On Fanfiction - Tumblr Posts
reblog if you believe fanfics are as valid as books that were published and sold by authors who write as their main careers. I'm trying to prove a point
a non-selective plan for the resurgence of fic commissions
THE VERY FIRST STAR TREK SLASH FIC PUBLISHED
“A Fragment out of Time”, published in 1974. Kirk / Spock. page 1 page 2
I had to share it with you because I can’t stop laughing, and every time I reread it it just gets funnier and fUNNIER
withinadream27 answered: Well, the narration is kinda similar to 50 Shades of Grey? Which is probably a lot of people’s only exposure to fanfiction. It definitely reads more like romance parody than fanfic parody to me though
Yeah, I guess if someone just thinks “fanfiction - 50 Shades - I’ll parody that” it might makes sense (I classify 50 Shades as romance, but I get that it started out as fanfic). But to have fic in the headline of a New Yorker piece, and then have the parody be kind of bland and generic? It seems lazy. However, I’m trying to figure out if my years (and years!) of experiences with mostly-really-great, mostly-slash fanfic have put me in a weird fannish corner, or if she just didn’t delve deeply enough into transformative works culture.
Heh, but your aunt already knew what 50 Shades was!
When I was in high school, I was really into Harry Potter slash. My parents and brother knew that I was a HP huge fan, and that I read stories based in that universe, but at that point fanfiction still felt like an obscure subculture - pre-AO3, and before articles about fanfiction had reached the mainstream to the extent that they have now. I was terrified that my family would find out the sort of content that I was reading (I wasn’t out as bi yet, either).
At one point, my older brother asked me if there were *explicit* stories about Harry Potter, like did people make Harry and Hermione have sex. I put on this really lofty, pretentious air and said “yes, but they’re considered in poor taste” (like the Dowager Countess or a HP hipster!) and then hastily changed the subject. I felt like such a hypocrite! - but it was a pretty good save. I have no idea if they’ve googled this stuff in the years since...
withinadream27 answered: Well, the narration is kinda similar to 50 Shades of Grey? Which is probably a lot of people’s only exposure to fanfiction. It definitely reads more like romance parody than fanfic parody to me though
Yeah, I guess if someone just thinks “fanfiction - 50 Shades - I’ll parody that” it might makes sense (I classify 50 Shades as romance, but I get that it started out as fanfic). But to have fic in the headline of a New Yorker piece, and then have the parody be kind of bland and generic? It seems lazy. However, I’m trying to figure out if my years (and years!) of experiences with mostly-really-great, mostly-slash fanfic have put me in a weird fannish corner, or if she just didn’t delve deeply enough into transformative works culture.
While many people think fanfiction is about inserting sex into texts (like Tolkien’s) where it doesn’t belong, Brancher sees it differently: “I was desperate to read about sex that included great friendship; I was repurposing Tolkien’s text in order to do that. It wasn’t that friendship needed to be sexualized, it was that erotica needed to be … friendship-ized.” Many fanfiction writers write about sex in conjunction with beloved texts and characters not because they think those texts are incomplete, but because they’re looking for stories where sex is profound and meaningful. This is part of what makes fan fiction different from pornography: unlike pornography, fanfic features characters we already care deeply about, and who tend to already have long-standing and complex relationships with each other. It’s a genre of sexual subjectification: the very opposite of objectification. It’s benefits with friendship.
Francesca Coppa, “Introduction to The Dwarf’s Tale,” The Fanfiction Reader (via francescacoppa)
This is meta as fuck.
Birds of a Saturday by SasuNarufan13 Harry Potter is drunk and discovers he is an alternate universe.
HP is indeed an alternate universe! Someone should write this alternate universe AU.
Harry Potter and the Neural Network fan fiction
Or, what happens if you train a neural network on the titles and plot summaries of over 100,000 works of Harry Potter fan fiction.
In the decades since the Harry Potter books were published, fans have written literally hundreds of thousands of Harry Potter stories of their own, and shared them online. Can a neural network join in on the fun?
In a way, everything a recurrent neural network writes is fan fiction. A recurrent neural network looks at an example dataset (such as the complete Sherlock Holmes stories) and teaches itself the patterns and conventions that it sees. So, if it’s given Sherlock Holmes stories, it will become obsessed with Holmes and Watson, and if it’s given knock-knock jokes, it will spend all day telling awful knock-knock jokes of its own.
