Wednesday 11 July 2018

Fanfic, Fanfic Everywhere ... But Nothing A Spreadsheet Can't Handle!


Fanfic, Fanfic Everywhere ... But Nothing A Spreadsheet Can't Handle!

So as I mentioned last week, I'm really into Wattpad these days and, while I am using it to publish original fiction, I am also using it to publish my fanfiction. Then there is also a new blogging platform called Pillowfort, which is in beta at the moment, but seems to be just the place fandom and social media needs.

Wattpad


There is a thriving fanfiction community on Wattpad and it is still growing. When I first dipped my toe in a few years ago it all seemed to be One Direction fic, but digging deeper there is much more and expanding these days. Now while none of us can make money off of fanfic, as is proper, it is a very useful tool for expanding our audience.

Because of this I am working on adding many of my fanfiction works to my Wattpad library so my audience over there can enjoy them as well.

Pillowfort


It's a site that is still growing, but it allows the kind of discourse Livejournal was always good at, as well as offering the reblogging functionality and media flexibility of Tumblr. Adding my fanfiction over there is a no-brainer for me :)

Fanfiction vs Original Fiction


Fanfiction is looked down on by some, but most people who read it are avid book worms. They love to read and read lots. It is only logical that there will be those who read fanfic and original ficiton at the same time. One kind of fiction may be set in another creator's universe while the other is in our own fictional universe, but they still have many things in common.

For example:
  • I love vampires and have made it my business to write them into every fandom I can manage when writing fanfic.
  • I write lots of original vampire fiction too.
or
  • Most of my fanfiction is slash = male/male pairings.
  • I write lots of lgbtqia original fiction.
Hence I have a crossover in my audience reading tastes. Not everyone will want to jump from one to the other, but the cross-pollination is there.

The Issue


Only one problem - I have fanfiction all over the place and I'm not sure where all of it is. Hence, this week, I have set myself the task of finding all the major places I have posted it and creating Google Sheets so I can keep track of it.

I have 338 works on AO3, but I've already found several small fics that seem to have been overlooked when going through my tags on Livejournal.

My reasoning is thus - if I have a place where everything is recorded I will know where to find it should anything happen for reasons not yet known. And I also like organising things, so my inner librarian is very happy. As long as my inner child and my inner librarian never meet, everything should be fine ;).

Over the last few years I have been writing fanfiction less and less, but I have to say, Wattpad and Pillowfort are beginning to reignite my fire, which, in turn, is helping with my original fiction mojo as well. It seems when I light one creative fire they all burn brighter :).

Do you write or read fanfiction? What are your fandoms? If not, do you have a reason for not doing so?

9 comments:

  1. I don't read or write fanfict. Not because I have no interest but because the little bit of time I do have I need to be reading in my genre or writing my ms.

    I'm puzzled by your first point. Slash = m/m? I've heard of slash/slasher meaning horror movies, but not in the context of m/m before.

    If you like vampires and m/m fiction you should try Daniel de Lorne's Bonds of Blood series (I think the final book comes out later this year).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally get the time issue. There are never enough hours in the day.

      Slash in fanfic means m/m and a slasher is someone who writes or reads it - femslash is f/f. In horror movies slasher movies are the ones that have all the gore and serial killers rather than monster - at least that's what I think it means. So, yes, it does have 2 meanings. Pretty sure fanfic got there first :P

      Thank you so much for the book rec.

      Delete
  2. I used to write fan fiction, many years ago. About 150 stories, in fact. Mostly Star Trek:TOS, but I went on to also write Blake’s 7, Robin Of Sherwood and a tiny bit of Dr Who. Those were the days when stories were published in fanzines, instead of online. It was wonderful to curl up in bed with them, and they were beautifully illustrated by artists who often went on to become professionals, eg Phil Foglio.

    I eventually ran out of ideas and around then people started paying me to write stuff, so I needed to focus on that and resist temptation anyway. I still enjoy reading it. I never wrote fiction based on written work, only media. I started Star Trek because the series was over and I wanted more, like most other fans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, you had to be dedicated back in those days, all the posting of things :) I have published a couple of stories in fanzines, but I think I came into fandom just as the interest was taking off and zines were falling out of fashion. Some of the art on zines is amazing, isn't it, I have a friend who used to have loads and I loved looking through them.

      I stopped writing fanfiction for a while when I swapped over to original publishing - mostly because of the fall of Livejournal, but I've fallen back into it because of Wattpad. I'm really having a lot of fun reposting my older stuff over there and writing the odd new bit for a new audience :).

      Delete
  3. Hello! I've been following your web site for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Huffman Texas!
    Just wanted to mention keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello from New Jersey!

    Firstly Id like to say I'm sorry this is on an old post but I just recently got to poking around on your blog and this was the most recent relevant post I could dig up!

    Been a huge fan of yours since my very first taste of Fanfic (GTS was and still is a fic I cannot read too much and is one of my favorites of all time). You write Harry and Draco so beautifully and I re read all your stuff quite often.
    When the sequel for GTS came around I was blown away to be seeing another piece of the world I fell in love with so long ago and it was so well done, neatly wrapping up that story and even when it ended I couldn't feel sad because it was too perfect an ending!(and I went back and read both stories again to absorb all the beautiful details and snippets of your wittiness and humor -which make me laugh even if its the 20th time I have read the line - I might have missed the first time in my excitement to read the story.)
    Anyways I am sorry to gush but I have so admired your work and just had to compliment your brilliance!

    Just a small question that has been niggling at me for awhile. The Corruption sequence is another one of my personal favorites and the first three were so well done and then to see a fourth (and a ficlet to boot) only fed my hunger for more from that universe. Do you have any plans to write another full length fic for that universe? I have seen several asks about it but no answer that I can find.

    Sorry to bug you with something so silly!

    Again Big Big Big fan of your writing!! (Take Angels and Devils can I say amazing? Such a beautiful story)

    Megan <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Megan, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I have to admit that, at this time I have no plans for more Corruption stories, since I am really, really busy with my original fiction at the moment. However, that is not to say there never will be, someone inspiration hits like lightning. I mean Defence Pretence Offence was finished 12 years after it was started :D
      Thank you again, you really made me smile.

      Delete
    2. And that should have said "sometimes" not "someone" :D

      Delete
    3. Thank you so much for replying to me! and so quickly!

      I am a little sad to hear there are no plans (like Fudge needs to go and I would love to see how your mind works out a plan for that) but I will hold out hope that maybe someday it will happen =)

      As for being busy with your original stuff - can I just say total props and congrats on doing so well at being a pro writer! I have personal experience (through family) about how difficult it is to make a go with your own stuff and you seem to be doing quite well so congrats!

      In the Meantime I might venture into some of your original stuff - I usually only read fanfic and mysterys (Agatha Christie is the best!) but I adore your writing style and how well you can string things together so I know Id enjoy anything you wrote.

      Anyways sorry to ramble on so much I will just wait and see if Anything new appears on AO3 =)

      Thank you again for being so nice and replying so quickly!!!

      Megan <3

      Delete

Thank you so much for reading. I love to hear from people. Please leave your comments below.