Why I write more fanfic than original fiction
I've been writing a lot of fic lately. When I post the one that's currently almost finished, I will have posted over one hundred thousand words of bandom fic since I started writing it in October. That's a hell of a lot of words, for me. I have several nerdy neuropsychological theories about why I like bandom so much as opposed to other fandoms, but that's not what I want to talk about right now. I want to talk about why I like writing fanfic more than I like writing original fiction.
There are minor differences between the writing processes for these two types of fiction; notably, original stories require more focus on characterization and worldbuilding. But characterization can be a challenge in RPS, because real people are complex and their reactions are more situationally dependent than fictional characters. And AUs, which most of my longer and plottier fics are, require just as much worldbuilding as original fiction. I think the difference in appeal, for me, is in the fandom-based relationships I have with my readers.
There are people in bandom who like the fic I write, and who follow my journal in order to read it, or click through regularly from fic communities. I don't think I've posted a single bandom fic that didn't get any comments. That right there, the near-certainty that people will see and respond to my work, is major motivation.
Even more motivating are the people with whom I've developed closer relationships, people I can e-mail or IM with a fic idea or snippet and get immediate feedback without having to turn out a finished piece. It's all marshmallows, all the time. These are people I've gotten to know well enough to be comfortable sharing my unfinished pieces with them--and, crucially, to trust their taste and writing knowledge. In return, I do the same for them, which means getting to hear about their works in progress and occasionally read snippets of fics to come. There's no bad in this for me.
Fandom is incredibly positive, or at least the parts of it I pay attention to are. It's based on creation and transformation, but it's also based on support. Flames are considered in bad taste--if you don't like a fic, you just close out the tab. People say they welcome constructive criticism all the time, but in my experience, the only people who really criticize my work are my betas.
And I'm fine with that. I do welcome constructive criticism on any of my fic, for the record, and I have no objections to suggestions for improvement from people I don't know, but I think the system works fine as it is. I get specific writing advice from people I trust to know their shit, and I get repeated shocks to the nucleus accumbens from people whom I don't know well, but who read my writing anyway because it fits a pattern they know works for them. Say what you will about the effectiveness of over-praise as an educational tool, but it's undeniably (see above re: 100,000 words of bandom fic) a good way to encourage desired behavior. And producing more stories, practicing writing, is definitely a behavior I desire in myself.
I don't have that support system for original fiction. I have friends who will read what I write, and even some who will offer criticism if I ask for it, but I don't have those relationships that are based on feedback. I don't have people who prod me when I sign onto AIM, asking if I've finished that thing I was working on, and demanding why not, and commanding me to tell them all about it. I don't have a readership broad enough to be able to determine the appeal of a particular story based on the ratio of people who see it to number of comments. And I don't have any kind of assurance that I'll get any response at all.
Someone once told me that you have to write a million words of crap before you can write anything good, because you have to practice getting things wrong. I figure it's okay if some of my million words are about celebrities I don't actually like. If that's what gets me to pound out the words, if that's what gets me to work on my writing skills, then it's okay for me to be doing that right now. And you know, if I ever get through my million words of crap and start writing stuff that's really worth reading, it's okay for that to be fanfic too.
There are minor differences between the writing processes for these two types of fiction; notably, original stories require more focus on characterization and worldbuilding. But characterization can be a challenge in RPS, because real people are complex and their reactions are more situationally dependent than fictional characters. And AUs, which most of my longer and plottier fics are, require just as much worldbuilding as original fiction. I think the difference in appeal, for me, is in the fandom-based relationships I have with my readers.
There are people in bandom who like the fic I write, and who follow my journal in order to read it, or click through regularly from fic communities. I don't think I've posted a single bandom fic that didn't get any comments. That right there, the near-certainty that people will see and respond to my work, is major motivation.
Even more motivating are the people with whom I've developed closer relationships, people I can e-mail or IM with a fic idea or snippet and get immediate feedback without having to turn out a finished piece. It's all marshmallows, all the time. These are people I've gotten to know well enough to be comfortable sharing my unfinished pieces with them--and, crucially, to trust their taste and writing knowledge. In return, I do the same for them, which means getting to hear about their works in progress and occasionally read snippets of fics to come. There's no bad in this for me.
Fandom is incredibly positive, or at least the parts of it I pay attention to are. It's based on creation and transformation, but it's also based on support. Flames are considered in bad taste--if you don't like a fic, you just close out the tab. People say they welcome constructive criticism all the time, but in my experience, the only people who really criticize my work are my betas.
And I'm fine with that. I do welcome constructive criticism on any of my fic, for the record, and I have no objections to suggestions for improvement from people I don't know, but I think the system works fine as it is. I get specific writing advice from people I trust to know their shit, and I get repeated shocks to the nucleus accumbens from people whom I don't know well, but who read my writing anyway because it fits a pattern they know works for them. Say what you will about the effectiveness of over-praise as an educational tool, but it's undeniably (see above re: 100,000 words of bandom fic) a good way to encourage desired behavior. And producing more stories, practicing writing, is definitely a behavior I desire in myself.
I don't have that support system for original fiction. I have friends who will read what I write, and even some who will offer criticism if I ask for it, but I don't have those relationships that are based on feedback. I don't have people who prod me when I sign onto AIM, asking if I've finished that thing I was working on, and demanding why not, and commanding me to tell them all about it. I don't have a readership broad enough to be able to determine the appeal of a particular story based on the ratio of people who see it to number of comments. And I don't have any kind of assurance that I'll get any response at all.
Someone once told me that you have to write a million words of crap before you can write anything good, because you have to practice getting things wrong. I figure it's okay if some of my million words are about celebrities I don't actually like. If that's what gets me to pound out the words, if that's what gets me to work on my writing skills, then it's okay for me to be doing that right now. And you know, if I ever get through my million words of crap and start writing stuff that's really worth reading, it's okay for that to be fanfic too.