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Aleki77
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Fanfiction: Who, What, and Why?
Fanfiction is a term probably not familiar to your casual TV viewer. But to the more obsessive ones of us, it’s a major part of our television viewing experience.
Put simply, fanifiction is a way for is the way for fans to release inner frustration and desire to just take the story into their own hands. What does this mean? Well, basically it means that thousands of budding authors who are obsessed with a TV show, book, film, or even play can upload their personal stories using those characters to websites where other fanfiction readers read them and review.
Sounds crazy? It is. The world of fanfiction is not your average internet site. These are not your average fans. They’re fanatical, weirdly knowledgeable about their shows, but also really, really fun.
As a fanfiction writer, I can tell you that fanfics can be much more therapeutic than ranting to uninterested friends about the way your favourite TV Show is going, or the crappy ending to a great book. We have the power. Finally, Blair and Dan can release their sexual chemistry in a “frenemy” relationship. Mr Schuster dumps Terry and goes out with Emma. Or Quinn. Or Puck. The best part of fanfiction is that it’s all there. Think you’re rooting for the most unlikely couple? I’ll bet you someone’s already written a fanfic about it.
The obsessive nature of fans meant that an entire world was born, complete with its own language and groups. “Shippers” describe fans who share a common interest of two characters getting together (ie you could say: “I ship House and Cameron”, etc.) “AU” means “alternate universe”, ie the characters from your inspiration being in a completely different universe – if the Losties were all in high school, for example. “Crossovers” describe two worlds colliding – like if the peeps from Gossip Girl were hit by traffic and healed by the doctors from Grey’s Anatomy.
So what does all this mean? Well, for fans, fanfiction means hours of toil, sometimes abuse, and careful research to produce stories for no profit of their own. Despite occasional insecure authors deciding to sue (Anne Rice – grrrrr), fanfiction writing has prevailed on, with no end in sight. So why do we do it? For me, fanfiction isn’t just about exercising my creative juices – that’s undoubtedly a part of it, but fanfiction is more than that – it’s fun. I can tell you firsthand it’s ridiculously rewarding to update your story with a new chapter and receive 30 emails of praise and begging for more.
Despite the fact I’m never going to meet these people in my life, I feel like they’re my family, and so for me, fanfiction writing is as much about community and learning from others as it is about writing stories based on some else’s creations.
http://talkingtv.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/...o-what-and-why/
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Fanfiction: Who, What, and Why? |
