Oh, boy, here we go again.

[thedeadparrot]

So this article, In Defense of Fan-fiction (courtesy of the metafandom del.icio.us feed), which is kind of hilarious coming in on the heels of the whole OTW thing and the discussions about fan works and how fandom is becoming more public.

So I think I need to check my biases here, because my first reaction is to say, "who the fuck are you to represent fandom? You post on ff.net" Which of course is silly to say, because ff.net is part of fandom, and it has its own fannish communities, and to say that her fannish experience is invalid is totally a douchey thing to do. So I won't do that.

What I will say is this:

1. There are a lot of reasons to write fanfic.


2. No reason for writing fanfic is more valid than the others.


3. This paragraph:
   

   
   Some people think that fan-fiction is purely voyeristic (spelling?!) – in that people like to imagine their favourite fictional couples together, and that’s the end of that one… and on some levels, yes; I agree. A lot of if is voyeristic. But, to counter that, a lot of it isn’t. True, “romance” is probably the most popular genre on fanfiction.net, for example, but I have to say that probably has a lot to do with the people writing and reading it. Sadly, I fall firmly into this category – teenage girls who can’t really help themselves but let their daydreams carry them away.
   

   
   
   makes me flinch, because I believe that we should not be ashamed of writing fanfic. Yeah, I write romance. Yeah, I even write porn. Yeah, I did this as a teenage girl. And yeah, I sometimes daydream about characters. None of this should mean that my writing -- our writing -- is automatically worth less than that of some fanboy who daydreams about being Paul Atreides and about things blowing up and writes a script about his daydreams and then gets it turned into a movie. I am looking at you, James Cameron.
   


4. Fuck the need for outside validation. If other people want to pretend that we are all stupid and giggly and can't write for shit, then it is not my job to educate them or convince them they are wrong. (And, of course, they are.)


5. I haaaaaate the "Why don't you write original stuff?" question, because my answer is, "I don't want to." I love taking things that already exist and turning them inside out and playing with them to see what they do. I love mashups. I love remixes. I love fan films. And I love fan fiction as a means of reclaiming stories and turning them into stories that are written for us. I have better things to do with my time than to write stories I don't really care about, kthnx.


6. Kirk/Spock is hot, and I think Kirk totally loves to bottom.


7. I think I could give a list of fics that I think define fandom to me, what it is, what it can do, how it operates, how it can be transcendent. But I don't trust my motives in doing so, so I won't.


8. I love fandom, you guys. I love what we do. <3
   
   No shame.

Comments

[marina]

Kirk/Spock is hot, and I think Kirk totally loves to bottom.

...... D: WHY MUST YOU PUT THESE PLOT BUNNIES IN MY HEAD.

[thedeadparrot]

BECAUSE SPOCK IS HOLDING A CAT, OKAY?

[hl]

This. My reaction wasn't because she was from ff.net, but because she was only from there, and I get the impression she doesn't know any of the many other places exist. No fan gets to define fandom with authority for all the other fans--fandom is a big and varied place.

Also, I would love to read you list! What motives are those? Of course such a list wouldn't define fandom, for example, for me, because I don't think we even share fandoms, but the idea of defining fanfic fandom* through fanworks is intriguing.

*I was about to say just 'fandom', and realized that, well, fanfic writing fandom is not the whole of fandom either. /0\

[thedeadparrot]

Oh, yeah. It was because she was only from ff.net. I mean, I still have an account there, even though I never use it. And yeah, no one can speak for all of fandom. I mean, the author is only speaking for herself, but she does seem to make generalizations about fannish work that I am not entirely comfortable with.

And yeah, I think that list would be for me to show other people how shiny fandom is, to say "CARE TO MOCK US AFTER YOU READ THESE, HUH?" which is just getting back to validating my involvement, and so I am incredibly hesitant to do that list.

Another list, though, a list for other fans, though. That I might do.

