A Case For Fanfiction
Stringing a melody out of the cacophony of voices
I have a confession (or several) to make.
Since I dived headfirst into the extensive and glorious realm that is fanfiction in the first half of 2018, I have read over 600 works varying in length from 5k to 500k (Tolkien who?) while not having completed even one-fourth of my compulsory reading (I’m drudging through a Masters in English). I absolutely adore reading, always have, but have been stuck on the same three published novels (those that shall not be named) since that fateful summer I took the freefall into the wonder that is fanfiction or fanlore.
Fanfiction has been often demonized as being badly written and charged with ethical and unlawful use of original content. The judgment has been unanimously passed by a handful of authors who might feel their abilities for future creations might be compromised and some elitist literati who have been simply lazy and superficial in their analysis of the internet movement.
It is not to say that issues don’t exist (there is no garden without weed, eh?) but they aren’t enough to brand this a subject of ridicule and embarrassment among the creators and consumers of fan content.
Why is fanfiction so addictive?
I have just a little over 150 Google Chrome tabs opened on my mobile phone and nearly three times the number of fics spaced out between Bookmarks and Mark for Later. The emergence of this niche as a bridge between the audience and the original work (which is extremely quantifiable and limited) was fueled by the need for longevity of experience.
We are living in an era of fast fashion, fast food and factory-line production- a time marked by intense consumerism, often flighty interests and short attention spans and a call for democratized content. In a dedicated and immersive fandom experience, such a requirement cannot be sustained over extended periods by a single creator.
There is also a demand for tailor-made content that caters to specific communities- thus the need for adequate representation and cheaper and easier access. In fanfiction, the former comes as a two-fold process. We have a surge of diverse female, LGBTQ+ and POC writers dabbling in fanfiction as well as lending flexibility to characters to attain roles as the writer wishes- or evade labels altogether.
Fanfiction is also immensely cathartic. You can have a happy ending where there wasn’t one, revive your favourite character from the clutches of Hades, envision your OTP thriving, assign relatable traits to a character and live through them vicariously (the platform has become a means for living out one’s romantic, adventurous and sexual fantasies). It is a source of comfort, an escape for LGBTQ+ and other vulnerable communities that have often found themselves alienated or misrepresented by the mainstream media.
Fanfic writers are our avengers, bearing the mantle of keeping a fictional universe alive and their characters evolving long after all hope for that one last sequel has been snuffed out.
Can we trace the history of fanfiction back to its inception?
In the pre-copyright ages, one can perhaps see retellings of popular folklore or reworkings of quaint fairy tales from far-away lands as an antiquated form of fanfiction. A majority of the Grimm brothers’ creations and in turn, Disney’s princess movies, have been birthed the same way. These ‘borrowings’ and ‘inspirations’ have always existed in the world of art and literature.
Consider, for instance, Wide Sargasso Sea, the post-colonial response to Jane Eyre, or Rebecca, an adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s magnum opus. The latter, authored by Daphne du Maurier, had a sequel written by Susan Hill, titled Mrs. de Winter. The aforementioned are a case in point of fanfiction or derived works not being some obscure, nascent subculture of the internet generation.
The Marvel universe makes copious use of Norse and Greek mythology, the Arthurian legends have been ceaselessly adopted- most recently in the Katherine Langford starrer Cursed.
The key premises of fanfiction are originality of plot and that there be no hindrance to the original creator’s ability to extract all monetary profit from their work or extend it (probably why you’ll find writers emphatically rejecting any interaction with fan content based on their own works). The DMCA, however, still makes it possible for authors to take legal action. With copyright laws flouted left and right in the digitally-empowered 21st century with instant downloads, every Netflix and Hulu original available on at least ten different sites, it is perhaps time to revise them and accept their obsolescence.
From LiveJournal and ff.net to AsianFanfics and Twitter, there are various online forums for fanfiction. While there are commercialized platforms like Wattpad where fanfiction is a category among many others, there are websites that rely on ad revenue and donations from the consumers. ArchiveOfOurOwn is the latest hit, an open-source fic repository that is revolutionizing the fanfiction world.
The ever-expanding and enriching world of fanfiction:
Genre-bending: Dictated by prolificity as the digital age is, fanfiction feeds into the eternal fandom flame- keeps it burning through authorial hiatuses and production miscarriages. While a lot of fics are canon-compliant, an even greater number are characterized as au or alternate universe- your plain girl-next-door character could be a spy or even the Devil’s spawn (literally) or the merciless villain can have a tragic love story and a redemption arc.
