Fiction Matters*

[eumelia]

Full disclosure: I am a reader of fan-fiction, an occasional writer and have aspirations to be a critical aca-fen.

Now, go forth and read what I have to say about All Of This.
(Screenshot of all three posts and the PS). h/t ciaan

The reason I went online all those years ago, more than a decade for sure, was because I was looking for people like me.

What do I mean, people like me?

Fans of the teevee show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What I found was a sapling of what would be a giant red-wood tree of creativity, community and fun.

I wrote Buffy fanfic before I knew what fanfic was. Blatant self-inserts that I and my BFF at the time, who is also a Buffy fan, put in so that we could talk directly to the characters.
Her character was a manifestation of Energy who became human in search for love (i.e. Dawn).
My character was a vampire woman who was seriously into S/M (something else I had no idea existed at the time, I was sure I was inventing something) and enjoyed tormenting the male vampires and seducing young high school girls (i.e. Vamp Willow, also Faith sans the Vampire part, of course).

When both these characters did in fact actually manifest on the screen all those years later, when we were already in our late teens and little bit more aware of the world and all it's multitudes, we *squeed*.

Look a body switch episode! We wrote that four years ago! *gasp*

And so on. It really felt like we had predicted a huge bunch of events in the show, we even speculated that Joss had hacked into our email accounts and lifted our ideas.

We were so happy and proud.

I remember thinking we couldn't be the only ones. So I went looking. Boy, what a treasure I found.

I couldn't tell you when, or how, I found my first piece of fan-fiction. Most of it was gen (i.e. action adventure plot driven stories, like extra episodes) and I was thrilled to read more adventures of my favourite characters.

But the best was when I found this archive. It is an archive I got back to nostalgically every once in a while, these were the stories that showed me the power that fan-fiction was capable of.
It could fix entire realities.
It could bring people back to life.
It could make those who suffer - suffer a little less, or at the very least, have comfort and know that he suffering was ending.

I realised that canon was just the beginning.

In my searches for fics that helped me get through the grief of Buffy I had also found erotic fanfiction. Buffy and Angel couldn't be together on screen, but they had been multiple times and in multiple ways online. My first Slash was Angel/Spike, my first Femslash was Buffy/Faith.

Those two pairings and those four characters together hold a dear place in my heart.

If it weren't for Buffy fanfic, I would love the actual show a whole lot less.

I have found that I only seek our fanfiction for shows, texts and media that I truly love. Though the other reason is that at times the delivery of amazing concepts is a bit... eh. You know could have been better, needs a little touching up here and there.

Like with Harry Potter. I started reading HP Fanfic during the long hiatus between books four and book five. The richness of JKR's world in amazing and for fuck's sake she didn't do enough with it! Snape got a thousand voices - my favourite character! Not as seen from Harry's eyes. Harry is much improved in fanon as well.
And Hermione, sexually active and book-kinky Hermione... of course she's get it on with Snape.
Mainly because Sanpe would get it on with anyone.

Ahem.

Others in this debate have said that fic is dialogue, reaction and transformative. All this is true, and I myself have donated and am a member of OTW.
But fan-fiction is two other things for me. It is a coded meta-reading of the world that is being written and read, and it is an act of devotion.
We are devoted to the canon and we create our own liturgy, nothing is true and all is permitted.

I don't use those religious words lightly. I am an atheist and if there's one thing I've noticed in my criticism of religion is the fact that prayer itself, is lifted from the canon text of the Hebrew Bible.
We can explain the world, both fictional and not, by devoting ourselves to its ins and outs and yes, on occasion, changing details that enable us to see ourselves in that world we love so much.

I wouldn't know how to be queer without fan-fiction. I do not see myself on the teevee screen that often, unless it is to titillate or horrify the audience it is actually intended for, Buffy is only queer is reading, it is sometimes canonically gay.
Willow showed me that you can be gay.
Snape showed me you can be bi.
Jack showed me you can be queer.

I haven't mentioned Torchwood, mainly because it is my current fandom and I've written a tonne about it regardless of anything.

Fiction has changed my life, fan-fiction is a not a market and anyone can find anything because it is created by those not constrained by editors and target audiences. fan-fiction (and any other kind of transformative work) exists out of a desire for a story that is our own.

