So, Fanfic then...
Apr. 18th, 2006 06:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
f4f3Fanfic, what is it good for? No, no, it's a serious question (well, about as serious as any question about a neologism written at 6.40 because I can't be bothered filling in my expenses could be.
It occasionally bothers me that I don't get Fanfic. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a fan. And of roughly the right things, too. Not Harry Potter, obviously, but Jennings. Doctor Who. Firefly. Various incarnations of Star Trek.
And also I can get very into my fandom - I've gone to Cons, even a meejacon (Hitchercon, back when the continents were in a very different shape). I know more about mid-'70s Marvel Comics than anyone has a right to, but I've never been tempted to do a Deathlok the Demolisher meets Killraven story. Or even, to be slightly less obscure, Jack Aubrey meets Harry Flashman. I once considered putting Flashman into War of the Worlds, but it never got beyond a standing joke with one of my mates. Suffice to say that the Martians would have died of an easily transmitable earthly disease, but not the common cold.
It may be because writing is what I do for a living. However I've dressed up and disguised the fact in my job titles (Consultant, Relationship Manager, Proposal Manager, er, Writer) I write stuff and people pay me. When I write fiction, it's always with a view to having it published professionally. Although, when I think of what some of the semi-prozines of my cyberpunky youth paid (i.e. £Nothing) that's stretching the point a bit. Using someone else's copyrighted characters guarantees that no one will pay you to publish your stories.
So why do people do it? Most of the fan-fic I've read has been of at least a competent level (this is high praise from someone who believes as firmly in Sturgeon's Law as I do). Obviously the writers get something out of it, the readers got something out of it.
I'm not someone who thinks fan-fic is beneath him - hello, I'm the guy who cackled in glee when he found out that The Essential Moon Knight contained back up stories from The Rampaging Hulk which I hadn't read before, and who stayed up till 2 a.m. to read them.
SO WHAT AM I MISSING HERE, GUYS?
It occasionally bothers me that I don't get Fanfic. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a fan. And of roughly the right things, too. Not Harry Potter, obviously, but Jennings. Doctor Who. Firefly. Various incarnations of Star Trek.
And also I can get very into my fandom - I've gone to Cons, even a meejacon (Hitchercon, back when the continents were in a very different shape). I know more about mid-'70s Marvel Comics than anyone has a right to, but I've never been tempted to do a Deathlok the Demolisher meets Killraven story. Or even, to be slightly less obscure, Jack Aubrey meets Harry Flashman. I once considered putting Flashman into War of the Worlds, but it never got beyond a standing joke with one of my mates. Suffice to say that the Martians would have died of an easily transmitable earthly disease, but not the common cold.
It may be because writing is what I do for a living. However I've dressed up and disguised the fact in my job titles (Consultant, Relationship Manager, Proposal Manager, er, Writer) I write stuff and people pay me. When I write fiction, it's always with a view to having it published professionally. Although, when I think of what some of the semi-prozines of my cyberpunky youth paid (i.e. £Nothing) that's stretching the point a bit. Using someone else's copyrighted characters guarantees that no one will pay you to publish your stories.
So why do people do it? Most of the fan-fic I've read has been of at least a competent level (this is high praise from someone who believes as firmly in Sturgeon's Law as I do). Obviously the writers get something out of it, the readers got something out of it.
I'm not someone who thinks fan-fic is beneath him - hello, I'm the guy who cackled in glee when he found out that The Essential Moon Knight contained back up stories from The Rampaging Hulk which I hadn't read before, and who stayed up till 2 a.m. to read them.
SO WHAT AM I MISSING HERE, GUYS?
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-19 02:18 pm (UTC)The Chosen (http://allecto.livejournal.com/421688.html) by
This story takes a minor HP character and makes him the central figure. It also invents new magic and a new tradition. But for me what stands out is the characterization.
Warnings for slash, serious themes, etc. Also, it was written before Half Blood Prince, so it's not canon-compliant anymore.
I also have three very unusual fanfiction stories I could add: one about real-life spies Guy Burgess and Kim Philby, one about Cain and Abel, and one about The Breakfast Club. In case you are still searching.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-19 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-21 02:45 pm (UTC)Kailash, When It Rises (http://theguestroom.houseofhobbits.com/hp/Kailash.html) by
I like this for its compelling sense of dread and anticipation, for the characterization, the level of detail, and because of the use of the terrific adjective "jesuitical."