The rigorous tagging system has led to sub-genres like slow burn, hurt/comfort, pwp, etc. while abo and other mythical universes continue to savour popularity. Another element that pushes boundaries is that of crossovers- the best of both worlds that allows intermingling of two or more fictional universes. World-building witnesses a patchwork culture where elements from different original sources are welded together- along with plenty of original details.
A tight-knit community: It is also a thoroughly engrossing and engaging process. The fanfiction community witnesses a symbiotic relationship between the writers and the readers. A readymade audience is made available to even writers in remote areas (those with dreams of publishing a novel one day but haven’t had the luxury of seeing a publishing house- what we in metropolitans take for granted). Conversely, the readership has a say in streamlining content- every fandom has fanfics that are ‘classics’ and there are a few genres or subtypes like ‘enemies to lovers’ or ‘soulmates’ that have gained popularity across the fandoms alike.
There is also an unprecedented collaborative effort that could have only been imagined by Warhol when pop art came into existence. Writers hype and encourage each other’s works, have betas who provide their editing services and fresh perspective to facilitate better development of plot and character.
They create playlists, put up a detailed list of references and even go the extra mile by making social media accounts, penning down lyrics or poetry and compiling video trailers- as and when the fanfic requires. There exist fics on which fanart and edits are made and fanfiction based on fanart and edits. There’s fanfiction about fanfiction (the only vicious circle I wouldn’t mind getting stuck in). There are collaborative projects between two or more writers, fic fests (genre-specific and ship-specific), drabbles, oneshots, sequels, translations and inspirations budding out from a known fanfic.
Interaction is another vital component that shapes the process- feedback and polls may be used by writers to please their audience and understand them. There is a mutual sharing of thoughts and exchange of views- opening up portals for important conversations to take place and to comprehend writing as not only artistic but also encapsulating responsibility. Of late, this has most noticeably been seen in the people involved educating themselves better and writers even revising and removing their works if they contain problematic or harmful depictions- a remedy impossible outside fanfiction.
Educational and subversive: No, fanfiction isn’t just written by teenagers with lousy grammar and too much free time on their hands. A few of my favourite fanfic writers are nearing their thirties and work full-time. The prevalent ‘screaming fangirl’ stereotype has been enforced here as well. This is a field of possibilities. Anna Todd’s Wattpad sensation After, a One Direction fic, was made into a movie. The Fifty Shades trilogy, a log of E.L. James’s erotic fantasies (that you should not prefer in favour of ditching sex-ed) was initially a Twilight fanfic.
This is not to say that such golden opportunities are abundant but to stress that there is a platform ready for your taking. Many fanfic writers link their Patreon and Ko-fi accounts under their works and even accept commissions, thus being able to advertise and gain customers to make a substantial amount.
Fanfiction has immense subversive potential. Gender roles and stereotypes regarding religions, regions and sexual orientations are pulverized. Slurs and insults are reclaimed, words like effeminate rendered defunct, lines blurred by characters flaunting all kinds of clothing and makeup- none of which has to necessarily reflect their sexual dynamics or other fragments of their identity. Fanfiction enables fictional characters to transcend from ‘being’ to ‘becoming.’
Misleading, glorification and romanticization of toxic traits, unhealthy relationships, the misrepresentation of communities like the mafia and sex workers is an acute problem in all kinds of fiction. But we can now witness a dawn where these discussions are being brought to the forefront.
A lot of fanfic writers conduct meticulous research, go through multiple drafts and meditate on sketching out innately human (evolving and imperfect) stories, even if it takes them months to release just one chapter. When I took the entrance test for admission in Masters, there was a question on synaesthesia none of my peers seemed to know the answer to but I did because I had read a fanfic that utilized the concept. A single-parent fanfic taught me more about good parenting than I’ve learned from my own parents and launched discourses on the practical development and use of language- something my one semester of linguistics failed at.
Reader-friendly: Extensive tagging systems, trigger warnings and notes allow writers to provide explanations where needed and readers to find exactly the kind of fanfic they want to read and which ones they’d specifically avoid (major character death, graphic depictions of violence or abuse, etc.). Language, too, is no bar with works being translated and even originally written in languages other than English.
As humans, we keep growing. And our stories grow and thrive with us. No story is a lost cause here and every writer gets numerous chances at redemption.
