Wednesday 25 May 2016

Paperback's Pondering's: Why I'm Not a Fan of Fanfiction


Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! Judging by this week's title, I can guess that almost every bookworm reading this right now is gasping for breath. Get ready people, because it's #unpopularopinion time.

You're probably wondering, how can any bookworm not appreciate the beautiful art of taking their favourite characters and making more stories about them? What's so bad about that? Well, I can say that I wasn't always this way, but my opinions on fanfiction has changed drastically over the years.

Once upon a time when I was a 13 year old girl obsessed with One Direction, I read fanfiction religiously. Now don't be fainting asking why a 13 year old girl was reading possibly dirty fanfiction on the Internet, because I didn't read anything smutty. First, because I had the most ignorant sex education ever and didn't understand half the terms, and second because I was a goodie two-shoes and knew that I would get in trouble. ANYWAYS, I was really into reading One Direction fanfiction as the really good ones seemed like contemporary romance novels with my favourite band as the main characters. It was awesome.

Once I hit 14, the fanfiction switch suddenly switched off in me and I just was not into it anymore. This was partly because I was maturing with my reading and wanted to read proper published books, and also because I thought that reading fanfiction was sort of creepy and overly-obsessive. It's sort of like forcing something that's never going to happen.

When I entered the book blogging world, it seemed like everyone was obsessed with fanfiction. To this day, I haven't seen anyone who has said that they don't read it, and even some YA books are actually dedicated to it. When I read Fangirl and then Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, I knew that fanfiction had finally taken a world of it's own. It was really incredible, but for me, unnecessary.

Ever since my 1d days I can't bring myself to read fanfiction. Even if there's infamous Hermione/Draco, Harry/Luna ones, I found them to be weird and uncomfortable. This meaning, that they just seemed wrong. I'm a big believer that what ends in a book is how it should end, that maybe we can't understand it, but we cannot change it. These fanfictions at least give me false perceptions on what really happened in the story, they mess with my brain.

I just don't like change, which is a sole purpose in fanfiction, and so I try to stay clear. I think that who ends up with who was meant to be, who died was meant to be, and I couldn't imagine anything else differently.

All this being said, a main purpose in fanfiction could be to change typical stereotypes in books and promote diversity, which of course, is always a good thing. A lot of fanfiction can feature LGBTQA romances using traditionally straight characters, which can show the spectrum in which a character could be on. I do respect this movement a lot.

This isn't a post to bash fanfiction. A lot of work goes into it and some writers have even gone so far as to get book deals for their work, so there's no denying that this medium can bring out true talent in people. I'm just saying that it's not for me, and probably never will be. I think that the past should be left in the past and I just don't like to read the change. Maybe I just haven't found the right fanfiction yet.

What do you think? Are you into Fanfiction or not into it? Do you have a favourite story or theme?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

15 comments:

  1. I think you realise by now that I'm a complete fanfiction junkie.

    HOWEVER - it definitely messes with your brain. I now think that alternate universes with effed up biology and pregnant male superheroes are normal. Save yourself. It's too late for me.

    I don't like fanfiction with REAL people - actors, singers, etc., because deciding that two actors or whoever should be... um... together... verges on the creepy. Describing what the (ahem) act, of them being together would be like, is COMPLETELY STALKER-Y AND CREEPY. But that's just my opinion.

    But when I find actual, heart-wrenching, beautifully-written, well-plotted, character-driven, fanfiction? (And it does exist!) It's the best feeling in the world.

    Also, I kind of like that the characters take on a life of their own and become part of the public consciousness, and grow with their own mythologies.

    (Wow, that was actually quite smart... clearly I need to have egg sandwiches for lunch more often...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha I was so looking forward to hearing your opinion on this! I do think that the dirty fanfiction with real people is quite creepy, especially if they read it, it makes them even more uncomfortable. Believe me, I could go on for days how fanfiction can ruin two celebrity's relationship. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place, but I'm happy that you are so passionate about it!

