Let's do some fandom ficdom math!
A question I never tire of seeing is, "Why have all the SHINee fanfic writers switched to EXO?"
Another one is, "There are all these long fics for EXO, what about for SHINee?"
First of all, it's important to get real - the production of SHINee fics has been on the slow side for a while now. So, really, it has nothing to do with the debut of EXO and the subsequent influx of EXO-based fics.
But most importantly, we need to look at the numbers.
The SHINee fandom has existed for four years. In those four years, hundred if not hundred of thousands (okay, I'm probably extrapolating a bit - more like thousands, not hundreds of thousands) of SHINee fics have been written. That's... a metric shitton of plot lines, to put it simply.
Four years, thousands of fics, thousands of plotlines - how much further can the SHINee ficdom go?
Yes, of course, there are people who still successfully write SHINee fic - but the number is by and large much lower than it was, say, a year and a half ago. The fact of the matter is, however, that if people were still pumping out SHINee fic by the dozens per month, you'd see more recycled plotlines than you'd care to wrap your head around.
And that, to me, is probably worse than no fic at all. "Didn't I read this already? No, this is a different writer... but I swear to god... okay, I don't know, I'll just read it because it's better than nothing." Literally.
Now, the flipside.
The EXO fandom has existed... about seven months - but more formally, only three months. In those months, there have maybe been a couple hundred - or, quite possibly, much less - fanfics written for EXO. The personalities of the members of EXO differ greatly from those of SHINee, so the argument "If they can write THAT for EXO, they could have written the same thing for SHINee!" falls apart right there. Don't believe me? Okay, pick one EXO fic and replace its characters with members of SHINee. Does it work? Does it have the same effect?
Does it sound awkward as fuck?
The answer to that last one is a big, fat YES... unless someone is talented enough to superimpose the personalities of SHINee onto EXO just for the fun of it.
As with all new groups, and new fandoms, and those writers who write for that fandom, there is a wealth of creative ideas for fics at their feet. New personalities, new coupling, new situations - hell, a whole new dynamic that is, in itself, the driving force for the uptick in new-fandom-fanfic. If you were to go back back back to 2008 and read some of the stuff that came out of the SHINee fandom at the time, you'd most likely see some 10k, 20k, 40k masterpieces. And over time, the length of those fics became shorter and shorter because, well, unless you're an avid AU writer, you can only get about enough inspiration for at least a oneshot. At least. Of course, you might be able to expand upon that if you please, but would it get up to the same word count as earlier fics?
Probably. Probably not. Depends on the writer.
The point I'm trying to make here is that EXO fics are infamously really goddamn long - but that'll change in a matter of months, if the ficdom follows the same trend as other popular ficdoms. I think what the problem is here is that there's becoming some sort of competition, if you will, from the SHINee fandom end. "WHERE HAVE ALL OUR FICS GONE! WHY ARE THE NEW FICS SO SHORT! RAHHHHHH!"
Plain and simple, though: the number of fics that are written and the number of fics you read should not define the strength of your fandom. Fics are a minute, optional part of fandom. A lot of people don't even read fics and, still, they remain a huge fan of whoever they stan. Everything I just wrote, really, is useless because... well, fic is fic. I can't even remember who wrote the first SHINee fic I read or, really, what it was about... I don't think ANYONE can because it's such a minor part of fandom. So... just give it a break.
And if you want fic so damn bad, try to write it yourself!!!! :D
Another one is, "There are all these long fics for EXO, what about for SHINee?"
First of all, it's important to get real - the production of SHINee fics has been on the slow side for a while now. So, really, it has nothing to do with the debut of EXO and the subsequent influx of EXO-based fics.
But most importantly, we need to look at the numbers.
The SHINee fandom has existed for four years. In those four years, hundred if not hundred of thousands (okay, I'm probably extrapolating a bit - more like thousands, not hundreds of thousands) of SHINee fics have been written. That's... a metric shitton of plot lines, to put it simply.
Four years, thousands of fics, thousands of plotlines - how much further can the SHINee ficdom go?
Yes, of course, there are people who still successfully write SHINee fic - but the number is by and large much lower than it was, say, a year and a half ago. The fact of the matter is, however, that if people were still pumping out SHINee fic by the dozens per month, you'd see more recycled plotlines than you'd care to wrap your head around.
And that, to me, is probably worse than no fic at all. "Didn't I read this already? No, this is a different writer... but I swear to god... okay, I don't know, I'll just read it because it's better than nothing." Literally.
Now, the flipside.
The EXO fandom has existed... about seven months - but more formally, only three months. In those months, there have maybe been a couple hundred - or, quite possibly, much less - fanfics written for EXO. The personalities of the members of EXO differ greatly from those of SHINee, so the argument "If they can write THAT for EXO, they could have written the same thing for SHINee!" falls apart right there. Don't believe me? Okay, pick one EXO fic and replace its characters with members of SHINee. Does it work? Does it have the same effect?
Does it sound awkward as fuck?
The answer to that last one is a big, fat YES... unless someone is talented enough to superimpose the personalities of SHINee onto EXO just for the fun of it.
As with all new groups, and new fandoms, and those writers who write for that fandom, there is a wealth of creative ideas for fics at their feet. New personalities, new coupling, new situations - hell, a whole new dynamic that is, in itself, the driving force for the uptick in new-fandom-fanfic. If you were to go back back back to 2008 and read some of the stuff that came out of the SHINee fandom at the time, you'd most likely see some 10k, 20k, 40k masterpieces. And over time, the length of those fics became shorter and shorter because, well, unless you're an avid AU writer, you can only get about enough inspiration for at least a oneshot. At least. Of course, you might be able to expand upon that if you please, but would it get up to the same word count as earlier fics?
Probably. Probably not. Depends on the writer.
The point I'm trying to make here is that EXO fics are infamously really goddamn long - but that'll change in a matter of months, if the ficdom follows the same trend as other popular ficdoms. I think what the problem is here is that there's becoming some sort of competition, if you will, from the SHINee fandom end. "WHERE HAVE ALL OUR FICS GONE! WHY ARE THE NEW FICS SO SHORT! RAHHHHHH!"
Plain and simple, though: the number of fics that are written and the number of fics you read should not define the strength of your fandom. Fics are a minute, optional part of fandom. A lot of people don't even read fics and, still, they remain a huge fan of whoever they stan. Everything I just wrote, really, is useless because... well, fic is fic. I can't even remember who wrote the first SHINee fic I read or, really, what it was about... I don't think ANYONE can because it's such a minor part of fandom. So... just give it a break.
And if you want fic so damn bad, try to write it yourself!!!! :D