Fanfic: some thoughts
At my last book club, I'm not really sure how the topic was brought up, but one of my friends asked why bother to write fanfic when you can write original stuff. I'm pretty sure I was the only fanfic writer in the room, though one of the other girls does read fanfic. My friend made it sound like writing fanfic was lame or just for crazy people. The best answer I could provide without really mentioning I wrote fanfic was it gives you a nice jumping off point. You already have characters and worlds and rules set up for you; all you need to do is set up a plot and you're ready to go. If you're lazy like me, then fanfic is perfect. I can write but I don't have to create my own worlds.
But then I started to think more about this. Why write indeed? I haven't written anything original, not fanfic, since my Creative Writing class which was about two years ago. It doesn't bother me. I have no great desire to become a famous novelist so I'm content with the idea of just pounding out fanfic only a handful of people will read. Bu why delve into writing someone else's characters? Do we fanfic writers have a pathological need to make things right or to see things how we want them? Fanfic does allow you to explore areas and paths the TV show or movie or book hasn't. But if it was just about seeing a plot the fandom would never do, then wouldn't it be easier just to read fanfic?
I think that's the reason the other girl in book club reads fanfic. She's big on Harry Potter fic (particularly shipping Draco and Ginny but that's neither here nor there) and with only seven books I'm sure the fans feel a need to expand on the canon. TV shows are a different beast; if you're lucky, your chosen TV fandom has dozens of episodes to draw upon, maybe over a hundred. So why?
I can't remember why I started writing fanfic. I don't think I felt like I could write the fandom better; I was just a kid when Buffy started and I was just awed by the thought of watching a show where a girl beat up demons and vampires on a weekly basis. I think it just comes from a love of writing and a love for these fandoms. Because these worlds are smart and exciting and the characters are witty and have depth and emotions and they're worth writing stories about.
I'm sure we all have our reasons. But we're not all crackpots. :-)
But then I started to think more about this. Why write indeed? I haven't written anything original, not fanfic, since my Creative Writing class which was about two years ago. It doesn't bother me. I have no great desire to become a famous novelist so I'm content with the idea of just pounding out fanfic only a handful of people will read. Bu why delve into writing someone else's characters? Do we fanfic writers have a pathological need to make things right or to see things how we want them? Fanfic does allow you to explore areas and paths the TV show or movie or book hasn't. But if it was just about seeing a plot the fandom would never do, then wouldn't it be easier just to read fanfic?
I think that's the reason the other girl in book club reads fanfic. She's big on Harry Potter fic (particularly shipping Draco and Ginny but that's neither here nor there) and with only seven books I'm sure the fans feel a need to expand on the canon. TV shows are a different beast; if you're lucky, your chosen TV fandom has dozens of episodes to draw upon, maybe over a hundred. So why?
I can't remember why I started writing fanfic. I don't think I felt like I could write the fandom better; I was just a kid when Buffy started and I was just awed by the thought of watching a show where a girl beat up demons and vampires on a weekly basis. I think it just comes from a love of writing and a love for these fandoms. Because these worlds are smart and exciting and the characters are witty and have depth and emotions and they're worth writing stories about.
I'm sure we all have our reasons. But we're not all crackpots. :-)