Fanfiction as Pantheistic Solipsism
I have been writing fanfiction for about seven years now. I started out in the Harry Potter fandom, moved to the Doctor Who and Torchwood fandoms, and have now added the Sherlock (BBC) fandom. I’ve also written stories in the Quantum Leap, Buffy and Sliders fandoms.
However, that isn’t quite true. I’ve been writing fanfiction, in my head at least, for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, it was almost exclusively self-insertion Mary Sue; however, as I grew older, I expanded to back-story and missing moments. I first discovered fanfiction with Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: The Series; however, the thought made me uncomfortable and I didn’t explore it.
It wasn’t until several years later, while searching for clues and rumors for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, that I began to explore the wonderful world of fanfiction. It wasn’t long after that that I began to write it. To correct my opening statement, I’ve been publishing fanfiction for about seven years.
I am now working largely in the four fandoms first mentioned above. There is an idea percolating in my head that would involve all four of those fandoms, and potentially others; however, the idea is absurd. It isn’t “true” to any of the fandoms, not even as much as the crossovers I have written. I’ve been knocking it around in my head, trying to make it work. It would be a lot of fun to write, even if it would be potentially “cracky”, but I needed some way to make it true. Then I remembered The Number of the Beast, published by Robert A. Heinlein in 1980. In it, he “invents” pantheistic multiperson solipsism and, eventually, the World As Myth. The World As Myth is the idea that myths and fictional worlds exist as an almost infinite number of universes which are parallel to our own.
The Number of the Beast is one of those books that you either love or hate, or, like me, both at the same time. Although the beginning of the book is an entertaining homage to pulp fiction, it quickly trails off into self-indulgence. I almost never read it through to the end.
One of the best and worst things about it is that it is clearly Heinlein’s love letter, after a severe illness that did affect his brain, to those characters and stories that were dearest to his heart. In that sense, it is a guiding light to fanfiction. And it is pointing the way to being able to write the story.
If the author creates his/her own fictional world, and if another author can visit and interact with those characters, creating yet another world, then the gate is open. True, no one else may want to read the story when I’m done with it, but I’ve (almost) given up on that.
mom-post (which will continue until
maxgoof296 gets used to doing this.)
maxgoof296, I would appreciate it if you would, at least sometimes, respond to my posts. I will be trying to be a good role model and post daily as well.
Your father has suggested that you post about the movie. If you do so, please put spoilers under a cut so those who haven't seen it and don't want to be spoiled can remain unspoiled. Go here to see how to do a cut.
/end of mom-post.