I will try to stop glowing and floating and gibbering happily, and try instead to contribute something meaningful to the discussion. :)
I think your point about showing deference and respect for the author, their work, and their wishes, is of the utmost importance. I have written a lot of fanfic in my day, but never for a story whose author/creator has made it clear that fanfic is not acceptable. (When I hear that, any desire I might have had to do so is lost. It isn't even a matter of whether or not to "share" it - I simply have too much respect for any author to muck about in their creation if I know it would upset them.) And even in the case of an author whose reaction to fanfic is either indifferent or even positive, I think a respect for the integrity of the work and the author's vision is absolutely necessary. I feel that if you love an author's work enough to want to write fanfic, then you should also love them enough to respect their wishes. At least in public.
To be honest, I don't often feel compelled to write fanfic for books. For movies and tv series, yes - probably because these go straight into the brain as character essence, with little to no narrative patterns in tandem. With a book, the essence of the reading experience is the composition of the actual words, and in general if I loved the words enough to love the book, then chances are I'm not going to want to muddy that perfection with my clumsy interjections or alterations. In most cases, with books, the thought doesn't even occur to me.
There is only one book for which I have ever written fanfic, and this is because it combined two very important and complementary elements for a fanfic writer. One - it had countless, countless gaps to be filled. Two - the actual writing of the story was not what impressed itself upon me. Reading this story felt more like watching a tv series; I could see and love the characters, and the action, but the quality of the actual words did not cast a lasting shadow on my mind.
All that said, I admit that I'm not entirely sure why there are some stories for which I feel comfortable writing fanfic, and some for which I don't. In the end, the number on the "comfortable" side is very small. (Though sometimes this is hard to believe, given the output.)
I think, however, that the biggest lure and reward of fanfic is the sense of community shared with other fans in the process of sharing the work. Without this, I don't think there are many people quite obsessive enough to write a derivative work purely for their own private enjoyment. I happen to be one of them, but that's neither here nor there, nor particularly healthy. < wry g >
In a community sense, fanfic is often regarded as the basis for a shared sense of writer's workshopping. I have heard the argument (countless times) that writing fanfic is a good way for aspiring/beginning writers to cut their teeth on the craft. I'm afraid I don't agree with this, but among fanfic writers, I am in the minority on this issue. I tend to be of the opinion that writing fanfic is like shining someone else's shoes -- you're undoubtedly improving your polishing ability, but becoming an expert shoe-shiner, even one with style and flair, is not going to turn you into a cobbler. The best way to sharpen your cobbling skills is to make your own shoes. Polish purely for the joy of it, that's my motto. < g >
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-10-19 08:35 pm (UTC)I think your point about showing deference and respect for the author, their work, and their wishes, is of the utmost importance. I have written a lot of fanfic in my day, but never for a story whose author/creator has made it clear that fanfic is not acceptable. (When I hear that, any desire I might have had to do so is lost. It isn't even a matter of whether or not to "share" it - I simply have too much respect for any author to muck about in their creation if I know it would upset them.) And even in the case of an author whose reaction to fanfic is either indifferent or even positive, I think a respect for the integrity of the work and the author's vision is absolutely necessary. I feel that if you love an author's work enough to want to write fanfic, then you should also love them enough to respect their wishes. At least in public.
To be honest, I don't often feel compelled to write fanfic for books. For movies and tv series, yes - probably because these go straight into the brain as character essence, with little to no narrative patterns in tandem. With a book, the essence of the reading experience is the composition of the actual words, and in general if I loved the words enough to love the book, then chances are I'm not going to want to muddy that perfection with my clumsy interjections or alterations. In most cases, with books, the thought doesn't even occur to me.
There is only one book for which I have ever written fanfic, and this is because it combined two very important and complementary elements for a fanfic writer. One - it had countless, countless gaps to be filled. Two - the actual writing of the story was not what impressed itself upon me. Reading this story felt more like watching a tv series; I could see and love the characters, and the action, but the quality of the actual words did not cast a lasting shadow on my mind.
All that said, I admit that I'm not entirely sure why there are some stories for which I feel comfortable writing fanfic, and some for which I don't. In the end, the number on the "comfortable" side is very small. (Though sometimes this is hard to believe, given the output.)
I think, however, that the biggest lure and reward of fanfic is the sense of community shared with other fans in the process of sharing the work. Without this, I don't think there are many people quite obsessive enough to write a derivative work purely for their own private enjoyment. I happen to be one of them, but that's neither here nor there, nor particularly healthy. < wry g >
In a community sense, fanfic is often regarded as the basis for a shared sense of writer's workshopping. I have heard the argument (countless times) that writing fanfic is a good way for aspiring/beginning writers to cut their teeth on the craft. I'm afraid I don't agree with this, but among fanfic writers, I am in the minority on this issue. I tend to be of the opinion that writing fanfic is like shining someone else's shoes -- you're undoubtedly improving your polishing ability, but becoming an expert shoe-shiner, even one with style and flair, is not going to turn you into a cobbler. The best way to sharpen your cobbling skills is to make your own shoes. Polish purely for the joy of it, that's my motto. < g >