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Notes on a Fandom: Fan/Fic/Tion

Notes on a Fandom is a regular column dedicated to lesbian/bi fandom in it’s various incarnations. It will also feature thoughts and comments from you, the fans. Follow @DanaPiccoli on Twitter and Tumblr to keep up with the latest topics and questions.

Whether you consider yourself a flailing fangirl, or a more casual kind of fan, chances are you have come across a piece of fan fiction. Fan fiction (also fanfic or fic), or is one of the cornerstones of the fandom universe. Plentiful to say the least, it comes in many varieties. Some are brilliantly moving; some can make us blush. Some are, well, less than stellar. If Twitter is the mouthpiece fandom uses to try and influence or appeal to the powers that be, then fan fiction is its beating heart. It’s a medium used and created by fans, for fans, where the stories we long to hear are told. Communities are built, and hidden talents are discovered.

The idea of fan fiction is nothing new. For as long as there have been stories, there have been variations of those stories told by others. The accessibility of fan fiction however, increased exponentially over the last 15 years or so because of the Internet. Finally fans could connect in a way they never had before and the fan fiction came pouring out. Fun fact: On fanfiction.net, arguably one of the largest collections of fan fiction, there are over ninety thousand Glee fanfics. Harry Potter has over 600,000 on the site alone. That translates to millions of collective hours of reading, writing and living fandom.

I asked fans on Twitter and Tumblr why they read fan fiction. Here is what they had to say.

Fan Fiction Crash Course

While fanfic has many genres, and subgenres, for our purposes, let’s concentrate on its two biggest: cannon and alternative universe. Canon fanfic follows the overall construct of the original show, or story. It goes along with the general storyline, filling in the blanks, expanding a plot or character development. Didn’t get enough from that Calzona scene in the last episode of Grey’s Anatomy? A canon fic might start where their scene ended, and give you a more intimate look at the lives of these characters off-screen. This is perfect for fans that prefer their fan fiction not to deviate too much from the main plot.

Alternative Universe (AU) fan fiction allows the writer/reader to really play with the construct of a story. AU can be anything from changing a character or major plot point within a story, to taking characters and putting in completely different worlds or circumstances. Brittana in the Civil War? Yep, there is a fic for that. Rizzoli and Isles fighting together in a dystopian, zombie filled Boston? Here you go.

Photo courtesy of shipsrus.gotchemistry.com

What are your thoughts on alternative universe fics? Here are some of the great responses I received.

Since it would take me a decade to read all of the amazing fanfics out there, I asked you, dear readers, to lend me a hand with some recommendations for fics from a variety of fandoms. Here are just a few. Thank you to all who participated. Check the description at the beginning of each fic for additional genre information. The characters listed are the main protagonists.

Bomb Girls Betty/Kate — Learning Curve

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Willow/TaraRipples and Wave

Glee Brittany/Santana —The Knife Thrower’s Daughter Santana/Quinn — As If We Never Said Goodbye

Grey’s Anatomy Callie/Arizona — Scar Tissue and Stuck With You

Lost Girl Bo/Lauren — Faethful (First part of a trilogy)

Skins Emily/Naomi — Tell Me a Story (Also features Katie “F#%king” Fitch)

Pretty Little Liars Emily/Paige — Begin Again Emily/Maya — Home

What are your favorite fanfics? Please tell us in the comments.

This Fic is Rated M, for * ahem * Mature

Because the world of fandom is so vast and includes fans of all ages, ratings are in place to protect and notify readers to the level of content in a fic. Fanfiction.net uses a letter system similar to the one used to rate movies. K (suitable for all, including the little ones), K+ (suitable for children up to 9), T (Suitable for teens over 13) and M (Suitable for teens over 16). Archiveofourown.org, another large source for fan fiction, lets their writers rate their stories as Teen and Up, General Audience, Explicit, Mature and Not Rated.

Now dear readers, as you probably already know, the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James is based on Twilight fan fiction. Yes, three current New York Times bestselling books came out of the world of fandom. Beautiful Bastard, a book based on another Twilight fanfic, called The Office, is set for publication this spring. Not only did all these books evolve out of fan fiction, but they also happen to be full of erotic and mature content. I posed a question about mature/erotic fan fiction on Tumblr, and here are some of the great responses I received, both for and against it. Living in NYC, I ride the subway, and I’ve seen many people reading Fifty Shades of Grey proudly. No matter what you think of the books and the fics they are based on, it does seem that we getting more comfortable having a dialogue about desire. Obviously, with television shows on major networks, there are major limitations for our ships in the romance department. Fans are putting down in writing what goes on in their heads as shows cut to commercial. I talked to Rcampdel, writer of the popular Paily fanfic, Red Velvet about writing mature stories.

My fan fictions I write have always been under a mature rating. For Blue Lace it was sexual content and my reasoning was mostly because I didn’t want to limit the characters or myself as the writer. It can be beautiful when written in the right way and that’s always my goal. I don’t write for shock value I wrote for a more raw emotion. Red Velvet it the same way though sexual content has just started working itself in and the language keeps it at M rating… Sex is part of life and I don’t want to sugar coat the emotion it brings by having “and the door closed” the end.
This is why, why we write

Fan fiction is a place where everyone has a chance to be on equal footing and it attracts all kinds of people. Professionals looking to challenge themselves. Amateur writers who discover a talent within, and go on to pursue dreams they never knew they had. Sometimes its just fans looking to have a little fun. I think that writing fan fiction stems from our ancient desire to be heard and have our stories told. It’s also a way to have a little control within the medium that we love.

“Fan fiction allows me this whole avenue of creativity that I don’t think I would have discovered otherwise. I can try my hand at writing funny stories, angst ridden tales or a combination of many different genres and I find out right away whether something is working or not.” @DebatingDykes (betterleftblank on Fanfiction.net)

Fanfic can erase a broken heart, right a wrong, and speak our truths without fear or repercussion. Another amazing outcome of fan fiction is that it encourages writers to expand and develop their own stories and characters. Now, not everyone is going to be the next Jane Austen, but there’s no harm in working to better yourself or discovering a craft that you may find you love. Speaking of Jane Austen…

Why not? It was good enough for the Brontës. Finally, one of the things I personally love about the fan fiction universe is the support and community atmosphere it encourages amongst writers and readers. People love talking about and reviewing their favorite stories, and promoting other writers. Coming from the rather cutthroat world of performing, I find this beautifully refreshing. Fandom should be a safe space to explore and commiserate about common interests. Supporting and building up your fellow fans, is one of the things that make you fangirls so special. So go on, write what’s in your head and your heart. You have nothing to lose. And as always, flail on fangirl. Flail on.

Bi-weekly, Notes on a Fandom will feature a different fandom-centric topic. Tweet me your thoughts on what you’d like to see covered, send me links to your Tumblr. I’ll be including them in each week’s column.

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