Thanks to an idea by a couple of readers, some heroic work by @b8horpet in scraping (with permission) hundreds of thousands of Harry Potter fan fiction titles and summaries from AO3, and a flexible new recurrent neural network implementation by Chen Liang, the neural network’s latest obsession is Harry Potter.
The Perfect Party by iamisaac Draco has been left alone, and Ginny confused must learn and who has his best friend. They were breathed by a love that didn’t become his grounds and the flowers begin.
This is a typical example of the neural network’s fan fiction - romantic pairings of two or more Harry Potter characters (called “ships” in fan fiction-speak). In this case, it even has chosen a plausible author: iamisaac is a real and fairly prolific fan fiction author whose works do tend to be of the “romantic” variety.
The Garden by perverse_idyll for lexigilite Ron and Hermione move after a man party. What did her best things go and has to deal with people she loves? How many imperfect love really belonges them and needs to be a person? Or will they learn and more than the war? Mirror Thing by Queen_Elexhan “Are you there for a relationship? I was a sad future for your love.” Harry and Ginny find out the meaning is.
Shatters by Kis [archived by TheHexFiles_archivist ] Based on the Spot Are It Falls Into A Heir by NextrangeOnTheThree Draco and Hermione share a whole indescribbening.
Again, “perverse_idyll” and “TheHexFiles_archivist” are fairly active authors. (Hi, if you’re reading! The neural network seems to like your writing, and is writing fan fiction of your fan fiction!) Those familiar with Harry Potter fan fiction will not be surprised to learn that the neural network really likes to generate ships; pretty much every combination of characters is represented (some of the more unusual combinations being “The Snow/Voldemort”, “The Ministry/Draco Malfoy”, and “Voldemort/Random Quidditch Child”).
By turning down the neural network’s creativity setting to near-zero, we arrive at its vision of what the quintessential Harry Potter fan fiction would be like - and we also learn its favorite ship:
Persuading by theladyblack Harry and Draco are still a second chance at the end of the war. Will they be able to do with the fairy tale of the first time they were a strange stranger to the street of the war and the war is over?
It turns out the neural network is obsessed with Harry/Draco, although in a pinch, Sirius/Remus will also do.
The neural network also seems to really like stories about Professor Snape trying to do rather ordinary things:
New Moon Boys by Dungoonke for Loki_Kukaka Severus Snape comes back to a night’s politics.
In the Reason Is Blinders by LittleRoma Severus has been through his lost remote.
In The Alteri Silence by Forest_of_Holly for roscreens41 Snape receives life after plants to do by work over whether they get into. Just Hell.
A Second Chance by DarkCorgi Snape had a second thing, and that is better than anything for for the rest of his life.
Mirror by orphan_account Severus Snape tries to get a lot of dragons and that was to be more than he didn’t expect to continue. He has always been a bit of an old and a baby to stay the way he’d been the brother at Hogwarts and he keeps the chance of meeting… Deception by FlyingEyes Snape is a British Robes of interesting things and worrys like a little fun and sees the pretty battle for a while.
Another thing that happened, which is pretty much my favorite thing ever, is that the neural network apparently encountered some fan fiction stories that were not in English. As a result, it learned to do this from time to time:
The Secretary Of the World Challenge inspired by GoF and la mating resigns de la mill colors per mereple beruit carteur la pelete el wert rardo completing and herillo intus den una a des rush sentines kelta an transoles…
Between by Cheyangel13 A series of fivers are unexpectedly depressed and controlled by the bed, with least more from una perfemale erpensa de the maesse akai suidadium dela vida call de la los se terriuus do form en sou dies de fasurard il resisted de for dogs la sementu sein prong colors itu dee adte se sige natard…
The neural network has also learned to employ capital letters:
Les finds love by violet_quill for starstruck1986 Severus Snape wanted him to be more and she likes Draco. The person he wants an energy to him. WHALIDE NO GEATIRE SOURR INSPE AHARMANABLISH ALL SOME TO VERY THE RERIDE!!!!!!!
secret Quidditch by snapsleert Collapse and find the second worst and very different. See Gain and Descent motivate surprising death. Unbusing one of the months: should make more bumo.choooshots. HUGULATED
And the neural network occasionally uses content warnings, although it seems to have a rather fuzzy idea about what to warn its readers about:
Better With The Broom Complicate by Margyn_Black Tonks gets more than the best girl of creation. (Rated Maturisle, mark, a violence, contract) (slash] part of themes) ferret.
