Alright, loves, here it is.
I think I might get some heat for this post, but it needs to be written. I don't want to turn this into a debate or anything else. Please, don't flame me.
I enjoy fanfiction. I think it can be wonderful when done well, and down right atrocious when done poorly. It can make you feel, it can make you laugh, and it can make you think. It's done out of love for the characters, the fandom, the universe the original author or director created.
I actually used to write fanfiction. And if I had more time, I would probably write more. As it is, if you google Birdgirl90, a lot of my old (and not very good) stuff comes us. My writing has definitely improved over the years.
This is why I want to address it in a blog post.
Fanfiction is good, and here is a list of five reasons why:
1. It offers the reader escape with familiarity.
You can say this about almost any kind of writing and reading material. But fanfiction is special. The readers are already familiar with the characters and the universe in which they live. They know them. I speak from experience here. When I am in a funk (like the last few days), I want something familiar. I don't necessarily want to get to know new stories, new characters, and new settings. I sometimes just want a short story with characters I love.
Fanfiction offers me that. I can have my familiar characters in stories that range from cute to serious, and I can ignore the real world for a while. So even if following the adventures of Kirk's crew on the Enterprise and their interactions with each other or witnessing Loki falling in love with Jane's assistant Darcy isn't considered fine literature, it is soothing and it gives me something to look forward to during stressful times. And I'm not alone in this.
2. It's good (fun) writing practice.
Before I got my writing degree and had to focus on writing what was required to graduate, I wrote fanfiction. I think a lot of people look down on those of us who write fanfics because we aren't necessarily creating any new characters or new places. But that's where they are wrong. It takes a serious amount of energy to create brand new things and sometimes at the end of a busy day, you don't have it in you to write the next great American novel.
Writing fanfiction gives you practice in character exploration, in setting, and in exposition. You take a character that you adore and you learn more about them. You put them in situations that you think would be interesting. You make them talk to people that you think would be interesting. As long as you stay true to the character, it's really a great exercise. And it helps you work on things you have trouble with - such as finding a voice, sketching out dialogue, and that sort of thing.
Which leads me to...
3. It's good for seeing improvements in your writing.
I can look at my old fanfics, online and on my computer, and I can see how my writing has improved. Granted, you can do this with any bit of writing you do over time. And I do. But fanfiction is cool because there is a huge community online, reading what you write, and giving you feedback, most of which is positive criticism and praise.
Feedback is important with any bit of writing. And if you can handle internet feedback, then you can handle professional feedback. Use it and improve.
4. Some of it is really good.
All fanfiction strives for a common goal: to love characters and explore them while paying back (even if it's subconciously) homage to the original art form.
But some fanfiction goes above and beyond. They fill in cracks where the author/producer/script writer left the fandom hanging. They explore backstory and future story and what ifs. They explore pairings established in the genre, and they create pairings that aren't. They are intelligent, witty, and fun. These are the kind that I tend to go back to, time after time. They amaze me and I will always enjoy them.
And finally....
5. They get people writing.
Have you ever just stopped and thought about how hard it is to get started writing? Or maybe you write - do you remember the trouble you had when you were first starting off?
Fanfics get people who wouldn't normally write interested in writing. It gets people who have untapped talent and skill writing. It shows that writing can be fun, that it can have power, that it doesn't have to be a chore. A drabble in fanfiction is sometimes the most beautiful thing in the world.
And this is why the hate on fanfiction needs to go. Fanfiction is one of the greatest exploits that I think fandoms can do. The people who write it aren't any less intelligent or well read because they do, and the people who read it aren't either. These are notions that have to go.
So to end this jolly post, I'm going to link a few of my favorite fics over the years. I do not own these, I do not pretend to have written them. They are authors I admire and enjoy, and their stories resonate with me. They also happen to be the fics that I go back to when I need to escape my life for a bit.
Harry Potter:
A Keen Observer by DeepDownSlytherin
This is one of my favorite Harry Potter fanfics. DeepDownSlytherin explores the Black sisters through the eyes of Andromeda Black (Tonks). It's funny and clever and incredibly well done. I think you will like it.
Seven Photographs by Casira
This is a really nice fic that focuses on what the afterlife is like for seven characters who died in the Harry Potter series. Casira does a really good job at painting each, and it's a wonderful read.
Star Trek:
How to Get the Vulcan You Want in Six Easy Steps by Outtabreath
This one is fun. It explores Uhura's time at the Academy before the Enterprise and gives us an awesome cannon for Gaila, her Orion room mate. Outtabreath is a great author and I adore everything she's written for the fandom.
The Kissing Disease by Bethrimiel
Another Academy story, because those are my personal favorites. In this one, Uhura has mono. Trust me, it's a good read.
Thor:
These Streets Will Never Look the Same by Amidtheflowers
So, this is a collection of well done drabbles about Loki and Darcy. Honestly, it wasn't a pairing I thought of before, but I really like it. It's intelligent and fun and well done over all. Amidtheflowers is like the gateway drug to the world of this shipping. Be warned, there is some explicit material in it.
Run Softly, For I Speak Not Loud or Long by Allecto and Blackbird
Another nice Loki/Darcy piece. This one is more serious in nature than the above and has some explicit material in it, but it is so beautifully done. Another one that I've been re-reading in this last bout of sadness.
So there you have it, dear readers. A very in depth blog as to why fanfiction is important and some starter fics.
Until the next post.
~Meaghan
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