Why Fanfiction is Valuable to all Writers
And how it can help develop ideas and technique
I must confess: I can be a snob when it comes to literature.
Or at least I was, until a few fellow writers convinced me that fanfiction is worth reading and writing.
Until recently, I thought fanfiction was something to be mocked. Fanfiction was poorly written, shallow, unoriginal, and took too many liberties with the original content.
I was wrong about all these things.
After discovering the writers on the small Magnificent Seven fandom on Archive of Our Own (a site PurpleBookyWorm introduced me to recently) I have found solid proof that I was wrong.
In this article, I will consider the value of fanfiction to the critic, but it is valuable to all writers (as all creative work, the generation of ideas, involves criticism, as we shall see).
(For the purpose of this article I’m going to stick to Magnificent Seven fanfiction about one character, Lee, just to show how much variation there can be even on the same subject-matter. It also helps to compare like for like. The following should still make sense without knowledge of the film.)
Oscar Wilde defined criticism in his dialogue-essay The Critic as Artist:
‘Criticism is itself an art. And just as artistic creation implies the working of the critical faculty, and indeed, without it cannot be said to exist at all, so Criticism is really creative in the highest sense of the word. Criticism is, in fact, both creative and independent.’
The independence of criticism means that
‘Criticism is no more to be judged by any low standard of resemblance than is the work of poet or sculptor.’
Criticism is based on one’s own impressions:
‘The highest Criticism, being the purest form of personal impression, is in its way more creative than creation, as it has least reference to any standard external to itself.’
Criticism is original as,
‘It works with materials, and puts them into a form that is at once new and delightful.’
Therefore:
Fanfiction is critical because it is (to an extent) independent i.e. the reader does not necessarily require knowledge of the original work in order to appreciate it.
It is critical because it is based on your personal impressions.
Fanfiction is critical because it is original: creating something new and delightful.
Two examples —
Firstly, fanfiction can be well-written. Indeed, it can be very well-written. It can take on as many styles and tones as original fiction. It is just as creative. For example, BethLange’s brilliant story ‘Retribution,’ which is backstory about Lee and the Johnson Brothers:
His [the sheriff’s] visitor was probably mid-thirties and of above-average height. His face was fine-boned and good-looking, with dark, slicked-back hair and a resolute mouth. He was sporting several days’ growth of new beard and was well turned-out too, dressed in quality, well-tailored clothing, most of which had clearly seen better days. He had on a striped woollen vest, a dark silken necktie, and wore a beautifully made pair of boots — which, too, seemed more than a little the worse for wear. […]
The man removed one of his gloves. Exuding an air redolent of ballrooms and high falutin soirees, he did it finger by finger, executing the task with a series of elegant, unhurried movements.
This piece is independent and original. Anyone who has not watched the film is able to picture this character’s appearance. The vocabulary in the passage is rich (‘fine-boned’, ‘resolute’) and the sentence structure is varied without being over-complicated. There is great attention to detail; here the simple act of taking off a glove becomes an insight into the character’s personality and class background.
Also note that the piece is not ‘just’ a character-study, but a complete story with action.
So clearly fanfiction can be well-written, thoughtful and independent.
Secondly, fanfiction can have depth. To quote from chapter 6 of mcicioni’s story, ‘Seven Kinds of Loneliness’, which examines why each of the seven return to defend the village they have just been made to leave. It might be helpful to watch the scene first.
Observe how mcicioni develops this very short part of the scene into a great prose piece.
His companions are the last ones who could understand what lies behind his haughty mask — the slaves he mistreated, Atlanta in flames, his countless enemies, dead and alive, his nightmares. And now five of them have decided to ride back into Ixcatlán. Chris looks at him and says, “You don’t owe anything to anyone,” matter-of-fact, neither warm nor cold.
He blinks at the memory of the men who for a few minutes did look behind his mask, Tomás and Eusebio [his hosts], who came to his room the night after the first battle. They saw him at his worst — sweating, screaming, self-pitying, self-deprecating, self-hating — and gave him a little quiet compassion, We know what fear is. We live with it all our lives.
He thinks of the villagers, all resigned to spending their lives in dirt and fear. And sees Tomás as he was the last time they exchanged a glance, his eyes full of despair as he stood next to Hilario and Eusebio and others, all of them tied up, waiting to become a little gesture, an example to the village on the following day.
His eyes meet Chris’s. “Except to myself,” he drawls, sliding elegantly off his saddle and moving towards the guns on the ground.
The writer draws our attention to things that we might not notice on first watch. How Chris’ remark is ‘neither warm nor cold.’ How Lee slides so elegantly off his horse. The writer contrasts Lee’s cool mask with the reality of the nightmare scene (‘sweating, screaming, self-pitying…’) These few paragraphs hint at backstory, adding depth to the character, while exploring his motivations. They are also the writer’s impressions, except rather than describing them in a film review, she has written fiction.
