone still knows who's talking, you've succeeded.
And seriously, having a reviewer say "Dude, that could have been an episode" is nearly as happy-making (not quite! but nearly) as getting paid.
Would I have learned faster by writing original fic? I don't know, that's the Road Not Taken. Did I have loads of fun writing fanfic? You betcha. But starting out writing original fiction isn't a sure-fire way to become a good writer either. Look at Cassie Edwards, who (probably a safe bet, don't know for sure) never wrote fanfic in her life. And then look at Naomi Novik, who is brilliant...and started out writing fanfic. Still writes it, in fact.
I can tell you this much: My output, now that I'm writing original stories, has dropped precipitously. That first million words doesn't come easy, and it comes even less easy when you're banging your head on the keyboard because the words. Aren't. There. I didn't have that problem nearly so much when I was writing fanfic.
It all comes down to the individual and how they're comfortable learning. You might blame fanfic for holding me back, but I'll always love it because it gave me wings.
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