Earlier this year I wrote a post about how NCIS fanfiction came to life when CBS aired the episode “Flesh and Blood”. For years many of us have been fans of the Tony/Gibbs father/son dynamic, reading and writing countless stories about it. When scenes in the show echoed those close father/son bonds, it felt like part of the fandom rejoiced.
Recently though, as I noted in my review for Supernatural “Family Matters, once again it feels like fanfiction has made its way onto another show.
In neither case do I even remotely claim that the writers for these shows are reading fanfiction and using it to write their scripts (mostly because I have no desire to be sued by anybody on either side, LOL). What I’m simply saying is that the themes that some of us thought would only stay on our computer screens, are now making an appearance on our television screens.
For instance on Supernatural recently (WARNING – SPOILERS AHEAD!!) Dean became a vampire temporarily and it was just revealed that Sam has come back from his trip to hell with no soul. Both are very angsty storylines and neither were ones I’d ever thought would make it onto the show itself.
But unlike the outpouring of praise that came from this year’s episode of NCIS, recently it seems like a lot of the Supernatural fans are complaining. It’s hard to tell of course how many are actually fans of fanfiction but it’s still interesting to me nonetheless.
Be careful what you wish for.
Now that Supernatural has had some storylines that feel a bit more like fanfiction (at least in my opinion), not all the fans seem happy. They complain that they miss the old show the way it was and their characters the way they used to be. Let’s just assume for a moment that at least some of those people are fans of Supernatural fanfiction (which is pretty likely considering how well known it is in the fandom, heck it’s even been mentioned on the show itself). So if some are fanfiction fans, I wonder whether or not they would have read these exact storylines in a fic and if so, would they have given it rave reviews? I think there’s a chance they would have so is it truly better offscreen than on?
Would we rather read it than watch it?
I’ve seen some pretty wild stories in fanfic, in many genres, from Supernatural to Firefly to NCIS and beyond. Characters who would never be together hooking up, other characters who are dead suddenly coming back to life and still others put into situations you’d probably never see in real life, let alone on screen. As fans, many of us gobble this stuff up like we’re chucking back our favorite junk food. But, like junk food, maybe it’s something we don’t want all the time. Maybe we want to keep the wacky fanfic right where it is in cyberspace.
The slash question.
Do we really want to see our sexy male characters (or females, in the case of femslash fanfiction) get it on or do we just like the fantasy of it? I realize not everyone is into slash fanfiction but there are plenty who are into it and I have to wonder if the slash fans really would like to see their favorite stories played out on a television screen. Or do they think it only belongs on the glowing screen of their laptops?
Where do we draw the line?
As a hurt/comfort fanfiction aficionado, I know that there’s nothing better than a little whumpage to really get my interest piqued – not only for a character, but for the show itself. In my post Hurt/Comfort Fanfiction, Why Do We Hurt The Ones We Love? I talked all about why I like it. For me, seeing it on screen is totally fine by me, the more the merrier in fact. But what if they did it to my character all the time and he never got to be brave or strong because he was too busy getting whumped every episode? Or what if they hurt him sometimes, but nearly always made a joke about it? (*cough*NCIS*cough*). I wouldn’t like either of those scenarios at all.
Where do you stand?
So I have to ask you, the fanfiction fans (both readers and writers) what do you think? How much of your beloved fanfiction would you actually like to see played out on screen?
Want to know every time I add a new post? Be sure to subscribe to Moki’s Fanfiction Blog!
More from Moki’s Fanfiction Blog…
Moki’s Latest NCIS fanfic “The Cavalry Rides Again” – chapter 12
Moki’s Latest Supernatural fanfic “Black Cat” – Final Chapters!
Fanfiction News: Article – The Trouble With Fanfiction
My Ezine Article: Writing Fanfiction Can Help Start Your Freelance Writing Career
Fanfiction Reading: To Review or Not to Review, a guest post by Laine3112
Check out an excerpt from my Ezine Article:
Writing Fanfiction Can Help Start Your Freelance Writing Career
If you’re anything like me, you’ve been writing fanfiction for years, enjoying the freedom it allows you to create stories involving your favorite characters and taking part in a community with other writers who give helpful feedback.
But did you know that writing fanfiction can also help you start a new career? By writing fanfiction, you are honing valuable skills that you can use as a freelance writer.
Here are some things that writing fanfiction can teach you about becoming a freelance writer.
Deadlines.
Maybe you don’t think of it this way but every time you’ve promised your rabid fans that the next chapter of your WIP (work in progress) was coming “in one week, I promise!” you were setting yourself a deadline. Making that deadline no matter what real life throws your way means that you’ve just learned one of the most important part of being a freelance writer – hitting your deadline.
Handling criticism.
When you post your fanfiction out there for the world to see, you also open yourself up to criticism. We’ve all had it happen – you post a story that you worked tirelessly on and suddenly someone comes up and (gasp!) dislikes it. Well guess what?….
