Aug 15, 2013

Thanks A Million: Fanfiction Community

Welcome to Thanks A Million! Today we're gonna talk about what I'm grateful for this week, and that comes in the form of the fan fiction community. 
Yes, that is the dance I do.
You'll find this lovely bunch embedded within any given fandom. Let's break it down into little chunks for those who may not be as insane as myself. A fandom (think "fans" and "kingdom") is a fan base focused on a particular interest. This group is interested on a very detailed level and will invest tons of time into it. So take that and apply it to fan fiction  which is literally fiction written by fans of a book, TV Show, movie, game, etc that want to write a story that deviates from the source material. So, why am I grateful for the fan fiction community?
  • Let's take a property like Harry Potter. There are no more books or movies, and yet I still have a need for more creative and wonderfully whimsical stories from that realm. With fan fiction I can get cool side stories, interesting new romances, and alternate reality scenarios. What's not to love?
  • Let's take a property like Sherlock (BBC). You know secretly John is gay, and I need stories written about the steamy romance he should be having with Sherlock.
  • Let's take a property like Thor or The Avengers. Do you have a favorite character you want to have a million stories to read about them? You can find as many Loki fan fiction stories as you could ever read, even gender swapped.
  • The fan fiction community likes to write, share, and is pretty open minded. Have a super crazy couple you ship to the moon and back. They are on board.  Want to cross two unlikely properties together? They've done it at least once.
  • Have an idea for a fan fiction. Write it and ask them what they think. They won't be as harsh on you as your college English professor was, I'm sure.
  • They are just oodles of fun to geek out with. They like what you like for Kirk/Spock sake! ...Personally I want more Khan/Spock stories...
Oh yes you are, fan fiction community.
Are there good and bad people in the fan fiction community? Yes. Are there good and bad stories in the fan fiction community? You betcha. Is it worth getting into? Yes. Are you a fan fiction reader or writer? If not, why is that? Do you believe fan fiction helps or hurts the fandom? Comments are always welcome!

1 comment:

  1. I love fanfiction, and it is a way I recommend people who want to write novels, to get started with learning the craft of writing.

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