We no longer have folk tales. The notion that there is anything original was refuted thousands of years ago - "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV).
When you think about it, Dante Alighieri and John Milton wrote fan-fic.

Bottom line. You can dislike Fan-Fiction as much as you want. You can call it lazy, unoriginal, illegal (which is not the same as unethical!) or any other pejorative you can think of. That is your right, it is so easy not to read it.

Through fan-fic I discovered so much and so many comic books and more original fiction that I would probably have a much smaller book collection than I do. Three book shelves, stacked baby.

Don't tell me that fan-fiction is less meaningful that original-fiction.

Because it's wrong.

*Get the pun? Get it? :P

Comments

[majoline]

Oh my goodness, her last "thoughts" were about the universality of story and crap about Joseph Campbell and then... how her characters were still seminal and original and how we are all self-serving and stupid for writing fanfic without her express permission.

Because with fanfiction we think about characters more than just what she writes and this informs our opinions.

Shit, lady, you still don't understand diddly.

STILL ANGRY.

And I heart your writing! Thank you for posting!

(and HTML check! - you have a hanging bold tag)

[eumelia]

Thanks for the catch!

Yes, she is quite infuriating. I was wondering if I had anything to add to this debate. So much is being written, so I thought I throw in some recs as well :D

[eumelia]

And thank you for the compliment!

Here via metafandom ~

[ssquirrel_fic]

"I realised that canon was just the beginning."
This is exactly what it did for me. I think it made me more imaginative and creative as a result.

"I wouldn't know how to be queer without fan-fiction."
I used to look so hard for canonical queerness as a kid, and it meant so much to me when I saw it - even though it was almost universally negative. Fanfiction finally gave me some diverse (and positive!) representations.

Re: Here via metafandom ~

[eumelia]

Yes to all of that! There's so little diversity in "regular" texts and it's also so regulated... *sigh* fanfic is definitely more than just a creative outlet/

[classicarete.blogspot.com]

One of my problems with fanon is that if I like the canon, I probably won't enjoy reading something that changes canon too radically.

Star Wars seems to have a system of canon "ranks" which show how far a work is from the source. (btw, I think "source-fiction" suits your meaning better than "origional-fiction" you used in your last paragraph.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_canon

Adding a tag like that might solve the (rational) problems people have with fanon.

Reading the history section of Fan Fiction in Wikipedia might change Gabaldon's mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_fiction#History
If Homer and Conan Doyle have fan fiction, then how can it not be the mark of a good writer?

BTW, I copy/paste a more fanon tolerant writer's link to a repository:

fan_constructs : the double-secret LJ of GG fanfic. We aren't allowed to look at this one. IT IS FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE! Seriously, our attorney doesn't want us reading fanfic, at least, not until we're finished writing Girl Genius stories ourselves. He's a smart man, we obey. On the other hand, there's nothing to stop YOU from reading it! DABBLE IN THINGS THE FOGLIOS WERE NOT MEANT TO KNOW! MWAHAHAHA!

[eumelia]

Well, no one has to like things they don't like, but you can't go around telling people they're wrong for doing it or liking it. Beyond it being bad form, you can't dictate to people what they do with ideas.

All art is derivative, there is no pure origin or platonic ideal.

[silveradept]

Well said. All good stories have more stories to tell than the ones that are canonically told. Fanfiction helps to fill the gaps. And take characters off in more believable (or unbelievable) directions.

Especially shows where there's magic, time travel, or Fricking Captain Jack Harkness, because they allows for all sorts of nice bendy stuff.

[eumelia]

I love Wibley-Wobbley!

And flexibility :)

[silveradept]

Wibbley-Wobbley Timey-Wimey Ball, indeed. And Jack, whose mission in life, I believe, is to shag all the beings he thinks are attractive.

[ariestess]

ITA! Gabaldon et al don't get it. Period. And I'm kinda pissed that Gabaldon's now deleted/blocked/hidden/whatever all 3 entries about fanfic. I'd like to have read the third one.

[eumelia]

She deleted them?!

Damn! What a coward, seriously. Do you know if there are any screen shots somewhere?

[ariestess]

re: screenshots :: Not that I know of.

And I tried to use the Wayback Machine to find them, but got the following

We're sorry, access to http://voyagesoftheartemis.blogspot.com/2010/05/fan-fic-iii-final-word.html has been blocked by the site owner via robots.txt.

