musings on anti-fanfic histrionics

[deaka]

There must be something fairly significant in the fact that some of the most hysteria-level crazy tirades against fan fiction come from authors whose work boasts qualities that might be mistaken for fanfiction-like, surely? Robin Hobb springs to mind, and while I've never read the work of the latest author to spray the fanfic-writing portion of her

Comments

[tabacoychanel]

You may be onto something when you bring up the possibility of genre embarassment. I mean, I can't help but think that some of Diana's naivete stems from the fact that she's not usually billed as a SF/F author so she's not accustomed to the kind of dedicated fandoms that spring up around works of speculative fiction. Which obviously doesn't excuse Robin Hobb, who knew damn well what she was getting into. It may be that the same impulse that drives people to argue that The Road is not science fiction is at work here, because if you write good stuff it is suddenly not speculative it is "mainstream" or "genre" or "literary"? To be fair, I don't actually think Diana's stuff can fairly be classified as SFF - it's much closer to historical fiction, the fantastic elements notwithstanding. And I don't think she's a bad writer, gratuitous sex scenes notwithstanding

[deaka]

Her rhetoric is all kinds of crazy. She obviously has no understanding of what fanfic is, which isn't new, but the levels she takes her reviling to are extraordinary. Absolutely with you on the fact that she (still) hasn't acknowledged that her 'analogies' are completely inappropriate.

(And drop by, by all means! Glad you enjoyed the Jacen fic.)

[sunnyskywalker]

You might be on to something here with the genre-embarrassment theory. I think that goes well with the id-vortex theory - the idea being that a lot of fanfic is basically the author letting their id desires out to play. (I think John Ringo pretty much admitted to that "oh john ringo no" series being his id on paper.) So pro authors who write fanfic-y id-vortex genre fiction see other people picking up on those wild id elements instead of doing sedate literary analysis (or whatever), which is bad enough, because it hits that "not literary, just indulgent emotionalism" embarrassment button. But the fanficcers are also using the author's id for their own id-vortex games, which feels like an intrusion into the deep, personal parts of the author's brain. Which is probably something the authors should have considered more carefully before publishing! If you really, really don't want people writing their own versions of your id-brain because it feels like they're in your head messing around and probably judging you, don't make it public.

[deaka]

I really think you've put the nail on it there. Let's face it: fanfic or no, each person lives the world and the characters of a story a little differently, and save locking the finished product away in a drawer somewhere never to be read, there's no real way to stop that process.

[gabri_jade]

It amuses me how your "why am I still awake posts" are always extra insightful. :P I think you hit on something here that the authors don't want to admit, maybe even don't realize themselves. It is amazing how they often complain about the aspects of fanfiction that are most present in their own writing. As far as Diana Gabaldon goes, I was reading some of this last night and according to some comments on Fandom Wank and LJ, not only do her own books contain a whole lot of sex, at least one scene involves someone getting his hand nailed to a table, then being orally and anally raped. You know what? Anyone who writes that no longer has a right to complain about someone else's sex scenes, no matter how salacious. (Also, a friend of mine recommended Gabaldon's books to me. Um, no. And I no longer trust her taste in books, either

[deaka]

True story: Gabaldon's Outlander series was wildly popular with the oh-so-proper elderly patrons when I used to work at the library, and I was always so very amused. I DON'T THINK YOU'RE AFTER THIS FOR THE SCENERY, MRS SMITH. But there were so many entertaining book selections. More of an eye-opener than you'd think, working in a library. :p

kate_nepveu makes excellent points. What are narratives like the Arthurian mythos or the legend of Robin Hood, for some Anglicized examples, if not expressions of a very similar drive to the one that lives in fanfic? Tennyson, Keats and Malory clearly didn't get memo on how making narratives with characters not of your own invention makes you a liar and a thief

[tabacoychanel]

Actually Bri I'd be willing to wager that this is responsible for 60% of the traffic on her website.

Also, brava, what an elegant way to say "She's a douchebaguette"! :-P

[deaka]

You speak (or, in fact, type) truth indeed. It's kind of like someone being shown a single dirty website and drawing the conclusion that the whole of the Internet, in its entirety, is purely porn. Logic: it does not live here.

[viariskywalker]

I don't have much else to add to the conversation because I think everyone else, including the people you all have linked to, have pretty much said it all. :P So I will say "yay fanfic!" and to hell with people who insult their fans while failing to do any sort of proper research on that horrible, immoral entity known as fan fiction.

Why are people stupid?

[deaka]

Now that is a question for the ages. :P

Thank goodness there are so many authors on the other side, who either don't care or are wise enough to take a reasoned approach. And those who actually like fanfic always win a little respect from me for having the fortitude to say so. It gives cause to despair a little less for published authors.