I write fanfiction. I've written fanfiction since the 8th or 9th grade. (So that'd be 7 or 8 years, peeps) My very first fanfiction was actually a Lord of the Rings fanfiction that I thought was just amazing. It was 18 whole pages long (I think it was 18, something like that) and I thought that was SO LONG. Ha! Try 32,000 words, younger self! :P And I was so very very proud of it. I even showed it to my English teacher and he said it that it blew him away. Which made me even more proud. Until I read it like a year later and realized how absolutely TERRIBLE it is. Like plot holes, rambling, terrible writing, cliche's like there's no tomorrow. Ay yiy yiy. But this was the first time I had written something that long. And my first fanfiction. (Though I didn't call it fanfiction, I just called it my Lord of the Rings story. I didn't know what fanfiction was then.)
Eight years later, I'm still writing fanfiction. It's all Harry Potter now (well, with a bit of Star Wars mixed in there. Though I will probably turn the Star Wars fanfiction into some short Original stuff) and I love it. It keeps me writing - because when I write fanfiction, I don't have to plan it out. I don't have to create characters or settings, I can just write. Which is what I love so much about it, and hate so much about writing original stuff. It takes SO LONG to get to the actual writing bit. And I mean, I love discovering the plot, I do. And it's really rewarding - much more rewarding than fanfiction - to write my own stuff. But it's a lot more challenging.
In a lot of ways, that's why I still write fanfictio. It's easy. It comes to me as easily as typing. The words come, I just let them loose. Fanfiction is a release, an escape for me. And it's a connection to my dearest fandom.
A lot of people say that fanfiction isn't real writing. That it's a waste of time. Well, I tend to disagree. (Though I am starting to get more on the fence about that.) If it weren't for fanfiction, I doubt I would be writing today. It is because of Harry Potter that I stayed in love with writing. I mean, I've always loved to write stories. Ever since I could write I loved to. But it is because of Harry Potter that I am still doing it. And sure, I don't have to work as hard at it, but I think that's also because I've been doing it for eight years. That's a long time. I still have to use my skills at it. I have to make sure the characters are in character, I have to keep the story tightly nit together and interesting, I have to use my creativity to come up with new and interesting ways to portray something. Which is all practice.
But at the same time, part of me is ashamed that I write fanfiction. It's not going to get my anywhere. Maybe it'll get me some more notice in the fandom, but I don't care about that. It's not like I can publish it, or can even use it if I wanted to get an agent. They'd all look down their noses at me and scowl. Because even if the ideas are mine, most of it belongs to JK Rowling.
I've also started to wonder if it's not a waste of my time. It is my goal to get published. The only time I have been published was in a camp magazine. Which does count, but it's not what I mean by getting published. I want to see my work in a real magazine. I want people to read it. And by writing fanfiction, that's not going to happen. Sure, people will read it on fanfiction.net, on Facebook, on here, possibly even on my website. But that's not the same. That's not the same as being a published writer. And so many of my friends are. They've all had poetry or short stories published. I've had nothing. And it makes me feel inadequate. So I'm wondering if I shouldn't quit fanfiction, and put the energy into doing my own stuff.
But how can I do that when I love it so much? I get so much joy out of writing fanfiction and exploring Jo Rowling's world. How can I quit that?
Listening to: The Greatest Story Never Told - Murray Gold
Days until LeakyCon: 334
Grateful for: Good music
I agree with just about everything you said.
ReplyDeleteI also think of fanfiction as the thing that put me where I am today as a writer. Both reading and writing. As you noticed with your early LotR fic, the first thing you write is NEVER going to be good. Unless you're some sort of strange mega-brainy anomaly, it should be total crap. By writing more and more, you get better. I really love that fanfiction can be there as the practice- so that you're not "wasting" your own hard-won plots and characters on the bad, early stuff. That, and when you're in the mood to write something that doesn't have a lot riding on it (a book for publishing/hooking an agent), fanfiction is there for you.
Then there's the reading. People read your fics, and are usually really positive in their feedback. And, let's face it, hearing nice things about your writing is really helpful- especially when you feel like quitting.
But the aspect of reading fanfiction that was so helpful for me as a writer is that I would see something I did not like in someone else's fic, recognize it in my own writing, and stop it. I learn so much more by reading things that don't work than by reading works of brilliance.
Anyhow, fanfiction is an excellent tool for writers. I may change my mind later, but as long as you don't let it take over your life (or become an excuse to avoid "real" writing), it can be a mega useful tool.
Wow. Arodhwen already said most of what I wanted to say. I know exactly how you feel. I've written fan fiction for ages [long before I ever knew there was a term for it] since I was about 12 years old. Now I'm 32. It's something I adore so much, and I notice that my creative niche just goes in the toilet when I decide that I'm going to quit writing fan fiction once and for all. It just kills my muse, kills me, and I can't stand the thought of giving it all up.
ReplyDeleteBut I can't help but wonder...am I using my fan fiction as an excuse to avoid "real" writing? Am I afraid what I create by myself won't be "good enough"?
Until I do figure it out, I need to write fan fiction. It's far better than letting my writing skills completely atrophy. I suspect it's the same for you, too. So continue to do so if it helps you.
~wRock Revelation, LadyFawkes, Rae Carson, etc
There's no harm from writing a bit of fanfiction! You're as you said practicing your own writing, and are also sticking with our beloved fandom! It's kind of something different when it comes to creativity, it's not exactly creating, but it's using what's in your own mind and imagination and placing it upon what's already there and adding it to a world already created, you could say :)
ReplyDeleteFanfiction is kind of...Good for the fandom I suppose. When it's not out of hand or anything, if can get people intersted in writing, and also broadens your mind to read about what other people dream up, and allows you to be accepting of other opinions I suppose. So it's quite fine as long as it doesn't like take over your life or anything ^^
I'll stop now because this is like gonna be longer than my beda for today xD
That is very true. The feedback is amazing. And fanfiction gets people interested really quickly too, which is nice. People don't have to be like "Hmm...do I want to?" They see the pairing, read a quick excerpt and go "Okay!" or "No way!"
ReplyDeleteRae - that's my concern too. I don't want to kill my muse (cus that'll happen if I just quit) but I don't want it to be my excuse not to write original stuff.
I never thought of it as good for the fandom. That's a very good point. :)