30 Days of Fanfiction Writing Meme: #1

[foolish_m0rtal]

Welp, guess I should start this...

1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?

I started getting into fanfic because I started off writing original fiction and wanted to improve as a writer before going back to it. I ended up being so caught up in fanfiction that I didn't go back for about seven years. I only got back into original fiction two years ago, mostly thanks to grimmsical . 

The first fandom I wrote for was the Juvenile Orion fandom, a very small fandom with a closely knit group of writers who I am STILL good friends with today! I think part of the charm of the fandom was the lack of plot, which sounds weird, but it had a whole bunch of interesting characters that could be written in various stories in creative ways. It was a mental exercise and a delight to try and work with what little canon we had to shape our stories. The world was terrific and deserved to be explored further, but the company cut the series after 5 volumes, as was their standard practice. (Boo)

 

I think a lot of fanfiction comes from material with awesome characters and little canon. I'll explain in a bit what I mean by this. If fans have a whole world and story flushed out for them, it gives them little reason to write fic about it, because a lot of scenarios and world building are done for them.

Let's take Stargate, which has one of the most fucking beautiful fandoms I have ever seen. A lot of structure is put in place, but fans are free to do as they please within the world. Many times, like in the Juvenile Orion and xxxHolic fandom (and the whole idea behind the wtf_holic fest) is a fan-perceived unfair treatment of the series. There are a lot of different variations like this on the main theme. 

 

I'm not saying ALL fanfiction stems from this, but I will argue that the most creative, fun, and best fanfiction does. Let's think about some of my favourite fandoms right now: Inception, Sherlock (only 3 episodes), XMen: FC (granted, with a rich comic book history, but even that is used by some hardcore comic fans sparingly as Easter Egg references. Ditto Sherlock), Stargate Atlantis. This,  of course, has nothing to do with the fact that the characters in these shows are the most ridiculously shippable characters ever. Cough.

Comments

[grimmsical.livejournal.com]

Haha I was just saying I ought to get back into fandom. Although you can't really call what I write actual stories, more like drabbles. But I should finish off some and resolve myself to the ending of xholic. In essence, I agree with your "[good] fanfiction stems from strong world/characters with weak plot."

Also, I am glad to have encouraged your return to original fiction. :D

[foolish-m0rtal.livejournal.com]

Mm, I wouldn't precisely say weak plot, though that was definitely the reason for Juvenile Orion. I think it has a lot to do with the show not guiding fans every step of the way and giving them space to play.defining your world too strongly can be a fandom killer. Look at LOtR.( Oh god fans will kill me now...) The fanfiction is accurate, but is very in the theme of the canon. It isn't always so creative and takes itself a bit too seriously. (Yup, I'm dead) That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.