So yeah, I don't know if she's deleted or made them private, but it's a cowardly move either way...

[ciaan]

http://pics.livejournal.com/sheafrotherdon/pic/0017x2py

[ariestess]

Oh, thank you!

here via metafandom

[meridian_rose]

I kept a screenshot of her first post, just in case. I didn't for the second and until reading your (very well written!) post I had no idea there was a third. Finally she's got the idea that this was a stupid thing to post, but instead of an apology she's deleted the whole thing :(

Re: here via metafandom

[eumelia]

Thank you.

Could you link me please?

I don't think an apology is necessary or even expected. But acknowledgement that this is a matter of opinion and not of legality or morality would have been appropriate.

Don't like, don't look! It's really that easy.

Re: here via metafandom

[certs_up]

There are some links to preserved bits, including to Google cache of Fanfic III, at Fandom Wank, http://www.journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank/1246633.html -- see ETA 6.

Re: here via metafandom

[meridian_rose]

I actually did a print to pdf which is at google docs; downloads, screencap, link to it as you please:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B_p5g4tFIPRxY2Q0OWU5MTYtNTFhYy00NTAwLThmMzYtNjY5OTZkNzczZTgy&hl=en

By an apology I just meant a sort of "I didn't realise how emotional this issue was to other people, and I've heard a lot of well put opinions from both sides. Perhaps I should have phrased things in a less inflammatory manner. Howver my opinion is still that you should not write fan fiction of _my_ works. Let's draw a line under this and move on. Comments to all those entries are now locked."
Which would have been the classy way to withdraw.

Re: here via metafandom

[meridian_rose]

I reposted the link again but it looked fine on preview but not when I submitted it. I made a tiny url http://tiny.cc/25oo0
which is hopefully better.

If you can't make the link work by copy pasting nor the tiny url, let me know and I can email the pdf to you if you'd prefer.

from metafandom

[enk]

It's pretty clear that some people just cannot understand the creative force of fandom. One would have thought that woman's handler had a better hold over her and how she expresses herself in public (maybe they do since now the posts were deleted).

It's huge, amazing, and mind blowing and quite possibly the most transformative and interactive culture we have encountered. That's amazing. How someone cannot embrace this, it blows my mind.

Bravo for your words!

Re: from metafandom

[eumelia]

Thanks for commenting.

Her... handler? A hold over her? What does that mean?

Re: from metafandom

[enk]

it's like a publicist, I don't know if she has one or if she just has someone who goes "Now, Diana, we can't be rude to people who buy your books, because if they don't we're both out of a job"

Re: from metafandom

[eumelia]

Okay, that makes more sense. Though the patronising thing is something I hope is put on for affect.

Re: from metafandom

[enk]

well yes... or so I would assume.

[katta]

Thank you for this! I recognized a lot of what you said. I started Mary Sue-ing myself into various canons at the age of seven; I spent hours each day imagining fanfics in my head, but I was terrified to write any of it down even in private because "that's not REAL writing." There was a time at the age of eleven or twelve when I confessed to a teacher that I thought I was going mad. (He assured me I wasn't, but since he also assured me I wasn't bullied I didn't put much faith in that.)

Finding fandom online was an even bigger deal to me than coming out was. (And indeed, I doubt I'd ever had come out without fandom to show me that bi folks aren't mythical creatures.) It taught me that We Are Legio, and that was a tremendous relief.

So, yeah. I'm not just a consumer. I've never been just a consumer. And people being "against" the way my brain works are as doomed to fail as the people against the way my desire is wired.

In other words, YES to pretty much all you said, and a whole-hearted applause.

[eumelia]

Not just consumers is a great way of putting it.

I remember explaining to some friends of mine that being involved in shows was just as important as any other hobby, that it was just as creative and just as community driven. It's brilliant.

Thank you for commenting.

[katta]

Yeah, it's really strange how hard it is for people to understand that writing can be a hobby, and a community-driven hobby at that. Because OMG writing is that stuff you slave away with in solitude, hoping to be published!

(It reminds me of some Peanuts comic I vaguely remember seeing, where Lucy yells and yells at Snoopy for doing a silly dance, because HOW DARES HE have fun!? Though finally she gives up and starts dancing too, on the premise of "if you can't beat them, join them.")