McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Fanfic richer or poorer?
Franzeska:
--- Quote from: cephis on March 17, 2008, 08:18:16 PM ---1. do you think fanfic adds depth to a universe, or do you think that the differing styles detract from the expeirance?
2. why is there so much slash ?
Discuss.
--- End quote ---
1. I think that fanfic is irrelevant to the original work. It can add or detract from my experience of a particular fandom, but it doesn't have much to do with my enjoyment of the original.
2. How much is "so much"? Any? Slash writers can't even begin to agree why people like slash, forget getting a bunch of other people to agree. For what it's worth, I actually think slash is much less common than other sorts of fanfic (like stories about straight couples who were actually couples in the original or stories where the author shacks up with her favorite character). People just notice it more because they find it strange.
THETA:
--- Quote from: Franzeska on April 03, 2008, 03:07:08 AM --- (Just for that, I know I'll get about 500 responses proclaiming the utter weirdness of karaoke.)
--Franzi
--- End quote ---
Good point, I agree. We should be equally prejudiced on all fronts of plagiarisms! ;D
cassandra:
Fanfic is a good thing. Well, not when it's badfic, but you know what I mean.
I think it comes about when someone is so taken with a universe and/or a set of characters that
they're inspired to answer the what ifs and explore different aspects that cannot or will not be explored in the original source material. Inspiring creativity is a good thing. Even the worst piece of grammatically painful, self-insertion riddled, cliched fic can still have flashes of genuine creativity and brilliance. Those flashes may be few and far between, but most fics have some tiny bit of something that can be seen as worthwhile. I do admire folks for actually putting pen to paper (finger to keyboard???) and actually writing something, an act which so many of us lack the fortitude to do.
I don't agree with the slash-bashing, honestly. While I can't personally see how Elmo/Grover or Jesus/Judas could be plausible, I'll congratulate you on your creativity and defend your right to experiment artistically. Considering how many original sources (books, movies, etc.) are male-centric, it makes sense that fans would explore the characters in different ways and combinations, regardless of gender. Besides, in many fandoms, the slashers are older and more mature, thus the slash fic is generally better written. Bandslash is dominated by young girls, but the grownups are writing most of the other slash out there. I know PhDs, professors, lawyers, scientists - lots of really smart, well educated, grown women - who write slash. It's good writing, too. Some of it is similar quality or better than the source. The original source sill wins, hands down, because that person created the universe and the characters, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking that just because someone is published that their work can't stink. Look at the Anita Blake series, for example. It's devolved into polygamous porn, basically, so a good writer might be able to spin a plot that some readers would find more intriguing and compelling than the actual books. Ditto for JK Rowling, who is the most amazing world builder but who is not the most proficient or polished writer.
I think part of the disconnect is in thinking that slash=smut. On the surface, that seems true. There's a lot of porn out there, and slashers are not shy about creating and consuming it. However, in a less heteronormative culture, you'd expect a larger comfort zone with sex and sexuality. Believe it or not, there's a lot of slash out there that involves no sex at all. It's about the relationships, the way the characters interact.
I've never been moved to write any Dresden fanfic, and I doubt I ever will. There aren't any holes that need to be filled, y'know? We get such cool backstories, like with Thomas or Billy & Georgia's wedding. The books themselves don't wrap everything up in a little bow, but we don't have huge, agonizing cliffhangers unresolved either. Plus, knowing that the next book is only a year away makes the suspense tolerable. I don't feel the need to make it up for myself, because it will be along soon enough.
Besides, even though I support slash, I just cannot fathom Harry/Bob.
Noey:
Necroposting just a little to add this article, which is reason # 234345-B why authors need to watch the fandoms and fanfic.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/04/21/harry.potter.lawsuit.ap/index.html
Rowling openly admitted she was cool with the site, but of course he had to try and publish it, making a profit off of her work. I don't see any malice in his intentions, but this is the kind of line crossing that ruins it for everyone.
pyroriffic:
My first on-topic post!
Tentatively dabbing my toe into the calm waters of Dresdenville to respond to what is obviously a fairly contentious thread. As an oft-times fanfic writer myself, I fear that I'm opening myself to being eviscerated alive, but you know.
Nothing like confrontation.
Except more confrontation.
Cassandra, you caught it for me perfectly when you said that fanfic should be about capturing an 'off screen' scene, or using incidental characters who are only mentioned in passing. The majority of the one-off stories I've written have generally been small scenes, or lesser characters from a variety of fandoms. The Dresden Files, in my opinion, doesn't lend itself largely to fanfic because the story plans are so well constructed. Harry particularly wouldn't be good fodder for fanfic material (in my opinion) because he's too well rounded. As Cassandra points out, characters like Billy and Georgia do lend themselves to fanfic.
I'm a great believer that fanfic should be about character studies, a glimpse into the life of a character as you personally imagine them. Not re-writing what you know about someone just to suit your purpose.
(Don't get me started on how much I dislike slash-fic-for-the-sake-of-slash-fic, for example).
I've read some very good fics over the years and I've also read some absolute rubbish. But a lot of people take a lot of pleasure in enjoying their fandoms. Where the author is not overly bothered about such activity (see, JK Rowling, just don't try to publish anything), then as with everything else, if you're not enjoying something...stop reading it.
Just to skew the conversation in a slightly different direction: what is the overall opinion of 'interactive story' type forum-based fandom 'games'? Again, I've seen some that are dire beyond belief and others that are good, interactive fun. I myself write regularly on an original fantasy-based forum and get great enjoyment out of it.
~P~
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