[ SECRET POST #3042 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3042 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 071 secrets from Secret Submission Post #435.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

08. http://i61.tinypic.com/10rmiip.png

[(Anonymous)]

This seems totally fine to me. There are plenty of other-than-fanfic writers who feel differently, obviously, but I'm also sure you're far from alone.

[(Anonymous)]

Nothing wrong with that, OP.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, once I made the crossover from writing fanfic to writing original stories, I pretty much stopped reading fanfic unless it was written by my friends. Part of it was a desire not to get sucked into it again, and part of it was just time management.

Your focus is allowed to shift. There's nothing wrong with that.

[(Anonymous)]

Just curious, OP... what form does your participation in your fandoms take?

[dreemyweird]

I don't see anything strange in this. Fanfic IS just as valid and legitimate as original fiction, but it doesn't mean that it's not different. There's no denying the existence of a fandom culture that is centered around some very specific tropes, concepts, and narrative structures that aren't a thing/are much less of a thing in original fic. Being interested in consuming/creating original fiction over fanfiction is a preference just like any other.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know why this is even a big deal. I'm a writer too and never in my life have I had even a mild interest in writing or reading fanfic. I only like to write my own original fiction with characters I create.

When it comes to canons I like, I only enjoy what's actually canon. I might not like certain aspects of canon, so I just kind of ignore them, and if there's enough I don't like then I quit. I don't care about what some random person on the internet writes unless it's meta.

[intrigueing]

Original fic and fanfic are very different. Nothing weird about this. And it's probably easier for a writer to start with fanfic and then expand to original fic too, rather than the other way around. Fanfic has so many sensibilities and conventions and other unwritten "things" that original fiction doesn't have.

[(Anonymous)]

See, I would think it would be the opposite. I can't think of one fanfic convention that's an absolute must. There are certain trends and such but nothing I would think fandom as a whole demands.

However, when writing original fic, you have to be able to create your own characters and your own world. You have to be able to introduce these to the readers. You can't expect people to know what your characters look like and should be like (as you can in fanfic). I think if you have this down, it would be much easier to cross over to fanfic than the other way around.

[intrigueing]

No, I mean, if you start out writing in fanfic, it's not that much of a mental shift to become interested in writing original fic. But if your first writing is original and you get accustomed to writing original fic, it can be hard to rewire your brain to appreciate reading or writing fanfic instead. It has a whole different bent to it.

[(Anonymous)]

I think this might be a personal thing. I never had any such issue and I've never heard of anyone having an issue going original-to-fanfic. It's the other way around I always hear about. I don't think this is one area where you could make a sweeping statement about it either way as it would be highly personalized. I don't think there's anything inherent about original writing that would make it difficult to read or write fanfic.

[blitzwing]

I always found fanfic much harder to write, myself.

[sarillia]

Same. I'm always kinda left scratching my head at the talk of fanfiction as practice for Real Serious Writing as if it's some kind of universal rule that everyone goes from fanfic to original fiction (if they have written both, that is). There are different skills involved and I find it harder to write fanfic.

[(Anonymous)]

This. Because I practiced writing original fic for a full 12 years before actually taking on fanfic, I wigged out over a lot of detail stuff and trying to actually bring logic to my plot lines. I didn't even know about the tropes of fanfic (or how ruthless readers got if you decided to pass them up to try to give the characters some room to grow). I'm slowly getting back into writing it for really ridiculous reasons, but it's making me more nervous than original fic ever has.

[ex_mek82]

I'm the same way. Back when I tried to write fan fiction myself (and did horribly at it, I might add), I generally avoided reading fan fic by other people -barring friends-, since I didn't want to subconsciously rip anyone else off. That's still pretty much the case now that I'm slowly starting to develop my original fiction more, but I also have to admit... a lot of the trends in fan fic these days, much less the last 2-4 years- just aren't my cup of tea.

(Not that it matters, since every idea I've had that started off as "Oh, I kinda want to write a fan fic about this!" quickly turned to "I'll use this for an original story instead" for one reason or another. Usually longer-form/multi-chapter ideas, rather than short, done-in-one plot ideas)

[(Anonymous)]

I feel the same way about recent trends, which is why I usually stick to older fic from rec lists for older fandoms nowadays. What kinds of recent trends are the ones that you don't care for?

[ex_mek82]

Can't say I care for people putting all kinds of inane stuff in the tags on places like AO3 and whatnot is one. That's a huge turn-off, and the rare few times I have read stories with nonsensical tags, they... haven't really been all that good. (Harsh, I know)

I'm also not particularly fond of the occasional trend at the story going full-stop for the author to go on an Author Tract-y tirade, oftentimes derailing the character who's acting as the writer's mouthpiece about a certain social justice-y issue. Like this one time, I briefly glanced at a GOTG fanfic where I *think* Rocket, of all the characters, was correcting someone on using proper pronouns (in relation to Groot, IIRC. It was mentioned here on FS ages ago, so I looked for it out of morbid curiosity) and I couldn't have hit the back button hard enough there.

And then there's the second-person, self-insert Reader/[Insert canon character here] stories that are all over the place. I first saw them on DeviantArt of all places, and while it's probably the most pablum-y thing fanfiction has ever come up with, the concept alone and the variants I've come across just gives me strong second-hand embarrassment for some reason.

[(Anonymous)]

As long as you're not actually telling people you don't give a crap about their fics then I don't see the issue, OP.

There have been some fandoms where I've written a lot of fic, and some where I haven't written a single word. I prioritize original fiction either way, because I get very easily burned out and ideally I want to focus my energy there, but if a particular fandom makes me want to write then I'm not going to knock it; as long as I'm writing something (and enjoying myself in the process), for me that's the important part. If writing some indulgent fanfic breaks a dry spell in my original work then that's great too.

I haven't actually read fic in any of my fandoms (except for the odd drabble here and there) in years though.

[a_potato]

Fanfic has its own particular style and set of conventions, and not everyone is going to like them or want to engage with them. And being a writer doesn't mean that you must enjoy or want to contribute to every genre or type of writing. It's just a matter of having certain preferences. I don't think there's anything strange about that.

[(Anonymous)]

so?

[(Anonymous)]

Nothing wrong with that. I am a fanfic writer (and reader) but I've never read an original fiction book, I can sympathize with you.

[(Anonymous)]

And that's perfectly fine. As you can see from other comments, you're definitely not alone. You just prefer to play in your own worlds, and that's fine.

For me, I have ideas, but I don't get really interested in my ideas unless I can plug my favorite characters into them. Then I actually get off my duff and write. (And most people think I'm crazy for NOT being interested in writing original stuff.) Different strokes for different folks and whatnot.

[diet_poison]

You do you, OP.

Transcript

[(Anonymous)]

Image: b&white picture of a hand writing "I AM A WRITER"

Text: But I can't bring myself to give a crap about writing or reading fic in any of my fandoms

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I'd usually rather be writing my own stuff. I still read and watch canon material, and consider myself a bit of a fan, but I don't really want to make fanfic, and I don't often read much.

(I went through a period where I read a lot of fic, and then went back to mostly ignoring it.)