What is fanfic FOR?

[montmorency]

Why do you read it? Why do you write it? What are the required/non-required elements? How is fanfiction different from other types of fiction? Is RPF/RPS okay? Are we weirdos for reading/writing? Are some pairings appropriate and others not? Are there limits to what is "allowable" in choice of pairing or kink

Comments

[casey270]

i think the most important thing in writing fanfic is characterization. when writing original fiction, you can give your characters whatever personalities and quirks you want, but with fanfic, & especially RPS, the challenge is to nail the characterizations.

i love seeing some little quirk in someone's personality & using it to develop a whole fic. maybe it's just a look you see in their eye in one pic, or a postural stance you've never seen before, but for some reason it catches your imagination. i love reading this type of fic, too. you can always tell when the author is doing that & it just makes the fic feel so, so right--i'm particularly looking at you, moodwriter.

as far as pairings go, i used to be kinda squicked by RL couples, but someone pointed out to me that once the author takes them under their writing wing, they are just another character, another characterization challenge.

and i think the Adam/Tommy pairing will always be my favorite, just because they both seem to have such open personalities that hide so many fascinating complexities beneath the surface. they're fun to play with & fascinating to watch

[montmorency]

In agreement with all you say. Some well-known and well-respected authors have used characters from the past and expanded on a quirk or an aspect of the personality, to very good effect. That's what we're doing here.

The amazing thing about Adam/Tommy fandom is that we actually have picture after picture after video after video of them kissing. That's really astounding, given that most slash fandoms have no such thing available. Both Tommy and Adam strike me as very open people, as you say, and I think both support creativity for everyone, however it arises. They aren't a RL couple but they also have no hangups about sexuality, whether gay or straight or bi. Clearly they have enjoyed their stage-gay antics. <3 to them both.