Essay: What I Learned From Fanfiction
Oct. 3rd, 2009 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mark_asphodel On the one hand, fanfiction could be construed as a massive waste of time. I don't get paid for it, I can't get paid for it, and it sucks time and attention away from Real Life, not to mention Real Literature. If I like to write so much, why don't I write my own stories with original characters?
I have, and I do, and I will. And my original writing wouldn't be as good as it is without a base of knowledge I gathered from the fanfiction community.
I was eighteen when I discovered fanfiction. Up to that time, it was my own secret shame that I wrote Rainbow Brite sequels, or My Little Pony film scripts, or reams of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes featuring an all-new cast of junior crew members who were the siblings and kids of canonical characters. It blew me away to find that other people did this stuff. Thousands of other people did this stuff! And instead of being exciting... most of it was pretty terrible.
Seeing my own work mirrored in the laughable garbage of other fans was an eye-opener, but the real impact was on my original fiction. I learned a lot of new words in my first romp through the fanfiction world. My adorable little heroine, the genius girl with psychic powers and the name I always wanted? She was a Mary Sue, and a self-insertion Sue at that. Her best friend and love interest, the preternaturally beautiful boy with a twin sister and a Terrible Secret? He was a Sue, too-- he didn't have the balls to even be a Gary Stu. My plots were overwrought wangst that hinged on unbelievable coincidences and Idiot Plot Syndrome. My supporting characters came right out of the cardboard factory, with the edges still ragged. And so on. I think I committed every single possible amateur fiction offense outside of the ones concerning wolves and dragons. Never was into either dragons or wolves.
I learned. Years of reading essays, and browsing communities, and reading MSTs and fic-bashing sites, and occasionally reading good fanfiction all paid off. I consider myself to be a pretty strong writer these days-- if I didn't, I wouldn't be posting things in public fora. And a lot of that maturation process is due to the fanfiction community, in all its cutthroat, back-biting, snarky, and occasionally supportive glory.
I have, and I do, and I will. And my original writing wouldn't be as good as it is without a base of knowledge I gathered from the fanfiction community.
I was eighteen when I discovered fanfiction. Up to that time, it was my own secret shame that I wrote Rainbow Brite sequels, or My Little Pony film scripts, or reams of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes featuring an all-new cast of junior crew members who were the siblings and kids of canonical characters. It blew me away to find that other people did this stuff. Thousands of other people did this stuff! And instead of being exciting... most of it was pretty terrible.
Seeing my own work mirrored in the laughable garbage of other fans was an eye-opener, but the real impact was on my original fiction. I learned a lot of new words in my first romp through the fanfiction world. My adorable little heroine, the genius girl with psychic powers and the name I always wanted? She was a Mary Sue, and a self-insertion Sue at that. Her best friend and love interest, the preternaturally beautiful boy with a twin sister and a Terrible Secret? He was a Sue, too-- he didn't have the balls to even be a Gary Stu. My plots were overwrought wangst that hinged on unbelievable coincidences and Idiot Plot Syndrome. My supporting characters came right out of the cardboard factory, with the edges still ragged. And so on. I think I committed every single possible amateur fiction offense outside of the ones concerning wolves and dragons. Never was into either dragons or wolves.
I learned. Years of reading essays, and browsing communities, and reading MSTs and fic-bashing sites, and occasionally reading good fanfiction all paid off. I consider myself to be a pretty strong writer these days-- if I didn't, I wouldn't be posting things in public fora. And a lot of that maturation process is due to the fanfiction community, in all its cutthroat, back-biting, snarky, and occasionally supportive glory.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-10-12 03:04 am (UTC)Anyway, hear, hear! I've completely disassociated myself from all of the horrendous shit I wrote back in the day...terrible hackneyed script-format comedy fics. That was back...almost last millennium! :O When fanfiction.net still had a red color scheme...before they even had a CHAPTER feature (you used to have to upload chapters as separate stories.) Oh, the old days...and after all that, there's still really no better place on the interwebs to upload fanfiction than the Pit of Voles. Le sigh.
I used to think that the talent for creative writing was just something you're born with, and you that you couldn't just "become" a talented author over time. I still think there's some degree of truth to that, but you really do have to write a lot, and edit a lot, and preferably have some good advice along the way in order to get good. Looking back at stuff from, say, 01', I can't even believe I wrote all that stuff.
When I think about how I view fanfiction in general, I realize I've taken a pretty SRS BZNS view of it. For me it's always been, right or wrong, more than just a fun hobby: it's PRACTICE for writing professionally. And honestly, it's very cathartic to write out ideas. I don't think I could live with all these stray 'plot bunnies' bouncing around in my head. XD So I definitely see where you're coming from.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-12 08:54 pm (UTC)I remember "quitting" the Pit of Voles in disgust back when they banned Real Person Stories and I couldn't enjoy my REM and Monkees 'fic any longer. Mind you, I also felt classifying the Monkees as "real people" was debatable, as long as real-life wives and kids weren't dragged into the story.
Fanfic is absolutely SRS BZNS for me. Not to the point where I flame people for polluting my fandom (though I do miss the golden days of LJ sporking), but I actually put work into this stuff, and having a finished product I'm actually proud of it, to a certain extent, its own reward. Connecting to other fans and engaging in dialogue is a definite plus, though.
One thing about fanfic is, since you're operating in a predefined universe, you can work with symbolism to an extent that in original 'fic would either be highly contrived or would take a novel's worth of pages to hammer out. There are certain delightful things about playing in a fanfic universe that actually can't be duplicated in original fic unless your name is J.R.R. Tolkien. Just my Defense of the Day, I guess.