Does your writing affect your fandom?

A.P.M. · Jun 25, 2011

So I probably phrased that oddly, but my question/topic of discussion is this: As a result of your writing, do you find it harder to become heavily involved with the books or mediums you enjoy to the same extent non-writers do?

I was thinking of this as a result of the Pottermore website-there are people out there who love HP to absolute death. People I know are going on about how they can't get enough of it, and envision themselves at Hogwarts.

I used to do the same thing with fandoms I was into-as a kid, I made up stories about the books I read, kind of like mental fanfiction, and quickly gathered favorite fictional characters and worlds.

Now, though, I simply don't do that. I am much more invested in creating my own worlds, so I don't get as sucked in by other peoples'. It could be a result of aging, I suppose, but considering plenty of other people my age and older go on and on about Harry Potter or what have you, that may not be it.

I don't feel that badly about it-I love creating my own worlds. But sometimes when people I know are discussing how much they love the things they read, and want to discuss them with me, I find myself just not caring enough, and wanting to discuss my own writing-which I can't do, because it's not published. It's frustrating.

gothicangel · Jun 26, 2011

A.P.M. said:
So I probably phrased that oddly, but my question/topic of discussion is this: As a result of your writing, do you find it harder to become heavily involved with the books or mediums you enjoy to the same extent non-writers do?

I was thinking of this as a result of the Pottermore website-there are people out there who love HP to absolute death. People I know are going on about how they can't get enough of it, and envision themselves at Hogwarts.

I used to do the same thing with fandoms I was into-as a kid, I made up stories about the books I read, kind of like mental fanfiction, and quickly gathered favorite fictional characters and worlds.

Now, though, I simply don't do that. I am much more invested in creating my own worlds, so I don't get as sucked in by other peoples'. It could be a result of aging, I suppose, but considering plenty of other people my age and older go on and on about Harry Potter or what have you, that may not be it.

If that's what they enjoy, good on them.

In all honestly, if I hadn't become a bit of a fan-girl after seeing the movie The Eagle I wouldn't be in the final stages of my first draft right now. I adore that film [even paid $52 to get the DVD imported this week]. I was in the last few weeks of my dissertation, unemployed and found I couldn't write any fiction.

So what I ended up doing was starting to write a fanfic set twenty years after the book ended. Well, within the first ten thousand words, the book took on a life of its all - completely seperate from The Eagle of the Ninth - and my Marcus just sprang from my imagination [now there is a classical reference for you!]

I don't feel that badly about it-I love creating my own worlds. But sometimes when people I know are discussing how much they love the things they read, and want to discuss them with me, I find myself just not caring enough, and wanting to discuss my own writing-which I can't do, because it's not published. It's frustrating.

This isn't intended to be rude, but what you mean is that you want to talk about you? If you are on a website dedicated to a Harry Potter fanbase, why would they be interested in a unpublished book? That's not meant to be cruel, just it's a truth that no-one is going to care as much about your book as much as you.

I would never dream of going on IMDB to talk about my own writing, where people are discussing a film. If you want to talk about your own writing that is what websites like AW are for.

backslashbaby · Jun 26, 2011

When I read, I have the worst time trying to just read like I used to. I find myself taking mental notes about the writing techniques. I notice what I would change. I want to write the ending differently

But then it works out well, too. It make me want to write, every single time. Completely original work, because I would rather do that than use up my creative mood on someone else's story. It's my cure for writer's block, actually

Guardian · Jun 26, 2011

I think I understand your question. Do I find that as I write more, I get sucked more into my own stories and care less about fandom?

Yes. I started out writing Animorphs fanfic, and then Buffy. I only wrote Buffy fanfic for a long time, and then finally formulated enough of my own plot to really start writing it.

So right now, I've sort of fallen out of fandom... but I feel like I might have also outgrown it. I spend more time focusing on my own plots and characters. Not in a fannish way but in a "I really frigging want to get published someday soon!"

leahzero · Jun 26, 2011

Yup. I know how you feel. I have brief, intense obsessions with fandom, but soon enough I get antsy and need to return to my own work. I've never been able to really get into writing fanfic because it never feels like it's truly mine. (Plus, the obsession usually dies before I finish anything.)

I do enjoy the brief obsessions, though. Exposure to new ideas, themes, and worlds feeds creativity. I don't write about vampires, but watching True Blood recently has given me a ton of ideas for my writing. Ideas spark off each other and shoot off in unexpected directions.

Polenth · Jun 26, 2011

I wouldn't be writing the things I do if I wasn't interested in the genres I'm writing. So no, writing doesn't stop me being fannish over things. What it does appear to be changing is that some authors I'm fannish over occasionally talk to me, because I'm a writer. So I have to restrain myself from "She sent me a tweet. I'm never washing my Twitter account again!" and so forth.

shelleyo · Jun 26, 2011

A.P.M. said:
So I probably phrased that oddly, but my question/topic of discussion is this: As a result of your writing, do you find it harder to become heavily involved with the books or mediums you enjoy to the same extent non-writers do?