Art for the Sun a Scary by disillusionist9 A collection of warnings: characters and situations of silence.
Some of the neural network’s stories, though, are just plain weird.
Harry Potter and the Painful Eyes by dark_pook A Birthday drabble about the problems and a woman who shows up a lot less than she checks at Hogwarts in the destiny to the infamous adventure of control of the Art of The Good Boy Kings With Hermione. Harry and the Blue Special Delicious by apolavia_scg An unexpected potions messaged in the world their lives are to find friendship following the day of different pagers. James and Lily come to the summer before the war.
The Perfect Cow by alafaye Severus and Hermione start a horcruxes
Art: Let Draco roll the light of the moon, and means. by Dangelanne What happens after the war. Not drawn to Draco Malfoy jumpers. Originally written in 2008.
Birds of a Saturday by SasuNarufan13 Harry Potter is drunk and discovers he is an alternate universe.
Holly theody by yesIpxdishoftlyGrinli What would be dangerous! Side Voldemort Jones does all lord off the sunshine show.
Lily Evans and the Ravenclaw of a Christmas Surprise by ci Severus angst the truth of a frighten situation for the wink.
Persuasion by Samanthian The Sorting Hat is fighting in one of the houses.
lily’s family by sharkle Harry woke up in searching after a werewolf Sherlock’s picnic. He is furious.
As a bonus, I leave you with some fairly-plausible screennames the neural network invented, which appear not to be taken (yet):
desire_at_the_malfoy SeverelyAshed fishlingthelovely thedarklyblue phantombeers captainingthetrain siriusly_harry DarkVoldember ChildOfAtSperble all_frogs BelladonnaLeek Sneaking_UnicornWitch bluemelooppiesweatled
This is the most beautiful way to describe fic, transformative storytelling and collective mythmaking. He gets it.
This omg… Everyone has a starting journey when it comes to writing! People get scared because of criticism that isn't constructive but rather the opposite of that!
Please love your writers on AO3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere. People have different styles of writing, and that's okay!
I think it's mean how some people talk about fics on AO3.
'Oh you gotta wade through literal trash to find the good stuff'.
Were you not a beginner once? Did you not write crack fic or self indulgent things for your own entertainment?
Maybe don't speak that way about your fellow fic writers? Just because some fics aren't as polished as others, or involve fetishes and tropes you don't enjoy, or are not the style you want your fics to be doesn't mean they're trash.
It's a horrible thing to say and beginners are going to be discouraged from writing knowing that their fics might be considered trash because they're just starting out.
This truly feels like some kind of an epiphany. I’ve never thought about this from this place before, but you’re right.
Especially the part about spending time with the characters is something I can totally identify myself with. While writing one of these character-driven stories, I always thought like “Ugh, they’re just ... there, you know, nothing happens, they’re just living their life, so where’s the point?”
But that’s it. That’s exactly the point. The point is spending time with the characters you love, the characters you want to get to know better (and also helping the readers to get to know them better at the same time). Just as it is with your friends. As it’s said before: “Many people don’t really have a “plot” to hanging out with their friends (...) lives don’t have plots.”
That’s so true and so important to understand.
I’d never describe my style of writing as fulsome, even less perfect and I’m always trying to develop the way I’m telling stories, which leads to the fact that I find myself often confronted with ‘professional’ writers who focus a lot on plot and less on characters. So when I compared their advice with my stories, I always had the feeling of not “doing enough” or just not being “mature enough”.
Reading this really helps me to understand why I (and so many other writers as well!) choose to write their stories in another way and why it’s working all the same, even better for some of us.
So, I guess I’ll just keep spending time with characters in my fanfictions, letting life and love happen, and everyone who enjoys that as much as I do is free to read it.
I didn’t add anything new to this post but I really needed this to get off my chest.
Thanks for this inspiring post. :)
Edit, because of @rebecca2525’s reblog:
I also do think about my plot and outline it (at least most of the time; sometimes I even know the end of the story before everything else), but often it’s more like “Huh, I’d like to know what the characters would be like in a situation like this” or “I wonder what it would be like if they were just *insert wild fanfiction idea here*” or “Oh my god, wouldn’t it be funny/cute/interesting, if ...” and so on. So what I’m really planning are the circumstances or the topic of the story (as well as where I want to go with the it, even though that doesn’t always work out as I wanted it to), rather than a real or whole plot. I‘ve got some kind of a hook (if that’s the right way to say) and that’s the point where I’m putting the characters in and also start with focusing on them. Not because I want to write the plot, but because I want to experience the story with THEM and from their point of view. And I want to know how they feel and express that.
