Thirty Days of Fanfiction: Day Thirteen
Jul. 13th, 2011 07:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenak13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
As to the former, by and large, canon. Even if it's an open canon, we're talking about backstory and I happen to like the one I wrote/read about better than the one the show eventually gives us, which was the case in Torchwood with Owen's backstory and his first meeting(s) with Jack. Still, if I wrote Owen again I'd use the backstory as given in the episode Fragments; I wouldn't be emotionally capable of using the one I made up before Fragments was broadcast. When it gets to the point where what canon tells me makes no sense whatsoever for me anymore I quit the fandom (alas, Heroes).
(Sidenote: as a reader, especially in fandoms I haven't written nor intend to write in myself, like Harry Potter, I find it sometimes interesting and/or amusing to be able to follow specific clashes of fanon and canon and being able to date stories from that. For example, pre-Half Blood Prince any number of stories featuring Snape out of Hogwarts gift him with "Snape Manor" (huge, naturally) and a Gothic House of Usher type of background, so the revelation he lives in a small city house in a northern industrial area instead entirely jossed that. BTW, this is one instance where I vastly prefer canon because I think it's far more interesting than Usher!Snape's dwellings. And then there are all those Jossverse stories (including a media tie-in) dealing with Spike's backstory written before and after Fool for Love was broadcast; not just relating to the Sire question but also in how Spike was like as a mortal. Not to mention that my girl Darla was peripheral or non-mentioned in most Angel-related backstories written before Angel the show started, due to her brief appearances on BTVS which didn't yet have the in depth characterisation she was to get in the spin-off, and that massively changed when canon established she and Angel(us) were hardly apart from the time she made him till the curse 150 years later.)
There are, of course exceptions to every personal rule. I am quite fond of what fanonandraste, myself and a few others created for the Centauri and Narn in Babylon 5, and kept using it in my stories. Too late now for JMS to tell us Centauri male tentacles aren't called brachiarte. :) Or about how the G'Kar/Mariel affair went, whether or not Londo speaks some of the Narn language and how he learned it, or what became of the four female Centauri telepaths.
As to the second part of the question: well, yes, to a point. Participating in a number of ficathons meant that I wrote the human characters of B5 as focus of stories which I had never done before (what with the aliens being more interesting to me, other than Bester), and that in tern enhanced my fondness and interest for these characters upon rewatching. Conversely, sometimes what was only a mild annoyance pre-fanfic writing can be an infuriating red emotional button when you rewatch and have to engage with that part of canon specifically for a story; certainly this happened to me in DS9, when I rewatched some Ezri-centric episodes in order to get a grip on her voice in preparation for writing Let It Be, and the way Ezri's mother was dealt with in Prodigal Daughter angered me so much that I wrote a rant about it. (Otoh writing Cold Heaven and Second Coming did neither appease nor inflame my Prophet dislike and fury about Sarah and what was done to her; it was there before, during and after writing in equal proportion.
1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
As to the former, by and large, canon. Even if it's an open canon, we're talking about backstory and I happen to like the one I wrote/read about better than the one the show eventually gives us, which was the case in Torchwood with Owen's backstory and his first meeting(s) with Jack. Still, if I wrote Owen again I'd use the backstory as given in the episode Fragments; I wouldn't be emotionally capable of using the one I made up before Fragments was broadcast. When it gets to the point where what canon tells me makes no sense whatsoever for me anymore I quit the fandom (alas, Heroes).
(Sidenote: as a reader, especially in fandoms I haven't written nor intend to write in myself, like Harry Potter, I find it sometimes interesting and/or amusing to be able to follow specific clashes of fanon and canon and being able to date stories from that. For example, pre-Half Blood Prince any number of stories featuring Snape out of Hogwarts gift him with "Snape Manor" (huge, naturally) and a Gothic House of Usher type of background, so the revelation he lives in a small city house in a northern industrial area instead entirely jossed that. BTW, this is one instance where I vastly prefer canon because I think it's far more interesting than Usher!Snape's dwellings. And then there are all those Jossverse stories (including a media tie-in) dealing with Spike's backstory written before and after Fool for Love was broadcast; not just relating to the Sire question but also in how Spike was like as a mortal. Not to mention that my girl Darla was peripheral or non-mentioned in most Angel-related backstories written before Angel the show started, due to her brief appearances on BTVS which didn't yet have the in depth characterisation she was to get in the spin-off, and that massively changed when canon established she and Angel(us) were hardly apart from the time she made him till the curse 150 years later.)
There are, of course exceptions to every personal rule. I am quite fond of what fanon
andraste, myself and a few others created for the Centauri and Narn in Babylon 5, and kept using it in my stories. Too late now for JMS to tell us Centauri male tentacles aren't called brachiarte. :) Or about how the G'Kar/Mariel affair went, whether or not Londo speaks some of the Narn language and how he learned it, or what became of the four female Centauri telepaths. As to the second part of the question: well, yes, to a point. Participating in a number of ficathons meant that I wrote the human characters of B5 as focus of stories which I had never done before (what with the aliens being more interesting to me, other than Bester), and that in tern enhanced my fondness and interest for these characters upon rewatching. Conversely, sometimes what was only a mild annoyance pre-fanfic writing can be an infuriating red emotional button when you rewatch and have to engage with that part of canon specifically for a story; certainly this happened to me in DS9, when I rewatched some Ezri-centric episodes in order to get a grip on her voice in preparation for writing Let It Be, and the way Ezri's mother was dealt with in Prodigal Daughter angered me so much that I wrote a rant about it. (Otoh writing Cold Heaven and Second Coming did neither appease nor inflame my Prophet dislike and fury about Sarah and what was done to her; it was there before, during and after writing in equal proportion.
1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 – Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
