No Longer a Newbie

[harmony_bites]

I came across an old post I made on a cross-fandom group asking why HP was so different-it’s a year old. Then I look at Ashwinder and notice I became a member on 9/23/05. So I guess it’s official-I’m not a newbie. Harry Potter fandom is different in so many ways, and I thought I’d list them here before I completely forget the shock and take it for

Comments

[tempest_dreams]

HP is my first "fandom", so take what I say with that in mind.

I think a lot of it is wrapped up in your comments about HP being more international, etc. Let's face it: it's a lot easier to garner more interest if you translate things into more languages!

But beyond that - HP is just, well, bigger than all the other audiences. Book print runs, movie releases, merchandising, and yes, fan fiction. And beyond that - JKR's books themselves are more interesting to more people. Most of the other fandoms mentioned have been very much sci-fi, where HP is both fantasy and coming-of-age. Sci-fi tends towards some fairly specific target audiences. Fantasy does as well, but this fantasy is so grounded in the real world that the audience rule doesn't seem to apply; people who would normally shy away from learning about an entirely new world find enough reference points in HP that they aren't overwhelmed. Plus, coming-of-age certainly reaches out to a broader audience.

Given all that, statistically speaking a lot of this makes sense. The broader the pool, the more things need to be narrowed down. Hence all the various archives, more authors interested in longer works, etc.

I've also wondered if the epic issue is more based on the fact that Star Trek was originally based on TV shows - that is, perhaps subconsciously those stories are "episodes"? Like I said, I wasn't involved, so I really don't know. But I've been curious. Contrasted to that, HP itself is this epic journey - each book is only barely complete within itself. And since this fandom is a bit unique in how it doesn't know the ending before we started writing, of course we want to write epics to project how it could finish. Does any of that make sense?

My apologies if this is a bit rambling and babbling - I'm still working on my first cup of caffeine this morning!

[tempest_dreams]

p.s. You made me curious about how long I've been around the HP fandom. I guess I've arrived out of newbie status as well, as I searched for my original sign-up messages for Ashwinder and ff.net, and they were dated July 12, 2005 and June 29, 2005 respectively. I'm pretty sure I started reading a few months before then, but only stories that I didn't have to have to sign in to read. I knew it was before HBP that I started reading, but I didn't really think about how long ago that was!

I did drop those original accounts, however, when I tried to unify my accounts under the username TempestOfDreams and first created my LJ (where, unfortunately, someone had already taken my penname even though they don't actually seem to have ever used it). So for anyone looking at my info, it appears I've only been around for a few months. *shrug*

[harmony_bites]

I guess if we measure the end of newbie status by when we started to read, it probably was around August. My interest in HP was sparked by HBP, and I know a week or so later I started digging around the net to see what the fandom made of things. I know I was drawn into HP kicking and screaming determined NOT to be pulled in. I still was licking my wounds from Trek. I even first registered at archives in my real name, determined not to be creating some pen name. I was determined just to read, only lurk, never comment, and not write fanfic.

I can tell you how long that lasted. My first story was my WIP. It was uploaded to FFN on 9/14/05. So actually, I'm even older than I thought. So, my resistance lasted not much more than a month.

[harmony_bites]

I think a lot of it is wrapped up in your comments about HP being more international, etc. Let's face it: it's a lot easier to garner more interest if you translate things into more languages!

It's sheer size I think. Trek was aired internationally and we had some Brits, Germans, Dutch, French, and a favorite author of mine was a Swede. But the int'l contingent really wasn't large enough to support stories in their own language, so they were forced to use English.

I've also wondered if the epic issue is more based on the fact that Star Trek was originally based on TV shows - that is, perhaps subconsciously those stories are "episodes"?

I've heard that theory. I really don't know the other fandoms well-enough to know if that's true. Does that pattern follow in LOTR, for instance, which is also book-based (although admittedly resparked by the movies).

I'm curious myself, part of why I posted this in the hopes some on my f-list or wandering by with experiences in other fandoms might comment. My friend from Trek that betas me also was involved with X-files, Buffy, M*A*S*H, Firefly, and DC Comics. There, the "culture" from what she's observed doesn't deviate much from the Trek model. I also have friends involved in Highlander and Starsky and Hutch, and again, not so different.

Of course, almost all of those are TV fandoms too, and comics are also episodic.