Two Articles From The Feminist Librarian About Fanfic

[cuddyclothes]

These are two fascinating articles that are worth discussing here. These are from a blog called The Feminist Librarian. The first article mentions not writing for canons the author really loves. I find this interesting because I often don't write fic for things I love. For "Supernatural" I basically had nothing to say. I wrote crack, mostly for exchanges. One of my current obsessions, "Prodigal Son", I not only don't want to write fic for, I don't want to read fic for. I want it all contained in the the show.


Reading and Writing Fanfic As A Non-Fan

Excerpt: I was introduced to fanfiction as a genre — a genre that resonated with my own “homegrown” approach to fictional narratives (more below) — rather than coming to it through a particular fannish community. My now-wife was the one who introduced me to the language and conventions of fic, specifically slash, because she thought I would be interested in slash fiction as a form or cultural critique and also countercultural / queer erotica. I mean, it was also a wildly successful form of nerd-flirting. But I think my introduction to the activity of fanfiction as an idea rather than as a form of participation in a specific fandom continues to shape my relationship to the practice — and to fandom culture more generally.

P.S. In Fanfic Are Characters The Defining Source?

Excerpt: This is an addendum to last night’s post fueled by the conversation I had with Hanna on our walk to work (which, more often than not, constitutes gossip about fanfic).

One of the defining features of fanfic as a genre, for me, is that it is character-driven. Fic, the way I read and write it, is primarily about individual characters and their relationships (erotic or platonic) with other characters. It’s not about establishing the rules of the universe or about the suspense of the plot. It’s about asking “What would these individuals do if they were presented with X situation?” either in canon, in the canon ‘verse, or in a completely different setting (an alternate universe or AU).

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

stuff I’m in love with it usually feels like it has too strong a presence of its own for me to transform through my own voice

This seems borne out by what I've seen, which is that well written canons generally don't have much fanfic written about them -- they may get other works such as fanart or meta or videos, but much less fanfic than might be expected for their level of popularity. Besides the difficulty of matching the canon level, these works also tend to have fewer gaps which fan writers can build out or derail the canon by going in another direction.

[cuddyclothes]

Writing in the P.G. Wodehouse style (for Jeeves fics) is extremely difficult to do well. The source material is highly stylized 1st person POV and very, very funny. The man spent months on his work. There's a lot of fic that gets it sort of kind of right or opts for 3rd person POV, which turns it into another sort of fic altogether. There aren't a lot of fics that land in that sweet spot. But the level of writing is high. But the fandom is mostly based on the TV series starring Hugh Laurie (House) and Stephen Fry.

The TV series "Jeeves And Wooster" is extremely funny but the loss of Bertie's narration is significant since you lose the dexterity of the prose. But it's an excellent show and the leads are gorgeous.

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, another canon that springs to mind is Pushing Daisies, where the narrator has a very specific voice and tone. I imagine quite a few writers in that canon opt for 3rd person as well. In general, very little fanfiction tends to be first person even when, as in Veronica Mars, 1st person narration guides a lot of the story.

[cuddyclothes]

My House MD fics were either 3rd person or 1st person limited. This is my first time writing in 1st person.