Only in that I don't have much time for fannish pursuits, as most of my time is dedicated to original work. I feel the same as I did before, however.

Shelley

bearilou · Jun 26, 2011

shelleyo said:
Only in that I don't have much time for fannish pursuits, as most of my time is dedicated to original work. I feel the same as I did before, however.

This is me as well.

gothicangel · Jun 26, 2011

leahzero said:
Yup. I know how you feel. I have brief, intense obsessions with fandom, but soon enough I get antsy and need to return to my own work. I've never been able to really get into writing fanfic because it never feels like it's truly mine. (Plus, the obsession usually dies before I finish anything.)

Yeah, I felt quite bad when I was writing using Sutcliff's characters, but once I developed my MC away from being fanfic it was great. Looking back at the early chapters, the writing is quite poor.

gothicangel · Jun 26, 2011

Polenth said:
I wouldn't be writing the things I do if I wasn't interested in the genres I'm writing. So no, writing doesn't stop me being fannish over things. What it does appear to be changing is that some authors I'm fannish over occasionally talk to me, because I'm a writer. So I have to restrain myself from "She sent me a tweet. I'm never washing my Twitter account again!" and so forth.

I had a fannish moment last week, when Kevin MacDonald responded to a question I asked on a live web chat. I went all 'OMG! He's talking to me!'

Libbie · Jun 26, 2011

I don't think so. I think the only thing I've ever been fannish about during my adult years is George R. R. Martin's ASOIAF series. But part of why I'm such a fan is because I looooooooooooove his mad crazy writing skills so much. So maybe my writing affects my fandom in that it makes me even MORE fannish than I would be otherwise, because I have a first-hand appreciation for what unbelievable skills it takes to produce a story this huge, this real-feeling, and this consistently well-written.

<3FAN<3

A.P.M. · Jun 26, 2011

gothicangel said:
This isn't intended to be rude, but what you mean is that you want to talk about you? If you are on a website dedicated to a Harry Potter fanbase, why would they be interested in a unpublished book? That's not meant to be cruel, just it's a truth that no-one is going to care as much about your book as much as you.

I would never dream of going on IMDB to talk about my own writing, where people are discussing a film. If you want to talk about your own writing that is what websites like AW are for.

I think you misunderstood my post. I'm not talking about Pottermore per say, I'm saying I wish I could become as involved with my various fandoms as much as I used to. I envy people who can read HP or Song of Ice and Fire, or watch various anime, and become totally involved in them and discuss the fandom together. But because I am so distracted by my own writing, I feel like I can't do that to the same extent.

swvaughn · Jun 26, 2011

Libbie said:
I don't think so. I think the only thing I've ever been fannish about during my adult years is George R. R. Martin's ASOIAF series. But part of why I'm such a fan is because I looooooooooooove his mad crazy writing skills so much. So maybe my writing affects my fandom in that it makes me even MORE fannish than I would be otherwise, because I have a first-hand appreciation for what unbelievable skills it takes to produce a story this huge, this real-feeling, and this consistently well-written.

<3FAN<3

LOL This is why I can't be first. :tongue

(note GRRM in sig)

Jamesaritchie · Jun 26, 2011

I love reading, and always have. I loved the Harry Potter books to eath. But I've never been into fandom. Not even as a kid. I read the books, love them or not, and that's that. So, no, I guess my own writing hasn't changed anything.

Cath · Jun 26, 2011

In some ways being a writer has made me more of a fan. I think I can appreciate good writing and good plotting more since I know what's involved in getting it there.

backslashbaby · Jun 26, 2011

I used to write songs and really bad poetry, btw. It was all of the James Bond novels that had me writing fiction. Somewhere, one of my friends from the early-teen years has my James Bond fanfic, about James' daughter. It was before the internet, so it was just a big group of friends that formed the fandom, but still

AmsterdamAssassin · Jun 26, 2011

I'm not a 'fan', except some musicians I've got pretty much everything they make, like Fields of the Nephilim, Tori Amos, and Muse. However, I don't walk around dressed like Carl McCoy, or wear 'Muse' T-shirts.

What I do realize from picking up specialized knowledge, is that it's two-edged: on one hand I look at the world differently since I started writing, because I need to know how to describe things. So I pass a church and I'm thinking 'gothic' or 'roman'? On the other hand, because I'm into Japanese swordmanship, I can rarely look at anything involved with Japanese swords without criticizing it. The way Kevin Costner had Japanese swords hanging upside down in The Bodyguard and even let a singer with no knowledge at all of Japanese swords take down a sword and unsheath it.

So information and abilities can enrich your world, but also spoil it because you see the flaws so much clearer.

ChaosTitan · Jun 26, 2011

shelleyo said:
Only in that I don't have much time for fannish pursuits, as most of my time is dedicated to original work. I feel the same as I did before, however.

Shelley

bearilou said:
This is me as well.

Ditto.

