random observations on fanfic
Apr. 15th, 2018 05:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaixoFor the past couple of days I’ve been listening to podfics (don’t worry, @itsadrizzit, I’ve been leaving feedback as I’ve finished listening). There’s no particular fandom I’ve been listening to, just going by recs from other podficcers, and fam, these recs (and podfics are legion). But, the more I've listened, the more I've noticed something. Is it me, or did fanfic norms change from 2009 onwards and I didn’t know about it?
As in, I find the older fanfic (those around 2000-2006) a bit slow and hazy. The fics themselves tend to drag and the endings are cute but the fic itself is undefined. Whereas post 2009/10 the fics started getting more plot driven instead of character portraits which felt hazy and dreamlike.
Please note, the 'fanfic drag' I speak of isn't the fault of the podficcers, they can only work with what's in front of them, and podficcers are voice magic.
I didn’t start writing fanfic until 2005, but I was in fandom way before then, and I mostly beta read. My fandom of choice was HP, but I was in Gargoyles too (and they drew heavily from Shakespeare and felt 'bookish').
Book fandoms do have a different dynamic to them than kinetic fandoms (from TV to video games, to RPF). As in, with book fandoms, the focus was on missing scenes, and character sketches. TV fandoms (like SPN, New Who and Merlin) didn’t factor in until later, and they tended to be about action plots with cliffhangers. The writers came into these fandoms, bringing the tools they learnt from book fandom to their new fandoms.
After a while though, with Marvel movies, and video games becoming more and more prevalent, something had to give, and the approach to writing fanfic became more hybrid. As in, the fic became more dialogue heavy, and because of how the storylines in the primary media were presented, it made the resulting fanfiction became more action driven, or at least, the stories posted more pointed.
I am finding that I can't really listen to fanfic that's been posted earlier than 2010.
I'm tempted to go back and read my fanfic and see if it's changed completely from 2005 to now, and track the changes. Charting my movements from book series, to comic book (sequential art based series), to TV fandom stopping in the fandom I'm in now. To be honest, just thinking about my output, that's just too much work (and I don't reread my fic once it's edited and posted after the first week).
The thing is, each writer isn't just an island, but more a byproduct of theory by contagion, and we live in a world of #events, and stories have become more engaging to hook viewers in, and the characters as a result much more defined and less of a trope. So writing styles and accepted forms do change.
I know that my work has changed since I've gotten to know a podficcer in the last year.
For instance, I am more obsessive with the clarity of story over ornate prose, because writing for quiet reading is a different thing from being performed to be heard. As a result, my own writing has gotten relatively hybrid. As in, I've always been plot oriented over character development, but I do try to work on characters a bit more in terms of action and dialogue instead of a lot of inner voice. I think it's gotten stronger for it, and the fic is an easier read.
In the same breath, I know social media has played a big part in how I consume my media, how I read, and how I write. My writing is a lot more casual than it used to be. It's more studied similies than an extended metaphor for instance. It's not a big jump to say that as I've changed in terms of absorbing my stories, I can see why older fanfiction makes me frown.
What do you guys think? I understand that everyone is coming from their own experience (and seriously, I'm a fandom old. I actually told myself I'd stop writing fanfic in 2014, because I was sick of my own work).
Holla at me.
As in, I find the older fanfic (those around 2000-2006) a bit slow and hazy. The fics themselves tend to drag and the endings are cute but the fic itself is undefined. Whereas post 2009/10 the fics started getting more plot driven instead of character portraits which felt hazy and dreamlike.
Please note, the 'fanfic drag' I speak of isn't the fault of the podficcers, they can only work with what's in front of them, and podficcers are voice magic.
I didn’t start writing fanfic until 2005, but I was in fandom way before then, and I mostly beta read. My fandom of choice was HP, but I was in Gargoyles too (and they drew heavily from Shakespeare and felt 'bookish').
Book fandoms do have a different dynamic to them than kinetic fandoms (from TV to video games, to RPF). As in, with book fandoms, the focus was on missing scenes, and character sketches. TV fandoms (like SPN, New Who and Merlin) didn’t factor in until later, and they tended to be about action plots with cliffhangers. The writers came into these fandoms, bringing the tools they learnt from book fandom to their new fandoms.
After a while though, with Marvel movies, and video games becoming more and more prevalent, something had to give, and the approach to writing fanfic became more hybrid. As in, the fic became more dialogue heavy, and because of how the storylines in the primary media were presented, it made the resulting fanfiction became more action driven, or at least, the stories posted more pointed.
I am finding that I can't really listen to fanfic that's been posted earlier than 2010.
I'm tempted to go back and read my fanfic and see if it's changed completely from 2005 to now, and track the changes. Charting my movements from book series, to comic book (sequential art based series), to TV fandom stopping in the fandom I'm in now. To be honest, just thinking about my output, that's just too much work (and I don't reread my fic once it's edited and posted after the first week).
The thing is, each writer isn't just an island, but more a byproduct of theory by contagion, and we live in a world of #events, and stories have become more engaging to hook viewers in, and the characters as a result much more defined and less of a trope. So writing styles and accepted forms do change.
I know that my work has changed since I've gotten to know a podficcer in the last year.
For instance, I am more obsessive with the clarity of story over ornate prose, because writing for quiet reading is a different thing from being performed to be heard. As a result, my own writing has gotten relatively hybrid. As in, I've always been plot oriented over character development, but I do try to work on characters a bit more in terms of action and dialogue instead of a lot of inner voice. I think it's gotten stronger for it, and the fic is an easier read.
In the same breath, I know social media has played a big part in how I consume my media, how I read, and how I write. My writing is a lot more casual than it used to be. It's more studied similies than an extended metaphor for instance. It's not a big jump to say that as I've changed in terms of absorbing my stories, I can see why older fanfiction makes me frown.
What do you guys think? I understand that everyone is coming from their own experience (and seriously, I'm a fandom old. I actually told myself I'd stop writing fanfic in 2014, because I was sick of my own work).
Holla at me.