For more, read the entire article HERE
Got a fanfiction issue, question or problem? I can help! I am now offering fanfiction consultating/coaching services to anyone, in any fandom, writing any type of story. If you’re interested in a consultation, just email me at Moki@mokisfanfictionblog.com to get a free evaluation and find out what I can do for you.
Want to know every time I add a new post? Be sure to subscribe to Moki’s Fanfiction Blog!
More from Moki’s Fanfiction Blog…
Moki’s Latest NCIS fanfic “The Cavalry Rides Again” – chapter 11
Moki’s Latest Supernatural fanfic “Black Cat” – chapters 18, 19 and 20
Fanfiction News: Joshua Jackson reads Dawson’s Creek Fanfiction
Fanfiction Reading: To Review or Not to Review, a guest post by Laine3112
Article: Real Person Fiction (aka “RPF”) at Ology.com
Real Person Fiction / Real Person Fanfiction (aka “RPF”)
I was out and about on the internet looking for fanfiction news and came across this great article at ology.com. It’s about a form of fanfiction called “real person fiction” which I myself haven’t read much but find interesting. I especially enjoyed the quote from Ian McKellan and his opinions on fanfiction in general.
To read the article on the ology site, go HERE
Fandom Friday: Real Person Fiction
by Natalie Zutter
Happy Fandom Friday! Each week, I highlight an aspect of the various fan communities that have sprung around mostly movies and TV shows, but sometimes books, games, or even just memes, if the level of dedication is awesome enough.
Over the summer, Jack took you through some of the Web’s most surprising fan fiction communities, like depressing 30 Rock fic; and of course we know about the scandals involving NSFW Harry Potter and Gummi Bears fic. But what if I told you that this odd merging of fandom and creativity has also touched the celebrity culture?
A lesser-known realm of fanfiction is RPF, or Real Person Fiction. Though the fics may still deal with plot elements of entertainment like Lord of the Rings or WWE, the protagonists are the actors/celebrities themselves. It’s a behind-the-scenes peek constructed by fans who think they have a handle on the emotional turmoil that actors or singers may experience—or who are willing to convince themselves that these love affairs happen all the time in showbiz.
Yes, they’re usually sex fics, dealing with performers’ insatiable attraction to their co-stars. In a sense, it’s the flipside of the showmance issue: Rather than allowing actor couples to present a thinly-veiled version of their romance in the movies, fans beat them to the punch by writing about real or imagined couples. Subtext is a major factor, with consumers reading into their favorite stars’ on-screen performances (or even just on-set photos and blurbs in magazines) in order to conceive of this reality.
RPF often finds its source in speculation on the on-set lives of certain performers. A few years ago, a Hugh Laurie/Jennifer Morrison community popped up on LiveJournal, receiving a lot of backlash from the House community; fan fiction authors usually disdain RPF, finding it too invasive. The community, which still exists, is called Guilty Euphoria; it’s as if they knew the negativity they would incur.
Another name for RPF is RPS, Real Person Slash. This offshoot isn’t surprising, since a lot of fanfiction is slashy, playing with subtext to present a more sexual/romantic take on the bonds forged in performance. RPS became more prevalent when the Backstreet Boy and *NSYNC were popular. Young men traveling together, presenting some cohesive image of the perfect guy? Yeah, I can see room for interpretation.
There are, of course, legal issues inherent in this kind of writing, but as long as authors include a disclaimer in their stories, they seem to be protected from slander and libel. Fanfiction.net forbid RPF in 1998. For the most part, celebrities ignore the trend, but Ian McKellen did respond to a fan’s question regarding the subject:
From: Saathi QueenB@trust-me.com
Q: My fellow yahoogroup members and I all respect you, the cast, crew, and movie itself. Most of us indulge in a hobby called ‘fanfic.’ A great deal of us write (or read) ‘slash,’ and a few members write ‘RPS’ (Real Person Slash.) What are your thoughts on such things? Do you consider them slanderous to your good character and/or to the good character of any actor/movie/etc?
A: I am not well acquainted with slash but find nothing harmful in sharing fantasies about favourite characters or their interpreters. Within the context of such sites even Real Person stories seem unobjectionable as they are clearly fictional.
I was going to link to a handful of fics, but due to their NC-17 nature I’m uncomfortable posting them here. I’ll just say, check out Archive of Our Own (which will be getting its own Fandom Friday entry soon), because there are several that actually do a good job at guessing at the dynamics of acting with someone else.
But remember—it’s just guessing.
Got a fanfiction issue, question or problem? I can help! I am now offering fanfiction consultating/coaching services to anyone, in any fandom, writing any type of story. If you’re interested in a consultation, just email me at Moki@mokisfanfictionblog.com to get a free evaluation and find out what I can do for you.
Want to know every time I add a new post? Be sure to subscribe to Moki’s Fanfiction Blog!
More on Moki’s Fanfiction Blog…
Latest NCIS fanfic “The Cavalry Rides Again” – chapter 13
Moki’s Latest Supernatural fanfic “Black Cat” – Final Chapters!
Is Fanfiction Better Left in Cyberspace?
Show Me, Don’t Tell Me: The Importance of Visual Imagery in Fiction