I got back into prose writing (from screenplays) because of online fandom and writing fanfiction. I learned a lot of things as a fanfic writer, and as I shifted into writing original fiction my time for fandom diminished to almost zero. While I did vacation briefly in a new fandom last year for a few months (even wrote and posted some fanfic for the first time in five years), I don't really get involved the way I used to.

Cath said:
In some ways being a writer has made me more of a fan. I think I can appreciate good writing and good plotting more since I know what's involved in getting it there.

Definitely.

And I admit that being a writer has made me more sensitive to the truly bad fanfic, and it makes me grateful that one of the fandoms I was heavily involved in had some very, very talented writers.

thothguard51 · Jun 26, 2011

Libbie said:
I think the only thing I've ever been fannish about during my adult years is George R. R. Martin's ASOIAF series.

I would never have guessed...

S.J. · Jun 27, 2011

Libbie said:
I don't think so. I think the only thing I've ever been fannish about during my adult years is George R. R. Martin's ASOIAF series. But part of why I'm such a fan is because I looooooooooooove his mad crazy writing skills so much. So maybe my writing affects my fandom in that it makes me even MORE fannish than I would be otherwise, because I have a first-hand appreciation for what unbelievable skills it takes to produce a story this huge, this real-feeling, and this consistently well-written.

<3FAN<3

The first book in the ASOIAF series is on my bedside table, waiting to be read. After reading your post I am SOOOO excited to start it!! :tongue

As for me... The only thing I've been a 'fan' of in that way was 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' - which isn't a book. I don't tend to do fandoms any more, though I wish I could. They make me feel slightly grubby.

Mostly, things that are awesome enough to have a 'fandom' make me want to get better at writing/create something of my own that's equally exciting.

Phaeal · Jun 27, 2011

I don't know why anyone would think I ever succumbed to any kind of fangirlishness. And if they do think that, well, frak 'em.

So say we all.

CheG · Jun 27, 2011

When I was a kid my version of 'fanfic' was coming up with my own characters and inserting them into the world of whatever I was into. But I didn't write much of it down although I drew like demon. But mostly my own original characters. So I never focused on the characters in the book/show/movie as much as it was all about my character LOL! Very ego-centric even for a little kid! Like I had my own Star Wars character and in jr. high my own Thunder Cats characters, but I never DID anything with them except a few drawings.

I've always been more into my own stuff more. I am a casual fan at best most of the time. Though I do have a doujinshi I drew floating around

But I don't put much effort into any fannish pursuits. I haven't even gone to a con in 2 years

There aren't that many worlds by other authors I'm dying to get my hands on anyway. Bas Lag by China Mieville would be a great world to write in. For laughs, a few years ago I made up my own character for the Harry Potter Universe, but it was just an exercise, I wanted to think up what I would have done instead of Rowling and the kind of character I think would be more compelling then Harry. But that was it.

Wiskel · Jun 30, 2011

I find that as i get older I'm more interested in discussing the ideas and concepts of a fictional universe than the details. Ask me who'd win in a fight between Darth Vader and Boba Fett and I'll happily daydream about something else while more interested parties decide, but ask me what would happen to the remote imperial outposts and starships when their leadership structure fell apart at the end of the trilogy and I'm there (as was Timothy Zahn).

Some universes i enjoy, some I envy (let me also curse GRRM for creating something close to perfect at this point), and some are captivating. I'm getting more choosy but no less interested.

Creating my own worlds means I get to think about the concepts and the detail. If that wasn't interesting to me, and i didn't want to share it then someone should start kicking me until I admit I'm writing something dull.

So. in summary
if you went to hogwarts what would you study? = dull
What would it take to start a revolution amongst house elves and how long would it take for them to become the dominant power in the world and kill all the humans and wizards alike = more interesting.
GRRM = genius.

and my own worlds damn well better be interesting to me.

Craig

Lisa von Lempke · Jun 30, 2011

I'm with Jamesaritchie. Just don't have fandom in me. Is that because I'm more preoccupied with myself? Not really, I don't think. The boring thing about one's own writing is that one always knows what's coming next. That takes so much of the fun away.

I'm just not much of a fan type of person, I guess. Some people spend 30 years of their lives researching and writing the biography of a famous person. I could never do that. Am too engrossed in my own life, even if it sometimes does not entail more than staring out the window.

Anne Lyle · Jun 30, 2011

I think your fandom just switches gears. I'm not so much into specific books or worlds (I have my own to play in now), but I still get all excited at the thought of speaking to writers whose work I love.

One of the squeee factors for me when I signed with Angry Robot is that their podcast is hosted by Mur Lafferty. I might be interviewed by Mighty Mur!

:e2faint:

Does your writing affect your fandom?

Toughen up.

~~~~*~~~~

just the worst honestly

The colors! THE COLORS!

Mushroom

Just another face in a red jumpsuit

DenturePunk writer

Toughen up.

Toughen up.

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

adrift

The mean one

~~~~*~~~~

Around

A Gentleman of a refined age...

Addict? I can quit whenever I want!

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

practical experience, FTW

Languishing Emigrée

Fantastic historian

*

*