I really don't know much about it

[sombrefan]

But that OTW website is hilarious. When did fandom turn serious? God almighty don't these people know that most of us having making it as we go along and having tons of fun to boot.

And the "Our values" section? Wishy washy bollcocks.

Though I did intrepret "We value our identity as a predominantly female community with a rich history of creativity and commentary" as "we like reading porn as much as men do". And what sort of word is fannish? I mean really. Far too serious for their own good. Fandon is chaotic and damn silly. That's why I love it.

Comments

[ladybrick.livejournal.com]

I know very little about this, but I have a friend who is either involved in or following this. From what I understand, it's a movement from people who want fanfiction to be considered a legitimate form of writing rather than a just a copyright-infringing pit of smut and suck. Other types of fanworks too, I suppose. And honestly, that's a viewpoint I can go along with. It's been years since I wrote fanfic myself, but I always approached it as a writer first and a fan (a distant) second. I took it as seriously as any other piece of writing, whether it was serious or not. And there really doesn't seem to be much of a place for people with that sort of attitude as of yet.

[rleyser.livejournal.com]

Seriously?

[ladybrick.livejournal.com]

Yes, seriously. There's definitely something of a prejudice out there regarding fanfiction. Despite the fact I have an MFA in creative writing and I've had a play produced, I've actually had people say there's no way I could be a serious writer because, in the past, I wrote fanfic. Like I went slumming and caught some sort of writer herpes. Frankly, it's ridiculous.

[rleyser.livejournal.com]

Well, I am not sure I agree that Fan fiction is a legitimate form. I mean, it is legitimate writing (I write it myself), but it is using someone else's characters, so I doubt anyone will ever take it seriously!

[ladybrick.livejournal.com]

And yet writing spec scripts for existing TV shows (proving you can use someone else's characters) is the main way to break in as a TV writer. The bestselling novel/his Broadway show Wicked is basically Wizard of Oz fanfic. Where do you draw the line? And what constitutes a legitimate form?

[rleyser.livejournal.com]

I think there is a big difference between writing a spec script, which you are then sending to the network/production company, and keeping the characters in character (same as for Wicked) and taking someone else's characters and putting them in a situation the original creator would never put them into. Such as slash fan fiction.

[ladybrick.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Wicked isn't an example of keeping the characters "in character" from the original. And again, it goes back to approaching the work as a writer or as a fan. Everything I wrote was specifically designed to mesh with the original canon and to authentically capture the voices of the character. Personally, I don't even enjoy reading slash or otherwise OOC stories, unless the writer is good enough to convince me that their choice is a valid one (which is pretty rare.)

[franzeska]

*wanders by from google blogsearch*

This isn't authoritative, but here's my personal take on it:

The original idea was basically to have a fanfic archive that wouldn't go poof the minute someone sent a frivolous C&D. (A legit court case is one thing, advertisers or whoever leaning on LJ are quite another.) That other stuff is mostly just infrastructure to make the archive project actually happen. (I like making it up as I go along too, but that doesn't lead to stable code, even if it is totally more fun.)

[sl-podcast.livejournal.com]

At least it's a pretty website that doesn't have James Marsters plastered all over it in disproportioned, pixalated sizes.

...or was that the 90's?

[franzeska]

we like reading porn as much as men do

Ha ha ha ha. I think it's actually there because outsiders always, always assume that most fanfic (or "fan" anything) is by guys. But I like your interpretation too.