[hl]

Ah! I never thought about the validation side. In any case, I would really be interested in seeing such a list from other fans. I have been thinking what I would link, and it's kinda interesting how I wouldn't link just any fic I've recced in the past. The subject, 'this is fandom for me', makes it all different.

[elf]

I've been using the term "ficfandom" in some discussions. Which is also flawed, 'cos I often include fanart in my def of "ficfandom" (but vidding is only tangentially related), but I can't call it "worksfandom" 'cos that's incomprehensible without a long explanation.

[ignaz]

I prefer "creative fandom," FWIW.

[hl]

Uhm, I like that. In my experience I don't tend to talk about fanartists or vidders, as I'm not on those sides of the fandom at all, so the term may serve me very well.

[lydia_petze]

And I love fan fiction as a means of reclaiming stories and turning them into stories that are written for us.

This right here. I got into a mild disagreement (very mild, I must say) with a male BSG fan on the SFX board when he claimed fanfiction was bad because it "violates canon". I basically told him that the show, like every other show in the genre, is aimed squarely at white thirtysomething males and if the rest of us want to get more out of it by twisting it around a bit, he, the very person the show is tailor made FOR, doesn't get to criticise.

[rubyfruit]

Fifth Item: Thisity-this this.

Well, I can say "Thisity-this" to all of it, especially items three through five, but that fifth item is one I get far too much. "But WHY DON"T YOU WRITE ORIGYNUL STUFFS??!?!?!11". I hate getting that so much because the short answer is "Because I don't want to" and the long answer is, depending on who I'm talking to, "Because I do not want to, but thanks for asking!" and "I don't want to, and you're really not convincing me, toolbag".

This, combined with the third item (I write and read romance almost exclusively!) means Straight To The Memories with this one.

[tassosss]

I haaaaaate the "Why don't you write original stuff?" question, because my answer is, "I don't want to."

This. In fact, this is make or break time with people I'm dating. They get to ask it once, (and even in ignorance I judge them.) They persist? I know it's not going to work out.

[tree]

#3! \o/ romance is not a dirty word!

i apologise for the multiple exclamations. every now and then it's just nice to see my opinions somewhere outside of my head. :)

[novembermond]

THIS.
(here va metafandom)

[princessofgeeks]

*standing ovation*

[elf]

"Why don't you write original stuff?"

"Has Kirk stopped being hot? Has Jack stopped flirting with everything that moves? Did Batman quit adopting teenage boys to fight crime with? Has the zombie apocalypse blown over and been recorded in history books? Erm, well, then, I'm not done with those topics yet, kthxbi."

I don't personally write enough fanfic to have to face the "why not original stuff" question directly, but I've gotten hints of it. It's never made sense. I want to write about what I love, what fascinates me, what makes me hot, what my friends like.

[blktauna]

# Kirk/Spock is hot, and I think Kirk totally loves to bottom.

Truth! ;)

[kenaz]

#5 FTW!

[meri_oddities]

Here from metafandom, and I just had to say:

6. Kirk/Spock is hot, and I think Kirk totally loves to bottom.

No way. Kirk's a total top and Spock indulges him completely. *g*

[stultiloquentia]

*clap clap clap clap*

I think I could give a list of fics that I think define fandom to me, what it is, what it can do, how it operates, how it can be transcendent. But I don't trust my motives in doing so, so I won't.

Phooey. I would be so interested in that.

[lady_ganesh]

I want to wave a little flag of approval at this post.

[aquaeri]

here from metafandom. I know and care nothing about the original argument, but Wordy McWord to this post, particularly the boo! to cultural assumptions that women's daydreams are worth less than men's daydreams.

drive-by comment from metafandom

[anya_elizabeth]

I would just like to register Much Love for #5. I have only just come to terms with that fact myself... I don't much want to be a "real" writer, dammit! Not of prose fiction, at least, which is what I write with much joy in fandom.

No shame! <3