Request for a university project about fandoms

[manu4380]

Livejournal is a place full of fandoms. Because of this, we decided to look for people who could help us out with our project over here.

We’re 4 university students working on an English project. Our university is having a week dedicated to languages and since we’re from the first year of Applied Languages, we’re going to play a part in it.

Our

Comments

This sounds pretty cool!! :)

[daisychains123]

Fandom
1. Where did you first hear about fandom?

As weird as it is, I've always kind of known about it.. I've grown up with it. I was a huge (and I mean HUGE) Harry Potter fan when I was a kid - still am, if I'm honest - and one day whilst trying to find HP related stuff, I guess I just stumbled upon some fanfiction, and voila. Here I am today!

2. How did you get in contact with a fandom for the first time?

After finding different Harry Potter sites, I joined up, started reading and later on, started writing.

3. What made you want to be part of one?

My undying love for the series and certain characters, and also the fact that I was one of the few people that I knew who was interested in that sort of thing. It was (and still is) nice to have people to discuss things with, whether it was an intense discussion about character motives, or just a flailing over something amusing. Really, the main reason I got involved was that I felt comfortable enough to talk about things with the online community that would have seemed 'uncool' to

Re: This sounds pretty cool!! :)

[daisychains123]

10. Does the language used improve or harm the way you speak/write outside the fandom?

I find that it hasn't really changed the way I talk: with different fandoms come different languages. You have to be fluent enough that you can remember which language is suitable where. It's the same for real life. However, I have noticed that I am finding it.. not more difficult, but.. Hmm. How to explain this? When I find myself wanting to write an original story, I find that I have to sit and think about the characters: fandom has made me aware that to be able to write a good piece of fiction, you Have to understand your characters. Fandom makes this difficult in someways, because you actually have to work for this understanding when writing original work; whereas in fandom, the characters are discussed at such length that you learn them far easier than you otherwise would have.

Writers
11. Do you write original fiction, fan fiction or both?

I write both, but I only post my fanfiction online. I'm in the midst of writing a novel, so I usually

Re: This sounds pretty cool!! :)

[manu4380]

Thanks!! =D

[z_wiggin]

Fandom

[manu4380]

Thanks! =D

[z_wiggin]

no problem! This sounds like a fun project. I hope you post it on here when you've finished it.

[manu4380]

We will. We'll post the general conclusions as well as people's response to it (and our teacher's as well!), once we're done with the presentation.
Thanks again. We're having a blast with this project because it's something we enjoy and we're part of and we'd like to know people's motives behind it all and how it influences life outside of fandoms.

[ssshego]

OK, uma vez que somos ambas portuguesas (portuguese fangirls represent ;D), preferes que responda ao questionário em português ou inglês?

[manu4380]

Haha. Como der mais jeito. Mas podes responder em português. A gente vai "tratar" os dados depois, por isso não faz muita diferença. Obrigada, já agora! =D
Eu sabia que tinha escolhido o fandom certo para pedir ajuda nisto. *grins*

[litania87]

Fandom

[litania87]

És portuguesa? Podia ter escrito isto tudo em português!

Tristeza! :( LOL Brincadeira! :D Boa sorte para o trabalho! A univ deixa qualquer louco! Não fazia ideia que se podia fazer um trabalho com este tema?

[manu4380]

LOL. Estou a ver que não leste as notas iniciais. Mas não tem mal, a sério. xD

O tema é Cyber English. Nós falamos com a nossa professora. Ela aceitou o nosso projecto. É um dos dois projectos que vai em nome do primeiro ano do nosso curso. É baseado nos fandoms e tal, mas com uma orientação mais virada para a língua por detrás deles e como ajudam a melhorar a escrita/leitura e assim, como deves ter reparado pelas perguntas.

Obrigada por teres ajudado! =D

[fabfemmeboy]

Fandom
1. Where did you first hear about fandom? - Fandom in general? Probably from a friend of mine. I was working on a fanfic without realizing that was the word for it, and she was a lot more involved in online communities than I was.
2. How did you get in contact with a fandom for the first time? - "In the old days" (all of a decade ago), I usually would go looking for mailing lists, the old One_lists that then became Yahoogroups. Now it's all found through LJ.
3. What made you want to be part of one? - I was already doing things like obsessively watching and talking about episodes and writing fanfiction, so it was nice to find a place that I could share what I already enjoyed doing.
4. Are you an active member or do you follow from a distance?Very active.
5. If you’re an active member, how and why do you participate actively in a fandom? - I don't see the point in being more of a distant follower.
7. Why do you think fandoms use specific language or even create new words to be used within it? - I think they do because every

[fabfemmeboy]

Writers
11. Do you write original fiction, fan fiction or both? - Both, but I write exponentially more fanfiction than I write original.
12. Which one do you prefer writing? - Fanfic. Character creation has never been my strong suit, so I much prefer to take existing characters that I already feel like I know very well and explore them.
13. Do you easily find inspiration to write? - Yes, very.
14. Does writing improve your creativity? - I think writing is an outlet for creativity that already exists. If I'm not writing, I'm designing and making clothes, or knitting, or designing something else. For me it's all in the same category.
15. Do you have someone revising your work? - No. I probably should, but I don't.
16. Do you think it's important to have someone proofread your written material before you publish it? Why/why not? - I think it would probably be a good idea if someone did, but to me it ends up being more of a hassle.
17. Do you read the feedback you receive? - Oh, absolutely. I thrive on it.
18. Does it help you

[fabfemmeboy]

Readers and/or Proofreaders (Beta readers)
23. Do you read original fiction, fan fiction or both? - Fanfiction exclusively.
25. Does it improve your reading skills? - No, but that's not why I've ever enjoyed it. I was a kid who loved reading when I was little, then school ruined that for me because everything had to become about what the teacher thought the book meant, where he or she thought symbolism was. I can't enjoy reading most original fiction anymore (I read mostly nonfiction, to be honest), but I can enjoy fanfiction because I know it's just for me and people who understand what I enjoy.
26. Does it widen your vocabulary? No.
29. Do you usually leave comments on the things you read? - If I enjoy it, absolutely. I know how good it feels for me when I receive comments, so if I like a story or think it's well-done or particularly interesting, I will definitely leave comments.
30. A good reviewer needs some skills, like honesty, great vocabulary, good knowledge of the fandom (if they're proofreading a fan fiction) and a good

[manu4380]

Thanks for your collaboration! =D