For me, the idea starts with the characters and yes, maybe the idea is what makes me begin, but the characters are what makes me continue.
on fanfic & emotional continuity
Writing and reading fanfic is a masterclass in characterisation.
Consider: in order to successfully write two different “versions” of the same character - let alone ten, or fifty, or a hundred - you have to make an informed judgement about their core personality traits, distinguishing between the results of nature and nurture, and decide how best to replicate those conditions in a new narrative context. The character you produce has to be recognisably congruent with the canonical version, yet distinct enough to fit within a different - perhaps wildly so - story. And you physically can’t accomplish this if the character in question is poorly understood, or viewed as a stereotype, or one-dimensional. Yes, you can still produce the fic, but chances are, if your interest in or knowledge of the character(s) is that shallow, you’re not going to bother in the first place.
Because ficwriters care about nuance, and they especially care about continuity - not just literal continuity, in the sense of corroborating established facts, but the far more important (and yet more frequently neglected) emotional continuity. Too often in film and TV canons in particular, emotional continuity is mistakenly viewed as a synonym for static characterisation, and therefore held anathema: if the character(s) don’t change, then where’s the story? But emotional continuity isn’t anti-change; it’s pro-context. It means showing how the character gets from Point A to Point B as an actual journey, not just dumping them in a new location and yelling Because Reasons! while moving on to the next development. Emotional continuity requires a close reading, not just of the letter of the canon, but its spirit - the beats between the dialogue; the implications never overtly stated, but which must logically occur off-screen. As such, emotional continuity is often the first casualty of canonical forward momentum: when each new TV season demands the creation of a new challenge for the protagonists, regardless of where and how we left them last, then dealing with the consequences of what’s already happened is automatically put on the backburner.
Fanfic does not do this.
Fanfic embraces the gaps in the narrative, the gracenotes in characterisation that the original story glosses, forgets or simply doesn’t find time for. That’s not all it does, of course, but in the context of learning how to write characters, it’s vital, because it teaches ficwriters - and fic readers - the difference between rich and cardboard characters. A rich character is one whose original incarnation is detailed enough that, in order to put them in fanfic, the writer has to consider which elements of their personality are integral to their existence, which clash irreparably with the new setting, and which can be modified to fit, to say nothing of how this adapted version works with other similarly adapted characters. A cardboard character, by contrast, boasts so few original or distinct attributes that the ficwriter has to invent them almost out of whole cloth. Note, please, that attributes are not necessarily synonymous with details in this context: we might know a character’s favourite song and their number of siblings, but if this information gives us no actual insight into them as a person, then it’s only window-dressing. By the same token, we might know very few concrete facts about a character, but still have an incredibly well-developed sense of their personhood on the basis of their actions.
The fact that ficwriters en masse - or even the same ficwriter in different AUs - can produce multiple contradictory yet still fundamentally believable incarnations of the same person is a testament to their understanding of characterisation, emotional continuity and narrative.
Kudos to fanfiction writers for writing about all the trauma and emotional and mental turmoil that the original content creators dont acknowledge when putting characters through hell
@rainbowrowell reminding us why she’s our queen 👑
(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)
You fanfiction people are insane. Y'all will say shit like "I hate writing original fiction, I prefer it when the characters have an established dynamic." And then headcannon the characters to where their dynamic is completely different.
Have you ever been reading a really good fic and then it gets so intense that you suddenly have the urge to get up and go away for a little? For example, the two main characters are arguing, just having this terrible huge fight and one of them says something that shocks the other into silence and I’m like “Haha look at the time! I must go now… I’m late for that thing in the kitchen, you know?…That thing I was supposed to do… In the kitchen….The thing in the kitchen” then I run away for five minutes.
What’s that all about? Do you guys do that too?
has anyone else ever had a fanfic that just... haunts them? like it's been months and maybe even years since you read it, but it just lingers with you and you can never truly leave behind the imprint it made on you? and maybe it's just a single line, one sentence that you can't shake off, that takes up residence in your mind and stays there, feeding into your psyche and subtly influencing your brainspace and maybe even your writing or other works?