      Delete
    2. Hope my rambling essay-style comment didn't disappoint! XD

      Delete
  2. hmmm. i've never read fanfic and don't really have any interest in it. i guess probably for the same reason as you, plus i'm a grammar freak and the thought of someone writing without an editor spellchecking them freaks me out, lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'd actually be surprised, some fanfiction safe so good without any direction that they get book deals! It's crazy sometimes how a simple pastime can get some people to make it big haha!

      Delete
  3. I absolutely love fanfiction. Not just the dirty kind, but all ranges of fanfiction. There are certain books, tv shows, movies, worlds, etc. that I form such a great attachment to, that I just can't bear the end of it. I need something to hold on to and that's what fanfiction let's me do. What I love most about fanfiction is it allows the world created to go on in ways that weren't original. There are certain characters that I love together, but I know that the author or creator would never in a million years pair them together, so with fanfiction, I can live out my dreams. Basically, fanfiction just makes me feel really good inside.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You make some great points, Sierra! I'm happy that fanfiction has been such a positive thing for you, as well as for many others :)

      Delete
  4. I actually really enjoy reading fanfiction. In my 1D days, I also read some fanfiction with the members, but I could never picture them for real as the characters. That's when I realized that fanfiction with real people would never work for me.
    But because I'm the kind of person that never likes canon ships on books, fanfiction saves my life! It allows me to think how two characters I ship would look like in alternative universes and I really enjoy it!
    Also, there's the kind of "episode fillers" fanfiction, that are basically scenes told from other characters' point of view or scenes that were just mentioned but not really described. I think those are a lot of fun, because they're really close from canon, but with a different twist to it.
    However, I understand when people tell me they can't read fanfictions, because it looks a bit wrong, since what the author says is what really remains. ((Bad thing about reading too much fanfiction: in some point, you may start to confuse what is really canon and what you read on ArchiveOfOurOwn.))
    Great post, Emily! And sorry for THE LONGEST COMMENT EVER.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lais! You make a great point with the "episode fillers". I think that fanfiction could provide great insight into the minds of lesser known characters. There is definitely a greater control over the stories that's for sure!

      Delete
  5. Interesting post, Emily! Definitely agree - I was the same! However, I still read someee fanfiction- only the ones with James and Lily Potter though! Some fanfics are honestly so fantastic, but yeah others can be really ocer the top and obsessive :/ awesome discussion!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's hard to distinguish between good and bad unless you are invest the time into it as well! That's why I tend to stay clear haha.

      Delete
  6. I completely see where you're coming from - sometimes fanfiction can become a little obsessive and creepy. Often it is written in bad taste, and isn't fair on the people being written about. Also, some fanfiction can be in poor taste, like erasing sexualities. However, I do love some fanfiction. Often they are as long as full length books, and there's some really talented and under appreciated authors. Smut can sometimes be so fun, too! ;D

    Denise | The Bibliolater

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I've seen some fanfiction that will turn an LGBT character straight, which isn't cool. But there definitely is some great talent there too!

      Delete
  7. I have never been interested in reading fan-fiction. I read the After series but I didn't know it was 1D fan-fiction. I personally don't really like it, or the idea of it. It borrows an author's world/characters but changes it into something the author (probably) didn't intend, which bothers me for some reason. It also kind of scares me, since I don't want to start liking the fanfic author's writing style more than the actual author's writing style and this is SCARY as heck to me as a) What if I start hating the actual books? and b) ISN'T THAT LIKE A BOOKWORM SIN? (according to my brain, at least.

    Anyway, I completely agree with everything you said. Fan-fiction has grown so much and it's amazing how dedicated and devoted fans are to certain people/fandoms. Diversity in fan-fiction is incredible and should continue, but I don't like having something that's already supposed to be finished, resolved and settled extend into something new. It's like a never-ending plot hole. Great discussion!

    Rekha @ Million Book Mill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is like a never ending plot whole! I just find it so incredibly forced and awkward to the author as well. Leave their creative ideas alone, you know? I absolutely hated After and everything it stood for, it was awful. Thanks for stopping by Rekha!

      Delete