Note that this piece is based on only half a minute of screentime, yet it contains so much.
Therefore we can say that fanfiction, far from being shallow, actually adds depth to the original material, by, as Oscar Wilde said, putting personal impressions into a new form; by ‘work[ing] with materials, and put[ting] them into a form that is at once new and delightful.’
Thirdly, neither does fanfiction (necessarily) take liberties with the original material. The reference to the burning of Atlanta is accurate in the context of the film. Lee recalling his hosts at this moment is also believable; after all he did speak to them about his nightmare when he could have simply dismissed them.
For these reasons, fanfiction does not only have value as a hobby, but as a form of writing practice, to develop technique and generate ideas.
Fanfiction is parallel to film review, but fanfiction is superior.
Now, I do like film reviews. But film reviews (such as this one which no one has read) are fairly superficial, even when thought is put into them. They tell the reader what the film is about and if it’s any good. Some reviews go a bit deeper, the analytical essays, but they’re still more telling rather than showing. They can be well-written, but sometimes boring, especially when the film being reviewed is poor.
Whereas fanfiction develops the film and one’s understanding of it further. It requires more thought than that of the technician. Film critics tend to make cinema seem more complicated than it is by inventing vocabulary. But it is quite easy. Either the shot looks good or it doesn’t (said with all the confidence of an amateur photographer!) It is more difficult to assess what a character’s motivations are, as the above quoted stories do.
Another reason why fanfiction is superior to film reviews is because it is fiction! The writer of fiction has far more freedom. He has more styles and techniques available to him than the non-fiction writer.
As a writing exercise, fanfiction is better than freewriting, as it is more creative, constructive and thoughtful. It is also easier to write as you have decent reference material that is better than your own silly unordered thoughts.
But it is also difficult to write as it is a test of showing not telling. Fanfiction must show the reader something new, or show them what they know in a new way, otherwise you’re just writing a description of a film which they have already seen!
A good fanfiction writer, such as those quoted above, can distil the essence, the style of the film into well-written prose that reveals more about the film than any review could. I daresay, when deciding whether a film is worth watching, don’t waste your time looking through the newspaper reviews. Look at what works of fiction were inspired by it. That is a better indication of the nature of the film than the opinion of a middling, middle-class journalist.
However, fanfiction is still not the highest kind of criticism that Wilde speaks of, because it is not fully independent; it ‘reference[s a] standard external to itself.’ Most fanfiction, even if it doesn’t require previous knowledge of the film, assumes it. Although it is not always necessary to have seen the film, it is written for an audience that has, so it is limited.
An example of this is my own brief experiment in fanfiction.
It was written purely as an experiment; a writing exercise. I haven’t even planned a story as such, though I am pleased with it. I didn’t intend to develop it further, but it is proving to be very helpful and fun to write so I will be publishing the second part soon.
However, it’s not the best example of critical fiction! It is not as original or independent as the works of mcicioni or BethLange. While it still makes sense to those who haven’t seen the film, it’s like an inside joke. While the above named writers develop Lee’s character, I’m parodying it:
‘I must say that I am almost flattered that you [the Johnson brothers] have taken the time to write to me. Please accept my apologies for my not replying to you earlier, I am currently between addresses, as I’m sure you can understand.’
‘Currently between addresses’ is a reference to Lee’s being ‘on the run’ at the start of the film. And only if you’ve seen Robert Vaughn’s performance could you fully appreciate how sarcastic the letter is. (e.g. ‘I have the most stylish corner of the filthy storeroom out back’ lol)
The best form of criticism avoids reference to the original. It uses the original work as a ‘starting point for a new creation.’
Generating ideas with fanfiction
Even though fanfiction references the original, nevertheless, every fanfiction writer is still inventing new characters.
So for example, the character of Lee in my story could scarcely be called the Lee of the film at all. The tone is too different.
He is a different character altogether.
Which is the starting point of a new story.
A new story completely unrelated to The Magnificent Seven.
Therefore, fanfiction is also a way to generate ideas…
Judging your own work and others’
It is necessary to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a work of art in order to improve your writing and avoid repeating mistakes.
From my brief experience so far, I have learnt that if you publish fanfiction you definitely have an audience, and a good audience too, who are genuinely interested in your work, who give thoughtful and detailed feedback.
And it is easier to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your own fanfiction because you have reference material.
Inconclusion, fanfiction should rather be called ‘critical fiction.’ It is the fictional parallel to film review, but is superior to the film review because fiction allows more freedom of technique than non-fiction, and therefore is a very valuable and enjoyable exercise for all writers.
Thank you for reading this far, let me know your opinions in the comments :)
Frou-Frou
