the fan in fanfiction: musings

[lobelia321]

I've been thinking about the fan in fanfiction. How exactly is reading fanfic different from reading origfic, and what are its special pleasures?

It occurred to me that part of it is to do with why addicts like watching their favourite sitcom or soap. They like spending time with the characters; plot is secondary. And it's the same with us in fandom, I think: we like spending time with these people. If it's book canon, we want to read more and more. If it's movie canon, more please. If it's rps, just anything that will fill in the blanks between public appearances. It's the interstices (as I'm so fond of saying). We like to fill them in. And what happened then? And what happened afterwards? And what happened inbetween?

One of the pleasures of fps (for me, when I visit it, every now and again) is how cleverly authors weave their tales in and out between the algae of canon, twisting canonical plot points or snatches of dialogue into new but convincing meanings, spinning the well-worn coins so that they glitter in the sun of slash.

And rps? The canon is different so it works a bit differently. I haven't finished thinking about that so more musings anon.

:-)

ETA: Okay, I wrote 'plot is secondary'; I just need to elaborate on that. It's not that plot is unimportant but I think in fanfic it is secondary to character. Otherwise, we'd be reading origfic with similar plots. I'm trying to get at the difference to the pleasures of origfic, and we are fans of people, not plots. We love to see the people we love in good plots. But it's not the plots that drive our need to read about these people.

Comments

[kalari.livejournal.com]

Actually, I agree completely. In fanfiction, it is about getting your character fix. You need a good plot for an interesting story, but it's wanting to be with those people that draws you in...

I've considered writing original fiction before, and wondered what I would write about, and I think, 'well, I could write a story very much like the ones I write in the fandom'... but what would be the point? Would it be interesting without these characters we know and love? Sure, I come up with interesting original characters to add to the fanfictions, but the main characters, the premise, the rules of the world are what drive the story.

Original fiction takes away that crutch and you now need not only a good plot, but good and lovable characters, and a whole set of universe rules. This, to me, is especially daunting.

So, while fanfiction can be written every bit as well as original fiction and be just as good a piece of art, there is the fact that you've started with that crutch - you were handed a universe and some characters to get started with. And these both make your writing easier, and provide you with a ready-made fanbase. Original fiction is scary. :)

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

I see all your points about origfic. I suppose what I was trying to do with this post was to think about the issue from the *reader's* perspective, not from the writer's. And also not from a negative perspective. I think the crutch argument (though I understand it entirely) emphasises the negative aspect of fanfic, but I wanted to look at it positively, at the pleasures we get from fanfic that *cannot be reproduced* elsewhere. There is a certain pleasure I get from fanfic that I cannot get anywhere else, not even from my favourite published authors, no matter how good and famous and how subtle their characterisations and inventions. It's the fan in fanfic, not the fic in fanfic, I'm thinking about. I'm still not at the end of my musings about this but thanks for your comment. Origfic is scary *to write* - I haven't yet managed it -- but it's not scary to *read*.

[pippinspeach.livejournal.com]

I've always seen it as a way for fans to feel closer to the actors/musicians, giving them a sort of "behind the scenes" look at things and the people they are interested in.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

RPS can feel like that but, I think, it isn't. of course. It's not an interview or a fly-on-the-wall documentary, and if behind the scenes was all we wanted we could just watch the extended DVD. We *know* we're inventing stuff when we slash them, and I think the delight in *reading* about it is only partly to do with behind the scenes (unless we're a tinhat in which case, I don't know, parallel lines converge or something). So I think that's only *part* of it, and anyway, does not quite explain the joys of fps.

[dellastarr.livejournal.com]

Lobelia, I'm always glad when you bring up these things. What a great way to put it that plot is secondary. That is so true. It is a need to get under the skin of the character and see what might make them tick as people. It is "character" we are drawn to. Putting these characters in new situations and letting them walk around in those circumstances is what reading fanfic is about.

speaking of which... what you always seem to explore in your stories are the complexities of relationships that stretch those conventions, making your writing infinitely a pleasure to read. Character familiar, situation complex and rich to read. thank you for that!

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Thank you, you are very kind. Actually, I've read such a rash of fantastic fic recently that I feel quite dwarfed and humbled, and maybe that's why I was writing this post from the *reader's* point of view, not from the writer's. *g*

And yes, it's the getting under the skin and seeing how the characters tick. I'm also glad you insist on calling them 'characters'; that's perhaps a bit more on the mark than when I called them 'people'.

[cherry-glitter.livejournal.com]

I think there's also a sense of being part of a group when reading fanfic. Getting the little jokes and understanding references, etc. -- all the things that go along with having canon and fanon. It fosters a sense of community, of belonging, that you generally don't get when you read original fiction.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Absolutelyt true! The fandom in fanfic is (for me, at any rate -- but I think for most of us) the most important thing. In one sense, the fan-thing is just the glue that holds the fandom together, as a community. The whole sense of swimming along in something, understanding referencing, talking to each other about common things -- that is all essential.

[lots42.livejournal.com]

Plus, some of the fanfic is just so much -better- then the tie in novels.

Also, you can't have a tie-in novel dealing with the morning edition of the Sunnydale newspaper but you can have

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=873260

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Well, the bad!fic isn't, and it surprises me: the amount of bad!fic that gets published -- but yes, no tie-in is as good as a spine-tingling febulous!fic.